PoP 226 | Your First Year Of Private Practice

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Your first year of private practice

Today, Joe Sanok speaks about the basics of starting a private practice.

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Visit www.slapshotstudio.com/joe.

In This Podcast

Steps To Start a Private Practice

  1. File a PLLC / LLChttps://practiceofthepractice.com/llc
  2. Set up banking / accountinghttps://practiceofthepractice.com/quickbooks
  3. Build your website:
  4. Get your phones set up – https://practiceofthepractice.com/grasshopper
  5. Rent – sublet a space from another clinician for, at least, the first year or two
  6. Sign up for Psychology Today profile:
  7. Business cards / rack cards:
  8. Paperwork – https://practiceofthepractice.com/paperwork
  9. Network
  10. Blog3-day blogging series

Month-By-Month Private Practice Set-Up

First quarter – set up infrastructure, i.e.: LLC, banking, website, etc.

Second quarter – talking to people connected with your ideal client.

Third quarter – blog! Sign up for the blog sprint here.

Fourth quarter – set up an ebook, quizzes, etc.

3 Phases of Practice

  • Start-up phase:
    •  $0-50k
    • Boot-strapping
  • Growth phase
    • $50-100k
    • Outsource
  • Scale phase
    • $100k & over
    • Automation

Useful Links:

Meet Joe Sanok

Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners that are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.

 

 

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Podcast Transcription

Pop 226 | Your First Year Of Private Practice

[0:00] It’s hard to believe that i met jamie just around like six months ago and he has this awesome website company cut slap shot studio.
And they do custom amazing website design that they cater exactly what you need head on over to slapshotstudio.com/joe,
to get an awesome custom website.

[0:22] Music.

[0:29] This is the practice of the practice podcast with joe sonic session number two hundred twenty six.

[0:35] Music.

[0:50] Amazing today was pretty clear northern michigan had a very productive morning some consulting calls was on local radio talking about.
How to have relationships with your adult siblings and when to set boundaries and then talked about.
How to talk about here is them with little kids so really engaging conversation than the crystal frost shows lots of fun.
And i scheduled to do a podcast interview on cbs is podcast and they had some stuff happen and so it got canceled and.
So at some time and i was like what should i do this podcast on.

[1:27] I thought about how often i get questions about the fundamental basics of starting a practice,
so today i’m gonna just reverse a little bit to your first year of practice and often times we talked more heavy things marketing,
big picture change the world stuff next week we have the world changers challenge which is aimed at helping people,
implement their big ideas they can be therapeutic idea secure podcast aquino and we have at this time we’re almost halfway to our goal of five hundred people signed up.
To actively participate for two hundred fifty at the time of this recording she’ll be more but that’s gonna be starting in june fifth two thousand seventeen it’s a week long it’s totally free.
If i am not active every single day doing facebook lives in the group i’m gonna be on coaching people connecting with people.
And then in june twelfth june twelfth at new and kelly higdon and i can do a joint webinar together.
Talking about how do you test your big idea and know whether or not it’s gonna work so you don’t spend much time and a bunch of money on a bad idea.
Fourteen days or less were gonna dive into that and so for all the information head on over to practiceofthepractice.com/challenge you to sign up for the challenge even if you don’t have facebook no handful of you’ve said that you are intentionally not in facebook.
You can stick to email the guest information can still get all the information about the weapon are and i would love to have you join that world changes challenge so i got that going on also in just me and jessica.

[3:03] Blessing two months lowdown schools kicking off your northern michigan it’s,
it shouldn’t be amazing cohort of big ideas people that are growing their practices that are in that just under six figures into the six figures multi six figure practices.
Where they know that they’re gonna change the world they know that they’ve got big ideas they know that they can do things beyond just their practice,
but i need someone to hold your hand and walk them through it and so were gonna be getting together july thirty f it’s gonna kick off with a happy hour together.
And it’s a sunday and then monday we’re gonna go hiking were gonna under my favorite places on lake michigan,
brainstorm together we’re gonna slow down on tuesday we’re gonna,
have some practices together so we’re gonna be doing yoga while some people may go for a run on to really kind of cultivate that soil so that wednesday thursday and friday.
When kelly and i really walk people through giving some planning to their big ideas when we talk about all these other ways that we can grow that idea.
We’re ready for were refresh walking into it and then on thursday and friday were gonna wine tasting northern michigan is often names top wine tasting america outside of california.
I will be right at the heels of sleeping bear sand dunes national park.
Hanging around the campfire talking business talking slowing down talking about how to have a healthy and scale will practice.
That’s gonna be incredible and really excited about the people we’ve got some cool sponsors you got snapshot studio we have simple practice was really of me use the biofeedback headband.

[4:42] It’s just really amazing to see how this is all coming together this year.
So having a slow dance with account gonna be a part of that and then another announcement that i have is on september twenty eighth i have been asked to be the keynote speaker,
for the michigan home based family services association the michigan home based family services association,
i did not know probably five years ago and they asked me back i’m gonna be speaking about experiential approaches to therapy sellout mark,
so if you are in michigan indiana pennsylvania illinois,
what you are flying to detroit and come hang out and franken with michigan i’m freaking with his school bavarian style town is just like this little.
I think disney meter something and that you expect like to know which is in princesses to walk out anywhere but,
it’s really a cool place i’m not keen on that my feelings and hang at the water park so if you wanna come hangout at the water park or come to the keynote.
Is the michigan home based family services association.
So a lot of fun stuff in a few other key notes that i’m working with a few organizations was wrapping up the details so i can announce them yet,
but i’m hoping to come down south a little bit and come see some of ya’ll down there and hang out in person,
hang in person is probably one of my favorite things to do i love talking to you on the phone love face time love skype.
But there’s something about us hanging out and chatting it up and getting to know you people in person that’s super awesome.

[6:17] So
Is i’m gonna walk you through step by step from start to finish how i think you should spend your first year of private practice.

[6:35] And a lot of the links i’m gonna give you give me links to take you to different products they’re gonna sb,
things up for you some of those are affiliate links ways that i can monetize this podcast and website,
it’s all stuff that i use and i recommend that tested and it’s for your can a speeding up to give those to you and also helps to fund part of the website as well.
So i’ll let you know that those are for the links but i want to start with you can get my twenty eighth step checklist indiscreet hundred links coming at you that are gonna be at the show notes if you want them as well.
That’s totally free hangover practiceofthepractice.com/start and that’s gonna be twenty eight steps on to have is like a check list in your first year starting a practice.
Alright so let’s get started first things first you wanna probably file and llc or a key llc,
plc the professional llc so it in michigan for example you have to have a be a plc for a licensed individual,
of course your always gonna wanna talk to your own account and or your own attorney on to check about your state in it can really vary in regards to state fees on some states it’s like five hundred or six hundred dollars just for your state fees,
in other states it’s like seventy five bucks in michigan it’s seventy five dollars for the filing fee.
I used recommend an on-line legal company but has sent switched my friend chris stroman he started a practice start in kalamazoo michigan,
and what was with file and it went so fast and so much cheaper than why use recommend.

[8:08] So if you want to file your paperwork through them you can just go to practiceofthepractice.com/llc and you’re just gonna go through and file it.
The way that ryan harris my c p a rep talked about in the previous podcast is that.
When when you just you doing business as its so say i just went and said is joseph gonna do business as mental illness counseling.
It’s all can integrated together can get kinda messy and especially if you get audited by the irs or if anyone ever files a lawsuit going to your personal assets as well as your professional assets where is if you have an llc at the supper,
and the other than yourself so someone can go after things like your house or your savings account in your personal versus your business asset which most of us.
We don’t have many business assets and on the building so really it’s just the money i have been there for taxes each quarter that is the big amounts that i keep in there and then other than that,
i your payout or put it back into the business one file an llc after you file else you get the people you want to get your banking,
and all of your counting set up,
are you into its quickbooks the on-line version it’s like nine bucks a month it’s super cheap it integrates with your bank account,
so whenever i make a purchase with my business debit card it automatically spits in there all i have to do is itemize what was this marketing was it,
i’m a meal with somebody was it travel,
and so i would recommend using on-line the quickbooks so that’s just another practiceofthepractice.com/quickbooks to get thirty percent off.

[9:47] You there refer a friend program i find it easiest and cheapest way to do it you may have other things you fine but that’s what i found to be the fastest.
So you get yellow see you five go your bank account i would recommend going to a bank that has free business checking so look around us and has credit unions will have those,
in your town sometimes the minimum amount you have to have been there but you don’t have any of those i’m going to cost when you first start up the new i get your quickbooks going.
Next you wanna start looking at building your website and have you can start this before even look for a place to rent so you can start getting that as ceo juice you can drink all this at once when all at once,
but i just wrote a blog post the walk-through count all the different ways to make a website it’s just a practice of the practice and search for how to make a website its is authority to guide,
or you can use to force us how dash to dash make dash a dash website.
I need that iphone that more people search for how to make a website and how to start a web c how to create a website so it how to make a wet suit which to me sounds of the high would set it but.

[10:56] It ranks higher angle so on that blog post i walk through all the different options and can the quick options are you can bootstrap it so you can set up your own hosting,
i recommend blue hosts that practiceofthepractice.com/host and you then get a free url through that and then you can,
install your own wordpress theme where you can pay someone to install that this gonna be two hundred to five hundred dollars and some just installed a theme,
then you can build out and get a whole walk-through i made my brother in laws ophthalmology clinic website.
And actually record it while we get and walk you through the video over on that blog post walking to exactly how to install wordpress how to sign up for the hosting how to get everything done,
so that’s super functional video that’s over there on how to make a website blog post the next level up for a website is gonna be.
Having a monthly fee and so like there presets is an option i would recommend them compared to a greater vision for the same price in yes they are sponsored but i recommend them anyway,
after the same price you can get all the tech support beautiful web design that’s gonna be around fifty nine dollars a month.
On a brighter vision gives you a free month if you sign up through my affiliate link or my staff so it’s a link just to their sponsor so they can track how,
many conversions i get so that’s a bit brightervision.com/joe just enter joey check out of your free month free three month three free months three months.

[12:23] You’ll get a free month where you get a month for free guess that’s how i’d say.

[12:29] So the next step is to have someone do a cake eater design website and i have a list of a bunch of people that do that as well if you wanna have someone that does understand the unique design just for you over on that website.
What about post.
To get website going you gonna wanna get your phones set up i don’t usually recommend just using your regular cell phone and google voice just sounds really bad when it’s like this message brought you by google voices sound like it’s advertising.
And so there’s a number of kind of virtual phone systems out there and you want to look at,
how will the integrate with everything i use grasshoppers a practiceofthepractice.com/grasshopper on there’s a number of different ones that are out there,
c look at those and then you’re gonna also wanna next be looking at rent and i talked about this in the past but i wanna go back to it.

[13:23] I guess so.
No see frustrated because of that is not getting upset about it but it is concerned when he people to first launching a practice and they are like ready to rent out space.
And unless they have some income or some savings where they can really kinda weather the storm first starting out.
I usually recommend that the first year to you sublet space from another clinician no second look like how you want to look.
And by sub letting me in that there’s no a counselor has an office it could be a single officer to be a multi office suite and for a certain amount per month or per week or per day.
You can use their office so they may not use it on tuesday and thursday evenings maybe you have a full time job but you want to start growing the.
You can rent it for a certain amount in the evenings and that really those prices change based on the market in your area,
and so for me what i did is i negotiated my right to be twenty percent of what i brought in so then my rent would go up.
As the mount people that i saw went up and i didn’t have any set amounts and other we can do is say.
If i don’t use the space i don’t pay some commissions wanna have a guaranteed minimum per month if they’re gonna let you use the space and give your key,
oftentimes if you look at most counselors offices in a full time counselor string twenty years thirty sessions a week there’s always evenings,
mornings lunches are friday saturday or sunday that office is just sitting dormant.

[14:55] And for that concert be able to get a few hundred dollars extra per month or maybe even a few thousand dollars extra depending on how you negotiate it that’s a good deal for them it also reduces your risk as your starting a private practice.

[15:08] Also he going to sign up for psychology today profile right now it’s as profiles go psychology is usually one of the best ones to be an,
on you can get a free six month subscription to that if you just go to practice and the practice that count for slash psychology today maybe pass podcast that’s all about.
Optimize that psychology today profile but they can go hand in hand with.
What you’re gonna do investor who you focus on your psychology today profile your first couple sentences you really wanna focus on who do you serve so,
i hope couples are struggling in their marriage and help them to be able to find new ways to communicate with each other have more structure fights that are productive.
In and hopefully find that spark again so your starting with what do you do to help people not.
I do individual couples and family counseling i went to western michigan university of people just don’t care you wanna they wanna know what’s in it for them.
So psychology today i think your idea client,
in general for your website you want to of done a whole series about attracting your ideal client and a whole forty five minute webinar ron that that’s free to access over practice of the practiceofthepractice.com/idealclient.
And that’s gonna be really something that you wanna know from the beginning who are you trying to attract.
I accidentally hit it before that practices really go through three distinct phases and i’m just quickly can i know those.
The first one is the start up phase which if you’re in your first year of private practice that’s really and we’re out yet that zero to fifty k fifty thousand dollars or so per year in gross revenue.

[16:46] And then when you get to that fifty thousand a year you really in that growth phase so instead of focusing on your ideal client and can’t send to fill it up you’re really focusing on.
Feeling the practice and optimizing your time so maybe that you are.
Adding clinicians to your practice might be that you’re getting a larger space and maybe that your hiring a virtual assistant might be the are outsourcing some of your blog images in your social media,
how much do i meeting some things using simple practice or two greater vision to have people kind of working on your website your love electronic medical records.
Send fifty two hundred k you really looking at her start to take a few things off of my plate while keeping costs down but then when you get a hundred k that’s when you really move into that scaling phase that phase of practice.
Where you really wanna say how do i remove myself more and more from the.
Yes and automate things hire people use computer systems or websites to build get everything going so that i can go on vacation for two weeks and the practices keeps going on its own.
So being the start up phase you really wanna be focusing on your ideal client will talk about some strategies and how to get some referrals from folks that will help you grow during that phase.

[17:59] Next you’re gonna look at getting your business cards your rack cards go all that going a rack card is sort of like.
Because she the white regular what should a paper and if you were to turn it like hot dogs style and then cut it in thirds it’s about that big surprise will be.
What five four inches wide by eighteen half or so tall and ss card stocks of front and back.
That tends to go over better and be considered can a more stylish and hip than a brochure people really use brochures anymore unless they have old.
Looking website i wanna look like the starter practice in the nineties so it’s a typically you wanna just go to rack card.
I use vista print to print those but i have seen my designer design it or design it using photos that i purchased and having a high quality logo and all that is going to hit on the logo but i’ll get on that just a second.

[18:56] For my for my business cards i like kind of the thickness and style of moon.
If you go to practice of the practice that conversation much thank you get some money off have to check but,
that what i like about moving is if you have a logo yet you can get these cool it many cards you can get square cars there so well designed,
you really don’t need a logo set up yet to have a good looking set of business cards to having good business cards i know some people say you don’t need him but.

[19:29] You can also in the area that some people still really like business cards and my business cards my practice of the practice ones just have the practice of a practice chair on one side of my information on the other side or super super thick.
And they have square business cards for mental illness counseling have a brave different pictures that match the branding and the pictures on the website.
Okay in the outcomes of people smiling that people crying people you know enjoying your walk on the beach or with the daughter on their shoulders and so i have all of those as the mental illness counseling.
Business cards up.

[20:03] When it comes to getting your logo done when you’re in the start up fee is there some free websites you can get lovers and those usually mechanically party on you can totally do every could design one and can’t get back on camera is what i use for,
most of my design the image on my own it’s sort of like just a really easy version of any of the design software that’s out there,
definitely worth getting a free account can buy i’ve never spent a dollar on there you can buy some pictures but i just used on unsplash.com which is a free website that different photographers post free photos you can use for anything.
News for any of branding me anything really sell this of reaction is use canned or find a website that has free logos you can use.
Or you can use ninety nine designs had a ton of consulting clients do ninety nine designs were like about that is that.

[20:56] You can throw out there here’s what my vision for my logo is.
Designers then compete and then those that you select can move on to the next round and then when the final designer.
Makes your ten designs are however many you select.
You can ask people for feedback within the platform to say what they like or don’t like and so you really can’t systematized the whole process.
Save the designer a whole bunch of time back and forth.
And then also young sees you whole bunch of time as well so it’s a pretty cheap way think the package insert hundred ninety nine bucks and they have a guarantee at least that has recorded if you don’t like your design you get your money back.
I’m sitting over two packs of the practice that count for slash ninety nine of number ninety nine designs.

[21:42] So have you get your logo done with something that can asterisks by that you have to do that in your first year,
if you have a two hundred bucks or so to get a design done you might as well just you’re bringing can get out there people can come know that look you can be known for kind of having that.
Fresh can looking practice you don’t want that old looking practice.
Are you gonna have won the people say well their current their energy menacingly edgy in the sense of like.
Too hipster but the other matches your style matches your approach it doesn’t look like it was a website that was built in the nineties and still stuck around or the.
You can use the same brochures of the nineties i see a lot of private or not have friends in non profits were.
Maybe they’re design was really get a few years ago but the basic fonts and things just don’t look good if you don’t know if it looks good you’ll have a desire i find friend you ask some people on-line that you know that have good eyes for design.
People wanna see you succeed in your practice.

[22:43] And then so after the logo i c can’t get your paperwork going you know if you’re gonna be out of network are going to private pay,
weather it’s purchasing a paperwork packet from someone or creating your own both ways are valid you can i wanna make sure that you had all of your state guidelines probably have your attorney review it.
Make sure that every kinda lines up make sure giving your head but disclosure on the have release forms are in take your progress notes your receipts,
to create all those,
not were purchase the paperwork packet there’s a lot of different consultants other that have paper packets that you can purchase,
i can speak to the quality other than my own i just sell on my own paper packet that is just the stuff that we use her mental illness counseling,
senior that over practiceofthepractice.com/paperwork so that was you of all infrastructure all set up.
What you wanna do next is really just network like crazy yeah you wanna try blogging for a ceo in writing hiring google and apply i did a whole five part series on how to blog about a year ago.
I’m so that it around episode one twenty one for sure i should i look at that.
She looked that have time but i didn’t but i would see that in person networking with people that you are connected with is one of the best uses of your time when i first started mental illness counseling here in traverse city.
I remember i met with the pastor and married my wife and myself is an awesome guy.

[24:16] I was just fine we read me get breakfast together every couple of months really just to catch up and then as a lunch the practice i just shared with can my her around why i want to start a while and hope angry kids and frustrated parents and distant couples.
And he started referring people to me and more people and more people in c for years was my best referral source me and moved to a different city.
But you know those people that know you already if you’re in your childhood town or a town where people known you for a while.
To help those people just go to lunch with them and we’ve in your starting your practice talk to all professors talk to anyone your connected to.
You’re gonna be sales about it but you do wanna talk about him excited about this new venture and doing starting private practice in this year really trying to,
build up to you put out there how many clients who are i wanna have ten clients by the end of the year every week and right now i’m at two.
And then hearing from them as to what they think you could do to continue to grow people want to see you succeed and so i would highly recommend networking like crazy.

[25:23] So let’s go walk month by month can i through that your first year so the first like three months at first quarter really is about getting your infrastructure set up so,
getting your llc getting your website getting wrapped taking care of your phones,
really getting as much of that infrastructure set up so that you can launch really within their first three months you don’t wanna drag it out much longer than that.

[25:48] Ninety three to six months you really wanna be talking as many people that are connected to your ideal clients of your ideal client is private pay you talking to people that are private pay so that could be,
natural pass that could be people do acupuncture massage chiropractors death some doctors offices attorneys.
Really getting me out i have been talking to one of my colleagues here mental illness called that also chris stroman who i talked about earlier,
my friend use or practice and both of them recently attended be and i am not working meeting so business networking international which is international organization.
And both of them said they used a great experience and so maybe look and see if there’s any b and i groups they only allow one person from the industry that you’re in into that group.
And so you would be the only counselor in that group to make you come every single week and there’s a cost to join but they kinda weeds out the people that are serious so that could be a way that you network.
The so you really making a second quarter wanna be not working as much as possible.
Turn corner a c really start focusing more and more on content ranking in google if you early and get those other things done,
blog like crazy blog your idea client think about the questions they have like what is depression was anxiety what are the symptoms of depression i have a hole course called blog spread that’s okay training you for seven hours on that.

[27:19] Are you gonna fourteen packs of tracks that count for slash blog spring if you’re interested in that on but the,
really it’s simple it’s just writing blog posts about what your ideal client cares about this what it comes down to like.

[27:31] Share with what he is saying that they have questions about you probably of the counselor have heard questions over and over there i to claim his wondering about.

[27:43] And then.
Can a fourth quarter i would say you’re if you’re really ambitious or bring those blog posts together to create an e-book some sort of email opt in may be a quiz of some sort you can post on facebook page a whole episode of how use quizzes to,
to get more leads for private practice of the me of ponder on.

[28:05] So that’s the walk-through of the first year and you look for people that can give you support throughout their first year.
I have my membership newsletter that it’s all about how to start a private practice it’s seventeen dollars and you get.
Email every single week for me that walks you through your first year we pull it up to show you can show you that you can see.
Like let’s see so we will talk about right from the beginning and we three how do you save as much money as possible week for how to lower your rent.

[28:40] Week five talk about phones in banking weeks six weeks ago website creation.

[28:47] Then by week eleven with a branding essentials then weeks fourteen fifteen sixteen are all branding one two one three one there we go into marketing wanna one to one three one four one.

[29:01] The sea by week twenty seven we talk about a five week advertising focus have you focus on advertising.

[29:09] And the week thirty one really talking about how do you launching e-book to attract the right people.

[29:15] Buy a week thirty eight where talk at ten ninety nine’s and adding supervision your practice we talk about adding evaluation.
I’ve been with i will writing a book by week fifty one and then it actually goes beyond just a year.
We talk about a year to actually that’s quite a ways of the year two at how to add more private pay,
clients so it’s really a walk through and how do you start a practice seventeen bucks if you just go to the practiceofthepractice.com/ayearwith-oe and aspects of the practice that come for such a year with joe.
So i know that i just sent out hon of links to you and hopefully they’re helpful will have them showing us.
Let me just walk through those for you as a summary in case you were driving so all these are practiceofthepractice.com/ayearwithjoe that’s the seventeen dollar start a private practice where you get an e-mail each week.
[30:18] To get the free twenty eighth step checklist go to ford slash start to sign up your lc go to four slash llc,
to sign up for quickbooks for trash quickbooks and you figure out how to make a website go to four slash,
how to make a website and there’s a dash between each of those words to sign of your phone it’s for slash grasshopper.
The ideal client whether its ford slash ideal client to get the free six months of psychology states for their psychology today to get tickets.
Ten dollars off your first new orders for slash moved and mobile.
Very logo design for section ninety nine designs for the paper work for such paperwork.
Lol website urls there.

[31:05] Snooze one and also for websites our website sponsor today slap shot studio slap shot studio does incredible custom websites and the price point they do custom websites at is just.
It’s amazing so if you wanna head on over to slapshotstudio.com/joe that slapshotstudio.com/joe jamie jay’s but on the podcast a bunch of times he’s given us a ton of information such as soon as also one of our sponsors for slow down school and they’re just awesome.
So thanks so much for letting me into yours and into your brain i so look forward to hearing about the massive action you take a pretty.

[31:46] Music.

[31:54] Special thanks in advance ounces sexy for the intro music and this podcast is designed.
Thirteen information in regards to the subject matter covered his game with the understanding that the host or the publisher rendering legal counting clinic or other professional information if you need a professional you should find one.

[32:13] Music.