Where Making Money and Making a Difference Come Together

If you are a physician, therapist or any other helping professional whose business model relies on third party manged care reimbursement you are engaged in the World’s WORST business model (and that’s not hyperbole…keep reading to see what I mean.)
Let me start with a story to set the stage:
Imagine you are a bright, idealistic college [...]

I’ve been having a lively debate with my blog designer James about my tag line on this blog. “Practice-building tips and success strategies for mental health professionals” isn’t doing it for me anymore. It’s not inclusive enough, for one thing. Many of my readers are not mental health professionals. And we’re here to change the [...]

I know it is a new idea to develop a specialty niche. It feels uncomfortable and “wrong” if you have the ability to help all sorts of people with a variety of presenting concerns.
But trust me, you will have a much more successful practice with people lining up to work with you if you specialize.
As [...]

2009 was a rough year for many in health care.   Like almost all industries we were hard hit by the poor economy.
Many people put off non-urgent care.  Health care costs increased for those who are lucky enough to have insurance, and many lost insurance benefits as they lost jobs.
Health care reform is moving through [...]

Rich Text Area.
I want to make something perfectly clear. Starting, growing, marketing, and making money as a small business person is not hard, complicated, or rocket science. In fact, the fundamentals are easy:
1. Do good work that is effective and helpful.
2. Identify what you are marketing (specific service for a specific person [...]

OK–time to get tough. If you are thin skinned and you take offense easily, stop reading now.
Today must have been "whine and moan day" about reimbursement fees. On two professional blogs I read there were long threads on poor reimbursement rates for psychologists and social workers.  Yep, we get paid crappy rates.  Yes, managed care [...]

 
I talk to a lot of professionals interested in starting or growing a private practice.  For many of us the independence of having our own practice is one of the main reasons we became a therapist in the first place.
But the reality is starting and growing a practice is not for those who fear change.  [...]

Why do you really have a private practice business?  Please take a minute (ideally, more than one) to think about that question.  Why do you have a private practice?
You need to know your real motivations if you are going to make a good living.
Why?
I’ll let you in on something:  Starting and building any business is [...]

You have gone to school a long time, studied hard, passed lots of tests, earned your license to practice in your state and you want to open your own private practice.  Where do you start?  What are the first things you must do to build your own private practice.
Here is a list of the 10 [...]

I just read a fascinating article in teh Boston Globe about the concept of "Grit" (The Truth About Grit).  Grit is a psycholigical concept that refers to one's ability to persevere, set and stay focused on goals, and do whatever it takes to achieve a specific outcome.
Researchers have found that grit is more important that [...]