What We Didn’t Learn in School …

Building a Successful Private Practice

Trina Young Greer, Psy.D., LCP, LMFT, LPC

Steve Greer, BS

• Practice Management Survey

• Setting the Stage

• Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Business Basics

• Building Blocks for Success

• Keys to Growth

• Next Steps

Agenda

Setting the Stage

Potential Conflict of Interest

We are the owners of Genesis Assist

(Booth 445)

Medical Billing * Insurance Credentialing * Consulting

www.GenesisAssist.com

Practice Management Live

Look for the following logo on topics we

have a Podcast on for more information

Available on iTunes & GenesisAssist.com

“Everyone should eat and

drink and take pleasure

in all his toil – this is

God's gift to man”

Ecclesiastes 3:13 ESV

What Attracts You to

Private Practice?

PROS

• Being your own boss

• Flexibility

• Earning potential

• Control

Nationwide Poll Results

CONS

• Economic uncertainty – Managed Care

• Responsibility for all costs

• Isolation

• Management work

Walfish and O’Donnell, 2008

Barnett and Henshaw, 2003

What Concerns and

Challenges do You

have with Private

Practice?

• Marketing

• Finances

• Clients

• Insurance

• Business Aspects

2013 AACC World Conference Poll

Greer, 2013 – Building a Thriving Practice in the 21st Century

Is Private Practice

Right for YOU?

• Can you handle uncertainty?

• Are you energetic?

• Can you handle change and failures well?

• Are you passionate about your vision and goals?

• Do you look at life from a standpoint of what can be improved?

• Are you willing to take risks or leaps of faith?

• Are you committed to developing an Entrepreneurial mindset?

Checklist

Adapted from Baron and Shane (2008)

Entrepreneurial

Mindset

Why is this

Important?

“…what is risky and what is

safe has changed

permanently. … The new

reality is that working at a job

may be a far riskier choice.”

Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Startup

Genesis Counseling Story

“Accidental Entrepreneur”

“If you don’t start

thinking like a

business owner, your

Vision will die.”

Randy Case – C12 Business Consultant

• Therapists don't go to school to be business

people

• Most graduate programs don't provide

training in business

• Therapists can have an elitist attitude

toward people helping versus making

money (Walfish and Barnett)

Overcoming the Mindset Bias

How Can You

Create Value for

Your Clients?

• Focusing First and Foremost on the Client – Genesis: “Win With Every Client Every Time”

– Winning at the First and Second Moments of Truth

• Giving People What They Really Want or Taking Away What They Don't Want

• Business Focus: Adding value that people will pay for

Value Creation

A key to practice

success is changing

your relationship to

your practice

The Three Essential Roles

Adapted from E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber

• Dreamer

• Creator

• Inventor

• Developer and Gatekeeper of Vision

• Sees the Outcome – the ideal

Entrepreneur

Adapted from E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber

• Turns Vision into Systems

• Enabler

• Organizer

• Bridge between Entrepreneur and

Therapist

Manager

Adapted from E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber

• Producer

• Doer

• Provider of Therapy

• Why We Went to Grad School

• What We Love to Do

Therapist

Adapted from E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber

• Most Therapists who start their own

private practice are not Entrepreneurs –

they are Therapists suffering from an

Entrepreneurial seizure

• The Rules of the Game have changed

• We have to change our mindset to

succeed

The E-Myth

Adapted from E-Myth Revisited, Michael Gerber

Working On the

Business versus In it

www.genesisassist.

com

27

Business Basics

• The Challenge: 30% Less People received

Psychological interventions (2008 compared to 1997)

– shift toward medicine alone

(Dr. Katherine C. Nordal, “Where has all the psychotherapy gone?” APA, Nov 2010)

• Niche: specific, targeted group of people who

“gather” and have common needs and wants

Find, Attract, Keep Clients

• Examine Your Passions, Gifts, Experience and Calling

• Who Do You Want to Serve & How?

• Focus – Smaller is Bigger

• Clarify Your “Who’s” Wants & Needs

• Evaluate, Test, Launch

• Examples:

– birth trauma and other pregnancy issues

– military wives

– kids with Asperger’s syndrome

Finding Your Niche

• The idea can feel very uncomfortable

• There is no “one size fits all” plan

• Know your message

• Identify who needs to hear it

• Pick what works best for you

Redefine Marketing

Adapted from Be a Wealthy Therapist, Casey Truffo

“Most therapists feel more

comfortable taking a full

sexual history from a new

client than they do talking

about their fees.”

Be a Wealthy Therapist, Casey Truffo

• Develop & Work Your Personal Marketing Plan

– Passive

– Active

• Identify the marketing steps that fit your personality

– Take steps to build relationships

– Regularly communicate

– Speak for community groups, churches, etc.

– Etc.

Your Marketing Plan

• Be an excellent Therapist

• Be flexible to the needs of your clients

• Find new ways to serve your “Who”

• Consider joining a busy group practice

Proven Steps

• Website

– Keep it Simple

– “Who” Focused

– Provide Value

– Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Organic Search Ranking

• Pay-Per-Click Advertising

21st Century Marketing

• Leverage Therapy Directories

• Blog – Your Own and Guest

21st Century Marketing

• Key Considerations

– Be Strategic

– Draw Boundaries

– Define you Goals

– Finish Your Profiles

– Be Relevant

– Be Careful

– Give More than You Take

Social Media

Adapted from: TOM’s Tips to Fill Your Practice, Create a Following or Promote Your Book Through Social Media, Blogging and S.E.O.

The Most Important 2 Days

State of the Business Owner 2014

• Business owners who spent at least

40% of their time on sales &

marketing

– 60% more growth in revenue

– 200% more growth in profit

Customer Service Reality

shankmanhonig.com

• Cash & Check

• Credit Cards (Fees)

– Traditional Merchant Services

– Mobile Payment Providers

• PayPal

• Scholarships

• Insurance

Establish Ways to Get Paid

• Benefits: Able to Serve More Clients & Increased Referrals

• Challenges – lower reimbursement rates

– more administrative demands

– stress

– short-term treatment models only

– insurance company may affect quality of care

Managed Care?

Building Blocks For

Success

• Spend Time on the Foundation

– Clarify Your Values

– Define Your:

• Dream

• Vision

• Purpose

• Mission

First Things, First

• Vision – What are you building?

• Mission – Why does this practice exist?

• Objectives – What results & goals?

• Strategies – How will you build?

• Action Plans – What is the work?

One Page Business Plan

Adapted from: One Page Business Plan by Jim Horan

• The Bus (Jim Collins)

– The Right People On the Bus

– The Wrong People Off the Bus

– Everyone in the Right Seat

• Establish a Hiring System

– Based on core values

– Clear role description & what counts factors

Solo or Group?

The Criticality of Alignment

State of the Business Owner, 2013

• Role Descriptions – link to mission &

expectations

• Work Plans

• Policies and Procedures

– A battle worth fighting for

– Standardize – same great service regardless of

who

People Systems

• Why Measure?

• The Critical Choice of What to Measure

• Regular Review & Plan Adjustment

You Get What You Measure

2011 2012 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 Apr-13 May-13 Jun-13 Jul-13 2013 IYA

Sessions 1351 1492 1734 1595 1476 1898 1927 1791 1875 1757 1.18

New Clients 148 187 242 202 191 250 225 229 194 219 1.17

% No Shows 8.3% 8.5% 9.9% 8.1% 9.7% 9.4% 8.9% 9.5% 9.4% 9.0% 1.06

GENESIS DASHBOARD

• Focus on Net Income

• Monthly Review of Profit & Loss Reports

• Manage Overhead Costs

• Loss Analysis & Elimination

• Challenge: Total People Cost as a % of Sales

– Standard for Business: < 50%

Financial Management

• Coaching

• Neurofeedback

• On-line Therapy

• Speaking

• Passive Income (workbooks,

instructional DVDs, eBooks, etc.)

• Learn from others

Multiple Streams of Income

Keys to Growth

• Choose the Learner Path

• Develop Your Leadership

• Focus on the 20%

• Win with Clients & Referral Sources

• Constant Forward Motion

• Framework that Connects

• Build a Winning Team

Growth Ingredients

• Internal & External

– Clinical and Operations

– Lawyer

– Accountant & Bookkeeper

– Technology Support

– Insurance Credentialing

– Medical Billing

– Private Practice Coach/Consultant

Team Sport

Next Steps

• Private Practice is a business

• There are 3 key roles you must play – Therapist,

Manager & Entrepreneur

• Marketing, marketing, marketing

• Win with your clients & referral sources

• Framework of systems focused on your vision

• It takes a team ... choose carefully

Key Points

• Personal Action Plan

– What is 1 step you will take in the next

week?

– Who can help hold you accountable?

Follow-up

• Booth 445

• GenesisAssist.com

• 855-282-1777

Want Help?

GenesisAssist.com/2014APA

Presentation Download

What We Didn’t Learn in School …

Building a Successful Private Practice

Trina Young Greer, Psy.D., LCP, LMFT, LPC

Steve Greer, BS