Therapist Clubhouse A Podcast For Private Practice Entrepreneurs With Annie Schuessler

Do you ever dream of creating a program you’ll love running over and over again? My guest Amy has run her program, Grief Medicine, at least 9 times now. Sometimes people wonder if focusing on grief brings her down, but you’re going to hear why working with folks around their grief brings her inspiration and joy. As you listen to this conversation, one thing I want you to notice is how much Amy enjoys running this program and never seems to experience it as a grind. You’ll hear how she created her program and how she continues to fill it after so many iterations. And by the way, it’s mostly NOT through social media. Meet Amy Hyun Swart, a therapist, writer, children's book illustrator, and entrepreneur who has been leading grief gatherings, rituals, and courses since 2015, both in-person and online. She was introduced to the healing power of grief work by way of her own life experience, the traumatic loss of a parent at an early age. As a grief activist, Amy views grief as a critical ingredient to move through

Today I’m gonna talk about one of the fastest and least stressful ways to start a group program. Let’s say you’re excited to run a signature program beyond your private practice, and you know you want it to be a small group. I relate. I LOVE running groups. Just a few reasons you might be in love with the idea of creating a group program: Participants benefit from each other’s wisdom and feel less alone. You make more money. A sense of accountability is often bigger in a group. Groups give you energy. You’re gifted at running groups. In a group, you get the richness of discussion. Let’s imagine this is you. You’ve written up a sales page or registration page for your program. You’ve told everyone you know all about it. You’ve sent out emails to your small but growing email list. You’ve posted on instagram, in FB groups and anywhere else where it’s appropriate to post. You’ve reached out to every single colleague who might make a referral. You’ve even reached out directly to a handful of people who you think

Maybe you plan to double or significantly increase your income this year. If you’re in private practice, you might look at the numbers and think you should double your sessions. And you totally could. People are out there looking for a therapist exactly like you. You might feel like adding sessions is your ONLY option to increase your revenue. That’s not true. You’ve got other options. Check in and be honest with yourself. Will adding to your client load exhaust you or head you towards burnout? If you’re already seeing 12 clients or 15 clients and you’re starting to feel a bit of dread around sessions…do not double your sessions. On the other hand, If your’e excited about filling up your private practice further, follow that excitement and do it. Like I said, there are plenty of people who need a therapist like you. If you’re like SO many therapists I know, you might have the time in your schedule to add more sessions, but you don’t have the capacity in other ways. You don’t have the energy, the self-care pra

As this episode goes live, registration for Create Your Program is open. This is my process to help you create and launch your signature program beyond private practice. If you’d like to start growing another part of your business and make money in a new way, this is the best time to jump into Create Your Program. If you register by Sunday, January 7th, you’re going to get lifetime access to a bonus training that has helped grads of CYP to fill their programs. Go to https://rebeltherapist.me/create now to register. I can’t wait to see you inside. Today I want to talk about a few really important things that set apart the people who launch programs and succeed from those who wish they had. Here are 3 things people who succeed with their programs are WILLING to do. 1: Be willing to work through discomfort in your marketing. My last guest, Samantha Fox, is great at this. Just like most people who sign up to work with me, Samantha was really nervous about getting more visible and sharing her work with large audie

Samantha has shrunk her therapy practice way down and is no longer taking new therapy clients. She’s delighted that her business has transitioned to mostly her coaching programs. She’s found that she’s got abundant energy and love for serving in this way. AND…Samantha has discovered that even the free stuff she provides on social media and on her site helps many queer women live truer lives. That’s just ONE of the ways that the work she’s doing now is a much better fit for her life than a full time therapy practice was. As a sexuality coach, Samantha Fox works with women worldwide to support them as they discover that they are not as straight as they might have thought. She’s developed an experiential method called Unbox Your Sexuality that creates a monumental transformation. The method helps women in unpacking, unlearning, and relearning schemas and narratives that we carry with us due to being born into a patriarchal society. Here's some of what we talked about: Why Samantha is happy she’s shrunk her ther

We’re sharing one of our favorite episodes as an encore this week. How do you create and fill a group program? How do you navigate a full therapy practice at the same time? We’re about to go behind the scenes and find out exactly how my guest has done it. Meet Sonya Brewer, a trauma specialist and relationship expert who specializes in creative life and relationship design for overachieving trauma survivors and their partners. She created Badass Boundaries, a 12-week group mentorship program for overachieving trauma survivors. Here's some of what we talked about: Sonya’s framework to help trauma survivors transform their relationship to boundaries Creating Badass Boundaries, her 12-week group mentorship program for overachieving trauma survivors How Sonya helps people befriend their bodies as they do boundary work The benefits of offering 1:1 asynchronous coaching in the program How she filled her program Sonya’s advice about running valuable and joyful free workshops (engage with your participants!) How and

How can you create a business if you’re a disruptor in your field? If you’ve got a unique voice and you’re finding yourself pushing back against most others in your field, that could actually be a wonderful thing for your business. Today’s guest has carved out an important space right at the intersection of the Body Liberation and Pro-Aging movements. And she’s pretty much on her own as a leader there. Meet Deb Benfield, a Nutrition and Body Relationship Coach with over 35 years of experience working with women to heal their relationships with food, eating and their bodies. You’ll hear why Deb created a program for women in mid-life and beyond, how she designed her program and grew her audience, and what works to fill her program. Here's some of what we talked about: Why she’s alone at intersection of the Pro-Aging and Body Liberation movements How she designed her program Streamlining her program and leaving more room for integration How she grounds herself when stepping into her work Pivoting her niche and

I’m grateful to be running a tiny and simple business right now. I have no plans to grow this business up to 7 figures. I was a bit hesitant to tell you that! I feel some fear that you won’t think I’m a badass, or you’ll think I have upper limit problems or limited beliefs. Maybe you won’t want to hire me because I’m not as ambitious as you hoped. Or if you’re my friend who runs a larger and more complicated business, maybe you’ll think I’m judging you when you hear what I have to say about running a tiny business. (I’m not. I promise!) But since I have the desire to be radically honest and I think this serves you, I’m sharing it anyway. I trust you to identify the parts of this that fit for you and the parts that don’t. Note: I’m talking about service based businesses, because that’s what I know best. Capitalism tends to point us towards one vision of what it means to be a successful business owner. And that’s being a business owner who always makes and does MORE. Capitalism tends to pull us AWAY from notici

How do you discover the work you’re meant to create? Today’s episode is a master class on how to allow the collective and your spirit to pull you in that direction. Judy Hu created a framework for boundary healing. Then she wrote a bestselling book: The Boundary Revolution: Decolonize Your Relationships and Discover A New Path To Joy. She’s a Licensed Mental Health Counselor turned Boundary Coach based in Massachusetts. You’ll hear the intensely personal and brave process Judy went through to develop and share her work. Here's some of what we talked about: Creating a group program for BIPoC folks around boundaries in summer of 2020 Discovering that work can be fun, exciting and enjoyable Bringing together many lineages to create her method Hiring a social media team to get more visible Losing relationships as she stepped into being unapologetically herself Writing her book and changing the topic halfway through the first draft Why it’s terrifying to launch her book How she’s struggling and growing with the t

I got this question recently from someone getting ready to expand their business to beyond private practice. They want to start offering a non-therapy program within their own business. “Should I create my own program from scratch, or should I just deliver an established method from a well-known person?” For example, although it’s not the example this person gave: Brene Brown’s Dare To Lead method. Here’s my answer without knowing any of the particulars. First of all…nothing is new under the sun. Whatever program you offer will be influenced by your learning lineages and your mentors… So the REAL question is: will you create something new by bringing together many influences, giving them all credit, and blending them in a unique way? OR Will you primarily use one established method from a mentor and jump through the hoops of getting that license or certification or purchasing that curriculum, so that you can use it in its entirety and put their name on it? To figure this out, ask yourself: What is the truest,

Even if you already work with the niche you want to work with in your private practice, you might ALSO love having an innovative signature program as an additional way to serve them. Danika Maddocks is a parent coach who's passionate about supporting parents of gifted and twice-exceptional kids. She's been partnering with bright kids and their families for over a dozen years as a teacher and therapist. You’re going to hear why she created a signature program for twice exceptional kids, and you’ll hear how she grows her business without becoming a full-time marketer. Here's some of what we talked about: Why she wanted to create a group program for parents of twice exceptional kids (kids who are both gifted AND neurodivergent) How she designed her 8-week program Using asynchronous coaching between live calls The simple and effective ways she grows an engaged audience and gets referrals The system she uses to sell her program each time she launches Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/209

“Has it been extra challenging to sell group programs lately?” “How do I figure out what niche to choose and what program to create?” “When is it the right time for Facebook or Instagram ads?” I ran a free and open coaching call recently for everyone in our audience, including podcast listeners, clients, and email subscribers. A record number of folks submitted questions, and I spent over an hour riffing on a bunch of them. We had such a great response from the attendees that I decided to share the entire call recording with you. You’ll hear my answers to the questions above and more, including: My program isn’t selling. Is it priced too high? How do I take a break from my business for a big life circumstance? Is it OK to post or send emails sporadically? Or should I do it consistently or not at all? How much of an expert do I have to be in my topic area? How much of an ROI do you get from social media? Is it a good idea to start a program with a friend? Do I have to get my private practice stable before I st

Can you REALLY make great money running a program that you love and that’s based on what you do best? Rebecca Lee does. And she’s got a year-long waitlist. As a social worker and supervisor for social workers, she felt a pull to create something totally different, something that wouldn’t fit into the box of supervision or therapy or even coaching as we know it. At first, she struggled with giving herself permission to do it. In this episode, you’ll hear how she created something that only she could create and why her family’s farm is part of it. If you’ve wondered if your idea is too out there, this is going to give you a big dose of permission to create your program. Rebecca Lee is a Clinical Supervisor and Eco therapist who works with therapists, wellness professionals and healers to tap into their own rhythm, health and vision so they can create an impactful and joyful professional lives for themselves. Her work is centered around how we can re-connect with our authentic landscape through social justice, a

In the last episode of Rebel Therapist Podcast, talked to Claire Pelletreau about switching roles with her husband so that she’s no longer the default parent. That change made a REALLY big difference in her business. Because she made that change she’s able to take on big projects, and make more money. And that got me thinking about what boundaries help me take on the big stuff that really makes me happy, makes a big impact and sometimes makes my business lots of money. In that exploration I realized that I go through two steps when I’m creating a new boundary: I realize that I need the boundary. I decide I’m going to insist on protecting that boundary. Until I’ve really made the decision that I’m going to insist on the boundary, it’s pretty hopeless. TRYING to hold a boundary before I’ve fully decided doesn’t do it. That’s a half-assed boundary. In this episode I walk through a couple of examples of boundaries I’ve created recently that are helping increase my joy and capacity. Both of these are about final

It’s really fucking hard to be a mother entrepreneur with young kids, especially if you’re the default or primary parent. My guest this week has a robust business and she makes good money. She realized last year that she was afraid to take on big projects in her business because as the primary parent of 2 young kids, she didn’t consistently have the capacity she’d need to carry them through. She and her husband decided to switch roles. In this conversation she talks about what’s changed since they made that switch. We also talk about how we each navigate the complicated and ever changing terrain of co-parenting and doing life with our spouses. Claire Pelletreau is a Facebook and Instagram ads expert and conversion optimization expert. Her mission is to actually help people see a return on the money they’re putting into the Zuckerberg machine without the expensive help of an outside ad consultant. Claire is also the host of The Get Paid Podcast where she asks her guests everything about their businesses, inclu

  I used to ask every podcast guest: “What productivity or time management hacks do you use as an entrepreneur?” I’ve stopped asking that. I’m no longer lit up by trying to make my habits atomic or maximize my time. The work of Tricia Hersey, Ebony Janice Moore, Tara McMullin and others has helped me (along with everyone I know) to question whether productivity is the measure to focus on and strive for. We’re here to heal, play, love and rest and BE, and when we do more of those things, we make it more possible to create the world we want. When we’re talking about running a small business, which is my lane, I find that to create something new like a new business or a new program, we need something different than productivity or time management. We need to nurture our creative energy. How do I know time management and productivity alone are not the answer? When suddenly given a huge amount of time, we don’t usually make as much progress as we had hoped to. We might use that time scrolling or spinning our wheel

Show Notes: I love to help you make more money. AND…For some of you, the biggest reasons you have for creating your own signature programs are not financial. You want to create programs to tap into your purpose, to express your love for your communities, to experience and share joy, to resist oppressive forces, and on and on. Our guest created a program for his community because he loves his community. Dr. Damon Constantinides is a trans and queer sex coach, trainer, and writer offering services nationally. He is trained as a clinical social worker, sex therapist, and sexuality educator. He created The Trans Masc Sexual Pleasure Group Coaching Program and he’s recently launched the second cohort. In this conversation he shares how he created the program, how he brings in participants, and how he’s finding the energy and time to make it all happen in addition to running his private practice. Here's some of what we talked about: Why creating this program was a reaction to attacks on trans folks Unhooking his e

Everyone is scared to launch their first program. Someone asked recently: what if I’m REALLY scared to launch my program. Like…what if there are powerful individuals and structures out there who might want to do me harm? What if putting myself out there associated with this work might actually be dangerous to me or my family? GREAT question. Let’s agree NOT to give it the usual online marketing answer: “Just do the mindset work.” This visibility stuff comes up for ALL of us. I have it. Everyone I’ve ever worked with has had work come up around their childhood, their upper limits, self esteem, or imposter syndrome. We all need and deserve to do some important work around getting visible, using our voices, and taking up space. AND…it’s gaslighting to say it’s the same for everyone. When you are deciding to get more visible and you’ve got a marginalized identity or you’re sharing messages that oppose our power structures, your visibility work is not just about getting out of your own way. For example, if you’re

You ever wonder what's going on with the personal finances of entrepreneurs? Like are they all just born wealthy? How are they taking these risks and making these investments to grow these businesses? My guest today is going to tell you how in a one year period she was able to clear $25,000 of credit card debt and save $55,000 for a house. She’s gonna really get into the nitty gritty of it. And no, she didn't grow up wealthy. Meet Podge Thomas, a Notion Consultant and People Ops Specialist. She works with small business owners to build operational infrastructure through the lens of liberation and justice. One of the businesses she has helped a ton is Rebel Therapist and I am proud to call Podge a friend. Here's some of what we talked about: Podge’s history of spending money as soon as she had it Identifying the ways she was getting in the way of her goals Finding a path forward financially with her wife Investing in working with a financial coach Growing up without money Unhooking her ability to spend money

I mentioned in episode 196: 332K Of Revenue With Over 2 Months Off that I’ve been engaging in some profound trauma healing, and that’s changed the way I experience my business. I’ve heard from many of you that you’d like to hear more. This episode is all about how trauma healing has been changing just about everything about how I experience my work. Although I avoid binaries, I talk about the difference between the old Annie (less healed) and the new Annie (more healed). A few highlights: I’ve stopped trying to manage/control my participants’ experiences as a way to feel safe. I still get anxious in moments, but I no longer identify myself as a constantly anxious person. I’m more straightforward with my participants and tell them the truth about what I see in their businesses right away. (And they can handle it!) I’m more patient with the process my participants go through as they build their businesses. I embrace the beautiful nuance you each bring to your work. I’m asking for help when I’m struggling, rath