Therapist Clubhouse A Podcast For Private Practice Entrepreneurs With Annie Schuessler

Focusing on meeting the needs of your right-fit clients may take you beyond the therapy room. Danielle Matthews is devoted to helping kids who are dealing with bullying. This work led her to write a book, give presentations, and create a 10-week program to help kids, their parents and their schools to address bullying. Find out how Danielle accomplished all of this in less than two years and what it takes to make a bigger impact on your business.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Writing and publishing a book Getting to the point where she could leave her full-time job Focusing on bullying, an issue that has affected her personally What parents need to do about bullying Using social media and tracking what works to bring in clients Creating a 10-week program for kids and their families Delegating tasks while still holding the reins in your business Getting help from business consultants and marketing pros Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/84

If you believe being of service or being spiritual doesn’t go with making money, this conversation is for you. Isa Gucciardi, the creator of Depth Hypnosis and founder of The Sacred Stream, believes that money and life energy can be in alignment. When you reject money, she believes you limit how much help you can give. Listen as she describes how she has developed her services far beyond the therapy room over the last 30 plus years. You’ll hear both the tactical stuff and the theories behind her tactics.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Creating the structure for your business as it expands (structure and energy…) Building a healthy relationship with money Debunking the myth that service means poverty Working with her life partner Constantly updating and refining her marketing Growing the impact of her work while not burning out Finding ways to serve more and more people Prioritizing service as the highest priority in business Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/83

Moving your therapy practice to a new town can be scary. Kaitlin walks us through how she moved her business from San Francisco to Livermore, a smaller town an hour away. In our conversation, she talks about everything from finding new office space to creating a new network of colleagues to working through the mindset issues came up during this transition.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Networking to establish yourself in a new location How SEO helped with the online transition Using Mindfulness to make business decisions Building her business around her life Giving notice to her clients before closing one location Finding office space in her new location Maintaining relationships with colleagues in her old location Working through fears before and during the transition Holding boundaries around her hours The differences between niching and marketing in a city vs. a smaller town Her fees and how she sets them   Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/82

Show Notes: What if you need to BE different in order to accomplish your next goals? What if the missing link is not working harder or investing more money in your business, but rather making your SELF more resilient and strong? This week it’s just you and me. I’m gonna talk about something that’s been on my mind. You know how you keep hearing a theme over and over again and it finally sinks in? I’ve been going through that about how self-care and fitness connect to being an entrepreneur. I resisted the hell out of this connection for years. But I have been hearing this theme too many times from people I respect to ignore it or naysay it. I was hesitant to talk about this with you because some stuff out there about fitness feels really alienating to me. The tyranny of thinness is alienating. The idea that bodies should look a certain way is alienating. I’m not into that. I don’t believe fitness or self-care looks one way. I think it’s very personal and different for each person. But I decided I NEED to talk a

Listen as Maureen talks about how she keeps her practice full and what she’s doing to leverage her skills beyond her therapy room. You’ll hear some solid ideas about marketing online and creating high-quality referral partnerships. You’ll want to implement some of these right away. Maureen has used two different business models to expand her income. You’ll hear what worked, what didn’t, and what she might do next.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: How she fills her practice now and why it’s different from when she was getting started Getting great referrals from medical doctors Writing great directory profiles Writing client-attracting website copy Transitioning some of her clients to online therapy How she structures her time for optimal well-being Letting go of evening and weekend sessions Getting off of insurance panels Bringing on a second clinician, loving it, and then parting ways Earning passive income through furnishing and subletting multiple offices Her advice for her former self: invest in consu

Are you tapping into your creativity to run your business and your life? Loretta Staples is a private practice entrepreneur as her 5th career. She’s proudly 64, and she’s learned quite a lot about how to follow your intuition and take action to get yourself unstuck. If you’re heading for burnout in your life or business or if you feel like there’s a lack of YOU in your business, listen up.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Being in her 5th career at age 64 Her journey from working for a corporation to being a private practice entrepreneur How she follows her creativity and intuition What she means by small c creativity and why it’s important Steps to get unstuck if you’re heading for burnout or feeling stressed in private practice Creating her new business and what she’s learned about being an entrepreneur Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/79

Starting a private practice can be hard. Raising your fees can be hard. Putting yourself out there to grow your practice can be hard. This week I talked to Montoyia McGowan, and we talked about how she pushed through a low moment. Six months in, her practice was extremely low, and she was considering letting it go. A friend told her to give it another six months. She did. She challenged herself to network, market her business, and really put herself out there. She came through the other side with a waitlist. Listen as she dives into her mindset work and the steps she takes to keep her business thriving. Topics Discussed In This Episode: Getting past the difficult 6-month mark in private practice Helping her clients and community feel pride about being in therapy Why “stopping the chase” is her tagline Her monthly calendar ritual Her feelings about her fees Avoiding the comparison trap How Beach Body helped her get comfortable with marketing Finding her entrepreneurial community Using podcasts for business ed

Want to be profitable and ethical in your business? Do you wonder how to do both well? Listen as we dive into how Jeff is growing profitable and ethical businesses and how he responds to (and grows from) challenging feedback. Topics Discussed In This Episode: What he’s learned this year about running multiple businesses Learning from mistakes Prioritizing ethics and social justice Welcoming and incorporating feedback from clients and customers Managing his time and energy Acknowledging his privilege as a straight, white man How hiring a trainer has changed his work/life balance Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/77

When your business is growing fast, how do you manage it? Dr. Joy Harden-Bradford has grown Therapy For Black Girls in a big way over the past year. Her podcast reaches a big audience, and it keeps growing because she listens carefully, delivers high-quality content, and focuses on serving. I talked to Dr. Joy about what she’s learned over the past year and what she’s still learning.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: How she started hiring her team Time management tactics that help her get some sleep Holding her time boundaries as her business grows How her view of her role has changed as she builds her team Managing a large Facebook group while maintaining quality Learning about email marketing Embracing her role as a visionary Creating and planning her weekly podcast Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/76

Are you intimidated by SEO? But you want to make it work for you? Enter Cathy Hanville. Cathy consistently comes up as #1 on Google in her keywords in her area. She’s been helping other therapists use SEO to build their practices for years. Now she’s teaching a lesson in my program, The Superpower Method For Therapists®. In our conversation, Cathy shares how she’s kept her business full for 17 years and how she’s keeping her own life balanced as an entrepreneur, therapist, and human.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Handling consult calls so you get only your ideal clients Using SEO to keep her business full Why SEO doesn’t have to be so hard or intimidating Taking insurance so that she can work with students Planning for eventual retirement and for a more balanced life now What sets her apart from other therapists Identifying her niches Becoming an expert serving transgender and non-binary people Getting a raise on an insurance panel Taking a break from private practice for a family emergency Show notes

Making big changes in your business is both liberating and scary! Sarah got off of insurance panels, clarified her message, honed her niche, raised her fees, and overhauled her website. Her advice for therapists ready to make a big move? Nurture yourself, and don’t punish yourself for your past mistakes. Listen to the steps she’s taking to grow her private pay practice while also prioritizing her work-life balance.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Coming up with her (brilliant) headline on her home page The pros and cons of niching down more specifically Using more self-disclosure on her website Finding her ideal schedule and her ideal caseload Setting boundaries around her business Bringing intuition into her business How she’s bringing in clients Getting off of insurance panels and transitioning to private pay Time-saving hacks and systems she uses in her business Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/74

Nick has created a workshop for Queer folks to go through a profound spiritual process, and he helps his clients make use of spiritual tools every day in his office. Now he’s expanding his work and has created a podcast to help more people. If you’ve ever felt like your work is too edgy, you’ll want to hear how Nick has stepped further and further into what he does best.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Allowing for spirituality into the therapy room Creating the podcast The Queer Spirit Being at the intersection of spirituality and queerness His feelings about being seen as a leader How he decided his business needed 2 websites Running workshops by both planning and being flexible Taking his workshop on the road How he fits his business into his life How The Superpower Method For Therapists® Program helped him grow Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/73

If you’ve ever felt called to be a leader beyond the therapy room, you’ll want to hear my conversation with Dara Hoffman-Fox, LPC. We dive into Dara’s journey to becoming an author and leader in serving gender questioning, transgender, and non-binary people. You’ll love Dara’s honesty and ability to stay humble and curious while also being a fierce leader.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: How Dara realized it was time to step into an expert role Writing their book: You And Your Gender Identity: A Guide To Discovery Creating Youtube videos Balancing family and entrepreneurship Learning from podcasts for entrepreneurs Helping therapists become more affirming and competent with transgender, non-binary and gender questioning people Creating a course for therapists Some tips for folks who want to be better allies Testing out ideas in their business Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/72

Jen Cross is a visionary and a healer who’s helped hundreds of survivors, but she still struggles with the business side. This episode is a rare opportunity to go behind the curtain and hear some honest talk about business. Jen talks about the difficulty of finding a balance between serving her community and sustaining herself financially. You’ll also hear me slip into some unrequested coaching. Oops.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Why she’s sometimes surprised she’s an entrepreneur Creating writing and healing workshops for survivors of sexual trauma Taking time off from the workshops she runs The difficulty of promoting her work Holding boundaries as a business owner Working through her desire to hide Working in a community that has an expectation of low-cost services Finding her business community Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/71

You started your own business so that you could work the way you want to work. You’ve got a vision of how you’d like your business to work, but it’s easy to veer off course and make the wrong compromises. Devona as been careful to make all of her business decisions with her vision in mind. She’s created a business that allows her to do the clinical work she’s most passionate about and engage in a full life outside of the office. Listen as she talks about the practices she uses to stay on track and in balance.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: How she arrived at her niches Referring clients out when they aren’t the right fit Making decisions to keep her business within her vision Her questions to help her stay on course (and one of mine) Supervising as a small part of her practice Scheduling one week a month to not work on her business Engaging in self-care practices Her fees and how and when she raises them Setting up systems to keep her practice full Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/70

Setting goals is easy, but sticking to a plan is freaking hard. Let me show you how to set a goal and make it happen.   This is the last in a 6-part series of minisodes. In each one, I’m geeking out about an aspect of your business that matters.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: The difference between setting goals and making projections (and why you need to set GOALS) How to create a flexible plan so you won’t give up when things change Why you must focus on ONE goal (and yes I know it’s hard) Why your goal should be uncomfortable and edgy Identifying obstacles ahead of time so they don’t take you down.   Enrollment closes for my 3-day program, Superpower Intensive, on Thursday, August 9th. The program happens from Friday, August 24th through Sunday, August 26th, in person, in Berkeley, California. We’ll be spending time on the 3rd day on goal setting and planning. What I don’t know is whether the program is already full, because I’m writing to you from the past, when the program was a little over half f

Marketing your therapy business might make you feel disgusting. That means you’re doing it wrong. WRONG.   This is the fifth in a 6-part series of minisodes. In each one, I’m geeking out about an aspect of your business that matters.   To market your therapy business, you need a framework to help you understand your unique business, and you need to do a few things really well. You do not have to do everything and in fact you CAN NOT do everything.   Topics discussed: Why you have to choose which marketing activities to do and let go of the rest A 2-part framework for understanding your unique business Part 1: Leveraging your Superpowers Part 2: Knowing your Right-Fit Client Questions to ask about any potential marketing activity so you’ll know whether it’s for you The 2 components you DO need in your marketing plan: a strong online presence and a solid networking plan Choosing the right additional activities to speed up your marketing   Why is this all such a big deal? When you’ve got clarity about your mar

Today’s rant is about setting your fees. You’re probably doing it wrong now, and I want to help you get it right.   This is the fourth minisode in a 6-part series of minisodes. In each one, I’m geeking out about an aspect of your business that matters.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Why your “full fee” is failing you Three missing pieces to your fee-setting process Missing piece #1: When you set your fees, you didn't accurately account for your sliding scale Missing piece #2: You underestimated the interruptions in your schedule Missing piece #3: You're not allowing for savings Why your worth is NOT directly related to your fee An excellent listener question about the difficulty of raising fees and my answer   If you want to work with me in person in a small group, here’s a unique opportunity to do that. Check out Superpower Intensive, a program in Berkeley from Friday, August 24th to Sunday, August 26th. Learn all about it and apply. Show notes at http://coachingwithannie.com/podcast/67

Let’s talk about your business model. What’s a business model? It’s simply the collection of services you offer in your business. It’s how you make money. Let’s take a look at YOUR business model and see if it’s a good fit for you, or if it’s time to make some changes.   This is the third in a 6-part series of minisodes. In each one, I’m geeking out about an aspect of your business that matters.   Topics Discussed In This Episode: Why NOT to choose your business model by default Myths about your (lack of) choices as a therapist in business Tons of options to expand your business model Some bad news about passive income Some great news about adding offers to your therapy business How to get started with adding services to your business   Do you want to make some significant changes in your business, both to make more money AND to feel more aligned and fulfilled? What is stopping you? Is it hard to set aside the time or to actually do the work? Is it hard to prioritize figuring out the most important stuff be

Today’s rant is about embracing your Superpowers and using them to grow your business. This is the second minisode of a 6-part series of minisodes. In each one, I’m geeking out about an aspect of your business that matters. Topics Discussed In This Episode: Why what works for others will not work for you What I mean by “Superpowers” Being different is BETTER than being better. An example of what happened when someone tapped into her Superpowers How to begin discovering your Superpowers Why does this matter so much? The more you embrace your Superpowers, the stronger your business will become, the bigger your impact, and the less likely you are to burn out. I’m here to help visionary entrepreneurs create awesome businesses. If you want to go deeper and build your whole business around your Superpowers, one way to do that is through The Superpower Method for Therapists® Program. I’ve got a 3-day Superpower Intensive coming up on August 24th, 25th, and 26th in Berkeley CA. As I’m recording this, we’ve got spot