A (0:09)

Welcome to Ask Allison. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice and I answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. You can Access that@AbundancePracticeBuilding.com links where you'll also be able to ask any questions.

B (0:24)

You have for Ask Allison.

A (0:26)

If you want more support, we've got some free trainings in there too. If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask Allison library.

B (0:37)

Welcome back to Ask Allison. Here's today's question. I've started a part time private practice while still working full time. I'm exhausted. What are the top three things I need to know to build quickly and quit my job? I bet you're exhausted. This is a really trying phase. So before I answer your question, I would like to thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Allison. I've talked about them for years and know their features by heart. But what really sets them apart isn't just their features. It's that they genuinely care about your experience. It's not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like Therapy Search, Secure Messaging, Clinical outcome tracking, and their AI notes feature. Therapy fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes in the product and they want you to love it too. Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture capital and no pressure to prioritize investors over customers. This independence allows them to keep their price is fair, to focus on innovation, and to prioritize customer experience. With over 100,000 therapists already on board, they've proven you don't have to compromise success for quality. Ready to see for yourself? Then try Therapy Notes free for two months with code abundanttherapynotes.com okay, first up, I want to say to the person who asked you this and who asked this, and anybody else who's in this situation, you are not alone and you're not doing anything wrong by being tired. Building a practice while still working full time is no joke. It is a a big commitment, but it's also one of the smartest ways to build because you're setting yourself up for freedom with a financial safety net under you. So this season can feel really heavy. You're working two jobs. Essentially you're dreaming big while also just trying to stay upright. So today I want to simplify some things for you. I want to make sure every minute you spend on your practice is actually moving the needle. No spinning wheels, no wasted energy, just really clear direction. But before we get into the top three strategies to grow your practice, we have to do something that's going to help you define what fast even means. So step zero, I want you to do the math and know your target. And this is what most people skip. It's not flashy like a new logo or a cool Instagram post, but it's really essential. So before you market, before you network, before you spend another hour writing website copy, I want you to figure out how many clients you need to quit your job. Don't just guess, don't just assume. I want you to know, and this number is almost always lower than people think it is. A lot of therapists assume they need a full caseload to replace their job income. But what's a full caseload? Is that 25 clients? Is that 30? Is that 35? Hope to God not. And what if I told you that you might only need 12 clients to replace your income? Sometimes even fewer? So here's what we're looking at. What's your current take home pay from your agency or your full time job? What's your target take home from private practice? What's your overhead going to be? So your EHR therapy notes, your liability insurance, if you've got an office, office rent, those kinds of expenses, how much are you charging per hour? And are you working as a private pay therapist or working with insurance, which is going to tell you what you're charging per hour essentially. And once you know these numbers, you can kind of like do the math, which this is not hard math. I know that we're not really known as therapists to be mathematicians, but you can calculate how many sessions you need per week to hit your income goal. I've got a free worksheet that walks you through all of this. It's super simple, step by step. I'll tell you how to get it at the end of the interview. That's going to just let you know, like first you want to know how many sessions to meet your financial goal, but also what do you need just to get out of your agency job? And once you know that number, everything becomes easier. You can work backwards from there and create a focused plan. You'll stop worrying that you're not doing enough and start actually doing the things that matter because you're more clear on where you're headed. So step one, that was step zero. Step one, choose a niche based on your client's pain. Not your credentials, not their demographic. The very first strategy that actually builds momentum is always niching and that is not your modality. I'm going to probably say that 12 times. It's not your modality. It's not EMDR. It's not IFS. It's also not millennial moms or women in trans. Your niche is about the very specific pain that brings your ideal client to therapy. It's the problem they know they have, the thing that they're lying awake at night thinking about in their words. So let me give you an example. Let's say you're super passionate about working with trauma. You use emdr. Love it. Amazing. But the person you want to serve might not be thinking about trauma. She might just know. She's exhausted, she's anxious, she's overwhelmed. Maybe she's snapping at her kids and she feels really horrible about it. Maybe she's having panic attacks at work. Maybe she feels disconnected in her relationships. That's what she knows, that's what she's googling. That's what she's trying to get help for. So if your website says EMDR for trauma recovery, she might scroll right past it. But if your website says therapy for high achieving women struggling with anxiety, burnout and overwhelm, ding, ding, ding, she's going to pause. She sees herself there. And here's the thing. If she's like most clients, she doesn't care what the letters are behind your name. She cares if you understand what she's feeling and if you can help. So when you're choosing your niche, don't start with your resume. Start with your ideal client. Think about what problem are they aware of? How do they word it? How does it show up in their life? And what do they wish they could feel instead? So speak to their pain and show them that you see them. Step two is build a website that speaks directly to that niche. Once you've got your niche clarified, the next step is making sure that your website reflects it. Now, this is not time to list every issue you've ever, ever treated. I know that's tempting, especially when you're starting out. You feel like you should be open to everyone. You want to look super competent. When we try to speak to everyone, we end up connecting to no one. When we try to look competent by putting a million things we look like, we don't really know how to focus on one thing. And here's what happens when you're specific. Imagine a mom. I've been this mom dealing with postpartum anxiety, looking for a therapist. She's already nervous about making the call. She lands on one therapist site and it lists anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, infertility, postpartum grief, couples therapy, adhd, and so on. It's not wrong, but it doesn't feel focused. She doesn't know if this therapist actually gets her situation any more than she gets anything else on that list. And then she finds another site that says I help new moms who feel anxious, overwhelmed and disconnected from themselves. You're not broken. You're carrying more than one person should have to. That's the moment she exhales. That's when she knows this is the therapist for me. Your website doesn't need to do everything. It just needs to make your ideal client feel understood. And again, remember the math from earlier. You're trying to appeal to thousands of people. You're trying to attack a couple dozen who are the right fit at most. You don't need volume, you need resonance. So step three Network where your clients are already going let's talk about networking. I know some of you might have just cringed a little when I said networking, but stay with me. If networking feels gross or salesy, it's only because you're imagining it the wrong way. Real networking is about building relationships with real people who are already trusted by your ideal clients. So here's the question to ask who does my client talk to before they find a therapist? For some, it's a primary care provider. For others, it might be a doula, a school counselor, a yoga teacher, a priest, or a mom in their parenting group. So think about these things from your ideal client's perspective. This one person in your imagination. Make a list of who they go to first. These are the people I want you to build connections with. Reach out and introduce yourself. Let them know who you help. Let them know that you're accepting clients. Offer your support and expertise when it's helpful. And don't forget about other therapists, especially those who are in your niche and are full. We love referring to people we trust, and having someone who has availability is, honestly speaking, such a gift. As a full therapist, you don't have to go to networking events. You don't have to cold DM a bunch of people on LinkedIn. Start with one relationship at a time. Follow up. Be generous. Be human. Like this is a real relationship you're forming, not some transactional one off. Over time, these connections create a steady stream of referrals without having to market constantly. So here's the path. First, get clear on your numbers. Know what your actual target is to be able to quit your job. 2. Choose a niche that reflects your client's lived experience, not your training. It's what they're worried about right now. 3. Create a website that speaks directly to that niche, make them feel seen and 4 network strategically with the people your clients already trust. When you focus your energy on the right things, growth doesn't have to take forever. You can absolutely build a part time practice into a sustainable full time income and finally give notice at the job that's draining you that you want out of. You are not behind. You are building something real and you're doing it smart. If you want help figuring out how many clients you actually need to quit your job, DM me the word sheets. I'll send you the free worksheet that walks you through the math and I'll also send you a link to every other worksheet that we've shared in this series. If you need help on the next step, which is choosing a niche, DM the word niche and I'll send you the link to my $27 Know youw Niche course. Thanks for being here. I will see you later.