Episode #716: Moving From Group Practice To Your Own Practice

Summary

Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #716: Moving From Group Practice To Your Own Practice

Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Daniel
Date: December 24, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on supporting therapists transitioning from group practice to starting their own private practice, with special attention on defining a niche, establishing effective marketing strategies, navigating professional insecurities, and long-term career planning. Host Allison Puryear consults with Daniel, a therapist close to completing licensure, as he strategizes his path toward private practice specializing in self-worth and confidence issues for women, especially those experiencing perimenopause and midlife transitions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining & Marketing a Niche (02:15–09:58)

• Daniel’s Background: Two and a half years post-grad, finishing licensure, building a trauma-informed niche focused on self-esteem and perfectionism in women, particularly those 40+.

• Challenges: Group practice lacks marketing/networking support, leaving Daniel responsible for client outreach.

• Target Populations for Networking:

  • OB/GYN offices (though difficult to access directly)
  • Homeschool mom groups—leverage shared background and understanding of unique pressures
  • Women’s ministry leaders at local churches (“I imagine them feeling more comfortable talking to, like, a women's ministry leader type of person.” – Daniel, 04:11)
  • Couples and child therapists who might encounter struggling mothers
  • Yoga teachers (less reliable as a referral source)

• Allison’s Feedback: Suggests prioritizing homeschool groups and PTOs of private schools for presentations, noting the intensity of “mom guilt” and the convergence of perimenopause and parenting pressures.

  “Trying to be an A at everything in your life is exhausting. And I think what a lot of type A women are just trying to do constantly.”
  – Allison, 06:10

  • Suggests framing presentations around compelling topics (e.g., “boundaries”) for busy moms.
  • Advises on the realistic impact of outreach to yoga studios and emphasizes clear, compelling presentation titles.

2. Developing a Sustainable Marketing Strategy (10:05–12:40)

• Preferred Tactics:

  • Blogging for SEO value (“At this point in 2025, because so many people are watchers and not readers these days. The primary benefit of a blog is SEO.” – Allison, 11:42)
  • Public speaking (Daniel enjoys it and receives good feedback)

• Social Media Hesitation: Daniel wary of engaging on Facebook due to not wanting to manage comments.

  “If you're not engaging, you're probably not going to get any clients from it.”
  – Allison, 11:17

• Allison’s Guidance: Blogging and speaking are solid; SEO should support blog visibility. Video content could build trust and connection, possibly via YouTube embedded on a website or as intro videos.

3. Communicating Your Value—Even with a ‘General’ Specialization (13:00–19:29)

• Daniel’s Concern: How to market a more relational, “softer” therapy style and not feel imposter syndrome when others can handle similar clients.

  • Feels challenged marketing interpersonal techniques over structured ones (“It feels harder to market that because it's more vague…” – Daniel, 13:47)

• Allison’s Approach: Center the website/message around the client’s needs—not just modalities. Use simple, client-focused language.

  • “Most of the time, the average therapy seeker doesn't care or even know that we do different things…They're just like, I feel like shit, and I want to feel better.” (13:58)

• Addressing Referral Source Conversations:

  • Most providers won’t ask in-depth about modalities, but it’s good to have a clear description ready (“primarily relational, sometimes using EMDR, MI, or ACT”).

  “We get sick in relationships, and we get well in relationships, and it is my job to be one of the healthy relationships in your life so that you can expand that.”
  – Allison, 14:34

  • Naming unique strengths (e.g., being a supportive male therapist for women dealing with trauma) can compellingly differentiate Daniel.

• Therapist Networking and Insecurities:

  • Allison affirms that not everyone is trauma-competent; Daniel offers needed expertise.
  • Focus networking on therapists who are full or refer out certain clients rather than those who can retain similar cases.

  “There's plenty. There's plenty of clients out there. There's plenty of space for you.”
  – Allison, 19:26

4. Planning for Independent Practice and Office Space (20:04–24:29)

• Daniel’s Vision: After licensure and insurance credentialing, wants to move from group practice to a shared office model (subletting spaces to other therapists rather than a conventional group model).

• Allison’s Practical Advice:

  • Research lease options (e.g., triple net vs. full service) and demand for in-person therapy offices, especially with more therapists online now.
  • Develop a new marketing plan to attract tenants, leveraging existing networks and therapist community groups.
  • Be explicit about policies for shared vs. personal resources (tissues, supplies, etc.).

  “Being really clear about what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours and what's shared is shared. And here's what's shared…”
  – Allison, 23:49

5. Integrating Academic and Supervisory Ambitions (24:29–27:45)

• Daniel’s Long-Term Goal: Earn PhD in counselor education and supervision; teach at the master’s level.

• Considerations:

  • Allison notes academia pays less than private practice but provides fulfillment and other benefits such as access to supervisees.
  • Suggests considering adjunct positions if full-time academia feels financially limiting—allows “scratching the teaching itch” without significant loss of income.

  “Adjuncts make no money, but you'd make no money, but it wouldn't take up as much of your life…that might scratch the, like, your community service.”
  – Allison, 27:33

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:33 | Allison | “They hit the, like, I'm done with the shit that perimenopause very graciously provides to us.” | | 06:10 | Allison | “Trying to be an A at everything in your life is exhausting.” | | 11:17 | Allison | “If you're not engaging, you're probably not going to get any clients from [Facebook].” | | 13:58 | Allison | “The average therapy seeker is just like, I feel like shit, and I want to feel better.” | | 14:34 | Allison | “We get sick in relationships, and we get well in relationships...” | | 19:26 | Allison | “There's plenty. There's plenty of clients out there. There's plenty of space for you.” | | 23:49 | Allison | “Being really clear about what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours and what's shared is shared...” | | 27:33 | Allison | “Adjuncts make no money...but it wouldn't take up as much of your life...that might scratch the...service.” |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introducing Daniel & Situation Overview – 02:00–04:00
• Niche & Networking Strategy – 04:00–09:58
• Marketing Channels: Blogging, Speaking, Social Media – 10:05–12:40
• Communicating Style & Value (to clients/referrals) – 13:00–19:29
• Office Space Planning & Practice Transition – 20:04–24:29
• Academic Ambitions & Counseling Supervision – 24:29–27:45

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Tone and Takeaways

Allison’s approach remains encouraging, direct, and practical, emphasizing authenticity, strategic outreach, and clarity about personal and professional values. Daniel’s questions and concerns echo the anxieties of many early-career therapists, and Allison’s responses are validating and filled with actionable guidance—balancing professional growth with personal fulfillment.

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Summary in a Nutshell

This episode provides a grounded roadmap for therapists looking to leave group practice and build a sustainable, autonomous private practice. It highlights the importance of niche specificity, the realities of effective marketing (and the pitfalls of avoiding engagement), the need for self-assurance when defining one’s unique value—even with a “general” population—and realistic considerations for expanding into office space and academia. Allison’s advice centers on clarity, confidence, and strategic connections—all within a voice that’s equal parts knowledgeable mentor and supportive peer.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Hi, welcome to the Abundant Practice Podcast. I'm Alison from Abundance Practice Building. I have a nearly diagnosable obsession with helping therapists build sustainable, joy filled private practices. Just like I've done for tens of thousands of therapists across the world. I'm excited to help you too. If you want to fill your practice with ideal clients, we have loads of free resources and paid support. Go to abundance practice building.com Links all right, onto the show. So I've talked about therapy notes on here for years. I could talk about the features and the benefits in my sleep. But there are a couple things I want you to know about therapy notes that doesn't typically make it into an ad script. First is that they actually care if you like their platform. They don't only make themselves available on the phone to troubleshoot so you don't pull your hair out when you get stuck. They also take member suggestions and implement those that there's client demand for. Like Therapy Search, an included listing service that helps clients find you internal and external secure messaging. Clinical outcome measures to keep an eye on how your clients are progressing. A super smooth, super bill process, real time eligibility to check on your client's insurance. In my conversations with the employees there at all levels, they all really believe in their product and they want you to love it too. Second, they are proudly independently owned. Why should you care about that? Because as soon as venture capital becomes involved, the focus shifts from making customers happy to making investors happy. Prices go way up. Innovation plateaus. Making more money with as little output as possible becomes the number one focus. With over 100,000 therapists using their platform, they've been able to stay incredibly successful and they don't have to sacrifice your experience to stay there. You can try two months [e-mail] with the coupon code Abundant.

[A]

Hello. Hello.

[B]

How you doing, Daniel?

[A]

I'm good. How are you, Allison?

[B]

I'm all right, yeah. What would be helpful today?

[A]

Yeah, so I think I'll start by giving you kind of an overview of my situation and then kind of go from there.

[B]

Sounds good.

[A]

Yeah. So I am two and a half years out of grad school now and I'm still finishing up licensure, looking that like that'll be done in the spring and hoping to get paneled with Blue Cross Blue Shield at that point. So because that's a big carrier in our area and our site that I'm at, I'm at a group practice now and they have a very high reimbursement rate. So I'm hoping That that will be able to work very well for me. But one of the challenges is the place that I'm at doesn't do any of their own like marketing or networking really. They have a long history of connections to doctor's offices and most of the people take insurance, so they just kind of let that be its own thing and they don't do much outside of that. So I'm having to do a lot of my own stuff in the meantime.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

So historically my niche was more like trauma focused. But then when I went through the know your niche niche course, I decided I wanted to work on women who deal with like, self esteem, confidence issues, self worth, perfectionism, that kind of a thing. And I made a website all around that. And then I just finished the marketing fundamentals courses. So I'm still very early in that process and wanted to talk through some of like, my ideas around that and like what I want to do and get your input on. On some of that process, so.

[B]

Sounds great. Yeah. And quick question about your niche. Are these women? Is. Is the trauma underneath it? Is that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah, it's really a more specific form of trauma. I'm just not talking about it as.

[B]

Trauma, like, because that's not what's bringing them in. It's the self esteem stuff. Yeah. Okay. Got it. Got it.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

All right, cool.

[A]

Yeah. So I will say in terms of the networking piece of stuff, the. The groups of people that I've identified as like, wanting to really work on is some OBs, some HRT. Do I especially. Because I really want to work with like, people who are like in their 40s and up. So I think people going through perimenopause and menopause would be good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Who are wanting to be like, oh, I've been living this way my whole life and I don't want to keep living like this anymore.

[B]

Yeah. They hit the, like, I'm done with the shit.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That perimenopause very graciously provides to us. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And then I'm also thinking about I grew up homeschooled and I think some homeschool mom groups in the area would be a good connection. Connection. Because I imagine like leaders of those groups would hear from local moms who are like, struggling with stuff and just being like, yeah, I'm really having a hard time with this. And then I'm also thinking about women ministry leaders of local churches because I can imagine people coming to them describing issues probably more so than like the head pastors of the churches. I imagine them feeling more comfortable talking to, like, a women's ministry leader type of person.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

And then I was also thinking about, like, couples therapists, kids therapists who may be like, the mom is bringing the kid in because that's where it starts, or something like that. And then yoga teachers was the last thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So those were kind of the groups that I identified. I wanted to ask your thoughts on, like, if you had any suggestions around those or ideas or other groups to think about.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I think so. OBs are going to be hard to get in with. Like, the OB guides. You're going to probably end up talking to their offices more than them. I think you need to be ready with a good answer as to why you want to work with women going through perimenopause. Right. Because that's just. You're not the obvious choice for that. So being clear on why, like, being able to succinctly say, I think, yeah, homeschool mom groups would be such a good place to go. Like, these collectives could be so good because. And framing it from, like, your ideal client who's a homeschool mom. I mean, like, she's just doing so much right. Like, and the. And the mom guilt, I'm assuming for homeschool moms is. Is even more or a different kind of intense than for maybe, like, especially if they're also working. There's just, like, trying to be an A at everything in your life is exhausting. And I think what a lot of type A women are just trying to do constantly. So, yeah, I think that's a really great idea. I think targeting the women's ministry leader. Like, that's brilliant. I love couples counseling. The divorce rates definitely increase around these perimenopausal ages. Yeah. I think you've thought through it really well. The yoga, the yoga teachers. Like, what I'm hearing from people about yoga teacher, like, yoga studios, is those kind of hit or miss.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Like, if you're presenting to their folks about a specific topic and it's free, then people may come. But I don't know that I've had a lot of students say, yeah, I got like three clients from having done that, you know.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I might keep that one at the bottom of your list.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm. I'm even wondering too, about if there are private high schools, like private middle schools and private high schools, like, offering something to the PTO for the moms, because it so often happens for those of us that had kids a little later than the traditional, you know, 20s. Those are like, kids in the 30s are hitting perimenopause around the same time our kids are hitting puberty. And it's wild.

[A]

Yeah. So many hormones all over the place.

[B]

So much I feel real bad for my husband. It's like everybody's got big feelings all the time. So I think that could be really good because they're in that age range and still trying to do it right, you know, like, yeah, we're all trying to do it right for the rest of our lives, all of us. And so there are just so many demands that are not. It's not reasonable to do a fantastic job at everything that you want to do a fantastic job at. So. Yeah, especially when you've got this trauma history that's probably pushing you to be so great all the time. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, I think that's great. So in thinking about Reaching out to PTOs, is your thought, like, connecting with the leaders of the PTO so that they can know that I'm available to like, support if they have teachers or parents come to them or are you saying like, do like a presentation?

[B]

I think like a presentation if you're done with public speaking. Because often they're trying to fill spots.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Right. And so thinking through what your ideal client would actually leave their house for. Whenever I'm trying to think of titles or topics, I'm like, okay, it's the middle of winter, home is really cozy. I mean, I rarely leave my house. If it's seven o', clock, I'm in.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So like, what. What would get somebody to put hard pants back on and get outside, you know?

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. It's funny you say that because speaking was one of the things that I decided I would like to do.

[B]

Awesome.

[A]

I actually enjoy speaking weirdly enough.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I haven't gotten to the point of identifying the different topics yet, but I was thinking about doing one around boundaries. Because when I. I wrote like a mental health moment email once a week to the staff at the bank and they really liked it. And the ones I did it on boundaries, like, got a lot of positive feedback from the people there and I could imag that being helpful for this population as well.

[B]

Yeah. And just thinking about how you title.

[A]

It, not just going to call it boundaries.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Awesome.

[A]

And then that moves into outside of my website and networking. The ones that I connected with and I'm thinking of focusing on was blogging. I enjoy writing, so I think that would work well. I might do a Little bit of SEO, but I don't think that's going to be like, a huge focus for me with that.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

And then speaking, which I mentioned, and then I wanted to ask you about Facebook. I think Facebook would be the best option for this population because I think most of those women, like, they don't use TikTok or things like that. Maybe some of them do, but I think it's mostly Facebook. And the thing that I'm running into is I can imagine myself using it to, like, take a blog post, put it into picture formats that I've seen a lot of people do, where it's like just a bunch of words and a bunch, like, with a nice background kind of thing. But the challenge that I'm running into is I really, really, really don't want having to deal with responding to comments and, like, engaging with people. Like, I just want to put it out there and then just ignore it and not engage with folks. And I'm kind of afraid of, like, is that okay? Like, do I need to put a disclaimer underneath of, like, I don't reply?

[B]

You could do that. But I wouldn't count it as a marketing strategy.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Because it's not using the best practices. And so it's like, if you're not engaging, you're probably not going to get any clients from it.

[A]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. Unfortunately, it would be something, but I wouldn't count on it being that effective. Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, that means really, I just have blogging and speaking then. Do I. I couldn't remember. Do I have to have two or is your recommendation two or three?

[B]

It's three. Yeah. And I mean SEO. You mentioned at this. At this point in 2025, because so many people are watchers and not readers these days. The primary benefit of a blog is SEO. So usually try to keep those two together. Okay. Because you can't do SEO without a blog, basically.

[A]

Oh, for sure.

[B]

And if people don't find your blog in any, you know, like, that's how they find it is through SEO.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. I may consider video as like, if I find that blogging and SEO isn't getting much traction, I might look into that option instead of. But as I say that, like, am I. I didn't get to go through all of the video content piece. Is that typically through, like, social media?

[B]

I'm assuming it can be on YouTube. It can be like, you can host something on YouTube but put it on your website. Video is such a good way to have people get who you are. A little Bit more. Make them trust you more.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And I think with basically everything that you're doing, like, the beginning of your talks or if you have, like, an introduction video on your website, because you're not the obvious person for this, like, starting with, hey, I'm Daniel, and I'm not the obvious choice to see women struggling in this way, but here's why I am.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. One thing aside from that that I wanted to get your input on is I've noticed that as I think about putting myself out there, talking with other therapists or just anybody about what I'm offering, one of the challenges I'm mentally expecting is that the way I do my work as a therapist is very interpersonal, kind of Rogerian, motivational, interviewing, a little bit of act kind of thing. And it. It feels harder to market that because it's. It's more vague and less like dbt or it's like, oh, yeah, like, here are the exact steps I follow with, like, my clients. And then here's the exact outcomes that I experience with my clients. And so I just feel like I'm having trouble knowing how to talk about what I offer in a way that still feels compelling and isn't like, yeah, I bring myself to the table, and I'm a great therapist, so that helps people. You know what I mean?

[B]

Yeah. I think ultimately, most of the time, the average therapy seeker doesn't care or even know that we do different things. Right. The average therapy seeker is just like, I feel like shit, and I want to feel better. Can you help me or not? Does this person seem competent? Do they seem like somebody I can be real with?

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So I think as long as you, like, in the easy, effective website copy, making sure everything is like a mirror at them, your website is barely about you at all. It's almost entirely about them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And in terms of how you work, I mean, you could say in a couple sentences, you know, we get sick in relationships, and we get well in relationships, and it is my job to be one of the healthy relationships in your life so that you can expand that or something. I don't say it better than that, but, you know, so you can just be really succinct without using any jargon with, we don't need to be like my clinical outcomes, blah, blah, blah. But to say, like, most of my clients are really seeking xyz. They want to feel abc.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You don't even have to say. And they all get there, you know, like, okay, it's just reflecting back to them what they are experiencing and what they want.

[A]

Yeah. One of the things I. I did talk about in my website copy based on the template was how I've had multiple clients say, like, you're the first male that I've talked to about these issues who's, like, actually listened and understood and supported me in it. So just, like, even naming that piece of, like. Yeah, 100% offer myself in that way.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Okay.

[B]

Like a corrective experience for so many of your clients, I'm guessing.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. It's. It's really cool to get to experience that. And that's part of why I felt pulled to this was I love being able to offer that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I guess, let me rephrase my question. I think is more directed at, like, when I'm talking, not to the ideal client themselves, but more like people who will be sending clients my way and how I frame it to them.

[B]

Them. Oh, got it. So most of the time, people don't ask.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I think it's good to have an answer in your pocket, though, just in case. It depends on modality, you know, like, if it's.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

You know, a primary care provider may be like, so you do. You do cbt, right? Like, that's what therapy usually is. Right. Whereas, like, the massage therapist is unlikely to ask.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

I think most people won't ask, but you can say, and primarily relational with some act. And what else did you say?

[A]

Some motivational interviewing.

[B]

Oh, yeah. And some. Am I mixed in? Yeah, if they're asking, they need to be able to keep up with the shorthand, basically.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. Well, that kind of knowing that most people won't be asking that question or being like, so what do you do? Like, how do you actually help people? Helps me feel a little bit better. So, yeah. And I will say I do offer emdr, and that's a really easy one to be able to be like. Yeah, this is a very. This one is more straightforward thing, and this is what it looks like and all of that.

[B]

So. And so you could say, like, it really depends on the client, but I'm always relational, and sometimes I mix in EMDR or MI or act, depending on their needs.

[A]

Yeah. One thing I've noticed after the niche course and in having conversations with some other therapists is I found myself feeling a little bit insecure when saying what I. What my primary, like, ideal client is, because I imagine there's a sense of, like, any therapist straight out of grad school can work with that client. Like, why Is that a target population or whatever? Why would I refer them to you when I can work with that issue or something myself? So I wanted to ask because everything in the course so far is like, been focused on like your experience with eating disorders, which is like, most therapists are going to be like, oh, yeah, obviously I don't know what I'm doing with that, so I'm going to refer to somebody like you. But with something like this where it's, it feels more generic, like, anybody could work with this.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I wanted to ask your input on, like, how to navigate working around my insecurities. Like, still feeling confident of, like. Yeah. But I do have something special to offer here.

[B]

I know it shouldn't be this way, but a lot of therapists are not competent with trauma.

[A]

That's true.

[B]

That's one piece you're bringing. And when you're talking to other providers, you can say like, this is what they're coming in for. This is what they say they're coming in for and what they're actively struggling with right now. But underneath is this specific kind of trauma that I love working with.

[A]

That's a great idea.

[B]

You're right. If somebody is competent with trauma and this person calls them, they're going to take them unless they're full. So it's finding those full therapists, primarily networking with them. If in your niche, if they're couples therapists, then, I mean, you're a godsend to a couple's therapist. Right. These therapists that work with the kids, boom. You got like therapists. We get a sense. If I'm talking to. I don't work with kids anymore, but when I did, when I was talking to a parent, I, that I got my spidey sense of like, this person feels like there's something going on that they need some help with.

[A]

Yes. They could use their own.

[B]

You've got. There's plenty. There's plenty of clients out there. There's plenty of space for you.

[A]

Okay, well, and that's, that's helpful too. Thinking about not doing much networking with people who work with similar populations but are like not full.

[B]

Right. Yeah. Because they're going to take them on. Like you would. I would. You know, like so 100%.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. That's helpful. Cool. Well, I next wanted to talk about some of my plan, like long term and really just get your input on some of the ideas that I have. Just as I think about where I'm going to go in the future.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I, after I get licensed and I'M taking insurance. I'm hoping that will also help with getting my practice more full. But a year or two after that, I'm hoping to leave the group practice that I'm at and establish some sort of private practice on my own. But my ideal with that would be to get like a group office space where I have multiple offices and then I sublet to other therapists and not have it actually be like a true group practice where we're all like under one thing. But just saying, like, you can work here and I'll rent it to you without like a split fee or anything like that. That's a model a couple of places here have. But not many therapists here are like, it's mostly group practices that exist here. And I think it would be really cool to offer a space. They're not having to worry about the split anymore and can make some more income for themselves and still have kind.

[B]

Of a sense of community too. Like that's one of the benefits of those layouts.

[A]

Yes. Yeah. Because I know for myself I can't work at a place where I'm totally isolated. Like I need to have other therapists to chat with and connect with. So I wanted to ask, as I think about that idea, do you have suggestions of things to do in that process that I need to be aware of or recommendations or things like that?

[B]

Yeah. So I think being really clear about what kind of space you're looking for, is there going to be a build out required? How does that get paid for? What kind of a lease is it? Is it a triple N, which is basically where you're renting the space for a certain fee, but you're also paying the property taxes and if the boiler breaks, you got to pay for that. It's basically like, so you want more of a full service lease where, like maybe you're locked into a few years but you're not having to like pay for all these things. You didn't realize what is the demand for office space, like where you are? I really want you to assess that. Well, with so many therapists being online primarily, there's a lot less demand than there used to be. And then how are you going to find the people? Is it word of mouth? You're going to get in touch with people through Facebook groups that you're a part of that are local? Are you going to find them on site today and network with them and mention that you have space? Like, how are you gonna, how are you gonna track those people? So it's like a different Kind of marketing plan than you're currently working on. And I know one of my colleagues here in town mentioned that she opened up a space and told I think two or three people and she had like three offices and they were full like that. So she's got. She's well networked. So that might be something as you're networking for your practice, that you think about really maintaining those relationships so that when you do make this move, you could just send an email to everybody that you've networked with and we'll probably. They'll word of mouth it for you.

[A]

Yeah. So, yeah, that's a great idea. When you talked about the demand for office space. So I'm in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I feel like, from what I hear, like it's getting more and more difficult to find office spaces. Like the rent is going up.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

It's challenging for folks. Things like that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So you're so, in my understanding, like, that's actually a good factor. Is that what you're saying?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, you're. You're gonna have to charge rent. That makes sense.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, you would want to make sure that your rent is always paid by like whatever you would be out of pocket is covered by their plus.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I would also have another student who does this and she keeps different stocks of tissues and things like that for herself in a shared space. And that keeps getting stolen. And so being really clear about what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours and what's shared is shared. And here's what's shared. Like, I will always supply toilet paper, for instance. That kind of thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But the rest is on you and making sure, you know. Yeah, you've got that going.

[A]

Yeah, that, that's clear up front. So I don't have my tissues stolen. Okay.

[B]

Thought about the tissues, so.

[A]

Okay, cool. Well, the other thing that I wanted to share in terms of future goals is I am really interested in getting a PhD in counselor education and supervision and going back to do like, teaching at the master's level. I know I mentioned before, I really enjoy speaking and anytime I had to, like, present in class, I really enjoyed that. So I think that that would be really fulfilling for me. And I'm curious, just like navigating the duality of like having a separate job like that while also owning a private practice. I would just love any input you have on, like, recommendations.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, so I had some professors who had private practices. In most circumstances, you're going to make so much more money in private practice. So it's going to be like being, like, being okay with that. Like, that you are choosing to spend more of your time on something that makes less money. But it's fun and you love it, you know, and the supervision, I mean, you've got, like, such a good funnel, essentially, for future supervisees as current students. Once you're in that position, that. That makes the marketing piece almost a moot point because, boom, they'll know you're there, they will have loved your class, and so they'll be clamoring for you. So. And figuring out ways to provide supervision, like most. Most of us want to provide supervision at a reduced rate because we remember what it was like to make 40 grand in expensive cities. Right. So it's like group soup, things like that. Maybe raising your counseling rates to help allow for it to make sense to charge less for counseling students. So there's a lot of. A lot of things to kind of think through to make it make sense financially.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And just my professor friends. Oh, you should come our. It's kind of the backwards of like this, our training this month. I don't know if you saw it, but it's someone who was working in academia and transitioned to private practice. So I'm sure there will be some nuggets there and you could probably pepper some questions in about the opposite direction. Yeah, that would be helpful.

[A]

Okay. Yeah. I will say I actually didn't realize that it would be a situation where I would be losing income, moving that direction down the line. Yeah, that is pretty sad to think about. Okay. That might be something where it's like, okay, is it worth it? But I mean, it kind of, I guess, depends on, like, how important that is to me. Of, like, is that right? Because, I mean, it's not. Life isn't just about the money. Like, if I feel like it would be worth the calling.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, you could do supervision without a PhD. You could still do some of that work without going through everything that a PhD entails.

[A]

Absolutely. Yeah. It's really more the teaching side than the supervising side that I'm interested in.

[B]

And maybe an adjunct. Adjuncts make no money, but you'd make no money, but it wouldn't take up as much of your life.

[A]

You know, that might scratch the, like, your community service. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's. That's good. And you've helped me get a little more understanding of, like, what that process might look like for me, so thank you.

[B]

Awesome. Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

It was so good to get to connect today?

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. And let me know in the Facebook group how things are going, okay?

[A]

Okay, sounds good. I will.

[B]

Thank you later. Bye.

[A]

Bye.

[B]

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