Episode #763: Shrinking an Overfull Practice

Summary

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Abundant Practice Podcast

Episode #763: Shrinking an Overfull Practice
Host: Allison Puryear
Guest: Jessica
Date: June 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the practical (and emotional) challenges of downsizing a private therapy caseload after having been "overfull" for a while. Allison Puryear coaches her guest, Jessica, through tangible strategies for reducing client load, handling client transitions and graduations, managing self-doubt and scheduling, and making space for other business ventures. The conversation is candid, compassionate, and deeply reassuring for therapists feeling the pressure of too many clients and not enough time.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Deciding Who to Transition or Graduate

• Clinical Progress as a Measure

  • Allison suggests reviewing client progress: Are clients moving toward goals meaningfully, or has progress stalled?

    "It might be that there's some people in your caseload that the progress is slow enough that they might actually benefit from a different therapist." — Allison (03:09)

  • Consider who might benefit from referral, a break, or graduation.

• Group Options

  • For clients only coming monthly or biweekly, Allison recommends considering group therapy to consolidate hours (03:09-04:14).

2. Navigating Client Resistance to Graduation

• Addressing Client Attachment

  • Jessica shares that some clients express they're "not ready" to transition.
  • Allison advises exploring what's scary about moving on, validating their progress, and celebrating achievements (05:10–06:18).

    "Part of my job is to put myself out of a job, and I am always here if you need me... but right now, you've got this." — Allison (05:22)

• Using Analogies

  • Allison offers the high school graduation analogy to frame the process positively:

    "It's like you're a senior in high school and you've got one month left... important for that next stage for you to move on." — Allison (06:54)

3. Ethical Challenges: Value Alignment with Clients

• Referring Out When Values Diverge
  • Jessica raises discomfort with a client whose relationship choices clash with her values and therapeutic focus (08:27-09:43).
  • Allison suggests clarifying if it's an issue of ethical non-monogamy or infidelity and referring to specialists as needed.
  • Be transparent if you feel unable to help:

    "It's not ethical for me to continue to work with you if I don't know how to help you. The next ethical way for me to help you is to give you referrals." — Allison (12:11–12:25)

4. Shrinking Caseload & Creating Space

• Scheduling Rigor & Releasing Guilt

  • Jessica is successfully reducing her caseload but finds herself catching up on tasks rather than dedicating time to her second business (13:08–14:02).
  • Allison reminds her that "if it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done," but acknowledges limited capacity right now (14:02).

• Stacking & Fidelity to Biweekly/Monthly Appointments

  • Stack recurring sessions to free up consistent blocks of time for new ventures (14:02–15:27).

5. Setting Realistic Goals & Timelines

• Timelining for Caseload Reduction

  • Allison recommends setting concrete deadlines (e.g., "By May 10th, I’ll be at 25 clients") to guide toward goals and improve session efficiency (15:29–16:51).

• Managing Fear of Underfilling Practice

  • Jessica expresses anxiety about future dips in referrals (16:51–17:19).
  • Allison reminds her to "pull the levers that have worked," i.e., revert to proven marketing strategies if/when needed (17:21–18:15).

6. Dealing with Self-Sabotage & Perfectionistic Pressures

• Default Parent & Entrepreneur Reality
  • Jessica voices concern about self-sabotage vs. legitimate busyness. Allison normalizes these feelings, especially for parents balancing multiple roles:

    "No matter what you're choosing to do with your time, you're going to feel like you're making the wrong choice..." — Allison (19:30)

  • The metaphor of the "baby business" is introduced:

    "This business is a baby and it doesn't have to be a teenager right now." — Allison (20:20)

7. Working on a Second Business Amid Ambiguity

• Clarity Over Ambiguity
  • Jessica finds herself resisting work on her second venture due to uncertainty and undefined tasks.
  • Allison suggests allocating time just for strategic clarity: brainstorm, identify specific marketing tasks (23:24–25:27).

    "Once you have that clarity, you're an executor. You will execute on it. But you can't execute if you don't have clarity." — Allison (25:29)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:09 | Allison | "It might be that there's some people in your caseload that the progress is slow enough that they might actually benefit from a different therapist." | | 05:22 | Allison | "Part of my job is to put myself out of a job, and I am always here if you need me... but right now, you've got this." | | 06:54 | Allison | "It's like you're a senior in high school and you've got one month left... important for that next stage for you to move on." | | 12:11 | Allison | "It's not ethical for me to continue to work with you if I don't know how to help you." | | 14:02 | Allison | "If it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done." | | 15:29 | Allison | "Benchmarking or timelining would help shrink your practice faster." | | 17:19 | Jessica | "What if I do a great job of like discharging certain clients or shrinking down my caseload, but then it shrinks down more than that, I can't fill those spots?" | | 19:30 | Allison | "No matter what you're choosing to do with your time, you're going to feel like you're making the wrong choice and maybe like you should be doing the other thing." | | 20:20 | Allison | "This business is a baby and it doesn't have to be a teenager right now." | | 25:29 | Allison | "Once you have that clarity, you're an executor. You will execute on it. But you can't execute if you don't have clarity." |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:10 – 03:09] Jessica shares desire to downsize caseload; Allison discusses client progress metrics
• [05:10 – 06:18] Addressing client reluctance to reduce session frequency/graduation
• [08:28 – 09:43] Discussion on values misalignment between therapist/client and ethical referrals
• [13:08 – 14:02] Jessica celebrates saying no to new clients; struggles with using freed-up time strategically
• [15:29 – 16:51] Allison introduces benchmarking/timelining approach to reaching ideal caseload
• [16:51 – 18:15] Anxiety about future referrals and reminders about proven marketing levers
• [19:05 – 20:20] Self-sabotage vs. legitimate busyness—Allison normalizes the "crazy making" of therapist/mom/entrepreneur life
• [23:24 – 25:29] Overcoming ambiguity in working on a second business; clarity as the foundation for action

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Episode Tone

• Warm, supportive, and highly relatable for overworked therapists
• Mix of practical strategies and deep emotional validation
• Reassures therapists—and especially parent therapists—about their ambitious goals and inherent worth

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For Therapists in a Similar Spot

• Review your client progress regularly and don’t be afraid to have honest, celebratory transition conversations
• Consolidate appointments and hold firm boundaries around your scheduled availability
• Normalize the discomfort of ambiguity and the cycle of guilt vs. legitimate time demands
• Set realistic, flexible timelines for your goals ("let your business be a baby")
• Build marketing and business tasks into your schedule when room opens up—and celebrate each moment of increased clarity

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Final Note

Allison reaffirms her belief in Jessica—and, by extension, all therapists striving for freedom, balance, and impact in private practice:

"I trust that this business will develop at the right time in the right ways." (21:57)

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign. 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. Hi Alison. How are you? Jessica?

[B]

Good, how are you?

[A]

I'm good. It's been a while.

[B]

It's been a while. Thank you for making time for me today.

[A]

Absolutely, yeah. What would be helpful?

[B]

A few things. I kind of wanted to brainstorm through a few things. Oh, I'm, I'm getting, I'm making progress, which is good. I'm also like at a point where I'm like, okay, I really just want to get my schedule down to 25 clients a week, maybe even eventually like 20 a week. And I'm kind of starting to get there. But I do have some weeks where I'm seeing like 29 clients. So I know it's a bit much, you know, but it's better than it used to be. Anyway. I'm trying to like I. Any. Anytime as a therapist, I'm always evaluating, okay, who's ready to go from weekly to bi weekly, who's ready to go from bi weekly to monthly, who's ready to graduate. But in those moments where it doesn't feel like a lot of clients are ready to make that move, but I need to downsize my schedule. Like, what I'm wondering, do I need, like, different metrics on, like, who's ready? Or do I just need a different strategy just to get my schedule to where I need it to be, even if maybe some of my clients aren't ready?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's looking at is everybody making progress? And that would be the first thing I look at. And, like, is that progress what you might. Is that the progress you want for them? Because it might be that there's some people in your caseload that the progress is slow enough that they might actually benefit from a different therapist, and a referral might be necessary for them to get where they want to go at a pace that makes more sense for them. So I would look at that, and some people need to take a break from therapy. They're just kind of coming because they're coming, not necessarily because it's work that they're ready to do or able to do right now. See if there are any of those on your caseload. I would look at the monthly people, and usually when it's monthly, they don't really need to be coming in. Are there bi weekly or monthly people that could fit into a group together that would free up a few hours, and you only are working one because it's a group, so those are, like, the first things that come to mind.

[B]

Okay, sounds good.

[A]

How do those land? Are there some that you're like, yes, there's a couple.

[B]

Yeah. The group thing is a little more tricky because I'm like, okay, now I have to figure out a place to, like, schedule a group. You know, at least that's where I go. But, like, the other ones, really assessing who's making progress and, like, maybe referring out and having those kinds of conversations. And then once in a while, I have conversations like that with certain clients. Or it's like, okay, it seems like you've met your goals. We're not necessarily coming up with new ones. What if we see each other, like, less often? Or what if we graduate you from therapy? And sometimes those clients are like, oh, but I'm not ready for that step, you know, I'll say, like, let's do a trial of it and see how it goes. But at the same time, like, what do you say for those clients who maybe say things like, I'm not ready to take that step of seeing you last on.

[A]

I would explore it. I would be like, what feels scary about that for you? Sometimes it's the connection. They just really like you. Right. They feel safe with you. It's been such a wonderful place to get really hard work done. And it might be that they're like, they find, oh, I'm not ready, because I'm not ready to let go of you. And if that's the case, that's where we get to, like, you know, hold back our own sweet tears about it and just be like, I really appreciate that, and I really valued working with you, too. And part of my job is to put myself out of a job. And I am always here if you need me. If something happens and you are having a hard time coping, I am here. Please call me. But right now, you've got this. You are doing. And I would go over, like, here's the progress you've made. Here are the things that you've done that you would never have done when you first came to see me. Here's all the strength you've shown. Here's the resilience you've built. Here are the hard conversations you've had. I. I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it. I really believe you're ready, so to kind of help them see in. In their, you know, in their language, your clinical reasoning.

[B]

Yeah, I need to have those conversations more because sometimes I feel like my heart being tugged of, like, okay. Like. Yeah. So I need to kind of frame it in those ways more.

[A]

Yeah. And I mean, we like our clients, too, Right? That's the beauty. I know that you have really built a practice where you love your people. You've been very intentional with your practice. And so it's hard to let go, like, when. When there's the slightest. No, I want to stay. It's easy to be like, okay, I

[B]

feel like I give into that a little bit too much. Sometimes less than I used to, but it's still kind of there. Any, like, feedback there?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I think that we're human and it's okay that that might be our internal reaction or our external reaction, but I think, really, maybe before you meet with a client, writing down all the reasons that it's graduation time, and if there are people who like analogies, Maybe making up an analogy. Right. You know, it's like you're a senior in high school and you've got one month left, and there's a lot that you're leaving that has really meant a lot to you. And it's also important for that next stage for you to move on.

[B]

Yes, for sure. I like that. That's a good analogy. I've never really used it in that way before.

[A]

Right. It just came to me. So here we go. Divine.

[B]

Yeah, I will take it.

[A]

Yeah. So it's empowering them. Ultimately, it's not a kicking out. And I think sometimes we get squirrely about that. Like, we don't want anybody to feel rejected. It's really like celebrating the work they've done.

[B]

Yes, for sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Awesome. So there is, like, also there is one client in particular that I think I don't want to work with anymore. So I love to kind of flesh that out. So this is a client who kind of just schedules as he goes along. So at this point, I only have one scheduled session with him. At this point, it's just. It's someone he's kind of, like, involved in, like, multiple relationships. And honestly, that's just not something that, like, my values align with.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Like, I always try to meet my clients where they're at, but that's just, like, one area where our values just, like, don't align. And he's not really wanting to do a lot of, like, accountability or inner work. Like, he's. He'll talk about, like, you know, certain things and how it hurts his feelings, but not always, like, noticing how he might be impacting someone else, you know, and we'll be like, I'm not responsible for their feelings. It's like, you're responsible for your actions, you know? Like, I don't know if we kind of said it in a nicer way. Like, any advice?

[A]

Is it like, like, is he polyamorous? Is it like ethical, non monogamy or is it. He's cheating on a lot of people.

[B]

I think. I think he's cheating on a lot of people because, like, one person in particular that he's with was like, I don't, like, I want to be the only one for you. And he kind of like, I guess and was gonna break up with him, but then he talked his way back into it. And I also asked, like, you know, no right or wrong answers. What is your long term goal? Like, you know, and he says he wants to be in one, like, long term committed relationship. And I've been Bringing out, okay, like, you know, what you're doing now is not really in alignment with your long term goal, you know, So I would say it's more of him cheating on multiple people. Unless. Unless you see it otherwise.

[A]

Well, I mean if there's no consent from everybody, then it's not like that it's okay to be with other people. Then it's not, it's not the ethical route. So I mean, I wonder if you do some research and find somebody who does specialize in ethical non monogamy and you say, you know, if he comes to the session, he's like, keep doing it. You know, to say like, like I wonder. It seems like this is really hard for you. Like it's really hard for you to stay faithful when that's your goal. I wonder if it'd be worth exploring what it would be like to be ethically non monogamous. And I am not. I don't specialize in that. I'm not well versed in it because I like, I see the disparity between what you're doing, what you say you want, but I wonder if you've really explored if that's truly what you want. And it might not. I mean it might be absolutely what he wants and he's got some other underlying stuff. But I would say like most therapists who specialize in ethical non monogamy are gonna explore that with him. And if he's just having a hard time being faithful and it's not about wanting multiple relationships, then they can still guide him well. But I think it's like basically saying like, I. And I think you can also just be really open and say, I don't, I don't know how to help you with this. Like I don't feel like we're making any progress other and you living the values that you say you want. I feel like I'm missing something and I'm wondering if another therapist eyes would be better. So I've got some people who specialize in ethical non monogamy if that's something you want to explore. And I have some other people who are really great with helping people work through relationship issues. And I'm going to give you both sets of people so that you can make that decision.

[B]

Got it? Okay, that's good. I'm just writing some of this down.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then I just kind of have to talk this out loud because like, you know, you know what, sometimes what happens in a client's personal lives, it's kind of happening in the therapeutic relationship Too. Where, like, you know, he doesn't want to leave these relationships. I can imagine him saying, I don't want to leave this therapeutic relationship. This feels good for me because that's what's happening in his life too. So I'm guessing I should just, like, re. Emphasize, like, okay, yeah, you know, that. That makes sense. Like, validate that and also be like. And I really want to make sure you're getting the best help. And I'm just realiz. Not that person for you. And I'm not trained in, you know, what you're going through, basically.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. And to. I mean, I. I think it's fair to say, like, it's not ethical for me to continue to work with you if I don't know how to help you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, the. The next ethical way for me to help you is to give you referrals.

[B]

Mm. Got it.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I had another question. This is a little. A little bit off topic. You know what?

[A]

The.

[B]

The. The free one on ones that you do. Is it okay that I schedule myself? Okay, sounds good. Yeah, I saw. It's like, if you've scheduled in the last six months, we asked for you to refrain. I'm like, okay, I think it's been more than six months. I'm going to go ahead and jump on a call.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Cool. Okay. So the other question I had is. So I've been. I've actually been making really good progress of, like, scaling down the number of clients. I see I'm finally saying no to new clients, and I say no to the wait list. Like, I'm. That's huge for me. Like, those were so hard for me before, and I'm doing it now. Yay.

[A]

Good.

[B]

So excited. So what I really would love to get down to is I would love to get down to even, like, 20 clients a week. And I'd like to spend that extra time building my second business. Even, you know, like, my business where I'm helping other therapists. And I've haven't been able to spend much time on it. Cause I'm so busy with clients and my kids and just personal admin stuff and business admin stuff. So I'm finding that now that I'm reducing my caseload. And like, this week I only have, I think, 23 scheduled. So I'm using that extra time to do other things. But I do find myself using that time to catch up on things I haven't gotten to catch up on, which feels good in its own way. Like, I'm not, like, Cramming all that in. Like, I used to. Like, I'm creating space for that other stuff that I need to attend to. But I'm also. But there's also this part of me like, oh, I'm still not making time for my second business. Any, like, advice or words of wisdom there?

[A]

I mean, I think right now when you're this busy, it doesn't make sense to feel guilty for not being able to put as much into the second business. I mean, you know, you know me well enough to know, like, my whole if it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done thing. But there's just not a lot of space for you to schedule things. Yeah, it might be your every other week people or your monthly people, if you can really hold fidelity to. These are my every other week slots. Like Tuesdays at 2 is when I have my every other week people. And you really stack them so that your weeks are pretty even. And you let them know, like, if you can't do this, then it might be a month before I can see you again. And you really hold to that, then you will have some more time every week that you can kind of count on. So I think we talked in your limitless cohort about I'm very much a morning person. And for me, getting up before the family and getting stuff done gets it done. Right. If that works for you, that could be a great time to work on your other business. But it's like, you don't want to promote your other business a ton when you can't really devote time to then the fulfillment of whatever your business is promising. Right. Like if people are wanting a call with you or things like that, if you don't have time to fit in the things you want your other business to do, then I don't want you doing too much like, promotion of it because you're just so full up.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

I wonder if benchmarking or timelining would help shrink your practice faster.

[B]

Okay, can you share more about that?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, you can have a timeline about like, you know, it's February 10th today, and by May 10th, my goal is to have this many clients. Like, I want to be down to a solid 25 every week. And then kind of then backfill of like, okay, so if that's my goal and I look at my current caseload and who on my caseload might meet their goals by then, what do I need to do as a therapist to help keep them moving? And so it can actually improve your clinical work, not to rush them, but to just be a little less chit chatty or whatever, that might make it less efficient in session. So you can do it that way or you can say, okay, once I'm down to 27 clients on average every week, I'm going to add these two hours for my other business, and I'm going to add them at these times. And just being really rigid with your schedule ultimately, like, you have enough demand coming in all the time that you are. You are so overfull and you've been over full since I've known you. So, like, you don't have to worry about getting clients.

[B]

So that's the next thing I wanted to share. So I've noticed that I haven't gotten like any client inquiries for maybe like a month, which is kind of unusual. And lately it's been great because my goal is to say no to new clients. Noted a wait list. But I'm. I'm also getting a little worried. You know, what if I do a great job of like discharging certain clients or shrinking down my caseload, but then it shrinks down more than that. I can't fill those spots. That's a worry that comes up for me.

[A]

Are you actively marketing right now?

[B]

No.

[A]

Okay, so you just pull the levers that have worked.

[B]

Yeah, for sure.

[A]

If you're like, okay, I have a spot open and somebody who's about to graduate and I haven't had anybody fill it, you know what's gotten you full in the past? Right. Just pull those levers.

[B]

For sure. Yeah. I needed that reminder again because there's also this part of me of like, what if it doesn't work this time? You know, because it just seems even slower than it was last year, which is saying thing, you know.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, it is. I mean, it's across the board for people. It's not just you. I would say the vast majority of people I talk to, even if they've been full for a long time, like, it's just they're getting fewer inquiries. And there are lots of reasons for that. But I also know you know how to get clients in the door when you need to and that your marketing doesn't change. Like you. You've got a broad enough way to market that I trust it, you know.

[B]

Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah. That confidence boost I needed.

[A]

Good, good.

[B]

Yeah. Awesome. Let me see if another thing that I. I feel. I wonder sometimes, like, sometimes even like with just everything I'm talking about, sometimes I wonder if I'm legitimately busy with certain things or if I'm self sabotaging, you know, like how I'm trying to reduce my caseload, which I've been doing. And sometimes I've been using that extra time to do things that like, I actually need to attend. Whether it's like scheduling things for my kids or doing things related to my business or just getting organized like those feel like things I actually do need to be doing. I don't feel like I'm making excuses to pull me away from my second business. But at other times I feel like maybe I am. And I wonder if I'm secretly like self sabotaging. Like, any thoughts about that?

[A]

100%. Yes, I have thoughts. I think and I speak from experience in the same space. Having young children and being the mom and thus in most families, the default parent and the executive functioner for the family and owning a busy business and starting up a second business. It's crazy. Making.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

No matter what you're choosing to do with your time, you're going to feel like you're making the wrong choice and maybe like you should be doing the other thing.

[B]

Yes. True.

[A]

So even if you were like, I am devoting myself to this second business and then your kid's dental appointment doesn't get made or like whatever, or you end up trying to cram that in before the office closes on Friday or whatever, it's like there's, there's only so much time and the therapists of Hawaii are going to still need you in a year. So it's like there doesn't have to be a big rush on it. You'll get there. It's like I. I used to always tell myself when I was in this similar stage, this business is a baby and it doesn't have to be a teenager right now. Can just let this be my little bab.

[B]

This.

[A]

And you know, it'll grow up when I have the time and space and developmental capacity to grow it up.

[B]

Yeah. So thank you. I really appreciate that. I really needed that, I guess. Nice to know that I'm not like failing. It's just like that. It's crazy. Making. Yes.

[A]

Yes. It's too much. I mean, and when you're really excited and you really want to do it all, it's really. And you're ambitious. You know, it's just hard to know what to prioritize when. And you're not going to get it right slash wrong all the time. It's all just going to be what it is.

[B]

Yes. For sure. I appreciate that. And I think that's something I need to keep remembering is having the. Like, even when you were saying May 10, the before you said that, I'm like, okay, March 10, when you said May 10, it was like, okay, good. Like, I can. And you might need to make my deadlines a little bit bigger, you know, and not like, feel like I gotta do this all now. Like, sometimes it feels that way. So it's nice to be like, okay, I can let this be a baby or three months, not one month, you know, so it's good to have realistic timelines.

[A]

Yeah. And I think when you get that inkling of like, oh, I should be doing more, I want you to really, like, truly imagine a baby and you're not shouting at this baby that it needs to be, you know, riding a bicycle. It's a baby. Like, it's okay exactly where it is and it's going to develop and it's going to move. And I say this to you, like, not necessarily everybody who's listening, because not everybody who's listening is going to follow through on those goals in that dream. But I know you well enough to know that you will. So I trust that it. This business will develop at the right time in the right ways.

[B]

So, yeah. Thank you. I really appreciate that. I needed that encouragement today.

[A]

Good. What else?

[B]

Let me think. Wow, we really covered a lot in like, a short amount of time.

[A]

We're into efficiency.

[B]

Yes, for sure. Because I think once, sometimes I think also what it's nice to know about the crazy making thing. It kind of is validating, you know, But I think also there's this part of me that sometimes as a hard. I mean, like, I'm trying to get better about, like, like what you said of like, listing specific tasks, not just working on business, but like, okay, marketing or okay, like, working on this thing. And I think there's a part of me that almost resists working on the second business because there's ambiguity there. Like, if I see X amount of clients, I know that I'm going to get paid at this time. Like, it's very certain, you know?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Whereas with the second business dedicating that time, like, will I earn money? Will I not? Will I bring in people? Will I not. You know, there's like, ambiguity. I mean, even though the data has shown me, like, I've sold with one of my courses, I think I've sold about 50 over the last three years. And that's with, like, with word of mouth and very, like, very basic marketing, like my email list, you Know, or going on my Facebook group. Like, not even Instagram. Nothing social. And so, I mean, the data is showing me okay, there is, like, a market for it. So. But there's still this ambiguity there that I feel like that's why I avoid sometimes working on it. Any thoughts about that?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think clarity is number one, especially when you're busy. So maybe the first hour that you're able to set aside towards your business, you literally are just brainstorming exactly what are your marketing strategies? And what does that look like? Right. Like, are you going into a Facebook group, like a Hawaii therapist Facebook group, and on their marketing Monday every week or whatever, posting about the course? So, like, just getting really granular. Are you networking with people who are well connected to the therapist community, specific to what your course provides? So just being really mindful about what are the marketing strategies and when are you doing what? Because, like, posting on the marketing one day takes no time. That's two minutes.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And that's one thing you do every single week. Maybe that's actually helpful to driving sales. And if you're networking with specific people in the community, specific to the course, then that's another thing. Even if it's just a virtual coffee. So I would, like, brainstorm in one hour, prioritize and clarify the next hour that you have devoted to it, even if it's two weeks later. And just gain clarity over time. Again, it doesn't have to be in one sitting. Gain clarity about what is the plan to market this thing? Because once you have that clarity, you're an executor. Right. You will execute on it. But you can't execute if you don't have clarity. Then you just. That guilt that, like, I should be doing something and I'm not. That you've been feeling that's going to remain.

[B]

Yeah, for sure. And it's nice. And I think I have to think of that as progress. Hey, I spent this hour being. Getting clarity. That actually is a huge step. It's not a small step. That's a big step. And I frame it that way, too.

[A]

And it's going to feel so good to have clarity.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Just knowing what the plan is is going to be so such a relief because you're not. You're just not somebody who is gonna enjoy not knowing what she's doing.

[B]

For sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, thank you, Alison. This has been super helpful. It was so good seeing you, like always.

[A]

I'm so glad. It's good to see you, too. Yeah. Take care.

[B]

Thank you. Well, Take good care and we'll talk again one day.

[A]

Yes. Sounds good. Bye.

[B]

Awesome. Take care. Bye. Bye.

[A]

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