Episode 364: Why Having Fun is the Secret to Private Practice Success

Summary

Private Practice Startup Podcast Summary Episode 364: Why Having Fun is the Secret to Private Practice Success
Release Date: November 2, 2024
Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Caitlin Mew
Guest: Jane Carter from Asheville, North Carolina

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Introduction

In Episode 364 of the Private Practice Startup Podcast, hosts Dr. Kate Campbell and Caitlin Mew delve into the pivotal role that fun plays in building and sustaining a successful private practice. With the special guest, Jane Carter—a therapist-turned-business coach—they explore how integrating enjoyment into daily operations not only enhances personal fulfillment but also drives business success.

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Guest Introduction: Jane Carter

Jane Carter, joining from Asheville, North Carolina, brings a wealth of experience as a therapist and business coach for solopreneurs. She specializes in helping therapists overcome personal barriers, increase their income, and infuse more fun into their practices. Jane's vibrant personality and passion for aligning business with personal values make her an ideal guest for this discussion.

Notable Quote:
"I got into this profession because I wanted to have the freedom and flexibility to be able to have fun, be more present for my family and kids..."
— Jane Carter [02:29]

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The Importance of Fun in Private Practice

Jane and the hosts emphasize that fun is not merely a perk but a foundational element for a thriving private practice. Dr. Kate Campbell shares insights into how fun contributes to a soulful and aligned business, moving away from the traditional "shoulds" that often plague therapists, such as:

• "This is the practice I should have."
• "This is the office I should have."

Instead, they advocate for following one's passion and uniqueness, which naturally integrates fun into the business model.

Notable Quote:
"Fun isn't just a perk. It really is the source of an aligned, thriving business."
— Dr. Kate Campbell [31:21]

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Real-World Examples and Anecdotes

To illustrate the concept, Dr. Campbell shares a compelling story about a client who envisioned a unique practice environment:

Example:
A therapist initially settled for a conventional office space but, encouraged to follow her true desires, sought out an office on a farm. This resulted in a space surrounded by nature and animals like baby goats and horses, perfectly reflecting her playful personality and passions. This uniqueness not only made her practice more enjoyable but also simplified her marketing efforts.

Notable Quote:
"I have a client right now... she found an office on a farm. It's super cool. There's, like, babbling brooks, there's baby goats, horses, and there's this really nice office in the barn."
— Dr. Kate Campbell [09:19]

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Research and Insights on Fun and Productivity

The discussion references research and literature supporting the idea that joy and fun enhance productivity. Dr. Campbell cites John Acuff’s book, "Finish," highlighting that individuals who make goal attainment fun are more likely to achieve their objectives.

Notable Quote:
"Joy is a real productivity hack."
— Jane Carter [10:27]

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Practical Tips for Integrating Fun into Practice

The hosts and Jane offer actionable strategies to incorporate fun into private practice:

1. Set Fun Goals:

   • Beyond business objectives, include activities that bring joy.
   • Example: Dr. Campbell suggests fun activities like dancing around the office to energize the work environment.

2. Celebrate Wins:

   • Regularly acknowledge and celebrate achievements, no matter how small.
   • Shifting from self-judgment to curiosity can unlock creative solutions and reduce burnout.

3. Design Life Around Desired Fun:

   • Build the business around personal life goals and fun activities.
   • Example: A client prioritized kayaking with her son, structuring her schedule to ensure this fun time was protected.

4. Take Intentional Breaks:

   • Fully commit to breaks without multitasking.
   • Example: Caitlin shares her practice of taking time to watch TV or grab a snack to recharge and return to work more effectively.

Notable Quote:
"Fun goals win again. It doesn't have to be a suffer fest to build a practice."
— Jane Carter [11:44]

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Personal Reflections and Challenges

Both hosts reflect on their personal struggles with maintaining fun amidst the demands of private practice. They acknowledge the difficulty of balancing hard work with enjoyable activities but stress the importance of intentionality in fostering a fun environment.

Notable Quote:
"I have to be dead serious about incorporating fun. So, like, am I building in practices? Am I building in regular celebrating of what I have gotten done?"
— Dr. Kate Campbell [13:58]

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Benefits of a Fun and Aligned Practice

Integrating fun leads to a more present and whole therapist, enhancing their ability to serve clients effectively. Dr. Campbell shares how engaging in fun activities like puzzles or wilderness trips contributes to personal growth, creativity, and overall well-being.

Notable Quote:
"Fun is just one of those little doorways into your soul."
— Jane Carter [31:37]

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Takeaways and Conclusions

The episode concludes with powerful takeaways emphasizing that fun is integral to not only personal satisfaction but also the success and sustainability of a private practice. The hosts encourage listeners to:

• Incorporate small moments of fun daily.
• Align business activities with personal values and passions.
• Celebrate achievements to foster a positive and productive environment.

Actionable Homework:
"Think of something fun today and do it. It can be a little activity like putting on a great song and dancing around the office."
— Dr. Kate Campbell [30:45]

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Final Thoughts

Jane Carter expresses profound gratitude for the discussion, highlighting how the conversation reaffirmed her reasons for entering entrepreneurship and private practice. The hosts reinforce the message that embracing fun is essential for a fulfilling and successful practice.

Notable Quote:
"Fun isn't just a perk. It really is the source of an aligned, thriving business."
— Dr. Kate Campbell [31:21]

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Resources and Further Information

Listeners are encouraged to visit PrivatePracticeStartup.com for additional resources, including Jane Carter's freebie, "5 Ways to Have More Fun Building Your Dream Business." This resource offers deeper insights into integrating fun into private practice.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Intro Host]

Welcome to the Private Practice Startup Podcast where we help mental health professionals grow their dream practices and live a life they love. We chat with successful private practitioners, business coaches and marketing experts, bringing you tons of practice building tips. We invite you to take advantage of our private practice paperwork and our signature marketing E course. And we have a gift for you. This is the exact methodology we use to create our six figure private pay practices and have helped many other therapists do the same. Go to private practicestartup.com and on the homepage, click the button to download a free copy of your dream private practice playbook. Now onto today's episode.

[Caitlin Mew]

Hey.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Hey, everybody.

[Caitlin Mew]

Welcome back to another episode of the Private Practice Startup Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Caitlin Mew. And here with my co host, Dr. Kate Campbell. And back for I don't know if it's second or third time, but none other than Jane Carter from Asheville, North Carolina. And today we're going to be talking about Private practice thrives when you're fun. Why having a blast is the secret to having success. But before we dive into today's topic, we hope that you guys join us for a really cool podcast that we did last time with another repeat guest, Dr. Sean Davis. And for those of you entrepreneurs who love the chase of success. And then you get there and you're like, huh, all right, what's next? That's exactly what we talked about, thriving after you've reached your professional goals. So I know many of us have that. I know that's actually been a conversation between Kate and I many, many times. You're, you're chasing, chasing all the effort, and then you get there and it just feels very. That is exciting. And then you're on to the next without really enjoying the accomplishments of what you've created. So let's, I'm going to introduce Jane. We'll take a quick sponsor break, and then we'll just dive right into the topic. So Jane Carter is a therapist turned business coach for solopreneurs who want to get out of their own way, make more money, and have more fun in the process. She loves helping Sol solopreneurs put their business on the couch so they can find joy and purpose as they serve their clients, have a business aligned with their values and personalities, and find themselves saying, I can't believe I got paid so well to do work I love so much. She lives in Asheville, North North Carolina, where she's an outdoors woman, craft beer snob, and a local foodie. Welcome back, Jane.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Thank you. I'm so happy to be back. Yay.

[Jane Carter]

We're so happy to have you here. And I'm so excited about this topic because I know for myself when I get focused on a goal professionally, sometimes I can like kind of get lost in that. And then all of a sudden I'm like, wait a minute. I got into this profession because I wanted to have the freedom and flexibility to be able to have fun, be more present for my family and kids and all this stuff. And then wait a minute. Like all of a sudden I'm just inundated with too many things on my plate. So I'm sure a lot of people can relate to that and being able to prioritize the fun stuff and the perks of being in private practice and like keep that, you know, in the forefront. It's just going to be like super helpful.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

So yeah, I joke that I'm dead serious about having fun.

[Caitlin Mew]

I like it. I can't wait to hear all about that. But let's just take a quick moment for our sponsor and then Jane will dive right in. If you've decided to accept insurance as part of your private practice business model, you likely have some questions ranging from how do I know what to build? To why is this claim not processing? Practice Solutions is here to help you answer those questions. You can find a ton of resources on their blog or join hundreds of mental health providers and hiring Practice Solutions expert billing team to manage your insurance billing. They've assembled some of the best billers in the US to manage your eligibility checks, claim submissions, follow up on denial management and to maximize your insurance reimbursements and improve your cash flow, they now also offer solutions for private pay billing, including management of digital and physical statements, payment collections and posting, and client aging reporting. You can spend less time billing and more time caring for your clients and growing your practice. With Practice Solutions, they're offering private practice startup listeners a free consultation as well as 15% off the first three months of billing. Visit PracticeSol s o l.com startup nation and schedule an appointment. That's PracticeSol s o l.com Startup Nation so Jane, how did fun in business become so important for you and why do you want to keep that message out there for therapists?

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Well, I think as I've done the not only the work of being a therapist in private practice and building my own practice, but then transitioning into coaching as well, it really has kind of naturally come back to that, that it's not just about, you know, ticking checks off the checklist and, you know, ticking off goals, that being your best self, being present, being more you. Which by the way, is fun, like bringing more fun into it. It's not like having more fun isn't just a perk of private practice. It's really the foundation of a thriving, soulful business. Right. So. So I'll be more specific with that. So, for instance, I run into so many therapists who are. We love to suffer as therapists, or it's our comfort zone. We can get really stuck in the shoulds. Right. Well, this is the practice I should have. This is the office I should have. This is who I should work with. And the more I've worked with people, the more I've realized I'm trying to work with people on getting clear on who do you want to be in your business? What do you want? And again, the more therapists and other solopreneurs I've worked with, the more I've realized that when they're leaning into their wants and the business they want to have, not only are they is it more fun, but it actually makes their business a lot more effective. So it's not just reaching goals, it's it. This is, this whole business thing is really an inside job. And coming back to fun is really coming back to who you are and getting really clear on who you are and what you want.

[Caitlin Mew]

Yeah, a lot of what you. You talk about and share is definitely stuff that Kate and I talk about from really branding core values, you know, and therapy has like made this shift over the last, I don't know, two decades, 15 years where, you know, therapists used to be like, very. Not bringing themselves into the room. No authenticity. Don't share your story. You know, this is what your website should look like. But really therap therapists who are really living authentically. Right. And are able to really pair who they are personally with what they do. I find we're the most like aligned in that space. Right. And then, and, and obviously this is a podcast, so you guys are just hearing it, but as Jane's talking, she's doing a lot of hand movements, like slowing and you know, so it really, like the non verbals match. What you're talking about is like, when you get all those things in alignment in your right businesses and inside job, it really begins to flow much more. I can't agree with you.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Yeah, I am using my hands a lot because I get so excited about it. And my favorite quote since college has been follow your bliss. The Joseph Campbell quote, follow your bliss and doors will open that wouldn't have otherwise. But I really, truly believe, and I've seen this play out with so many therapists in private practice. When you follow your spark, when you follow what lights you up, it's not just that cheesy, broad mind of, like, follow your passion. But truly, every little decision along the way going, what? How could this be more fun? Or how does this connect with what I really want? I was reading a book by Dan Kennedy. It's called 10x is easier than 2x. Anything that's 10x, you gotta 10x it. I don't really like that language. But what I loved about the book, he was pointing out that when you go for what you want versus, you know, what you think you can get by with, what you think is safe, what you think you should have, it makes you more likely to stand out and be less kind of beige. Right? Where you just blend into all the other therapists. So, for example, I have a client right now, and she gave permission. Permission for me to share her story. She was like, well, you know, I guess I should start in this cheap office space that everyone's in. And, you know, eventually I'd love a dream of having an office on a farm. I would love to have horses nearby where I can integrate horse therapy and be in nature and have other animals around. And I was like, well, what if you just went for what you want? Like, write out your dream office. What do you really, really want? And get really specific. And she put it out there. She found an office on a farm. It's super cool. There's, like, babbling brooks, there's baby goats, horses, and there's this really nice office in the barn. And it's so reflective of her. Like, she's very playful. So the baby goats are part of that. She's very into nature. And because it's unique, the marketing is taking care of itself. Nice. So. So there's so many other ways when we go, well, let me follow my spark. You know, this is what's fun for me. I'm following my spark. But it also tends to reflect our uniqueness. And the uniqueness makes the marketing easier. It's like, such a catalyst for good marketing because it starts to become remarkable.

[Jane Carter]

Beautiful. Great story, by the way.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I cannot tell you how I went out to the farm and there were baby goats jumping in my lap. We had a blast. But, yeah, but there's so many other examples. And I'll also say fun doesn't have to be zany. You know, sometimes what's fun for one therapist is Ooh, I love to like knit and wear cardigans and sip tea. But they, I would encourage them to like lean into their, you know, cozy tea self. Right. Because that's going to attract the ideal clients that are going to vibe with that. So. So again, like, the more specific you, the more you're following the fund, the more likely you are to be specific, which means you're more likely to actually get what you want. So the next idea that keeps coming up as I work with people too is that fun goals win again. It doesn't have to be a suffer fest to build a practice. In fact, that is the opposite of productive. Like, Joy is a real productivity hack. And I love that you all bring so much personality into this. And I know that you already helped make this fun for people, but there's actually research around it that I love a book by. I read a lot. Reading is fun. John Acuff wrote a book called Finish where he was looking at, you know, who actually finishes their goals. We all love to set goals, but who actually finishes. And he said it's the people who make it fun.

[Caitlin Mew]

I love gamification.

[Jane Carter]

Yes.

[Caitlin Mew]

Like gamifying things. It's interesting. I'm actually making a presentation tomorrow and I've created this tic tac bingo game. Yeah.

[Jane Carter]

And it's online.

[Caitlin Mew]

So it's like, well, how do you engage people, make it fun, win a prize? But yeah, yeah. And it's just, it is, it's fun and they'll probably remember more.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

So. Absolutely. And even, you know, and the opposite is like shooting all over yourself. And like, I've got to get this. And you know, I'm the worst. Like even just things like celebrating your wins and building that in, that's bringing more joy and fun into the process. Things like practicing shifting from judgment into curiosity. You know, I, I talk so much with clients about, again, as therapists, we can be pretty tough on ourselves and shifting out of that kind of self flagellation into, hey, why don't we get curious? Like, let's just, let's lighten up and let's, let's step back and even again asking the question of like, hey, how could this be easier or how could this be not as big a deal? It helps them access their creative brain. So when we're having more fun as people, but also when we're bringing more kind of, hey, let's look at some playful solutions or some playful ways to look at this, it actually helps us come up with better solutions for things.

[Jane Carter]

I love that you're talking about, like, the incorporating the fun and the personality and just being authentic and in alignment. Like as not separate, but really in everything that you do. For me, I know I struggle with being so goal oriented, and I'm a really hard worker. I always have been. My family raised me to be that way. And so it's sometimes, like, I separate the two where I work so hard, and then, you know, I celebrate. Or sometimes I end up not celebrating because I just get distracted. But it's like, separate. So to be able to incorporate it into the process, to make the process so much more enjoyable along the way is just, you know, it's. It's seems like a simple thought, but sometimes it's hard to do. I know I struggle with it, and it would make a big difference if I could, you know, remember that more of the time.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Yeah, we really. I. And I totally relate to that where it's easy to just get into the. Like, just gotta reach the next thing, right? It. It takes being intentional about it. Like, I have to be, again, I have to be dead serious about incorporating fun. So, like, am I building in practices? Am I building in regular celebrating of what I have gotten done? Am I. You know, even if sometimes it's okay I have to write my session notes, and I really don't enjoy that. But can I crank up some really fun music in the background? Does anything like, how can I. Or even just reflecting on the process periodically and going, oh, wow, I'm in private practice. Like, this is what I dreamed of. This is awesome. I love that.

[Jane Carter]

Yeah.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

And I want to be clear too. I'm not doing this kind of la la land thing of, like, private practice is always fun, and it can always be sunshine and rainbows, sunshine and rainbows and puppy dogs. It's hard. You know, my old coach used to say, you know, business, it's not all pie and orgasms. Jay.

[Caitlin Mew]

Wait. Are those things mutually exclusive? I don't know. I just need to be clear.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

It's constantly having to get out of your comfort zone, right? It's constantly. I mean, there's a lot of work to it. There's a lot of wearing different hats. There's a lot of stretching yourself. It's super vulnerable. All our stuff tends to come up when we go into business for ourselves, and that's totally normal. But again, I think of fun and finding that fun. Or there's just that joy and sense of purpose is the grease in the machine. It just makes everything flow a lot more smoothly. And, you know, one way that we can make it more fun is involving other people, you know, having support of other people, having other people to go, hey, chill, you're doing a great job. You know, you don't have to be so, like, grabby rigid about and rigid about every single thing. Yeah, yeah.

[Caitlin Mew]

Like, is that the struggle is real, Jane.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I'm talking about myself.

[Caitlin Mew]

I'm talking about myself and Kate.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Well, I'm always speaking to myself about these things, too. I have to remind myself of the same stuff. And I'll even say, I know I think I've talked about this before in previous visits with y'all on the podcast. But this idea that even the challenges, if you can do that, reframe of, okay, my business is trying to grow me. Like, it's trying to expand me. It's not out to get me. My business isn't, you know, Sister Mary Francine with the ruler wanting to, you know, wrap me on the knuckles and beat up on me. My business is actually pulling for me. So what. What am I learning here? Like, can I use even the really tough times to go, okay, well, this is growing me in some way, and that's a much more fun reframe than, like, ugh, I'm the worst. I can't believe I double booked a client. Or I can't believe I'm behind on my notes. I'm the worst. I don't like to market. Oh, I'm a terrible person. Versus, like, no, no, no. Like, these are just areas where I need to grow, you know?

[Caitlin Mew]

For sure. Yeah. Let's take a quick moment for our sponsor.

[Jane Carter]

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[Sponsor Host]

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[Caitlin Mew]

You know, it's interesting, like one of the things that you're talking about, about fun and accomplishments and in business coaching before, you know, I, you know, we're writing your goals and the plan and then there's a list of like, like things to do to treat yourself and for me, and I totally relate with Kate, I'm like super hard on myself. So for me it's almost necessary to just have fun period.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Right?

[Caitlin Mew]

Not without anything attached to it. And I'm sure that's part of your message. You know, one of the things, and I wouldn't say this is having fun, but I've learned and still I struggle with it, but I still do it. You know, when I'm in that place when it's like, you know, six hours into the workday and I'm trying to just barrel through and either I've got a headache or I'm tired or it's taking me long. Like what I've learned to do is just go grab something to eat and just, you know, watch the ID channel for a little bit and in that 30, 45 minutes I feel better and I can resume work and it actually is way more productive. But like to think about like you know, and then you would do the comparisonitis like oh well, Kate would just barrel through or so and so else would just barrel through and I could do this. And this is ridiculous. Like, it's just a little headache. Like, but that takes so much longer than just really giving to yourself and taking that break, you know? And then of course, I would be like, well, if I worked at a job, I would get a break. Like, I haven't given myself a break. You know, it's. It's. It's exhausting up here.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Oh, my gosh, it is. And I, you know, again, speaking of being intentional about how we rest and play, I. I often will just say, like, hey, let's pick a lane. Like, if you're, like, if, you know, you need a break, be fully in that break. Don't be straddling lanes. You know, have you ever seen a car do that? And it drives me crazy when they do that, where it's like, just be in that lane of. Okay, I'm taking a break. I am full on. Like, I'm going to watch, you know, funny YouTube cat videos or whatever. I'm going to go get myself a frosty. Like, I'm all in on the break, and then I'm going to be back to all in on work. And even then, like, the work is kind of fun because it's like, I'm in it, Right. I'm engaged versus if I'm all. If I'm doing the work and slogging away. But half of my brain is going. What I really want to do is just like, go for a little walk and go get myself a frosty. You know, it's take breaks, be all in on the play, and then be back to all in on the work. Right. It's the lane straddling where we get into trouble for sure.

[Caitlin Mew]

Makes sense.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Yeah.

[Caitlin Mew]

Because you're right, it's annoying.

[Jane Carter]

Yeah. That could be applied to so many context. When I try to straddle, like when, you know, when I've got a sick child at home and I have these work responsibilities and I try and straddle the two, I'm terrible at both. And so I just have to be so, you know, boundaried around that and just be fully present here or fully present there. And to do that with the, with the break time and the fun time to not straddle the two, it just makes so much sense.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Yeah. And then you don't get the benefits of either. Right. Because you're. You're spread in half.

[Jane Carter]

Yeah.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

You know, you're spread out and your, your energy and your brain is spread out. So, yeah, boundaries are super fun.

[Caitlin Mew]

That sounds like another podcast item.

[Jane Carter]

Yeah, Ye.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

And you know, as a therapist, I'm like, ooh, someone's learning boundaries. Ooh, like the things that are fun for us. Not necessarily everyone else's cup of tea. But anyway, that's all. Yeah, again, that's a whole other podcast, but another way to think about fun too, and you know, that was such a great example is like the off time. Right. Like it is also a perk, like the time and the money and the more increased chances for fun. That is absolutely a perk of being in private practice. And we've got to enjoy it. It's really important that we like fully enjoy that. And there are ways to do that. You know, again, being really intentional about, well, where do I want to spend my money and spend my time? What do I value? You know, not, yes, we need to like put away money for retirement, we've got to pay the mortgage and all of that stuff. But even noticing like, well, what are the things? Like if I, if I'm enjoying the perk of all this hard work, what, what do I enjoy spending my money on? You know, I like, I have this 10 year old computer because I don't care about technology, but I love to invest in wilderness travel. Like that's huge for me. And I have a friend, she's a therapist who leads these wilderness rugged renewal trips. And I'm, I'm happy to like, that's my rich life, to use the words of Ramit Sethi, who's a money guy I love is, you know, designing your rich life. Well, I don't want to spend money. I don't really care about cars or technology or even like jewelry. What I do want to spend my money on is having these experiences and that's going to be different for everyone. Right. Another way. So like, yeah, there's more money in private practice hopefully. Right. If they're doing the things you're teaching them, be intentional about, like enjoy investing that money, but also time. You know, so many people are still creating private practices where they're giving themselves the leftovers of their time from their business. Right?

[Jane Carter]

Yeah.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Rather than designing their life and then building the business around the life they want to have. So I had a client who, and again, I'd be curious what yalls examples of this are. I had a client who said, well, let's, let's do this work because I want to get my practice to a place where I can spend more time with my son and we can go kayaking. Like kayaking is My thing, it lights me up. I was like, how about this? Let's get out your schedule, and we're going to block out the kayaking with your son time, and then we're going to build in the rest around that. And we flipped it on its head and it made such a difference.

[Caitlin Mew]

Yeah.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

And she was able to bring her full self to her practice when she was in work mode. But we started with, no, no, no, no, no. Your fun time, your play time, your rest time, that is you. That's who you are. That is the most important thing. Let's, like, pay yourself first with your time.

[Caitlin Mew]

Yeah, we agree. Okay. Yeah, 100%.

[Jane Carter]

Absolutely.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I don't have anything. I get on these tangents and I'm like, I don't know if I'm letting. No, it's.

[Jane Carter]

It's beautiful. I mean, that's one of the things that we teach in the first module, is really getting, you know, building your ideal life first, your ideal schedule, and then creating the business around that and not the other way around. It is so, so important. And that's where you're building it in alignment. And. And it's going to evolve over time where you have different things that become important to you at different stages in life. Where you are when you start versus where you are a decade later and two decades later, it all looks different. So to be able to, you know, check in with yourself and what your values are at that period of time and for yourself and for your family and what that looks like, it will evolve, allow it to evolve with you.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Absolutely. And it makes you a better therapist.

[Jane Carter]

Oh, for sure.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I think that's the part where we sometimes forget that part, where it's not just, oh, isn't that nice that you have more time and you can design your life? But also, oh, and by the way, you're going to be a much more present person and a more whole person. So. So, again, like, I. When I go on these wilderness trips, like, we've gone to Baja and Patagonia and all these places where it's like metaphors everywhere. And since the guide is a therapist, too, we're just like, oh, my gosh, you know, we're doing, like, meditation on the beach and plunging into the ocean and. But there's so many metaphors. I'm coming back with this just kind of rich well of words and ideas and even just I'm using my hands so much, but just so being present in myself in a way that allows me to be a better therapist and allows me to be Much more present in my business and not just kind of honing it in and just getting the tasks done, you know? Or like, for the person who loves to read fiction, you're getting all these wonderful words, right? Like reading books that are not therapy books and psychology books. It's really important. It makes you a well rounded person. I'm a total puzzle nerd. This is. I'm talking about myself a lot here. But like some friends and I, we discovered that we loved puzzles. And like in the dark of winter, we'll be doing a puzzle and someone gets a piece in and we're all like, you gotta like, we're like, who knew that like nerdy puzzles were so funny? And yet there's all this research that like doing puzzles, like, if you have these quiet hobbies, it. It puts you into a flow state that's very meditative. And again, it helps you access your creative brain. It helps you with problem solving, it helps you reduce your burnout. It helps you access your humor brain. Like, weirdly enough, doing puzzles makes me a funnier person.

[Caitlin Mew]

You're practicing different sound effects.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

You're like, that's a good one. So like full life, you gotta have like having more fun and again, be intentional about it. And if you're goal oriented, like make your fun goals, not just your business goals, because it really does make you a better therapist and it makes it's so win, win, you end up having such a better practice.

[Jane Carter]

I don't know about you guys listening, but this podcast is like exactly what I needed to hear today. You're like speaking to my soul and reminding me about all these things that are so important. And they're like my why of why I got into this world of entrepreneurship and private practice. And to stay in touch with that and to have it be this fully immersive experience that you're connected to is super important. So this has been like a reorienting podcast for me today. So I hope that those listening are also being touched, you know, in, in whatever way you need to be spoken to.

[Caitlin Mew]

And I know, Jane, you actually, if people want to hear more about you and fun, you have a freebie. Share. Share that with our audience.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I do have a Freebie. It's called 5 Ways to have more fun building your dream business so they can delve more into this with me. Yeah, and I also, I have a newsletter and all the things. I have a bunch of freebies at the link where you get that freebie. I, I love to tell fun stories and I'm a. If you haven't noticed I'm kind of a goofball, so. But I try to, like, sneak in the wisdom wrapped in goofiness, so. So, yeah, I hope people will enjoy that. I'd love to hear from your listeners.

[Caitlin Mew]

Yeah. And we'll put that on our Show Notes page, but you can find [e-mail] resources. But we'll have that on our Show Notes page for you as well. Jane, it was so great to see you. It's been too long.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I know. I always have a blast talking to y'all. This was. And speaking of fun, like, this is just. It's such a joy to see your faces.

[Caitlin Mew]

It's always fun.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Yeah.

[Caitlin Mew]

Well, we'll link Jane's other podcast that she's done with us to the Show Notes page as well. So if you want a little bit more of Jane outside this podcast, you definitely can check her out. Okay.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

And everybody's homework today is think of something fun today. Like today.

[Caitlin Mew]

And do it though, right?

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

And do it, do it, do it. Think of something fun and it can be teeny tiny. Okay. It doesn't have to be like this huge project. What's one little fun thing? Maybe even just put on a really great song and dance around that. The office or whatever between sessions.

[Jane Carter]

Yeah. Love it. I love it. Awesome. Well, it was so great having you on. As mentioned, you spoke to my soul today.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

I love that. Glad.

[Jane Carter]

What do you want Startup Nation to take away from your message today?

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Again, fun isn't just a perk. It really is the source of an aligned, thriving business. So lean into it. Like, ignore fun at your own risk.

[Jane Carter]

Lean in people.

[Dr. Kate Campbell]

Ignore it at your phone. But again, like, your soul is involved in your business and fun is just one of those little doorways into your soul. How about. How's that for a little dance?

[Jane Carter]

Yep. I got goosebumps with that one. Pretty powerful time to embrace it. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being here in Startup Nation. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. We always love hearing your feedback and encourage you to subscribe, rate and review the show. There's a topic that we have not had on in these 364 episodes. Definitely. Let us know. We love creating content that meets your needs along the practice building and growing journey. So we hope you have a fun filled week and we will see you next time. Take care, everybody.

[Caitlin Mew]

Take care. Care.

[Jane Carter]

Thanks for joining us on the Private Practice Startup. Visit the private PracticeStartUp.com for awesome resources. Free trainings, attorney approved private practice paperwork.

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