Podcast Summary: Private Practice Startup Podcast

Episode 79: How to Have a Successful Private Practitioner Mindset

Date: March 31, 2018
Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Katie Lemieux
Guest Host/Interviewer: Dr. Jessica Dolgan

Episode Overview

This episode features a "reverse interview" format where Dr. Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux, co-founders of The Private Practice Startup, are interviewed by Dr. Jessica Dolgan (Therapy Partner, Love Your Practice Podcast). The core theme explores cultivating a successful mindset for private practice clinicians. Discussions include personal and business growth, branding, abundance over competition, leveraging therapy skills for business, and the broader impact therapists can make when running optimized, authentic practices.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins & Inspiration: The Private Practice Startup Journey

• Family & Entrepreneurial Roots: Kate shares how her entrepreneurial family background influenced her vision for business, but also highlights learning the hard way about the distinction between being a great clinician and running a successful business.
  • [15:19 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “I was coming from this family of entrepreneurs… if I build it, they will come. I call it the Field of Dreams mentality. I realized the hard way that it doesn’t work that way.”
• Collaboration & Growth: Kate and Katie detail meeting in supervision (2006), working together on the Broward Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and launching their supervision training—which led to the Private Practice Startup platform.
  • [16:56 – Katie Lemieux] “We resurrected a dead board... we work so well together.”

2. Transferring Therapy Skills to Business

• Innate Skills: Therapists already possess micro-skills—like curiosity, joining, empathic listening—that translate directly into essential business-building skills (networking, marketing, rapport).
  • [25:05 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “Therapists already have the business skills. They just don’t realize that they have them… curiosity can apply the same way to building and growing as entrepreneurs.”

3. Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs & Risk Taking

• Personal Growth Commitment:
  • Katie describes her evolution from a community mental health leader with strong money blocks, to a “personal growth junkie” who overcame her reading aversion to fuel her business acumen.
    • [21:14 – Katie Lemieux] “One of the things I work really hard on is my own money beliefs… I only read 2 books my entire college career… my first year actually reading, I read 11 books.”
• Curiosity & Learning Without Judgment: The power of curiosity and willingness to "learn without judgment" is reframed as central to business growth.
  • [24:04 – Katie Lemieux] “With business, I just don’t have an off switch… when you throw something out there or you do some marketing technique and you get poor feedback, you’re like okay, what didn’t work?”

4. Abundance vs. Scarcity: Collaborate, Don’t Compete

• Abundance Mindset: Both Kate and Katie strongly advocate for industry collaboration, not competition—believing there are plenty of clients and opportunities for all.
  • [45:40 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “We don’t believe in competition. We really believe in abundance and collaboration.”
  • [48:10 – Katie Lemieux] “If you are comfortable and clear enough with what you do and who you are… there’s just plenty to go around and you specialize in a certain area or you should and you’ll just find those clients…”
• Connections with “Competitors”: They share genuine friendships with other private practice coaches, and stress that those with a scarcity mindset are missing out on rich partnerships.

5. Branding, Niche & Authentic Marketing

• Start with Brand and Client, Not Logistics:
  • [29:08 – Katie Lemieux] “One of the biggest mistakes is… ‘what should my name be, where should my office be, how do I get a domain’... We say, absolutely don’t do that. We say—branding and ideal client first.”
• Branding Defined: It's the entire client experience of your practice; clarity on your brand and ideal client is a foundational guidepost.
  • [31:04 – Katie Lemieux] “Branding is really the experience that your client has with you, your business and everything about it… when you’re clear on your brand, [decisions] fall into place.”
  • Practical tip: Don’t project your own interests (beach scenes, dog paws) unless that resonates with your ideal client.
• Specialization Breeds Success: Niche marketing is essential—become known for a specific area and referral sources will think of you as the expert when clients need what you offer.
  • [34:01 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “It’s so important to be clear on your brand... you attract clients you’re most passionate and best equipped to serve.”

6. What a “Leveled-Up” Private Practitioner Looks Like

• Characteristics Before and After Coaching:
  • Before: Stuck, overwhelmed, uncertain, paralyzed by options and mindset blocks.
  • After: Clear, energized, empowered, confident, authentically branded, and naturally marketing—work aligned with values and ideal clients.
  • [36:42 – Katie Lemieux] “Initially they're afraid, they're lost, they're unsure… on the outside, they're clear, they're excited, they feel empowered, they know they can do it.”
  • [37:37 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “Marketing becomes this very natural, organic relationship-building and nurturing experience… not like this uncomfortable, intimidating, icky, salesy approach.”

7. Making an Impact & The Therapist’s Legacy

• Creating Broad Impact:

  • Helping clinicians build optimized businesses has a ripple effect—when therapists thrive and deliver excellent care, communities benefit, stigma is reduced, and mental health becomes more accessible.
  • [43:06 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “It helps us have a greater reach in making a difference… all of the clinicians that we help... that reduces the stigma… it’s all cyclical.”

• Responsibility & Ethics: Running a great business is framed as a professional and community duty; ensures public can find, trust, and receive quality care.

  • [43:42 – Dr. Jessica Dolgan] “We have an ethical guideline… but we also have a community responsibility to provide really good services...”

• Legacy Defined:

  • [53:42 – Dr. Kate Campbell] “Our vision is inspiring mental health professionals across the globe to brand themselves and grow their dream practices… to help people develop their authentic brand and live the lifestyle they really want.”

8. Action Steps for Aspiring Private Practitioners

• Get Support: Seek business consultation, invest in branding, adopt technology, and get in professional communities.
• Practical Entry Point:
  • [57:40 – Katie Lemieux] “We make it really super simple—grab a copy of our A to Z Cheat Sheet… then you begin to come into our world and we nurture that relationship, invite you into Facebook…”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If I build it, they will come… I realized the hard way that it doesn’t work that way.”
  – Dr. Kate Campbell [15:19]

• "Therapists already have the business skills. ...You have to be curious about our clients' lives... just applying it in a different way."
  – Dr. Kate Campbell [25:05]

• “One of the biggest mistakes… we did the same thing—got into practice and said, what should my name be... absolutely don’t do that: branding and ideal client first.”
  – Katie Lemieux [29:08]

• “We don't believe in competition. We really believe in abundance and collaboration.”
  – Dr. Kate Campbell [45:40]

• “Initially they're afraid, they're lost, they're unsure…on the outside, they're clear, they're excited, they feel empowered.”
  – Katie Lemieux [36:42]

• “Branding is really the experience that your client has with you, your business and everything about it.”
  – Katie Lemieux [31:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Theme & Overview (Intro): 00:03 – 04:35
• Community, Healing & Local Response (Parkland shooting): 02:18 – 06:49
• Episode/Interview Starts: 09:45
• Startup Founders’ Backstories: 15:19 – 18:48
• Mindset, Money Beliefs, and Personal Growth: 20:23 – 24:53
• Transferring Therapy Skills to Business: 25:49 – 27:49
• Branding and Niche Marketing Advice: 29:08 – 34:01
• Defining the “Leveled Up” Clinician: 36:28 – 38:57
• Private Practice as Social Impact: 42:48 – 43:42
• Abundance Mindset vs. Scarcity: 45:40 – 49:11
• Legacy and Vision: 52:18 – 54:35
• How to Engage with Private Practice Startup: 57:40 – 59:31

Conclusion & Calls to Action

• Main Takeaway: Private practice success relies on mindset—embrace personal growth, transfer clinical skills to business, focus on authentic branding, embrace community over competition, and leverage support and technology.
• Practical Next Step:
  • Download the A to Z Cheat Sheet at privatepracticestartup.com
  • Join the Startup Nation community and Facebook group for daily support, tips, and live trainings
• Final Thought: These resources help clinicians move from fear and overwhelm to clarity, abundance, and fulfilling, impactful practices.

For more resources and updates from Kate and Katie, visit privatepracticestartup.com.