How to Plan For Private Practice Before Getting Started

Are you wondering how to plan for private practice and haven’t started yet? You’ve come to the right place!

I Have More Advice Than ChatGPT Can Give

I asked ChatGPT for advice on structuring this article and I didn’t like those ideas. 🙊 Much of the advice is sound, but it also felt like it was the same advice I hear from everyone, which doesn’t seem to capture the full picture of things.

If you’re interested, here’s my conversation with ChatGBT. It definitely has helpful tools. It’s also the same kinds of things you’ll see pop up in a typical Google search.

I’ve Given My Thoughts Before

I made a video on this topic nearly 5 years ago but my thoughts have changed since then. So let’s touch on some of the things that – in my opinion – are important in how to plan for private practice before you even get started.

5 Steps To Take When Planning For Private Practice

1) Ask Yourself: “Why Private Practice?”

Why are you pursuing private practice? Income? Flexibility? Freedom to choose your specialty? All the above?
Next, dig deeper and keep asking “why” after naming your answer to the previous question.
If, let’s say, you’re choosing private practice to have a higher potential income; why is that? Is it to have a more livable wage to cover your household expenses?
Feel free to keep asking “why” until you get to the bottom of things. Then hold that in mind as your core value for launching a private practice.

2) Identify Your Goals

Be as specific as possible.
Tie your goals as tightly to your core values as possible.
Ask the question: In three years, what would be the signs that I’ve succeeded?
Include goals related to your practice as well as outside of it.
What are your overall life goals, and how does private practice fit into that bigger picture?
Keep asking “what else?” until you have developed a sense of what a successful practice would look like for you.
Sometimes, we inadvertently take on other people’s goals or what we imagine private practice is “supposed” to be like. This can become overwhelming.
But remember, most people have just a very small handful of key goals that are most important.

3) Consider Your Budget With Your End Goal In Mind

Is there a certain date that you need to be earning a certain income by? Is there a point by which you need to be breaking even?
Or if your goal is to see 20 weekly cash-pay clients in a year. Then, what would your budget goal look like in 3 months?
Can you keep part-time income elsewhere while you get your practice off the ground?
Do you have a loved one who is willing to carry some financial burden while you’re building up your income more slowly?
Create reasonable goals for growth that keep your budget in mind. If you’re on a tighter budget, it’s reasonable to leverage income from elsewhere until your practice gets its legs.
Consider all your budget goals. Allow them to be a value and a priority, rather than forcing yourself to get things off the ground super quickly.

4) Break Your Goals Down

Break the goals you came up with from the above questions down into steps.
Of course, there are the zillion logistical steps of getting things all set up so that you have the infrastructure in place to see clients.
But, putting that aside for a moment. Assuming you have all your systems in place to see therapy clients right now, what other steps would there be to get to your goals?
Sometimes folks work hard to get everything in place to see clients but then don’t have any clients on their caseload.
It’s helpful to begin exploring how you will go about getting clients into your practice before you’ve ever spent a dime on setting up your practice.
If you plan to accept insurance as a means to fill your practice, research what is entailed regarding getting onto insurance panels first. How long does it take to get accepted? Do this before you’ve launched into some of the more costly steps.
If you’re planning on accepting only cash-pay clients, begin to consider your niche and marketing strategy. Consider building up your networks before you’ve launched.
Check out my course on creating a personalized marketing strategy.

5) Map Out Your Goals

Map out markers of success throughout your timeline.
Given all the above, think through what success would look like after 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and a year. This helps you track your progress.
It might look like after a month you‘ve gotten some initial systems set up so that you’re ready to start accepting therapy clients. While other parts of your system are still “under construction”, like getting your website completed.
Maybe by 3 months, you’d like to have 3 clients who you see on the side of your part-time gig. By 6 months you’d like to be transitioning to part-time or quitting your main job. And then by a year you’d like to be consistently booked.
Having gradual goals can help you be kind to yourself and stay calm while you go through the process of starting a private practice.
Anything you can do to make your goals more concrete and measurable can help you know which step to focus on next.

I hope this helps you think through how to plan for private practice. Most importantly, know your practice is your own. It’s what you want it to be. So set goals that fit where you’re at and what you are wanting from your practice and just chip away at it one little bit at a time.

Before you know it, you will be hitting those goals!