The Only Way To Build Your Practice and Stay Sane

Is 2015 the year you want to grow your practice to the point where it supports you well financially?

Is this the year you want to double your income?

I want that for you too, and one way I want you to get there is by working in your zone more of the time.  What working in your zone means to me is doing the work that fulfills you the most, where you’re doing your best work, and focusing on the parts of your work that inspire you the most. When you’re working in your zone you’re feeling effective. You’re learning the new stuff that allows you to help your clients even more. If you’re writing articles, you’re writing about what you really want to share. You’re meeting with colleagues and talking about their work with curiosity. By helping a lot of therapists build successful private practices, I have found over and over that when you work in your zone more of the time you fill your practice more quickly and make more money.

Of course there are dozens of tools for you to market your practice. Every one of those tools becomes more powerful when you’re working in your zone.

If you resolve this year to work in your zone more, how will your practice change? What if you decide which parts of your practice bring you more into the zone, and do more of that? What would you be doing more of?

Here’s an example:

I spoke with a therapist recently who was feeling burned out. He said he wasn’t feeling that effective and noticed that when new calls came in, he wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about calling them right back and welcoming them into his practice. He was feeling doubt how helpful he was. He’s a seasoned therapist who has helped a lot of clients in profound ways. I asked him to look at what was happening in those less effective sessions. He realized that these were situations where he was not working in his best way. He was trying to provide what he believed particular clients were wanting, and in some cases that was not what he believes in or does best.

He had gotten out of his zone.

Is this happening to you? Here’s what it sounds like when you’re getting out of your zone:

“I am not feeling inspired in my work right now.”

“I am not feeling that effective with my clients.”

Look at what is getting in the way of you working in your zone and begin to change it right away.

You may have to refer out sometimes when your work is not the right fit for a client. You may have to get the next level of training or consultation that you are yearning for so that you feel invigorated and supported.

You may need to clarify your preferred way of working so that you describe your work accurately to potential clients.

Here’s to 2015! Let it become a year of both financial success and personal fulfillment for you. If you know it’s time to get more support in building your private practice, apply for a free consultation with me now.