Practice of the Practice: Faith in Practice Podcast Whitney Owens with Practice of the Practice Network

Are you in the process of hiring clinicians? Do you want to build a lively work environment and culture? Are you nervous about switching to W2?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Betsy Mejías about switching from 1099 to W2 clinicians.

Podcast Sponsor: Brighter Vision



If warmer weather has you feeling like it’s time for a website refresh, or you’d like to boost your online presence, look no further than Brighter Vision’s custom digital marketing solutions, designed specifically for therapists.

And the timing couldn’t be better because they just kicked off their Spring Cleaning sale! Sign up with Brighter Vision before April 30th and you’ll get $10/month off of your first year of website service with the Brighter Vision team, plus they’ll throw in 3 FREE months of Social Genie to give your therapist blog and social media pages a serious boost, so you can focus on what matters most – your patients!

So get a jumpstart on your private practice’s spring cleaning list by contacting Brighter Vision. To get started and learn more, visit brightervision.com/joe.

Meet Betsy Mejías

Betsy Mejías is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board Certified Christian Counselor. She is also certified in EMDR therapy.

Betsy started her social work career in child welfare, and later, medical social work. Throughout this time she did contract counseling on the side and served in her church’s marriage ministry. She opened her group practice, Abundant Life Christian Counseling, in 2018, and often jokes that she is the poster child for what not to do when building a practice.

Visit Abundant Life Christian Counseling, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.

In This Podcast



* Considering the switch

* Addressing uncertainties

* Making the change

* Betsy’s advice to Christian counselors



Considering the switch

The layout and the way I was running it, [I realized] I was treating my 1099s like W2 employees … using the same electronic health record, a receptionist, providing the office space. In no way, shape, or form were they independent business owners. (Betsy Mejías)

Many practice owners end up treating their 1099 employees like W2s.

These owners provide all the resources, benefits, and bonuses of being a W2 employee to a 1099 contractor, and it ends up costing the business owner.

You need to consider making the switch to hiring W2 clinicians if you find yourself treating your 1099s like full employees.

One of the biggest problems with the 1099 model is that people start paying everything for their clinicians and then complain that they are struggling to make a profit because of the way that they run that money out. (Whitney Owens)

Addressing uncertainties

Some practice owners are nervous to switch to the W2 employee model. Some of these uncertainties include:



* Fearing that their staff will leave

* Paying an increase in taxes

* Paying for benefits



However, what solves all these fears, is that the percentage change from switching to the W2 model boosts your income overall. The W2 model also helps with retention, creating a work culture, income,

Is one-on-one coaching a good investment of your time and money? Can your practice go from solo to staffed in under a year? Do you want accountability and help in scaling your group practice?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Colleen Wenner about how to grow fast in private practice.

Podcast Sponsor: Brighter Vision



If warmer weather has you feeling like it’s time for a website refresh, or you’d like to boost your online presence, look no further than Brighter Vision’s custom digital marketing solutions, designed specifically for therapists.

And the timing couldn’t be better because they just kicked off their Spring Cleaning sale! Sign up with Brighter Vision before April 30th and you’ll get $10/month off of your first year of website service with the Brighter Vision team, plus they’ll throw in 3 FREE months of Social Genie to give your therapist blog and social media pages a serious boost, so you can focus on what matters most – your patients!

So get a jumpstart on your private practice’s spring cleaning list by contacting Brighter Vision. To get started and learn more, visit brightervision.com/joe.

Meet Colleen Wenner

Colleen is the founder and owner of New Heights Counseling and Consulting in Fort Walton Beach, FL where she and her team provide individual and group counseling to the surrounding community.

Working with people throughout the years Colleen has found her ability to relate to young and old an asset. She is a Master Certified Addiction Professional, a Certified EMDR trauma specialist and currently a Consultant in training through EMDRIA.

Visit New Heights Counseling and Consulting and connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Email Colleen at: colleen@florida-counseling.com

In This Podcast



* Solo to six staff in under a year

* Return on investment

* Colleen’s tips to grow your practice quickly and effectively

* Colleen’s advice to Christian counselors



Solo to six staff in under a year

After being part of Group Practice Launch, Colleen went from starting her business from scratch to managing a group practice with six staff members in under one year.

She hired interns, clinicians, and later, her husband as a life coach for clients. Now her practice is thriving.

Return on investment

Without a doubt [the investment has paid itself off]. From the beginning I knew that it would be an investment, and doing one-on-one [coaching] with [Whitney] … I knew that was a great way to start and to make that investment. (Colleen Wenner)

Even though investing in coaching and purchasing entry into a Mastermind is expensive, it is a direct investment into the success of your practice.

Since getting coaching from Whitney and having been part of the Mastermind, Colleen’s income has doubled since last November and tripled since last May.

Colleen’s tips to grow your practice quickly and effectively

How does featuring other clinicians in your content help you to grow your audience? How do you get out of the scarcity mindset? Why should you focus on serving others instead of chasing income?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Daniel Fava about how to create great content and attract a bigger audience.

Podcast Sponsor: Heard



Tax season got you feeling anxious? You’re not alone. That’s why therapists turn to Heard.

Built and designed specifically for clinicians in private practice, Heard offers affordable bookkeeping services, personalized financial reporting, and tax assistance to ensure you’re making the most of your business and your time.

Heard saves therapists an average of 5,397 dollars on bookkeeping and taxes each year.

When you join Heard, you’ll work directly with financial specialists to track your income and expenses, file taxes online, and grow your practice.

You can say goodbye to guessing your tax deductions and stressing out over quarterly tax payments. Focus on your clients, while Heard takes care of the rest.

Plans begin at $149 per month and can easily be tailored to fit your business’ financial needs.

Sign up now at www.joinheard.com.

Meet Daniel Fava

Daniel Fava is a digital business consultant and founder of Private Practice Elevation, a website design and SEO agency focused on helping busy private practice owners attract their ideal clients and scale their business.

After building a website for his wife’s private practice and seeing the impact it had on her business, he became passionate about helping others achieve the same. Private Practice Elevation offers web design services, SEO (search engine optimization), and website support to help private practice owners grow their businesses through online marketing.

Visit the Private Practice Elevation website, and connect with them on Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

FREEBIE: 5 Things You Can Do On Your Website This Week to Get More Clients

In This Podcast



* Meet and feature people in your content

* Expand your vision

* Daniel’s advice to Christian counselors



Meet and feature people in your content

One of the best ways to grow your business is to meet with people in your field and feature them in your content:



* Blog posts

* Podcast episodes

* Online videos



There are many ways to collaborate with other therapists which gives you content to share with your audience.

I think there is so much to say about us pulling other people and making them higher than us … what can we do to help their business, instead of [only focusing on] how this helps our business? (Whitney Owens)

Build a network of practitioners and consultants that you can refer clients to and who can refer clients to you, helping one another to grow.

[Get out of the] scarcity mindset because when everybody else flourishes,

Do you find it difficult to focus on one thing at a time? Are you struggling with completing tasks and admin? Do you need deep focus to help you develop and launch a new idea?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens and Uriah Guilford discuss some tips for boosting your focus.

Podcast Sponsor: Heard



Tax season got you feeling anxious? You’re not alone. That’s why therapists turn to Heard.

Built and designed specifically for clinicians in private practice, Heard offers affordable bookkeeping services, personalized financial reporting, and tax assistance to ensure you’re making the most of your business and your time.

Heard saves therapists an average of 5,397 dollars on bookkeeping and taxes each year.

When you join Heard, you’ll work directly with financial specialists to track your income and expenses, file taxes online, and grow your practice.

You can say goodbye to guessing your tax deductions and stressing out over quarterly tax payments. Focus on your clients, while Heard takes care of the rest.

Plans begin at $149 per month and can easily be tailored to fit your business’ financial needs.

Sign up now at www.joinheard.com.

Meet Uriah Guilford

Uriah Guilford, LMFT, is the owner of Guilford Family Counseling and the mastermind behind Productive Therapist, a business that provides world-class virtual assistants to therapy practice owners. He is a technology enthusiast, productivity nerd, and a pretty rad drummer.

Uriah is always searching for creative ways to provide counseling to youth and families as well as help therapists to get more done while working less.

Visit the The Productive Therapist website and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.

Connect with Uriah on Twitter and LinkedIn.

See also: The Productive Therapist Focus Club – an accountability and support group for therapists.

FREEBIE: Take Uriah’s 7 Day Email Transformational Course

In This Podcast



* Eliminate distractions

* Set up your physical workspace accordingly

* Work with single tasks

* Get an accountability partner

* Uriah’s advice to Christian counselors



Eliminate distractions

When you are focusing on doing something, eliminate the distractions in your environment:



* Put your phone on silent or in the other room

* Place yourself in a quiet and secluded space

* Avoid multitasking when you are working on one thing



For some people [the biggest distraction] is email, so you need to close down your email. When you are getting focused work done, you need to close the thing so that you can’t see it. (Uriah Guilford)

Set up your physical workspace accordingly

Do you enjoy or dread managing your practice’s books? When should you work with a financial professional about your taxes? How can you use the Profit First principles to manage your money better?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Julie Herres about using Profit First in your practice.

Podcast Sponsor: Therapy Notes



Is managing your practice stressing you out? Try TherapyNotes! It makes notes, billing, scheduling, and telehealth a whole lot easier.

Check it out and you will quickly see why TherapyNotes is the highest-rated EHR on TrustPilot with over 1000 verified customer reviews and an average customer rating of 4.9/5 stars.

You’ll notice the difference from the first day you sign up for a trial. They offer live phone support 7 days a week, so when you have questions, you can quickly reach someone who can help, and you are never wasting your time looking for answers.

If you are coming from another EHR, they make the transition really easy. TherapyNotes will import your clients’ demographic data free of charge during your trial so you can get going right away.

Use promo code ‘JOE’ to get three free months to try out TherapyNotes, no strings attached, and remember, telehealth is included with every subscription free. Make 2022 the best year yet with TherapyNotes.

Meet Julie Herres





Julie Herres is an accountant and the owner of GreenOak Accounting – a firm that specializes in working with therapists, psychologists, and counselors in private practice. GreenOak Accounting offers bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services to their clients as well as Profit First implementation and support.

Julie is also the host of the Therapy for Your Money podcast, where she discusses topics like increasing profitability, team compensation, tax tips, budgeting, planning for retirement, and much more.

Visit GreenOak Accounting and connect with them on Instagram and LinkedIn.

FREEBIE: Check out the FREE GreenOak Accounting course on the Financial Stages of Private Practice!



In This Podcast



* Money tips for new solo practice owners

* Managing the money of a mid-sized practice

* The Profit First principles

* Julie’s advice to Christian counselors



Money tips for new solo practice owners

Even though it is standard to bootstrap expenses at the beginning of any new business venture, it is still recommended to work with a financial professional, especially at the beginning of tax season.

You don’t know what you don’t know. There’s a lot of complexity to taxes when you have a business, so at the very minimum, I recommend [working with a financial professional]. (Julie Herres)

In some cases, practice owners enjoy doing their bookkeeping as a hobby and also as a way to save money.

However, if you do not have the time or the energy to deal with the books, a specialist at Green Oak Accounting can take that over for you as well.

Payroll adds a new level of complications. There are a lot of little things that can go wrong … [...

What is an easy way to save time answering client questions as a therapist? How can you optimize and automate responses to frequent questions? Can you save yourself time and your client’s money by making use of videos?

In this podcast episode, Whitney Owens speaks with Aaron Potratz and Nathan Hawkins about how Shrink Think is saving therapists time and money.

Podcast Sponsor: Therapy Notes



Is managing your practice stressing you out? Try TherapyNotes! It makes notes, billing, scheduling, and telehealth a whole lot easier.

Check it out and you will quickly see why TherapyNotes is the highest-rated EHR on TrustPilot with over 1000 verified customer reviews and an average customer rating of 4.9/5 stars.

You’ll notice the difference from the first day you sign up for a trial. They offer live phone support 7 days a week, so when you have questions, you can quickly reach someone who can help, and you are never wasting your time looking for answers.

If you are coming from another EHR, they make the transition really easy. TherapyNotes will import your clients’ demographic data free of charge during your trial so you can get going right away.

Use promo code ‘JOE’ to get three free months to try out TherapyNotes, no strings attached, and remember, telehealth is included with every subscription free. Make 2022 the best year yet with TherapyNotes.

Meet Aaron Potratz and Nathan Hawkins





Aaron Potratz and Nathan Hawkings are Licensed Professional Counselors in Oregon. They are the co-owners of the Discover Counseling and Life Discovery Counseling Services – two private group counseling practices. Each of them maintains his own client caseload while also managing and supervising his counseling staff.

They are also the co-hosts of the Shrink Think Podcast, which aims to normalize and demystify therapy for those beginning or continuing their mental health journey.

Visit Aaron’s website and connect with him on LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Connect with Nathan on LinkedIn.

Visit Discover Counseling and connect with them on Facebook.

Visit Life Discovery Counseling Services and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.



In This Podcast



* The issue with repeated small questions

* Make mini videos

* Aaron and Nathan’s advice to Christian counselors