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When should you start considering the intentional growth or expansion of your practice? Do you have your sights set on running a group practice one day? What are the five signs you should look out for to know that you have a good shot of expanding your practice successfully?
In this podcast episode, Brandon Shurn discusses the five main reasons for when to expand from a solo to a group practice in a mini-consultancy.
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In This Podcast
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There is a waitlist
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You want a more flexible schedule
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Are you turning people away?
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Extend your reach
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Reaching a sweet spot in business
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What to consider now
There is a waitlist
One of the first reasons to consider switching your solo practice to a group practice format is that you have, or are about to have, a waitlist.
There are so many schools of thought … around whether or not having a waitlist is a good or bad thing. I’m not here to debate the merits for or against whichever decision you land on, but if you have a waitlist or you have people reaching out to you, and you are as full as you want to be in your solo practice, that is a good problem to have! (Brandon Shurn)
As Brandon explains, a waitlist is not inherently good or bad, but it is a good sign that you have a lot of interest from your target audience, and that you have a promising opportunity for growth in front of you.
You want a more flexible schedule
Brandon’s second reason to consider growing your practice is a reason that many therapists have for considering the shift: a desire to have more free time.
Running a group practice will mean a shift in your tasks and schedule, but as your practice receives more streams of income, it allows you to pull back a bit on having to see so many clients.
We want to be able to take off when we want to, you know, do what we want to with our time, and not be on any other person’s time clock. (Brandon Shurn)
Are you turning people away?
Sometimes your niche is adjacent to other niches, and curious and interested clients will come to you to see if you can help them. However, because they may not fall within your ideal client range, you refer them to other clinicians.
This is [when] you are turning people away because they are requesting services that you do not offer … People will come to you, but if they are not in the wheelhouse of those that you really enjoy working with, especially if you are as full as you want to be, you are more likely to turn those people away. (Brandon Shurn)
In small batches, this is normal, but if you find that you are constantly turning away clients, it may be another sign for you to consider growing your practice by hiring a therapist or counsellor who specializes in that particular niche to keep these clients in your practice.
Extend your reach
While you have been working with your ideal clients, you may have noticed other opportunities for growth that you have started to consider pursuing. These may include:
- Writing books
- Offering courses
- Launching groups or retreats, or masterclasses
- Hiring additional supportive therapy staff to see peripheral clients
And so forth. Extending your reach can also include adding on additional, supportive services in your practice that can help more clients outside of your scope of practice.
[Maybe] I want to expand my offerings to include eating disorders … or incorporate yoga or integrative medicine options for people. That’s extending your reach. Having a registered play therapist on staff, that’s extending your reach, because you are offering something as a practice you personally do not offer. (Brandon Shurn)
Reaching a sweet spot in business
Brandon’s fifth and final reason for considering expanding your practice from solo to group is if you have reached the sweet spot in your business where you no longer want to have new clients, but you also don’t want to close the practice.
This is where a lot of people find themselves … They don’t want to take on any new clients. They are willing to because it costs money to live, right … And they recongize that there are other things that they want to do, yet you have this practice that is a part of you … [You think], “I’m operating in other ways and I’m utilizing my training and skills in other ways, but the ultimate goal is to save and provide fantastic service” … but you know you don’t want to take on anymore clients. I found myself in this position and this was one of the reasons why I decided it was time for me to expand. (Brandon Shurn)
You know that you have other ventures and avenues to pursue professionally, but you still have so much tied up in your practice.
Elevating your solo practice into a group is one of the solutions that you can consider. By restructuring it to be sustained by other therapists seeing clients, you are allowed to free up some of your energy and time to restructure your work life as well.
What to consider now
So, have you decided? If you want to move from a solo practice to a group, here are some things you should consider:
- Will your group practice be in-person, online, or hybrid?
- Are you going to be cash-pay or take insurance?
- What is your surrounding market like? If you are in-person or online, how will you market your practice?
- What type of boss do you want to be, hands-on or hands-off? Consider if you would hire W2 employees or 1099 contractors.
- Then, check the rules of your state: is it better to hire employees under the 1099 or W2 systems, depending on where you will be registering your business?
There are many challenges that you may overcome, but don’t worry, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel! Many therapists have walked this path before you, and you can find all the help you need. Reach out to us here at Practice of the Practice, we’re here to help!
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
Visit Empower Me Counseling, and connect with Brandon on Instagram and LinkedIn. Email him at: [email protected]
Check out these additional resources:
- Structuring a Collective Group Practice with Lisa Lovelace | GP 283
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
- Free resources to help you start, grow, and scale
- Work with us
- Practice of the Practice Network
Meet Prof. Brandon Shurn
Brandon Shurn, Ph.D., LCPC, LMHC, AFC®, NCC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor and the founder of EmPower Me Holistic Counseling, a fully virtual Maryland-based practice. He’s also a full-time professor in Seattle University’s online Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. With extensive experience launching and directing university training clinics, Brandon now focuses on helping therapists design and grow impactful, sustainable practices. Outside of his work, he enjoys fitness, yoga, Wing Chun, golf, reading, and spending time with his family and dogs.
Visit Empower Me Counseling, and connect with Brandon on Instagram and LinkedIn. Email him at: [email protected]
