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If you were to start a practice this month, what are the first essential things you would need to do? Is it possible to work in a successful practice for only two hours a week? How far can you go in discovering the scope of the work before working with experts?
In this podcast episode, Joe Sanok starts building Great Lakes Online Counseling | Week 1.
Podcast Sponsor: Headway
I want to thank Headway for sponsoring this episode. If you run a group practice, you know that accepting insurance can be overwhelming. Between credentialing, billing, and payroll, the admin side can easily take over your week. Headway was built to help you handle this — and they’re the only platform designed specifically for in-network group practices.
Whether you’re growing your team or running an established practice, Headway makes the business side easier with faster credentialing, higher per-session rates, and biweekly payments your team can count on.
They work with therapy, psychiatric, and hybrid groups — and there are no subscription fees. Just the support you need to run your practice with ease.
Run your best group practice with Headway — trusted by thousands of group practice leaders to simplify insurance admin and reach more people through in-network care.
Curious how Headway can work for you?
In This Podcast
- Foundational admin to set first
- Brainstorming with AI
- Accountability going forward
Foundational admin to set first
One of the first aspects of the legal paperwork to start with when it comes to launching a new private practice is:
- Where to file the LLC
- Building out the website. Joe’s going to work with one of our current partners, Session Sites, to create the Great Lakes Online Counseling website.
- Start with the end in mind in terms of selling one day
I’m going to talk to Dan King, he was one of our speakers at the GPBC in 2025, and he’s probably going to be back in 2026, he’s a guy who helps different investors buy practices, and so [I want to] think with that lens … I’m going to be reaching out to him to see if he’d want to do an interview where we talk through what [investors] look for when they buy practices so that I can build something that has the potential to be bought in a couple of years. (Joe Sanok)
- Lay out the practice’s billing systems. Joe’s considering working with Headway, another great and long-term affiliate of POP, to start on the possibility of taking insurance.
Brainstorming with AI
One of the main ways Joe works with AI is to tell it how to think, and then to ask it what assumptions it has about how it is thinking and responding to the context you give it.
These assumptions help Joe (and you) get a grasp of the core pieces. However, always check your information with a human expert as well.
So I said [to ChatGPT], “If you were to take all the data and say which states I should focus on to make the most money and only work two hours a week, I’ll be hiring clinicians, so that’s only admin, where should I focus? (Joe Sanok)
ChatGPT gives its options but still recommends that Joe researches and enquires further before making a decision.
Accountability going forward
Being that this is like a side-project for me that I’m building publicly, I want to make sure that I follow my own rules, and if I can’t, then [I will to] tell you why I worked more than two hours a week. (Joe Sanok)
Since this series is a side-project and creative endeavour to re-enter the private practice launching and building space, accountability is important for Joe.
It is necessary to be transparent and open because this is also partly educational, and that honesty may allow you, the audience, to learn while the project progresses.
Updates on this project will continue weekly on the podcast!
Sponsors Mentioned in this Episode:
Curious how Headway can work for you?
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Check out our Practice Academy!
- Sign Up to the Group Practice Boss Conference!
Check out these additional resources:
GPBC25 Series: Building a Thriving Practice in a Saturated Market with Jill Williams | POP 1293
Sign up to join the free webinars and events here
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Meet Joe Sanok
Joe Sanok helps counselors to create thriving practices that are the envy of other counselors. He has helped counselors to grow their businesses by 50-500% and is proud of all the private practice owners who are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.
Thanks For Listening!
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