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Are you interested in building a lifestyle practice? Why is a lifestyle practice more sellable and attractive to buyers than a performance-based practice? What are the central components of a lifestyle practice that you can start working on from today?
In this podcast episode snippet from the GPBC25 Series, Elizabeth Carr shares the blueprint for a lifestyle-focused practice.
Podcast Sponsor: JotPsych
If you’re in private practice, you already know—it’s not just about seeing clients. It’s notes, treatment plans, onboarding, scheduling, insurance, forms… the list goes on.
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JotPsych has already supported over a million therapy visits and is helping thousands of clinicians save hours every week.
You can try it free—and get 50% off your first two months with code JOE at JotPsych.com/Joe.
Meet Dr. Elizabeth Carr
Dr. Elizabeth Carr is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of Kentlands Psychotherapy. With over 20 years of experience—including six years as a Navy psychologist—she now leads a thriving group practice focused on compassionate, evidence-based care. While she maintains a small caseload, Dr. Carr’s primary role is mentoring her team and shaping the practice’s vision for holistic mental wellness.
Visit Dr. Carr’s practice website and connect on Instagram and LinkedIn.
In This Podcast
- Is selling your practice a possibility?
- Lifestyle business versus performance business
- Go slow to go fast
- “Treat your practice like a Four Seasons Hotel”
Is selling your practice a possibility?
Have you ever considered selling your private practice? Maybe not now, but somewhere in the next few years or decade or two? If you have, why?
Do you want more time to travel? Do you want less stressors? Right? Because I suspect that if you write it down, there would be different reasons for different people … It’s important to figure out what you want to do next. (Elizabeth Carr)
There are a hundred and one reasons as to why someone would want to sell up their practice one day, and it varies from person to person. If you see this as a possibility in your future, it may be worthwhile to dedicate some planning time now to support this transition, making it easier for you when it does happen.
Lifestyle business versus performance business
A lifestyle business concerns:
- Your values
- Desired schedules
- Sustainable hours and measuring your success by freedom and fulfillment
On the contrary, a performance business is about:
- Boosting revenue
- Maximizing growth
- Increasing market value and scalability
It is important to note which one is more aligned with your ideal future and work towards that. However, these two types also relate to sellability.
If you build a turn-key sellable business, you’re also building a lifestyle business because how many of us are working 40, 50, 60 hours a week? … No one wants to buy that practice. They don’t. They want you to put everything in place so that you can step out, and they can buy it, and they don’t have to hire six people to replace what you are doing. (Elizabeth Carr)
Here, it is possible to see that a successfully sellable practice is very closely aligned to a lifestyle practice.
Elizabeth’s tip on how to quickly tell which parts of your business need urgent restructuring: imagine you fell into a 3-month coma – which parts of your business would cause it to suffer? Which parts require your hands to function at all?
Map them out, hire folks, and create systems for them.
Go slow to go fast
Get comfortable with slow growth if you want to see results sooner rather than later. Why? Because if you can, start living your lifestyle practice now to give it solid foundations over the next few years so that when you do sell it, it’s ready and sturdy.
If you want a lifestyle business eventually, maybe you should be living your lifestyle business now, if you can, if you can afford to do it. So, I grew slow, but I’ve had a lifestyle business the whole time. (Elizabeth Carr)
In building out this long-term, sustainable, and successful lifestyle business, you need to stop being a people-pleaser – if you are one. It will hold you back and keep you tiptoeing around what needs to be done.
“Treat your practice like a Four Seasons Hotel”
Elizabeth explains that you need to be clear about making every touchpoint between the client and the practice smooth and catered specifically to their needs.
Think through:
- Offering snacks and beverages to clients as they come into the office reception area
- Making the waiting areas comfortable to be in, with good lighting and furniture
- Which staff do the clients need to work with, such as admin staff and receptionists, and make sure that they represent the practice in the best light
I want every touchpoint to be exceptional: the first call they make, the receptionist they walk by on the way in, who smiles and says “Hi” to them. So, are you running your business like a hospitality business? (Elizabeth Carr)
Invest a little more in paying for a great admin or receptionist who needs to work with clients, because most client negative reviews for practices are due to poor experiences with admin staff.
Therefore, investing in a great admin staff upfront will pay you back tenfold in having satisfied clients to continue to come back and even refer more folks to your business.
Sponsors Mentioned in this Episode:
JotPsych has already supported over a million therapy visits and is helping thousands of clinicians save hours every week. You can try it free—and get 50% off your first two months with code JOE at JotPsych.com/Joe.
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Check out our Practice Academy!
- Visit Dr. Carr’s practice website and connect on Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Sign Up to the Group Practice Boss Conference!
Check out these additional resources:
Addressing the Mental Health Crisis with Retired US Senator Debbie Stabenow | POP 1280
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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.
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