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What if your practice wasn’t an identity to protect, but a tool designed to serve your life? How much stronger could your business become if you built alongside people whose strengths fill your gaps? Who might you become if your worth rested not in productivity, but instead in being fully, authentically yourself?
In this reverse podcast episode, Wendy Pitts interviews Joe Sanok on how he thinks through private practice, business, and life.
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.
JotPsych was built to take the busywork off your plate. It’s the first AI-powered EHR made specifically for therapists. It can draft your progress notes automatically, send reminders, handle scheduling, deliver clinical screeners, and help with treatment planning. It’s a smart system that learns how you work— and then works for you.
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 Wendy Pitts Reeves
Wendy Pitts Reeves, LCSW is a psychotherapist-turned-entrepreneur who helps healing professionals build aligned, abundant practices. Through her podcast Ideal Practice and her studio work, she supports therapists in finding fulfilment, increasing their impact and earning with integrity.
Visit Ideal Practice to find out more.
In This Podcast
- Thoughts on private practice
- Notes on business
- Life within both and beyond
Thoughts on private practice
I think one of the things for practice owners to think through is, “Why am I starting a practice? Why do I continue a practice? What does that do to serve me?” (Joe Sanok)
For many practice owners, their business is like their baby – a perspective Joe personally dislikes.
He explains that there may come a time when you need to sell your practice, let it go, or shut it down, which is something you’d never do to your child.
To me, that’s dysfunctional. We need to say, “[My practice] is a tool that is serving my family. This is a tool that’s serving my future. This is a tool that’s serving my community – how do we have this be the sharpest tool for what I want?” (Joe Sanok)
Notes on business
Balance your strengths with the strengths of others.
When you are building a business, one of the best things that you can do is hire people whose expertise and nature run parallel with yours, who keep you grounded and supported as the CEO, and can offer the business the skills that you don’t have.
Secondly, Joe mentions the necessity of keeping tabs on your client’s journey. What do they need? When do they need it? Don’t rush ahead of your audience and offer them services or products that they are not asking for.
Following your customer journey, to me, is very important. Whether it’s your clients or, for us, your listeners, there were times that I tried to do things faster than what I should’ve. (Joe Sanok)
Thirdly, once you do find something that kicks off and goes on well, you need to learn how to keep it going and to maintain that momentum.
Talk with your audience. Engage with them by letting them sign up to talk to you about their needs and the projects that you are brainstorming to make sure that they match up.
Life within both and beyond
Sometimes the journey of life requires us to become new and different people on the path to achieving our goals and dreams: Joe has experienced the same. And sometimes, that means challenging and letting go of older beliefs that keep us stuck.
Early on, a lot of the things I did in my career, even when I was a full-time employee, were [to go] above and beyond… “How am I not just good at my job, but great?” … Which isn’t in itself bad, unless I internalize that as my worth coming from what I do. (Joe Sanok)
Joe learned over the course of his professional career to separate his personal self-worth from the ups and downs of running a private practice and business.
When you evolve as a business owner, you evolve as a human being, and vice versa.
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!
- Sign Up to the Group Practice Boss Conference!
Check out these additional resources:
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.
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