Most Solo Practices Struggle Financially: 5 Keys to Thriving | POP 1380

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Are you building a practice that supports your life, or hoping it will somehow work out later? How many sessions do you actually need to reach your income goals? What if the fastest way to grow your practice is to stop trying to do everything alone?

In this podcast episode, Melissa Schneider discusses where most solo practices struggle financially and shares 5 keys to thriving. 

Podcast Sponsor: Alma

As a clinician, you probably chose this field because you wanted to support people in navigating challenges and finding personal growth. But many mental health care providers end up spending almost as much time on billing, insurance, and other documentation as you do in sessions with clients.

That’s where Alma can help.

Alma supports clinicians in building rewarding private practices—with simplified insurance credentialing in under 45 days, enhanced reimbursement rates, and guaranteed two-week payback.

Plus, a free profile in their searchable, filterable directory—making it easy for clients who are the right fit for your practice to find you.

Learn more about how Alma could support you in building a thriving private practice at helloalma.com/joe.

Reverse-engineering your business before opening

Now, before you download Joe’s 28-step checklist for opening your solo practice and launching your business straightaway, you need to start thinking about the end first, and you can do this by reverse-engineering your business. 

Before you design your website, before you think about branding … Start with your target earnings in mind. What life do you want your solo practice to fund? (Melissa Schneider)

Let your mind wander. Consider all the possibilities, like earning enough money to help you: 

• Repay loans 
• Invest in a stress-free financial future 
• Travel locally and internationally often 
• Take care of yourself, family, and loved ones 
• Pursue goals, hobbies, and passions outside of work 
• Contribute to retirement and health insurance

Once you settle on a monthly or annual number for income earnings, reverse-engineer that number to find out how many sessions you need to work, and at what rate to set them. 

Choosing the business model that earns the income you need

The second key follows along from the previous piece, because now that you have the numbers that you need (how many sessions to work, and a good hourly rate) you can set up the business model that will support you in bringing these numbers home. 

To dive deeper into this topic, consider listening to Melissa’s interview with Julie Herres from Greek Oak Accounting, where Julie breaks down take-home pay for solo therapists. 

[Julie Herres] told me that many therapists focus too much on the dollar amount that they get to keep per session … but they don’t think about how many total sessions they’d need to deliver a year to meet their earning goals. So, Julie’s advice was to zoom out. Start with your annual income goal and then focus on how many total sessions you’d need to provide. (Melissa Schneider)

Click here to use the calculator Melissa offers to estimate your gross revenue, review your earnings, expenses, and taxes, and make it easier to plot your financial path forward. 

Being realistic about your yearly sessions

Now, with the third key, you need to bring in some realism. While it may seem tempting to work as many sessions as possible to bring in more income, that’s a likely one-way ticket to burnout. 

This is why having a well-designed session rate is important: you can work a reasonable number of sessions per week, still make ends meet, and plan for your financial future without exhausting yourself. 

The vast majority of solo therapists do not deliver 1200 to 1300 sessions a year. The vast majority don’t even deliver 1000 sessions a year, not even close. A Simple Practice Industry report found that the median solo therapist completed about 12 sessions a week over a 48 week year. (Melissa Schneider)

While you can (and should!) dream big, be realistic about what is achievable so that you don’t burn your candle on both ends achieving it. 

Designing a practice that satisfies your clients

What if you designed your practice by first asking yourself: “What do we know clients are looking for, and how can we build a business that gives them that?”

I want you to build a smart, effective business and then when you’re full, profitable, and hitting all of your goals, you can backpedal into a cushier schedule. (Melissa Schneider) 

Consider offering: 

• A few in-person options 
• At least 10 weekly appointments after 16:00, or on weekends 
• Offer easy online booking 

Don’t do solo alone!

Therapists are trying to do too much of the business side on their own, very often with no training whatsoever. Simple Practice reports that 43% of providers have zero hours of formal business training, and hardly any have more than 60 hours of formal business training. (Melissa Schneider)

Everybody says it, but it’s still true: you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel! 

Building, starting, and launching a business is something that has been done time and time again across industries, personalities, goals, and countries. 

You don’t (and shouldn’t) do it alone, because it’ll likely take longer, be more expensive, and leave you feeling isolated and confused when you don’t need to be. 

If you’re ready to join other like-minded business owners and learn together under experienced and compassionate guidance, click here to discover your best-fit membership! 

Sponsors Mentioned in this Episode:

Learn more about how Alma could support you in building a thriving private practice at helloalma.com/joe.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Melissa’s Calculator Showing How Much Disposable Income You Earn from Your Gross Revenue

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Sign up for Group Practice Boss!

Check out these additional resources:

• Building Great Lakes Online Counseling: Onboarding the New Clinician, Google Business, and Final Set-Up | POP 1379
• 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 Melissa Schneider