PoP 208 | Private Practice Consultant and Practice Owner Gordon Brewer

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Private Practice

Today, Joe Sanok speaks with Private Practice Consultant and Practice Owner, Gordon Brewer.

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In This Podcast

“When I sense some discomfort in my career or with what I’m doing, that’s when I know that it’s time to make a change!”

LinkedIn is a great platform for networking!

Deciding to grow a Private Practice came about when Gordon wasn’t getting around to everything in the hours provided. By bringing on other people, he was able to duplicate the output.

Tips For Growing Your Private Practice

  • Be clear on what you want their role to be
  • Make sure that your values are aligned
  • Know your ‘why’
  • Make sure the people are flexible & teachable

How Do You Figure Out Your ‘Why’?

  • Values
  • Financial goals
  • Where I want to see myself in 10/20 years

Visit Gordon’s blog, www.practiceoftherapy.com to view his Private Practice Start-Up Guide.

Meet Gordon Brewer

Gordon is a licensed marital and family therapist in private practice located in Kingsport, TN. He is the owner/president of his group practice Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC (www.kingsportcounseling.com). Gordon has been in practice for over 10 years and is also a private practice consultant. His blog and consulting website is www.practiceoftherapy.com. You can also find out more about  Gordon at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/practiceoftherapy/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/therapistlearn

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kptcounseling/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kingsportcounseling

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 that are growing their income, influence, and impact on the world. Click here to explore consulting with Joe.

 

 

 

Podcast Transcription

Pop 208 | Private Practice Consultant And Practice Owner Gordon Brewer

[0:00] We all know that the human brain craves to be innovating because the most innovative people are the people that have survived.
As well we know the wanna be in community so this summer i am offering a conference call slow down school where we’re going to be looking at how to attract your ideal client.
To create your ideal life is gonna be amazing we’re gonna be right on the water,
we’re gonna be slowing down but there were gonna be speeding things up help me focus on the things that matter so you can have a full practice full of your ideal client,
but also then you can cut things away so that you can have your ideal life,
Jimmy it’s all about that balance between your ideal life and your ideal practice so that you aren’t burning the candle at both ends so heading over to slow down school.com to sign up for the conference or if you’re unsure.
Jump on the phone with me you can schedule a fifteen-minute call to chat about whether or not this is a good fit and if it’s not a good fit I will totally tell you I will let you know other things that could help you reach your goal.

[0:57] Music.

[1:22] I think that nothing good ever comes from lying again i want you to know that many awesome relationships for me have come from link and i hated when can i hated how i keep getting emails to join link and.
And i heard a podcast number of years ago about list from luis house talking about the power of linked in and connecting with people and how business works people were there.
I need is a great social media platform I’m not on it nearly as much as I used to be but when I was first launching practice of the practice I double down there and was super active in a bunch of groups.
And i connected with kelly higdon on their one of my closest friends and have partnered with her and number of joint ventures.
As well i connect with gordon brewer on the i swear everytime that i post something he would share it starts with on my radar,
so when i finally got to meet gordon brewer in person after your practice last year all my gosh it was like i finally got to meet garden.
And he was way cooler than i even thought and so.
When he and i can connected with him to consulting with me and we heard him talk about his business growth the number of podcasts ago when elson interviewed him.
I just like i don’t have this guy on the podcast is talk about his consulting and what he’s doing because gordon is such an authentic wonderful person,
that is had had month so without any further ado i give you the one the only the never replicated gordon brewer.

[2:48] Music.

[2:54] Ulta day on the practice of the practice podcast we have Gordon Brewer and Gordon Brewer is just one of the.
Best people in the world I have met him through the Brew your practice event that we put on he has Kingsport Counseling Associates as well he is a trainer of therapists and has been an adjunct instructor.
Clinical consultant speaker and workshop presenter he’s written for psychcentral,
is well he has his website practice of their b that really is helping therapists to learn how to start up a private practice gordon welcome to the practice of the practice test.
Thanks Joe I’m so pumped about being here yay I’m so glad that you’re here with me.
Yeah it’s a it’s a it’s great as yeah I always tell myself when I started listening to your podcast okay probably a year-and-a-half ago 2 years ago.
I tell myself okay what would you grow up you get to do joe’s park we are learning that is off how will everything in that list start there’s i think often times we think,
i wanna be in this podcast i wanna do these things that when you had that light bulb moment of someday wanna be on joe’s podcast.
How did you start to formulate a plan it was just sort of like apples to see if it happens.
Well you know one of the I think what happened with for me as I started I was at that juncture where I was really yum.

[4:25] Wanting to leave kind of a part time job that i had with a private practice and so i was really looking.
For information about you know what am I going to do to try to take my practice to the next level and so I started listening to the podcast.
And it was his items listed all the great people you have on there.

[4:49] I realize okay you know i’ve got a pretty good knowledge base myself you know that doing this a while i’ve got experience from.
Previous career and all of these things and i’m thinking you know i really like to share this with people so that’s really kinda how long does the practice of therapy.
What.
And then also just really at the same time a parallel path of really camping private practice and really getting it to the next level.
Yes it was just kinda like the stars aligned but it was really a process i think for any of this we change we make changes.
There’s there’s a sense of discomfort in our lives and i think that’s why clients come to us yeah and so.
For me parsley when I sent some discomfort in my career or in what I’m doing.
That’s kinda the signal for me okay cordless time for you to make some changes and then maybe take a little different path that’s kind of where.
With hell what window your podcast just do a search and there you were and i started dating and it just really.
Really get excited getting excited about what i was hearing what was going on and just looking at whole consulting space.

[6:19] We’re fortunate than that we’ve got a lot of people doing this.
And so there’s all kinds of information out there for folks that want to delve into private practice and take that journey.
And so um yeah that’s not.
That’s how i got to where i am now well everything even the freaking degree of practice i don’t know if it was intentional or unintentional but you are definitely on my radar from linked in because it felt like anytime i posted something.
You wouldn’t have met you share it you do shout outs and so for a long time and who is this gordon brewer guy like you is perfect and lakes in new haven,
even before and after bria practice it was like all finally get to meet this guy that has been linked in so much yeah yeah that’s,
search be my primary platform just because I know at least what I’ve learned so far.
And you know this might be something we’ll talk about a little more than you know.

[7:18] I’m not worried so much about stuff now was that so don’t know that i don’t know who that always worries me is that.
Anyway what when it works for about twenty is that there’s a lot of perfect you know a lot of people.
In our in our space for nationals on that space and i think it’s a good way for us to connect with other professionals and so that’s where account focused with my consulting.
Practice.
As far as you know the other thing that we know just from you know on the private practice side of things you know Facebook is kind of the go-to place for connecting with people on social media.

[8:01] Also.
The other thing that I take it so important for people to know is you cannot do any of this without the actual face-to-face.

[8:13] Human contact me online is great.
But the face to face human contact and i think that’s what really count of motivated me to go to prove your practice was on new that.

[8:27] You know i could do a lot of stuff for one till i made that human contact in and actually started connecting with people on a one on one basis and you have just.

[8:40] Play Live FaceTime is huge for the moment when I got the email during one of our breaks the J Papas and one of the co-authors of the one thing,
i had verified that he was gonna be on the podcast and yeah the one thing in your backpack without them just a little connections,
yeah we rivers a couple of years so a few years ago your feeling this kinda discomfort where with where you are at professionally.
Walking through like what was your typical week like what were things like for you and your world and then what changes did you make specifically to the private practice to.
Amplify that to free at that time to eventually move into consulting so gender consulting side but take us through your amplified accident a ton of people that listen to this podcast there like.
Limping along the private price they wanna grow they have these huge ideas but they’re just like they’re just spending too much time on things that maybe i shouldn’t be spending time on.
Yes.
I started and practice really while i was still working for the agency i work for a non profit agency that.
We work with at risk children and youth and.
I was kinda working away at the ranks of that organizations really realizing that okay you know private practices always been my dream.
And so what images i just.
Yeah but one of the other part of my stories are happening the clergy person in the disco church so i just kind of started a counseling ministry at my church.

[10:16] And really.

[10:19] Private practice kind of took off from there i think initially i probably was just thinking i just do this part time and see what happens with that really getting.
You know i’m really wasn’t expecting a whole lot out of it but it just kind of took all his money got out their people started finding the.
And so i left the agency job in two thousand nine i guess it was.
And at the same time there was a position within our church that.

[10:54] Was with episcopal appalachian ministries and i took on the position of being that the coordinator for that which was a really part time position.
So what that it was it was all out the to not have to have a whole lot of anxiety about the money.
And also build my private practice so i can hit these two jobs that i was doing and in.

[11:20] Is private practice continue to grow really and that was that the.
Point the discount for a point where i was really you know i really wanted devote more time to my private practice so.
That the position had with the church is signal is really time for somebody else to take that over.
It’s that was the point at which i realized okay if i’m really gonna do this i’m gonna have to.
Immerse myself in marketing that practice more and really feeling it and then the next step was to bring on some more people so i brought on to.
Two more counselors to my practice form the llc.
And all that happens gosh.
Pretty quickly and so it just kinda like the next step just turned blossom yeah i think you had on to some very natural phases in the development of a private practice that most people go through where.
You people are really smart when they have a part time job can make it so that you’re not holy in private practice and totally struggling when you first starting out his.
When you’re with all your money is coming through private practice.
And then the numbers dept or the phone calls stop freak out so then you take clients that may be are the best fit for you and you,
do marketing that’s a coming car sales the rather than just good content and where i do that first phase that i really see is often has people have and then it’s interesting just.

[12:55] Just yesterday when my clinicians are he’s been putting in a day a week over at another clinic that is in that can the medicaid population.
In he did the math he would only need to have one more session here to make up a full day work there and it’s like math class start saying to yourself okay but i’m losing money by having what you give me security.
And then like at third phase you side of send add clinicians your practice jug and just yesterday i was consulting with somebody.
Who she two months ago was that about seventy percent full for her what she wanted to be an incentive for their time just and feeling herself she put time into bringing two people under her practice and now they’re almost full,
and she’s for ages amplified everything by having that group practice so right,
season three quickly can once you start getting things going why do you think it can had maybe like we makes a ninety degree turn in regards to growth and where is it wasn’t just sustained growth of that point.
Well i think it what was it i think it switches and the thing is that there’s only so much time that.
And i think i bring all other clinicians i was kind of able to china duplicate my efforts yeah no as far as you know that really taking.
The case load that i developed account the referral sources that developed and then being able to.

[14:26] Push push those referrals to use to my other people and then being able to take on.
More things that freak me out you know i realize that you probably unit one direction accident on the set okay gordon but still your practice up and.
When are you getting twenty five people a week.

[14:48] That’s not the life style and yeah now available you if you wanna make money and its it is you have to work harder.
Right right it’s so yeah so not sure interview question but not so no for people the meter at the phase where there are considering adding clinicians they’re ready to make that job ready to grow.
Any quick bullet points that you have for them or warnings are has lloyd.
Yeah i think first of all is be really clear about what you want your role to be in other words.

[15:24] Looking at you know looking at your message do you want to add people that are gonna take admits that are.
Maybe not something you’re doing so for example i recently have added another clinician.
I’ve never really work with children i’m not really good at it and so i brought another clinician that’s gonna be on her specialty and so.
That’s one thing to do the other thing to is absolutely spend time with the people you can agree on to make sure that they are.
Your values are in line and that your that what they want to do is go to line up with what she was the in your practice and i think as much as anything.
And i say this a lot about war.
He has his no you’re why know why you want to do this because he can’t spend a lot of time doing it figure out how to do stuff but if you if it’s not back to your why.
Get your probably not gonna be very happy but didn’t get to know the people that you can referring on make sure that they’re values and goals line up with your values of girl clothes for your practice.
And also i think it’s also to.

[16:47] It’s important thing to for people to be willing to be flexible and teachable and so funny people that that line up with a.
Yeah i’d love your letter about how you figure out your why or how you go back to that from a business perspective like for you like what’s your why and how did you come to that.
Yeah so i think is all the way back to the room why i got into this field.
And you know if you not to sound superficial or whatever but i think for most of us is that we want to help people.
But you know it’s really kinda doing our therapy on ourselves why i really kinda dig deep and as i like to say with my clients was peel back the layers of the onion and get to the core of what’s going on.
And so i think being able to know that for yourself and i think my part of my process was really kind of break it down into.
You know my mind that i use financial goals also.
You know where i want to see in this see myself.
In ten years twenty years down the road and really kinda looking at all those things.

[18:07] I really can’t in canada bar david allen’s which is a medical coder his book getting things done he talks about taking thirty thousand foot view of things and so if you were to look at your life.

[18:22] Thirty thousand feet and really can’t look at all the different components of that which of the ones that are most important and that the value the most.
And i think that the court and i think i hear this from you as well joe a big part of my why is making sure that i’ve got time for a family and be being able to do that and i think.

[18:46] Everything that i didn’t have centers around kind of what.
You know my life outside the practice it’s everything can it states that as well yeah no wonder for people you know as you continue to grow.
It’s interesting how you have to certain mental achievements so you might say someday i wanna make a hundred thousand dollars and then you that and then,
you have to make a decision to do a just say okay that’s good enough that’s fine yo that’s more than many counselors ever make in a year.
What do i want to push myself to do something bigger and then do i have to cut,
time with family to cut right clients directly home and gonna do that and so yeah you can go back to your why,
pulse clarify that was not just about the financial bottom line or the percentage of growth per year it’s we i want to make a bigger impact on the world and i can do that if i see fewer clients but then move towards consulting or yeah what next thing is,
when you have that wife as a really clear direction in your life,
it really helps when it’s time to say where do i spend my time professionally right in another,
another white and why is a big fan of joseph campbell and one of the things that he talks about,
is being able to follow your bliss.
Can i think figuring out what your blesses me what just get you excited what do you just really getting into you know what is it that you do when you do it.

[20:16] He just one is all sense of time and space heaters totally immersed in it and would you can’t figure out what that is that’s what you need to be doing.
You have so i think that’s a big part of the line do you think it’s hard for counselors because i mean i guess i think when i went to school,
they’re sort of in your head here’s your choices you can make account so you can work at a nonprofit make thirty to forty thousand dollars a year less becoming a distributor.
You can do private practice or you can work for like a c and h or something like that but you can the lights.
The ability to think creatively like right how do how do counselors break out of that mindset to find that slower that less.
Yeah so i think i think a big part of it uses looking at what he likes your time you know when you’re not working.
And i think paying attention to in what brings you joy what brings you energy.
Or another way to put it is what recharges your batteries.
You know if you are going to have a week off and you are gonna do you just truck out of a traditional vacation how would you spend your time.
It also looking at what were the things that you read for the movies that you watch what are those things that just really.

[21:40] You really can’t unit what music do you listen to what do what does that mean and how does that canada for the you are.
What exercise can i think is important for i think that was really helpful for me.
Discounted drawing on kenmore ave tradition there’s a point where i had to do a spiritual autobiography.
And so really kinda looking at what it was the drum be as a person and it doesn’t necessarily need to be spiritual i don’t think.
You know what exercises to write your biography.
And and what kind of your life time line and what were those turning points that really were significant point in your life and those points at your life are you really so yourself bro if.
And i think paying attention to that is gonna be real important piece of knowing what your blessings what are the odds that pointing.

[22:42] Propel you forward and bring to join happy so i think we all deserve to be happy and joyful and all that and what does always bring that tumors butt.
It’s think that’s what we should strive for yeah i love the pull in things outside of our traditional can a business decisions like what your reading and music and.
Which are interested and i think about slow down school the conferences yeah out this summer and.
Looking at all the faith traditions have some sort of way that you can get away remove yourself from the every day from the ordinary to find things that are extraordinary and i think that.
Deep inside of us as humans if we don’t slow down if we don’t have those moments of getting away we don’t have those gigantic ideas that are gonna genuinely change the field of counseling our businesses and so.
That runs last from just sitting in office having business ideas and more for my own,
readings just and kind of spiritual development life development outside of anything and rightly but it also informed that thing that then becomes a professional goal.
Yes yes it take you to rest so important in all the research that we know about of sleep and the importance of sleep and then just.
You know meditation practices all of those things are things that just really truly do.

[24:07] Rejuvenate us first recharge our batteries if you will and really can’t take the stress off yeah you know stress is a killer.
And what are the things that i think is important in private practice especially if you’re in business for yourself because he can be very isolating if you’re not careful.
And so you feel you not being your own boss is great it’s gonna on things but there’s also pressures that.
You might not realize it until you and yeah i think even just.
There’s always more that you can be doing for your business that you always see the potential for growth and for being able to set clear boundaries and.
How much you gonna hurt how long and where we live off you have business discussions with your spouse or partner.
Yes you are also important.
So i would love to hear how oh so you’re your practice is growing and you save yourself i’m and continue to grow but i want to do it as more of a consultant and so you lunches blog.
Walk us through the decision to do that some of the logistics and a lot of our listeners i wanted to level and yeah i’m just a practice thing you wanna do consulting public speaking e courses take us through what you did with that.
Yeah so one of you know one of the things that i.

[25:28] I know i’m not good at is being terribly organized but one of the things that the process that idea it was really really trying to educate myself on that space so i started listing to.
Pat florian and.

[25:45] Charlie didn’t listen in jb crime and you know coming miller and all of those books that are kind of online marketing space.
And so i really educated myself on the.
Turn on the friday before a launch the block but the process.

[26:08] I think it is very doable but also i took the mindset of.
You know this is not gonna just happen over night its gonna take some time.
Had when you look at people that are in this space most of them started out slow and then they get a point where jpegs.
Things took off.
The personal wife was really see a lot of counselors out there particularly and agencies and that sort of thing that are really.
Right counselors great clinicians great therapist and they’re getting per gal and that i don’t want to see him do that so i really wanted to.
Can i give my love was to okay.
This is how you can take your kids and your talents and moved into a space where he could really be more control of what you do there are people out there doing agency work that love it.
I would say absolutely stay there if you love what you doing but my process of story of truth to your child who is in the process was.
Was really to can’t educate myself on the front in a while okay what are the logistics of this what do i need to do and then the next thing really was just really popping up content i mean i set up the block i really.
I really am one of those people that really likes to be strap are the dates so i have to live on the phone just from work press and.

[27:48] Just bought it from scratch and just started having content and i would work on it probably a couple of hours each week sometimes more and just kinda built it from there were their resources to help you learn how to do that on your own.
Oh yes you know you know YouTube for goodness sakes YouTube is.
You know you could try and all kinds of tutorials and ways to do stuff that’s which spent.
When i get on the treadmill just watching those videos,
on you tube about how to do different things out but not private practice website i’ve had sits on.
Two thousand six has started out with yahoo host a back and i have yahoo site builder.
A program that again so that’s were started out and that in the.
Order it so i am really start looking at other things so of course that think the big one you hear over and over gets his wordpress and that i really recommend people if they’re not.
You know if you if you’re ever bootstrapping it was or how to do it yourself absolutely do it yourself if not get somebody knows what they’re doing to.
In but so i just you know i just spent the time when i was.

[29:13] Doing all that course listening to podcasts is a great way you know with my with my other job with.
The to church job i was having to travel a lot so that was a great time to listen to podcasts and just gather information that were stuff.
And then i would just go back and get on the computer play around with and.

[29:38] And it just kinda went from there yeah was it us a little bit about the start up guide for private practice that you publish what are some of the classroom at what will people learn from that yeah so i got that is my.
Looks like the practice of their b dot com and just go in there and use these links all over the place for it say you can’t find it.
But what it really is my way of just kind of walking a person through all the steps i see that they would be to start a.
A private practice you know from unit from marketing to office space to.

[30:21] Building referral sources to setting up your website all of those things there’s a little bit in there on HIPAA.
And all of that and so when it is just kind of rain storm everything that i didn’t.
Get in that idea when i started my private practice and,
well i can say alert him word heck of a lot of stuff hard way and i don’t think everybody should have to do that so the start of god will just gonna walk you through that.
And I’ve got it laid out into sections so that’s easy hopefully easy to read it’s not it’s not really long but it’s.
It’s got a bullet points and then there’s leaks references in there to where you can’t get access to more information to counter dive in deeper.
Also before i hit that i had a practice where.

[31:19] Which are probably gonna end up putting that on amazon justice just to sell cheap and rework that but it’s more.
It goes into a little more death so that might be something here in the near future that you can get on Amazon.
Awesome and what will have to all of in the show notes and when i get live we can update the show notes if it’s available on amazon as a great.
Gordon brewer it every counselor in the world were listening right now what would you want to now well i would want them to figure out their why.
Exactly i would say the person start and consistent.
With with your practice know there have been times i know in my.
Private practice where you know you stare at the phone and you think why is it not ringing and it just creates and i just but just keep being persistent.
Be consistent with what you’re doing developer eating and have it that keeps you on track and doing the things that.

[32:26] You know will work and that would be that the saying and also.

[32:33] Give a big affirmation yourself for taking on this career i always remind myself when i’m sitting with clients that.
Really is out of again can we use some of eight days can a staff but when i’m send you clients to the.
That is sitting in secret on holy ground because they’re pouring out their lives to you and a very trusting you with some of the most intimate details of their life.
And i think that to treat that with trying to sync up my compassion is one of the greatest things we can do is clinicians,
oh well garden breather from practiceoftherapy.com it’s interesting you know as more consultants come in to the space we could get defensive and try to put up walls and be territorial but i’m so excited to see,
people like you doing consulting.
You’re gonna do it in your own way even for both talking about how to start a practice that you’re gonna talk about it in a way,
it’s different and will resonate with people differently then maybe i wouldn’t say no i’m so glad that you’re in this bs i’m so glad that your,
helping people grow their practices and teaching them and all the successful for you and for what you doing with practice of therapy.

[33:47] Thanks john thanks for an absolutely yeah this was very well have a wonderful day garden okay to drive.

[33:55] Music.

[34:00] Well i am so thankful for people like gordon that are trying to help the world and help people in their private practices he’s a phenomenal guy.
Thank you so much for letting me in two years and into your brain you all rock i can’t believe last month bills hit.
Thousand dollars this is insane to think so much for sharing this with your friends and your colleagues and people from grad school.
You rock and roll party next week.

[34:27] Music.

[34:32] Special thanks in advance ounces sexy in this podcast is designed right after the thirty two information in regard,
the subject matter covered with the understanding new to the host the publisher or the get surrendering legal accounting clinical other professional information,
if you need professional it’s fine on.

[34:49] Music.c