Smarter not Harder
Years ago, when I was learning about business development and how to lead teams, one of the books I read explained that most (95%) start-up businesses will fail in the first 5 years. The author attributed this consequence to the business builder not having the experience or the financial funding to support the needs of the business until the business is able to financially support itself.
Another unexpected challenge is new business owners do not know how to make the transition from working as an employee to business owner. The author said that business owners need to, “Work smarter, not harder.” In most cases, people work harder when they need to generate money and burn themselves out before they can become finally independent. This is true for mental health providers as well.
I head a while back that only 60% of university psychology graduates will get licensed. Then, of those who get licensed, nearly 1/2 will fail when it comes to running their own business and will try to get a job, but most jobs require long hours and have high expectations.
Since the pandemic, many licensed therapists have signed on to Telehealth platforms that offer high pay. These platforms promote that they will assign clients and handle all the paperwork and credentialing, while the therapist works as a 1099 contractor. Many clients these days do not want Telehealth and are seeking in-person appointments. So licensed therapists find themselves trying to work 2 sometimes 3 jobs in order to generate consistent income to live on.
The remaining few who are courageous enough and have financial support (spouse or savings) will start to build their own business. They set up a corporation with a catchy name and buy business cards. They rent a office and furnish it. Then the challenges quickly compact with credentialing with insurances takes 4-6 months. Once they are credentialed they must build a client list taking a year to reach financial stability. During this time of waiting many licensed clinicians find they cannot afford to stay in business.
Most clinicians have never learned what it takes to be a business owner. So they ask other clinicians how they did it or they pay thousands of dollars for business development courses. Even after spending time and money trying to learn what it takes, most clinicians dreams of independence, high pay, and a schedule they control, ends with the reality of long hours, low pay, and lots and lots of stress.
I want to change all that.
I founded Encouragers Counseling & Training Centers in 2014 as a nonprofit 501c3. In 2018 I founded Encouragers Family Counseling a professional practice corporation. Both businesses have not been free of challenges, but with every challenge there has been opportunities.
ECTC has been training volunteer practicum students the fine art of therapy. Post graduates who meet ECTC’s high standards are hired as employees. When they reach their total accumulated hours and get licensed, they will have the knowledge necessary to open their own practice or manage one of Encouragers’ clinics.
Wouldn’t you like to learn how to run your own business or manage a mental health clinic from someone who has done both? Wouldn’t you like this information to offered in a format that you could learn now and use later? Wouldn’t you like to have 1-1 consultation with someone who is doing what you want to do, learning what you want to learn, and have this happen in a way that allows you to ask questions and get real time answers? Wouldn’t you like to have access to all this for $10 a week? Wouldn’t you like it even more if you could get this valuable information for 50% off by registering now?