WP189 | Is It Time To Hire Your First Therapist? What Nobody Tells You about the Leap From Solo to Group - Podcast Takeover with Amy Dover
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Amy Dover is taking over the Wise Practice Podcast for this special June series, and today she’s talking about one of the biggest milestones in private practice: hiring your first therapist.
In this episode, Amy shares the story of hiring her first clinician, the mistakes she made early on, and what she wishes someone had told her before she stepped into the role of employer and leader. She talks honestly about the difference between simply adding another therapist and actually building the systems, expectations, contracts, culture, and leadership foundation your practice needs to grow well.
If you’re a solo practice owner wondering whether it’s time to hire, this conversation will help you think through your referral pipeline, your readiness to lead, your values, your infrastructure, and the fear that can sometimes keep you stuck.
Amy also shares about her upcoming mastermind, Built to Last: Growing from a Solo Practice to a Group, for Christian practice owners who are ready to make their first hire or grow beyond their first team member.
Hiring Your First Therapist Is a Bigger Leap Than You Think
Hiring your first therapist can feel like the obvious next step when your practice is full. You’re getting steady referrals, your caseload is maxed out, and you’re starting to turn people away. On paper, it makes sense to think, “Okay, I guess it’s time to hire.” And in many ways, that instinct is a good one. When demand is growing, and you have more clients than you can serve on your own, bringing someone else into the practice can be a wise and exciting move.
But hiring your first therapist is not just about adding another clinician to the schedule. It is not simply a matter of finding someone with a license, giving them an office, and letting them start seeing clients. Hiring means you are stepping into a new role as a practice owner. You are no longer only thinking like a clinician. You are becoming an employer, a leader, and the person responsible for creating the structure that someone else will work inside.
That is the part so many practice owners do not see coming. They think they are expanding their clinical work, but what they are really doing is building an organization. And that shift requires a different kind of thinking.
Growth Without Infrastructure Gets Messy Fast
A lot of practice owners hire because they have seen other people do it. Maybe they worked in a group practice before opening their own solo practice. Maybe the pattern seemed simple from the outside: referrals come in, caseloads fill up, and another therapist gets hired. So when their own practice starts growing, they follow the same pattern. They get busy, and they hire.
The problem is that what looks simple from the outside often has a lot of unseen structure underneath it. A successful hire needs more than referrals. That person needs clear expectations, a contract or employment agreement, onboarding, a way to understand the culture of the practice, communication systems, productivity expectations, clinical and administrative processes, and leadership from the owner.
Without that foundation, the first hire can quickly become overwhelming. The owner may assume the new therapist will just know what to do because they are a professional. But every practice operates differently. Every owner has different values, expectations, and standards. If those things are not clearly communicated, the new therapist is left guessing, and the owner ends up frustrated.
Do Not Build Your Practice by Copying Someone Else’s
One of the easiest mistakes to make in the early stages of growth is copying what other practice owners are doing. You ask someone how they pay their therapists, what their contract looks like, how they structure their practice, and then you borrow their system. It can feel responsible because at least you are doing something. At least you are trying to create a structure.
But the hard truth is that not every practice owner you copy has actually done the math. Not every compensation model makes sense. Not every contract is strong. Not every system is healthy or sustainable. Sometimes one owner copies another owner, who copied another owner, and before long everyone is repeating the same mistakes without realizing it.
Your practice needs to be built around your numbers, your values, your vision, and the kind of culture you want to create. What works for someone else may not work for you. Growth should not be based on panic, comparison, or borrowed systems. It should be built with intention, wisdom, and guidance from people who understand what it actually takes to grow well.
Your First Therapist Needs You to Lead
One of the biggest mindset shifts in hiring is realizing that your new therapist will look to you for direction. That does not mean they are incompetent. It does not mean they are not a good clinician. It simply means they are stepping into your practice, and they need to know how things are done there.
They need to understand how you handle intakes, scheduling, billing, documentation, communication with clients, communication with admin, caseload expectations, time off, and the overall culture of the practice. They need to know what it means to be part of your team rather than operating as a solo clinician who happens to share space with you.
This is where many therapists struggle as practice owners. We are trained to be collaborative, relational, and thoughtful. Many of us are not naturally comfortable with hierarchy or authority. But when you hire, you have to be willing to lead. You have to be willing to set expectations, give feedback, hold people accountable, and make hard decisions when needed.
Referrals Come Before Hiring
One of the clearest signs that you may not be ready to hire is not having consistent referrals. It is tempting to hire first and assume the clients will come later, but that creates a stressful situation for everyone involved. The practice owner feels pressure to fill the new therapist’s caseload, and the therapist feels frustrated when the work they were promised does not appear.
A steady referral pipeline needs to be in place before the hire happens. That does not mean every single week has to be perfect, but there should be a pattern of demand. If you are consistently turning people away because you are genuinely out of capacity, that is a much stronger sign that it may be time to grow.
Hiring should not be the thing that forces you to figure out marketing. Your marketing and referral systems should already be working well enough that the next person has a real opportunity to succeed.
Readiness Is More Than Being Full
Being full is important, but it is not the only sign of readiness. You also need to be able to articulate your values and culture clearly. When someone sits across from you in an interview, you should be able to explain what your practice believes, how your team operates, what kind of clients you serve, what kind of therapist fits your team, and where the practice is headed.
You also need basic infrastructure. It does not have to be perfect because systems are always being refined. But you do need enough structure that someone can step into the practice and function. That means having agreements in place, a process for onboarding, a way to handle scheduling and billing, and clear expectations around communication and productivity.
Most importantly, you need a willingness to lead. Hiring your first therapist is not just about having enough clients. It is about being ready to become the person who sets direction for someone else. That requires courage, clarity, and humility.
The Wrong Fit Costs More Than You Think
It is so easy to talk yourself into hiring someone who is not quite right. Maybe they seem kind. Maybe they need a job. Maybe you see potential in them. Maybe you think you can train them, shape them, or help them come around. And especially for Christian practice owners, compassion can sometimes get tangled up with hiring decisions.
But compassion is not a hiring strategy. Values matter. Fit matters. Clinical alignment matters. The direction of your practice matters. If something feels off in the interview process, it is worth paying attention to that. A bad hire can cost months of energy, time, money, and emotional strain. It is much harder to unwind the wrong hire than it is to wait for the right person.
This does not mean you hire without care or kindness. It means you lead with wisdom. You can care deeply about people and still make hiring decisions that protect the health of the practice.
Sometimes the Question Is Really About Fear
For many Christian practice owners, the decision to hire is not only practical. It can also become a faith question. The referrals may be there. The demand may be real. The practice may have the capacity to grow. But underneath the hesitation, there may be fear.
Fear of failing. Fear of being judged. Fear of being responsible for someone else. Fear of being seen as the boss. Fear of stepping into something bigger than what feels comfortable. Sometimes what sounds like wisdom may actually be fear dressed up as responsibility.
That is an important question to sit with. Are you staying small because it is truly wise for this season, or are you staying small because growth feels scary? Is God inviting you into something bigger, but self-doubt is keeping you frozen?
Group Practice Can Multiply Your Impact
Building a group practice is not easy. It will stretch you. It will require skills you may not have needed before. It will ask you to grow as a leader, a business owner, and a person of faith. But it can also be one of the most meaningful ways to multiply the impact of your calling.
When you build a team of strong therapists who share your values, you are able to serve more people than you could ever serve alone. Your practice can reach further into your community. It can create a legacy that extends beyond your individual counseling room. It can become a place where clients are cared for, clinicians are supported, and the mission of the practice grows in a sustainable way.
That kind of growth is not just a business decision. It is deeply connected to calling, stewardship, and leadership.
You Do Not Have to Figure It Out Alone
If you are sitting on a waitlist, turning people away, and wondering whether it is time to hire, this is the moment to slow down and get honest about your readiness. Do you have the referrals? Do you have the values clarity? Do you have the basic systems? Are you willing to lead? Are you making decisions from wisdom or from fear?
The leap from solo to group practice can be exciting, but it should not be taken blindly. You need the right foundation, the right people around you, and the right support as you move from clinician to CEO.
That is exactly why Amy Dover is launching Built to Last: Growing from a Solo Practice to a Group. This six-month mastermind is designed for Christian practice owners who are ready to make their first hire or grow beyond their first therapist. The group will cover systems, financials, marketing, compensation, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, money mindset, and the leadership shift required to build something sustainable.
If you are ready to grow from solo to group, this may be the support you need to stop guessing and start building with clarity.
Show Sponsor SamBright
Today's sponsor is SamBright, and if you've ever paid for SEO or Google Ads and felt like you had nothing to show for it, stick with me for a second.
Most marketing agencies sell you one channel. They measure success with impressions and click reports that don't tell you whether your phone actually rang. That's the problem, not you.
SamBright runs SEO, Google Ads, and AI search together because that's how clients make decisions now. They even run email and SMS marketing for larger practices. One system covers multiple channels. And every Monday morning you get a plain-English update on how it's going.
If your practice’s caseloads should be fuller than they are, book a call at sambright.com/schedule.
Amy’s Resources
Built to Last: The Solo to Group Mastermind (Grab $50 Off if you register before June 12th)
Links and Resources
Learn More about Wise Practice Consulting
Connect with Wise Practice on Instagram
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[00:00:00] Whitney Owens: Today's sponsor is Sambright. And if you've ever paid for SEO or Google Ads and felt like you've had nothing to show for it, stick with me for a second. Most marketing agencies sell you one channel. They measure success with impressions and click reports that don't tell you whether your phone is actually ringing.
[00:00:15] That's a problem, not you. Sambright runs SEO, Google Ads, and AI search together because that's how clients make decisions now. They even run email and SMS marketing for larger practices. One system covers multiple channels, and every Monday morning you get a plain English update of what's going on. If your practice caseload could be fuller, book a call with sambright.com/schedule.
[00:00:38] That's sambright.com/schedule. Hi, I'm Whitney Owens. I'm a group practice owner and faith-based practice consultant, and I'm here to tell you that you can have it all. Wanna grow your practice? Wanna grow your faith? Wanna enjoy your life outside of work? You've come to the right place. Each week on the Wise Practice Podcast, I will give you the action steps to have a successful faith-based practice while also having a good time.
[00:01:08] Now, let's get started
[00:01:11] Jingle: Where she grows your practice, she don't play. She does business with a twist of faith. It's Whitney Owens and the Wise Practice podcast. Whitney Owens and the Wise Practice podcast
[00:01:30] Whitney Owens: Hello friends, and welcome back to the Wise Practice Podcast. Thank you for letting me into your ears and into your hearts today.
[00:01:36] If you have not done this already, it would mean the world to me if you'd take a minute and write a review about the podcast. If you've been listening for a while, or maybe it's your first time, listen to the episode and then write your review. But I would love for you to share the podcast. Hit the, hit the link.
[00:01:51] Send this podcast to another faith-based practice owner that's looking for some encouragement and strategy on running and growing a private practice. I appreciate the time that you spend with me, and this month in June, we're doing a podcast takeover with Amy Dover, who's one of our Wise Practice consultants.
[00:02:07] She's technically based out of Alabama, where she's had a group practice for 10-plus years. She's got so much knowledge to bring to the table, so if you're thinking about starting a practice or maybe you've got a large group practice or anywhere in between, you're gonna find this podcast series helpful.
[00:02:22] So today she's gonna talk about how to know when you should hire or not, and the stuff that no one is telling you. I can't tell you how many times practice owners come to me and say, "I don't know what I don't know," right? Even yesterday, I was running my own mastermind group, and one of the gals said, "Here's where I'm at, but I don't know what I don't know.
[00:02:41] What do I need to be thinking about? What do I need to be brainstorming?" And we were able to, to talk through that. And so when we meet together, when we have a consultant, we have someone who can say, "Here are the things you need to think about." Another practice owner reached out to me earlier in the week and was telling me about his cancellation policy.
[00:02:58] I was like, "Oh, goodness. Here's the things we need to change, this, this, and this." He was like, "I had no idea." And I'm like, "Yeah, sometimes it's hard to know until you're in the situation." And so being able to have a community of other practice owners that you're with, a consultant that's been doing it for years, we can really point out what those things are that you don't know so that we can help you getting in the right direction.
[00:03:19] So I'm looking forward to you getting to know Amy. She's gonna help you with the questions that come up to you. Can I start a group practice? Can I be a leader? C- how do I feel being responsible for other people when I'm hiring? She's gonna answer all those questions and more. So I'm excited for you to be hanging out with her, and again, she's gonna be launching a mastermind group the month of July, and it's specifically to help practice owners go from solo to group.
[00:03:45] By the end of the six months, you should have hired two therapists and an admin. So if you've been thinking about a group, you're not really sure, Amy's the gal to talk to. You can email her at amy@wisepracticeconsulting.com or join her mastermind group so you can get to the place of having a mastermind group before the year 2027 begins.
[00:04:06] Wouldn't that be so cool? All right, well, we're gonna jump into the episode. This is, uh, episode 189, "Is It Time to Hire Your First Therapist? What Nobody Tells You About the Leap from Solo to Group Practice."
[00:04:24] Amy Dover: Hello, friends. Welcome back to the Wise Practice podcast. I'm Amy Dover, licensed marriage and family therapist, owner of Dover Counseling Services in Alabama, and a Wise Practice consultant. This is episode two in a four-part series for the month of June, and I'm so glad that you are hanging out with me today.
[00:04:41] Um, you can spend your time listening to so many other podcasts, and so I'm grateful that you're spending this time with me today. So today, we are gonna be talking about one of the most exciting and terrifying milestones in the life of a practice owner, hiring your first therapist. And I want to start with a story.
[00:05:02] I love stories. I'm a therapist. We love stories. But I want to start with a story because I think it captures everything you need to know about what this moment actually feels like versus what you think it's going to feel like. Let me set the scene. It was Wedn- it was a Wednesday around lunchtime. I was early in building my practice.
[00:05:24] I had just hired my first therapist. She had been with me, I guess, maybe three months or so by that point. She was a friend and a former coworker, which we are told to never hire those, but that's a story for another episode. And I overheard her telling another person who worked in our building that she was, quote, "really tired."
[00:05:46] She had already seen 10 clients that week, and she was just going to take the rest of the week off. I stood there and I felt my whole body go cold. 10 clients. It's Wednesday. The rest of the week off? And in my head, I'm doing math at lightning speed. Rent is due, there are clients on the schedule, and if she's not seeing them, am I seeing them?
[00:06:11] Do I see them? What is happening right now? Do I need to hire someone else? And that was the moment I realized nobody told me it was going to be like this. Nobody told me any of it. And so today, I want to give you some context for that Wednesday moment because I think my story is actually really common among pr- gr- among practice owners who came up the way that I did.
[00:06:36] And I, I've been in the field, I've been a therapist for over 20 years, and there have been just such huge changes in our profession over that period of time that you're gonna understand what I mean when I say who came up the way I did. So before I opened Over Counseling, I had worked in group practices.
[00:06:54] I had worked in community mental health and group homes and stuff too, but most recently, before I opened my own place, I had worked in group practices. That was really the world that I knew best, and in a group practice, from what I could tell, the model was pretty simple. You get busy, you hire. Referrals come in, case loads fill up, you bring on another therapist.
[00:07:18] Nobody sits around having deep strategic conversations about it. You just do it, and that was the culture that I was formed in. So when I opened my solo practice in January of 2015, and within three months I could no longer take more clients, referrals were coming in fast, and I was starting to turn people away, my instinct was exactly what it had always been.
[00:07:41] I need to hire. So I hired. I didn't think too hard about it. I just knew I needed another set of hands, and I didn't wanna turn work away. And here's what I wanna say about that instinct. It wasn't wrong. The instinct to grow when demand is there is not a bad instinct, but I had no infrastructure, no systems.
[00:08:03] Couldn't even have told you what system meant, right? Other than I, I'm a, I'm a systemically trained marriage and family therapist. That was the only system I understood then, but I had no systems. I had no contracts, no clear expectations, no real understanding of what it meant to be someone's employer rather than just their colleague.
[00:08:21] I had the instinct without the foundation And I did what a lot of practice owners do when they don't have a roadmap. I looked at what other practice owners were doing, and I copied them. "How are you handling compensation? Oh, okay, I'll do that. What does your contract look like? Can I borrow it? Yeah, okay, I'll use that.
[00:08:42] I'll, I'll use something like that." And it felt responsible because at least I was doing something. Except, and this is the part that took me a while to fully reckon with, a lot of those owners didn't know what they were doing either. We were all just copying each other, and half the problematic compensation structures, the unclear expectations, the hiring mistakes that practice owners make today exist because one owner copied another owner who copied someone else, and nobody actually did the math or asked whether any of it made sense.
[00:09:18] So the first thing I want to say to you today is this: don't build your practice by copying someone else's. Build it by understanding your own numbers, your own values, your own vision, and letting... and getting guidance from people who have actually done the work to figure this out and also with a whole lot of leading from the Holy Spirit.
[00:09:41] Incidentally, that's exactly what I'm doing, what I'm doing, what I'm doing now, which I, I love the consulting piece, walking practice owners through how they collaborate with God to build the practice that fits them, but we're gonna get to that. Okay, so let's go back to that Wednesday moment. Let me tell you the full picture because the overhearing the conversation moment was not even the most revealing part of that story.
[00:10:08] The most revealing part was what happened right before it When I hired my first therapist, I did not have a contract. I was a ten ninety-nine practice at the time because that's what everyone else was. So I did that too. And so I was a ten ninety-nine co-- uh, practice, and at the time, I just hadn't written a contract yet.
[00:10:29] I hadn't really thought that hard about it, honestly. I was not under contract at the previous group practice I was at, so why are contracts important, you know? I figured we knew each other, we were professionals, we'd figure it out, and it was fine until it wasn't on that Wednesday at noon. It wasn't fine at all.
[00:10:51] So when I overheard that conversation, I realized in an instant that I had never actually told her what I expected, how many clients a week was reasonable, what the minimum even looked like, what it meant to be part of a practice versus being a solo clinician renting space. I had hired her into my world and assumed that she would just know because she was a good therapist, because we had worked together before, because she was a professional.
[00:11:21] But here's the thing. She wasn't being difficult. She wasn't being lazy. She was doing exactly what she had been trained to do: operate as an autonomous clinician making her own decisions. Nobody had told her the rules were different here because I hadn't told her, because I didn't fully know that the rules were different yet either.
[00:11:45] That realization that I was now responsible for someone else's productivity, that her choices had direct financial impact and consequences for the practice, that I needed to actually lead and not just assume, that hit me like a freight train standing in that hallway on a Wednesday afternoon. I went straight to my office and started thinking about how to create a contract, which wasn't great, by the way, because I was trying to problem solve in a panic with no templates, no attorney, no guidance.
[00:12:16] But it was a start. And what it forced me to do was get clear for the first time on what I actually expected from someone who worked at Dover Counseling, how many clients, what the schedule looked like, how to handle paperwork, how to return messages, how to communicate with admin, how to represent the practice.
[00:12:37] And here's the thing I wish somebody had told me before I ever hired anyone. Your new therapist is going to look to you for direction, not because they're incompetent, but because every practice does things differently and they are stepping into your world. They need to know how you do things here, how you handle intake, how you communicate with clients, how you manage the administrative side of your caseload.
[00:13:05] They are not going to just figure it out. They need you to lead them, and if you haven't thought about what leading actually looks like, you will feel it the moment that first person comes on board. Nobody told me that. I hadn't even thought to think about it or ask about it. I thought I was just adding a clinician to a growing practice as I had always seen before.
[00:13:28] What I was actually doing was becoming someone's employer and leader. Those are very different things, and the sooner you understand that distinction, the better off you and your first hire are going to be. So let's talk about readiness. I work with practice owners at different stages through my consulting work, and I see same patterns over and over, and I want to name some of the signs that tell me gently but clearly that someone is not quite ready to hire yet, even if they think they are The first one is the most practical.
[00:14:02] They don't have consistent referrals coming in. I cannot say this clearly enough. You need to have a steady, reliable pipeline of referrals before you hire someone, not after. I have watched practice owners hire a therapist and then scramble to fill their caseload, hoping the referrals will show up once the therapist is there.
[00:14:24] We're trying to figure out all the marketing needs after the therapist has already been hired. It's so stressful for the owner and frustrating for the therapist, and it puts enormous financial pressure on you and unfair pressure on the new hire. Referrals first, hire second. That's the order. The second sign is fear.
[00:14:44] Specifically, fear of being seen as an employer, fear of being judged by your hire, fear of having authority over someone else's professional life. I understand this fear deeply, especially for therapists, because we are trained to be collaborative and relational, and we don't necessarily love hierarchies.
[00:15:04] The idea of being the boss can feel deeply uncomfortable. But if you haven't done some work on that, it'll show up in your hiring, your onboarding, and your leadership in ways that can create some real problems. Third, understanding the front-end work. A lot of practice owners look at a group practice from the outside and think, "I just need to hire someone and split the work."
[00:15:26] I mean, that's what I thought. What they don't see is everything that has to be in place before that hire can be successful. Systems, onboarding, clear expectations, contracts and agreements, a way to track productivity, a culture that someone can actually step into. And yes, a solo practice has a culture.
[00:15:47] Building all of that takes significant time and energy before it ever pays off. And if you're not prepared for that investment, the first hire will feel like it's drowning you And then there's the one I see most often in Christian practice owners specifically, and I say this with so much love because I have done this myself, hiring a square peg for a round hole.
[00:16:12] You interview someone and something feels a little off, the values aren't quite aligned, or the clinical approach isn't quite what you're looking for, or your gut is telling you something your heart is trying to override, or maybe the Holy Spirit is telling you not to make this hiring decision, but you talk yourself into it anyway.
[00:16:32] You think, "I'll train them. I'll invest in them. They'll come around." They usually don't. 98% of the time they don't come around. And so this is why we need processes and, and th- a roadmap on what we're gonna do when it comes to hiring a therapist. Because if you do it like that, if you hire that square peg, that square peg for that round hole, you
[00:16:55] What you end up with typically is months of energy poured into someone who was never quite the right fit, while the practice absorbs the cost of that mismatch. It is so much harder to unwind a bad hire than to hold out for the right one. And for Christian practice owners in particular, there's often that compassion element.
[00:17:16] Someone needs a job, they seem like a good person, you wanna help. Those are beautiful impulses, but they are not a hiring strategy. Hire for fit, for values, and for readiness, not because someone needs the opportunity. So let's talk for a minute about what readiness actually looks like, because I don't want this episode to feel like a list of reasons not to hire.
[00:17:39] I want it to help you accurately assess where you are, and if you're ready, I want you to feel that clearly and then move forward with confidence The clearest sign that you are ready to hire is a consistent growing wait list with referrals coming in regularly. Not a good week here and there, a pattern.
[00:17:56] If you are turning people away because you are genuinely out of capacity, that is the market telling you it's time. That is demand outpacing supply, and it is exactly the foundation you need to bring someone else on. You're also ready when you can articulate your values and culture clearly enough to hire for them.
[00:18:15] When someone else is sitting across from you in an interview and you can tell them, "Here's what we believe, here's how we operate, here's what it means to be part of this team," and you mean it, and you can back it up. Because the right hire is not just someone with a license or just someone who's breathing, it's someone who fits who you are and where you're going.
[00:18:35] You're ready when you have the basic infrastructure in place, or you're at least actively building it. You don't have to have everything perfect because your systems will never be perfect. They will always need to be reassessed. You don't have to have every system buttoned up before you bring someone else on, but you do need to have thought about it.
[00:18:53] You need a contract or an employment agreement. You need a way to handle scheduling and billing and intake. You need enough structure that someone can step into your practice and function. And maybe most importantly, you're ready when you're genuinely willing to lead, when you're ready to step out in faith and follow what you believe God is calling you to do.
[00:19:15] Not just clinically supervise, not just collaborate as equals, but lead. Set expectations, give feedback, hold people accountable, make hard calls when necessary. That willingness to step into the employer role, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it's new, that is what separates practice owners who grow successfully from those who stay stuck.
[00:19:39] And if you're sitting there nodding at that list, if the referrals are there, the values are clear, the structure is coming together, and you feel the pull to grow, I want you to pay attention to that. Okay. I want to ask you something that goes a little deeper than systems and referral pipelines, because I think a lot of Christian practice owners, for us, the question of whether to hire isn't really a practical question at its core.
[00:20:06] It's a faith question. Are you hesitating on God's calling? Because here's what I see in some of the practice owners I work with who are stuck at solo. The referrals are there. The demand is real. The capacity to grow exists, but they are frozen. And when we dig into it, what we almost always find underneath the practical concerns is fear.
[00:20:32] Fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of being responsible for someone else, fear of being seen, fear of stepping into something bigger than what they've always known. And I want to ask you gently but directly, is it possible that your fear and your self-doubt are keeping you in the same place while God is trying to move you forward?
[00:20:53] Is it possible that what feels like wisdom, staying small, staying safe, staying in control, is actually just fear with a reasonable and responsible sounding explanation Because here's what I know about building a group practice from 11 years of doing it. It is an adventure. Probably, well, outside of being a wife and mother, definitely the hardest adventure, but most exhilarating adventure that I've ever been on.
[00:21:22] It is hard, and it is stretching, and it will require things from you that you don't currently have. It will push you past your comfort zone regularly, and it is also one of the most meaningful things you can do with your calling. Because when you build a team of strong therapists who share your values, you multiply that impact.
[00:21:40] You serve more people. You reach further into your community. You build something that outlasts you, legacy. Think about what it could look like. A team built around shared values and faith, serving your community at a level you could never reach alone, extending the reach of what God has called you to do, not just in your individual counseling room, but through a whole practice of people who believe what you believe and care what you care about.
[00:22:08] That is not just a business decision. It is kingdom work. And I wanna ask you, are you willing to learn, grow, and stretch beyond your comfort zone to do it? Are you willing to say yes to the adventure he's calling you to? Don't say no to him. If this episode described where you are, if you're sitting on a wait list, having to turn people away, feeling the pull to grow, wrestling with the fear of what it means to hire, I wanna tell you about something I'm doing specifically for you.
[00:22:37] In July, I'm launching a mastermind group called Built to Last, Growing from a Solo Practice to a Group. It is for Christian practice owners who are either ready to make their first hire or who have maybe hired their first therapist and are ready to grow bigger and who are done trying to figure it out alone.
[00:22:54] We start July ninth, and we'll run for six months. We'll finish a couple of weeks before Christmas. We'll meet live every other week, and we'll go deep on the things that actually move the needle, systems, financials, marketing, compensation strategies for both admin and clinical staff, money mindset, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and one of the most important shifts you will ever make as a practice owner, learning to think and lead like a CEO instead of a clinician.
[00:23:24] Because that shift, that is everything, and it is so much easier when you're walking through it with people who are in it with you and who get it. This is the room I wish had existed when I was three months into my solo practice, turning people away, hiring a friend without a contract, and hearing her say she needed the rest of the week off.
[00:23:45] Just learning everything the hard way. It's a room full of people who share your faith, understand your world, and are committed to building something that lasts. If that sounds like what you've been looking for, I want you to check it out. If you sign up before June 18th, you'll get the early bird discount, which is $50 off the monthly rate, and if you're a Wise Practice community member, you'll get $100 off per month.
[00:24:08] If you're a community member and you sign up by the early bird date, you're gonna get $150 off per month. That is amazing, y'all. It's great. All the details and registration are at wisepracticeconsulting.com/masterminds, and that link will also be in today's show notes. I wanna thank you so much for being here with me today.
[00:24:30] The work that you're doing matters. Um, we have been given the opportunity to just be God's vessels and do beautiful work in His world, and what a privilege that is. What a privilege. The practice that you're building, the one that's a little bigger than what you... th- than what you have right now, the one that reaches further and serves more and reflects your values, it's possible.
[00:24:54] You just need the right foundation and the right people around you. Thanks so much for spending time with me today. I'll see you in the next episode.
[00:25:04] Jingle: So click on follow and leave a review and keep on loving this work we do with Whitney Owens and the Wise Practice Podcast. Whitney Owens and the Wise Practice Podcast
[00:25:22] Whitney Owens: Special thanks to Marty Altman for the music in this podcast. The Wise Practice Podcast is part of the SiteCraft Podcast Network, a collaboration of independent podcasters focused on helping people live more meaningful and productive lives.
[00:25:36] To learn more about the other amazing podcasts in the network, head on over to sitecraftnetwork.com. The Wise Practice Podcast represents the opinions of Whitney Owens and her guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only, and the content should not be taken as legal advice. If you have legal questions, please consult an attorney.
