WP187 | Reverse Interview: Whitney Owens on Building Multiple Income Streams with Laura Long
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I’m usually the one asking the questions around here… but in this episode, Laura Long flips the script and interviews me about something I know so many of y’all are thinking about right now:
What does it actually look like to build income streams beyond the therapy room?
We got real about the journey behind Wise Practice, the fears and risks that came with starting something new, and the tension so many therapists feel when they know they’re called to more but aren’t sure where to begin.
This isn’t one of those “just create passive income” conversations. We talk honestly about the emotional resistance, identity shifts, mistakes, faith, burnout, and risk-taking that come with building something outside your private practice.
I also share the story of how Wise Practice was born, the seasons where I doubted myself, and what I wish I had known before stepping into entrepreneurship.
If you’ve had an idea sitting on your heart for years, this episode might be the push you need to finally take the next step.
I Knew I Was Called to More Before I Had the Language for It
Looking back now, I can see the signs were there long before Wise Practice ever existed. At the time, though, I just felt restless. I was running my group practice, serving clients, leading a team, and doing work that genuinely mattered to me. But underneath all of that was this quiet feeling that there was still something more I was supposed to do.
I didn’t know what it looked like yet. I just knew I couldn’t shake the feeling.
And honestly, I resisted it for a long time.
I think people assume that when someone starts a business or launches something new, they must have felt confident and excited from the beginning. That was not my experience at all. I was overwhelmed. My daughter had recently been diagnosed with autism and hearing loss. My husband was working full-time in ministry. I was trying to grow a practice while also carrying the emotional and logistical weight of everyday life.
The idea of starting something else felt almost irresponsible.
I remember thinking, “Surely someone else can do this.”
Why the Business Advice Around Me Felt Incomplete
Around that same time, I joined a mastermind group because I wanted guidance on growing my practice. The business advice itself wasn’t bad. I learned plenty of practical things about leadership, systems, and scaling. But every time we met, I felt this disconnect I couldn’t fully explain.
Faith shaped every single decision I made as a business owner. It impacted how I hired people, how I led my team, how I handled conflict, how I communicated, and even how I wanted clients to feel when they interacted with our practice.
But in that space, faith felt like an uncomfortable topic. It wasn’t openly rejected, but it wasn’t truly understood either.
The more time I spent there, the more I realized that I was trying to build something deeply personal and purpose-driven while being guided by people who didn’t fully understand the foundation it was being built on.
That realization changed me.
It made me start asking deeper questions about alignment, calling, and whether success without alignment would ever actually feel fulfilling.
The Retreat That Shifted Everything
There was one moment in particular that still feels vivid when I think about it. I was on a retreat near Lake Michigan, walking outside alone and looking out over the water. I remember feeling exhausted mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I had been carrying around this idea that maybe therapists needed a space where business growth and faith could exist together, but I kept dismissing it.
Then, standing there, I felt this overwhelming sense that I was supposed to stop ignoring it.
It wasn’t dramatic. There wasn’t a lightning bolt moment. It was more like a deep knowing that settled into my spirit. I realized I had spent so much time consumed by the daily responsibilities of running a practice that I hadn’t made room to consider the bigger thing God might be asking me to build.
That scared me.
Because the moment you admit you feel called to something bigger, you also have to wrestle with whether you’re willing to act on it.
I Tried to Find Someone Else to Do It
The funny thing is, even after that retreat, I still didn’t want to be the person leading it.
I kept trying to hand the vision off to someone else.
I remember thinking, “There has to already be somebody doing this.” I even approached other consultants and leaders, thinking they would be perfect for it. In my mind, I was helping solve a problem by finding the right person for the job.
I just didn’t want the right person to be me.
Part of that was fear. Part of it was insecurity. And part of it was honestly exhaustion. Starting another business sounded impossible at that stage of my life.
So when I eventually partnered with another business to do faith-based consulting under their platform, it felt like the safer option. I thought maybe I could still pursue the vision without carrying the full responsibility of building something from scratch.
At the time, that decision made perfect sense to me.
The Pain of Misalignment
For a while, things worked. I was coaching people. I was growing in confidence. I was learning how to teach, lead, and communicate in a different way. But eventually, I started noticing something uncomfortable.
The deeper I got into the work, the more I realized the values and direction of the business didn’t fully align with what I believed I was supposed to create.
That kind of misalignment slowly wears on you.
It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it yourself, but there’s a deep tension that happens when outward success and inward peace stop matching each other.
Eventually, I had to make an incredibly difficult decision. I walked away from the platform I had helped build. I left behind the audience, the email list, the podcast, the momentum, and the security that came with it.
And then I had to start over completely.
Starting Over Felt Brutal
I don’t think people talk enough about how painful rebuilding can feel.
When you’ve already invested years into something, the thought of beginning again can feel unbearable. I questioned myself constantly during that season. I wondered if I was making a mistake. I wondered if I was being too idealistic. I wondered if I had completely overestimated my own ability.
At one point, I felt so discouraged that I almost gave up entirely.
Then I attended a conference where Laura Long was speaking about imperfect action and momentum. She talked about how clarity comes through movement, not overthinking. Something about that message hit me right in the middle of all the fear and uncertainty I had been carrying.
I opened my laptop during her session and registered the LLC for Wise Practice right there in the room.
That moment changed my life.
Building Multiple Income Streams Is Not Passive
One thing I wish more therapists understood is that building another income stream is rarely passive, especially in the beginning.
There’s this idea online that you can create a course, write a workbook, or start a membership and suddenly make money while you sleep. And while there may eventually be systems that create more flexibility, the truth is that building something meaningful takes an incredible amount of work.
It takes emotional energy.
It takes consistency.
It takes visibility.
It takes resilience.
And maybe most importantly, it takes patience.
I think one of the biggest surprises for me was realizing how difficult it is to get people’s attention online. You can have something genuinely valuable to offer, but if nobody knows you exist, it doesn’t matter how good the offer is.
That’s why building trust matters so much.
Not marketing tricks. Not flashy sales tactics. Actual trust.
The Identity Shift Nobody Warns You About
There’s also an identity shift that happens when you move beyond the therapy room.
Suddenly, you’re not just a therapist anymore. You become a leader, a creator, a business owner, a speaker, a mentor, or a consultant. You start becoming more visible. More people know your name. More people have opinions about what you’re doing.
That visibility can feel uncomfortable.
I’ve had moments where people recognized me at conferences or introduced me to others in ways that made me feel strangely exposed. Not because success itself felt bad, but because visibility changes the way you move through the world.
There’s a new level of responsibility that comes with it.
And if I’m honest, I still struggle with that sometimes.
What I Would Tell Any Therapist Feeling Called to More
If you feel like there’s something more you’re supposed to build, my biggest advice is this:
Stop waiting until you feel completely ready.
You probably won’t.
Spend time getting clear on what actually matters to you. Pay attention to the things you naturally feel drawn toward. Notice what people already come to you for help with. Think about what kind of impact you want to make and what kind of life you want your business to support.
And then take one small step.
Not fifty.
Not the whole five-year plan.
Just the next step.
Because clarity rarely comes before action. Most of the time, clarity comes because of action.
And even if you make mistakes along the way, you will learn things through doing that you could never learn by staying stuck in research mode forever.
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[00:00:00] Whitney Owens: If you're not quite ready for ongoing SEO services but you know you need direction, a strategy session might be exactly what you're looking for. At Simplified SEO Consulting, their strategy sessions are designed to help you gain clarity, confidence, and a clear path forward. They will take a deep dive on your website, your goals, your current visibility, and provide actionable recommendations that you can implement right away.
[00:00:24] This is perfect for private practice owners who want expert guidance without a long-term commitment. So right now, they're offering $50 off your SEO strategy session for listeners of this podcast. So if you've been feeling stuck or unsure what to prioritize next, this is a great first step. You can book your session at simplifiedseoconsulting.com.
[00:00:46] 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.
[00:01:09] Now let's get started.
[00:01:13] Jingle: Where she grows your practice, and 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.
[00:01:31] Whitney Owens: Hello, friends, and welcome to the Wise Practice Podcast. Today is a really special follow-up from last week.
[00:01:37] So if you missed the episode last week, I encourage you to head there and listen to it. Either stop this and go back or after this episode, because Laura Long, one of the consultants with Wise Practice, is doing a podcast takeover last week and this week. So last week we talked all about is now the time to build an additional stream of income.
[00:01:55] A lot of times we have these ideas outside the therapy chair that we're trying to figure out, is this what I need to be doing? You know, something in addition to seeing my clients. So Laura walks you through that. Now today, in this episode, we kind of flipped roles. Even on my own podcast, I was interviewed.
[00:02:14] So this was all Laura's idea, that she wanted to spend the episode interviewing me and diving into what we actually need to know before we build multiple streams of income. 'Cause here is what we see with practice owners. We get really excited about an idea. We're passionate. It's meaningful. We really do feel called by the Spirit to do this thing, and we are in very many ways.
[00:02:37] But we struggle with implementation to know how to do the thing that we're passionate about, right? So it's that slowing down, asking ourselves, "How do I invest my time and energy in this? What is this really gonna look like?" Right? Before you're diving in. Do you have the strategy, the structure, the capacity?
[00:02:55] To make it sustainable. So that is what our conversation is about today. Laura and I take time to really think through the practical side, what does it take to build something outside of the room, but also the spiritual side. How do we discern what we're called to? So this is such a fun conversation, and honestly, one that I think will give you tons to reflect on.
[00:03:14] I truly enjoyed it. Lots of nuggets. So if you didn't catch last week's episode, again, I encourage you to go back to listen so you can get to know Laura a little better and understand more about building sustainable income. And I don't want you to miss this experience as well, is that Laura Long is leading an incredible mastermind group starting in just a few weeks.
[00:03:35] This is a six-month experience where she will walk with you closely through the discernment process to identify your ideas and put steps into action so you can build that additional stream of income. If you are thinking about another stream of income and you're not really sure, head to wisepracticeconsulting.com to learn more about that mastermind group that starts in June.
[00:03:55] Thank you again for your faithful leadership, for following God as you grow your practice and your additional streams of income, and thank you for being with me on the show. Now let's dive into the episode.
[00:04:13] Laura Long: All right. Welcome back to the Wise Practice podcast. I am Laura Long, taking over for Whitney Owens, who has so graciously agreed to join me today because I wanted to have a conversation that I wish I could have listened to earlier in my career. Now, we're not talking step-by-step process or anything like that, but I do wanna talk honestly with Whitney about what it actually looks like to build income streams beyond the therapy room.
[00:04:42] So as you all know, Whitney is our fearless leader here at Wise Practice. Do you have anything that you wanna say further, Whitney, to introduce yourself? I mean, y- you pretty much don't need an introduction to your own podcast.
[00:04:54] Whitney Owens: That's funny. No, I'm just e- enjoying this. It's fun to be on the other side on your own show and to have the amazing Laura Long giving me my interview.
[00:05:03] I'm really happy to have that as well.
[00:05:05] Laura Long: It's very much a full circle moment, isn't it-
[00:05:07] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm ...
[00:05:08] Laura Long: that I'm the one interviewing you? And so if you're listening to this, you probably have been thinking about doing something more than your private practice, but you're not quite sure where to start, what that means.
[00:05:20] And odds are it's not that you don't have an idea, you probably just have too many ideas. So Whitney, I wanted to ask you some questions, and this'll just kind of be like a back and forth because you and I both have our own different journeys into- Mm-hmm ... not just private practice, but starting multiple income streams.
[00:05:37] So I wanna talk about the good, the bad, the ugly, the things that we wish we would have known before diving headfirst into these different forays in, of alternate income streams. And hopefully by the end of our conversation together, people will feel really clear on whether or not this is something that they might wanna pursue.
[00:05:59] Whitney Owens: Yeah, that's great.
[00:05:59] Laura Long: Yeah. So my first question for you, Whitney, it's like, you know, a ask me anything episode. I love this. When did you first realize that you wanted to build something beyond your private practice?
[00:06:15] Whitney Owens: Good question. I think it was 2018 or '19. I was in a mastermind group, and I was starting a group practice, and during the group I, I wasn't really getting a lot of direction faith-wise.
[00:06:32] I was getting a lot of instruction on the business side. But I- Yeah,
[00:06:37] Laura Long: the tactical ...
[00:06:38] Whitney Owens: Yeah. And I'm in this group, about six other people, and I'm like, "Faith is why I do it. That is h- gonna impact my hiring, it's gonna impact my values, it's gonna impact my website, my branding, all the things." And not that I was being told that I couldn't talk about that, but it was very uncomfortable to talk about that in this group.
[00:07:00] Laura Long: Mm.
[00:07:01] Whitney Owens: I also didn't sense that the person leading the group really knew much about that or felt, had an alignment in that.
[00:07:08] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:07:09] Whitney Owens: I was like, "Am I really gonna try to get advice from someone who isn't really understanding this about me?" Right? 'Cause that's an important component of why we're called. M- exactly what we're talking about, called to more.
[00:07:21] Like- Mm-hmm ... I felt called to more, and I needed someone to lead me in that, and I didn't have anybody. Um, and so I went on a retreat. I'm gonna go a little bit past your question here.
[00:07:30] Laura Long: I wanna know, we want to know all of
[00:07:32] Whitney Owens: it. Okay. Um, so I'm thinking through all this, and I'm like, "Maybe I should do some consulting for practice owners that have a faith-based perspective."
[00:07:41] I, I remember thinking, "Someone needs to do this." I actually didn't wanna do it. I wanted somebody else to do it. I am-
[00:07:48] Laura Long: I wish someone would just take this from me so I don't have to be the one to do it.
[00:07:52] Whitney Owens: Oh, yeah, because I was not in a place in my life to be doing that. I actually- Go ahead.
[00:07:58] Laura Long: You sound like Moses right now 'cause I remember reading all this scripture in Exodus where Moses is like, "Dang it, God."
[00:08:04] Like, "I do not wanna do this. Why? I am not the person for this job." That's who you sound like.
[00:08:10] Whitney Owens: That is exactly what I was thinking. At that time in my life, I had a very newly diagnosed autistic daughter. She was two. Mm. She had a hearing loss. I mean, it was like you couldn't sleep at night. It was terrible.
[00:08:23] And then, um, I had my other daughter, who was, like, six. My husband's a full-time pastor. I'm running a group practice. Like, who has any capacity or energy to take on starting another business, right? So at the time I was like, "Ugh," and I, I remember going to Gordon Brewer actually, and I was like, "Oh, he'd be really good at this," you know, that he's a minister, um, and a consultant, and he was like, "Nope, I've already got my own thing going on."
[00:08:47] I was like, "Dang it. Who's gonna do this?" And so I'm on this retreat, I'm walking by the Lake Michigan, up on a mountain, and I look over the water and I'm just like, "Wow," like, "this is big. This is big" Mm ... and, and I felt the Lord, like, impress on my heart, uh, you- y- you're called to this. Like, you need to do this.
[00:09:08] And I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha, where M- Martha is all in the busyness. She's doing all the things.
[00:09:16] Laura Long: She's cleaning up. She's getting ready.
[00:09:19] Whitney Owens: That's right. And Mary has selected the best thing. And h- it was like an analogy to me that I was so focused on my group practice and the details and the doing, that I wasn't seeing the bigger thing, the more important thing, which was doing faith-based consulting for practice owners, and that is where I have grown so close in my relationship with God.
[00:09:43] So in the same way that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, it's, I feel like I get to experience that leading Wise Practice.
[00:09:50] Laura Long: Wow. Oof.
[00:09:52] Whitney Owens: I'm a little emotional today.
[00:09:53] Laura Long: What? No. I mean, how can you not be emotional recounting that story and how the Holy Spirit essentially came upon you that fateful day in Lake Michigan where you were just looking out onto the mountain and being told, being impressed upon, "This is for you"?
[00:10:09] Jingle: Yeah.
[00:10:11] Whitney Owens: Yeah, I know it was a journey to get there
[00:10:13] Laura Long: because- Oh, yeah. We're gonna talk about that.
[00:10:15] Whitney Owens: Yeah. I try, I still continue to try not to do it.
[00:10:19] Laura Long: I love how you're actively trying not to do the thing that is continuing to grow and, and impacting the lives of hundreds, even thousands, of therapists across the world.
[00:10:29] So for you, and I think for many others who dabble in ulti- alternative income streams, it wasn't really about leaving therapy at all. It was simply about expanding your impact. That's what I'm hearing.
[00:10:44] Whitney Owens: I love how you said that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It, it truly, as I even look at it now, Wise Practice and Water's Edge, they complement and feed each other.
[00:10:52] They both make both better. So if I hadn't done Wise Practice, Water's Edge probably wouldn't be as great as it is now 'cause of the way it helps it. Yeah.
[00:11:01] Laura Long: Right. And I also love how you pointed out that the mastermind group you were a part of didn't understand, didn't align with how important your faith is to you, because you're right, it a- it touches everything.
[00:11:13] Every decision you make as a leader, as an entrepreneur, is rooted in and grounded in your faith. And so if you're gonna be a part of a business building group that doesn't take that into account, you might run the risk of building something that actually isn't aligned with your faith and doesn't feed the bigger mission, right?
[00:11:32] Yeah. Yeah. So you knew to step back and say, "Wait a minute. Just because this, this doesn't fit the narrative of this mastermind doesn't mean that I give up on it." So what did you do next?
[00:11:44] Whitney Owens: Which part of the story am I gonna tell? Um, so, so next I was like, "Huh, is there really people that want Christian-based consulting for their private practice?
[00:11:55] Are these people out there or is it just me?" So I had an SEO expert with me at the time, and so we... I just happened to have one right beside me. And we said- Who
[00:12:03] Laura Long: happens to be one of your best friends.
[00:12:05] Whitney Owens: Yeah. And so we said, well... And we became friends shortly after this. But she, she sat down and she did a search.
[00:12:12] She was like, "Over 700 people every month specifically search for that." And I was like, "Oh." Now remember, this was back before the world of AI the way we know it, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, I was like, "Wow, that's a lot of people. Wow." So then I went to my... I was on the retreat with my consultant at the time, and I went to my consultant and I said, "I'm gonna do this.
[00:12:38] There's a need, I feel a call. Are you gonna help me do it? Help me build this business?" 'Cause I knew I had to build the business. And then he was like, "Oh, well why don't you just join my business and do faith-based consulting?" And at the time I was like, "That's like a dream come true. I get to do what I wanna do, and I don't have to start my own business."
[00:12:58] Mm-hmm. I don't have to do my marketing, get an email list, get followers, all the things which maybe we'll talk about in a little bit.
[00:13:04] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:13:04] Whitney Owens: I was like, "Great." And he's gonna help me do it under his platform. This all seemed like perf- perfect alignment. Um, so I went down that road, and I went down that road for three years, two and a half years.
[00:13:17] Mm-hmm It was good for a while Yeah ... and then it became very clear that his agenda, values, alignment, business model was just not lining up with the faith-based desire that I had. And so that was at that point that I had to make a really hard decision to leave that position. Yeah. Which meant leaving the email list I had grown, the podcast I had created, uh, the groups I was leading, and I walked away because I was like, "I've gotta make something that is more aligned with what I know to be true about me- Yeah
[00:13:48] and what I want to do." So then I started all over.
[00:13:52] Laura Long: Talk about a pivot. I mean, your intention didn't pivot, but you essentially had to just burn the house down and rebuild in a new place.
[00:14:00] Whitney Owens: That's right. And that was, you know, when we were in Nashville, and I was at that conference, and you were speaking.
[00:14:06] Mm-hmm. And I was sitting there, and I was like, "I've gotta do this. I've gotta start this business." 'Cause at t- when I left that other business, I was so just broken. I was like, "I can't. I'm tired." Mm-hmm. "I don't wanna do it." And God was like, "No, get up and get this done." And that actually is kinda what you said.
[00:14:22] And I pulled out my computer, and I purchased the LLC while you were speaking, and Wise Practice was born.
[00:14:29] Laura Long: Oh, I was speaking on impulse momentum.
[00:14:32] Whitney Owens: Okay.
[00:14:32] Laura Long: Yeah, and imperfect action and just taking the next step even if you- Yes ... don't know what the one is after that and after that and after that, and even if you don't have all the an- answers, you, you'll never have all the answers, so just do the thing.
[00:14:44] And so you did. Yeah. You opened up your laptop, and you did the thing right then and there.
[00:14:47] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Which
[00:14:48] Laura Long: is another reason why this conversation is so full circle.
[00:14:50] Whitney Owens: It's so cool, yeah. And I do have to just point out, that hotel in Nashville is where we're gonna have the summit, maybe in that exact same room.
[00:14:58] I'm not 100% sure, but that's just, um, it's really special to me to be able to go back to that place where- I
[00:15:05] Laura Long: want you to sit in that same seat if they have the tables arranged the same way and just sit there and speak to 2019 Whitney.
[00:15:15] Whitney Owens: Yeah. It's
[00:15:16] Laura Long: gonna- Yeah. Which I s- I guess is a perfect segue into my next question.
[00:15:21] What is something that you wish you had understood before starting Wise Practice Consulting?
[00:15:28] Whitney Owens: I wish I had believed in myself more. I, I don't think that I made a wrong decision necessarily by joining this other group, and it got me growing in my confidence, my ability, meeting people, but I also coulda just started it right then.
[00:15:46] Laura Long: Yeah. And so-
[00:15:46] Whitney Owens: And
[00:15:46] Laura Long: maybe you were scared.
[00:15:48] Whitney Owens: Oh, I was so scared. And so thinking about the two to three years that I worked under somebody else, though I learned a lot, and I c- I'm grateful for all that that was, that was for me, as I said it to you and I was reflecting, 'cause I've actually never reflected on this before until we just said it right now.
[00:16:05] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:16:05] Whitney Owens: I just told you about all the reasons why that leader wasn't in alignment, but then I still moved forward with it, you know? Mm-hmm,
[00:16:13] Laura Long: yeah.
[00:16:13] Whitney Owens: And I think I took the easy way out. Easy way's not always bad But I wish I had just said to myself, "You know what, Whitney? You don't need somebody else." Yeah. "You can do this on your own."
[00:16:23] And I wish I had just... I mean, I need other people, like consultants, but I didn't need- Mm-hmm ... another business to do it under.
[00:16:29] Laura Long: Yeah. So you wish that you had trusted in your own capabilities and, you know, the Lord's guidance was gonna be there with you the whole time.
[00:16:39] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:16:40] Laura Long: You still learned a lot, so that's something important to consider, too, and I, and I want your listeners to hear that, that if you're in a, a season of life where you're contemplating adding a different income stream or pivoting your business, no matter what you do, you can always change it again.
[00:16:57] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:16:57] Laura Long: You know, you weren't locked in, that you had started doing faith-based consulting under someone else's umbrella and then you just s- couldn't do it. It just, it took a lot more effort that you had to start over.
[00:17:09] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:09] Laura Long: You were still able to continue, though, and you could have pivoted at any point.
[00:17:13] So I almost wanna give people that permission slip as well-
[00:17:16] Whitney Owens: Yeah ...
[00:17:16] Laura Long: that you can start anywhere. And who knows? Maybe six months down the road or 18 months, or in your case, three years, you realize that it's not working the way that you had hoped. You can always change it. Yep. You're in charge here. It, it...
[00:17:29] You're not married to it.
[00:17:31] Whitney Owens: Yeah. God has a reason. Like, every season, God can give something to us.
[00:17:35] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:36] Whitney Owens: Um, but I also think that it's important to say I sorta lost two and a half years of building Wise Practice.
[00:17:44] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:44] Whitney Owens: Right? So I think a lot of us don't wanna move forward 'cause we think we're not capable, I don't have all the things I need, and then when you wait, you've lost that time.
[00:17:55] Yeah. And time is so important.
[00:17:57] Laura Long: I'm glad you said that because that's, that's actually my answer to what is something I wish I had understood before starting, is that the time it takes to, to do anything when it comes to a different income stream, it takes so much more time and effort and energy than we might realize- Yeah
[00:18:16] going into it. You know, like, even building an email list. Yeah. I was talking to a consulting client just the other day, and she has 17 subscribers on her email list, which is not nothing, 'cause it's not her mom. You know, these are actual people who wanna hear from her and are- Yeah ... getting value. I mean, she's new to the whole thing, um, and she was just given an opportunity that might really exponentially grow that email list.
[00:18:41] And what I told her is your first thousand are the hardest. Have you found that to be true?
[00:18:46] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:18:47] Laura Long: The first thousand are the hardest. After that, it gets a little easier because people start talking about the value that you're providing and- Mm ... and the results that they're seeing from, whether it's your emails, your blog posts, your videos, your podcast, anything that you're putting out there to solve a problem, people start to talk.
[00:19:01] They start to share.
[00:19:03] Whitney Owens: Yeah. You know what I have noticed lately? It is really hard, and I don't think people understand this part, to get people to listen to you. You can have so much value- But knowing the right way to communicate that to people in a way that is engaging with the world the way it is.
[00:19:21] There's just so much out there.
[00:19:23] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:19:24] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah The email list is so important. I think people put too much value on all the other things, but yeah.
[00:19:32] Laura Long: Yeah, I think your email list is one of your most important assets if you have an online business anyway.
[00:19:36] Whitney Owens: Sure
[00:19:36] Laura Long: do. You know, if you're selling informational products.
[00:19:38] It can just be difficult. So that, that's something that I wish I had understood. It wouldn't have changed what I did. I think it just would have helped me set realistic expectations if I had known that this might take longer than just a few months to grow an email list to 10,000 people.
[00:19:53] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Speaking of growing an email list, we do have a handout on this episode in the show notes, the call to more with additional streams of income.
[00:20:03] If you wanna go grab that, it'll put you on the email list for Wise Practice.
[00:20:07] Laura Long: Yep. Yep. And you're gonna get all kinds of goodies and valuable input from Whitney on a regular basis, which you are great about sending not just, like, regular communication, but really helpful nuggets. Yeah. I find myself reading every single one of your emails and taking away something.
[00:20:21] Oh. So I lo- I love that about your email list, is you're not just... You're not, like, selling something every single week and just being like, "Here, buy this thing, buy this thing." That's not it at all. You're there to actually help people and really help them to get to the next level, whatever that is for their businesses, whether they're starting a solo practice or going from solo to group or doing something like what we're talking about today where you're building different streams of income.
[00:20:43] You're really just coming from this place of service, and you really do have a servant's heart, which is why I think that this business is perfect for you.
[00:20:51] Whitney Owens: Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I, I certainly think when you're doing an additional stream of income, as it grows, it's... And I guess in any business, what are the things that are the most important for you to be a part of, and which ones are less?
[00:21:02] And so all my social media posts, it's usually somebody else posting all that for me, right? But my emails, these are my people, right? So I do sit down and write each one personally and consider the faith-based practice owner that's reading this email. So I'm glad that, I'm glad that's communicated.
[00:21:20] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:20] All right, next question. What is something that surprised you about your income stream once you got into it? So for you it was the faith-based consulting. What surprised you?
[00:21:36] Whitney Owens: Oh, that's funny, the first thing that came to mind, that I'm really good at it.
[00:21:41] Laura Long: You're, as much as you- ... pushed it away and tried to not do it, it actually turns out that you're good at
[00:21:49] Whitney Owens: it. Yeah. I kept thinking, I can't... I mean, when I talk about the capability part, I think a lot of that was, like, am I capable of building another business?
[00:21:56] Laura Long: Mm-hmm. I
[00:21:57] Whitney Owens: think I was capable. And then I started doing it, and I was like, I'm really good at it and I love it. That experience of fullness of joy that you can have in your heart when you do something, when you love... Like I remember the first client I ever sold in my private practice- even though, like, the heat didn't work and I I was like, "What the heck am I doing?"
[00:22:16] I drove home. I remember driving back to my house over the, over the bridge and being like, "I love the work I do. This is it" Yeah. "This is what I was made for." And I'll tell you, Laura, I still feel that way when we do a Wise Practice meeting. Like, the- Mm-hmm ... meetings, I still am like, "I love this." I-
[00:22:36] Laura Long: When I- ... am
[00:22:37] Whitney Owens: amazed by it
[00:22:38] Laura Long: when I see you at these summits, 'cause I've been to two of them now. I think you've had maybe, have you had four?
[00:22:44] Whitney Owens: Something
[00:22:45] Jingle: like
[00:22:45] Whitney Owens: that.
[00:22:45] Laura Long: Something like that. Three or four. Uh, every time I see you at one of these Wise Practice summits, I just see you lighting up the whole weekend. So it's, it's no surprise why at the end of it all you have this, like, dip in emotion, right?
[00:23:01] It's heavy, because the whole weekend you're just, like, on cloud nine, and I can tell that you're doing exactly what, what God put on your heart to do that day on Lake Michigan.
[00:23:12] Whitney Owens: Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I would say that, and I don't know if, and you can speak to if you feel like this, I feel like Wise Practice is this, like, dear, intense love that I feel, but also one of the hardest things I've ever done.
[00:23:30] Laura Long: So you mean it's not, it's not passive income? It's not just-
[00:23:35] Whitney Owens: What? I mean- You
[00:23:36] Laura Long: don't just set it and forget it and, and you just make $100,000 a month?
[00:23:42] Whitney Owens: Oh, that that would be very nice. I do think there are some more things I could do to make that happen that I haven't done yet, but yeah. Did, does that relate to you when you started doing additional streams of income where you, like, loved the thing but it was so hard?
[00:23:58] Laura Long: Oh, absolutely. And the reason you love it is why you keep pushing through despite- Right ... how hard it is. I don't think there, there's an easy one.
[00:24:07] Whitney Owens: Yeah, and-
[00:24:07] Laura Long: You know, pick your hard.
[00:24:09] Whitney Owens: Yeah. And I do think people think that. They think, "Oh, passive stream," I mean, even the word, it just makes it, "Oh, yeah, laxa-daysical.
[00:24:16] I'm just gonna do- Mm-hmm ... this thing and put it out there. I'm gonna make all this money" And oh my gosh, it's so freaking hard to sell something. I've, you know, I have Lit Book and I was
[00:24:25] Laura Long: like- Yeah ... "
[00:24:25] Whitney Owens: Surely I got this email list. People love me. It's on the... How many books am I gonna sell?" I can't remember exactly.
[00:24:31] I think I sold 37.
[00:24:34] Laura Long: Well, it's, it's still more than zero, you know?
[00:24:36] Whitney Owens: Still
[00:24:36] Laura Long: more
[00:24:36] Whitney Owens: than zero.
[00:24:37] Laura Long: I do think that there are, there's a, and I said this in a, in a previous episode where I did another takeover. Yeah. I don't know if it's the one before or after this one even, but I talk about, you know, the, the online messaging about passive income leads people to believe that.
[00:24:52] So it's not their fault, you know, if they're listening to this podcast and they, they were thinking that it was gonna be whatever their idea is, is just gonna be this passive thing. You just put together a workbook or a couple of videos, and then you can monetize it. I think part of the reason that belief exists is because there are people selling that idea-
[00:25:12] Whitney Owens: That's what I was gonna say.
[00:25:13] Yeah? Mm-hmm.
[00:25:14] Laura Long: So-
[00:25:15] Whitney Owens: Yeah ...
[00:25:16] Laura Long: another thing that I think surprised me when it came to online entrepreneurship is there was a bit of an identity shift for me, because I went from being a therapist to now I'm a coach or a consultant, and in that I also became this, like, online entrepreneur, and I'm like a builder, a creator.
[00:25:35] It, it was just like all these different hats I felt like I had never worn before, because it... You're right, the skillsets required to build an online presence are a bit different. You know, building an online email list is different than just trying to get more clients in your practice.
[00:25:52] Whitney Owens: It is, yeah.
[00:25:53] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:25:54] That's a big thing, yeah. So there's a bit of an identity shift.
[00:25:56] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. I'm realizing those things came a lot more naturally to me than I thought they would.
[00:26:01] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:26:02] Whitney Owens: I would say the identity issue that I have had is, this is gonna sound a little arrogant, I don't mean it that way, is the whole micro-celebrity thing.
[00:26:12] That was what my husband told me. He's like, "Whitney, you're a micro-celeb." I'm like, "Oh my gosh." So when I, especially if I see people, like grad school people, you know, people I knew- Mm-hmm ... before I started doing consulting, I just feel all this, like, discomfort-
[00:26:28] Laura Long: Mm-hmm ... of my
[00:26:29] Whitney Owens: success.
[00:26:30] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:26:31] Whitney Owens: Yeah. In fact, at the conference I went to a few years ago, I go to the state LPC conference, um, every year, and we sponsor it as Wise Practice, and, uh, the, a therapist that I'd had before, she literally came up to the table, which I'm kinda like, mm, should she have done that?
[00:26:50] She comes up to the table and she goes, "Do you remember me?" And I was like-
[00:26:54] Laura Long: Mm ... "
[00:26:55] Whitney Owens: Hello." And she- That's
[00:26:56] Laura Long: a little ick
[00:26:57] Whitney Owens: Sorry. I know, right in front of my coworkers, right? And she's like, "I am just so proud of you." Like, it was just this discomfort of my success and, and her influence, and it was like-
[00:27:10] Laura Long: Mm-hmm ...
[00:27:10] Whitney Owens: what is going on here?
[00:27:12] Um, but I had multiple people at that conference come up to me and make me feel that way, and so I've had to have a real identity shift that it's instead of that pulling back, like, that's people's way of being close and trying to understand you, and, you know, just embrace it and be with people instead of pulling back, which is what I still do sometimes, but-
[00:27:30] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:31] Yeah. That was a little strange for me. I actually have a, a poster in my office, you can't see it 'cause it's on this wall over here. Right. But it says, "You don't know me, but I'm famous." Because that's how, that's how it felt when I was a consultant myself, where, you know, in very specific circles I was well-known, and, you know, to the world I, no one knew who I was.
[00:27:51] Uh, but it was a little strange, and what I think that discomfort that you're talking about, what that came from or where that came from at least for me, was that I now felt a shift in responsibility. Like, there was now more- More eyes on what I was doing and why I was doing it, and I just felt a little bit heavier.
[00:28:07] Like, I couldn't just hide in my own little fishbowl of my private practice anymore. I was now a bit more visible, and so the decisions that I made or the way that I showed up online was now also more visible. Mm. So I felt a little bit more responsibility over the things I did or what I said or what I claimed.
[00:28:24] Whitney Owens: That makes a lot of sense.
[00:28:25] Laura Long: Yeah. All right, so key themes so far, just to kind of c- circle back around to this conversation so far. It takes longer than expected to build a different income stream or a new income stream. It ain't passive, y'all. You will likely experience a lot of emotional resistance, like in Whitney's case.
[00:28:46] She had a lot of fear, a lot of doubt. We talked about that discomfort that comes from the visibility. There's also an identity shift that might occur depending on what your income stream is and how you choose to pursue that. And another thing that I kinda touched on is that you don't need to know everything upfront.
[00:29:05] Anything else you wanted to add to our conversation so far before we segue?
[00:29:09] Whitney Owens: I think the other thing that people really miss, and we've kinda touched on this, is how hard it is to get a following. A- and so I think people need to be very... You could be, you could have the best thing, but if you don't have the following, no one will know.
[00:29:25] And so really, uh, spending a lot of time understanding who those people are and nurturing them and providing for them before you're throwing things at them, I think is- Mm-hmm ... very important.
[00:29:38] Laura Long: And that's why I think when I'm working with a therapist who's in this place of discerning what their next steps might be outside of the therapy room, we spend a little bit of time first talking about low-hanging fruit.
[00:29:50] And what I mean by that is that there are already people in your sphere of influence, people that you're serving or helping, there are already people coming to you, and I spoke about this on the previous podcast episode. There are people in your life who aren't clients, but people who are coming to you already asking questions about how to do this or, "This seems so easy for you."
[00:30:10] Yeah. "Can you help me figure it out?" Even if it's unrelated to your therapy practice, you have so many skillsets that people are already coming to you for. So if you have an idea for a different stream of income, maybe think about, what are the things that I'm already doing? Maybe I'm already doing this for free, and I didn't even- Yeah
[00:30:29] realize that this is something I could charge for or monetize. You know, if you're someone who loves to connect people together, there are paid networking Opportunities and groups, or if you have a pr- particular treatment modality that you feel really good about and you're really confident in, or you already are a consultant if there, if that title is available in that modality, there are a lot of things that you can do that don't require a completely different skill set and may not even require building an audience from scratch.
[00:30:59] So there are just so many different ideas. It doesn't have to just look like consulting, which I know we've talked about so far because that's what you've done, Whitney, and that's also what I've done. But there are just so many other ways that you can build alt streams. It could be, like, teaching and mentoring.
[00:31:16] It could be sort of the content creation that we've talked about. It could be key partnerships, um, the writing a book. I mean, there are so many different things. So I do wanna make p- sure that people who are hearing this episode understand that the world's your oyster, and I said that before, but I'm gonna keep saying it.
[00:31:35] Whitney Owens: Hi, I'm Laura Long, one of the consultants at Wise Practice, and over the past decade, I've helped hundreds of therapists develop and launch their own programs,
[00:31:44] Laura Long: workshops, intensives, and other income streams beyond the therapy room. If you've been feeling like God may be inviting you into a new season of growth or a greater impact, but you're stuck or overwhelmed on where to start, you're not alone.
[00:31:57] The Call to MORE Mastermind is a six-month experience where we'll help discern your direction, design a simple first offer, and actually begin building it without burning out your life or your practice. If you're ready to move from thinking about doing it to actually doing it,
[00:32:11] Whitney Owens: head over to wisepracticeconsulting.com and apply today.
[00:32:14] Okay, so what
[00:32:14] Laura Long: I wanna do now is shift a little bit from just overall high-level insight to maybe some real guidance for someone who's maybe listening and has an idea, but they're just, like, stuck in step one, like, "What do I do? I, I know I wanna build this thing. I think it needs to exist." And so what I would ask you, Whitney, is what would you tell a therapist who's just starting to think about building another income stream?
[00:32:44] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm.
[00:32:44] Laura Long: What matters most early on, you think?
[00:32:46] Whitney Owens: Going back to what we said at the beginning is really honing in on what you're passionate about. What is your motivator? I would spend some significant time alone just thinking about that, journaling about that, praying about that, letting it sit within you, and experience it, what that feels like in your body, what you're thinking about moving forward.
[00:33:08] Write your dreams down, like, it, it could be literal dreams, um, but I mean the dreams of what you want it to be. Mm-hmm. And then I would sit with people that love you and tell them about it. Get feedback on, "Does that sound like me?" You know, "Is that something that you see passion surrounding? What is, what are my motivators behind this?"
[00:33:28] Um, and get that support that you're looking for.
[00:33:31] Laura Long: I love the words you used in that question to people. Instead of saying, "Does this sound like a good idea?" Saying, "Does this sound like me?"
[00:33:39] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:33:40] Laura Long: That's such an important distinction. Because depending on who you ask, if you say, "Does this sound like a good idea?"
[00:33:45] Like if you had asked your former consultant, "Does this sound like a good idea?" You probably would have gotten a, "No, that sounds like a weird idea, Whitney. I don't think you should do that." Right? Uh, but if you asked your husband, "Does this sound like me?" Or if you asked your top five trusted confidantes, "Does this sound like me?"
[00:34:05] You would have gotten a much clearer answer that would have given you more clarity.
[00:34:09] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah, and, and you have got to have someone by your side, especially when talking about spouses, you know, or your partners, that believe in what you're doing.
[00:34:19] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:34:19] Whitney Owens: And this gives them an opportunity to speak to that early on.
[00:34:23] You know, like my husband has got to sacrifice a lot for me to do Wise Practice.
[00:34:28] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:34:28] Whitney Owens: But he believes in it and he sees how much I love it and the difference it makes, and so he can get behind that.
[00:34:34] Laura Long: And even though you do, I agree, you have to have really strong support in your corner, it's also important to be able to discern who that support is and who it's not.
[00:34:44] Because sometimes your spouse is not the most supportive person about this idea. Because if you're in maybe a financial position where you adding an additional income stream would create a bit more financial stress on your family, it's possible that your spouse may not be the person that you need to be going to for every, you know, big decision.
[00:35:04] Of course, you would wanna loop them in. I also think it's important to have someone who maybe doesn't have as much skin in the game to bounce ideas off of. And that could be a consultant, right? It could be someone that's maybe, uh, traversed this path before you and can give you a little bit of, of a roadmap but isn't so financially dependent that- Right
[00:35:24] that they might steer you towards what would be considered a safer option, when really the better option, the one with the higher return on investment, might be the one that's a little bit more risky. And so I think ha- just having a blend. Like having, if you're married, you know, having your partner bought in and having their support is so important.
[00:35:44] If it's difficult for them to be able to provide you that support, it's understandable. It just means that you also need to get some additional supports elsewhere from people- Yeah ... who know you, who love you, who know your heart.
[00:35:55] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah, you brought up an important point, and this is what I was get- my next thought is having a guide.
[00:36:02] And I see so many people, especially with passive streams or additional streams of income we'll say, or I see it especially with people starting a group practice. People start these things because they don't wanna pay for consulting 'cause it's expensive. And then they get down the road and they have made so many costly mistakes.
[00:36:24] And so I would say go get help. Of course, we want you to do it at Wise Practice 'cause we bring in the faith and the spiritual component along with- The business- Mm-hmm ... side of things and bring that clarity. But even if it's not us, get a guide to help you do the thing so that you're not spinning your wheels, wasting your time.
[00:36:44] We can get you from month one t- we can g- the thing that you're doing when you're with us, you might get it done in six months. It might take you a year if you did it by yourself. Spending all the research, the time, the... and just the accountability, you could get so much further along and not make all those mistakes.
[00:37:01] Laura Long: It's the rabbit holes.
[00:37:02] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:37:03] Laura Long: You know, when you're doing it by yourself, you're just at every turn, every, you know, wind gust- Yeah ... you're being pulled somewhere else.
[00:37:12] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:37:12] Laura Long: So having that focused support is so important. And I would say, you know, one of my next questions for you, Whitney, was gonna be, what do you think is the biggest mistake that people make early on?
[00:37:23] And you're speaking to it right now. I think it's that people tend to overcomplicate it in the beginning.
[00:37:28] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
[00:37:28] Laura Long: They have this vision maybe for what they hope or dream this thing could look like, but they maybe believe that it has to look like that on day one. Yeah. And that is maybe what leads them to make a lot of costly mistakes early on, and to really overcomplicate it.
[00:37:43] So what I was once told, and I continue to use this when I'm consulting with others, is that your goal is to create a simple business that you deeply understand.
[00:37:55] Jingle: Mm.
[00:37:55] Laura Long: And that really stuck with me, because it keeps me from... 'Cause I have a tendency, too, to overcomplicate things. Don't get me wrong. It does help me.
[00:38:02] It's almost, it's an anchoring statement-
[00:38:06] Whitney Owens: Yeah ...
[00:38:06] Laura Long: to remember that your job is to build a simple business that you deeply understand. So we don't need to overcomplicate it. We don't need to have 14 different offers and seven tiers, and here are all the different ways that people can find you. Start small.
[00:38:20] Yep. Choose one thing. And the clarity that you get comes through the actions that you take. And expect there to be a lot of iterative processes here with whatever it is you do. Mm-hmm. Do
[00:38:33] Whitney Owens: you have
[00:38:33] Laura Long: anything that you would wanna add to that?
[00:38:36] Whitney Owens: That was really great. S- tell me the question again.
[00:38:38] Laura Long: It was why, what is a mistake that people tend to make in the beginning?
[00:38:43] And my answer was I think people tend to overcomplicate it.
[00:38:46] Whitney Owens: You said a lot of it. I don't know if this is really a, a mistake, it's more of a mindset, but people, they don't realize how many setbacks they're gonna have, or... J- I'm not doing a great job putting my words to this, but risks. You cannot be a successful entrepreneur without taking risks and without falling on your face, and you should anticipate it.
[00:39:11] So I think sometimes people start this process, and, "I didn't sell what I wanted," or, "That didn't look the way I wanted," and, or that, you know, first consulting client I had, that didn't go very well. And so then you think to yourself, "I stink. I can't do this. I gotta go backwards." And really- That's part of the growth.
[00:39:30] That's part of becoming who you need to become so that you can lead this business well, if that makes sense. I even... Gosh, I was just running, um, I, I... This was the email that I just sent out, I think this week, when I was running my half-marathon, and I was thinking about my business while I was running, which I'm normally doing, unfortunately, um, doing my business processing.
[00:39:52] And I was like, "You know, I made some mistakes." And I was thinking about my mistakes, but I was also thinking, "I'm in such a good place right now." Mm-hmm. And I would never be where I am right now if I hadn't learned all those other things.
[00:40:05] Laura Long: Absolutely. We learn through the doing, we learn through the mistakes.
[00:40:09] And Whitney, as you were just talking, I quickly did a Google search of the word entrepreneur, and every... Like, I'm scrolling down the entire first page of Google, okay, so I'm not just relying on the AI definition. I'm scrolling and I'm looking at Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, the Li- Library of Economics and Liberty, and I'm reading just their meta tag at the top of what an entrepreneur is.
[00:40:34] Every single source has the word risk. So the actual literal definition of an entrepreneur is someone who takes a risk.
[00:40:46] Whitney Owens: Totally.
[00:40:48] Laura Long: So you can't, you can't have it both ways. You can't do this safely. You can't do this with guaranteed outcomes. Yeah. And I think I would even go so far, you know, this might be, uh, this might be a bit risky for me to say, but I would say that the reason we do this, the reason we identify and pursue a different income stream is not for the guaranteed outcome.
[00:41:12] It's for the opportunity to make a bigger impact. Yeah. Like, I'm, I'm scrolling right now and it's like, risk.
[00:41:18] Whitney Owens: You know, but the Bible is also full of risk.
[00:41:21] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:41:21] Whitney Owens: You know, you mentioned Moses earlier, and the disciples following Jesus, sharing the gospel. It's a risk all the time.
[00:41:31] Laura Long: Every single chapter of the Bible probably shows how someone took a risk.
[00:41:35] Yes. And it didn't always go well, right?
[00:41:38] Whitney Owens: That's right.
[00:41:40] Laura Long: All right. So what I'm hearing from you, just to kinda recap, it's important to start small, to maintain a mindset of I, I wanna help, I want to have a lasting a- and expanded impact on my community, whether that's a local community or an online community.
[00:42:02] Clarity comes through action. Expect to fail at times. There will be roadblocks. That's kind of what makes this worth it, is going across that, you know, and figuring it out. Yeah. Um, something we didn't talk about that I also just wanna highlight is... And maybe we did when we were talking about working alongside someone or having people in your corner.
[00:42:24] What I would say is don't build in isolation. Don't try to be that, that lone person in your, in your basement trying to build something all by yourself, and you're not bringing anyone into it or not telling anyone about it. Building in isolation, to me, is a recipe for burnout. Uh, but it, it's just hard to see the forest for the trees if we're not-
[00:42:45] Whitney Owens: Yeah
[00:42:45] Laura Long: having anyone in on our idea or helping us or supporting us, and we're just kind of building this thing off to the side. Mm-hmm. So don't build in isolation. Bri- bring along people. You know, I think that most people, therapists especially, they don't struggle with having ideas, they just struggle with clarity and support.
[00:43:04] Whitney Owens: Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes, it's that implementation.
[00:43:07] Laura Long: Yes.
[00:43:07] Whitney Owens: And I'm learning more and more as, as I grow as a consultant, w- the hands-on, they need the hands-on doing it with them.
[00:43:16] Laura Long: Mm-hmm. Um,
[00:43:17] Whitney Owens: and that's what we do.
[00:43:19] Laura Long: That is. And, you know, that is exactly why we have created the Call to More Mastermind because so many therapists are sitting in this space of, "Okay, I know I'm meant to do something more, I just don't wanna figure it out all alone."
[00:43:35] Yeah. So I think now would be a perfect time to talk a little bit more about that. Mm-hmm. So I've touched base on it in my previous episode. I know you all have probably seen a, a commercial or two about it on the podcast. But really, the Call to More Mastermind is a six-month experience where we help you actually discern your direction and begin building something.
[00:43:57] Not just talking about it high level, this is about implementation, like Whitney was just talking about. However, we're not gonna let it take over your life or your practice. So this is a small, high-touch group designed for therapists who are ready to move from thinking about the thing and researching the thing to death, and looking at other people who are already doing the thing, and it moves you through implementation to actually doing the thing.
[00:44:26] Uh, and not only that, but unlike the experience you had, Whitney, so many years ago, this will have the faith lens. So we're going to find out what do you need so that this new idea of yours is aligned with your faith and builds upon it rather than competes with it.
[00:44:46] Whitney Owens: That's right.
[00:44:46] Laura Long: Yeah. And I'm so glad that you are letting me do this.
[00:44:50] Whitney Owens: Oh, I'm excited about it. Just thinking through who's gonna join and the ideas that they have, and how it's gonna impact the kingdom for greater. Mm-hmm.
[00:44:58] Laura Long: You
[00:44:58] Whitney Owens: know, that's a really exciting thing.
[00:45:01] Laura Long: Yeah. Now, question for you, Whitney. Not put you on the spot or anything. Why do you think this experience, this Mastermind Call to More can be so impactful to your community?
[00:45:17] Mm. To faith-based therapists and, and practice owners.
[00:45:20] Whitney Owens: Oftentimes, God puts something greater in our hearts, like he did with me And we need a space to explore that, to understand it, to speak it into being, but also someone to guide us along the way. And it's like you said, it's not just a... It's specific to us because it's not just, "Here's the business.
[00:45:41] Get to it."
[00:45:42] Laura Long: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:42] Whitney Owens: But how is the Lord speaking right now? How do we sense that? How do we build something in line with that communicates more of who He is in the world through you?
[00:45:54] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:45:55] Whitney Owens: I, I'm so excited for you.
[00:45:57] Laura Long: And so I'll be, I'll be your, your guide, your facilitator along this six-month experience. And Whitney, I would love to have you maybe once or twice join us and- Oh, I'd love that
[00:46:08] and pray over us and give us some additional tools for how we can discern next steps. That would be awesome.
[00:46:14] Whitney Owens: Yeah.
[00:46:14] Laura Long: Uh, so if you are listening to this episode and you're thinking, "Wow, this is exactly where I am. I have these ideas. I don't know where to start," or, "I have this one idea that I've been thinking about for years..."
[00:46:26] Because for many people who work with me, this is... They didn't just come up with the idea a month ago. They've been pining over this one idea or these five ideas, and they had no idea, no traction, no direction. And so here we are five years later, and what I wanna tell you is if you're listening to this episode and you're one of those people, five years from now is gonna come regardless.
[00:46:48] So you're gonna be in one of two camps. You're either gonna be five years later still thinking about the thing, still praying about the thing, but not taking any action and going, "Ugh, now it's been 10 years that I've had this idea and I haven't taken any meaningful action on it." Yeah. Or you're gonna be five years into this new idea, and you will have learned so much along the way, and you're gonna learn more than you ever could have by just sitting behind your screen doing the research.
[00:47:12] Whitney Owens: Yep.
[00:47:13] Laura Long: The learning comes in the doing. So you don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to take the next step. And so if you're someone who's l- who's listened to this episode and you're like, "Okay, sign me up. I'm ready," you can head on over to wisepracticeconsulting.com/mastermind, and I'm sure we'll have a link in the show notes as well for you.
[00:47:32] We try to keep it frictionless.
[00:47:35] Whitney Owens: That's right. Simple.
[00:47:36] Laura Long: Yeah.
[00:47:37] Whitney Owens: Uh, so what you're saying is they might have to take a risk.
[00:47:41] Laura Long: Yeah. They will.
[00:47:44] Whitney Owens: Okay.
[00:47:44] Laura Long: But you know what? You can impact so many people by taking that risk.
[00:47:50] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:52] Laura Long: Thank you so much for joining me, Whitney. I so appreciate this conversation and getting to know you just on a deeper level.
[00:47:57] I feel like I learned a little bit more about you and your journey even more than I knew, than I knew b- kind of heading into this call. Um, and so I just really appreciate you taking the time and being vulnerable with not just me, but all your listeners, you know?
[00:48:08] Whitney Owens: Oh,
[00:48:08] Laura Long: well. Thousands of people who are tuning in every single week, you know, and I think that's part of what makes you great is that you're willing to step into that and be vulnerable and not just say, like, "Oh, yeah, here I am, and I have all the answers, and I never struggled once."
[00:48:20] Whitney Owens: Yep. Oh, all the time. Thank you. I appreciate you and having this opportunity.
[00:48:25] Laura Long: Yeah. All right. See you guys next time.
[00:48:30] 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.
[00:48:49] 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.
[00:49:02] 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.
