(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Welcome to Ask Allison. Y'all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice and I answer them. We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. You can access that at abundancepracticebuilding.com slash links, where you'll also be able to ask any questions you have for Ask Allison. If you want more support, we've got some free trainings in there too.
If you can't get enough Ask Allison, check out our YouTube channel for our entire Ask Allison library. Welcome back to Ask Allison. Here's today's question. I know networking is one of the most powerful ways to build your practice. Who is the most important profession to connect with? PCPs, psychiatrists, other therapists, or something I'm not thinking of? Thanks. Love this question. Love networking. First, I want to thank TherapyNotes for sponsoring Ask Allison.
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So networking is absolutely the most powerful way to build your practice. In my many years of experience, yes. But who to network with isn't universally effective across niches. Let's say, for instance, your niche is anxious women who over-function and put themselves last. Networking with other therapists who are growing their practice isn't going to be as effective as it is for somebody who niches in eating disorders, for instance.
Most therapists would see the over-functioning woman as within their scope, whereas most therapists would refer out the clients with eating disorders. So if you can find full therapists who work with a similar population that's effective, efficient, and dare I say, a fun person to network with, you already have a client population and profession in common should be an easy hang.
If your niche is perinatal mood disorders, you're going to have great referral partners and midwives, lactation consultants, doulas, OBs that therapists with other niches wouldn't need to talk to. You have to think about who your ideal client comes into contact with before they find you. Are they already on someone's radar? Neurodivergent kids are on their pediatrician's radar. Is there a logical first person for them to go to? Someone having a panic attack might go to their PCP.
Is there somewhere they'd never go? If your ideal client is super crunchy or has a distrust of physicians, trying to network with doctors doesn't make sense. If your ideal client is hypochondriacal, it makes so much sense. So think too about places they go for reprieve from what they're feeling. Maybe the anxious, over-functioning woman is getting a massage every week for her terrible muscle tension.
Maybe the man in recovery from alcohol who has a ton of trauma he still needs to deal with is at the gym six days a week. Maybe the new mom is at story time at the library. There are opportunities to be of service here if you've networked with the people in charge, whether it's a presentation or a mention in an email or another way of getting you in front of your ideal clients. The relationships that you build are only going to help you.
Plus, it's someone with consistent contact with your ideal clients who know you and think of you as their go-to therapist to refer to. I always tell people to start with therapists because they're usually easier to network with. There's almost an immediate bond with other therapists. If you can't figure out who's full and who isn't full, you're not wasting time if you're seeing other people who are not full when you're networking.
Consider it practice and certainly better than nothing while you're finding other people to network with, but you're also potentially building this relationship with someone. You're building at the same time as you, sure, but a few months down the line, one or both of you are going to be full and you can be referring to each other back and forth, whoever gets full first. You know what I mean?
Networking involves what you're already really good at, but in this different context, it may take some practice. You guys are already good at connecting with people one-on-one. It's literally what we do for a job. That's all you have to do in your networking, just less clinical. Practice with therapists. Therapists are pretty great one-on-one. Today's free worksheet is Who to Network With. It's going to help you think through these things.
You can get that by sending me a message with the word sheets, as in worksheets, and I'll send you a link to every one of our free worksheets. That way you can just dive into this one and many others. All right. Have a really great day. If you're ready for a much easier practice, TherapyNotes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code ABUNDANT for two months free. I hope that helped.
If you have questions for Ask Alison, or you want to get your hands on the worksheet for this episode, go to abundancepracticebuilding.com slash links. If you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice. If you're a super newbie, grab our free checklist using the link in the show notes. I'd love for you to follow, rate, and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.