Recession-Proofing Your Practice

Curt and Katie talk about how to prepare for economic uncertainty as one of the ripple effects from COVID-19. We talk about practical suggestions of what you can do now to weather a recession as well as continue forward with the practice you’d like to build.         It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. In this episode we talk about: The economic uncertainty as a ripple effect from COVID-19 Looking at the research after the Great Recession The importance of self-assessment and business-assessment, being thoughtful about the decisions you make about your business Moving beyond scrambling to telehealth into changes you want to incorporate longer-term How to prepare for a changing world How critical cash flow can be during these times Tightening your financial practices (e.g., timely invoicing and charging credit cards, billing insurance, collecting copays) Focusing on profit, not growing your business Looking at your numbers (revenue, expenses, profit) How to be agile without taking on too much risk Understanding what you do that is the highest value offering (highest profit margin) and do more of that – maximizing your most profitable services Pay off and minimize debt, cutting costs to improve financial position Setting yourself with a rainy-day fund Navigating to weather uncertainty Exploring different business models that are focused on need versus luxury Being intentional with how you adjust offerings and how you are flexible in your practice Therapists’ requirement to manage their own needs (in therapy or otherwise) to sustain their therapy practice – clients need guidance and feel like they are getting what they are paying for Pay attention to your numbers to continue monitoring what you need to do The importance of the customer experience and maintaining your current clients Communicating clearly with your clients and prospects How to increase the quality of your offerings to sustain current clients and get new ones Plan for the long-term of your practice