Often times, as therapists find their footing with a consistent and sustainable solo practice they start to wonder about expanding into a group practice.
Evaluating this possibility can stir up lots of questions…and overwhelm.
This month, I invited Dr. Lisa Lovelace to share some considerations for therapists who are evaluating whether expanding into a group practice is a good fit for them.
Dr. Lisa Lovelace is the owner of Synergy eTherapy and provides guidance for therapists who want to build online group practices by offering a variety of resources and courses.
Onto the guest blog post;
If you’re a solo online therapist and thinking about expanding to become an online group practice owner, you’re probably overwhelmed with all kinds of questions, concerns, and “what ifs.”
How will I find good, loyal clinicians to hire?
What if I don’t bring in enough clients for my clinicians??
If I expand to multiple states, where do I pay taxes and how do I bill insurance???
What if I completely fail????
The list just keeps going on! And trust me…I’ve been there.
When I started my online only group practice in 2016 with just 2 therapists, nobody, especially me, knew what the heck we were doing. I didn’t even know what else I needed to know or how to run a group practice and be compliant. All I had was an idea, and I knew I wanted to go for it.
After much trial and error and many lessons learned along the way, my practice now serves 16 states and counting with over 20 licensed therapists on board our team! We have several partnerships, EAP contracts and a wonderful community of amazing people.
It wasn’t quick or easy, but it was WORTH IT. If more freedom, balance, and money is something you’re after, you can do it too!
Expanding to a group therapy practice comes with all kinds of benefits like…
- Reducing your weekly clinical schedule
- Being surrounded (virtually) by clinicians that YOU handpicked to learn from you
- Increasing access for clients & serving MORE clients
- Having a day or two off each work to think, work on, and grow your business
- Being able to go on vacation AND earn income
- Make more money spending time doing the things you enjoy most
However, there are also a lot of things to consider and as much as we may wish it wasn’t, deciding whether or not to expand your business is a HUGE decision. The benefits are awesome, but the fears, questions, and doubts can feel overwhelming.
So if you’re on the fence, and not quite sure if expanding from online solo therapist to online group owner is right for you, here’s my top 3 things you should consider when making your decision!
Make sure you know WHY you want to expand and who YOU are as an online therapist/online group owner.
What do you want your practice to stand for, and what makes you / your practice UNIQUE.
There are so many more remote practices now (I know this is true because I’ve supported tons in their expansion over the past few years!), so you must be able to convey this to therapists so you get the right applicants who align with your practice and style. You’ll also want to express these things in all areas of your marketing (website, social media, advertisements, etc.)
Ensure you have some time and money to invest in expanding.
One thing I encourage therapists I work with to do when building an online group practice is to ensure they have enough time to devote to expansion. You don’t need a lot, but you do need at least a few hours per week of dedicated time. There is a lot to do on the backend to get a group going from getting your NPI2 to making sure your business entity is set up correctly (ie., LLC, etc).
Find a mentor or coach you trust.
When I started, I had NO mentor. I didn’t know anyone who owned a fully online group practice. Gosh, online therapy was still so rare when I began in 2016! I wish I had support and a course or someone to guide me. Today, I’ve built several options for therapists at all levels of readiness! Find more information here.
Running a profitable online group practice may take some time, energy, and growing pains, but it’s absolutely possible and you don’t have to be an expert at everything to do it!
If you are curious if this is a good move for you, join my Facebook community (How to Build an Online Therapy Group Practice) and see what on-demand courses I have for you to explore!
We are in this together!
Dr. Lisa Lovelace
Owner, Synergy eTherapy