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Find Your Community of Ideal Clients to Increase Referrals

If you’ve zoned in on your ideal client, it’s time to find the community that will help you get more of these clients!

In order to increase referrals from other professionals, you need to be networking with the community that serves your client population.  That’s how they’re going to learn about you and your services.  Ask yourself, “Who is my community and how can I meet them?”

work2Who are like-minded professionals who may also treat clients you want to have?  Where do these professionals work?  Are they doctors or specialists?  Are they personal trainers?  Are they social workers?  Do they belong to organizations or are they involved in committees?  Where do these professionals go for continuing education?  Where do they network?

Consider trying to speak at one of their networking events or going to a meeting to learn more about their profession.

Who else in your community does a similar job to yours?  Or are there clinicians who have the ideal job that you want to have?  Go out and meet them too!  Remember, there are more than enough clients to go around, and no one is ever in direct competition with you.  These are valuable connections who will sometimes serve you more than other professional connections.  The more you build up one another, the more you both succeed.  Get to know your colleagues, and you’ll both be sharing secrets for success and thriving.

There are various organizations for small businesses that can also help with networking and making connections.  Check out local entrepreneur groups, mentoring for small business organizations, and local Chambers of Commerce.  There also might be opportunities for networking with professionals online, such as professional groups, listservs, LinkedIn, and social media.

Learn all about mistakes that I made when starting out: 10 Mistakes Professionals Make in Private Practice. Enter your name and email below to get your copy. 

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To Specialize or Not? Finding Your Niche in a Private Practice

The quick answer is YES you should specialize and find a niche.

It’s impossible to be an expert in everything. You were likely trained in many areas of your profession and have the ability to see many different types of clients – but that doesn’t mean you should see everyone. Picking a niche doesn’t mean that you won’t see other things in your practice – chances are you WILL.  Clients are human beings who have a lot of things going on. If you work with humans, you will never have 2 clients that are exactly the same.

So how do you pick a niche? Choosing a specialty is usually the first thing that scares people about starting a private practice – but it shouldn’t. Start by taking clients in a few common areas in your field at first. As your business grows, you will start to notice which clients excite you and which bore you. Then you can narrow it down to what types of clients you WANT to see more of and start to form your niche.

Already know what type of niche you’re passionate about? You are ahead of the game!

Overweight women have examination at dietitian-nutritionist's office . They looking results and talk about dieting and healthy eating
 So WHO is your dream client?

After you narrow in on your specialty, another big part of the “vision process” involves determining who your dream client is. Every business starts with this step, because you need to know who you’re marketing to.

More questions to ask yourself: Do you want only a high-end clientele so you charge more and work less hours? Do you want to help young people, so your dream clients are college students just making their mark on the world? Do you want to work mainly with women? With the elderly? With a certain race or culture?

Then move on to how to reach this population. How are you going to solve their problems? How are you going to help them? What are they looking for in a provider? Where do they find the information they need?

The beauty of being your own boss is that YOU get to decide on the perfect type of clients for you. Everyone is different and that’s the beauty of being in charge of your own destiny!

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5 Ideas for Networking to Build and Grow your Business

You might think it’s important to try to network with everyone, but quality is more important than quantity.

networking to build private practicePick your community wisely, and nourish those relationships.  After all, it really only takes a few good connections to get many clients.

Building relationships is vital in private practice.  Not only do these relationships turn into referrals, but relationships also turn into connections that support you in your journey to your long-term goals.  It’s important to be authentic and genuine with the relationships that you build!  Think about your community and your niche and what kind of relationships you find easy to form.  If you’re in the right niche, chances are that you’re passionate about the work that you do, and gravitate toward others who feel the same way.  Forming these relationships will be so rewarding to you that it won’t feel like work.

In order to nourish the relationships that you’ve built, remember to follow-up.  Many professionals meet one another at meetings and networking events, but the follow-up part is key to forming a lasting relationship.  Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Take a professional out for coffee or lunch.  Rotate through your connections, and spend as much time on this as it makes sense to you.  Consider these meetings as part of your job.  Make it affordable, so you can pay the bill if you’ve asked the other person out.  This is just common courtesy, and makes the other person feel appreciated.
  2. Send business cards in the mail and ask for cards back.  Sending a short note with cards is just a friendly reminder that you’re here for their clients if they need to refer.  And providing cards to referral sources means that they have something they can hand out to potential clients.  Ask for their cards back so that you’re as equally prepared.
  3. Write an email (and/or a written thank you) after meeting with someone.  This gesture will not go unnoticed!  It’s so rare to get actual mail anymore, that it’s sometimes nicer to send a printed card.
  4. Communicate through their preferred communication medium.  Does someone prefer talking on the phone, using email, text, or fax?  Keep a note about which method, and follow up using that method!  The easier it is to communicate to say “hi”, the more likely your relationship will grow.
  5. Give out holiday gifts.  It’s a nice gesture to say happy holidays once a year.  A bottle of wine or a box of chocolates is always appreciated.  If you’d rather stay away from material gestures, you could always donate to a charity in someone else’s name.  If you can’t afford to spend a lot of money, an annual holiday card is also a great idea.  However, remember that there are many holidays to consider in December!

Learn all about mistakes that I made when starting out: 10 Mistakes Professionals Make in Private Practice. Enter your name and email below.

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Why I Started My Own Private Practice as a Dietitian

Why I Started My Own Business

It was 2008 and I was a fairly new RD working at a diabetes center in NYC. I had only been a dietitian for a year or so and already felt burnt out, unfulfilled, and unmotivated. I’m not sure if it was the “job” or the “job setting” of traditional 9-5, no flexibility with days off, and feeling like I did the same thing each and every day. Whatever the reason, I knew that this traditional job was not for me.

With the support of my friends, family, and mentors, I decided to think about opening up a business. Going back and forth in my head was exhausting! Even that simple decision of saying “yes” to private practice in the future took me awhile because I was so scared!! I tried to research as much as I could to get a sense of what I had to do to open a private practice. I wasted about 2 years held back in fear. Looking back, I WISH I had done things differently.

In 2010,  I finally said YES! I was ready to open up a practice. Here is where I wasted yet another year trying to figure out forms, handouts, and trying to build a website all on my own. During this year, I didn’t even think about marketing, office space, or how I was going to make connections to get clients. Again, looking back, I WISH I had done things differently. 

I finally opened my doors in 2011. 3 YEARS after I knew deep down inside that I wanted to go into private practice. 3 YEARS of wasted time and energy!  I figured things out along the way but made many mistakes. My #1 mistake was waiting so long to start!

Learn about the other mistakes that any make when starting a private practice… download this free guide,  10 Mistakes Professionals Make in Private Practice

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So what is Pursuing Private Practice all about??

Welcome to the Pursuing Private Practice Blog! We’re so happy to have you here.

The history of Pursuing Private Practice

Pursuing Private Practice (PPP) has been such a journey for me, filled with ups and downs. It’s ironic that PPP’s business path is very similar to the path to success I took with my private practice path! I started Eat With Knowledge in the summer of 2011, and it took me awhile to find my way. Fast forward to now, and I have a full practice with great clients that energize and inspire me, and every day I LOVE what I do.

I decided to write a book about private practice to help professionals just like YOU! Many people have asked me “What can I do to start and grow a business?” Dietitians, therapists, and counseling professionals don’t have an automatic business school built into their professional training. By writing the books on private practice, I could deliver this information in a fun, informative way.

So, what now?

Many healthcare professionals have bought my books and have used the information there to turn their dreams into a reality. But they want more. So now, I finally have more to give! Stay tuned. We’re working on an e-course to help you go from scratch to being a SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS OWNER in just 10 (or so) lessons on private practice. And if you own a private practice now, you can make yours BETTER with information we’ll be providing. Until the e-course is available, we’re going to use this space to start your education, so you can become a better, smarter business owner. You can expect blog posts on these topics:

  • How to legally form your business and make the boring stuff more exciting
  • How to deal with all of the tedious registrations you need with website links to get them fast!
  • How to get your finances organized
  • How to get your business off of a piece of paper and into a beautiful office space
  • How to develop the policies, forms, and handouts you’ll need for your clients
  • How to find your ideal client, and determine which ones to refer to others (thus getting more of the clients you want to work with)
  • How to network with others—and a warning: it’s much more than just exchanging business cards.
  • How to get clients to come back for more appointments and buy more services
  • How to use social media to grow your business
  • How to find work/life balance (but spoiler alert: it will always be a balancing act).

This journey is truly a journey, and no one is perfect.  But don’t let fear stop you from reaching your dreams.  You’ve got this!  With our support, you’ll be guided to a successful private practice!

Join our mailing list for more information and tips on private practice.  Get the “Top 10 Mistakes Professionals Make in Private Practice” and learn what NOT to do (chances are you are doing some of these already!)

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