Staying true to your values is something very close to my heart, in my life, my practice and in The Business of Helping. I always aim to remember what matters most. In my work here, it comes down to four key concepts:

Make it Fun

Your practice is a living entity that grows and shifts with you. Since you never stop evolving, neither should your practice. It needs to be as vital and vibrant as you. My goal is to inspire you to create a private practice that reflects who you are AND nurtures you as you grow. And of course, a healthy, vital business is also a client magnet! (and in case you never played with magnets as a kid – playing with magnets is AWESOME!)

Make it Real

In Private Practice, we are lucky enough to create real connections; to ourselves, our clients, our colleagues, our communities, our intuition, our world. I believe in creating genuine, authentic connections and interactions, and that means not just following a generic checklist. If you’re also in a helping profession, then most likely, you’re about being real too. Build a practice that allows you to truly connect to the clients you can best serve. Start from a place of human connection and build from there.

Make it Matter

I firmly believe that life is way too short to do things that you don’t love and don’t make a difference. That doesn’t mean every moment will be sunshine and roses. There will always be aspects of life (and of setting up and running your own business) that are not very fun (*cough*taxes*cough*), but overall, you should be excited and passionate what you do, how you do it, AND why you do it.

If you love the work but hate your workplace, how long can you keep that up? Loving what you do means being honest with yourself about how you want to work, and the clients you want to work with, and then doing that. When you are excited about going into the office everyday, it doesn’t feel like work, but instead an extension of who you are. You deserve to feel that good.

Make it True

Your practice should be a reflection of what is true for you; the outer manifestation of who you are on the inside. There are some very specific rules around what you can’t do in private practice (Thank you ethics. We need you. We love you.)

However, for everything else, the possibilities are endless about how to tailor a business that reflects your individuality. You need to ensure that your plans and structure align with your hopes, dreams, and values, as well as those of your clients. When we practice from a place of total alignment, business flows naturally.

I encourage you to truly ask yourself “Who do I want to be in the world, and in my practice?” and take steps to create that reality.