--- title: 3 Important Things When Building Your Practice description: "If you're in the process of building your private practice, Allison Puryear, LCSW, CEDS, shares three very important factors to consider: your niche, your schedule and paying yourself." image: https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/3%20important%20things%20when%20building%20your%20practice-01.png --- [![TherapyNotes Practice Management and EHR](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/images/primary/NavLogo@2x.png?noresize)](https://www.therapynotes.com/) - [Try Free](https://www.therapynotes.com/about/signup/) [Log In](https://www.therapynotes.com/app/login/) - - [![Call Us: (215) 658-4550](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/primary/MobileMenuCall@2x.png?noresize&width=25&height=25&name=MobileMenuCall@2x.png)Call Us: (215) 658-4550](tel:+12156584550) - [![](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/primary/MobileMenuTrial@2x.png?noresize&width=25&height=25&name=MobileMenuTrial@2x.png)Start Your Free Trial](https://www.therapynotes.com/about/signup/) - 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I want to talk with you about three important things to keep in mind when building your private practice: your niche, your schedule, and paying yourself. ##### Niches are great, but they are absolutely not dictates The most important factors are if you are effective with your client and if you enjoy working with them.  Ideal clients are a marketing strategy. They are not necessarily who you’re supposed to fill your entire practice with. If you want to, you absolutely can! That being said, a lot of people hear that they should be marketing to their ideal clients and feel as though they’re not doing it correctly if they see clients who don’t fit that mold. One of the most freeing parts of private practice is that you’re the boss, so you get to say how things go. You can have 100% ideal clients or 10% ideal clients (though that latter would be weird.)  Let’s say you don’t feel effective with a particular client. You have options—you can seek supervision or you can consider referring to someone that you know does amazing work with their particular struggle. I find that we’re far more likely to hold on to clients who we don’t do our best work with when the phone isn’t ringing a ton. In doing so, we’re prioritizing our security over our client’s progress.  ##### Create a schedule that works for you The coolest thing about private practice is that basically whatever you *want*, you can *have*. There is so much freedom in that that we don’t even realize.  For reference, though, the earliest I have ever seen clients is 7 AM, and it was my most popular time slot ever. I’m most sharp in the morning (i.e. my brain is basically white noise after 7 PM most days.) There was a minute when I was younger that my last appointment was 8 PM. My brain was less mushy then and I saw clients after my full-time job. It worked out just fine then, but there’s no way I could do that now. The flexibility of private practice is just magical.  ##### Work up to paying yourself Do it once you’ve saved some for your personal *and* business emergency funds. The me in 2019 would have said, "Don't worry too much about your business emergency fund, as long as you have a personal emergency fund.” Having lived through 2020, I'd recommend having at least three months of business expenses, for no reason other than the fact that it'll keep you from panicking about money if anything like this pandemic happens again. So, let's say you already have enough in your account to cover three months of overhead expenses and you have enough in your tax savings account to cover taxes so far. Now it's time to pay yourself.  Ninety-nine percent of the time when someone hasn't paid themselves, it’s because they're afraid. Whether you’re afraid of doing it wrong and getting in trouble or you’re afraid of the worthiness struggle that sometimes comes up when paying yourself, there is a real fear there. Get clear on which fears you're dealing with. Look into the correct way to pay yourself if you're afraid of doing it wrong. And remember that if you'd put in this many hours at a job without getting paid you would cause a riot (and rightfully so!) \* The content of this post is intended to serve as general advice and information. It is not to be taken as legal advice and may not account for all rules and regulations in every jurisdiction. For legal advice, please contact an attorney. ![Allison Puryear, LCSW, CEDS](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/images/blog/avatars/190113-allisonpuryear-280x280.jpg) ##### About Allison Puryear, LCSW, CEDS Allison Puryear is an LCSW, CEDS with a nearly diagnosable obsession with business development. She has started practices in three different states and wants you to know that building a private practice is shockingly doable when you have a plan and support. She teaches everything you need to know about building a private practice in the [Abundance Party](https://abundanceparty.com/), where you can get practice-building help for the cost of a copay. You can download a [free private practice checklist](https://abundancepracticebuilding.com/checklist/) to make sure you have your ducks in a row, listen in on consultations and interviews on the [Abundant Practice Podcast](https://abundancepracticebuilding.com/podcast/), and hop into the free [Facebook Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/440660232762561/) full of over 14,000 other clinicians in private practice. Allison is all about helping you gain the confidence and tools you need to succeed. Share: Previous Post: [What's New: Claim Note Field for Billing Overrides](https://blog.therapynotes.com/whats-new-claim-note-field-for-billing-overrides) Next Post: [What's New 5.9: Scheduling and Billing Updates, and much more to come!](https://blog.therapynotes.com/whats-new-5.9) ##### Get more content like this, delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our newsletter. ## More Content You'll Enjoy ![](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/Converting%20Clients%20%281%29.png) ##### [Converting Clients](https://blog.therapynotes.com/converting-clients) If you’ve recently raised your rates and your consultations aren’t turning into clients,... ![](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/Whats%20New%20Images/blog%20images/whats-new/Reusable/190722-release-450-840x500.png) ##### [Building a Leadership Team](https://blog.therapynotes.com/building-a-leadership-team) Thinking about creating a leadership team for your practice? A leadership team allows... ![](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hubfs/final%20blog.png) ##### [From Clinician to Visionary: Redefining Your Role in a Growing Practice](https://blog.therapynotes.com/from-clinician-to-visionary-redefining-your-role-in-a-growing-practice) When you first started your group practice, chances are you were doing everything. Seeing... ![Phone Icon](https://blog.therapynotes.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/primary/FooterPhoneIcon@2x.png?noresize&height=20&name=FooterPhoneIcon@2x.png) We're here for you every day of the week. [(215) 658-4550](tel:+12156584550) What our customers are saying:“I just switched to TN five months ago. Customer service at TN is unmatched and my transition to them was easy. The cost is also awesome! Plus they are taking notes and making new improvements daily. 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