Episode 5: Consistency vs. Perfectionism in Your Practice
Breaking Free: Empowering Women Therapists to Thrive in Private Practice
I'm absolutely thrilled to share insights from our latest episode with the incredible Ayesha Shabaz. If you haven’t had a chance to tune in, we dove deep into some critical strategies for therapists looking to thrive in their private practices.
The Journey to Private Practice: Wellness Over Workload
The first step in any therapist's journey to private practice often starts with recognizing the detrimental effects of overwhelming workloads. Ayesha's shift from a grueling medical social work environment to a more balanced private practice is a story many of us can relate to. She left the hospital system not just seeking better sleep or lower stress, but to align her professional life with her personal values—something she couldn't find in a traditional setting.
Recognizing Misalignment
Ayesha initially pursued a career in medicine, only to discover the systemic challenges people face when accessing healthcare in the U.S. The same misalignment she saw in healthcare she later felt in her job roles—overwork, lack of boundaries, and a heavy workload. If you feel like your job is at odds with your personal values, it might be time to reassess your career path.
Finding Fulfillment
Starting her private practice allowed Ayesha to prioritize personal values and self-care—a move that paid dividends in her professional work and personal life. She found that setting boundaries wasn't just about saying "no" to extra work but was about saying "yes" to her own wellbeing. This emphasis on personal fulfillment resonated deeply with me, and I hope it does with you too!
Embracing Adaptability and Creativity
A standout topic from our chat was the necessity of adaptability and creativity in maintaining a successful private practice. Ayesha noted that business longevity and client trust are often rooted in our ability to adapt. Rather than striving for perfection, thematic consistency and flexibility can foster better client relationships.
Consistency Over Perfection
One of the biggest pitfalls is the societal pressure to maintain perfection, especially as so many of us have been ingrained with the need to be on time, every time. This rigidity can stifle creativity. When your business operations reflect your unique creativity and goals, you naturally attract clients aligned with your vision.
Patterns and Cadences
Find the rhythm that works best for you and your practice. Ayesha emphasized that this balance enhances longevity and trust. Your clients will appreciate a practice that evolves and adapts to their needs instead of rigidly sticking to outdated systems.
Effective Marketing: From Data to Dialogues
With marketing, it's not just about knowing your numbers but understanding what they mean for your business. Website analytics, visitor numbers, and referral sources offer invaluable insights when interpreted correctly.
Understanding Your Data
Knowing how many visitors you get is one thing. Understanding what that data means for your practice is quite another. Ayesha advises that visitor numbers can yield different results—they might mean high engagement for one business but may flag issues for another.
Using Psychological Principles
Marketing your therapy practice using well-founded psychological principles can bridge the gap between therapeutic work and client outreach. Whether in therapy or marketing, understanding and connecting with people are key.
Building Relationships and Saying "No"
Networking isn’t a "set it and forget it" task. Cultivating relationships is vital, but equally important is learning when to say "no." In traditional settings, it's easy to fall into the trap of trying to help everyone—something many of us struggle with, myself included.
Developing a Niche
By focusing on a specialized area, you create a clear pathway for potential clients to find you and for your colleagues to refer clients. This narrow focus not only helps avoid burnout but also ensures you're working within areas you are passionate about.
Reminding Clients of Your Presence
Regular engagement with current clients is crucial. Whether it’s through newsletters, social media, or community events, keep reminding them of your practice’s presence. This consistency prevents you from appearing opportunistic and helps build long-term relationships.
Knowing Your Numbers Beyond Financials
Finally, Ayesha and I discussed the importance of knowing your business data—not just financials but overall analytics. This helps in making informed decisions about your practice's growth and goals.
Predicting Success
By diving into the numbers, from website traffic to client onboarding patterns, you create a clearer picture of what's working and what needs adjustment. This data-driven approach ensures that your practice isn't just surviving, but thriving.
In closing, our chat with Ayesha Shabaz offered invaluable insights for any therapist looking to break free from traditional constraints and build a thriving private practice. Remember, it's about prioritizing your own well-being, adapting creatively, effectively marketing your services, and consistently engaging with your clients.
If you found these insights helpful or inspiring, please share the episode with your therapist friends and don't forget to leave us that much-appreciated 5-star rating and review. Join our Raised to Empower Facebook community for more valuable conversations, and stay tuned for next week’s episode!
Transcript for Episode 5
[00:00:00] Ashley Comegys: You are listening to the Raised to Empower podcast. I'm your host, Ashley Comegys a licensed clinical social worker with a multi-state online therapy practice. I have a passion for empowering women and mom therapists to break free of the fear, overwhelm, and oppressive systems that hold them back from taking action and building the private practice of their dreams.
[00:00:23] My goal is for you to boldly believe in yourself as a clinician and business owner. If you're looking for a place to learn, practice, building, strategy and skill, while also claiming your own power as a woman and a therapist, then you are in the right place. Welcome to the show. Welcome back to The Raise to Empower podcast.
[00:00:45] Today feels like an extra special episode because we have our first guest to the show and I am super excited to have her here. Our guest today is Aisha Shabazz. She is a private practice strategist that loves to help mental health therapists create [00:01:00] sustainable businesses by showing them how to ethically blend their clinical skills with entrepreneurship.
[00:01:05] In an effort to help therapists keep the private practice that they've worked so hard to build, she created the Thriving Therapist Shop, a place that offers time-saving template solutions and tools to help tame the to-do. Implement strategic marketing techniques and seamlessly manage client inquiries when Aisha is not helping others.
[00:01:25] You can find her writing, practicing yoga, meditation, and spending quality time with her partner Chad. You can learn more about Aisha on her website or tune into her podcast beyond the Sessions with Aisha. Welcome to the Racing and Power Podcast. Aha. I'm so excited to have
[00:01:39] Aisha Shabazz: you here. Thanks, Ashley. I'm super pumped to be here.
[00:01:43] Ashley Comegys: So before we dive into what we're gonna talk about today, share with us a little bit about who you are and your journey to how you got here.
[00:01:52] Aisha Shabazz: So my journey, , I like to call it the road less traveled, so to speak, . I did not [00:02:00] imagine that I would be a private practice therapist, let alone someone who would work for themselves as a business owner.
[00:02:07] I started off wanting to pursue medicine and in my last semester of my undergraduate career at the University of Pittsburgh, I was flung into this morality world of, oh wow, this is what it takes for people to access healthcare in the United States. So I took a step back and I said, I don't think medical school is really gonna get me to the place where I wanna help people focus on prevent.
[00:02:38] The way in which they're trying to avoid, take care of themselves. So I went on this tailspin journey in trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and eventually I found my graduate school program in social work. And again, didn't really imagine that I would be working for myself. I thought, okay, I'll work in the hospital.[00:03:00]
[00:03:00] And that's what I started doing, working as a medical social worker. For anyone that has been a medical social worker or that is currently a medical social worker, you'll know that it is a rock and roll lifestyle where yes, , you are just going and going and going. You're seeing hundreds of patients in a matter of days, and I really enjoyed it because of the fast-paced nature of the.
[00:03:23] But over time what I realized is that that system did not leave room for me to take care of myself. Mm-hmm. in the way that we were encouraging our patients to take care of themselves. And so again, I had to take a step back and really think to myself like, do I kind of wanna go through my career being a bit of a hypocrite and saying, you should be going to the doctor and you should practice self-care when I didn't have the room or even the energy to do that.
[00:03:52] I took some time away to really just reevaluate where I wanted my career to go. I came back to it because what I realized [00:04:00] is that despite not having a system that was supporting me, I realized that I could create something that supported me. I decided to pursue private practice because you know a lot of people, they think, oh, private practice, I can earn a livable wage.
[00:04:16] I was earning a livable. And I was on course to make as much money as I could possibly have dreamed of. So it wasn't the money for me in that time. It was the fact that I didn't have the time to take care of myself. And a lot of the folks that I was meeting with in the hospitals, patients and clients, they were on time.
[00:04:39] You know, their life was changed in the blink of an eye. They'd come in for a hospital visit or a doctor's. Be told that they had a very complex medical diagnosis and they were just waiting for their life to go closer to death and being in a position to help them live their life with dignity. I [00:05:00] wanted to have the same opportunity as well.
[00:05:02] Private practice really allowed me to recover from the burnout that I experienced from that world, despite me loving it so much. You know, it was, it was really tough to walk away from it. Later on, I realized that I really wasn't walking away from something, I was walking towards a more open and and liberated life.
[00:05:24] So that's what brings me here. I
[00:05:26] Ashley Comegys: love that so much because I relate to your story so much and we've talked separately before. Like I come from a very similar background and what I love hearing in that is that you are seeing in. Your patients that you are working with, you're trying to give them the best quality of life, but like, what does that actually look like for you?
[00:05:45] And we go to school for this, right? And you're like, this is what, this is the pinnacle. This is what I'm supposed to be doing, but yet the quality of life that I'm living isn't necessarily what I want for myself. And so, Do I [00:06:00] stay in these systems that perpetuate that? Or do I break out of that and say, I wanna do something else, and that means I get to do it for myself.
[00:06:09] Was there a key moment for you of where you're like, I've gotta get out of the, the systems that are keeping
[00:06:15] Aisha Shabazz: me here? Yes. So despite my good intentions and trying to advocate for my patient, There were some people that were not okay with that, and some of the people that weren't okay with that unfortunately, were my direct supervisors and managers.
[00:06:33] So despite me being very passionate about my work, there were some people that were just like, no, you need to stay in your lane. There were things that I was doing that no one had ever done before, and I was. Accolades and kudos from people throughout the different areas of my organization, and yet the people that were supposed to be mentoring me and cheering me on were actually pushing me down.
[00:06:57] And so I [00:07:00] experienced a lot of employee exploitation where I was being given more work than anybody else. Being given that pat on the back and saying, keep going, despite me telling them that I can't carry the, the high caseload that they were giving. and you know, in a hospital system it's 24 7, 365, right?
[00:07:19] So there is no room for us to say, oh, you know, let's close down for a day. Let's reset. And so when I started formulating those boundaries and taking time off and you know, the time off, that was a benefit to me as being an employee. I was met with a lot of resistance and you know, sadly there came a lot of mistreatment.
[00:07:44] From, from those people directed towards me. So that was really my breaking point, is I'm trying to do the job that you hired me to do, and yet you're not allowing me to do that. And, and you wanna stifle the work and [00:08:00] patient care we're suffering at the same time, right? Like there are a lot of people that were just there for the money and you could tell because the way in which they talked to the patients, it was just very dismissive and they weren't treating.
[00:08:14] Like human beings. And that was very upsetting to me, especially because I didn't operate that way. So right when I noticed that the values of the organizations that I was working in did not align with my values, that that was the time for me to leave. That was really the last straw.
[00:08:34] Ashley Comegys: And so what has it been like for you coming out of that system and like systems that have perpetuated this and going into practice and having this autonomy to really say like, this is what I wanna do or not wanna do, like not really having to answer to somebody else.
[00:08:49] How did that feel coming out of that system to where you are now?
[00:08:54] Aisha Shabazz: Well, the first thing is I got amazing sleep. Like I slept so well. , , [00:09:00] oh my gosh. You, you never, How bad things are until things change. Yeah. And then you're like, oh my goodness. So first and foremost, I noticed that my sleep improved immediately.
[00:09:11] The other thing is, is that I was allowed to use my creativity and not have it stifled when, yeah. When we're working in the people business, it requires us to be adaptable and flexible because we're not working with robots, we're not robots ourselves. And so being able to adapt and. As my clients were adapting and changing through our work together, that was really exciting for me.
[00:09:36] Being able to adapt and change my schedule, that was huge. So the list is endless for sure, but ultimately being in private practice allowed me to recover from my burnout. And I, I emphasize recovery because oftentimes people are trying. You know, put a bandaid on it and just say, oh, you know, put your self-care routine into action and, you [00:10:00] know, go for some bicycle rides and take a few bubble baths and you'll feel better.
[00:10:04] But you know, that's not gonna wash away the fact that your boss is undermining you every turn. Right? That's not gonna change people's mindsets about how they feel about the patients that you're supposed to be collaborating with. Being in private practice really allowed me. Come back to myself and really embrace and live out the values that I have so that not tired at the end of the day.
[00:10:29] Sure. Like I actually have more energy than I did before, despite having all of the things on my plate that are required of us when we're running a business. Well, and I
[00:10:40] Ashley Comegys: love what you were saying about like the creativity piece that I think so often when we work in organizations get stifled, and I'm sure there are organizations that encourage that, but I think that that's a piece that.
[00:10:54] I have loved in private practice than being a business owner of, I get to create this [00:11:00] thing, this is mine. What do I want my data look like? What do I want my practice to look like? I don't think we always recognize is an important part of ourselves until we don't have it, and kind like you said with the sleep, you don't know what you're missing until you get it back.
[00:11:13] For me, being able to tap into that part of myself, I'm like, oh my goodness, I didn't know that this was missing for me and that that is a. Of me that needs to be nurtured and not that work is the sole way to do that, but I get to do it in my work, which makes me excited to come to my job versus, oh my gosh, I have to go to the office today.
[00:11:36] Which I'm sure you had days like that because I've had days like that in jobs prior to
[00:11:40] Aisha Shabazz: private practice. Yeah. Having that burden on your shoulders of, you know, can I do this one more day? Was a constant battle. The thing that kept me going was my work with my patients. Yeah. And so really having that internal driver of I'm doing it for them, I'm now able to [00:12:00] switch that and saying, I'm doing this for myself.
[00:12:02] You know, there are other people that can benefit from me being able to work for myself, but truly I was able to put myself at the top of my to-do list when I was working for other people. I wasn't even on the list. Yes. So, yes, that's, that's the biggest. Cultural shift for me as me being able to prioritize not only myself, but also my family and friends.
[00:12:23] They were also suffering at the hand of me pouring everything into my job. And now I get to spend more time with them. I get to spend quality time with them. And so when I encourage people to have boundaries in their private practice, it's not to be rigid, it's to benefit you. Beyond the session, and that's why I named my podcast that because our life is happening beyond the session, it's just not about the.
[00:12:51] Well,
[00:12:51] Ashley Comegys: and I love what you said where you're like, I wasn't even on the list, but I'm at the top now. And I think that can be really hard for us as therapists or social [00:13:00] workers or counselors, because even in private practice, I see a lot of us struggle with that because our education is so client focused, right?
[00:13:09] Like it's all about the client and meeting them where they are and you know, being able to be there in, in their, their struggles with them. But we forget that, wait a second, we can't be there with them if again, we're not on that list. And private practice, a hundred percent gives you the opportunity to say like, no, I am gonna be the top of that list.
[00:13:30] And that I don't have to put the client's needs necessarily like above mine. Like what's good for me right now? What's good for my family right now, my friends, the people that are important in my life. Like that's what needs to be priority for me.
[00:13:44] Aisha Shabazz: Absolutely.
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[00:14:38] I know one of the things that you have talked about before is this idea of consistency versus perfectionism. And I know when we're going into private practice, there can be a lot of times this striving for perfectionism. I gotta get it all right. I think because we're now. The business owner, right? We're now an [00:15:00] entrepreneur.
[00:15:00] We're in charge of like how money is coming in there can feel this need to have this like intense pressure of like, I've gotta get it all. Perfect. I've gotta get it. All right. So I'd be really curious, how do you view that and how do you suggest or recommend for those that are either already in practice or starting practice, balancing that of having consistency versus that
[00:15:21] Aisha Shabazz: perfectionism.
[00:15:22] So, one way that I like to frame consistency is that it's not only gonna benefit you, it's also gonna benefit your clients, and it's gonna support the longevity of your private practice. A lot of the work that I do with therapists is focusing on keeping. Their practice going because a lot of folks don't set out and say, Ooh, I can't wait to shut this down in a year.
[00:15:44] Right. , like , we're anticipating that we want to be in this for the long haul. Yeah. But our, our habits and our actions are not supporting us in that endeavor. So by being consistent in [00:16:00] your business and your private practice, you're actually going to support your longevity. The other thing that I like to encourage people to understand, People are counting on you to be consistent because that actually puts their mind at ease.
[00:16:14] And sometimes people are like, oh, consistency. That means I have to do something on a certain frequency. And I like to change that definition a little bit and encourage people to consider it as a theme or a pattern. Your patterns and your themes in your private practice are going to vary depending on what's happening in your business and what you want to happen or things that are happening.
[00:16:37] In ways that you can't predict, and I know that your community is filled with parents, so there's a lot of unpredictable aspects Yeah. Of being a parent that you could have the most tip top plan in place, and then something just throws that plan. Yeah. Right into muddy waters. I want people to know that [00:17:00] when you're thinking about being consistent, it really is just finding a theme, a pattern, a cadence.
[00:17:06] To how you're operating your business. Instead of being a perfectionist, which tells us there's no room for any flexibility. It has to be the same every single time you show up. One way that perfectionism shows up with some of my therapy clients is society tells us that you have to be on time, and being on time means you cannot be a minute late.
[00:17:32] Mm-hmm. , if you are 3, 4, 7 minutes late, you're in deep trouble. When we're looking at that from our standpoint as business owners, are you putting so much pressure on yourself that you have to post on social media at the same time every week, week after week, that you know all of the themes have to be exactly the same.
[00:17:53] It's not that at all. So really pulling back and just saying, am I allowing my creativity to [00:18:00] show through? How I'm talking about my practice. I think that will give us an indication of whether or not we're leaning into perfectionism versus leaning into just being consistent and having a theme.
[00:18:11] Ashley Comegys: Can you give an example of a theme where you kind of define that or like how that looks like in your
[00:18:16] Aisha Shabazz: practice?
[00:18:17] One theme that you could have is the type of people that you work with, so your ideal client population. If you are marketing your private practice on social media, for example. Someone should be able to look at your profile description and your, and your social feed and see there should be a pattern there.
[00:18:37] Mm-hmm. . And when they click through to your website, we should also be seeing a similar theme or pattern. So that is an example of being consistent when there are mixed themes and there is inconsistency. It confuses people. , and a lot of marketers have said this term like confused people don't [00:19:00] engage.
[00:19:00] They're actually reluctant and they don't trust inconsistencies. So if you're looking for people to say, oh, I wanna work with you as a therapist, I can't wait to book a therapy consultation, but there's a lot of inconsistencies between your messaging from one platform to the next. The likelihood that they're going to schedule a consultation with you is very, Well, and I
[00:19:23] Ashley Comegys: think that speaks to, sometimes there can be this feeling again of I have to do it all, so I have to speak to all, I have to do all the things.
[00:19:33] I have to do all the social medias or work with all the clients. And that's when there becomes that inconsistency because it's the overwhelm. And if we're trying to strive for this perfectionism, , that's gonna be impossible if, again, if there's not this kind of like you're calling it like the theme or the consistency because then where are we actually focusing our efforts?
[00:19:54] If we're doing it on all the things, we're probably not doing it that well , and so can we [00:20:00] take some of that pressure off ourselves to say like, where is. The most bang for my buck. In some ways, the client's gonna see that consistency that, okay, maybe it is in the website, and so who am I talking to? Or maybe it is in the social media, but it doesn't have to be on every platform.
[00:20:17] It doesn't have to be every day or multiple times a day. But how can I have consistency in who I'm speaking to? And then can that create some consistency for me versus
[00:20:28] Aisha Shabazz: having to do it all? Right. You hit the nail on the head that the slippery slope is thinking that we have to do it all, and that doesn't come out of thin air.
[00:20:37] Right? When we worked for somebody else, the likelihood that we were gonna be able to decline working with a client, it was very low, if not zero possibility. Any client that knocked on your door, you know, hit you up on the phone. I cared a pager when I was working the hospital, so any page that I got, I was expected to help that person on the other.
[00:20:59] So [00:21:00] this idea of not being able to say no to clients when we're in private practice, that's a habit that we've built up over time, and so it's gonna take people time to unlearn that habit. One thing that has helped me, and you know any medical social worker out there that's thinking like, I don't know if I'd ever do private practice.
[00:21:20] I don't think I'm good enough or clinical enough to do that. I would challenge you on that because if anything, the skillsets that you have are well equipped to be in private practice because you're used to working with specialists. Physicians have no issue with having a specialty. Right. And we have no issue going to specialists when that time comes.
[00:21:41] We actually prefer to go to special. In our personal life because we know that they're gonna be able to help us than someone who is a master in everything. Right? Like, what is that phrase? Jack of all trades, master of none. Yeah. So having a specialty, and you know, we hear that buzzword having a [00:22:00] niche, right?
[00:22:00] Right. Focusing on it. An ideal client population, however you wanna phrase it. People are gonna feel more confident in going to you if you select a target popul. . The other thing is, is that people are gonna be able to refer clients to you a lot easier. If someone is thinking to themselves, oh, I have a client that I don't specialize in working with, but I know a therapist that focuses right in this area, it's gonna be easier for them to pick up the phone, send you an email, or refer you when they know what you do.
[00:22:33] So it's not just to the benefit of your client, it's also helping out your colleagues to refer clients. I
[00:22:39] Ashley Comegys: know you have a social work background, which I do too, and I feel like some of that sense of like, I have to help everyone, which the systems we work in, I think perpetuate that. I also think our education, there's not as much in, you know, social work master's program of like specializing or nicheing or having an area of focus as maybe there are in some [00:23:00] other, you know, master level like counseling programs and things.
[00:23:03] I, I know for myself for a long time it was this feeling of, this is what the profession is, this is what I'm supposed to do. On top of the fact, like you said, well, this is also what my employers are telling me I have to do. So when I get to go work for myself, I guess that's how it works. Right? And I don't know if you can relate to this, but I know for myself, and I know for a lot of people, especially when they're leaving, You know, a field or a job where there is that employer and now you're on your own.
[00:23:29] There can be this sense of, I just need to see anybody . I just need to see everybody and anybody because I need money, but. What can then I think end up happening is then you're setting yourself up for a future of burnout, even though you're working for yourself, right? Because you're not necessarily happy or aligned with the clients that you're wanting to work with, or you're taking a fee that doesn't actually help sustain you, and it's just this, I've gotta do it all.
[00:23:58] And not really taking the [00:24:00] time to step back and think about kind of like what you're saying, like what are the themes, what are the areas? are a priority to me. Like how much money do I have coming in? So what does that look like, what I'm getting per session or the clients that I'm working with. So that where you were saying like you weren't aligned with the values of the organization that you were working for.
[00:24:20] You are your organization now, and so you get to say like, what are my values? What do I wanna value as a person? And what do I wanna value as a business owner, as a therapist, as an entrepreneur?
[00:24:33] Aisha Shabazz: Spot on.
[00:24:34] Ashley Comegys: Anything else that you think would be helpful for people in thinking about consistency versus
[00:24:39] Aisha Shabazz: perfectionism?
[00:24:41] Yeah, I mean, one of the things that I enjoy helping people with is really figuring out like very simple strategies on how to hold themselves accountable. So there are three simple ways that you can reduce the likelihood that you are going to be inconsistent, [00:25:00] and one of those. To continue to remind people that your private practice exists.
[00:25:06] I mean, that is essentially what marketing is. You are just reminding people that you exist. And one of the pitfalls that I see therapists fall into is that they only tell people that they exist when they need to fill their caseload. Hmm. And so this builds up a level of mistrust, even if no one ever says it to you out loud, because you're only showing up when you want something and when you need, so, Therapists do this often.
[00:25:32] Oh, I need to start networking again because I need to fill my caseload. Or, oh, I need to start posting again because I need to fill my caseload. And people can see that coming from a mile away. Yeah. No one wants to feel used. And again, I don't think people are doing this with the consciousness of I can't wait to use people.
[00:25:51] I think when we're inconsistent, we have these unpredictable patterns. In our business. And then that leads us to making [00:26:00] very haphazard decisions and uninformed decisions, and sometimes emotional decisions. Being a business owner is an emotional rollercoaster, but we don't necessarily need to succumb to those emotions when we're making important decisions in our business.
[00:26:15] So that is one of the things is making sure that you. Reminding people that your private practice exists and, and coming at it from a place of, I just want to help you regardless if it's me helping you or me, just reminding you that therapy is an option. Yeah. The other one is to know your numbers. So a lot of times when people think to the.
[00:26:41] Know your numbers, they think of dollars and cents, but I'm talking about data and analytics. You won't know if something is working in your business unless you know that it's working. So yeah, , when we're, when we're talking about how do I know that my private [00:27:00] practice is full yet, that's a big question that I see a lot from therapists, and it's like, well, you get to define what full is first and for.
[00:27:08] and how you know that your private practice is going well is if you're able to reach your goals. So if you are pushed to the gills and you don't have any room on your calendar and you're still not able to meet your goals, that means we need to switch things up and really look at, well, how did we get here?
[00:27:27] When did you onboard most of your new clients? Did that happen in a certain time of year or a certain type of season in your. Did that happen after you went on a whole bunch of networking calls or after you, you know, posted a few blog posts? So you wanna make sure that you know your unique pattern by looking at your data and your analytics.
[00:27:49] One data point that I encourage people to look at is how many people are visiting your website? So by knowing how many people are visiting your website, you're more likely to [00:28:00] predict and have a consistent measure. how many times you need to promote your practice in order to get people on your consultation calendar.
[00:28:11] So all of the things really fit together. Yeah. And your numbers are gonna be different from anybody else's numbers. So that's also the benefit of knowing what's going on in your practice, because you're not gonna be able to say, oh, well, how many people visited your website this month? It's like, well, my website is different from your website.
[00:28:28] Sure. I'm reaching a different clientele than. I write about different things than you write about. You can commiserate with people, right? Yeah. , but somebody else's information about their business. I strongly encourage you not to use that to make business decisions for yourself, cuz that's just not helpful to you.
[00:28:46] Well, and
[00:28:46] Ashley Comegys: to understand too what those numbers mean because you could have 30,000 people coming to your site, but if you're not getting clients from those 30,000 people, okay, then that's data saying we [00:29:00] need to change something up in either our messaging or like how people are knowing how to find us through our website.
[00:29:06] Somebody else could have only 300 people coming a month, but they're getting full caseload. people reaching out through their website. So again, the, the numbers don't tell the whole story. Mm-hmm. , so I think that's such a good reminder of you need to know your numbers, but, but then how do we interpret them, because that'll help make those decisions
[00:29:25] Aisha Shabazz: from there.
[00:29:26] Absolutely. Context matters, and we talk about that. Yes. In therapy sessions with our clients, . So a lot of these themes really do apply in business. That's why when I work with therapists, we're really looking at the intersectionality between entrepreneurship and your clinical skills. Because yeah, there are a lot of marketers out there around the world that are using psychology to connect with their audience.
[00:29:50] Some therapists find that. Jarring and disheartening, but I would encourage people to consider it as they're using strategies that work, [00:30:00] right? We're using psychology to get people to a place where they wanna be in their lives, and that's what everybody else is doing. They're using psychology to help people identify what they need and point them in the direction of solutions.
[00:30:13] And what's the third way? Just really knowing what your reliable referral sources are. So referral sources. Varies depending on what type of practice you're running. But I encourage people to look outside of networking opportunities as the only referral source. Sometimes people look at their therapy directory profiles and they'll say, okay, well I'm on Psychology today because everybody's there.
[00:30:38] But if Psychology Today is not bringing you, Referrals that are actually converting into paying clients, then that could be an indication that you might wanna let go of that therapy directory and try something else that might be an indication for you to update your therapy directory. Or there might be some new enhancements that [00:31:00] they offered and you're just not taking advantage of those things.
[00:31:03] I encourage people not to do a set it and forget it model. Mm-hmm. of like, oh, this has worked for me and they haven't looked. In three, four or five years, revisit it often. The other thing about reliable referral sources is that they'll change again, depending on the season of your business. So for me, in my private practice, I work with people who have anxiety and experience anxiety in an intense way, and we work around confidence.
[00:31:32] And when people are coming to me, depending on their age demographic, it is seasonal. I have a lot of people coming to me around the holiday season because the holiday season is very stressful for them. When some of my colleagues, it's a ghost town for them. So I'm looking at my referral sources from the clients that I enjoy working with, and then I pour more energy into that to make sure that there's a lot of consistency there on my end.
[00:31:59] Because if [00:32:00] I'm not consistently telling people that my private practice. Then I can't anticipate that I'm going to have consistency that I need for my business to continue on, like having consistent revenue. This is so smart
[00:32:13] Ashley Comegys: because when we talk about for networking as a referral source, right? I think it's so important in your practice to do that, but it's not the set and forget it model either.
[00:32:24] Right? Where I think a lot of times when we think of networking, it is you exchange a business card, you shake hand, and that's it. What it's actually about nurturing that relationship and I think what you're describing in these other referral sources, cuz that's what they are, right? Whether it is your.
[00:32:41] Whether it is a directory, whether it is your social media or like, again, however you're getting people in that it's about nurturing that referral relationship, right? Going back and either tweaking stuff on your website or doing things to help optimize it, or looking at the directories. If you're [00:33:00] in directories and it's getting you.
[00:33:02] Great. Keep doing and keep tweaking as you go along, but if you're finding like, I'm doing that and it's not giving me the fruits of my labor, then okay, is that not the most efficient or effective use of time and money then? So going back to that data of being able to look at what is the time and what is the investment coming out of this thing and how do I then, , nurture it in a different way and see if it produces a different outcome or continue to nurture it because you're getting the fruits of your labor
[00:33:33] Aisha Shabazz: there.
[00:33:34] Absolutely.
[00:33:35] Ashley Comegys: Well, Aisha, anything else that you think would be important for people to know before we wrap up today?
[00:33:41] Aisha Shabazz: Yeah, so I do have a free checklist for people. If you're feeling overwhelmed and you're just really not sure what to say in order to be consistent or what to say to really inspire people to say yes to working with.
[00:33:54] I created a checklist. Right now it's up to 22 questions where I encourage [00:34:00] you to sprinkle these answers to these questions before, during, and after working with clients so that you can have consistency that you want, reach the goals that you have, and most importantly, so that you have the energy and the time and all of the resources that you want in order to live your life beyond the session.
[00:34:21] Because again, I don't believe. It's all about the work. I don't think that anybody really sets out to work as hard as they can so that they can crash at the end of the day, and be missing out on their life, right? Like I've, I've lived that, I've been there, I've done that, and I have no plans of going back.
[00:34:40] So if that's not something that you want for yourself either, , then I highly recommend that you just take the time to use your resources wisely so that you can live your life more.
[00:34:53] Ashley Comegys: Yes, yes. Where would be the best place for people to connect
[00:34:57] Aisha Shabazz: with you? So there's a couple of places [00:35:00] online that you can reach me.
[00:35:00] It's no surprise my website. So my website is aisha r shabazz.com. You can also find resources at the thriving therapist shop.com. You can listen to my podcast Beyond the session, and I'm on social media. No surprise on, uh, Instagram and TikTok. I'm at Aisha R Shabazz.
[00:35:22] Ashley Comegys: And we'll have all of that linked in the show notes.
[00:35:24] And if you wanna hear more, she's gonna be sharing in our village community this Friday when we, um, have her as a guest expert have her as a guest expert in, in village. Um, so you can always join us there. Aisha, I am so thankful to get to have you here as our first guest and to have this conversation with you.
[00:35:42] This was so fun, and I hope, um, to have you back
[00:35:45] Aisha Shabazz: again. Thank you, Ashley. This was a great.
[00:35:51] Ashley Comegys: Thank you so much for listening to the Raised to Empower podcast. Check the show notes for all links and resources mentioned in the show. If you found [00:36:00] today's episode helpful or inspiring, be sure to share it with your therapist friends, and don't forget to subscribe to the show and leave your five star rating and review.
[00:36:08] It truly means so much to me and will help us get our message of empowerment out to other women and mom clinicians, and I'd love to connect with you in our Facebook community. So check out the show notes for the link or head to Bitly slash raise to empower to join us. I'll see you back here next week.