The Build Your Private Practice Podcast

If your private practice income feels inconsistent, it's easy to assume you're doing something wrong.
One month feels steady. The next feels frighteningly quiet. And somewhere along the way, you start wondering why everyone else seems to have figured out the business side of private practice when you haven't.
But there's something important we don't talk about enough:
Money was never on the syllabus.
Your training taught you how to be a therapist. It taught you ethics, assessment, clinical judgment, and how to care for your clients.
It probably didn't teach you how to set your fees, fill a caseload, follow up with inquiries, prepare for slower seasons, or create more predictable income.
In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is talking about the business education therapists were never given—and why struggling with the money side of private practice isn't a personal failing.
It's a skill gap.
And business skills can be learned.
In this episode, we cover:
Why inconsistent income is so common in private practice

The business skills most therapists were never taught

Why struggling financially doesn't mean you're bad at business

The quiet shame therapists can carry around money

Why comparing your practice to someone else's can make that shame worse

How intentional fees can create a stronger financial foundation

Why follow-up is one of the most underused tools in private practice

The importance of understanding your numbers

How consistent visibility can help create more predictable income

Why becoming a stronger business owner has nothing to do with your value as a clinician

You didn't graduate knowing how to run a business.
You graduated knowing how to help people.
The business side is something you learn next.
Explore tools, programs, and support at:
https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca
Join our Facebook community for Canadian therapists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildyourprivatepractice
Listen and subscribe here:
https://thebuildyourprivatepracticepodcast.libsyn.com
Build Your Private Practice is turning 10! 🎉
Join us on Friday, September 25, 2026, for a full day focused on the operations, finances, marketing, and mindset behind building a private practice that actually works for you.
Attend live in Toronto or join us virtually from anywhere.
Register here:
https://pages.buildyourprivatepractice.ca/bypp-10yr-registation

If your private practice felt quiet this summer, September can feel like the moment you've been waiting for.
Routines return. Calendars tighten up. And people who have been thinking about starting therapy finally begin looking for someone to work with.
But there's one mistake therapists often make: waiting until the demand arrives to start marketing.
In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is talking about the September intake window—why fall is such an important time for private practice growth, what gets in the way of filling your caseload, and what you can do right now to make it easier for potential clients to find you and take the next step.
Because when your marketing feels like it's going nowhere, it may not mean you're bad at business.
Often, it comes down to two things: timing and consistency.
In this episode, we cover:
Why September can create a natural increase in demand for therapy

Why therapists should prepare for fall intake before clients start looking

What may really be happening when your marketing feels like it's going nowhere

Why timing and consistency matter in private practice marketing

How to increase visibility without creating an entirely new marketing strategy

Simple ways to remind referral sources that you have availability

Why potential clients should be able to understand who you help and how to book within seconds

How unclear booking processes can cost you interested clients

Why responding promptly to inquiries matters

The overlooked power of following up with potential clients

What to do if you feel like you missed the August preparation window

A simple three-step checklist to help you get more therapy clients this fall

If you're feeling behind, you haven't missed your opportunity.
The September intake window doesn't close on September 1.
Start with three things this week:
Be visible.
Choose one place where your ideal clients are already looking and show up consistently.
Make the next step easy.
Check your website, directory listing, contact form, and booking process. Make sure a potential client immediately knows what to do next.
Follow up.
Look back at the people who have contacted you recently but haven't booked. A warm, human follow-up may be all they need.
You don't need to become louder or completely reinvent your private practice marketing.
You need to be findable when the right people are ready for support.
The clients come back.
Let's make sure they can find you.
Explore tools, programs, and support at:
https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca
Join our Facebook community for Canadian therapists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildyourprivatepractice
Listen and subscribe here:
https://thebuildyourprivatepracticepodcast.libsyn.com
Build Your Private Practice is turning 10! 🎉
Join us on Friday, September 25, 2026, for a full day focused on the operations, finances, marketing, and mindset behind building a private practice that actually works for you.
Attend live in Toronto or join us virtually from anywhere.
Register here:
https://pages.buildyourprivatepractice.ca/bypp-10yr-registation

Have you ever stopped yourself from posting something because it felt too obvious?
Maybe you assumed everyone already knew it.
Maybe you worried your colleagues would think it was too basic.
So instead, you said nothing—or turned a simple idea into something more advanced, clinical, and complicated.
But your future clients are not looking for the most sophisticated take.
They are looking for the therapist who helps them feel understood.
In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is explaining why the content you almost do not post may be exactly what connects with the right clients.
Because what feels basic to you may be the first time someone has heard their experience explained clearly.
In this episode, we cover:
Why therapists often overcomplicate their marketing

How the curse of knowledge affects the content you create

Why your peers and potential clients respond to different things

The difference between simplifying an idea and "dumbing it down"

Why clarity and recognition matter more than sounding impressive

How jargon-heavy content can unintentionally push people away

Why simple content can still demonstrate deep expertise

How relatable posts help potential clients feel less alone

Why clear, human content is more likely to be shared

How to find your next content idea inside a client conversation

A simple test for deciding whether an idea is worth posting

You do not need to find a more original or advanced idea.
Think about the last time a client said:
"I have never thought about it that way."
The sentence you said immediately before that moment may be your next post.
Write it in plain language.
Share it without jargon, citations, or unnecessary explanation.
If it helps the right person feel seen, it is worth saying.
Explore tools, programs, and support at:
https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca
Join our Facebook community for Canadian therapists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildyourprivatepractice
Listen and subscribe here:
https://thebuildyourprivatepracticepodcast.libsyn.com
Build Your Private Practice is turning 10!
Celebrate with us on Friday, September 25, 2026, live in Toronto or online.
Register here:
https://pages.buildyourprivatepractice.ca/bypp-10yr-registation

Has Psychology Today—or another therapist directory—suddenly stopped sending you inquiries?
It is easy to assume you did something wrong.
Maybe your profile needs another rewrite. Maybe your fees are the problem. Maybe you are no longer standing out.
But the issue may not be you.
A directory can make you findable, but it cannot guarantee that you will be chosen.
In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is explaining why relying on a directory is not the same as having a marketing strategy—and what helps create a practice that remains steady when a platform goes quiet.
Because your practice should not depend on a list you do not control.
In this episode, we cover:
Why directory inquiries can slow down without anything changing about your clinical skills

The difference between being findable and being chosen

Why many therapist profiles sound interchangeable

How referral relationships create a more stable source of clients

Why networking does not have to feel pushy or sales-focused

How one strong referral relationship can support your practice for years

Why trying to speak to everyone often connects with no one

How a specific message helps potential clients recognize themselves

Why your website, directory profile, content, and introductions should share the same message

How to rewrite the first two lines of your directory listing

One simple action to begin building a practice you own—not visibility you rent

You do not need to delete your directory listing.
A directory can be a useful front door.
The mistake is treating the front door like the entire house.
This week, write one sentence describing the specific person you most want to help.
Then share that sentence with one person who may be able to refer the right clients to you.
That is how a chosen practice is built:
One clear message shared with one right person at a time.
Explore tools, programs, and support at:
https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca
Join our Facebook community for Canadian therapists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildyourprivatepractice
Listen and subscribe here:
https://thebuildyourprivatepracticepodcast.libsyn.com
Build Your Private Practice is turning 10!
Celebrate with us on Friday, September 25, 2026, live in Toronto or online.
Register here:
https://pages.buildyourprivatepractice.ca/bypp-10yr-registation

If every task in your private practice still runs through you, it is no wonder your week feels so full.
The intake emails, invoices, appointment changes, website updates, insurance receipts, and marketing may each seem small.
Together, they can swallow hours of your time and leave very little capacity for your clients, your business, or your life.
In this episode of The Build Your Private Practice Podcast, Liane is talking about delegation—and why handing off work is not about lowering your standards or losing control.
It is about protecting the work that only you can do.
Because "I have always done it" does not mean "I have to keep doing it."
In this episode, we cover:
Why doing everything yourself can increase stress

How to identify the work only you can do

Which private practice tasks may be ready to delegate

A four-box exercise for sorting your workload

Why urgent does not always mean important

How unclear instructions create many of the errors practice owners fear

The different levels of delegation and how trust develops

Why delegation requires a process—not a rushed handoff

How regular one-on-one meetings make delegation work

Why handing off tasks can improve response times and client experience

How delegation creates capacity for clinical work, strategic decisions, and your life

You do not need to hire someone or overhaul your practice today.
Start by writing down everything you did in your business this week.
Then sort each task into one of four categories:
Do. Schedule. Delegate. Delete.
That simple exercise can show you where your time is going—and where you may be the bottleneck.
You do not have to figure this out alone.
Explore tools, programs, and support at:
https://buildyourprivatepractice.ca
Join our Facebook community for Canadian therapists:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildyourprivatepractice
Listen and subscribe here:
https://thebuildyourprivatepracticepodcast.libsyn.com
Build Your Private Practice is turning 10!
Celebrate with us on Friday, September 25, 2026, live in Toronto or online.
Register here:
https://pages.buildyourprivatepractice.ca/bypp-10yr-registation