The Worst Multiple Stream of Income in Private Practice

updated 1/25/2023

Have you ever heard any of the following as a private practice owner:

"I hear that running courses can make you a lot of money, so I started thinking about what kind of course I could do online."

"I have a friend who is an author, and I want to write a book. How do I make it profitable?"

"I saw someone run couples retreats; I want to do that!"

Retreats, books, courses, etc. there are so many options for growing your private practice.

I get it. I can easily get distracted by all of the pretty things and new ideas. Hello, it’s called being human! But I want to help you avoid the worst thing you could pick for growing your private practice and adding a new stream of income.

What to Avoid When Choosing a New Stream of Income as a Therapist

Don't Just Choose the Stream that Will Make You the Most Money.

You want your stream of income to be profitable — of course! But doing something only because it will make you more money is a recipe for frustration and burnout. I love money, but it is way easier to make money when your business is aligned with your personality, your mission, and your strengths.

See profitability as a factor in choosing your direction, but not the ultimate determinant.

Don't Choose the Stream Because it Worked for Everyone Else.

Courses may be hot right now. Writing a book may have been the ultimate tipping point for your friend. It is totally worth exploring, but what works for someone else doesn't guarantee it will work for you. The worst thing you can do is to do something out of comparing yourself to someone else's success (and success is relative and hard to interpret based on someone's social media feed).

Learn from others, yes! Be inspired by others, yes! And then...make it your own. Explore what you bring to the table and how it could be different and better for you.

Don't Forget Your Greatness and Your Mission.

To be successful in picking another stream of income takes self-awareness and an intimate knowledge of who you seek to serve.

If you love speaking courses, speaking engagements, and teaching a mastermind might be the way to go.

If you love writing, authorship, a written course, or project collaborations may be in your future.

Does what you want to do align with the big picture, or is it a distraction? What do you love? What sounds fun? What aligns with you? Start there, always, and then you can come up with a plan for it to be profitable.