What if the future of mental health care wasn’t just about better treatment, but about better business practices that keep clinics alive and thriving?
In this episode of Lightning RX, host Colette Nataf sits down with Mike Lord, founder of MindPractice, to explore how he went from building custom software in the dot-com era to transforming struggling psychiatry practices into profitable, scalable businesses.
Mike shares how an unexpected request from his sister, a psychiatrist, pulled him into the world of healthcare operations, and how his background in software, marketing systems, and business consulting gave him the tools to help her practice triple revenue and double profit margins. From there, he began working with other clinician-owned practices, helping doctors do what med school never taught them: run a business.
What You’ll Learn:
- How Mike transitioned from software development to digital marketing to healthcare consulting
- Why most psychiatrists and clinicians struggle with operations, P&Ls, and team management
- How MindPractice helps private practices improve systems, reduce burnout, and scale effectively
- Why turnover is so high in psych offices, and the case for fewer, higher, paid, better-trained staff
- The importance of data driven decisions for patient acquisition, scheduling, and retention
- Why follow-up appointments (not first visits) determine profitability in psychiatry practices
- Lessons from failures, pivots, and studying both scaled and failed companies
- Why consistency, process, and systems, not silver bullets, are the keys to long-term success
💡 Golden Nugget:
“Business is simple if you make it simple. Most practices complicate it, when the real wins come from consistency, data, and disciplined execution.”
Connect with Mike Lord
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/whymikelord
- Website: MindPractice
Connect with the Show:
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite platform.
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone passionate about healthcare marketing, startup growth, or innovative product launches, and don’t forget to leave us a review. New episodes drop weekly!
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.