January 29, 2025 • 8 mins
This episode focuses on five essential habits that successful practice owners must adopt to thrive in their businesses. By emphasizing clear goals, effective cash flow management, time management, strong client relationships, and continuous education, practitioners can create a balance in their professional lives while elevating their practices.
• Highlighting the importance of setting clear financial and operational goals
• Detailing the implementation of a cash flow management system for informed decision-making
• Discussing time management techniques, including prioritization and time-blocking
• Exploring strategies for nurturing client relationships through active listening
• Emphasizing the need for continuous education and upgrading skills
If your practice needs help getting organized with its finances or just growing your practice, head to therapybusinesspodcom to learn how we can help.
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*Intro/outro song credit:
King Around Here by Alex Grohl
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Being a successful practice owner is all about
having strong habits.
There are certain habits thatall those thriving practices
have and that they areimplementing, both in their
business, their personal livesand in serving their clients and
their team.
Well, not long ago, I recordeda video outlining these five
habits, and so I wanted to sharethat with you today.
I'm going to talk through eachof the key habits and how you
(00:23):
can implement them into yourbusiness.
My name is Craig and I'm theCEO of Desi Financial Coaching.
Our goal is simple to help yourun a therapy practice that is
permanently profitable.
If you own a solo or grouppractice, we're here to help you
build a business that createsmore time, makes more money and
serves more people.
This is the Therapy BusinessPodcast.
(00:45):
Successful business owners haveone thing in common they all
have habits and routines bakedinto their daily lives and in
their business.
Today, I'm sharing five habitswith you that every successful
business owner should have.
Now, when running a business,you can be pulled a hundred
different ways, and it can bereally, really hard to stay
(01:06):
focused on a linear path forward.
That's why successful businessowners have habits baked into
their daily lives to make surethat the business is growing,
that they always know exactlywhere they stand.
Now, as we've worked withbusiness owners over the years,
we've noticed five key habitsthat are really necessary in
order for a business to thriveand grow.
The first habit every businessowner should have is having
(01:27):
clear goals, specifically withfinances, you have to know what
your target is.
What is that revenue goal?
What are you trying to achieve?
What's that client number orthe amount of products you're
going to sell, or the amount ofservices you're going to sell in
a given time period?
Now I recommend having goals inboth short and long term.
So where do you hope to be?
Maybe in a year from now.
Then stretch that out to threeyears, five years, possibly ten
(01:48):
years.
Where do you ultimately want?
Now?
This can be really importantbecause if you're a solopreneur
out there, do you hope to oneday have a full team of
employees running the businesswhile you're looking at the
day-to-day?
Or do you possibly just lovedoing what you do, where you're
(02:09):
doing the day-to-day work andyou just want to be a
self-employed person who doesn'thave staff but really just does
your craft and gets paid to doit?
Getting clear on what you wantdown the road can really help
with decision making today.
Once you have that big vision,that long-term picture,
sometimes it's easier to startthere and then start rolling
back.
If I want to be here in 10years, where do I need to be in
five years in order to be makingprogress toward that goal?
Then where do I need to be inthree years, one year, where
should I be this month?
What should I be working ontoday, this week, in order to
(02:31):
move me forward toward that goal?
The second habit that successfulbusiness owners have is they
have a cash flow managementsystem and they use it Now.
It's no secret, if you'vewatched any videos before, that
I'm a fan of the profit firstcash system.
That's the system that we teachour clients so they can put it
into their business and alwaysknow exactly what's going on
with their money, where theystand every single day and how
(02:52):
they can prepare for the future.
Now, a cash flow system isdifferent than an accounting
system.
You need bookkeeping, you needsomething logging what's
happening to your money, but acash flow system allows you to
engage on the day to day so youcan make decisions, moving
forward With Profit First.
It recommends opening core bankaccounts and separating your
money into separate bankaccounts so you know exactly
where you stand in categorieslike operating expenses or an
(03:14):
owner's pay.
It also makes sure that you'reprioritizing your taxes, saving
for those and profit Habit.
Number three is effective timemanagement.
Successful business ownersmanage their time well.
Now, this can be on their dailyschedule, but it also comes
down to tasks.
An effective business ownerprioritizes important tasks
above the mundane.
(03:34):
It's easy to get bogged down inchecking email and doing little
tasks that really are not inyour wheelhouse or tasks that
you should be doing.
What we recommend is sittingdown and looking at those big
picture moves that you'retalking about, those goals that
you set, and what could you bedoing to move that boat forward,
and is it something that youcould delegate or is it
something that you should beworking on Now?
If you don't have people todelegate to, we always recommend
(03:56):
virtual assistants as beingthat first hire, because you can
delegate some of those tasksthat really you shouldn't be
spending your time doing, sothat you can focus on revenue
generating tasks.
Now, when it comes to managingyour tasks every week, every day
, sit down and prioritize yourbig three.
What are three things thatyou're going to focus on that.
If, at the end of the day, youhave accomplished them or you
have made strides towardcompleting them, you can
(04:17):
consider that day a success.
Now, of course, you can do morethan three things in a day, but
if you can really outline threecore things that your attention
needs to be focused on that day, you're going to see amazing
results and huge strides in yourgoals.
And then the last piece withtime management is time blocking
.
Time blocking is taking yourschedule and putting chunks of
time dedicated to certain tasks,whether it's client meetings,
whether it's time for you tolearn or work on professional
(04:40):
development.
Maybe it's time for you toreply to emails or to do
personal tasks and, yeah, youprobably wanna time block some
breaks in there as well.
Time blocking goes on yourcalendar in these chunks of time
so that you can see what yourfocus should be on during that
time.
And it makes sure that yourweek is balanced, that you're
giving some attention to all theareas that really are needed,
and also, if you have staff,allows them to look at your
(05:00):
calendar and see what are youfocusing on during this time.
If somebody needs to meet withyou, they know.
Okay, well, this time is reallycarved out for creative
processing so I can't plug ameeting in there.
But on Tuesday mornings he hastime scheduled for meetings.
I can plug you in there.
You can even go so far as timeblocking your year, which I'm a
big fan of plugging in importantand making sure that my life is
balanced across the year aheadas much as you can balance it
(05:24):
when looking that far in advance.
The fourth habit that successfulbusiness owners have is
prioritizing clientrelationships.
In a service-based business, itis so important that your
clients and customers are welltaken care of and you should be
constantly looking at ways toimprove that relationship.
The best ways to do that is toengage in active listening.
Ask your clients what do theylove most, what do they wish you
(05:48):
were doing more of Now.
A lot of times clients don'twant to tell you the negative.
If they like you, if they arehappy with you, they may not
tell you the things they wishyou were doing differently, but
sometimes if you ask questionslike what do you love about our
service, if they share that,that can sometimes hone in on.
What are they appreciating?
What could you maybe do toincrease that or do more of it
to really strengthen that hope.
You can also ask your clientswhy did they leave past vendors
(06:09):
or why did they choose you overyour competitors?
This will really highlightthings that are lacking in that
industry that you know.
Hmm, I could probably do thatbetter.
Or maybe we're not doing it andwe wanna implement it more,
because that is really thereason that they chose you over
someone else.
And finally, habit number fiveis continuous education.
Successful business owners arealways learning.
They're engaged in courses,they're staying up to date on
(06:31):
their industry trends, they'reworking with other business
owners and they're hiringcoaches to help them become more
and more successful in theareas where maybe it's a
weakness or where they justreally need an extra set of eyes
, extra set of hands on deck tohelp propel them forward.
Now, as we talk about cashmanagement, I recommend having
an account set aside fortraining and development.
This can be used forconferences, workshops,
(06:51):
masterminds, hiring a coach.
You should always be improvingin all areas.
I have a marketing coach that Iwork with and engage with
regularly.
Once or twice a month we havemeetings to focus on my
marketing, because I know thatis essential to my business and
it's also an area that I'm not afull on expert in, so I need
someone speaking into that.
I'm also part of multiplemastermind groups of other
business owners in my industryand some different industries
(07:14):
where I can bring problems tothem.
I have other people as acohesive mind who have my
business's best interest atheart, who can speak into it.
Too often we're too close tothe problem to really see what
that problem is, and havingthose resources around us can
actually help tremendously, andyou'd be amazed at how you can
invest money in a program likethat and how it can really
(07:34):
provide an ROI quickly.
So there you have it five habitsthat every successful business
owner is doing.
I challenge you to find athriving business that doesn't
have an owner who's doing thesehabits.
Now, as I outlined those habits, is there an area of weakness
for you?
I know there's some for me.
What I suggest you do is reallylean into that and start
focusing on making that apriority.
If you're looking for help inimproving one of these habits,
(07:55):
that's what we do.
Not only do we help businessesimprove profitability and
implement that cash flow system,we also help them with their
time management, with providingsystems and processes in their
business so it can grow fasterand become more efficient and,
of course, a business that runsin a way that helps support your
lifestyle, because too oftenthat falls to the wayside.
Thanks for joining us on theTherapy Business Podcast.
(08:19):
Be sure to subscribe, leave areview and share it with a
practice owner that you may know.
If your practice needs helpgetting organized with its
finances or just growing yourpractice, head to
therapybusinesspodcom to learnhow we can help.
Being a successful practice owner is all about
having strong habits.
There are certain habits thatall those thriving practices
have and that they areimplementing, both in their
business, their personal livesand in serving their clients and
their team.
Well, not long ago, I recordeda video outlining these five
habits, and so I wanted to sharethat with you today.
I'm going to talk through eachof the key habits and how you
(00:23):
can implement them into yourbusiness.
My name is Craig and I'm theCEO of Desi Financial Coaching.
Our goal is simple to help yourun a therapy practice that is
permanently profitable.
If you own a solo or grouppractice, we're here to help you
build a business that createsmore time, makes more money and
serves more people.
This is the Therapy BusinessPodcast.
(00:45):
Successful business owners haveone thing in common they all
have habits and routines bakedinto their daily lives and in
their business.
Today, I'm sharing five habitswith you that every successful
business owner should have.
Now, when running a business,you can be pulled a hundred
different ways, and it can bereally, really hard to stay
(01:06):
focused on a linear path forward.
That's why successful businessowners have habits baked into
their daily lives to make surethat the business is growing,
that they always know exactlywhere they stand.
Now, as we've worked withbusiness owners over the years,
we've noticed five key habitsthat are really necessary in
order for a business to thriveand grow.
The first habit every businessowner should have is having
(01:27):
clear goals, specifically withfinances, you have to know what
your target is.
What is that revenue goal?
What are you trying to achieve?
What's that client number orthe amount of products you're
going to sell, or the amount ofservices you're going to sell in
a given time period?
Now I recommend having goals inboth short and long term.
So where do you hope to be?
Maybe in a year from now.
Then stretch that out to threeyears, five years, possibly ten
(01:48):
years.
Where do you ultimately want?
Now?
This can be really importantbecause if you're a solopreneur
out there, do you hope to oneday have a full team of
employees running the businesswhile you're looking at the
day-to-day?
Or do you possibly just lovedoing what you do, where you're
(02:09):
doing the day-to-day work andyou just want to be a
self-employed person who doesn'thave staff but really just does
your craft and gets paid to doit?
Getting clear on what you wantdown the road can really help
with decision making today.
Once you have that big vision,that long-term picture,
sometimes it's easier to startthere and then start rolling
back.
If I want to be here in 10years, where do I need to be in
five years in order to be makingprogress toward that goal?
Then where do I need to be inthree years, one year, where
should I be this month?
What should I be working ontoday, this week, in order to
(02:31):
move me forward toward that goal?
The second habit that successfulbusiness owners have is they
have a cash flow managementsystem and they use it Now.
It's no secret, if you'vewatched any videos before, that
I'm a fan of the profit firstcash system.
That's the system that we teachour clients so they can put it
into their business and alwaysknow exactly what's going on
with their money, where theystand every single day and how
(02:52):
they can prepare for the future.
Now, a cash flow system isdifferent than an accounting
system.
You need bookkeeping, you needsomething logging what's
happening to your money, but acash flow system allows you to
engage on the day to day so youcan make decisions, moving
forward With Profit First.
It recommends opening core bankaccounts and separating your
money into separate bankaccounts so you know exactly
where you stand in categorieslike operating expenses or an
(03:14):
owner's pay.
It also makes sure that you'reprioritizing your taxes, saving
for those and profit Habit.
Number three is effective timemanagement.
Successful business ownersmanage their time well.
Now, this can be on their dailyschedule, but it also comes
down to tasks.
An effective business ownerprioritizes important tasks
above the mundane.
(03:34):
It's easy to get bogged down inchecking email and doing little
tasks that really are not inyour wheelhouse or tasks that
you should be doing.
What we recommend is sittingdown and looking at those big
picture moves that you'retalking about, those goals that
you set, and what could you bedoing to move that boat forward,
and is it something that youcould delegate or is it
something that you should beworking on Now?
If you don't have people todelegate to, we always recommend
(03:56):
virtual assistants as beingthat first hire, because you can
delegate some of those tasksthat really you shouldn't be
spending your time doing, sothat you can focus on revenue
generating tasks.
Now, when it comes to managingyour tasks every week, every day
, sit down and prioritize yourbig three.
What are three things thatyou're going to focus on that.
If, at the end of the day, youhave accomplished them or you
have made strides towardcompleting them, you can
(04:17):
consider that day a success.
Now, of course, you can do morethan three things in a day, but
if you can really outline threecore things that your attention
needs to be focused on that day, you're going to see amazing
results and huge strides in yourgoals.
And then the last piece withtime management is time blocking
.
Time blocking is taking yourschedule and putting chunks of
time dedicated to certain tasks,whether it's client meetings,
whether it's time for you tolearn or work on professional
(04:40):
development.
Maybe it's time for you toreply to emails or to do
personal tasks and, yeah, youprobably wanna time block some
breaks in there as well.
Time blocking goes on yourcalendar in these chunks of time
so that you can see what yourfocus should be on during that
time.
And it makes sure that yourweek is balanced, that you're
giving some attention to all theareas that really are needed,
and also, if you have staff,allows them to look at your
(05:00):
calendar and see what are youfocusing on during this time.
If somebody needs to meet withyou, they know.
Okay, well, this time is reallycarved out for creative
processing so I can't plug ameeting in there.
But on Tuesday mornings he hastime scheduled for meetings.
I can plug you in there.
You can even go so far as timeblocking your year, which I'm a
big fan of plugging in importantand making sure that my life is
balanced across the year aheadas much as you can balance it
(05:24):
when looking that far in advance.
The fourth habit that successfulbusiness owners have is
prioritizing clientrelationships.
In a service-based business, itis so important that your
clients and customers are welltaken care of and you should be
constantly looking at ways toimprove that relationship.
The best ways to do that is toengage in active listening.
Ask your clients what do theylove most, what do they wish you
(05:48):
were doing more of Now.
A lot of times clients don'twant to tell you the negative.
If they like you, if they arehappy with you, they may not
tell you the things they wishyou were doing differently, but
sometimes if you ask questionslike what do you love about our
service, if they share that,that can sometimes hone in on.
What are they appreciating?
What could you maybe do toincrease that or do more of it
to really strengthen that hope.
You can also ask your clientswhy did they leave past vendors
(06:09):
or why did they choose you overyour competitors?
This will really highlightthings that are lacking in that
industry that you know.
Hmm, I could probably do thatbetter.
Or maybe we're not doing it andwe wanna implement it more,
because that is really thereason that they chose you over
someone else.
And finally, habit number fiveis continuous education.
Successful business owners arealways learning.
They're engaged in courses,they're staying up to date on
(06:31):
their industry trends, they'reworking with other business
owners and they're hiringcoaches to help them become more
and more successful in theareas where maybe it's a
weakness or where they justreally need an extra set of eyes
, extra set of hands on deck tohelp propel them forward.
Now, as we talk about cashmanagement, I recommend having
an account set aside fortraining and development.
This can be used forconferences, workshops,
(06:51):
masterminds, hiring a coach.
You should always be improvingin all areas.
I have a marketing coach that Iwork with and engage with
regularly.
Once or twice a month we havemeetings to focus on my
marketing, because I know thatis essential to my business and
it's also an area that I'm not afull on expert in, so I need
someone speaking into that.
I'm also part of multiplemastermind groups of other
business owners in my industryand some different industries
(07:14):
where I can bring problems tothem.
I have other people as acohesive mind who have my
business's best interest atheart, who can speak into it.
Too often we're too close tothe problem to really see what
that problem is, and havingthose resources around us can
actually help tremendously, andyou'd be amazed at how you can
invest money in a program likethat and how it can really
(07:34):
provide an ROI quickly.
So there you have it five habitsthat every successful business
owner is doing.
I challenge you to find athriving business that doesn't
have an owner who's doing thesehabits.
Now, as I outlined those habits, is there an area of weakness
for you?
I know there's some for me.
What I suggest you do is reallylean into that and start
focusing on making that apriority.
If you're looking for help inimproving one of these habits,
(07:55):
that's what we do.
Not only do we help businessesimprove profitability and
implement that cash flow system,we also help them with their
time management, with providingsystems and processes in their
business so it can grow fasterand become more efficient and,
of course, a business that runsin a way that helps support your
lifestyle, because too oftenthat falls to the wayside.
Thanks for joining us on theTherapy Business Podcast.
(08:19):
Be sure to subscribe, leave areview and share it with a
practice owner that you may know.
If your practice needs helpgetting organized with its
finances or just growing yourpractice, head to
therapybusinesspodcom to learnhow we can help.
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