TTE 1: Using Video & Social Media Market...

Perry: In this episode of the therapist experience, I’m speaking with Ernesto Segismundo from California Altura Vista. This is The Therapist Experience episode number one. Welcome to The Therapist Experience. The podcast where we interview successful therapists about what it’s really like growing a private practice. I’m Perry Rosenbloom, the founder of Brighter Vision, and I’m so excited to introduce our guest today Ernesto Segismundo from California Altura Vista. Ernesto are you prepared to share your therapist experience?

Ernesto: Oh, hell yes.

Perry: Alright, Ernesto. So glad to have you here for our inaugural number one episode. So let’s dive in. Ernesto received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Biola University, and received his masters of science degree in clinical psychology from Vanguard University. Ernesto has 10 years of clinical counseling experience working in settings such as group homes, domestic violence shelters, churches, and outpatient programs. Ernesto treats marriage and family relationships problems and also treats individuals suffering from depression, anxiety and addiction. Along with Ernesto’s counseling experience he had conducted various classes and seminars concerning relationships and mental health related topics. So just parenting, substance abuse, maintaining healthy marriages, private practice social media, video marketing, and managed care practices. Ernesto was currently an adjunct professor at Hope International University and has a private practice with offices located in Pasadena, Sand Pedro, Huntington Beach, and Brea, California. Ernesto also supervises three pre-licensed therapists in his private practice. Ernesto, I gave a little overview of you there but why don’t you take a minute, fill in the gaps from that introduction and tell us a little bit more about you personally and about your practice?

Ernesto: Yeah, absolutely Perry. Thank you so much for letting me be on your show. I’m really excited about this. When I started my private practice I started by myself, so I noticed I was surrounded with a lot of great clinicians. And that’s why I created California Altura Vista, more of a training facility for pre-licensed mental health professionals who are trying to figure out how to navigate through the private practice maze. And we all know that when you’re in private practice it’s incredibly difficult to be successful so you need that support system, and also the supervisors, the right people that can train you. I recently started hiring licensed clinicians under my practice so just this year alone, some of the things that I want to do is to expand my practice as a group practice through licensed clinicians who will also supervise pre-licensed clinicians who are coming in to the program. So California Altura Vista has become a little bit more than just a group setting or a group practice. It’s turning into more of a facility where I want to train other young clinicians to really make it in the world of mental health as a private practitioner.

Perry: So is California Altura Vista after– So people come in, they train under you and you guys supervise them. And then, do most people go and start their own private practice from there?

Ernesto: That’s the goal. You know, a lot of people are very– Our professionals, they want the therapist to stay within their practice when they have a group practice. My idea is you come in, you work for me, you learn my style. I teach you the business, I teach you marketing, and then you go out on your own. I noticed that when you give that type of content to clinicians they get inspired and they want to stay. They want to learn. And they also refer back to me. So when you’re good to your employees they’re going to definitely be good to you. So that’s a philosophy that I take on in my practice, everything that I do.

Perry: That’s a great philosophy to have Ernesto. I agree entirely. Here at Brighter Vision I sit down with every employee once a quarter and I ask them, “Hey, what do you want from this job? Do you want to learn as much as you can about business, and about sales or about how to bring a great website and our design tricks? Take everything from us and in a year go start your own company? Because if you do, that’s totally okay, but just tell me so that way I can teach you and enable you to succeed.” And if you treat your employees well, they’re going to want to stick around because, you know, everybody’s having a good time then.

Ernesto: Yeah. And you know, Perry, I surround myself with amazing clinicians who are willing to give valued content to make me grow, so that also inspires me to give back to the next generation. And the more I do that I find out that I’m a little bit more happier. I attract positive energy into my program in the practices that I do, and then I get the referrals. I believe in social media and video marketing, but the thing that I really, really want to pound in and hone in to a lot of young clinicians is the connections that you will build. So I want to form California Altura Vista with that type of philosophy.

Perry: When you’re looking for a new clinician to bring on to your practice, do you look for people who are specialized in a certain are or want to really hone in on a specific niche to help diversify California Altura Vista or are you looking more just like a generalist and then letting them discover their own passion and what areas to treat and specialize in?

Ernesto: I do the latter. Well, actually the first thing that I ask in therapist who come in is are you willing to work with all types of population? And if that answer is yes, that’s what I want in my practice. And the generalist approach is something that I totally believe in because as a supervisor you’d want someone who is teachable, who is wanting to learn certain different areas. And then throughout the way I can walk with them and support them. And they self-discover and are developing their niche. Some of the clinicians that come into my practice, they have no idea on what direction they want to go into. Or they kind of have an idea. So I want to be there to support them to go through that development process.

Perry: So you support being more of a generalist initially, but over time, once you understand where your passions are, which type of sub-communities you like to work it and what areas you like to treat, you encourage people to niche down? Is that accurate?

Ernesto: absolutely, because my own process is I was a generalist as a clinician. I worked with everyone as you have read in the bio of me. I started off with all of these populations and now I just went in to do the whole marriage counseling or a couples counseling route, where that is where I discovered that I was better working with that population.

Perry: And what is it that you feel that you’re better working with couples as opposed to other nieches?

Ernesto: You know, I think I like the dynamics that couples are bringing into the room. Self-disclosure here, I grew up with a big, big family so I am used to chaos.

Perry: How big of a family? How many brothers and sister do you have?

Ernesto: Well, I have three sisters and one brother, but as far as extensive family, if you know anyone who’s Filipino. We have extended families all over the place. We’re like cockroaches, we’re everywhere.

Perry: And you grew up in Hawaii, right?

Ernesto: Yes, I grew up in Hawaii. I was born in the Philippines, grew up in Hawaii and then I moved here to California. So being in a big family allows me to kind of get used to the chaos that my couples bring into my sessions. It really prepared me. I think I kind of feed off of that. As soon as they get to the place where there’s so chaotic, then I take them to the place of peace, understanding, and somewhat of a less chaotic relationship. That is where I thrive.

Perry: So, Ernesto you didn’t always have such a thriving group practice like California Altura Vista. It took time, it took learning about business and understanding business to be able to grow it into something that is a thriving group practice and something that you really love. So I’d love you to take us back to a point in your career as a therapist, specifically in private practice, when you were as low as you could possibly be. As an entrepreneur and then for all the therapist entrepreneurs listening out there, you guys all know it’s a roller coaster. You have your ups, you have your downs, and really there’s not much in between in entrepreneurship. So Ernesto take us back to the point where you were as low as you could possibly be in your journey and tell us about the obstacles you encountered, and share with us how you persevered through those challenges and those obstacles to emerge on the other side victorious.

Ernesto: Absolutely. I love that question because it helps me to reflect on where I’ve come from and where I’m going. Around me there were a lot of successful private practitioners who were very successful at holding their practice. They had 20-30 clients a week and I was at five clients a week, right? 20 clients was something that I really wanted to get into. So I worked for a company before that but I wasn’t holding down the clientele. So when I went into private practice I discovered social media and video marketing. And that’s when my clients increased, when I started utilizing that social media piece. But I was at the low of the low because I was comparing my success, what I view as a success, to other people’s success and that emotionally brought me down. When I stopped doing that and I started becoming authentic with who I wanted to be as a clinician and the type of case load I wanted, I decreased my anxiety and therefore decrease in anxiety helped me to be able to be a bit more inspired. That inspiration then took me to a place where anytime I failed I actually accepted that failure as a process to success. Once I started figuring that out then my practice started exploding.

Perry: Tell us about one of those failures. What was one of the biggest failures you had as an entrepreneur?

Ernesto: Absolutely. So I try to do a workshop for couples. And I’m not married, I don’t have any kids. And when you advertise yourself as a marriage counselor in my area they look at you because, one, you’re not “like them”, right? So it fell off the face of the earth. It was just a flop and no one showed up. I did this whole social media thing. I spent some money in advertising and nobody came, and that was a hit.

Perry: Not a single person showed up to the seminar?

Ernesto: Nothing, nothing. No one. I spent so much money on advertising, on flyers. I walked around the facilities where I was connected to, churches, and no one came and it was one of the most embarrassing and really disheartening experiences of my career. Just because you think, “Wow. I’ve got all of this experience and I’ve got the education, and no one showed up.”

Perry: How long ago was that?

Ernesto: Ugh, man. Maybe that was about two and a half, three years ago I believe.

Perry: That’s it? Wow. So how did you dust yourself off and pick yourself back up after throwing so much money into advertisement? So much blood, sweat, and tears and you get there and there’s not a single soul. How did you dust yourself off after that?

Ernesto: Well, you know, I had some really good people around me that kind of helped me to go, “You know, this is part of the process. Just keep going.” But I grew up with family that did saw that everything that I did would come to fruition. I did a family reunion a few years ago and people showed up to that. And then they were telling me how you just do an event and people would come, so that’s what I was thinking. So if it weren’t for the clinicians that I surrounded myself I would not have picked myself back up. Now, to tell you the truth, it took me about a year and a half to get back into the workshop scene because I didn’t want to feel that pain again of being embarrassed, shamed and really feeling like I was a failure.

Perry: Man, that must have been really challenging. How successful was your next workshop though?

Ernesto: Oh, my goodness. So the next workshop was held at my church and it was basically about parenting and couples. That one went up to– After that I think my church actually helped me to advertise that. And then there was about 30 people that showed up.

Perry: From zero to 30.

Ernesto: With no advertising other than word of mouth from my church.

Perry: Interesting. And how many of those people from the workshop actually became clients of yours? Do you know?

Ernesto: Actually, maybe about 20% of them.

Perry: That’s great.

Ernesto: Yeah. To this day those people that showed up subscribed to my Youtube channel, because I do a lot of video stuff as well for them. They also refer other clients to me, to this day, and I’m telling you right now. I have been trying to close my– I’m not trying to see anymore clients because I’m doing some other things in social and video marketing. So that’s why I’ve got this boot practice but they still refer to me to this day.

Perry: So, Ernesto you’ve come such a long way from two and a half, three years ago when you held a seminar and you had zero people show up. Such a long way. And what we often see therapists struggle with in the early days is pricing themselves well. I’m sure back then you had a different pricing model, so can you share with us what your current hourly rate is or your current session rate is to see clients and give us some insight into your journey to that rate?

Ernesto: Sure, absolutely. When I first started I started off between 55 dollars to 85 dollars a session as a pre-licensed clinician here in California. When I went into private practice it went up from a 100 to 130. So I stayed there up until, I would say, the middle of last year. And I stayed there because I had a lot of recurring clients coming in I didn’t want to increase the rates. After I started building a little bit more credibility within the community and other mental health professionals, now I’m at 175 per session. And the area that I’m in, 175, is actually pretty astronomical. Haha.

Perry: Yeah, I think any area you’re in is a pretty astronomical rate.

Ernesto: Yes.

Perry: You’re in Southern California right?

Ernesto: I’m in Southern California, but if you go closer to like Huntington Beach marriage and family therapists, they charge a little bit around my rate up to 200 dollars. But the actual location where I’m in which is Brea, their average rate for clinicians there is about 130, 150. So raising my rates and getting the actual clients in the Brea location and then actually paying incoming weekly sessions is something that I knew was going to happen. When people told me, “Hey, you’re too expensive.” It’s like, “Well, I’ve got other referrals for you if you want.” So that’s where I want to stick to my worth and my value as a clinician.

Perry: Indeed, and that’s a really challenging thing to actually say to people like turn the clients away and say, “Hey, I’m sorry but that’s my rate. I can refer you to other people if that’s too expensive.” But people don’t seem to be giving you pushback. You have a full practice. You have a full caseload for yourself. Do your clinicians that work under you and your group practice, do they charge a same hourly rate or does it vary based off of their experience level?

Ernesto: It varies. I have a doctor who’s working with me and he’s working down in Huntington Beach area. And I’m working with him to increase his rate because I’m now at his level rate. So if I have a doctor under me I really do feel that he needs to increase his price. And he is amazing. The other three clinicians that I have, because they’re pre-licensed I wanted to compare them to the cost of the clinicians in my area just for starting off. Because they’ve just been about a year into working in a group practice private practice setting. So I want to make sure that they develop their own self as a clinician, and then when they start feeling comfortable to say, “I cost this much and I cost this much.” Then we will kind of push the limits. But for now I respect where they are developmentally in their professional life.

Perry: Makes sense. So you provide guidance for them on when the right time is for them to raise their rates, correct?

Ernesto: I do. And one of the things that I do, Perry, is that I do a lot of introspective work where I’m not just talking about the money but I talk about how they are relating to the money as relating to themselves. So it’s easy for somebody who has less experience and really insecure about where they are professionally to say, “I cost 25 dollars per session.” And for somebody who’s insecure, it’s hard for them to say, “I cost 175 per session.” You kind of have to have an emotional stance and value when you can say that with confidence. That I cost a 175 dollars and here is where I’m going to stay.

Perry: Most certainly. And if you can’t express that confidently no one’s going to really take you up on that rate. So having that confidence to say, “I cost a 175 dollars a session. I cost 200 dollars a session. My rate is 150 dollars for a 45 minute session.” Being able to say that clearly, concisely, and cofidently helps allowing you to dictate those rates.

Ernesto: Absolutely, absolutely. And consumers understand that and they know that when you value yourself it really translated into your practice. It really does.

Perry: Because you don’t need to have as much of a heavy caseload as well then. You can see fewer clients, make more money, and provide better care and service to the clients that you see because you’re seeing fewer of them.

Ernesto: Absolutely. I mean, I really give props to clinicians who hold 25,28,30 clients a week and are having their own family. For me, I cannot do that. And for them who are actually at that rate, that caseload, more power to them. But for me I would say, the less on your caseload the more focus of attention you can have on them.

Perry: So, Ernesto I heard you mentioned a few times during our conversation a word that is kind of frowned upon by many in private practice. It’s a word that starts with M. Can you guess what that word is?

Ernesto: Uhh. M as a Mary?

Perry: M as a Mary, yeah.

Ernesto: Or M as in Money?

Perry: Hahahaha. Maybe both. The word that I had in mind was marketing.

Ernesto: Hahahahaha.

Perry: You mentioned that a few times Ernesto. You and marketing, whether it’s social media marketing, whether it’s video marketing, you’re not afraid to say the word marketing. And we see so often that therapists really struggle with marketing their business or that they feel like marketing and sales are kind of like these dirty words. But there’s really no way that you can build a thriving private practice without marketing.

Ernesto: Absolutely not.

Perry: Ernesto I’d love for you to share with us what you feel is the single best marketing move that you’ve made for your practice and why do you feel like it’s worked so fell for you?

Ernesto: I would have to say technology. This generation alone has given us and actually leveled the plain field with people who spend millions of dollars on marketing as opposed to people who are holding the marketing tool in their hands, which is their cell phone. I’ve discovered a couple years ago, utilizing video marketing into my practice, that in itself increased not only my caseload but also my authority within the community. So this is what I’m teaching young professionals to go into is that, yes, when you market there’s a sense of vulnerability. And I think therapists out of all professions are afraid of being vulnerable. When you market you have to be vulnerable. You are putting yourself out there to be criticized, to be judged, to be ridiculed but that’s them. There’s a sense in us that we have to kind of overcome those fears and that pain to make our practice successful. So this whole thing about marketing– And unfortunately we are not taught this in graduate school. So that’s where I come in and I think a lot of what I do and the success is catching that vulnerability empowering clinicians to market their practice in the most creative and inspirational way?

Perry: What’s a really creative and inspirational way that you market California Altura Vista?

Ernesto: So, just like with podcasts I do a version of podcast but on video. So what I do is I use Skype and I record that Skype conversation and basically I’m interviewing my therapist and say, “Hey, what’s your niche?” And just ask them questions. Just like this interview. And the more I do that the more comfortable they are, and the more people see it, especially their potential clients see it on Youtube or the website that Brighter Vision has done for California Altura Vista. The more comfortable people become in scheduling that appointment. So the more exposure you get on social media, i.e. via video marketing, the more people gain the sense of who you are as a clinician. Therefore they will pick up the phone and make that appointment with you.

Perry: And you know, one reason I think that video works so well– Podcasts as well, but video especially, is because people do business with those that they know, like, and trust. And when you have a video on your website of yourself communicating to a potential client who you are and what you specialize in, all of a sudden there’s a sense of trust that’s being conveyed. I know this person. They’re speaking to me. Anybody listening to this podcast, Ernesto and I are speaking to you as well. Even though we’re having a conversation we’re speaking to an audience out there and conveying who we are and what our personalities are like, and what our expertise is in. So that helps convey the sense of knowing liking and trusting, which makes it much easier for people to pick up the phone, call you, and want to do business with you.

Ernesto: Yep, absolutely. And one of the theories that I do seminars with in social media and video marketing, and I use the philosophy of Abraham Maslow. He talks about hierarchy of needs and one of them is this idea of– We have this need to connect with others. There’s a connection piece into marketing. So when you are putting yourself in front of a camera, when people are hearing your voice, when you’re making eye contact on the camera, there’s a sense of connection and that is what we want to go after. The connection piece with our potential clients and our potential viewers.

Perry: I agree wholeheartedly. Ernesto you actually touched on our next question, briefly just before. About how in grad school they didn’t teach you anything about marketing. And we hear that all the time, whether it’s speaking with potential clients, existing clients, just out in the community or conferences that nobody is taught in grad school anything about business. So what’s the one thing you wish that you would have learned in grad school about starting your own private practice?

Ernesto: I would have to say not just the business piece. The business piece will come after. I think it’s the marketing piece. There’s so many ways, and of course as a marketer myself I teach them this stuff at a grad level or university level, and I do workshops a little bit on this. But I really have to say how to utilize creative marketing content. That’s one thing that I wish university systems can put as part of their course. Now some places they offer workshops for it, but a course would actually be a little bit more beneficial because it offers a different dynamic to the program and my school, Hope International University, allows me to do workshops there. So the students are going to get the needed marketing tool and education when they decide– If and when they decide to go into private practice.

Perry: Love it Ernesto. I’m going to ask you a pretty tough question here. Your background with marketing is video and social media. A lot of people don’t feel comfortable being on camera though. they’ll get the jitters, they feel like they can’t convey themselves properly so for those of our listeners out there that don’t want to take the energy to do video marketing because it is an exhausting endeavor for a lot of people. What would you say to them in terms of a great strategy to market their practice?

Ernesto: Absolutely. I would say, be absolutely gentle with yourself. When you put a camera in front of you, what you’re seeing on camera, what you’re seeing on video will not be the person sometimes you’d like. Because we have those critical voices in our heads. So one of the– Number one thing that I tell people when I teach video marketing, when I teach social media marketing especially is be absolutely gentle with yourselves. And really capture and be friends with that critical voice that’s in your head and work through that as much as possible. The technology will come later, but I think that number one thing that I want to give and advice to for everyone who’s listening is be gentle with yourself. Those demons that creep up in your head, those are just thoughts. Don’t let them consume you.

Perry: Ernesto, that’s great advice. I’m going to dig deeper here. Forget video marketing. What would you say to someone listening that does not want to do video marketing as a great– because you have so much experience. You have so much to share. I love for you to be able to share with our audience what would you recommend as an effective marketing strategy besides using video?

Ernesto: Okay. So here’s one of the things that I also teach is networking. If they don’t want to do video marketing, they don’t want to do media marketing, I would say connect with other like-minded professionals. Whether it be on Facebook because I believe that when you reach out to social media and on Facebook, that could also have the potential of turning into a face to face contact. So, networking, connecting with other like-minded professionals, that’s going to encourage you and not bring you down. And those professionals who don’t see our profession as a competition but more of, hey, there’s a lot of room to grow. There’s a lot of clients that’s going to need our help. Let’s focus on them instead of focusing on us.

Perry: Fantastic, I love it. So Ernesto, before we move into the final part of our interview I’d love for you to be able to share with our audience about your video marketing business fylmit.com? That’s F-Y-L-M-I-T.com.

Ernesto: Yeah, absolutely. So what I do is I create promotional videos for therapist for private practice. I’m also now expanding fylmit.com to creating promotional videos for group practice and organizations. So that’s one thing that I added on for 2016. What it is is that I create a two minute, three minute video to be placed on Youtube, and because I’m also a clinician myself I have an idea of the direction, the legal and ethical direction that we need to take your video. There’s a lot of things that I’m trained in such as EMDR, and I’m familiar with other type of models that I can walk you through. So basically you’re not only hiring a videographer, but you’re hiring a videographer who is a licensed clinician and who will coach you through showing your authentic side on video. Not just putting a camera in front of you but showing the authentic side that people fall in love with and love as a clinician.

Perry: And Ernesto does such great work. I mean being pretty much the only video marketer out there with a background in clinical work allows you to approach things in a different way than if you’re going from standard videographer who might not know what it’s like to be in private practice.

Ernesto: Right. And plus there’s a connection. When I meet all these professionals, when I start filming their videos they talk about their fear and I think being a clinician I’m connected with that fear. I understand that fear. It’s something that I go on a daily basis every single time that I put a camera in front of me. And it’s okay. So that’s what fylmit.com does. I try to empower people. If they want to hire other videographers, that’s great. But I would say that in this day and age with the technology that we have and the incredible Brighter Vision websites that you create, and adding a video in there, it just increases that attraction for visitors.

Perry: Fantastic. We’re going to take a quick break here Ernesto. We’re going to move into getting our weekly website tip from one of Brighter Vision’s lead developers. We’ll be back here in about two minutes or so. So don’t go anywhere Ernesto and our audience, please enjoy this week’s website tip.

This week’s website tip comes from Andrew Oetjen, a lead developer at Brighter Vision. The worldwide leader in custom therapist website design. To learn more go to www.brightervision.com.

Andrew: Making your phone number clickable is a great way to increase a number of people actually contacting you through your website. By default, Safari will automatically take any sequence of numbers that looks like a phone number and link it into a clickable call. Google Chrome however does not do this. To get around this, you’ll need to add a little bit of code around your phone number so that it is clickable. It’s pretty straightforward though. Just start a standard link is the-less-than sign, then a space href equals. Then you’ll put in the quote and then your link. For click to call links just add the letters T-E-L directly after the quote, then put your phone number in. This will make it so that any phone number is clickable from a mobile device. This is a little challenging to explain through a podcast so just head on over to brightervision.com/session1 for more detailed tutorial on how to do this and what it looks like. We’ll have the code right there that you can just copy and paste directly into your own site.

Now back to our conversation with Perry and Ernesto.

Perry: Alright, Ernesto now we’re going to move into the final part of our interview. The part we like to refer to as brighter insights. Our whole goal here is to just distill down your experience and advice into little sound bites and quick answers that therapists who are listening to this show can use to inspire and motivate them in growing their practice. Are you ready?

Ernesto: Go for it, Perry! I’m a little nervous but let’s go for it.

Perry: Hahaha. There’s nothing to be nervous about. What or who inspired you to become a mental health professional?

Ernesto: Oh my gosh. Okay, I would say– Oh, I would say my pastor. He was a counselor and he counseled a lot of people and taught me a lot about caring for people.

Perry: And this was your pastor growing up in Hawaii?

Ernesto: This was my pastor growing up in Hawaii, yep.

Perry: What do you do to clear your head and get a fresh start in your day?

Ernesto: I meditate. I take a moment to stop, listen, and feel for what is going on inside of me. Just meditate, just be in silence.

Perry: What are some tools you’ve used to leverage the power of technology in your private practice so that technology is no longer a hurdle, but instead an asset?

Ernesto: It’s my selfie stick and my cellphone. Hahahaha.

Perry: Hahahahaha.

Ernesto: I’m not kidding you, Perry. My selfie stick and my cellphone.

Perry: And if you’re on Facebook and you’re friends with Ernesto, man, this kid posts more selfies than anybody I’ve ever met. Hahaha.

Ernesto: Hahahahaha.

Perry: And that’s when I got a really cool friendship here. Just to give the audience some background. Ernesto and I met at the Colorado Counseling Association Conference back in 2015. We hit it off right away and kept in touch from then, and Ernesto comes out to Colorado often to film clients out here. So we connected, had a few lunches and then the craziest of crazy things happened. When I was in Southern California for a weekend, for college roommate’s wedding. We were just there for a weekend so I didn’t reach out to Ernesto or any of my other contacts out there because it was just a crazy weekend and I get on the bus from the rental car drop off–

Ernesto: That’s right.

Perry: And I walk on there and behold, there’s Ernesto on the bus at the rental car drop off taking the bus back to his car pickup because he was coming back from Colorado.

Ernesto: That’s true.

Perry: And it was just like, what are the chances of that happening?

Ernesto: Yeah. And I think I remember taking a selfie with you and your wife at that time.

Perry: Probably, yeah.

Ernesto: In the bus.

Perry: Hahahaha. That was crazy. Anyways, back to the interview. So selfie sticks are the most important tool in your private practice?

Ernesto: Yes.

Perry: So, Ernesto what’s the quote that you hold near and dear? Something that has helped formulate your perspective on life or has inspired and motivated you?

Ernesto: Be gentle and accept your fear.

Perry: Love it. If you could recommend one book to our audience, what would that book be?

Ernesto: It would be a book by Brene Brown and I am blanking on the title of it, but anything that Brene Brown brings out, I highly recommend her book.

Perry: Alright Ernesto, last question and this is my favorite one of our interview. If you moved to a new city tomorrow, knew nobody and all you had was your computer and 100 dollars to start a new private practice, what is it would you do on your first day?

Ernesto: I would go and treat myself to massage therapy and really give myself and my muscles the relaxation that they need, because when I go into private practice it’s going to be all stress, it’s going to be all work from there, so I’m going to need all of the relaxation I’m going to need.

Perry: Any parting advice for our listeners Ernesto?

Ernesto: I would say, look, if you are going into private practice it’s not fun and games but it can be and so I would just say that when you feel the heartache, when you’re having difficulty going through your private practice and making it be successful, just stick with it and really connect with yourself, with a lot of great supportive clinicians.

Perry: Fantastic. Well, Ernesto where can our listeners find you to connect and learn more about you?

Ernesto: You can visit my website fylmit.com or californiaalturavista.org, which both websites are done by Brighter Vision.

Perry: Ernesto, thank you so much for all of your time and great resources you’ve mentioned. And of course, to all the listeners out there, you can learn more about Ernesto and find links to all the great resources he’s mentioned in the show notes which will be at brightervision.com/session1. Ernesto thank you so much for being generous with your time, your expertise, and your knowledge. We appreciate all the great advice that you provided and the therapist experience that you have shared. Thank you again.

Ernesto: Awesome, Perry. Thank you so much. You got a really awesome radio voice. Haha.

Perry: Haha. Thank you. It’s all the microphone, I assure you.

Ernesto: Okay.

Perry: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have a question for us you can email it to us at questions@brightervision.com and if you’re interested in launching a website, please don’t hesitate to reach out for us. Brighter Vision is the worldwide leader in custom therapist website design. For just 59 dollars a month you get a website that’s as unique as your practice. Unlimited technical support and complementary SEO so people can find you online. To learn more you can email us at websites@brightervision.com or just head on over to brightervision.com and drop us a line through one of our contact forms. That does it for today. Episode number one of the Therapist Experience. Thank you again for letting us into your ears this week and hopefully you’ll tune in next week for next week’s episode.