Set Up For Success 3:

Don’t be a bad boss (to yourself)

Ping… the dread came quickly. Somewhere in my mind I knew I had missed something vital in one of the 15,000 school emails that heralded the beginning of term. Sure enough, I had missed something critical. A school trip…tomorrow. 

One of my kids can only go on school trips if I am there to give a helping hand and a reassuring bolster for the risk assessment so making sure my diary is clear and my attitude positive for those days is really important to me. But with three kids, the craziness of the EHCP system and a lot of medical appointments to juggle things often slip through the net.

This is when I am so incredibly grateful that my boss is ME and I am generally a reasonable employer. Thanks to my independent practice I was able to message my assistant to reschedule my (thankfully manageable in number) clients to later in the week and I got to witness my kid laughing with friends in an old castle. 

It meant so much more to me than a morning off work, IYKYK.

If you’ve been teetering on the edge of going “all in” in your private practice because you need that kind of flexibility and autonomy in your life I recommend it whole heartedly and I would love to hold your hand as you jump in.

To truly create flexibility you need to start with asking yourself some honest questions about what you want from your practice financially. 

1. How Much Do You Really Want to Earn?

Let’s be honest, this can feel a bit uncomfortable to talk about, can't it? As helping professionals, there’s often a pervasive belief (sometimes from our peers) that it’s somehow "wrong" to make good money from mental health services. But let's ditch that shame right now. You are highly skilled, highly qualified, and you deserve to be paid well for the incredible impact you make. 

Forget comparisons to others. What annual and monthly income makes all this effort worthwhile for you? What figure will make you feel truly rewarded and respected for your expertise? This isn’t about being greedy; it’s about sustainability. Write that figure down. This is your target. 

2. How Much Time Will You Actually Spend Working?

This is where reality meets aspiration. Consider:

• Weeks worked per year: Factor in holidays, sick days, and those inevitable caring responsibilities. For many parents, realistically, it might be 40 weeks or even less. My kids dictate that it’s less for me!
• Total weekly working hours: This includes everything – client sessions, admin, business development, CPD, supervision. Don't just think "client hours."
• Client-facing hours per week: You can't see clients 24/7. There's so much more to running a successful business. What’s your personal threshold for doing your best work? For me, it’s around three therapy clients a day. I can do more, and I did for years, but one of my core values is delivering high-quality service, and that requires time for thinking, formulating, and reading. This number is wildly personal, so be honest with yourself.

Once you have your realistic weeks worked and client-facing hours per week, you can easily calculate your annual client hours. This is a critical number! 

3. What Services Do You Truly Want to Offer (Right Now)?

Don't overcomplicate this for your start-up phase. What's the easiest way for you to bring in income? Therapy, supervision, consultation, coaching, groups? What aligns with your current expertise and makes you feel excited? Think "kick-starting," not "long-term grand plan." 90

4. Tally Up Your Costs (Don't Be Afraid of This!)

Now, add everything up. Include:

• All the software we talked about (PMS, secure email,...