Episode Details

In this episode, Gordon talks with David Sturgess, LPC about making the transition from working in a hospital setting to full-time private practice. David was able to make that transition over time by starting part-time with his private practice working just a few evenings a week. David shares how he was able to decide when to go full-time with his practice.

Also, Gordon and David discuss understanding the financial leap into private practice. Start part-time before completely committing to quitting your day job. Then, they talk about why outsourcing your website may save you money in the long run.

David Sturgess is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Marietta, Georgia. He owns Foundry Counseling, LLC just off the Marietta Square. He is a National Board Certified Counselor (NCC) and holds the Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS) credentials in Georgia.

For the last decade, he has been a clinician in Georgia's short- to long-term Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs). During the last two years of working in the hospital settings, he operated his private practice part-time.

In the Spring of 2019, he left the treatment facility environment to do private practice full-time. His experience and focus have been with adolescents and their families learning how to cope and heal from trauma, self-harm, and life-threatening behaviors, as well as psychosis. He is intensively trained in TF-CBT, Trauma-Informed Care and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. He facilitates training in these areas for different agencies and churches in Georgia, to empower people to identify when someone close to them needs a more personal level of care and connect with mental health professionals. In private practice, he works with individuals and families to build peace and confidence in their lives as they cope with the daily challenges of their needs, as well as the caregivers supporting the client. Aside from adolescents and families, he works with 20-30-year-olds in learning how to manage the stressors of leaving college and creating their new lifestyles; as well as helping men learn strategies to manage the unique needs they carry and often do not find a confidential place to work.

David and Gordon spent a few mastermind sessions talking about this topic. Handle your personal finances as well as setting up business finances. Minimize the debt risk to your home, not in terms of your mortgage, but all of the monthly payments that you need to make. The transition will take your income from a guaranteed paycheck to a variable income, where one month can be significant and the next month not so much – you will still have those payments you need to make. Get rid of as much debt as possible on the personal side. There are a lot of great therapists out there, but they don't know how to run a business, so their private practices have failed. While on the other hand, there are a lot of great business owners, but they are not therapists.

To limit financial liability, David suggests starting a private practice part-time so you can begin building a financial buffer while still having a guaranteed paycheck. Make sure you are still in good standing with your employer. David was not prepared to be full-time in private practice financially; he did it on the side to pay down student loan debt. He recognized that his employer would not give him the raise to help him do that. As David's first night filled up, he moved into doing his private practice two nights a week. It is one of those things you have to weigh in the beginning stages of private practice. If you are working a full-time job, and you depend on that income, don't quit your day job too quickly. Be prepared financially to make the transition.

David's website broke the other day; it's a thorn in his side. When people start a