Your Professional Expansion

May 2008, by Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC (Master Certified Coach)
www.privatepracticesuccess.com

May is the month to seed new plants if you are a gardener. I want to sprinkle some seeds into the virtual garden of our e-newsletter community by asking you to think about your professional expansion.

And at the end of this newsletter you will find new announcements about a fascinating coaching conference and my upcoming June teleclass, both of which can help you take steps toward growth and development.

"The reason why the universe is eternal is that it does not live for itself; it gives life to others as it transforms” (Lao Tzu)

Just like a garden full of plants and flowers, your business is naturally and continually evolving. Businesses go through early survival phases, mid-life stages where matters of expansion dominate, and mature phases where defining legacy and reinvention take over.

The four most common business stages and concerns of each stage are:

Birth – I am just starting my practice and mostly concerned with survival.
Expansion – I am beyond survival, actively growing and developing the business, and focused on profits, risk, reward, and security.
Leadership – I have a practice that is on a set course and operating with a direction. I focus on meeting my business plan and resolving challenges like a CEO.
Self-renewal – This is the year I reinvent myself and my practice. When I daydream about the future I want, I am going forward towards a new way of working and a the next stage of life.

“The need of expansion is as genuine an instinct in man as the need in a plant for the light, or the need in man himself for going upright. The love of liberty is simply the instinct in man for expansion.” (Matthew Arnold)

This month, I want to focus on the second stage: Expansion.

First, try thinking about your business expansion in terms of risk versus reward. If your small business does not incur enough risk, it is probably not going to grow, develop or expand. Business risk is a combination of your investment (money, time, energy, resources) plus your tolerance of possible loss of that investment.

Are you taking enough risk this year, in terms of how you invest in my business? Evaluate your efforts and your results to build your business by sorting your short-term aims versus the long-term goals.

Successful business owners tend to be as interested in the top line (dramatic growth) as the bottom line (profits). What are your plans for growth this year? For profitability? For investment?

"Love is the expansion of two natures in such fashion that each include the other, each is enriched by the other." (Felix Adler)

How will you invest in your work this year? We are in a recession in the USA, and in my opinion, the best things to invest in (given a down market) are:

• Technology (software, systems, computers, pagers, voice mail systems -- anything that helps you to be more productive.)

• Visibility ( website, effective print advertising, internet advertising such as google adwords, networking expenses, joining communities to help you become better known, writing, building your platform.)

• Leveraging (bringing in associates to leverage the use of your office – letting the rental or referred income from associates add to your practice.)

• Evidence-based methods (make sure your methods are effective and useful, find ways to measure successful outcome within your services)

The worst things to invest in (given a down market) are:

• Large capital expenses (try to minimize equipment or buy at a discount or on e-bay)

• Training programs (unless you are sure that they will have a satisfactory return on investment)

• Office decoration (artwork and ambience, while nice, rarely give you a profitable return)

• Expensive printing (your business identity and materials are important, but don’t over-design)

Here are some announcements about other ways to enhance and expand your practice.

Calling All Coaches

One way to expand is to build a profitable coaching practice. I am honored to have been chosen as one of twenty presenters at the upcoming 2008 SuperConference for Coaches www.2008superconference.com

Twenty well-known presenters from the coaching and marketing world have come together to provide experienced coaches, as well as people considering becoming a coach, with the very latest insights into building a platform for coaching success, and building multiple streams of coaching income.

With the economy softening and fiscal prudence being just plain smart, the creators of this conference fashioned an event that will give you all the benefits of a traditional conference at a fraction of the time and money you would typically spend. This is a unique virtual event in which you participate from your home yet get all of the great content, the networking, and even the expo area that you would get by taking days to travel to some remote hotel.

Best of all, as a lead speaker I was able to get a significant discount for those who enroll early -- before April 30, 2008.If you have an interest in coaching, take a look at the 2008 SuperConference for Coaches www.2008superconference.com

Upcoming Teleclasses and Presentations

My next teleclass starts the first week of June 2008! Please join me to get energized and achieve your goals for 2008. We use my Workbook as our text and the professional support on our classes weaves its own magic, helping people to shift, change, and grow as entrepreneurs.

The classes are structured to help you become savvier in your approach to building your practice, especially during these times of economic uncertainty. The group experience offers lots of brainstorming, motivation, accountability, and some “aha” moments.

The program is effective no matter who you are and what stage of development you are at -- senior therapist, coach in transition, trying to get off of managed care, or new in private practice just getting started. Whatever your goals for 2008, they may be easier to achieve with the right kind of support and a step-by-step coaching program.

See all of the class logistics, curriculum, and register online now at: www.strongstartclasses.com

LYNN'S NEW eBOOK is on sale now! Only $19.95! Order at the website or click on the book:

Private Practice SOS: Solutions and Strategies for an Up and Down Market. An eBook By Lynn Grodzki It's a tough market out there! You don't need to face the future of private practice alone. Here is a lifeline -- my solutions to the difficult economic challenges we all must respond to today. This eBook is my newest thinking and offers you specific tips and ideas to help you create demand for your services while you minimize your costs. Learn the strategies to higher profits in today's recessionary market. Click on the eBook, order it, and get an immediate download to read on your computer or print out.

Books by Lynn Grodzki, published by WW Norton. To order, click on each book.

	The Business and Practice of Coaching By Lynn Grodzki and Wendy Allen (2005) Reviewed by author Richard Leider as "Nothing less than a radical rethinking of the essentials of building a coaching practice. A must read for all coaches, master and novice alike."
	Building Your Ideal Private Practice By Lynn Grodzki (2000) The best-selling guide to what you need to do and who you need to be in order to have a highly profitable, personally satisfying private practice. Often called the "private practice bible" this book has become a resource for tens of thousands of your colleagues.
	The New Private Practice:Therapist-Coaches Share Stories, Strategies and Advice Edited by Lynn Grodzki (2002) A groundbreaking look at the profession of coaching through the eyes of 16 successful therapist-coaches who tell you how to become a coach, what to charge, and show you how they coach their clients.
	12 Months to Your Ideal Private Practice: A Workbook By Lynn Grodzki (2003) This planned, motivational workbook will help you build the practice you desire. The workbook incorporates fresh ideas, new exercises, further skill sets and much more to give you a direct experience of being carefully coached by Lynn, month-by-month, for a full year.

More next time,

lynn@privatepracticesuccess.com
See the website for additional articles, information about individual coaching, and upcoming classes.