Last week I dropped the gauntlet by offering up the I-Don’t-Know-What-I’m-Doing-and-It’s-Paying-Off-in-Spades Challenge. If you missed my challenge, you can still catch up and contribute to the discussion. And, for those of you who’ve been on board from the beginning, here’s the takeaways that drew my attention . . . .
Chef Danny Bowien has taken a unique approach to growing his restaurant and to reinterpreting Chinese food (or what Bowien calls Americanized Oriental Food).”
Takeaway #1 – Recognize you are different and reinterpret what you do!
Bowien decided that not only would he take a unique approach but that he would also underscore that difference by naming it something noticeably different, too!
There was no shortage of outside pressure, yet the opportunity to do something new was irresistible.”
Takeaway #2 – Recognize the opportunity to do something new and go for it!
Pressure? Who has more pressure that a new mental health professional trying to meet his /her client’s needs while also building her own business?! However, it’s important to remember that every challenge we face does hold new opportunities. Got a problem? Make the choice to find and embrace those opportunities. Seek them out.
Bowien was tired of cooking entirely just a few months earlier, drained from the grind and regiment of life at a “regular” restaurant. So a laid-back, no frills approach re-energized him . . . .”
Takeaway #3 – Recognize your own boredom, frustration, disillusion, etc. and choose to re-group around your passions!
Building your private practice does take work . . . lots of work . . . but it should not be drudgery. It’s important for your own self care and for the care of your clients and your business, too, that you are interested in and engaged with your daily work. Focus on what excites and energizes you.
Our goals were to rediscover ourselves personally and help other people while doing that.”
Takeaway #4 – Recognize that you can help others while rediscovering you!
I love this! Great therapists and great business owners are continually learning more about themselves while they are continuing to meet the needs of their clients. What is it that you are learning about you right now?
Bowien actually came on board through local networking. When operating as the Mission Street Food pop-up out of the divey take-out Chinese restaurant that became MCF’s home (Lung Shan), he was among the many San Francisco chefs brought in for guest nights by founder Anthony Myint.”
Takeaway #5 – Recognize that you don’t have to do it all alone. In fact, I would wager that you can’t do it all alone!
Relationships are the key to growing your private practice. That means whether on or offline, networking is required. I love the idea of bringing in guest chefs for a restaurant! I already bring in guest bloggers and am getting ready to host our first blog carnival here to help build that online community. Now I’m thinking about other ways to host other therapists in my own community, too.
At the top of every menu, a continually updated dollar figure lists how much has been donated from MCF sales to the local food bank ($0.75 from each entrée is donated).”
Takeaway #6 – Recognize that your generosity can give you bragging rights!
If you know that you donate 10% of your income or services to support a particular cause or charity, share that information with your community! Post a Kiva badge on your website or hang a Save the Children sign in your office or send out an annual announcement noting how many hours you have volunteered your professional services to the local domestic violence shelter.
“I think people could see our intentions were different than a lot of other restaurants.”
Takeaway #7 – Recognize (and name) your true intentions. I can’t say enough about the need for clarity and focus. If you are confused or “fuzzy” about what it is that you are undertaking, your clients will see that. Take the time to do the work to get clear about your intentions.
We don’t want to follow the trends, if people think we’re going one way we don’t necessarily want to follow what people’s expectations are. We want to keep people on their toes.”MCF NY, in its fifth month, has earned positive reviews from the likes of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and long lines of patient patrons (the inevitable wait for a table is mitigated by free draft beer).”
Takeaway #8 – Recognize the benefits of being different. (Can you say “Niche?”)
You . . . are . . . different. It’s a fact that no one else in the whole world has had your experiences, has your gifts and talents and passions. You are different . . . and your private practice should appear different, too. It make you memorable. It makes your work easy to talk about. And, it makes it easy for others to talk about your work, too . . . because it’s different.
OK, gang, so how did I do? Is there a takeaway here that you need to adopt for your own?
#8 –> YES!
I have realized that there is a real playfulness that I have that shows up everywhere in my life, even in therapy when appropriate. This realization is turning in to a niche for me and yet in trying to set myself apart I sometimes think, “no one is gonna go for this, it’s too different!” and “people who are struggling don’t want to go to a therapist who markets ‘playfulness!'” But an acquaintance pointed out that this may the the very thing that draws people to me–away from the darkness to the light! I’m still working on this angle and how to do it just right so it fits with my philosophy and practice, but realizing (and being reinforced by your #8) that being different is GOOD is nice encouragement to keep at it.
Tara, you are exactly the therapist that I would want to go see! I love that you get that playfulness is part of your core identity and I’ll be everyone who knows you thinks the same thing, too! While some clients may want to go see a very serious and even somber therapist, I would be seeking out the one that is not only bathed in light but the one who can show me where and how to find the light!
When I was living / working in Texas, I would create “Play Days” annually for my clients. Those that were interested would come together for a full day of “play” in an outdoor and group setting. It was a great way to help my clients stretch their social experiences, explore their boundaries, and step just a bit outside of their comfort zones, too.
You go, girl! Bring on the play!
Tara, I can’t remember if I told you – I just noticed that you don’t have a little picture of you next to your comments. You’re missing an opportunity to help people remember who you are. If you want to have a little picture of you show up in your comments, you can find out how right here. It’s really simple – I promise!
I agree with above in that I’m sometimes afraid to admit that I try to use a lot of humor in my practice. I know that it is the only way that I have survived some of my travails in life, and I like to try it out and see if clients are open to it and can get something positive and reinforcing from it. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t, and I’ll go another route.
The one that really spoke to me though was takaway #7, about getting clarity. My short-term memory is impaired (much more so than normal for my age) and this (along with other things) is impinging on my ability to get clarity about what I truly want to do. It even effects my ability to determine how to go about doing “it”, once I’ve gotten clarity. So this, for me, is and will continue to be, my touchpoint.
Lisa, as a 52 year old woman who has dealt with menopause for years, I can at least start to understand the crazy-making challenge of your short-term memory. I’m curious if you have experimented with any of the brain games to either improve or at least maintain your memory. I think about doing so but have yet to seriously put them on my schedule.
And, related to your lack of clarity , which can also be a symptom of menopause, I have found that sometimes working to get clear of little slivers of X allow me to chip away at the fog bit by bit – much like putting the pieces of a jigsaw together by working on the outline and then eventually filling in the middle. I don’t know if that analogy is helpful to you but it seems to work for me . . . in spots.
It’s interesting that you describe this as an impairment. It definitely is . . . and like many impairments . . . it remains largely invisible. I’m thinking about invisible identities a lot right now as I just returned from a feminist multicultural conference. One of my big takeaways from that conference is that I do not typically “see” or recognize or even consider individuals with disabilities. I’ve got some work to do to remove those blinders so I particularly appreciate you taking the time to share a piece of your personal journey here and how it informs your work. I “see” you.
Oops! I didn’t look at the relative dates above. Sorry if this is an “old” discussion.
Oh, not to worry, Lisa! I intentionally choose not to close discussions because the conversations tend to get richer over time. New therapists are always joining us. Others are researching a particular topic. By continuing the conversations naturally, our online community here continues to amass new resources, learn new things, and clarify others.
And, anyway, I’m just happy to know you are dropping in! Wishing you a just-busy-enough week ahead!