Back in May, we started talking about the choices and implications of naming your private practice when you are a parent when Amanda Wigfield, MA, CSPT, CSAT wrote a guest post, Personal and Professional Names in Private Practice . . . and One Therapist’s Dilemma.
Since then, one of the therapists in our own community here, Liza Alvarado, has also emailed to say that she, too, is struggling with naming her practice. Here is what she wrote . . . .
Hi Tamara,
I’ve been following you for a year now and find your blog very helpful.
I had a question about naming my practice. I’ve been learning the business and marketing side of things before actually starting a practice.
My niche is teen girls and young adult females (college age) with symptoms of depression and anxiety. I absolutely love working with these types of clients. I’m also Spanish speaking, which is a huge asset that I have since there’s not too many of us in my area, and Hispanics are the largest minority in my area.
So these are my target audience. Spanish speaking young women, or the girls who know English but their families may not. Of course, non-Spanish speaking young women too.
I don’t want to use my name for my business and website because I want to keep everything separate from my personal assets and form a LLC. ( I don’t know if it matters right now but I’m my biggest asset. I don’t own a house yet or have a large bank account…yet.)
Should a name describe your practice? (I want to use ‘reconnect’ in the name to describe my belief that therapy is the process of helping people reconnect with their true selves.)
Or do I pick a name that I don’t feel too strong about but will drive traffic to my site because of the key words, such as ‘Young Adult Counseling.’ Of course I want my LLC and website to be the same for consistency.
Or do I just use my name for my website and begin & stay as a sole-proprietor, like the majority of therapist in my area do? The only good thing I see from this is that I’ll be easy to find when people look for me and establish myself as an expert in my area.
This is really confusing for me. I’ve been stuck at this name thing for so long. Maybe I’m over thinking it.
I’m sure there are many other therapist out there who have this same question. Any suggestions would be very helpful.
Thank You
Liza Alvarado”
Liza, I’m so glad that you asked these questions because it gives me an opportunity to address several important points . . . .
First of all, I’m not an attorney (and you should definitely check with one) but my understanding is that there is no reason why you cannot use your personal name on your website or as your business name and still keep a status of Limited Liability Company (LLC) in the United States. (I can’t remember where you are geographically, Liza. I tried to find that info on your blog but didn’t see it.) If I’m correct, then forming an LLC to protect your personal assets shouldn’t even be a factor in choosing a name for your business. And, conversations with both your attorney and your accountant should help you decide whether your practice should be an LLC or remain a sole proprietorship.
There are lots of ways to drive traffic to your website. Using keywords in the content of your website is certainly one way to do so. And, a great tagline can underscore your desire to help your clients “reconnect with their true selves.” However, you will need to have a strong marketing plan in place beyond keywords and taglines to get people to visit your website. A name alone won’t do it.
My preference especially during the first five years of private practice is to use your personal legal name as your business name. There are several reasons for this . . . . Ask any mental health professional who has been in private practice for fifteen years or more and they will tell you that (1) their clinical interests have changed over time, (2) their geographic location has changed over time, and (3) their clinical skills have changed over time.
Your clinical interests, geographic location, and clinical skills will likely change over time, too. If you’ve chosen a name (or logo) that is specific to one population, one particular part of the country, or highlighting your current skills, you’ll probably find that you feel a bit constricted over time. Sometimes it’s hard to project how different business will be in the future and because of that most of us have made a choice or two that we regret along the way. (And, yes, I’m including my regrets, too.)
And, related to change . . . I heard somewhere that, unlike my parents, most new professionals today will have five [I think] distinct professions before they retire. [Career counselors, help me out – If you know the exact stats / source for this info, please share it with us.] And, I suspect that’s why most of the big names in mental health or related fields are keeping their legal names for their businesses.
Think about it . . . The Gottmans. Martin Seligman. Wayne Dyer. Christiane Northrup. Belleruth Naparstek. Bernie Siegel. Carolyn Myss. Harriet Lerner. And, I’m sure you can add others to this list. I realize that there are exceptions but the trend in business these days seems to be using your legal name. Because it’s portable, if you change or expand the focus of your career down the road from counselor or social worker to author and then from author to consultant and then again from consultant to public speaker (or whatever), it’s fairly easy to take your name with you. In doing so, you will be able to leverage your biggest asset – you – by taking your reputation with you much more easily.
Would I ever recommend that you trade your legal name for a great “business” name like the Whoop-de-do Institute or the La-Te-Da Clinic? Perhaps. But starting out? Nope. Make that decision later on . . . very carefully . . . and only if you have a really good reason to do so.
Great advice Tamara. As I am working with Beth on my website, this question came up in the form of, “What is your domain?” I decided on http://www.lindahoenigsberg.com for just the reason you mentioned. I want people to find me easily and by even googling my name, there I will be. The site isn’t up yet, by the way…but soon! Can you tell I’m excited about it? But your post also prompts me to talk to my accountant and/or an attorney. I do have a psychologist friend who developed a corporation along with his psychologist wife in order to protect their personal assets. I am a sole proprietor right now, and will want to check into this as well. Thanks again Tamara. I appreciate this blog so much.
YES I CAN tell that you are excited, Linda! I think that getting that first website up really is a bit of a rite of passage for those of us in mental health, isn’t it?! Although I’ve been thinking about putting up a website since the early 2000’s, I didn’t actually bite the (financial) bullet and do it until 2009. Even thought I had been in private practice for over 15 years by then, I still felt like I was more . . . grown up or professional or serious when I finally got it up!
Every mental health professional ought to have an accountant and an attorney that they can consult with. And, the type of business structure you have is a decision that should be informed by those two individuals’ input. Not all practices should be sole proprietorships . . . and not all practices should be LLC’s. In fact, it’s not even just about what / how much you own or just your income, either. There’s actually some costs and benefits to each of those entities and you definitely need someone other than me guiding you in making those choices.
Hi Tamara,
Yep….pretty excited. I am leaving my agency job on 8/22 and “taking it on the road.” This stuff is all great information. I have an accountant but not an attorney, so I will be looking into that shortly. So much to learn, but for those of us who love learning anything and everything, it’s fun! Thanks Tamara.
🙂 You go, girl!
This is great advice. Something to consider might be purchasing multiple domain names like http://www.alvaradocounseling.com, http://www.reconnectcounseling.com, then pointing them to a your primary website (e.g. http://www.lizalvarado.com). Network Solutions will sometimes run sales where you can purchase multiple domains at a lower cost. This will give you some room to experiment with different concepts while maintaining your core practice identity. In addition, you can track which domains generate the most traffic. The thing to remember is not to dilute your image while experimenting. That’s always a fine line.
Hi, Kyle! Welcome back to Private Practice from the Inside Out! And, thank you for suggestion this as an option.
Although I have not done so, it is my understanding that this is a great way to “take up space” online and also test which URL works better for you. I would agree that you don’t want to “dilute your image” by purchasing too many. (I know of a therapist who purchased twelve domaine names. That, in my opinion is being a bit . . . greedy or obsessive. 🙂
I know that for those of us who tend to be a bit tech phobic it’s easy to worry and fret about getting the perfect domaine name. I certainly agonized over the decision and was distraught that I couldn’t have the first name that I wanted (because someone else already had it.). Of course, in my mind, everything happens for a reason and looking back three years, things worked as they were meant to work out.
Remember . . . there are always multiple right answers.
I bought two domain names for this same reason and they both point at the one space. One is http://www.BrighterFuturesCounseling.com and the other is http://www.DesiraeParker.com. Its been a great decision and I’m glad I did it that way!
Hey, Desi! Welcome back! Wondering if you can elaborate a bit on why that has been such a great decision for you? Do you monitor your web traffic sources, by chance? Care to share?
I wish that I did more as far as monitoring my web traffic sources. That hasn’t been an area that I’ve really focused on yet. I feel it was a good decision for me because I wanted to have my name out and become recognized as well as establishing my brand of Brighter Futures. Choosing that name for my practice was carefully chosen so that it would be transferable and would fit my core beliefs no matter how my clinical focus shifted. Most of my referrals coming from other therapists I’ve networked with when I was working for a local university come through the domain of my name, and I only know this because I ask the clients how they came to find me. My clients that came from other sources tend to have received my card from a friend (card lists BFC domain), or through Psychology Today.
I like that PT provides tracking measures. That has been fun to watch what brings clients in. I’ve noticed that any time I update my profile on PT, I get more calls. There are quite a few therapists in the area where my office is, in fact that part of town is even referred to as the Medical Center, so anything that keeps me at the top of the list on PT seems to help.
It’s always a pleasure to read your blog Tamara! Your breadth and depth of information is so valuable. I’m always impressed at how fortuitously your posts are timed to be of benefit to me! Thanks for your time invested!
Thanks, Desi, for you kind words and for taking time to let us understand how you came to choose your URL. That thought process may seem so commonsensical in hindsight but for many of us, it wasn’t so obvious on the front end!
Like you, I, too, appreciate Psychology Today’s tracking reports. And, that’s a great way for them to stay in front of therapists for PT’s own marketing efforts, too!
Hey, Kyle – just ran across this post, Have You Registered 300 Domain Names, on FastCompany and thought of you.
Great post! I’m a real newbie to private practice and am a bit creative, so despite this type of great advice I opted to indulge my urge to have fun with thinking of a name, but it was still hard! I settled on A Peaceful Life Counseling Services LLC. It starts with the letter A (in case of any alphabetical lists), it describes a valued outcome that I believe in that will not change with my niche or interests, and contains a keyword. I also purchased a state trademark for “A Peaceful Life” so that I might have more luck turning myself into A Peaceful Life Consulting, Coaching, etc. It’s likely that I’ll have some regrets, but thus far it’s so much fun to develop a practice identity. Several clients have said that they were attracted to the name of the practice as well, so I think that aspect shouldn’t be overlooked. I wish everyone luck in finding their answers because I agonized over it for a long time!
Others would know better, but aren’t there some considerations about pointing multiple domain names to one site, such as Google penalties and negatively affecting your SEO if your clicks are diluted by being spread over two or more URL’s?
Hi, Kat! Welcome back! You make several great points! Your process for naming your business was very thoughtful. And, it reminds me that I need to write a post – or maybe a series – on naming your business (when it’s other than your legal name). By the way, A Peaceful Life Counseling Services really is a lovely name that resonates with me! And, as I was just mentioning to Kyle, there are definitely multiple right ways to do just about anything in life . . . including naming your practice. Yours is obviously working well for you! Good job!
Your comments about the cons of using multiple domain names are also worth noting. There definitely can be penalties that result in lower rankings with the various search engines. As those of us on the internet have become smarter about how to catch the attention of the search engines, Google and colleagues have also become savvier about our marketing ways. And, that’s why it’s important to consult with your favorite geeks to keep abreast of this Wild Wild Ride on the Internet. The “rules” and formulas for all things internet continue to change. Your comment is a great reminder to make sure you have a geek in your pocket at all times!
GREAT ADVICE!!!! We do change over time….and that is good foresight not to locked into a name that might not even apply in a few years! I’ve been trying to think up a name as well and maybe I needn’t look so hard….
Thanks, Jamie, for tipping your hat this direction! I worked and worked to come up with a catchy name but in the end am happy that I settled for my own name. It has repeated served me well! And, as my business expands to include new projects and interests, I don’t have to start over from scratch each time.
Hi Tamara,
I have been in private practice as a sole proprietor for about 4 years now. My only website is on Psychology Today, which I am pleased with. I am also contracted with most major insurances and Employee Assistance Programs.
At times, I have wondered if I would benefit from having a personalized webpage/website. I am pretty busy in my practice now but would like to grow a little more in providing group therapy and/or doing speaking engagements. (just to add some variety to my life and diversify offerings)
Any thoughts on the website issue?
Thanks for your help.
Debera Bragg
Inner Strength Counseling Services
Shelbyville, IN 46176
Hi, Deb! It’s nice to have you back here again! This is such an important topic. I hope you don’t mind that I want to take this info to a post so that everyone can benefit from this. I’ll try to get it up by the end of next week. Stay tuned! I have some definitely opinions about this issue!
Three thoughts – first – regarding the business structure you can form an LLC but where I am and the legal advice I received is that this will not protect your assets in a malpractice case. I have also found that most contracts for a business under 5 years old – will require that the owner/president “guarantee” the loan, hence, your assets are back on the line regardless of your business structure.
Second – I agree that the business name should probably not reflect your clinical caseload, but perhaps more your philosophy. My business is AdultSpan Counseling. I knew I wanted to work with adults – still do, but I have contractors who work with kids. Hasn’t been too big of a problem, we handled this by making a “clinic” and branding it “kids corner” with the AdultSpan logo.
Finally – Your logo and name are dynamic – they will eventually take on the value you put into them. Even a stupid name, if you’re known for good work, will come to have value. My advice, fret less, act more 🙂
J. Kipp, AdultSpan Counseling is another great example of giving thoughtful consideration to the name you chose.
“Fret less, act more!” Loving that!
Thank you everyone for your advice and insights. This is very helpful. I knew this had to be a common dilema. After emailing Tamara I was leaning more towards using my legal name since I have done a lot in my community already and want to continue building a positive reputation. With everyone’s input, it just made my decision more clearly. Thanks J.Kipp Lanning for the reminder of fretting less and acting more! 🙂
Hey, Liza! Thanks so much for checking back in here. So often when readers’ questions are addressed they forget to check back in to let us know what they decide to do. I appreciate hearing from you and am glad you found the opinions here to be useful. 🙂
Liza, the choice to name your practice or use your own name deserves serious consideration when assessing the pros and cons of each choice. You are wise to ask the question.
I have asked mental health professionals in practice for longer than 15 years and found many hold an opinion about branding and marketing that is “I did not have to do any marketing and I have a full practice.” One person said, “I would NOT refer to a ‘brand’ with all that ‘production and polish.’ I refer people to people.”
Then I interviewed successful professionals who are of a different generation and in practice less than five years. Their response was along the lines of, “Nice niche, creative, and easy to remember.”
When I talked with people who know my branding and know me, their response was I know you are “Creating Your Beyond.” Clients had a whole other response.
I suggest you do some market research. Ask you ideal clients, other professionals – newbies and established – ask people who may become your referral steam, family and friends. It is easy to do some informal market research and worth the time.
Be well, Brenda
PS: We all make mistakes along the way – it is not fatal and it is not final. As Pam Dyson said in one of the comments to a previous PPIO blog post. “You can not be all things to all people.”
Warmly, Brenda
Brenda, this is sage advice. Thanks! A
And, again . . . there is almost always more than one right way to do just about everything – including naming a private practice. As long as you really love the name of your practice, I suspect your clients and referral sources will “read” your enthusiasm when they hear you say it and that alone can be a draw. Do your market research, consider your niche (and yes, you really do need one) and also where your clients are physically located (same town or around the globe) and then commit to a name. Enjoy the journey. Don’t get deluded into thinking that there is one destination . . . just adventures and rest areas along the the way!
Brenda,
Thank you for the advice.
I wanted to create a name because I like being creative but I have decided to use my legal name and have a tag line under my name on my site and marketing materials. I work for an agency right now and treat it like “paid training” to learn the ins and outs of having a practice. When I’m assigned a new client, I still ask them how did they hear about us. I have had four clients that asked for me by name because their friends (prior or current clients of mine) told them about me. I’ve also had one of my current client’s PCP referr to me because she specializes in adolescent medicine and I always keep in touch with her about our client. (our client is a Type I diabetic with an eating disorder)
Like every therapist preparing to be on their own, I want to prepare the best I can to set myself up for a successful practice.
I have noticed too the different thinking between seasoned private practice owners and newer ones. Although the seasoned ones who are doing great are the ones who keep up to date in marketing trends, etc. and the seasoned ones who appear burnt out seem to have lost their passion, so I dont really listen to them lol
Thanks again for your insights.
Liza Alvarado
🙂 Liza, I do believe that you’ve figured out a whole lot more than I did when I started out! I think you are going to do just fine in private practice! (And, I love that you’re using your employment in the agency as “paid training!” Wish I had thought of that! You go, girl!
Thanks Tamara. This was all so very helpful. This is one of the reasons I love your blog. It bring together like-minded, abundance thinking professionals.
Im so greatful for everyone’s advice.
Liza, Thank you for listening and letting us know your decision. If I had to do over. . . I believe the legal name has the best advantages. Consequently, I am redesigning some of my marketing material so my name is more prominent above my business name. I am NOT giving up my business name or my logo. I use Tamara as an example as she IS Private Practice from the Inside Out.
You will do great! Brenda
PS: Tamara are you going to do a series on naming your PP?
Hahaha- I can’t believe you are asking me that! It’s one of three that I’m working on. 🙂 Stay tuned! More info coming in September!
So needed to hear all of these thoughts and ideas right now!!! So weird how the universe shows you right where to look when you need it 🙂 I have been debating these same things and have another piece to ask about…. I have decided to use my legal name as well, (MarieDauterive.net…. coming soon 🙂 along with a tag line that I haven’t quite figured out yet. I have purchased a name for the actual space I will be in. I chose “Celebration Counseling and Wellness” since it is located in Celebration Fl. My idea is that I would like to create this space including 2 or 3 other therapists and wellness providers. I have a wonderful one on one Pilates instructor that I know would provide wonderful healing services for clients working through trauma. After talking to a lot of people, I thought this way if someone googles “counselors near celebration Fl” the name of the location pops up which links to my name. Any thoughts about that? Thank you Liza for asking such a great question!
Oh and, CC and W is a LLC and just like written above by J Kipp, what I found out as well, is that the LLC will protect each of the therapists practicing at CC and W from one another but doesn’t protect the individual.
You’re welcome! It can be hard making the right choice when there’s so much info out there.
Liza, having so much information out there is actually the good new because it means you have lots of “right” choices. The important (and sometimes more difficult) piece is figuring out which “right” choice is for YOU! 🙂
Hey, Liza – Just noticed that you don’t have a “little me” picture that shows up with your comments. Check this out. http://www.allthingsprivatepractice.com/how-a-tiny-picture-of-you-can-help-drive-traffic-to-your-website-or-blog/
Thanks! I was wondering how to do this.
You’re so welcome!
Marie! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out and thank you for contributing to this conversation!
I love Celebration Counseling and Wellness! It’s so positive and upbeat! Not Doom and Gloom Counseling! And, your Google search rationale is exactly on target! Most people will search for the profession (whatever they call it) and the location.
I’m also loving that you are looking to create a wellness center that brings in a Pilates instructor so that you guys can cross-refer easily! Other wellness-focused professions might include a trainer, a music or creative arts therapist, a yoga instructor, a dentist, a movement therapist, a physician, etc. You get the idea . . . and I’m sure lots of folks in our online community here can think of others to suggest, too! This type of office setup has the potential to work well for lots of different professionals.
And, because you are considering a group practice, you absolutely need to take into consideration (and seek legal consultation for) the business structure and contracts that best protect each of you. After all . . . if the Pilates machines malfunction and a client ruins her back . . . the therapist doesn’t want to be sued. And, if physician prescribes the wrong dosage of a medication, the yoga instructor doesn’t want to be held liable either.
Marie – Here’s how you can get a “little me” i.e. gravatar to show up with your comments. It’s easy!
Thanks for your insight on this topic, Tamara, and for asking the question, Liza. As a counselor in training I especially appreciated the tip to wait at least 5 years due to changes in clinical interest and skill, and potential geographical changes.
I am so excited to start my practice right after graduation, do what I love doing and feel called to do, and yet I must remind myself that I’m in it for the long haul. It’s hard to be patient with the process of getting my ducks in a row (defining my values, mission, business plan, naming, etc.) and yet, patience with the process of developing my therapeutic and marketing styles is so important so as not to hastily make decisions and have to backtrack to realign my ducks.
P.S. I really love “Whoop-de-do Institute,” putting that one in my back pocket for future consideration 😉
Hi, Tara! I am so tickled that you and other therapists in training are part of Private Practice from the Inside Out and are also willing to voice your interests, your enthusiasm, your ideas, your experiences and your concerns! I hope by hosting this online community you and your peers will be better prepared to run your practices that me and most of my peers were!
(And, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that Whoop-de-do Institute of yours, too!)
Hi Tamara (and all others who have been so helpful as I have been reading this blog for the last hour or so),
I am entering private practice full-time towards the end of my career after many years working for various agencies, but the bulk of those years devoted to community behavioral health centers. For about 8 years, I did have a part-time private practice while working my full-time job, so it’s not completely new to me, but now I’m going completely private–LLC, the whole nine yards as they say. I’m 61 with 5 years till retirement. I found your blog by googling “naming your private practice.”
When in private practice before, I did just use my name, but now with TONS more training under my belt (and just a few more years left to make my fortune 🙂 ), I’m wondering if I shouldn’t be more descriptive in my practice name. I mainly specialize in working with kids. I also do lots of parenting groups, classes, and family stuff. The other thing I specialize in is eating disorders. Do you think I should try to name my practice to capture this, or just use my name and use taglines to describe?
I have totally enjoyed this blog. Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts.
Linda, this is so wierd. I swear I sent you a private email and also posted to your inquiry here last night but . . . no sign of it so either I dreaamed the whole thing up or . . . there was a hiccup some where! Hmmph. Let’s try this again!
I’m so glad you have found your way to Private Practice from the Inside Out! And, as you can see, this whole naming-your-practice-thing is a bugaboo for a lot of us! Because of that, I hope you don’t mind that I want to take your inquiry back to the front of this blog and write a post in response. If you would like me to identify your geographic location and link back to a website, just let me know that by leaving the info below. I’ll let you know when the post is ready to go live to sending you an email. (I hope this is all OK with you!)
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Thank you so much for this article! I train new business owners with this very model and I was getting discouraged when I was doing a refresher course and seeing a LOT of professionals giving the advice that you shouldn’t use your own name because it will limit things in the future. I know there is a bunch about SEO in the process, but I love your explanations and agree that in the beginning one of the best ways to get your name out there is to… get your name out there!
Tara, thanks so much for dropping in!
I’ve been traveling and am a little slow to get back here to chat!
Obviously there are tradeoffs with every method of naming a business.
That’s why it’s important to know what your endgame is.
But, for most of the therapists I work with – I would guess more than 99% of them – their goal is to build, sustain and work in their practices long term; they aren’t interested in selling their businesses – they just want them to grow and thrive!
And, honestly, there are some pretty easy ways to transition a business that is being sold from The Counseling Practice of Dr. Elizabeth Rogers to the The Counseling Practice of Dr. Rebecca Collins.
There are tried and true ways in the field of marketing to introduce the new owner, the name change, etc. that can actually build excitement and momentum for the new practice to succeed.
It’s simply a matter of the owners (old and new) knowing how and what to do when during that process.
Physicians have been doing this for decades.