Small Businesses Will Save the World

Over the last six years since I started running workshops on money for therapists in private practice, I’ve been deep in contemplation about how to help private practice owners take full ownership of their practice in ways that don’t compromise their needs and can help create a movement of financial liberation and compassion.

While there are many things small business owners may need for support, my intuition tells me (and my hard-earned wisdom from experience confirms) most people are either emulating what others around them are doing or selling themselves short without even realizing it.  We are all in this learning curve together because running a business takes so many skills that most of us don’t possess when we begin. Also running a successful business means a certain amount of our precious life energy and determination must be part of the equation.

I’ve been meditating on this idea for the past year: what one free offering would I give to someone curious enough to stop by my website, but not ready to sign up for a group or one-on-one coaching.

If I could send someone support whether or not they support my business – something that could add to a rising tide that lifts all ships in the harbor. I thought about a checklist to open a practice, a guide to leaving insurance panels, a series of steps to overcome imposter syndrome to name just a few.

None of these really resonated with a universal need that all private practice professionals might share. Some are not in healthcare, some are confident enough but don’t have the skills or the clarity of vision, some already have a well-established practice and well, I wanted to help nearly anyone who stopped by in any situation.

I had this old fee calculation worksheet from years ago getting dusty – yes an actual paper copy but also digital, somewhere on my drive if I could find it. While it covered some of the basics of hours worked and general expenses, it did not include many of the things that I’ve come to integrate in my practice for my own financial wellness. It also did not include the clear connection to our future selves that need our care in the present moment.

So I reworked and reworked it and finally landed on a worksheet that walks a private practice owner through many other considerations they may not have made when setting their fees/hours. I wanted to make suggestions and create inclusivity by leaving areas blank to be customized, while purposefully including lines for “retirement savings” and “business profit/reinvestment savings” as well. I wanted to challenge people to think more expansively, lovingly, and more confidently about their needs so as to not reinforce what others are expecting, especially when it's not healthy for us (to be small, to be selfless, to devalue financial needs so as not to be seen as greedy, to give your services away for little to no compensation, etc).

In my creation of this free worksheet, I wanted it to feel accessible for neurodivergent folks, for people who have never set financial goals before, for those who struggle with financial avoidance, and give a clear map for how to start thinking about your business differently.

Maybe it’s the many years of meditation practice, clinical professional experience, or being in my own psychotherapy and healing journey for most of my adult life, but what I know is that when we can truly see the interconnection of all parts of ourselves, our lives, our communities, and the world around us, things become more visible in their importance and their meaning.

A viable fee means you get to live. It means you get to make room for life and the things that mean the most to you. A viable living means you get to worry less about finances, feel more confident in the creation of your business and rest in the intentionality of what you’re offering, how much you’re charging, and why. A viable private practice means that this entity you created can support all those who rely on its existence, including the people you serve, the employees you may or may not have, your current and future selves, and all of the people in your family and communities who count on you to be well.

While most of us can agree there are so many aspects of our socioeconomic system that aren’t working for the majority of us, we are currently limited to working within the confines of it for our survival and our viability. So, I am here to help until we can make an even better upgrade to our larger systems. We can create these smaller systems, these little powerhouses of our livelihoods that are as connected, healthy and life-giving as possible.

This is a reclamation of our power within what can feel like a lost cause of a system. We create our own systems, our own policies, our own financial and energetic agreements with ourselves and those we sell our services to, in order to find something different – something that works for us instead of against us.

Small businesses will save the world.