Is it time to leave your day job? – Part 1

Knowing when to make that jump into private practice can only truly be made by you and in today’s post I want to share with you my experience, my tips for how to get in the right mindset, develop the right habits and routines, get your money in order, and create an action plan to actually take the leap and take your side practice into a full-time dream come true. As I was writing I noticed there is so much on this topic that I broke the post into 2 parts- Enjoy!

How I knew it was time

In my nutrition program, I knew that eventually, I wanted a private practice and I really did not know what that truly meant or looked liked. I can remember I was working at a hospital full time, an eating disorder treatment center part time, and a private practice that was booming that I had too much on my plate that I was literally having to schedule in when bed time was.  With my plan in hand, I slowly moved things off my plate and focused more on what brought my joy and kept me happy- building my practice. For me, it was not an overnight jump into my practice, it was a calculated and planned out transition because I was my own safety net. Meaning, I was not married at the time and I had normal life bills I needed to take care of and so I wanted to make sure I could truly make my dream work!

There are so many options and paths for taking this jump and a lot of things to take into consideration. Knowing what you are leaving behind and what you are going towards can help you to identify when it is time to make that jump for you!

Shift Your Mindset about Private Practice

Shifting your mindset around to being an owner of a private practice, to me can be the catalyst to drive you towards your dream!  One of the biggest mindset shift that can help you is to acknowledge that even day jobs are uncertain on a day to day level. There is nothing certain! To think that my hospital job was completely secure and nothing to worry about is completely a false sense of security with budget cuts or change in hospital policies at any time.No one’s place is certain in their job- it is all an illusion. It is a false sense of security.

Another mindset shift that I really want you to spend time evaluating in yourself is the idea of responsibility. When you start your practice you are now the one responsible for your own taxes, licensing,  billing, client outcomes, follow-ups, charting, and marketing/ getting new clients.  It is not just being the owner of the practice yet deciding and making that mindset shit to accept the full spectrum of what it means to be a private practice owner.  I know that might scare some of you off, and I want you to truly own all that it means to be a practice owner and not gloss over these details that might be scary. Before you go running to the hills, I want you to stop and think about all the different tasks and responsibilities you have in your current job. I am positive you do not just see patients that you are also running numerous other tasks- so shifting your mindset to see how you are able to handle a lot of responsibilities already can help you make this jump and feel like you got this!

The last mindset shit I want you to think about is being an expert. What area of nutrition do you want to practice, what are of nutrition do you want to own and be know for? Are you currently doing that in your job or volunteer work? If you are not currently working in that area the change that now before you make the jump. What I mean by that, if you think you will love diabetic nutrition and that is where you feel happy yet you are not doing that currently in your day job then please find a full time job that will provide training and a more immerse setting so you can test out the waters before you plunge in.

 

Habits & Routines for making the Jump

Build an Unconventional Work Day

How do I care out time to work on my building my private practice while still balancing my day job, family kids, animals, and life? You have to treat building your private practice on the side like a day job, and this job may not start until 6 PM or on the weekend only. Building in the structure around the time you do work on your dream. When you sit down at that structured time know exactly what needs to get done so you are not getting distracted. So maybe at 6 PM you answer emails and then chart on the clients you saw on Saturday.  Building in a work day into the structure you do have help you to feel productive and organized to help you accomplish all the task that needs to help get you closer to a full time private practice.  Treating this time with respect and responsibility helps to give it that value and dependability that you will need for the future growth of the practice. Know when and what will work on every week is how you can start to treat this is real.

Start Your Day with Your Dream

For me, I am more organized and clear minded first thing in the morning. Waking up early and writing out a blog post, answering emails and planning out how I can see patients on the weekend worked the best for me. Giving myself 30 minutes every morning to work on my practice with no distractions I can and did get so much more done than I would if I saved it for the weekend with trying to see clients and do the administrative stuff.  Set a timer and intention of what you will work on in that time so you are not wasting this powerful time to further your dream.

 

Remember you are choosing to work more and choosing to do more with your life! You are choosing to do something more fulfilling with your life; be happy about it! If you ever notice there is negative feeling check in and see the cause and what you are having them and maybe you need to pause. Keep moving towards your dream with joy and happiness!

 

Thank you all for being a part of my dream and joy!

Adrien