How to Launch Your Business in a Time of Uncertainty

This episode is in response to a very good question from one of my psychology business school students. She hit on a problem faced by many of us when we start our businesses. There is usually a lot we don't know. We may have caring responsibilities that vary. We may have children with unpredictable needs. We may have patchy child care. We may have to move house or have some kind of location instability. As a forces spouse I have faced most of these hurdles and although they have often felt overwhelming, even impossible, with the help of business coaches and some wise colleagues I have found a way to make things work. In this episode I am going to share the key things you need to consider if you are launching in a time of uncertainty.

Why are you doing this now? 

There are lots of reasons you might have decided to launch at a time most people would see as difficult. Commonly these could include financial reasons or sometimes it is about personal fulfillment, a need for community or to have a creative outlet. For me it was all of the above! It is important to be clear here and write it down. In the beginning you will have very limited time so you will need to prioritise the tasks you "could" be doing in order to focus solely on those that bring you closer to your main priorities. Eg. If you need to earn X a month your first focus needs to be on activities that make that a reality.

Plan your week around your hours. 

You need to start with a realistic appreciation of the hours you have available. On a bad week, how many how do you have available to work? How many do you want to work? Set your expectations and goals accordingly. You can't really earn a full time salary in 2 days per week. If that is your goal then I know it is possible and people achieve that but it is not going to happen without years of fulltime graft leading you to it. Sometimes we, and our families, need a reality check on that.

Take as much off your plate as you can

Get as much childcare, other care support, domestic support, ironing, cleaning. Whatever you can afford, get it. If you have family or friends who can help you don't be afraid to ask. Building a business takes time and trying to do it all when you should be sleeping is a recipe for burnout, reduced productivity, and ultimately, bad work.

I often meet parents who are caught in the "childcare trap". You feel that you "can't afford" the child care you know you need to get your business started. I was in this position too and it was awful. These are the steps I took to get out of it and I recommend this way of working if you don’t have a cushion of “start up” money underneath you. 

1. Focus on networking/high touch marketing to secure enough paying clients to cover the childcare you need. Read/listen to the strategy here.
2. As soon as you have those clients get enough childcare to cover those clients plus and one additional day per week for business development.
3. Set your fees high enough to make that work! If you need a reminder of how to make sure your fees won’t push you into an unsustainable pattern of work then check out our episode and blog post with Sally Farrant for her formula. 

Remember you can't do it all and you should never expect yourself to do something you would advise your best friend against. There will be time for everything but not all at once.

Look at your year and plan out when things you would like to work on are most likely to fit. Have a best case and a bare minimum plan that just covers your needs.

Contingency planning to protect your psychology/therapy private practice

We should probably all have contingency plans that detail what we will do if something unexpected means we cannot wane. This is even more important if life is a little complicated for you.

A contingency plan needs to give clear instructions for what should happen if you are suddenly out of action. For a therapy practice this could include:

1. Who will notify clients/patients and how?
2.  What will happen to ongoing clients? Do you have associates some cases could go to? Would it be appropriate for your supervisor to hold some? Are you going to refer on and if so, who to?
3.  How will you share essential information with these other professionals?
4. How will clinical responsibility be held/ shared?
5. What are the arrangements for your return to work?
6. How will ongoing admin be handled? 
7. Involve others in the plan. Let the key people in your network contribute to the development of the plan.
8. Make sure your terms and conditions reflect that you may need to share data under these circumstances.
9. Create template emails and SOPs for all admin tasks and correspondence with clients and other professionals so these can be handed over to someone easily and without cognitive strain on you. Listen to our episode on creating SOPS and templates here.

Don’t be put off

I hope this episode has shown you that you can launch in a time of uncertainty. Some of our best ideas come from adversity we are facing and often a business that springs from a challenging time can be the most impactful for us and the people we help. If you do a bit of extra planning you can set up with confidence.

Want more support?

If you want to go deeper and work through your business plan with me then join me for our free training. In August and September we are running free workshops to help you create a business plan that allows you to thrive and develop the fulfilling practice you deserve. Choose your date and book your space on the free training now.

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Are you looking to build an independent practice that is fulfilling, impactful and financially rewarding? Did you know that I run a business course that is designed to help you do exactly that without making all the mistakes I made along the way? Over 12 weeks we take you through everything you need to know to set up a practice that lets you live your values. Through a combination of teaching from experts, legal templates to make sure your practice is covered, peer support and group coaching sessions this is the place for anyone looking to get off the starting blocks in private practice.

Our last live cohort until after my maternity leave is starting in September 2021 so what are you waiting for join us at: https://psychologybusinessschool.com/the-psychology-business-school/