Transitioning from Agency to Private Practice

Are you trying to decide how and when to transition from agency to private practice and are at a loss of where to start?

If you have plenty of savings to keep you afloat or a partner who can cover the bills, you have a lot more flexibility. I still wouldn’t recommend making any moves until you’ve identified a niche and developed a marketing plan. Once that’s done, though, by all means jump ship. I'd definitely have those things in place first though.

If you’re like most of us and don't have that level of financial security, I'd take on a few private practice clients. Add every dime you make to your savings so you can jump ship. The idea of your full-time job plus your part-time practice is likely not the most rejuvenating thought. Most people find that being in private practice feels really different. They look forward to it all day. They are more energized with their private practice clients than they were at their job.

But I want to caution you: before you make this transition, figure out how many private-practice clients you need to replace your agency income. Do the actual math. You would be shocked at how many people I talk to who are trudging along in private practice plus full-time job, typically not saving any of their private-practice income, really wishing they could quit their job. When we do the math, it’s clear they CAN quit, but they’ve become used to the combined income of their agency job and their private practice, and they just don’t have the energy to grow their private practice. Most of my clients make at least double their old agency income in full-time private practice, working way fewer hours. But if you get stuck in the purgatory of a 40-hour job and a 12-hour private practice at 1.5x your old agency income for an extended period of time, you will start to hate life along the way, and you’ll burn out.

I say this as someone who was in a full-time job and part-time private practice for literally five years. If I’d done the math - honestly, if I’d known what I was doing at all in private practice - it would have been a very different five years for me.

For help with building the private practice of your dreams, check out the Abundance Party.