Anthony Centore

Some time ago I wrote an article titled “How Much Money Can a Counselor Make in Private Practice” that detailed how counselors in solo practice can earn 6 figures a year. To date its been one of my most popular articles and has received hundreds of comments from readers encouraged, and sometimes infuriated, by its contents.

For many of us, finding success in private counseling practice involves working with a shoestring budget, and making up for our lack of capital with a lot of sweat equity. While this approach works, there are some areas where under-spending can hurt your practice in the long run. Below I list 6 places where counselors should to spend money to make money:

From Yelp, to Google Places, to Angie’s list, to Facebook’s new review system, companies today are more impacted by customer reviews than ever before. For some, this is a great opportunity. Business is booming at that hole-in-the-wall Mexican place after customers started rating them 5-stars, and word spread about their super-sized, extra-salty, margaritas.

Billing is one of the least enjoyable aspects of any provider’s relationship with managed care. It can easily lead to frustration, and denied claims often result in thousands of dollars of lost revenue.

Building a counseling practice (or any private practice) from scratch means that you have to appeal to strangers—your first clients have no idea who you are. They don't know the value of your expertise, your logo or brand.