Here’s two things that you really need to know . . . . Your cheapest form of marketing is a great business card. They can cost you as little as six dollars for 250 at an on line printing service like VistaPrint or they can cost you as much as several hundred dollars for 1000 from a local printer like Maverick Press in Littleton, Colorado. Your design, choice of paper and quantity ordered factor in to your final costs but any way you figure it, your business card is your least expensive marketing cost and is the most versatile tool you will use.
The second thing you need to know about your business card is that once you hand it over to another professional and leave the premises, it serves as a reminder of who you are and how to reach you. Think about it . . . . I told you about that old adage “last in, first out.” That means that if your business card keeps your name in front of other professionals’ eyes last, then your name is the one that is likely to be recalled when they are ready to call with a referral. Last in, first out.
And, here’s one more thing you need to know about having a business card. It’s the professional thing to do. No CEO, no professional, and no office manager is going to refer clients to you until you take yourself seriously enough to get decent business card. Think about it. . . . Having a business card implies that you are serious about your professional services. . . . It implies that you have some degree of stability i.e. your address, website, and phone number aren’t changing daily. . . . And, it implies that you have something of value to offer.
Still putting off getting that business card? P-L-E-A-S-E! What’s keeping you from taking that step? Let me know and I’ll be happy to nudge you along!
No marketing kit is complete without a professional business card.(I tell clients to design and purchase their business cards long before they get out of graduate school.)If you don’t have yours yet, here are some things to consider:
Content – Your first business card only needs to have your name, phone number, mailing and physical addresses, email (and web URL if you have a website).Business cards are used to jog someone’s memory and to provide contact information.
White space – Design your business card with lots of “white space” or “negative space.” In other words, you don’t want it cluttered up with an extraneous information or busy graphics.
Photo – There is considerable debate about whether or not to put your photo on your business card when you work in the mental health professions.I choose not to include my photo on my business card, believing that it looks more professional to leave the photo off.However, the counter argument is that by putting your face on the card, a potential client / referral source can get comfortable with you faster.What I want to emphasize here is that if you choose to include a photo, don’t use one of the snapshots that your partner took.Invest in a professional photo (headshot) for your business.
Logo – Once you are in private practice for yourself, research shows that it is important that you begin to develop a brand for yourself — a succinct image and message about you and your body of work.This image and message is your logo and it will be used on your business card, your letterhead, and any other digital or print media that you will use for your practice.I chose to work with web designer, Joel Bass of Invincible Fuzzy Thing to develop my website for my clinical practice and graphic designer, Jennifer Gunther of Nudge Creative to develop my logo for Private Practice from the Inside Out.
On the Back – You may choose to place a variety of things on the back of your business card or simply leave it blank.You may place a map or directions to your office.You may include a space to indicate when your client’s next appointment is with you.Or, you may include a tagline, quote, or other information that you believe might be helpful / memorable to your clients.
(If you would like feedback on your business card design, feel free to include it below in your comments and ask for feedback.I’m sure my readers will be happy to offer an opinion.Or, if you prefer, you can send it to me back channel and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.)
Working on your business is not the same as working in your business. That came as news to me when I first read Lynn Grodski’s primer, Building Your Ideal Private Practice. I used to think that if I was seeing my clients or charting notes on my clients that I was working on my business. After all, this is why I went to graduate school — to learn the clinical piece.
It’sNot Enough
Unfortunately, the clinical knowledge and skills of psychotherapy did not begin to prepare me for the business end of private practice. As long as I wanted to work in an agency or hospital for someone else, that would have been good enough. However, for those of us who have the entrepreneurial bug and yearn to be in business for ourselves . . . the clinical knowledge and skills are only half of the private practice package. In fact, you can easily and quickly starve to death if you know nothing or do nothing to work on the business end of your practice.
Working On Your Business
To paraphrase Lynn Grodski, “working on your business is at least as important as working in your business.” And, working on the business means spending time, money, and resources to create and sustain a healthy flow of clients coming into your business. Some of these tasks include:
Drafting informational brochures for client education; and,
Updating your professional vita;
To work on your business means recognizing that your work in private practice extends far beyond just the skills of counseling and psychotherapy.
What I’m Doing
Today, I have met with my graphic designer, Jennifer Gunther of Nudge Creative, to rework my business card and letterhead. I have vetted a potential printer for my print needs. I have collaborated with my blog designer, Beth Hayden of Basics of Blogging. I met another colleague for lunch to brainstorm about my marketing needs. I’m writing this post for my blog. These are the things that I am doing to work on my business today.
What about you? What are the ways that you are working on your business today?
Tamara G. Suttle, M.Ed., LPC has maintained a private clinical practice since 1991 and founded Private Practice from the Inside Out in 2003. She has spent almost 20 years consulting and teaching marketing strategies to health care professionals like you. You can learn more about her clinical practice at her website.
Email Tamara
