Perry: In this episode of the therapist experience, I’m speaking with Dr. Christopher Holtz from Holtz Psychotherapy And Counseling. This is The Therapist Experience episode number ten. Welcome to The Therapist Experience. The podcast where we interview successful therapists about what it’s really like growing a private practice. I’m Perry Rosenbloom, the founder of Brighter Vision, and I’m excited to introduce our guest today Dr. Christopher Holtz from Holtz Psychotherapy And Counseling. Christopher, are you prepared to share your therapist experience?

Christopher: I’m excited, I’m ready to go.

Perry: Awesome. We are so excited to have you here Christopher. Dr. Christopher Holtz did his graduate training at Southern Methodist University graduating with dual degrees in licensed professional counseling, and marriage and family therapy. He went on to do a PHD and counseling supervision and education also from SMU. In his post-doctoral training Christopher became a diplomat with the American board of sexology. Prior to going into private practice he worked at Timberlawn Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital. He is currently licensed as a marriage and family therapist in the state of Texas and is the owner and founder of Holtz Psychotherapy And Counseling. He sees individuals and couples and emphasis in marital repair and sex therapy. Dr. Holtz has worked with Dr. Phil of Oprah fame as a consultant to one of his shows regarding couples and marriage counseling. Dr. Holtz, I gave a little overview of you there but why don’t you take a minute, fill in the gaps from that intro and tell us a little bit more about you personally, and about your practice?

Christopher: Sure. Well, thank you again for having me this morning. It’s really great to be here and I appreciate the opportunity. Counseling for me in therapy is something that really is personal to me and I’ve had some experiences with family members that at various points in time in their life have just found themselves in a bad way and when I saw the effect that therapy and counseling could have on people that were close to me. That really left the profound impact on me. That was one of the driving factors that started me down this very long journey that you just spoke of earlier. So my personal experience is really kind of shaped who I would become and really are the why behind why I like to train as a student and then become a therapist and go into private practice. But everything you said is really a good overview of where I’ve been, what I’ve done, how I’ve gotten here. I did my training as you mentioned at SMU which is really a wonderful program and it was just a tremendous growth experience for me. But then while I was in that program it occurred to me we were doing a lot of research and studying all these things and reading about them in books, and then when it was time to start seeing actual patients in a limited basis and under supervision we really were only able to see a very, kind of, a watered down version of what you might see in general people. And so they screened people very carefully so protect us, which they should have, but I really wanted to get the experience working with many different diagnoses and I wanted to see these things first hand. So when I finished my training at SMU that’s when I went and worked at Timberlawn, because I wanted to get that experience. I wanted to see those things first hand and really understand that process and to be able to work with some people who really could use the help of someone like me. So that was a big motivator for me, so when I went and I did that work it was very difficult work. It was very challenging work but it also gave me great clinical experience and great perspective. And I think it helped shape me a lot as a therapist and I think that’s one of the things that is maybe different that I did and a lot of therapists would do, which is if you don’t work with those people and have that experience then you might not see a lot of things that might come up in your practice. And I think that could be an impediment.

Perry: Tell us more about your time on Timberlawn. What were you doing there? What kind of patients were you seeing?

Christopher: Sure. Good question. So I worked in the kiddo and adolescent wing there, and I worked with kiddos as young as age four. Which was really, really tragic to see kiddos that young in a spot like that. And I also worked with adolescents and teens up to the age of 17. So I would work with a lot of kiddos and teenagers that had dual diagnoses, so they would have multiple psychological issues going on at the same time. Plus or minus, drug issues as well. So sometimes I would work with people that just really had a lot going on and needed intensive care. And then additionally there were a lot of kiddos and teens that I would work with that had some component of either physical or sexual abuse, which is just tragic and heartbreaking to see. But that was an element as well for me as a clinician that started peeking my interest more into working with the sex therapy component. So that kind of helped shape ultimately where I would go in my private practice.

Perry: You sort of just answered my next question there. That must have been a very challenging work to do, Christopher. How long were you at Timberlawn for?

Christopher: That would have been about two years.

Perry: And from Timberlawn you went into private practice?

Christopher: That’s correct. When I left Timberlawn– As I was working at Timberlawn I had started to think about what I wanted to do in a long-term and knew that I did want to go into private practice. And doing that kind of work at the inpatient hospital, it’s just very demanding. It’s very challenging work. That was very hard on me and I was conscious as well that that might not be something that I could do in the long term. So I had started thinking that I wanted to transition, so after a time I just came into realization that I knew that though I enjoyed this work it was very taxing on me. It was not something that I would be able to maintain in a long run and I needed to transition what I did into private setting.

Perry: When you were working at Timberlawn, you worked there for two years, but you said you started seeing patients on the side and started the transition to private practice. What was the final thing that–? Did you make the transition from working at Timberlawn to full-time private practice? Did you have a full client caseload at that time in private practice? How did you make that transition?

Christopher: That’s a very good question. The answer is slowly and painfully. That was really one of the most challenging periods for me as a professional. I had very, very few people that I saw initially when I kind of opened the doors to my own business and I definitely did not have a full practice by any stretch. And It was really a belief in myself and a leap of faith. And just knowing deep down that this is what I wanted to do in a long term. So when I left there and began pursuing my private practice, I really had nothing other than the belief that this is what I can do and this is what I’m going to do and how do I get that into place? How do I get that happen? And that’s really where I was. That was a tough time.

Perry: I feel like that dream and that struggle, that dream of opening your own private practice, being and entrepreneur, and that struggle of going through it is something that all of our listeners can relate with. Whether they are working for a larger association, or a hospital, or a group practice at this time. And they’re dreaming about opening their own private practice, or they just made that jump. And making that jump, I personally feel like is the most challenging part of being an entrepreneur. Because you don’t know. You feel like you can do it but you don’t know for sure if you’re going to be able to do it.

Christopher: Absolutely.

Perry: And you have to dig deep inside of you and grind through it, and grit your teeth, and just trust in your ability. And trust in the fact that this is what I want. And I’m going to jump in with both feet. And do you feel like when you left Timberlawn you jumped in with both feet at that time?

Christopher: Absolutely, absolutely. It was my belief then and it’s still my belief now that that was the only way that I was going to be able to be successful in what I wanted to do, which was open my own private practice. And not one that was struggling, one that was thriving. So I believe that that was the only option that I had.

Perry: But you didn’t always have a thriving private practice. Even here at Brighter Vision we started off from scratch. We didn’t have a thriving business where we worked with hundreds of clients. Let’s go back to a point in your career in private practice before it was this thriving business. Where you could have called it quits. Where you were just as low as you could possibly be in the entrepreneurial journey, and then share with us what that time was, what that moment was. And share with us how you overcame that struggle?

Christopher: Sure. For me that was the most challenging period.

Perry: The period when you left Timberlawn and started your own practice?

Christopher: Right. When I was trying to start my own practice. I wouldn’t even say that I had my own practice at that point. I had business cards and an idea, really. But the phone wasn’t ringing and that was more challenging to me than all the academics stuff. That was harder than graduate school, that was harder than prepping and taking the boards and all the license stuff that go with it. For me, I really was out there probably for about nine months every day. I got up every day, eight to five, and I just was out of the house. I was out making contacts, I was talking to people, I was reaching out to every available option that I had and really just trying to create relationships. And walking into these businesses and talking to other professionals, and therapists, and doctors, and psychologists. Walking in there many of them not knowing who I was. And then me, you know, trying to sit down with them and convince them that, hey. Not only I’m a stand-up guy but I’m also a pretty good therapist too and you should send your patients to me. That’s a pretty hard sell.

Perry: It is. How did you convince them?

Christopher: Sure. Well, I’m very, very luck in that. My wife works in the medical field so I had a few relationships with a number of people that are working in various capacities. In the medical field and so on. I was able to reach out to few of them, which did ultimately prove to be very helpful. I’m very grateful for that. I tell my wife all the time that I love her and how appreciative I am for the help that she gave me. So that did help, but one of the things that I do in addition to that with people that I don’t know is that I really make a point to drive home that– I might know so and so that they work with or that they’ve heard of, that’s a colleague of theirs, and these people have been able to trust me. And what I like to tell people is that I will care for their patients with the same care and attention to detail that they do.

Perry: Do you ever ask those colleagues for an introduction to somebody else that you want to sit down with?

Christopher: Absolutely. When I can, sure. I’ll give you a for instance. I might know a physician who is an internal medicine physician who may come into contact with a urologist. And for me, if I’m able to work with urologist because I do sex therapy a lot, urologists tend to see a lot of patients that have some degree of sexual dysfunction. That’s part of what they do. So if I happen to know a colleague and he mentioned to me, “Hey, I ran into so and so the other day.” It’s times like that, that I go, “Oh, that might be beneficial to both of us.” Because I might be able to reach out to them and then often times when I meet with some of these other doctors I’ll come to find that they’ll go, “Hey, I’ve been looking for someone like you.” Or, “We used to have so and so and we don’t really talk to them anymore. And it would be great if we could send people out to you.” I do, but that’s a long process and everyone that I have worked with has been very guarded about sending people out. Even the people that I know well. And I get that, I understand that stair reputation on the line as well. If they send someone to me then I wouldn’t perform up to their expectations or something like that. But going back to original questions just real quick. When I left Timberlawn, I was out every day. That was my job was to generate business. So I really went for about a period of nine months meeting with people, getting out there, doing lunches, doing presentations, doing talks. From the day that I started it was really about nine months before I started getting people that were starting to come in the door. So not being paid using my own car, my own gas. When I say that that was the most challenging time, that’s really lies because I went out every day hoping for the phone to ring or an email to come through, and just nothing. And to be at these places and talk to these groups and go, “Oh, it’s so refreshing to talk to you and it’s so nice. And yeah we’d love to send people your way.” It will be great.” And then just nothing.

Perry: Nine months of paving the pavement. That must have been so challenging. Do you remember the first time that your phone rang from one of those referral sources that you had gone out and had lunch with or have given a presentation to?

Christopher: Absolutely, absolutely. I’ve mentally framed that. Kind of like a first dollar bill you might see in a restaurant, that they ever got in a cash register. I absolutely do. I had a fertility group that I worked with and I still work with now, and they’re great. They’ve sent me someone who had some type of sexual dysfunction that they weren’t able to resolve medically. And they have ruled out organic pathology. They have concluded that it was likely something that was psychological in nature. So they thought that I might be able to help. And I ended up seeing that person and his partner for some time. Ultimately saw that person off and on for almost a year before their issues finally evaded and we really achieved what they determine would be a success. And so it was worthwhile but I remember it vividly and that was one of the better professional days that I’ve had.

Perry: Don’t you just love the entrepreneurial journey, that roller-coaster. You get those lows in nine months of pounding the pavement day in and day out trying to drum up business. Trying to get people to know, like, and trust you. That’s who people are going to refer. They’re going to refer to you if they know you, if they like you, and if they, most importantly, trust you. Especially in this field.

Christopher: Absolutely.

Perry: Christopher, you come such a long way from that point and one thing we often see therapists struggle with in the early days particularly is with actually pricing themselves well. And I’m sure back when you were working those nine months trying to drum up business your hourly rate was different than what it is today. Perhaps I’m wrong.

Christopher: It was, but only very slightly actually. I knew at the beginning of my academic journey that I wanted ultimately to go into private practice at some point in time. I just didn’t know when or how that was going to be and it was so far off yet I really couldn’t visualize that. But one of the points that I need when I was doing my training was that I would ask my professors and other people that I knew if they might be able to send me to someone who was already in the business that was doing what I wanted to do. So I made a point to sit down and talk with these people and really try to just pick their brain a little bit and say, “Hey, how did you get to where you are and what was important to you and what made it happen?” And one of the messages that many of them drove home to me was that even if I would have started in private practice at day one that, hey, I was a licensed therapist. I was a professional and they really drove home the point that I needed to know my value.

Perry: So what is your value? What is your hourly rate today?

Christopher: Today I charge 150 dollars for a session. And that’s whether it be individual or couple rate. That’s just my flat rate. That’s what I charge for the hour.

Perry: So full hour 150. Your session’s one hour, correct?

Christopher: Typically about 50 minutes. Try to give myself a minute or two in between to grab some water.

Perry: Which is always important, right?

Christopher: Yes. Especially as you start to get busier, that might sound trivial to some people but if you’re doing eight sessions in day have five or 10 minute increments in between sessions where you can grab a sandwich or run into the restroom if you need to quickly– Or make a phone call. Planning that out is really important.

Perry: I don’t think that sounds trivial at all. You need that time. In order to provide such great service and such great care you need that time to freshen up and to get yourself ready for your next patient.

Christopher: Absolutely. And as you get busier as a therapist you might end that 50 minute session or that hour session, however long it is, and you might have a couple that’s fighting bitterly or someone who’s really in distress up until the very last minute. And you walk them out the door and then you know that you have your next person sitting in the lobby and that you need to be on your A game and you need to be ready to go. And they’re expecting everything out of you as well as soon as you open the door and greet them. So that’s the challenge two of practice that I found.

Perry: So Christopher, one word that I’ve noticed has been missing from our conversation that I would love to bring up is the word marketing. Those first nine months you were marketing your business, you were going out, you were networking, you were meeting people. What do you feel is the single best marketing move that you’ve made for your private practice and why do you think that it’s worked so well for you?

Christopher: I don’t know that I could say it has been one because I feel like in my experience, speaking only for myself, I feel like it’s been a combination of factors that have really yielded fruits but I’ve not had any one that’s been so overwhelming that I can say, “You know what? Yeah. That’s the one. That’s the cornerstone. That’s the one that really let business come in.” As I mentioned, just going out there, hitting the ground. And I always approached it like that. I’m 37 so I’m a little bit older than some of my contemporaries, even when I was in school. But I always had a different mindset that this is my job, this is my career, this is what I need to do. So I always approached it like that. I never had a fallback plan. So I said, “How many different faucets can I really come at this business from? Not just one, two, or three. But as many as I can.” So in addition to going out and talking to people in person I have a great website guy who’s helped me out tremendously. His name is John Van Drunen, he’s been great. He helped me setup my websites and my blog as well. He helped me setup holtzcounseling.com and I do a blog off of my website as well. So in addition the physical, just getting out and meeting people, I work very hard to talk with him from the beginning and say, “I don’t want a website that doesn’t look polished. That doesn’t look professional. It’s important that this be a reflection of the level of service that I provide and kind of the caliber of the business that I want to run.” So that was a fairly expensive proposition too. And I do put in a lot of work doing the blog as well, but I would say social media like Facebook– I have a professional Facebook site. My blog generates a lot of chatter, the website as well. Sometimes people would just come across my website and reach out to me. I advertise on a number of different therapist websites as well for professional licensed therapists.

Perry: Which websites do you advertise on?

Christopher: I’m on goodtherapy.org and I’m also on Psychology Today.

Perry: Two very critical pieces of any marketing plan for a private practice is being on those directories. We see so often people said Psychology Today and goodtherapy.org, that’s one of my primary referral sources. Would you agree with that sentiment?

Christopher: I can tell you that I generate business from them, but my primary referral source would really be the individual networks that I’ve created.

Perry: Certainly.

Christopher: Over time for me. And I think I am different from a lot of therapists in that regard, but for me, I have a lot of other professionals that they might send me one or two patients and kind of test the waters and see what those people had to say about me, and then as I would do good with them they would send me more and more. So for me there’s maybe eight or 10 different physician groups. Each one of those groups might have 10 or 15 partners and so now I have people really kind of across the spectrum in the medical field that reach out to you a lot. But I do get a good number of phone calls and emails from Psychology Today and from Good Therapy as well. I mean, I think it would be a mistake not to have that component because, I mean, there is business there and even if I only drew a patient a month from either of those it would cover the cost for the site. And so it hasn’t for me been as profitable as just the networks that I’ve gone out to create, but it definitely has got me business and a lot of traffic too. A lot of clicks to my website. A lot of views to my blog. And those are some of those things where it’s hard to tell immediately whether or not those are going to yield business because I might have someone that says, “Hey, I read your blog a year ago and it really resonated with me. I’m just reaching out to you now.” But those are the kind of things when you’re talking about growing your practice and sustaining business that you might have someone that does that. So I think as many ways as you can go at it the better you’ll be served.

Perry: Most certainly. You’ve mentioned a ton of great gems there. First it totally makes sense that for you, you spend so much time and energy, blood, sweat and tears in growing a solid referral based foundation. That’s all you focused on on the first nine months of your business. That’s going to send a ton of referrals your way. But then Psychology Today, goodtherapy.org like you mentioned, even if it only sends one person a month to you and at least pays for itself. And if they see you multiple sessions it’s going to more than pay for itself.

Christopher: Absolutely. And in addition to just drawing traffic to the other things that I have, another website and blog, and then also I should mention Yelp as well. I advertise on Yelp and I’ve drawn some business from Yelp as well. And even if business is not great from any one of those sources the more people that click on links to your business or to your website or the more kind of traffic it generates, then the higher your business will come up when other people search for it. So in the indirect way those things can help kind of boost your profile as well.

Perry: So, Christopher before we move on to my favorite part of the show I want to just chat about your time with Dr. Phil. Tell us about that?

Christopher: Hahaha. Out of the blue I was leaving my office one day and I have had a production company based out of California call me and mention that they were doing a television show that was going to be something like a sex therapy couples marriage repair kind of a concept and that they were looking for therapists who were experienced in sex therapy in area where I live, which is Dallas. And so they were looking for therapists to reach out to and kind of provide some guidance about just really the process and how it works, and what really goes on and kind of trying to lend a little bit of credibility to maybe how they were going to structure the show. And then I spoke with these people a number of times really over probably a year actually, and as things were developing and getting going. They weren’t sure which city they were going to ultimately work in because they were looking at Dallas and they were looking at Washington and some other ones. And finally they mention to me that, “Hey, the show’s going to be a big deal and Dr. Phil is the driving force behind this.” And everything we’ve been talking about we run by him and his team. And they really like what I had to say. So we chatted a handful more times actually. And so that show did come to pass. Honestly, I don’t remember the name of it off the top of my head but it was aired. I think it did a season. I think it did a season and then the plug was ultimately pulled on it, but that was again one of those things though where they found me and they came and reached out to me, and had I not had kind of a profile that I’ve had and they were not able to find me easily, they weren’t going to come digging for me basically. They found me pretty easily when they were looking up sex therapists in Dallas and then they vetted me and went through my background and those sort of things too, but all those kind of different arms that I have of my business that kind of put my online profile where it is really led to that experience which was a pretty good one, I think.

Perry: That must have been so cool when they said, “Hey, this is actually for a show with Dr. Phil.” I mean, whatever you think of Dr. Phil and his approach with things, and the name, the general buzz about him, just the fact that said, “Hey, this is for a show with Dr. Phil.” That must have sent some pretty amazing butterflies going through your stomach there.

Christopher: Sure. It absolutely did. And, you know, I kind of thought that I’m just kind of one man small business here in Dallas and who am I in the steam of things and why would someone like that reach out to little old me? How do they even know who I am? Kind of a thing. They know that I exist? It was kind of humbling and flattering at the same time. And I was just going to say, men to go on and to ask me for my opinion and for my expertise, that was really a powerful moment for me. People from across the country and people that reach out to anyone chose to reach out to me and to ask me about things that they knew that I had some skills in that I could help them out. That was really a pretty powerful moment.

Perry: And we always encourage our clients to blog. To share their expertise and their knowledge with the world through a blog. Now, it can take time to grow that blog. It can take time to get any sort of real traction and business traction from it, but I bet money on it that they found you because of your blog and the expertise that you share in it. And then they read your blog and that basically pre-sold them on your authority, and it allowed them to know, hey, this is somebody that we can know, like, and trust and we can do business with. It’s just like pounding the pavement for nine months. Instead you’re pounding the virtual pavement by blogging and that got you in front of them. When they were doing a Google search for something most likely your blog popped up, and that’s how they found out about you. Christopher, you’ve touched on so many great different points here of– I know most of your business has been through word of mouth that you build up these referral sources from, but you’ve got a really diverse business here that allows you to grow a thriving practice whether it’s word of mouth, whether it’s referrals, whether it’s your website, whether it’s your blog. All these things together form a solid foundation for you.

Christopher: I think you’re right on the money and I think what you said about knowing, liking, and trusting you doing the blog, I think you were spot on. That’s the area for me as a therapist to put down a little bit of my knowledge on paper, a little bit of my perspective on paper in a way that’s maybe more interactive for some people than just calling someone out of the blue, or even before they’re ready to call me out of the blue, knowing that, hey, I can relate to what this guy’s saying or this makes sense. Or, aha, I never thought about it that way. Those aha moments as we are looking for in therapy. If I can help someone have that aha moment I think they’re much more likely to reach out to me and that, I know, is a big part of it. Most of the blogs that I write tend to have three to four thousand people that will look at them at any given time over the– I usually do one or two a month and sometimes more than that, but usually it comes out to one or two a month. But I tend to have three or four thousand people that will look at them and then that would in turn generate hundreds of comments and it’s really impactful.

Perry: That’s tremendous.

Christopher: Yeah, thank you.

Perry: Therapist Experience audience, Dr. Holtz has shared so many great tips with you here in the last 30 minutes or so. We’re going to take a quick break and get our weekly website tip from one of Brighter Vision’s lead developers and when we come back we’ll be hopping into the brighter insights lightning round. So, please stay right there, Christopher. We’ll be right back.

This week’s website tip comes from Andrew Oetjen. A lead developer at Brighter Vision, a worldwide leader in custom therapist website design. To learn more go to www.brightervision.com.

Andrew: Hey everyone, Andrew Oetjen here. Tracking visits to your website is the most effective way to gather data on how your website visitors find your website and interact with it. The most commonly used analytics tool is Google Analytics. You can sign up for Google Analytics for free with a simple Google account. While we love Google Analytics we do feel it’s a little bloated, clunky, and has a pretty steep learning curve. For 99% of our clients the data provided is mostly overkilll. Instead of Google Analytics we generally recommend client considered Clicky. Clicky is a free account that should meet the needs of most people listening. What Clicky does really well is it provides a comprehensive overview of your website’s traffic without a clunky, cluttered, or hard to decipher interface. Just click and view. Nice and simple. To learn more about these resources go to this week’s show notes at www.brightervision.com/session10.

And now back to our conversation with Perry and Christopher.

Perry: Alright Dr. Holtz, we’re going to move on to my favorite part of the interview. The part we like to refer to as brighter insights. What we’re looking for here is just quick sound bites and tidbits of advice that therapists can use to inspire, motivate them in growing their own private practice. Are you ready?

Christopher: I’m excited.

Perry: Alright. What or whom inspired you to become a mental health professional?

Christopher: Having someone very near and dear to me in my family that was in a bad way and seeing the help that they got from seeing a counselor and the change that it made in their life was really the single biggest catalyst that helped me get into the business of therapy.

Perry: What do you do to clear your head and get a fresh start in your day?

Christopher: When I get to the office before I see my first patient of the day I always meditate. I try to give myself 10 minutes to meditate and just to put myself in a calm frame of mind before that first person walks in the door. And then after the last person leaves I always remind myself of everything that I have to be thankful for.

Perry: What are some tools that you’ve used to leverage the power of technology in your private practice, so that technology is no longer a hurdle but instead an asset for you?

Christopher: I think just really being willing to put in the work of learning these technologies and understanding that they can’t be impactful if you can utilize them right in that these are not something to be avoided and that if you don’t really embrace technology, that it’s really going to put you a step behind people who are able to use it.

Perry: What’s a quote that you hold near and dear? Something that has helped formulate your perspective on life or really a quote that’s inspired or motivated you throughout your life?

Christopher: One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Viktor Frankl whom I think extraordinarily highly of and his work. Viktor Frankl said that happiness cannot be pursued, it must ensue.

Perry: I love that one.

Christopher: I do too. And that’s something I share with my patients all the time. That really can help to put some perspective on whatever it is we happen to be talking about.

Perry: If you could recommend one book to our audience, what would that book be?

Christopher: For me as mostly a couples therapist and as a sex therapist, I’ll give you two just real quick. There’s two that I really like and I use a lot. I love Esther Perel’s Mating in Captivity and I recommend that quite a bit. And then for me working more just with traditional couples issues The Marriage Clinic by John and Julie Gottman. It’s just kind of my couples Bible that I go back to a lot.

Perry: Alright, Dr. Holtz. Last question here. If you moved to a new city tomorrow and you didn’t know anybody there. And all you with you was just your computer and 100 dollars and your laptop. What is it that you would do on your very first day to start a new private practice?

Christopher: For me, knowing what it’s taken to get to where I am, I would probably stick that 100 bucks in my gas tank and I would get out there the first day and just start trying to generate business and really the way that’s been the most beneficial to me, which is getting out and meeting people and getting them to know a little bit about me and to understand me. And to hopefully get to the point where they can trust me and send some patients my way.

Perry: Thankfully, that 100 bucks in your gas tank will go a lot further today than it would have when you started your private practice. Hahaha.

Christopher: Amen to that. That’s sincerely true.

Perry: Any parting advice for our listeners here?

Christopher: Yeah, one thing comes to mind. Someone told me when I was in training and I tried to be mindful of that, which is not to work harder than your patients are willing to work. And I always try to be mindful of that and I like to remind my patients in a very gentle way that, look, the hour that you see me during the week is really a perimeter for the work that hopefully you’ll be doing at home during the week, and that I’m willing to work as hard as you are but if you’re not doing the work home during the week then the success is going to come slower than it would if you are willing to work. So I like to remind them that I’ll work as hard as they will but sometimes you do have patients that want to come in and they do like to complain, they like to fight, and they don’t end up doing the work so I try to remind myself of that. I can’t work harder than they’re willing to work because ultimately change is going to come from them.

Perry: That is such great advice and something that we haven’t heard yet and I really hope that our listeners take to heart. I mean, thank you so much Christopher. All this advice that you shared has been just so tremendous. Really just a business 101, getting out there, marketing yourself, and taking the entrepreneurial spirit and– You are an entrepreneur here Christopher. The things that you’ve done, the ways that you’ve grown your practice. It’s so wonderful to see. So thank you so much for all of your time and for all the great resources that you’ve shared. And of course, listeners, you can find out all of the resources that Christopher shared over at brightervision.com/session10. Dr. Holtz, thank you again so much for being so generous with your time, your expertise, and your knowledge. We appreciate all the great advice that you’ve provided and the therapist experience you have shared. Thank you again.

Christopher: Thank you so much for the opportunity. It’s been a pleasure.

Perry: Thank you so much for tuning in today. If you have a question for us you can email it to us at [email protected] and, of course, if you’re interested in launching a website please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Brighter Vision is the worldwide leader in custom therapist website design. For just 59 dollars a month you’ll get a website that’s as unique as your practice. Unlimited technical support and complementary SEO so people can actually find you online. Head on over to brightervision.com and drop us a line through one of our contact forms and one of us here will get in touch with you right away. That does it for today. Thank you again for listening and have a great week.