If you're like most therapists and coaches, you didn't have any grand business scheme when you started your own practice. Maybe you needed flexibility because your children were young or you recognized the freedom that being self-employed offered. Whatever your path, you became a business owner when you opened your practice.

If your grad school was like mine, they didn't give you any preparation for running a business. You may not even really think of your practice as a "business." If you want your practice to grow, start by avoiding these 3 common mistakes:

Mistake #1 - No Business Goals
Studies have long demonstrated that one key to growing a business is to set specific, written business goals. Those businesses and individuals with specific goals have greater success than those without written goals. Just setting the goals and writing them down is likely to increase your business. When you take the additional step of evaluating your progress, your practice really expands because you can concentrate your efforts on what is effective.

Schedule some time to develop your practice goals. At the end of each year, set aside time to review your progress toward each goal. Of course, you can review your progress more often than that once you've set your business goals.

Mistake #2 - Not Clearly Defining Your Dream Client
Another common mistake that keeps your practice small is not defining who your ideal or "dream" clients are. There's an old axiom in marketing: If you aren't marketing to somebody, you're marketing to nobody. Unless you know what your dream clients look like, how your dream clients talk, what gets them in your door initially, you can't develop a system to attract more ideal clients to your practice.

Avoid wasting time and money promoting your practice to nobody and define your dream client. Get specific with all the demographics like age, occupation, gender. Also think about what motivates your dream clients. The clearer you are about the clients you want to work with, the easier it will be to attract your dream clients and grow your therapy practice.

Mistake #3 - Not Using Technology Systems as Your Practice Partner
Last year, for the first time in history, more people used the Internet to find professionals, like therapists, than used the phone book. Technology is becoming increasingly important to growing your practice. The fact that your potential clients are online is actually good news because the Internet allows you to be interactive with your potential dream clients. That means you can use technology as a business partner.

The simple technology of an autoresponder system is like having an assistant who can follow up on client inquiries. An autoresponder is a two-way communication. It gives potential clients the ability to tell you that they're interested in your therapy practice and lets you tell potential clients about your expertise and the solutions you offer. You can then continue the conversation through the marvels of technology until they're ready to come to your office.
You know from your practice wisdom that potential clients think about making an appointment long before they actually pick up the phone to call your office. By using the simple technology of an autoresponder system, you can gently remind them that you offer solutions to their pain. When their pain becomes unbearable, you're in the position of being their "go-to" expert. It's effortless marketing because it all flows naturally.

Unless you create business goals and have a strategy to attract and stay in touch with your dream clients, your practice will stay small. It doesn't have to be that way. You can easily avoid these common mistakes and implement simple, effective strategies to grow your private therapy practice.