Ask Annie: Should I Create My Own Program Or Teach Something Well Known?
Release Date: 10/03/2023
Do Less Emotional Labor In Your Business
Rebel Therapist
At first this will seem like a story about my online yoga instructor. But it’s really a story about making your business more sustainable by stopping unnecessary and exhausting emotional labor. First of all, I know what you’re thinking. It’s so unexpected to hear about a 52-year-old white woman doing yoga. Kidding. This past fall I was getting back into yoga after several years away. I started with a 30-days-of-yoga video series by an instructor. I sensed that I’d like her in real life. She had spunk, made kind of inapropriate jokes, wore fun rocker outfits, and had good banter. She...
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Neurodivergence And Liberation In Your Business With Jennifer Alumbaugh
Rebel Therapist
Join me for a Free Open Coaching Call on Thursday, May 9th at 11 am PT. A recording will be available if you sign up. Grab your seat at . Do you identify with the word neurodivergent? Or not? Either way, stay with us. In today’s episode we’re talking about getting curious about yourself, the way your particular brain works, and what that means about what kind of business will really work for you. You’ll hear my guest and I both talk about some big changes we’ve each made to our work lives in order to honor our operating manuals. I loved hearing how Jennifer gave herself permission to...
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The Most Important Marketing Strategy (It Doesn’t Require Social Media)
Rebel Therapist
Today I’m talking about the most effective way to fill a signature program beyond private practice: Creating and nurturing Ideal Referral Partnerships. If I were to coach my clients to do only ONE kind of marketing, this would be it. Another word for this is networking. You’re probably already doing this, but you might not be doing it very strategically. When I meet someone who says they don’t do any marketing, but they’ve got customers or clients, I know they HAVE been marketing. They just didn’t see their behavior as marketing. I often find out that the marketing they’ve been...
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The Email You’re Afraid Of Getting
Rebel Therapist
If you fear bothering people with your marketing, this is for you. I recently got the worst email I’ve opened in over a year. I’m gonna share the actual email with you and I’m gonna share my internal reactions and the decisions I made after. In the context of life, this email is really NOT that bad at all. No trigger warning necessary. I’m sharing this because I know many of you are really afraid of getting an email like this. I’m hoping hearing about my experience will help you feel less afraid of getting an email like this. I’m hoping that you feeling less afraid will help you...
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Getting Over The Finish Line With Hard & Important Stuff
Rebel Therapist
I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to talk to you about this. I never want to be a dream killer. Or a bummer. If you’re thinking of creating and launching a signature program, I want you to do it. AND I’m gonna talk about one of the hardest parts of that today. Then I’ll talk about how to handle this hard part. I promise. In Create Your Program, I help a small group of therapists create their high quality, high touch, niched programs. And then I help them launch those programs so that they can actually start making money. Those programs bring these entrepreneurs significant ongoing...
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A Program Based On Art Journaling With Lea Seigen Shinraku
Rebel Therapist
Lea had been helping people with self-compassion for years, but when she started using art journaling in her program, it came together in a more powerful way. Now she teaches art journaling in every session of her signature program, Everyday Self-Compassion. Once she integrated this practice into her program, she fell even more in love with her work. She’s got a feeling of presence, joy and even goofiness. I deeply resonate with the need to feel like my full self as I do my work. How about you? You’re about to hear how she transformed her program over the last several years, why she loves...
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A Thriving Grief Program With Amy Hyun Swart
Rebel Therapist
Do you ever dream of creating a program you’ll love running over and over again? My guest Amy has run her program, Grief Medicine, at least 9 times now. Sometimes people wonder if focusing on grief brings her down, but you’re going to hear why working with folks around their grief brings her inspiration and joy. As you listen to this conversation, one thing I want you to notice is how much Amy enjoys running this program and never seems to experience it as a grind. You’ll hear how she created her program and how she continues to fill it after so many iterations. And by the way, it’s...
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The Least Stressful Way To Start A Group Program
Rebel Therapist
Today I’m gonna talk about one of the fastest and least stressful ways to start a group program. Let’s say you’re excited to run a signature program beyond your private practice, and you know you want it to be a small group. I relate. I LOVE running groups. Just a few reasons you might be in love with the idea of creating a group program: Participants benefit from each other’s wisdom and feel less alone. You make more money. A sense of accountability is often bigger in a group. Groups give you energy. You’re gifted at running groups. In a group, you get the richness of discussion. ...
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Don’t Double Your Therapy Sessions
Rebel Therapist
Maybe you plan to double or significantly increase your income this year. If you’re in private practice, you might look at the numbers and think you should double your sessions. And you totally could. People are out there looking for a therapist exactly like you. You might feel like adding sessions is your ONLY option to increase your revenue. That’s not true. You’ve got other options. Check in and be honest with yourself. Will adding to your client load exhaust you or head you towards burnout? If you’re already seeing 12 clients or 15 clients and you’re starting to feel a bit of...
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Be Willing To Do These Three Things For A Successful Signature Program
Rebel Therapist
As this episode goes live, registration for Create Your Program is open. This is my process to help you create and launch your signature program beyond private practice. If you’d like to start growing another part of your business and make money in a new way, this is the best time to jump into Create Your Program. If you register by Sunday, January 7th, you’re going to get lifetime access to a bonus training that has helped grads of CYP to fill their programs. Go to now to register. I can’t wait to see you inside. Today I want to talk about a few really important things that set apart...
info_outlineI got this question recently from someone getting ready to expand their business to beyond private practice. They want to start offering a non-therapy program within their own business.
“Should I create my own program from scratch, or should I just deliver an established method from a well-known person?”
For example, although it’s not the example this person gave: Brene Brown’s Dare To Lead method.
Here’s my answer without knowing any of the particulars.
First of all…nothing is new under the sun. Whatever program you offer will be influenced by your learning lineages and your mentors…
So the REAL question is: will you create something new by bringing together many influences, giving them all credit, and blending them in a unique way?
OR
Will you primarily use one established method from a mentor and jump through the hoops of getting that license or certification or purchasing that curriculum, so that you can use it in its entirety and put their name on it?
To figure this out, ask yourself: What is the truest, most high quality and aligned offering you can make right now?
Which choice will be of the highest service to your participants?
A good reason to use someone else’s method is that you feel clear that it is the most aligned choice.
A misguided reason to use someone else’s method is that you think it will be easier to create and sell it.
Since you’re creating this program within your business, you will likely be working just as hard with either choice.
Whether you sell someone else’s method or create your own, you will…
- Identify who it’s for (your niche)
- Create or adapt the program
- Do messaging and marketing work to bring in participants
In the business I’m running now, I’ve created my own method while giving a ton of credit to the people I’ve learn from.
You can’t get through my program without hearing about Tara McMullin, the business strategist who has had the biggest influence on me. And you hear about many other folks whose influences are woven into my programs.
At this point I’m so hooked on creating my own processes and weaving together many influences, I can’t imagine I’ll ever teach someone else’s entire method ever again.
But once I did! In this week’s episode, I share a story about running a couples workshop using someone else’s method with permission. Listen to learn from my experience so you can skip my mistakes.
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/210