My Therapy Side Business Failed Because We Didn't Have a Believable Offer
- Jordanthecounselor
- Jan 26
- 3 min read
By Jordan Harris, Ph.D
What We Learned Running Private Practice Incubator.
From 2022-2025 I ran a small consulting firm with Paul Peterson. We helped clinicians go from having no practice, to having a fully booked practice, to having a plan for financial independence in 9 months.
We've since shut down the practice. Here's what I learned.
You have to have a believable offer.
When Paul and I first started Private Practice Incubator, we paid clinicians to start their own practice.
Yes. We gave them money. I don’t remember the specifics, but it was something like $10,000. About half we paid in cash and the other half we paid in expenses; all you had to do was send us your receipts.
Crickets. Almost no one took us up on it.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. I knew our processes worked and was convinced that our word of mouth would be so strong and our offer so good that people would be lining up. What actually happened was I got insulted online for scamming people.
I was in a mentorship program at the time and asked the leader of the program why people weren’t biting. “Your offer isn’t believable,” he said.
I wanted to help clinicians. I also knew that what we had to offer was so strong that I could confidently give away 10k. Turns out none of that mattered. Our offer simply wasn't believable. It actually hurt our ability to bring clinicians in to our program.
When you're just starting out you want to give away a lot of free stuff so you can get clients in the door. Many times that's a good idea. But you can't give away too much or it can actually hurt your ability to bring clients in.
One solution is to advertise the drawbacks. We should have said, "Yes, we'll give you 10k to start your business, but this program is really really hard and only for elite therapists. We turn away 90% of applicants." That likely would have made our offer more believable.
Best,
Jordan (the counselor)
Starting Feb 6th I'm giving a training on resolving complex grief.
We'll be watching a tape of Bruce Ecker working with a mother after the tragic loss of her son.
You can learn more below.
Paul Peterson
Paul Peterson is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of Arkansas. He has certification and/or training in EFT, hypnotherapy, and mindfulness as well as adult psychological development models. He's been in the mental health field since 2015 and in 2019 worked with a team of authors to publish a content analysis in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. The content analysis reviewed almost 1,000 research articles and tracked trends in publishing and clinical effectiveness research. He has also published a book on a Wholeness-oriented approach to contemporary Christian faith. He gives regular training on clinical skills, hypnotherapy, and business skills for solo practice therapists.
Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris, Ph.D., LMFT-S, LPC-S, received his Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Louisiana Monroe. He is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Arkansas, USA. In his clinical work, he enjoys working with couples. He also runs a blog on deliberate practice for therapists and counselors at Jordanthecounselor.com
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