Scaling Therapist Podcast Tepmlate
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James Marland: Because people pay to solve specific problems. They don't pay for fog. They don't pay high dollar for help. They pay for you to solve their problems.
James Marland: Hello and welcome to the Scaling Therapist Podcast. I'm your host, James Marland and I help therapists develop additional streams of income without maxing out their calendar. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. Three steps for therapists to add a scalable revenue stream without the overwhelm.
Now, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably a therapist, coach, or consultant, and you're probably pretty good at your job. 'cause you've done the work and you've already built a steady stream of clients. You've created real impact. You've done great work, you're proud of what you've done, [00:01:00] but lately you're tired.
You've seen something or something's going on in your life. You're like, is this all there is because your calendar's maxing out. You've hit a level where you don't necessarily need to add more people or you don't want to ~hit. ~Add more people because ~you're, you're, you're, ~you hit a ceiling like it's a ceiling of time.
You've just filled up all your spaces. You've hit a ceiling of energy, like you just can't do all the things you need to do and add one more. Person, and it could even be some compassion. ~Uh, ~many therapists I talk to, ~uh, they, ~there's compassion fatigue. It's not that they don't care, it's just that they care so much for so many different people that keeping up that level for so long because you're good and people seek you out is difficult.
Therapist has a very difficult emotional draining job. So when I see this, and probably when you see [00:02:00] this in your fellow. ~Um, ~therapy therapists is, it's not because you hate your job or you hate helping people. You still love people, you love your clients, but your calendar's full or your emotions are heavy and there's no, there's just not a lot of space.
There's not a lot of space to breathe, let alone grow. And maybe life, ~you know, ~on top of this life might have ~started ~thrown you a wrinkle or you see this wrinkle in the future because your child might need extra attention or a family member gets sick ~and ~or your health changes. ~I, ~I've seen this ~many, ~many times when people come to me that ~your health, ~their health has changed and they just can't work the same ~the ~way they had.
There's some sort of change. And so when you see the future for working a maxed out calendar, day after day, month after month or year after year, ~it's, ~it starts to feel like a cage or a prison [00:03:00] sentence, then a job. ~So maybe if you, maybe you thought. ~What else is there? You know, I'm starting to hit the ceiling, or ~I'm, ~I've already hit the ceiling and burnout is creeping in.
What do I do? What else is there to do? What if I could create one of those products that people do, or a CE course or what if there was something that didn't always require me to be in the room or me to have my full, ~um, ~compassion hat on? Well, ~if, ~if you've thought of those things, then this episode is for you because today we're gonna talk about how to solve a problem that will add a second stream of revenue to you as a therapist.
We're gonna talk about what that problem is, how to package it into something scalable, and how to do it ~in, ~in a way that feels good to you and aligned with who you want to serve and not overwhelmed. So let's get into that. The first thing. When designing an additional stream of income is to identify the problem people will pay for.
Because [00:04:00] people pay to solve specific problems. They don't pay for fog. They don't pay high dollar for help. They pay for you to solve their problems. Let me take you back in time to a to to a time when I mounted a TV to my wall. I was really proud of this. Uh, it was a big, um, it was a big TV wall mount, so it had all the, these, um, thick bolts that went to it.
And you had to find 1, 2, 3, I think it, two, two studs, maybe even three studs in the wall. You had to find the wall. 'cause it, you can't, you couldn't just screw it into the drywall. So I had a, ~uh, ~a stud finder. And I thought I was using it correctly, and I found the studs and it beeped when it was over the stud.
And so that's where I drilled my hole. And then ~when I, ~when I put the big screws [00:05:00] in, it held and it was really tight. Anyways, ~uh, the, um, so ~the TV was up, it was going great. And then. A day later, I come downstairs to, ~uh, ~change the laundry and I am in the basement. ~And, uh, I walk, ~I walk on a spot and it's wet. I'm like, oh, no water problems.
I hate water problems. Because we had had our hot water heater acting up and we had somebody in cha changing the pipes, and then I got mad because the pipes. Were, ~um, ~what, what, you know, did they charge me all this money and now the pipes were broken? So I looked at the water heater and sure enough, the pipe above the water heater was dripping right onto the water tank, and then it was dripping onto the floor and seeping forward.
And then I had a terrible thought.
What if it was the what? If it was the work I had done on the tv? [00:06:00] And sure enough, ~uh, ~after a little bit of consternation, 'cause I didn't want to take down the wall, ~I, ~I cut a hole in the wall where I had put the TV and ~there was the, ~there was the water pipe, ~there was, there was, ~I drilled a hole into ~the, ~the drain pipe for the upstairs sink.
I had created this massive problem. So ~I went to the store. ~I went to the store ~and I, ~and I was looking around at all the parts and there was like many different solutions and I could get a sleeve or I could cut out the pipe and ~put, um, ~put extra pipes around it. ~And I, ~I finally asked ~the guy. There. I asked the, the, ~the salesman there, like, I have this problem on, I drilled a hole in the pipe.
What do I do? He said, oh, I got the perfect thing. And he walked me over to a selection of tools I'd been looking at or pieces, and I'm not a plumber. I picked up the pipe, ~uh, ~the sleeve. He picked up two clamps and he said, this is all you need. Put it around the pipe. ~Um. ~Screw in ~the, uh, uh, pull, put ~the clamps together and it'll fix it right up for you, [00:07:00] like, great.
So I took it home, applied the solution, tested it for a little bit, made sure it wasn't leaking, then closed the hole back up and drywalled it, painted it, put the TV back up a little lower. This time, everything worked out fine.
So, ~um, when IW ~when I was talking to that man, I didn't just have a general problem. I had a specific problem and I went to that store to solve that specific problem. In fact, I went to that store to buy something to solve that problem. I wasn't exactly sure what. I was going to buy. I just knew I was gonna spend money to buy that problem because that problem was a today problem.
It wasn't a someday problem. It wasn't a problem that could be solved later. It wasn't a problem. I could let go. It was a fix it now or you're [00:08:00] gonna ruin the basement type of problem, and that is the type of problems that you need to solve. In fact, those are the type of problems that you solve on a regular basis.
If people have a problem that they need to solve, they need to solve it today, they are ready to spend money. Those are the type of those, that's what people buy. People buy solutions. I wanted the whole fixed, I wanted it covered up. I wanted the pipe, air, water tight. I wanted a dry basement. I bought what the guy gave me because he had knowledge and he showed me how to use it.
He helped me solve my problems. ~If the product you're offering doesn't solve a real problem that people pick, lemme try that again. If your problem, ~if your product or offer solves a real problem that people care about right now, they're not going to need any convincing. So the first thing with developing an additional stream of income is find a problem that people want solved right now.
But [00:09:00] knowing what problem to solve is only part of it. The next step is figuring out how to package that solution into a way that creates income without creating more exhaustion. So what you need to do is package the problem into a structure your experience. Is a product waiting to be packaged. You already have the skills.
You already have the experience. You're already getting results with your clients and customers. What you don't have right now is a structure that is scalable. You have a structure that depends on you maxing out your time and energy and being at the same place. Or a, a specific place where people can have services.
The one-on-one model at a specific time with a specific person. That is the structure you're living under. I call it buckets. ~You're, you're, ~you're carrying buckets. You're dipping from your well of time, you're dipping from [00:10:00] your well of compassion, you're dipping from your well of the calendar, and you're filling up your bucket and you're pouring it out one at a time, one person at a time.
What you need is a different structure, which is more like an aqueduct. An aqueduct is you build the structure, then you maintain it, and then whether you're there or not, ~the ~the water flows. ~Uh, one of the, ~one of my favorite exercises I ~did ~have done in the last year was after I read Donald Miller's Coach Builder book.
And in it, he suggests this simple exercise. And I suggest that you do this too. Um, I also have a handout for this at the end that will have this drawn out for you, but ~uh, ~you can do it with just a simple piece of paper on the left side of the paper. Write down all the problems your ideal client is facing.
So if you started thinking about a problem from step one, up above in step two. We're just writing down all the [00:11:00] problems that people are facing. ~What, ~what frustrates them? What are they afraid of? What are they spending money on? What are all those things? So that's on the left side, on the right side list possible products or services that could solve those problems.
Some of these could be as simple as ~a, ~a digital download or a problem solving cheat sheet. It could be a digital, ~uh, ~video course of some sort. It could be a hybrid coaching program where you share with them a video and then you meet with ~the, ~your group once a week. It could be a CE course. Maybe you can solve problems for other therapists.
You have a hiring system. You have a firing system. You have a scheduling system. It works well for you. You get great results. You could easily package it up into something that could be distributed to multiple people. [00:12:00] If somebody is already trying to solve the problem you help with, then you have a great product opportunity.
So on the left side or on? Yeah, on the left side. You write the problems. On the right side. You list your possible products and services. Graham Cochrane. ~Um, ~puts it this way, people don't pay for information. They pay for transformation. So on the left side of the paper, you put the problem on the right side, you put the, ~um, ~the, the solu, the mechanism that you would use to deliver the transformation.
Now, it doesn't have to be massive, like it doesn't have to be a nine, nine month seminar. It just has to be something real. The pro tip here is start with A MVP or minimal viable product. The big curse for experts here when we wanna make something is that we know all about the subject. We love the details.
I love, I love details. I [00:13:00] agonize about the details. I read books about the details. I watch documentaries about the details. I listen to podcasts about online business coaching. And then when it's time to put together a product, and I'm speaking to myself as much as anyone, but ~when we, ~when we put together that product, we cram as many of those details into it as possible, and it bloats it and it makes it less usable for the people who just want the, the solution.
People don't want the details. We want the shortcut. So when you're designing your MVP. Give them ~the solu, ~the solution, that's a shortcut. Now, when I went to the hardware store, the guy could have shown me 10 different options and described why each one had its benefit. But he didn't. He just went right to the product that he felt would solve my problem the quickest with ~my, ~my [00:14:00] expertise of not being a plumber.
And ~he, ~he gave it to me and said, use this. That's what your people want. They want the solution and the shortcut. Well, if you're wondering who this ~re who, who ~is ~this ~for? You know, ~who, ~who is this product for or how to break it down without boxing yourself in? That's good because the next step, the third big idea here is you're not gonna share this with the whole world.
You, you wouldn't want the whole world to buy your product. You. Want to speak to one person. So the third big idea is share the solution to the problem with the right person or people find your someone, not everyone. One of my, ~uh, ~favorite experts I've been listening to over the last two years is Tad Hargrave.
He's marketing for hippies. He has this excellent exercise. You can find it on his [00:15:00] webpage. I think he sells a webinar for it. He has this exercise about the five levels of your ideal client and it works like a target. ~And ~in the center of the target is ~a, ~a category. And as you go further and further out from the center, there's other categories, but ~they're like, ~they're worth less points.
~I don't know how archery works, but the bullseye, ~. You hit the bullseye, you win. ~Everything else is, uh, good, but you need to hit the bullseye. ~So the closer you get to the center, the more likely somebody's going to say, Hey. Yeah, that's exactly what I've been looking for. At the very center of the target is the issue.
That is, that's from step one. That's the specific urgent problem they want to solve. That's their leaky pipe, that's their wet basement. ~It's, ~it's what's keeping them up at night. If you don't name it, if you don't get that right, you won't get the client. ~The, ~the issue is 10 times more important than the next ring.
And the next ring of ~the, the next ring of the, uh, ~the target is the must-haves. [00:16:00] The must-haves are the non-negotiables. What does your ideal client need to already have in place to succeed with your offer? Maybe it's the time to work on it. Maybe it's the tools. Like if you have a woodworking class, they need woodworking tools.
Maybe it's a license. Maybe it's a willingness to do the work and show up. If they don't meet these, they're not ready. So first we have the issue. Second, we have the must haves, what must be in place for them to succeed. Next up is the psychographics. This is all about their values, beliefs, and mindset. Are they open to coaching?
Do they want to grow? Do they care about doing meaningful work? Psychographics are very important, but that's not the most important thing. The issue is the most important thing. ~It's like, um. ~Then comes demographics. That's their [00:17:00] age job title. When I first started doing marketing, this is kind of where some of the books and, ~and, um, ~experts were taking me.
~Like, ~identify your ideal client by segmenting them with their age and job title, where they live. ~It helps, it actually, ~it really does help, but it's not the main thing. The issue is the main thing. And finally the, the last ring is the, their qualities. Are they kind, are they curious? Are they coachable?
These are nice to haves. They make the whole experience more beneficial. But this outer ring ~measure ~matters the least of all the things that you're looking for or that your ideal client is looking for. Remember the issue is 10 times more important than the must haves. The must haves are 10 times more important than the psychographics and so on ~and so on.~
So don't when you're, when you're building your offering and you're trying to niche down to the right person, don't build your offer around the outer rings. Start [00:18:00] at the center and start with the problem. And if you want more, it's ~uh, ~marketing for hippies. He posts regularly on social media. It's a wealth of information.
He's one of the people I follow and I encourage you to follow at Hargrave Marketing for hippies as well. You will learn a lot about marketing. So ~those were the three, ~those were the three items. ~Um, ~you need to identify the problem. You need to package the problem into a structure, and then you need to share the solution to the problem with the right people.
~The, um, ~the challenge is you, ~you, you're like, I, I ~don't have enough time. And that's why we start with a MVP. Start with something small. Start with something that, ~uh, ~you can do. Start with a problem, a small problem, a small piece of the problem. ~Um, ~you don't have to build everything all at once. ~Um, people, if people, ~if you talk about the problem that you can solve and share the [00:19:00] solution with the right people, there will be people who will engage with you.
And, ~and you don't have to, ~you don't have to look at the future of maxing out your calendar for the rest of your life. So ~if you're, ~if you've hit a ceiling with client work or you see the ceiling coming, it doesn't mean that there's something wrong. ~Uh, ~with you, ~like you're working inside a structure that is meant to burn you out.~
It just means that you might be ready for a new chapter. You don't need to reinvent yourself or to do something you're not good at. You don't need to build a massive program. You just need to take what you already have and package it in a way that works for more people with less of your one-on-one time.
Now, if you want help figuring that out, I made something. For you. It's called 15 Ways to Earn More. A Therapist Guide to Packaging your Experience into a coaching product. This is your Earn More with fewer Hour guides. You can download it now at coursecreationstudio.com and just click the ~uh, the your, ~your Guide button.
It's on [00:20:00] the top right and several places on the homepage. ~Therapist, you were made more than Mac for. ~Therapist, you are made for more than maxing out and then burning out. It's time to start putting your MVP mission in motion.
