Business has been slow the past few months. I surmise this because of inflation with gas being eighteen dollars a gallon and the cost of living rising. These rules affect business. Business has been slow for other therapists I know so it is not just me. .
This week I received two leads after a two-month drought. I had to turn one down and referred another. The decision was tough and frustrating, but it was right as neither was an ideal client.
What informed these decisions has been my experience knowing the difference of clients I work well with and those that I do not. The one I referred wanted to have sessions late in the evening. What would have been an immediate “no,” I tabled that thought for a bit thinking through a better solution.
I ended up replying that I do not meet with client’s after 5p, however I would meet with this client if he paid an amount that was about one and half times an hourly rate. The client agreed, so we met for a consultation.
Essentially this client wanted to repair a prior friendship. The consultation was with this client, the estranged friend and me. What caused me to second guess taking on these clients was that the third party, the friend, was completely against a reconciliation. This person named the terms of when met, this person would reconsider rekindling their friendship. As I was listening to them, I kept thinking how much of a better fit a college of mine would be for them.
I could certainly counsel them and help them out, but my college is an expert in this area as he is more the authority with a doctorate degree and has been married for over 40 years. So, I gave this client my college’s contact information.
I really could have used their business as they were paying more, even with sessions being in the evening. A trigger of mine that I am still learning how to better lead is a person with a hair trigger temper. The other person said how much the berating and anger from this client killed their friendship and until that was changed, there was no hope for reconciliation. The friend had no investment in counseling.
My college is a master at disarming feuding parties and taking the lead. Whereas I am more of the listener and asker of questions. Plus, it reinforced my rule to not meet client’s after 5p as at that time of day I am checked out emotionally and mentally.
The other lead I denied because this client preferred meeting face to face whereas my business is strictly online. I could have made an exception. When I was starting out, I would meet clients at a nearby park. However, this was before COVID, where since March of 2020 I have met all clients remotely. Since then, this new has become the norm and has worked well for me.
I did investigate the idea of opening an office. The average cost of office space in Charlotte, NC shot that idea down fast. I even thought about having a room in my house serve as a meeting place on a specific day or days of the week.
One problem with this idea is confidentiality of the client. The house I live in is very small and easy to recognize as the surrounding lots have had houses torn down and a house twice the size replaces it.
However, the biggest reason I have not followed through making a room an office is my dad’s heath. My dad is on kidney dialysis three times a week. Anything as simple as a cold from a potential client could transfer to him. Plus, I have a cat! So there.
In all honestly, I do not want to have to seal off rooms, soundproofing them and scrubbing down the entire house with Purell after each session to ward of COVID19 germs. So, I do not meet client’s face to face.
These clients that I did not take on reinforces two rules, I do not meet client’s after 5p, and I do not meet them face to face.
Rules can be changed down the line, but those rules are solid for now.
Knowing this I was able to quickly filter these clients during the consultation. One I referred to a better abled counselor and the other who I did not spend much time letting them move on to the next counselor on their list.
One positive is that I did get two leads this week coming out of a two-month drought. The reality going on is that I am learning to recognize the client’s I am a better fit for versus taking on just about anyone when starting out.
