Not Earning Enough? Five Ways to Improve Your Bottom Line


If you find that you don’t earn enough from your practice, if what you have left after paying expenses at the end of the day, week or month is insufficient, then you need to look at what you can do to improve the situation. There are a number of options Photo no (39)available, and depending on your circumstances, you might consider looking at all of them.

  1. Work more chargeable/ billable hours. If you are lucky enough to have a ready supply of work available to you, and can take on more work, this option is the easiest to implement in the short term, and also shows the quickest results. A small change can make a big impact. Seeing one extra client per week may not sound like much, but €50 per week extra over the space of a year means €2,500 more.
  2. Increase your hourly rate. This one takes a little longer to have the same impact. You will probably want to give existing clients notice of an increase, and some may not be able to afford the higher figure. However, you can increase your rate for new clients with immediate effect. Again, a small change can make a big difference. If you are seeing 5 clients a week, a €5 increase per session means €1,250 over the year. Consider charging a higher rate for specialist work.
  3. Restructure the way you bill / charge: This is perhaps not as obvious as the other suggestions here, but can be equally effective. If you are currently charging on a hourly basis, perhaps you might think about charging for a fixed number of sessions, offering a slight discount on the hourly rate. How can offering a discount increase your income? Having contracted for a period, the work will generally emerge to fit that space.
  4. Reduce your expenses. You may or may not have some scope for reducing your expenses. The most significant outlays, Photo no (48)such as supervision or rent are probably not going to change in the short term, and while they can be reduced with some foresight (either by renegotiating the contracts or by moving to a less expensive provider), there are obviously other issues to be considered in making those decisions. Don’t assume, however, that you have no choice but to pay the rate you have previously agreed. Many people are willing to negotiate if they know you are in difficulty, because the benefit of continuing with a known client can outweigh the risk of finishing and starting with someone new.
  5. Diversify. Another way of increasing your bottom line is to diversify into a new income stream. This might mean adding a new skill or approach to the services you already provide, or branching out into something different altogether. Examples might include working as a supervisor, running a class, workshop or seminar, or taking on a part time salaried position. Or, if you own or lease the space you work from, perhaps you could rent out the space to another therapist?

There are many ways that you can improve your “bottom line” by being a little creative with your thinking. Consider what would work best for you in your circumstances. And remember, none of these is mutually exclusive, you can do them all, or others I haven’t mentioned here as well. You get to decide how you want your practice to be.

To explore the best ways for you to improve your income, contact me here for your free 20 minute consultation, or to make an appointment.