We were lucky to catch up with Patrick Casale recently and have shared our conversation below.

Patrick , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

Before the onset of covid, I was working in private practice, as my own boss. I was successful, but I was also getting bored, as most entrepreneurs do, and I had dreams of creating something that would help thousands of people.

I found myself helping colleagues in town, setting up their businesses, for lunch or coffee. They kept telling me that I should start a coaching and consulting business, helping therapists start their private practices.

I struggle w/ major impostor syndrome, and quickly convinced myself that I shouldn’t do this, as I felt like I didn’t have enough experience, and that there were already other people out there with established reputations who would be better fits.

One day, I decided that I was going to go for it, and put it out to the world. I didn’t really expect much, but I wanted to fight through the fear of starting something new, and figuring out how to make it work.

I started running 6-week, 6-person courses. They were a combination of individual and group coaching, and lots of resources and access to me. I didn’t expect to sell one course seat, and ended up selling out 2 courses, consecutively, finding myself supporting 12 therapists simultaneously.

The feeling was exhilarating and could not have come at a better time. People were eager to leave their corporate jobs and go into the business for themselves during 2020. They were sick of being treated poorly, working long hours for very little pay.

From those two courses, I realized that there was a ton of potential to build a brand and successful business. I decided to create a Facebook group, All Things Private Practice. As of today, we have 8k members and are growing all the time.

I’ve launched countless courses, 4-month coaching programs, spoken at conferences, and now host the All Things Private Practice Podcast, as well as host entreprenurial retreats throughout the world, with my first one successfully hosted in March, 2022.

Learning how to embrace fear, self doubt, paralyzing perfectionism, and impostor syndrome has been absolutely crucial. It’s not easy to own a small business, and there are plenty of days where you want to just give up.

There are so many ways to apply your skills in combination with your passions. I don’t think we see these options when we’re in the thick of being stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed.

Too often, we are our own barriers. We convince ourselves that the idea is great, but it’s better suited for someone else. We ask ourselves, “why would anyone hire me?” We keep ourselves small.

Since August 2020 when launching All Things Private Practice, I have sold out every single offer that I’ve had. Retreats, courses, coaching programs, etc. I do not take this for granted. I believe that by offering something valuable, and building relationships, the sky is the limit.

For those of you who are interested in starting your dream business but you’re convincing yourself that it’s not worth trying, trust me, go for it!

I also transitioned my solo private practice to a group practice, which employs 2 admin staff, 15 therapists, and 2 psychiatric providers.

I believe in people over profits, and pay my staff far above industry standards. I wanted to create a culture where people felt valued, and where we actually practiced what we preached in terms of self care. This ensures that we have jobs to offer people in North Carolina, and that we can serve thousands of clients who are in need of mental health care.

My motto has become: Doubt Yourself, Do It Anyway I swear by this. And I just want to continue to inspire people to push through their fears, their perfectionism, and their impostor syndrome.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I went to graduate school in 2012 for clinical mental health counseling. At that time, I knew I wanted to help people, and I definitely did not envision owning my own business, let alone 3!

After graduating in 2015, I worked at several community mental health agencies. Though the work was valuable, and the clients we supported were fantastic, we were constantly struggling. We never had funding, enough staff, enough pay, and taking time off was frowned upon.

In the helping profession, it’s almost looked at as noble to overextend yourself, and to take care of everyone else before yourself.

I knew that this wasn’t for me. And although I kept finding myself in middle management, I was not satisfied. I kept hearing stories of therapists who went into private practice, but it was almost looked at as something that was unachievable, and you heard horror stories about failure, not getting paid, not getting clients, etc.

I ended up connecting with a few private practice therapists in Asheville, NC, and picking their brains. I ended up in the hospital for work related stress at one point, and that was my last straw. I knew that I had to quit my job. I just didn’t know what came next.

I started my private practice on evenings and weekends, and loved going to my own office. Even though I was working 50 hours a week at my agency job, stepping into my own office where I set the hours, chose the clients I saw, the amount I charged, etc was liberating. It was a breath of fresh air, and I needed more of it.

Like so many others, I was scared to put my notice in. I built my practice up to 15 clients/week and kept hesitating. Leaving security and consistency behind is hard. Even when the security and consistency isn’t safe or satisfying. I often compare agency jobs to emotionally abusive relationships. You know what you’re going to get, and when, and although it’s traumatizing, it’s very hard to step away from.

I eventually quit, and stayed in my own practice for two years. I’m Autistic and ADHD, and I get bored very easily. I wanted a new challenge, and was very good at motivating and supporting others, helping them work through their fears of failure, insecurities, impostor syndrome, and perfectionism.

I was helping other therapists start their own businesses for coffee, lunches, etc. I don’t think I ever truly believed that it could turn into my career, no matter how badly I wanted it to.

Now that it’s been 2 years, and I’ve helped 1000s of mental health professionals start and grow their businesses, it’s been remarkable.

I own multiple businesses. Resilient Mind Counseling is a mental health psychotherapy practice in NC which employs 2 FT admin staff, 15 therapists working remotely, and 2 psychiatric providers. I started it in January 2021, mainly because a friend and colleague kept asking me to join my private practice because he didn’t want to start his own. I’ve always been a leader and a boss so I decided to pursue it. I believe in people over profit, and paying everyone significantly more than industry standards. We actually emphasize self care and work/life balance, instead of hollow words. I think that this ensures that employees feel supported, passionate, and valued. It also leads to longevity in a career that is unbelievably stressful.

All Things Private Practice is a coaching and consulting business. Aside from helping mental health professionals start and grow their businesses, I host the All Things Private Practice Podcast, where I interview other entrepreneurs about their fears, failures, impostor syndrome, and self doubt. My goal is to normalize fear and failure, and to stop looking at them as negatives. Using fear as a gas pedal instead of a brake pad.

I also host entrepreneurial retreats throughout the world. I truly believe that travel helps us grow personally and professionally. I love building relationships with people in the towns that the retreats are held in, and supporting their small businesses. This is what life is all about to me, and helps everyone become successful. My first international retreat was in Ireland, March 2022. It was in a small, historic town in the middle of nowhere, and was unbelievably successful. We basically created a small incubator where everyone was supportive of one another’s goals and visions, and they were vulnerable enough to be real, and authentic. I am now hosting this in Ireland on an annual basis, in March every year. I’ve hosted domestic retreats, and have New Orleans, Ireland, Spain, Asheville, and Portugal scheduled for 2023. I have Crete, Florence, Seville, and Ireland scheduled for 2024.

This is my passion project. Helping helpers step away and immerse themselves in culture, and actually practicing self care, which we so often overlook. Building relationships with the vendors, the coffee shops, the guides, venue hosts, etc. This is what life is all about.

I help small business owners work through their own fear, self doubt, impostor syndrome, and perfectionism, to get out of their own ways and finally pursue the authentic businesses of their dreams. I believe that authenticity and relatability is accessibility. I support small business owners with normalizing fear and failure, and embracing their authentic versions of themselves.

I show up as myself, as authentic and real as humanly possible. I often talk about my own struggles with impostor syndrome, perfectionism, self doubt, and my struggles as an Autisic/ADHD human. Being open and honest allows me to break down barriers, ensuring that my clients can embrace who they are, without shame or stigma.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

During my first year of group practice ownership, I realized that I had over paid my entire staff X 2, for the entire year. We use a medical records system that collects payments, and our insurance biller uses her own system.

I had a misunderstanding, and it was completely my fault. When I was reconciling bi-monthly payroll reports, I paid people twice.

I asked my biller at the end of the year for guidance, because I was constantly fearful that I was breaking even or worse, losing money.

After we discussed my payroll process, she responded with a text that asked, “how long have you been doing this?” The entire year, I said. She responded with, “you are not going to like what I’m about to say.”

She ran all of the reports for the year, we cross referenced them, and realized that I had overpaid my staff by 80k. It felt like a punch to the gut, and I quickly realized that I was the worst business owner in the world.

She advised me that I should recoup the $$ that was overpaid to each staff member, over the course of a year’s worth of paychecks.

I sat with this for a couple of days. I decided that I was not going to ask for the money back, as it was my mistake, not my staff’s. It was a really hard year, providing mental health therapy in 2021. I knew how hard they had worked. and how many people they had supported. Asking for the money back was simply not an option.

I decided to be transparent with my staff, letting them know that it was a colossal mistake, and that I didn’t want the money back. I had to think about it as bonuses for very hard work, in a very hard year. I wanted them to know that paychecks would look different in 2022, and wanted to be transparent, so that they were all in the loop.

I believe in not only owning my mistakes, but using them as lessons going forward. I believe that it created buy-in w/ my staff, allowing them to feel kept in the loop, as well as communicated with in an honest and transparent manner.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Simply put, being authentic, and being real. I am constantly talking about my own struggles and experiences. I don’t do it because it’s self-serving, I do it because I know how hard it is for people to talk openly about their struggles.

I try really hard to have consistency in my brand and my messaging. The clientele who purchase courses, coaching, retreats, etc, know that I have made mistakes. They know that I don’t have all of the answers. They also know that I’ve created successful businesses, despite the challenges.

I have tried hard to normalize fear, failure, impostor syndrome, insecurity, self doubt, etc.

I try as hard as I can not to come across like other influencers and business coaches, who basically create a facade on social media that being an entrepreneur is just sitting on the beach, sipping Mai-Tais.

By being real, and being vulnerable, and owning my own mistakes, people trust that I have their best interests at mind.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.allthingspractice.com/ https://resilientmindcounseling.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/allthingsprivatepractice
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pat.casale www.facebook.com/groups/privatepracticebuilding/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickcasale-privatepracticestrategist
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AllThingsPrivatePractice/featured
• Other: https://www.allthingspractice.com/all-things-private-practice-podcast