00:00:00 – Linzy Bonham
I’m curious, your perspective on frugality and faith and Christianity. Do you see these things being connected? Is that only in certain areas of the church?
00:00:13 – Whitney Owens
I think that’s totally like that. Like, you feel like you have to be that way. And just this whole cultural idea of a pastor’s wife. Yeah. It’s like, oh, I have to hand make my own dresses for my girls, you know?
00:00:21 – Linzy Bonham
Totally, totally.
00:00:24 – Whitney Owens
I have to fit into this mold. I have to take the casseroles. I mean, it’s so much of a mold. Right. And I was worried about being a pastor’s wife for that reason. And then being a therapist, it was like, oh, so you can give me free advice at church, or, you know, you can see me at a discounted rate because your husband’s a pastor and that’s how you live your life.
00:00:39 – Linzy Bonham
Welcome to Money Skills for Therapists, the podcast that helps therapists and health practitioners in private practice go from money confusion and shame to calm clarity and confidence with their finances. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by numbers or avoided looking at your business money, you’re in the right place. Hi, I’m Linzy Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. Before we jump in, check out my Free On-Demand masterclass. You’ll find the link in the show notes or at moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. It’s the best first step to finally feeling empowered with money in your private practice. Let’s get started.
Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Today’s guest is Whitney Owens. Whitney is a counselor, a group practice owner, and she is a faith-based practice consultant. Today, Whitney and I dig into a topic I haven’t, touched at all yet on this podcast, which is faith and money. Faith is a big part of our relationships to money. It’s one of the spaces that we receive messages about money, whether that’s when you’re growing up or with your, your current community. And today Whitney and I get into how she reconciles her Christian faith with charging premium fees. Being successful group practice owners, we talk about guilt in terms of being financially successful and also being a Christian. We talk about messages about frugality, specifically in Christianity, and noticing some of the differences between, you know, being a pastor and being a self-employed person. What is different about those things? And then we also get into some of the practical systems that have allowed Whitney to be so successful in her group practice therapy business and also in her consulting. Here is my conversation with Whitney Owens. So, Whitney, welcome to the podcast!
00:02:44 – Whitney Owens
So glad to be on the show.
00:02:46 – Linzy Bonham
I am so excited to have you here. I’m so excited for the topic that we’ve talked about talking about today. We’ll see where the conversation goes, but I think this is a really rich topic and this is something I haven’t touched yet on this podcast, which is also really exciting. We get to talk about something new and turn something over from a new angle. So, Whitney before we dive in too much, can you tell folks just a little bit about who you are and what you do.
00:03:13 – Whitney Owens
Yes. So I’m located in Savannah, Georgia. Most people can tell by my southern accent. It is on the coast of Georgia, which I love. So I’m near the beach. But I have a group practice here, Waters Edge Counseling. We are private pay, 17 therapists, just opened our second location in February. So doing that, having the itch for buildings and more locations, that’s been fun. And then in addition to running my practice, I also am a business consultant that specializes in faith-based practices. So those are people that would say Christianity is a part of my values, overt or not in the way they market their practice, but it definitely influences who they are and the way they run their business. That could be solo or group practice owner. When I’m not working, I am with my husband, he’s actually a pastor. And I have two children, two girls, ages 9 and 12. And I love to read, travel, I love singing. I am in a local choir and gosh, we gotta have fun stuff that we’re doing outside of work because it makes us come alive, right?
00:04:11 – Linzy Bonham
Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. I had heard a phrase years ago, which is that we have to make sure that our lives are more compelling than our work. And that’s what I think of when you describe that. Like travel, singing, you know, like ways that we come alive because it’s easy to get absorbed into the work that we do do and have lives that are a bit flat and, you know, two dimensional. And I’m, I’m hearing.
00:04:33 – Whitney Owens
Working on it.
00:04:40 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Yeah. So digging in then to faith and money. You know, this is something that I’ve I’ve had come up with my students over the years, not surprisingly, as they’re working through their beliefs around money. Right. Like so, so many of the beliefs that we have around money can come from our faith community, come from, you know, what we witnessed growing up or what we experienced and maybe sometimes even beliefs that folks don’t want to hold anymore, but that are really, you know, have shaped how, how they think about money and the world. So I’m curious for you. I know that you are a premium fee therapist, you run a group practice, you know how to business. You’re not new here. For you, how do you reconcile, you know, charging premium fees, running a group practice, building wealth with your values as a Christian?
00:05:26 – Whitney Owens
Well, this is, this is packed, right? Because we have the Idea of, well, charging our fees, Faith or not, that’s a whole thing, right? And then faith just makes it more complicated. I think therapists that have that Christian background feel a lot more guilt because to us, it’s like, this is our calling. This is our mission. This is how we feel like God’s put this in our heart to do this work. And so then when we charge for it, we feel guilty because, look, missionaries don’t charge. Pastors. Hey, my husband’s a pastor. They make. They make some money, but it’s not like they’re rolling in it. You know what I mean? And so then we feel like we have to do the same. But the thing is, we’re not set up the same, you know, we’re not like, my husband’s a part of denomination. He’s got that extra support. That’s how he’s paid. Like, I don’t have that set up, you know? So I’ve got to find something that’s sustainable. I think something that was said to me, actually, this was said by Mike Michalowicz when he came on my podcast. I love him. And he said, you know, Whitney, when you don’t charge your full fee, do you think about that during the session? Like, are you thinking about your stress about money or which clients are paying full fee? Which ones aren’t? You know? And I was like, well, yeah. And he was like, so you’re not fully invested the way you could be, you know, if you were charging your fees appropriately? I was like, well, yeah. And so just this idea that, like, when we don’t charge our full fees, we don’t feel good about ourselves. We are overwhelmed because we have to see more clients. So. So it’s the idea that we’re actually serving our clients by serving ourselves. It’s like circular, right? Cyclical.
00:07:04 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah, Because if the purpose of therapy is to give really good support and. And show up really well for our clients and really help them heal and really help them be with those painful things they haven’t been able to be with previously. Right? Their. Their traumas and experiences, we need to make sure that we’re actually doing that to the best.
00:07:25 – Whitney Owens
You know, it’s so interesting. I have found that clients that pay more for therapy are more invested. As weird as it sounds, when a therapist charges a higher rate or their full rate. They’re actually serving the client because the client is more invested. So when I first went cash pay, it wasn’t like I planned all this. I was working at another practice, was taking insurance. I was in the process of getting my hours. This lady fired us all in one day. That’s a whole nother podcast episode. But fired all the therapists on the same day. We all got together and started our own practice within a week. It was crazy, but because I started my own, I couldn’t take insurance anymore because we were credentialed under her practice. So then we had to go cash pay. Well, when I called my clients, I was like, look, I can’t take your Humana or whatever, but I can give you your co. Pay can be what you pay me. I was an associate, so I was doing sessions for like 40, $60. I mean, this was way back, but still. And then my full rate was 80. And the people that paid 80 consistently showed up and got better. And the clients who were paying 40 and 60 just, like, weren’t really there. You know, they would miss sessions, they wouldn’t do the homework. And so as I’ve grown in the profession and I keep raising my rates, I’m finding that the clients that come in are just more focused and working harder in their treatment.
00:08:49 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah, they’re literally invested in their treatment. Yeah, yeah. And I have to say these. These numbers that you’re describing, how long ago was this that you went out like that? You lost that job and had to step into cash pay?
00:09:05 – Whitney Owens
It was probably around 2012, 2013. I was in Colorado then, actually.
00:09:10 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Because I’m like, these numbers are so low. And even then, the difference made, like, showed up the difference between 40 and 80.
00:09:20 – Whitney Owens
Totally, totally. And then I came to Savannah and started my practice here because I couldn’t find a job, so might as well start a practice. And I think I started out charging a hundred, but was sliding down to 80 to get clients, you know, and then I was overwhelmed and trying to see as many clients as I could just to make the bills. Like, I didn’t want a full-time caseload because I had children. And so I needed to see about 15 to 18 a week. Well, seeing 15 to 18 a week, charging a hundred dollars and then covering all my expenses, my marketing and all that stuff, I think I made like, I don’t know, 36,000 my first year. And I’m like, what? Like that’s what somebody makes with a high school degree and like, you know, this isn’t. This is not working. Like, I got to do something different. And my coach was like, look, what if you charged 125? And I was like, that’s, you know, like, that’s so awful. And he said, well, you’re full anyway, so what you got to lose? Like, next person that calls, charge 125. See what happens. Well, of course the next person that calls was a mother. I had seen her daughter, and she wanted me to see the other daughter. So then I was like, oh, my gosh, this is so manipulative, because she knows I’m good, blah, blah. But anyway, charged the 125. She didn’t bat an eye. You know, just. It was totally fine. And it just kind of went on from there. I know.
00:10:34 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And I love the point that you made about the difference between, you know, being a pastor and having your own business. Right. Being a pastor. The way that I would think about it from somebody kind of outside of the faith is like you’re plugged into a bigger institution, right? Like, there’s a bigger machine there that’s managing money and collecting money and distributing money. So you don’t even actually have to think about that as part of your job. You know, you’re just showing up and serving because the money’s going to be there. When we work for ourselves, we’re in a very different position when it comes to the money. So it almost. It almost feels like a little bit of a false comparison, like an apples to oranges to even compare. But I do and have heard that. I’ve had a few students who are married to pastors over the years, and what I have noticed is there is a certain frugality with being a pastor, too. Like, you’re guaranteed an income, but it’s still a low income that also kind of shapes this idea about money. So I’m curious, your perspective on frugality and faith and Christianity. Do you see these things being connected? Is that only in certain areas of the church?
00:11:40 – Whitney Owens
I think that’s totally like that. Like, you feel like you have to be that way. And just this whole cultural idea of a pastor’s wife. Yeah. It’s like, oh, I have to hand make my own dresses for my girls, you know?
00:11:51 – Linzy Bonham
Totally, totally.
00:11:52 – Whitney Owens
I have to fit into this mold. I have to take the casseroles. I mean, it’s so much of a mold. Right. And I was worried about being a pastor’s wife for that reason. And then Being a therapist, it was like, oh, so you can give me free advice at church, or, you know, you can see me at a discounted rate because your husband’s a pastor and that’s how you live your life. And. No, no, I can’t do that. You know, and actually, I’m gonna go so far as to say I can’t do that because I’ve got to make sure our family has the money we need. Like, my husband definitely makes some money to live off of, but it’s my salary that allows us to do anything extra, you know, allows us to go out to dinner, things like that, you know, so we’re not stressed all the time, you know, and so I, in a way, like my business and my work serves the church. So he can keep doing his job, you know, it doesn’t make as much. He’s in a smaller church right now, trying to get it growing. So we can take that risk because I have my business. So I think that brings up this really important point of by making more money, I can serve more people, right? And that could be giving to nonprofits in the area. I’m going to fundraisers as a practice to be able to support things that I care about that align with our values as a practice, but also my own values. I can offer some sliding scales. You know, I can pay my therapists more than if they were over at some agency work. That way they can enjoy their lives more, care for their families, you know. So again, it goes back into this, you know, cyclical experience of by the practice, making more money. I’m taking care of my therapist. They’re taking care of their clients. We’re taking care of the community. And if I was struggling to meet payroll, like, that would be terrible, you know, and then they wouldn’t be paid enough. And it wouldn’t. It wouldn’t go well. They wouldn’t be happy. They would be tired. They’d be overwhelmed. But I’m able to say, hey, you only have to see six clients a day because we charge enough to make it that way. But the practice down the street, they have to see eight clients a day to be able to make ends meet.
00:14:03 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Well, I mean, what I’m hearing is, by you, and I don’t know what the word is, it’s like, I don’t know if it’s that you’ve made peace with money or you have accepted that money is part of life, like, we can’t get by without it. But I’m hearing that the work that you’ve done around money allows you to support your husband, which allows him to support more. More people in a way that actually his church salary.
00:14:24 – Whitney Owens
That’s right.
00:14:26 – Linzy Bonham
Not right. And so you’re allowing him to be a more healthy, you know, expansive, happier version of himself. And, you know, I am curious, Whitney, and I’m asking this as someone, you know, a few steps from you. My grandmother was very involved in the church, but I have not been. And so I’ve kind of seen, you know, her world and her life and what the church meant to her. And my grandfather. My grandfather went to the same church from, like, 4 years old till 90 when he passed away. The frugality piece, like, what is that about, like, frugality and ministry? And is there an expectation that folks like Christians should also be frugal? Is frugal good in general, or is that more about folks who are actually just leading the church? There’s a value of frugality. How do these things fit together?
00:15:07 – Whitney Owens
I do think that people sometimes feel like they have to be meek. Right. In need. And I. When I think of those terms, I think that’s more of a heart condition. I think you can have. I think you can have money and still be humble. I think you can have money and still be of the meek, of the poor in spirit. I mean, you know, I’m going. I’m referring the attitudes here, but it’s not just about that financial dollar. It’s about your spirit and how your spirit tends to that money. I also, I just had coffee with somebody right before I came here, and we were talking about just pastors that aren’t good, doing bad stuff. Right. Grooming up women and affairs and all this. Somebody was like, so, yeah. What do you think happened to this guy that was so successful as a pastor? And I said, did he buy a plane? You know, because it’s just like, there’s also this. The opposite is also true, that there are some Christians out there that are just making so much money excessively, and these mega churches and what that means and people building themselves up, and that’s sick too, you know? So do you think some people are like, I can’t be that. So they go to this other extreme of, well, I shouldn’t make any money. Well, that’s. That’s not good either. So.
00:16:28 – Linzy Bonham
No. Yeah. There’s two extremes there, neither of which is a healthy relationship with money. Yeah. Because the word that’s coming up for me right now is stewardship of, like, being a good steward. For your money. You know, money is power in this world. It allows us to take care of others. It allows us to express our values. But there’s a, you know, a responsibleness there that we can have, or there’s a warmer word I’m looking for there. I don’t know if it’s like, gratitude or, you know, being connected to something bigger that can allow us to use our money in really beautiful, powerful ways. And then at the same time, money can also be used to hurt, abuse. Right. Like, to just build up our own egos. You know, there’s all this potential there. But, yeah, like, does the idea of stewardship resonate with you, or is there another word you would use for.
00:17:14 – Whitney Owens
You know, I love that word. I love that word. And as a group practice owner, the most that I think about is how I care for my team, you know, and as I’m hearing you talk, I’m thinking, how can I allow them to have a job they love and get paid a compensation that works for them, that they feel good about, and how can we create that culture together?
00:17:34 – Linzy Bonham
Yes. Yeah. There’s a lot of responsibility there that you have as a leader.
00:17:40 – Whitney Owens
Yep.
00:17:41 – Linzy Bonham
So I am curious. You know the guilt piece. You mentioned guilt at the beginning, does guilt still come up for you? Sometimes. When it comes to, you know, charging your fee or. Or being financially successful, do you ever feel guilty?
00:17:51 – Whitney Owens
Yeah. So I was thinking about this as we were preparing. I was thinking about the interview because, Linzy, you and I got to hang out in Orlando back in March, and I just really enjoyed our time together. You had so many great things to say about money. And one of the things we discussed, we were like, well, how’s your group practice? How’s the money? And I was so embarrassed. Remember that? I was like, you were. I don’t want to tell you how much money I make. And I have the issue of. I feel so guilty some of how much money I make, and I don’t even. I’m still kind of, like, processing and dealing with that still. But, yeah, when my accountant calls me and says, hey, here’s the amount, I’m like, what? Like, it’s this amount that I’m like, I don’t even know how to put my mind around that. And then I feel guilty about that. So then I just kind of, like, separate myself from it. I’m like, whatever, we’re fine. Move on.
00:18:43 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Yeah. You ran away. Diane. Who coaches with me? Diane and Whitney and I were hanging out in my hotel room chatting, and then I Asked Whitney one of those questions that would be very rude if I wasn’t who I am. Or maybe it is rude, but I still asked. I asked, you know, I asked you, how much, how much do you make? Like, what. What did you get paid from your group practice? And you said, uh, I have to go to the washroom, and ran away. And Diane and I had a little laugh, which you could hear. We were like, oh, she’s running away. Okay, bye, Whitney. And then you came back and told us. So you. You literally, you fled with embarrassment. So. Yeah, so there, there is a. You know, I can saw, witnessed and hear that there can be. There’s still some. Some reconciling to do or.
00:19:27 – Whitney Owens
Yeah, it’s been interesting. This is timely. We’re working on implementing EOS. Are you familiar with.
00:19:38 – Linzy Bonham
Okay, I learned about this last night at a networking.
00:19:45 – Whitney Owens
Maybe there’s something happening in the spiritual for you. So. Yeah. So EOS is an entrepreneur operating system. It’s from the book Traction. If people are interested in learning more and there’s like a whole EOS library of books, but it’s just a framework for how to better run your business. And when you get to a certain point, they actually recommend. When you hit about the $2 million mark is when people start to really struggle with the owners just has so much responsibility and all that kind of stuff. So anyway, so I actually recently hired a fractional integrator talking about expensive. But I was like, hey, I got the money, come on. So I hired the fractional integrator to help me kind of start implementing EOS. And one of the concepts of it is you’ve got let people into your money. Linzy, I’ve never showed anyone the bank statements other than my accountant. You know what I mean? And so I sat down with my soon to be integrator who’s like employed at the practice. And I was like, look, I’m about to let you under the hood and I’m freaking out about it. Like, now I’m gonna have this extra accountability. Someone’s gonna see how much money is in there, and I’m nervous about what they’re gonna think about it or judge me for it. And so I’m constantly like, well, I spend money on all these things. Almost like I’m trying to justify and I don’t have to, but I do it, you know, so this is going to be good for me, you know, I’m trusting people, and if you want to grow, you’ve got to.
00:21:06 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. And I am curious, like, thinking about faith, too. If faith is part of this, and maybe it’s not, what do you think is some of the content of that embarrassment for you? Like, what is. What are the fears about the fact that you have been so financially successful?
00:21:17 – Whitney Owens
Well, I’m worried that they’re going to think I need to pay them more. Right. Like, and. And to me, I’m very conservative with money because I didn’t. I’ve seen so many practices. I’m sure you’ve seen this so many times, Linzy. So many people who are taking out loans to meet payroll. I. People I would never think would have had to have done that, are doing it consistently, or people who are like, I have 10 therapists, and I make less than I did when I was a solo practice owner all the time. Now, the clinicians aren’t going to understand that, see that they don’t know what you’re spending all that money on. So that’s the thing that worries me, is that I’m going to, like, all of a sudden make all these decisions, and then I’m going to have no money, and then I have to go back to, like, this is crazy. Like, I’m fine. Like, it’s. This is not what it is. So I guess it’s that fear of not having enough, you know? And maybe that does tie into what we were talking about earlier. Like, So when I went through college, I was a missionary for three years at the University of Georgia campus, where I raised funds to be able to stay and mentor students and do ministry. Oh, my gosh. I mean, you just never knew when your next check was coming. I mean, I remember sitting and praying, I need a check. I can’t pay my taxes, and they’re due next week. Of course, things would always work out. The check would come at the right last minute, you know, and it would be everything I needed. But, like, that’s how I started my life as an adult was, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to pay my bills, and I’m sharing a room with somebody, and I’m 25 years old, not sharing a house, sharing a room. And so I think I started at that place. I remember. I remember being like, I can’t go to Chick Fil A. It’s too expensive. And so I do think, like, I don’t feel it. But on my logical mind as a therapist, the things I know, there’s probably a connection there for how I think about it now.
00:22:55 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. I mean, where you’ve gotten to. I’m sure you never could have imagined when you were sharing a bedroom and not able to go to Chick Fil A. Yeah.
00:23:05 – Whitney Owens
Fortunately, I had a friend that paid for my Chick Fil A life, so. So.
00:23:07 – Linzy Bonham
Oh, that’s nice.
00:23:10 – Whitney Owens
I know. Friends I know. Yeah. Indebted to her. So then later, when we needed to go on a girls trip and her husband had lost his job, I was like, girl, I got you. I can pay for your way. And, you know, so it was. It was a really healing moment for me, actually.
00:23:23 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah, absolutely. I. I think about money as a resource that’s.
00:23:24 – Whitney Owens
Right.
00:23:25- Linzy Bonham
To be shared. Right. And I think about this especially in. In family, you know, where in my family, one side of our family is much more financially resourced than the other side of the family. And sometimes I see us as a conduit, just flowing that resource between the two sides because it’s like, there’s more than enough here. Right. If we distribute this well, if we. If we’re good stewards for this money, it’s like we can all be happier and healthier for it. So, yeah, I. I do really think about money of that way, that nice flow. Yeah. Between friends and people that, you know, our loved ones. So, I am curious for you, Whitney, thinking about the practical side of money, like, what practical systems have you implemented in your business that have helped you feel grounded about money and. And make these. These great decisions that you’re making that have gone.
00:24:12 – Whitney Owens
Yeah. Well, I’m going to call out Julie Herres’ book Profit Frst for Therapists. Great book. And, you know, we talked about Mike Michalowitz earlier, so the Profit First, I know you talk about it a lot on your podcast. So once I started implementing Profit first, that was Game Changer, where I was like, oh, I am doing better than I realized because I started putting the money in the accounts and I was like, oh, look at all this extra I have. Like, this is great. And that was when I was able to start implementing health insurance and retirement for my team, because for a long time I was like, I don’t think I have enough money to do that. And then Julie’s team was like, yeah, you do. I was like, okay. So I’ve been doing profit first ever since, and that has given me so much confidence in where I’m at and what I’m doing. So I would say that is number one. Another thing that I have done is buy the building. So I purchased. It’s a long story. And I have a whole podcast on my Wise Practice podcast. And Did a whole episode about my journey of buying this building and the faith part of it, of God directing me into it. But it was an 18 month project from the time I put the, put the offer into the time that it got completely renovated and ready to go. But that’s been great. That taught me a lot about investment, a lot about retirement, and I’m really happy to be paying myself rent. So that’s been really great. You know, something else that’s coming up for me as we’re kind of talking about this is this, going back to calling. The idea that’s coming up for me here is that Water’s Edge counseling doing great, you know, and that’s what I can rely on for my income. But the consulting business, I mean the consulting business is, is great. It’s just a newer business. And so it makes money in a very different kind of way. And I don’t have like a lot of people working for me, just a couple. But the point is I do that work more because I love it, what I make, you know, I mean, it’s, it’s something. But I could make a lot more money if I just kept focusing on Water’s Edge and growing that I do the consulting because I love it. I love what I do. I love seeing practices grow. I get to do stuff like this with you, Linzy. Like, this is so much fun and brings me so much energy and passion. And like, even looking at the summit, it’s like, well, yeah, I do make some money off the summit, but I could run a mastermind group for six months and make more than I make off that summit. Like, you know, so it’s, it’s a hard, it’s a hard thing to figure out because we can’t judge everything on money. But then sometimes people are like, well, you should look at how much you make. Is it worth what you make? So it’s hard for me to find that balance of how much should I be looking at money and how much should I just be looking at how much I love something. And then for me, again, I feel called to do consulting. Like, I feel like the Lord made that clear and I ran away from it for a long time. And the summit is something that I just see God’s hand in it. I just can’t walk away from that, even if I’m not making that much money, because it’s so life giving for me and other people.
00:27:01 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah, well. And I think one of the beautiful things about where you’re at is you have built a machine with a group practice. And that’s the language that I like to use when I’m working with folks. Like, there’s a machine there and it takes building and sometimes you have to tweak it and you’re like, oh, this was all wrong. Oh, shoot. I have to have all these hard conversations. Like, it’s rarely a smooth path to build a successful group practice, but once you do, like, that’s your bread and butter. But then you can also go have fun, right? Like, you don’t actually have to make money off of the consulting and the summit. I think you will. Right. But there’s also this piece of meaning, right? Like, I have a good friend who’s very financially successful and basically has it made. He’s 30 years old. He could basically just stop working at this point. But, you know, he kind of chased that dream of, like, retiring early and then he could do that now, but he’s like, but I don’t. That’s not satisfying. Like, what is life really about? Right? Like, what actually fills your cup? And it’s been interesting over the last few years to watch him trying all these different things because he has the money and the means to, you know, try living, you know, in different places and living the kind of expat, fun lifestyle. And it’s like, that’s not satisfying. And, you know, and we were just talking the other day about how at the end of the day, a lot of life is just about, you know, like, being with your people, taking care of your people, doing the stuff that you love. And this is what I’m hearing is, you know, this is part of you serving your people.
00:28:20 – Whitney Owens
That’s right. Yeah, definitely a way that I’m serving my people. And Water’s Edge allows me to do that, and it lets me do fun things. Like, that’s how I went to the ACA conference and was able to speak. Like, the consulting is my platform to be able to do fun things that I. I personally need in my life because it makes me a better therapist. And they do. They truly do feed each other as well. So, you know, that’s important too. I think there’s also something to be said for, like, we use our money. This is something I’m learning right now to create our team. Right. And so, like, for the next conference, which, I’ll tell you, I hate working with the hotels. It’s the worst. Negotiating. Oh, yeah. So now I hired somebody to do that. So this year, she gonna get all that together for me. And I’m like, wow. Like, that’s what I spend my money on. Things that allow me to move the needle forward and things that I love. And I don’t have to feel guilty that I made enough money to do that, you know, because it actually allows me to do more of good, Good. God’s good work in the world. Because I’m not focused on this hotel thing. Right. And so I see so many therapists, or just people in general, they don’t want to invest their money because they’re scared. Well, when you’re not investing your money, you’re actually not doing more of the mission that God put on your heart, and you become the bottleneck for ministry. If you say that your work is ministry, you’re getting in the way of that. You could be doing so much more by putting your money into the marketing services you need or into business consulting or into someone helping answer the phones, whatever that is. You can extend your hand more in the world by having these things. You need the money to do it, so you better charge enough so you can do those things, and then you’re actually doing the mission better.
00:30:10 – Linzy Bonham
Yeah. Right. You’re really expanding your reach. Yeah, yeah, because there’s. There’s people who need what you do, whatever that is. Right. And. And this. This is something that I talk about with. With marketing stuff too. But, like, when we’re not really putting ourselves out there, the people who really need us are not able to find us or we’re not able to serve them because we’re busy doing something that we Hate like negotiating with a hotel instead of offering an amazing workshop or opening up another spot on our calendar. Right. So there, there is a kind of like a blunting there of potential or dampening of your gift when we’re spending all this time doing things that are really not our unique contribution.
00:30:43 – Whitney Owens
Oh yeah, yeah. My marketing specialist and I were just talking the other day. She’s like, what are we doing with your social media? And I was like, well, we are trying to reach as many faith-based practice owners as possible so that they don’t feel alone in the work they do and then they can find community and someone to help them be successful. That’s what we’re doing. But if I didn’t have the money to pay her, that wouldn’t be happening.
00:31:07 – Linzy Bonham
No. Yeah. Whitney, thank you.
00:31:08 – Whitney Owens
Oh, I love it.
00:31:09 – Linzy Bonham
I have so enjoyed this conversation. For folks who are listening who want to get further into your world, can you tell us about where to find you? Some of the great things you do.
00:31:17 – Whitney Owens
Yes. So you can head to wisepracticeconsulting.com I do have a podcast. You were a guest not too long ago. So that’s the Wise Practice podcast. But yeah, you can head to my website. I’ve got a free PDF for ways to market and network with churches. If you’re a faith based therapist or not. It’s helpful because it’s hard to know how do we talk to pastors. So you can grab that. There’s just a bunch of other. We have a membership community for faith based practice owners and then we host a summit every year that I’ve been talking about. We usually do that in the fall, the Wise Practice Summit. So yeah, check it out.
00:31:52 – Linzy Bonham
I really appreciate Whitney coming on the podcast today to, to share her experiences and her, her growth over time too, with her relationship to money. As a, as a Christian, I really like the idea that we dug into about taking care of money and what you can do with money. And you know, we can always see these extremes, I think, in, in all sorts of different types of communities that we’re part of and in ways of looking at the world of extreme ways to be with money. Right? Like, we can be extremely frugal and self sacrificing, or we can be extremely kind of consumptive and flashy when it comes to money. And generally speaking in life, my default is that the truth is somewhere in the middle. You know, the balance is somewhere in the middle. And money is a tool. So when we can manage that tool from grounded, loving, values, aligned places, whatever those values are for you, then you can use that tool to do good things in the world. And I just love this idea of really connecting with the potential that money brings to our lives. So I so appreciate Whitney coming on the podcast today. You can check out the links in the show notes to get further into her world.
So, Thanks so much for joining me today. I’m Linzy Bonham, therapist turned money coach and creator of Money Skills for Therapists. If you’re ready to go. From any confusion and shame to feeling clear and empowered, My Free On-Demand Masterclass is the best place to start. You’ll learn my four-step framework to get your private practice finances finally working for you. Register today using the link in the show notes or go to moneynutsandbolts.com under masterclass. I look forward to supporting you.
