In a graduate school business class, years ago, I studied “entrepreneurship.” This was about creating a business and selling products. At the time, I was a computer business consultant in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. I was considering starting my own computer consulting business and took this class to see entrepreneurship in the consulting business might be a good avenue for me.

Our first assignment was to break into groups and (on paper) create a new company and that company’s first product line. We had to come up with a “brand” and figure out how to manufacture, market, sell and distribute our company’s product line.

This was in the 1980s – nearly 30 years ago and a visible part of our culture were young people called “yuppies.” Yuppie was short for “young urban professional” or “young upwardly mobile professional.” Some people called them DINKs for “double income, no kids.” These singles and married couples in their twenties and thirties were bright, on the go people with much disposable income. The “yuppie” lifestyle was about having money, nice things and a lot of time to enjoy their life or career.

What my study group and I knew was that yuppies were a great target market. They had a lot of disposable income and were happy to spend that money on items of convenience.

My group designed a line of disposable, designer-looking, paper products. We called them “Yup-cups, yup-plates and yup-towels.” I lead the product design, branding, and marketing part of the project and loved it. Luckily others loved creating the manufacturing and distribution plans because when it came to those topics, I lost interest.

To this day, I can’t remember what grade I got in the class. Because the next 10 years of my career were shaped and changed by a different class assignment.

We were asked to take an “Are You an Entrepreneur?” assessment quiz. A high score on this test suggested that you will be successful and an entrepreneur. My score was very low and the comment was” Stay working for someone else. You do not have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.”

Whoa, I felt sad. I wanted to work for myself – choose my own hours and have that computer consulting business with clients I wanted to work with.

On the other hand, it somehow felt right. The idea of manufacturing and distribution and managing a hundred or a thousand people didn’t seem like my cup of tea. I took it as a sign that I would not be successful as an entrepreneur. I stopped dreaming of my own consulting business.

It took me about ten years of working for others (and deep soul searching) to understand. Then I got it! I was never going to enjoy owning a business that included a lot of manufacturing with dozens of people working for me. But creating a small business (a micro-business) with 10 or less employees (or even just me!) appealed to me. I wasn’t interested in creating a product driven business. I wanted to provide service to people – to have a service business.

Since then I have started three successful micro-businesses – including the computer consulting business, my therapy practice and my online coaching and training organization.

The moral of the story? Therapists in or who want to be in private practice are entrepreneurial by nature.

They love providing a service to others. They love to work for themselves, set their own schedule and choose their clients. I see this type of therapist as a specific kind of entrepreneur – you a “thera-preneur.” They do work they love with clients they adore and get paid for their service.

The Classic Private Practitioner is one example of thera-preneur.” It is a lovely model and one I have owned for 15 years and taught about for the last seven years. Most therapists start with the Classic Private Practitioner model. Most enjoy serving their clients this way for their entire career. It is wonderful to see how many of you have embraced this model so successfully!

As I have watched this warm, community of therapy-business owners, I notice that some therapists have decided to use their therapy skills and time in other ways to suit their passions and lifestyle. This is what is so nice about the service-driven business model. It is flexible in that you can design your business exactly as you want it. You can work in a way that serves you as well as your clients.

Many therapists added teaching, training, or coaching to their menu of services. Others added more clinicians to their practice and earned more income. Others decided to write books and gain instant credibility. Some decided to take up an important cause or issue and became the go-to person in their area. There are so many ways you can design your therapy-business in ways that support you, your family, your lifestyle, and your clients.

As I look back, I think that entrepreneurial assessment test wasn’t scored right for service-oriented entrepreneurs like therapists. Because therapy-business owners are entrepreneurs and a wonderful type of entrepreneur: “thera-preneurs.” They are very creative professionals. They are able to design how they deliver services and run their businesses to suit their passions, energy, business and lifestyle goals.

Not much has been said or written about all the options for running a therapy-business. I think you should have this information. That is why I am talking and writing about it now.

What do you think? Have you felt like an entrepreneur?

Are you interested in adding other services or products to your menu of services? If so, what would that look like?

Are you curious or have you thoughts about other ways you could use your therapy skills that would leverage your time – meaning make money beyond the “seat in the chair” therapy hours?

I would love to hear your comments, please leave them below. As you know I read and treasure every comment.

Finally, I am happy to be a part of this fabulous community of “thera-preneurs.” Thanks for the joy you bring into my life and into the world.

May you have the life and business you really want!