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Well, I'm really lucky because my start up is very minimal. I'm renting a space in a professional office building and all I have to pay is rent, phone, and secretarial services. I had most of the "stuff" I need, so my start up was probably less than $5K. I'm doing very little in the line of advertising because I'm listed on Psychology Today and that has been bringing in many referrals.
My problem is that I"m a bleeding heart and if someone doesn't have the ability to pay, I'll see them for what little they can aford. I figure that I need to bring in about $45/hour to cover rent, expenses, childcare, and enough to make it worthwhile to go to work.
I have a budget that I'm trying to stick to. I'm trying very hard not to buy beyond my budget, but I'd love to go out and buy a bunch of psych testing stuff, a couple of cozy chairs, a cozy couch, a coffee table, and a fish tank.
I'm finding that my biggest problem is not valuing my time and that of my family. I need to become a bit more rigid about expecting people make their payment and being okay about referring those who cannot pay to the community mental health center with the exception of 1-3 clients which I could keep on a pro-bono basis.
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