323: The 7 pillars ALL business owners need to sustain a business they love (and loves them back) | Wendy Pitts Reeves

Do you actually have the foundations in place to sustain your business… or are you just building as you go?

Because here’s the thing — a lot of business owners wear many hats… but skip the pieces that actually make a business work long-term.

In this episode, I’m joined by Wendy Pitts Reeves, therapist turned entrepreneur with 25+ years of experience, to break down the 7 pillars every business owner needs to build a business they love… and that loves them back.

We’re talking purpose beyond your service, getting clear on who you actually want to work with, why your pricing might be holding you back, and the real reason your marketing isn’t landing.

If you feel like you’re working hard in your business but something feels off… this episode will help you spot exactly where the gaps are.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share this on your Instagram stories and tag us @contentqueenmariah.

⁠⁠⁠⁠LEARN THE DETAILS OF A CONTENT STRATEGY WITH MY FREE AUDIO GUIDE⁠⁠⁠⁠

KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS 👇

✨ The 7 core pillars every business needs to be sustainable and profitable

✨ Why your purpose as a business owner is different to what you actually do

✨ How unclear messaging and audience confusion impacts your marketing

✨ Why pricing and money mindset are the biggest blockers for most business owners

✨ The real reason your marketing isn’t working (and how to fix it)

✨ Why systems and processes are key to building a business that doesn’t burn you out

✨ How your mindset and perspective shape every result in your business

SHOW RESOURCES 👇

If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @contentqueenmariah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Other than that, enjoy - chat next week 💕

ABOUT THE GUEST 

A therapist-turned-entrepreneur, Wendy is redefining what private practice can look like for healers who want more ease, more income, and way more impact, without selling out or burning out. With 25+ years of clinical and business experience - and an intuitive knack for naming what's really getting in your way she helps smart, soulful healers create practices that are as profitable as they are purposeful. 

She's the founder of C2C Consulting and host of the Ideal PracticeTM podcast, where she brings honest conversations, sharp strategy, and a whole lot of heart to every episode. She's known for making the hard stuff feel doable-and even fun. 

Her real secret? Wendy knows that what holds most of us back isn't what we do - it's how we think. It's the mindset traps and secret fears that keep brilliant therapists playing small. She's here to help you shift all of that. 

From building a thriving group practice to working in public service to launching solo ventures that actually pay the bills, Wendy's been there-and she brings it all to the table for practice owners who don't just want to hustle... 

They want to rise.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

This is episode 323, and we are sharing the seven pillars that all business owners need to sustain a business they love and that loves them back. And I have an amazing guest, Wendy Pitre. Welcome to the Content Queen Podcast. I'm your host, Mariah, entrepreneur storyteller, digital nomad. Creator of Content Bootcamp and founder of Content Queen, with over 10 years experience in marketing, this podcast is here to help you create your ideal content marketing plan, blending storytelling and strategy, and probably now mindset.

So let's get into it. Hello, gang. All right. We are filming back camera and microphone, so we're getting serious and we have. An amazing lineup for you today of seven pillars that all business owners need, and this is for anyone that's done foundational work, a really great take on it. And for anyone that hasn't mind blown, I loved this [00:01:00] interview.

There was so many good points around perspective, around your purpose in terms of why you are running a business, not why you do what you do. Really, really great and Wendy has. A wealth of experience with over 25 years in business. So this is a real, a real treat. So let me introduce, Wendy is a therapist turned entrepreneur.

Wendy is redefining what private practice can look like for healers who want more ease, more income, and away more impact. A therapist turned entrepreneur, Wendy, is redefining what private practice can look like for healers who want more ease, more income, and. Way more impact without selling out or burning out.

With 25 plus years of clinical and business experience and an intuitive knack for naming what's really getting in your way, she helps smart, soulful healers create practices that are profitable as well as purposeful. She's the founder of C two C Consulting [00:02:00] and the host of Ideal Practice Podcast where she brings.

Honest conversations, sharp strategy, and a whole lot of heart. In every episode, she's known for making the hard stuff feel doable and even more fun. So let's hear from Wendy. If you are not in the healing space or private practice, it doesn't matter. This episode is really good. It's just, that's her thing.

That's her niche. But it will work for you, trust me. 

Wendy: Amazing. 

Mariah: Okay. Thank you, Wendy. Welcome to the podcast. I'm, we've spoken in multiple different forums and we've just had a 20 minute conversation about our lives, which I always love. But I'm really happy to have you here on the show. But before we get stuck into the topic we're gonna talk about, I would love for you to share your story, like how did you get to where you are now in business?

Wendy: Thank you, Maria. It's a treat to be here. You were such a delight to talk to. I think, um, we could talk about travel all day long, could we not? Yeah, we could. Um, so I'm a, in, uh, [00:03:00] what in the states we call a, a licensed clinical social worker, which basically means I'm a, a therapist, so a counselor. And have worked in mental health for a very long time, decades upon decades, and I ran a private practice that I grew as a, into a group practice, ran that for 25 years.

We always had 10 to 12 providers. We were the kind of the go-to. Counseling resource in the small town I live in, in the southeast United States. And, um, as part of that practice, as I brought on therapists to join our practice, I would teach them how to get their practice off the ground. Right. I was just, that's just part of what I did.

Like, this is really cool. Let me help you figure out how to get clients and let's get going. And then about 10 years ago now. It dawned on me that that was actually a thing, like that's actually a business. You know, after I had spent thousands upon thousands working with, with coaches myself, so I began offering coaches, uh, coaching for private practice owners or people who want to start a [00:04:00] practice.

They don't have to be psychotherapists. They could be anything in the healing arts. So energy healers, reiki practitioners, yoga teachers, massage therapists, but they tend to be. People who are really, really, really good at what they do and care deeply about their clinical work, and they hate the business side and really struggle with that.

So that's, that's most, so today I still have a small counseling practice. I run just for the fun of it. I sold that group practice a few years ago. Um, so I don't do that anymore, but I still keep a few. A few clients I do coaching with folks across the us. Um, and then I have a podcast just like you, which is how we've met.

You're gonna be, you're gonna be on my show in a, in a, in a few weeks, and that's called Ideal Practice with the, the concept being. Whatever your private practice, your small business looks like for you, what's ideal for you is gonna be different than what it is for somebody else. But in my, in my belief, in my experience, extensive experience, there are certain things that everybody needs to have to make that practice work.

So that's, that's what I teach and that's what I [00:05:00] work with. Yeah. 

Mariah: I love that. And I love that you just spent all this time, you know, doing something. It was like, oh, this could be another business venture. Good 

Wendy: charge for this. Yeah, 

Mariah: it always happens though, right? It's, and that's the best way to find something.

'cause you're obviously really passionate about it and I think, and you're right, and we've spoken about this. It always is like we love what we do, we love providing our service, but then it comes to you generating new clients and selling it and marketing and admin and all the business structures. Yes.

And then we're kind of like, oh my God, this is, it's a lot. Like, that's why they say, you know, some people start their businesses for more freedom and more flexibility, which of course you can have to a degree, but you work like double. It's double my hours. 

Wendy: It's true. Yeah, and people don't know that. They don't realize it.

Like it's not as simple as like, you hang a sign on the door and you put a post a note on Instagram and boom, you're in business. That's not how it works. Yes, it does. It's not for everybody and it, it, it was a surprise to me in the beginning when I first ran into people [00:06:00] who tried this and didn't like it and went.

To working for a hospital or an agency of some sort. I had never planned, this is not what we were gonna talk about, but I'll share. I had never planned to be a business owner at all. That was not my intention. I was going to work in a psychiatric hospital, do a little bit of, um. Teaching I thought I might teach at a local university.

Um, I liked variety, so I had a couple of ideas, but I never, no one in my family had ever owned a business. I knew nothing. I knew nothing about business and didn't care about it. It used to bore me to death when people talk about business, like I didn't care about that. I just wanted to make people, I just wanted make the world a better place.

I just wanted to help people. Right. I just wanted to help people. When life and circumstances rearranged itself in a way where I found myself indeed starting a private practice, which I had never planned to do, I was quite surprised at how much I loved it. I absolutely loved it from the very beginning, even when I was really terrible at it because I loved the.

I [00:07:00] loved the fact that if things went well, it was because I was doing something right. And when things didn't go well, it was up to me to fix it. But I had the control. Not that I'm a control freak, but I really liked the responsibility that came with owning my own practice. And over the years grew into that.

I really, really loved it. Um, not everybody is cut out for this though. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. 

Mariah: Mm-hmm. 

Wendy: Yeah. 

Mariah: Yeah. I totally, totally resonate with that. And I think. Um, you know, we, we all have our like, oh, I'll never do that. Or, and, and I think the fact that you, you had multi passionate, like, oh, maybe I'll teach and maybe I'll do this.

That's very entrepreneurial, right? Because like, yeah, you like to do multiple different things, so even if you didn't know it, the universe knew that's where you were meant to go. But I, I totally relate. So true that I think it's definitely, mm-hmm. It is challenging, but it's a good challenge and I, I love how you frame, like, when something is challenging, it's up to me to fix it and I can problem solve.

Yes. And I think problem solvers love that sort of thing. And like, you [00:08:00] know, even if it is long hours, some days it's actually like, you know, I can do it in my own time, in my own space and, you know, things like that. I, I. Totally resonate, and I'm sure there's so many people listening that are like, yep, that that's me.

And I think our business journeys are always so unique to us, and thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I love that. Yeah. So you, you sort of alluded to these like, yeah, these foundations, right? Like not, you know, when, when we're setting up a business, like cool, I'll just, you know, get, we call in Australia, a BN, our Australian business number, we register with the government and then, you know, you're in business, you have your, I, you know, your number and you can pay your tax and do all those great things.

But we sort of. Forget, there's all these sort of foundations that come with starting a business, and that's something that you, you teach, um, 

Wendy: yeah. 

Mariah: You know, business owners that are sort of, um, looking to start or even scale and build and grow. So you call it your, your seven step framework, and I'm sure you have a nicer name for, it's just what I wrote in my notes.

But can you take us through what these, these foundations in this framework is that helps, you know, [00:09:00] practitioners create these sustainable businesses? 

Wendy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not steps, they're not phases. It's not you do this then that, then that, um, I call it the seven pillars of an ideal practice. Right. Um, and I went round and round and round about what to call it, but it really is like you need all of these things and they all need to be healthy.

They all need to be stable and. Over the course of time, you will find that you work more on one than another. This is going real. I need to, I need to build this one up a little bit, but all of them are critical to a successful small business. Okay? Mm-hmm. Would you like me to give you like a quick overview of what they are?

Mariah: Yeah, we'd 

Wendy: love to. Okay. All right. I'll do that real quick. Um, I can actually talk about each one of these for days. I have taught entire courses around all of these, so there's a lot to it, but this is just a high level, quick overview. So the first one is purpose, and I start with that because. But what we were just talking about, that running a business is not for everyone.

So I believe that when you know your why, you [00:10:00] know why you wanna do this at all, that's gonna help you get through those tough times. And I don't mean the clinical piece, I don't mean why you wanna help people, why you want, I mean, why do you wanna be a business owner? So when you know why you do what you do.

At all. Why you wanna even step into this crazy life and you have a potent and powerful vision for the business that you're building that's gonna help you get through the tough times. It's really, really important. So I start with that. The second thing, okay, I know what I'm doing. I know why I'm doing, I know this.

I know why this matters to me, and I know why this is worth the effort. The second thing is people, so that's who do you serve? I want you to serve people that you love. What I mean by this, when this is a healthy pillar and you've got this nailed and it's interesting 'cause I find this is one of the things people have more trouble with than you would think.

You know your ideal client inside and out. You know what drives them, you know what worries them. Do you know what [00:11:00] serves them, which often may or may not be something that they're aware of, but you know these people inside and out and figuring out who your ideal client is. I spend a lot of coaching time trying to help people with that 'cause they think they know, but they don't.

So a purpose people. The third pillar is the product. Now, for a lot of my people, the product is themselves, right? The service that they provide. But it doesn't have to be. It can be a lot of different things. When your product is healthy and strong, it means that you have an irresistible offer that provides your clients with the resources they need to get the results they most want.

Through a service that just works. Now, that could be one-on-one counseling. It could be an online course, it could be retreats, it could be intensives, it could be physical products. Um. Could be meditation, re uh, uh, tapes or recording. Like there's so many different ways you can do it, but that product helps them get where they wanna go.

That's a really [00:12:00] important piece of that. So, purpose people, product. Uh. Um, and I do put these in order for a reason. They're not really steps, but each of them, like, you kind of need to have this before you have this. This is, they're in terms of importance, so, right. So the fourth one, I call it process.

That's the best one I could come up with. And it's basically the system, the infrastructure of your practice. Okay? When you have this nailed down, what that means is, is you have developed clear and effective habits systems. Boundaries that make life easier for your team, easier for your clients, and easier for you.

It makes a, it creates a business that is more profitable and sustainable and enjoyable, which I really want. 'cause I see people all the time that they're either making good money, but they're killing themselves to do it, or they're killing. Themselves and not making good money, right? We really wanna fix that.

So systems are key. I'm a big, big proponent of that, right? So purpose people, product pillar number four, [00:13:00] process number five. This one trips people up. I call it payment. I kept wanting to call it profit, but it's really so much more than that. It's not profit, it's all the different ways that money flows into and out of your practice.

So when. One of the things I would tell my people is that you have to be doing well to be doing any good. You cannot be broke enough to help somebody else be rich. You can't be sick enough to help somebody else be well, right? So when your practice is financially healthy and strong, that's when you're gonna do the most good.

So when this is solid, when you've got this pillar nailed down, what that means is that you have a healthy pricing structure. And that's a tricky thing and a payment system that accurately reflects the value of what you do, the results that you deliver. And it's easy for your clients to manage, and ultimately it pays your salary, the salary that you want.

That's the profit side of it. Right? So, but it's all of that. I see people trip themselves up in [00:14:00] all kinds of ways around how they get paid. The sixth pillar, and I'm going quick on purpose, and then we can dig into any of these. You want to, the sixth is what I call promotion. Which is that basically your people need you, right?

And if you're the best kept secret, the people who need you are not gonna know you're out there and they're not gonna be able to find you. So when you are, and promotion is your marketing side of things, which makes everybody super squi squirmy in my world. But when this is solid and strong. What it means is that you have a clear and a compelling brand message.

It means that you have identified specific marketing strategies online and off. I think we tend to forget how valuable offline marketing can be, um, that works with your particular strengths. And that you are moving, you're taking action. You're implementing those, and there's a thousand ways you can do this.

And not everything is right for everybody, but when you figure this out, it just rolls and it's, it [00:15:00] becomes a way that the people who most could benefit from the good that you do know you're out there, know how to connect with you, understand the value you bring, and are not, and are less and less afraid to reach out.

If, if you don't make that happen, you're not gonna help anybody. So promotion. And then the last, the seventh pillar, and I put this last on purpose, I call it perspective because your perspective, your mindset is everything. And I know you care about this too, based on our conversation before. I know that's.

Is a big deal to you. I have learned that you can have all the best strategies and tactics in the world, but if your mindset is wonky, you are going to self-sabotage every single time. So when this is solid, when this is healthy, when this is strong, what it means is that. You have a healthy success oriented perspective and you are fully at calls.

I started to say this a minute ago. You are at calls. This is what I'm meant about being responsible for the highs and lows in my practice. You're at calls and you [00:16:00] claim your power to live as the creator of your own life and of your business. That drives everything. It's not about the economy, it's not about the government.

It's not about. Um, clients who don't get it. It's not about any of those things out there. It's about me, who I am and what I bring to the table. And when I see that and I own it, and I claim it, and I come back to it over and over and over again, that's going to guide, that's gonna serve me well through the inevitable highs and lows of running of practice.

Mm. That's the seven pillar, 

Mariah: the 

Wendy: nutshell. 

Mariah: I love them all. I mean, as you said, you could talk about each run for days, and I, I love that you sort of say, you know, yes, you wanna sort of do it in. Like some need the other to kind of move, but I, I like this idea of sort of laying those foundations and then going, oh, where am I at?

You know, in this quarter, in this month. I need a little bit more on here, here and here. Like, where are the holes? 

Wendy: Yes. Mm-hmm. 

Mariah: And I also love what you say about the first one with purpose, because a lot of times, yes, we go like, what [00:17:00] is my mission? What am I here to do? Da, da, da. That is, for me personally, that is very, what I do in my business is very different to why I started my business, the reason why I started my business.

To do what I'm doing right now is live us. Yeah. Travel the world. Right? Like love it or be everywhere. And like that is so not linked to actually what I deliver. I just, that is my skillset and my zone of genius because I've worked in it and I'm creative and I love it. And yes, I have a purpose to help others share their stories.

'cause that's my journalism side. Yeah. But the reason I, I could do that in any job. I can do that for working for someone, da blah. But the reason I'm working in my business for myself is so that I can travel. And I love that. Absolutely. Because I feel like we don't often connect that. 'cause we're always like, yeah, I wanna save the world and which is amazing.

But there's this, and I love that because I often get stuck on that a little bit of like, I know why I like doing what I'm doing here, but I'm also, yeah. This and, and I've gotten lost in that so many times, Wendy, where I've been like [00:18:00] working 12 hour days. 'cause I love what I do, but then I'm like, hang on, I'm not doing the travel that I wanted to do.

Which is reason, reason why. Careful. Careful. Yeah. You know what I mean? So I had to go back. Yeah. 

Wendy: It's very seductive. 

Mariah: Yeah. To that. Right. So I love that. That is a really good shout of like, okay. Yep. We've gotta also remember why we're doing the business thing. Not the service thing. 

Wendy: Why you wanna run a business, not why you wanna be a massage therapist.

Right? Yeah. Or why you wanna be a counselor. I started. Yeah, I told you I had no intention of ever starting a business that was not on my radar at all. I started a practice because we were adopting our first, and I wanted to be home part-time with this sweet little boy that I went to. A lot of trouble to bring home.

Yeah. And I could not find a part-time job that fit my level of experience and expertise. Um, they just weren't out there. I just couldn't find 'em anywhere. They were like full-time, big, big jobs. And I had been at that, at the point that this was happening, I had been running a department at a, um, what's called a residential treatment center for teenagers.

It was really, really, really sick [00:19:00] kids from all over the US who were kind of at the end of the rope and, um, I was the family therapy director of that program. We had those kids for a year or two at a time. It was deep work, important work. Literally saving lives. And I loved the job, but it was way too much for a young mom who had a baby.

She'd been waiting for 10 years to get right. Yeah. So I couldn't come up with anything. I was like, I'm, what am I gonna do? I want to be home with this child. I cannot do this. And I ended up reaching out to a colleague of mine that I respected who was in private practice, and I said, all right, how do I do this?

What do I do? 

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: And once I got into it, what I had learned over time, like that was the original motivation, and it was. Yeah, we'll do anything for our kids in a way, you know, that's, you know, like, but what? It's kind more like where you are. What I learned over time was not only do I love the. Um, the freedom to be creative.

When I ran into certain kinds of situations with my clients, I could, I could invent a program, start a group, do a [00:20:00] class, give a talk. I loved being able to just make stuff up and try stuff because I am indeed a serial entrepreneur. So I loved that. But what I have learned over time, and this is both a curse and a blessing, is what matters to me more than anything else, is their freedom to take time off when I want to.

Hmm. I really, really, really, when I wanna go, I wanna go and I don't wanna have to ask somebody for permission. 

Mariah: Yeah. Kill 

Wendy: you. And it doesn't, it like sometimes it's like I probably should stay and work 'cause I could really use the money. Like, Nope, I'm going. 'cause I really wanna go. And that actually matters to me more than anything now.

So I, I can totally relate to your full-time travel. 

Mariah: I love, I was in negative leave when I lived in, worked in corporate because, uh, that's how much I wanted to travel. So I was in minus 20 days when I quit my job because I, oh my, and you know that like, please, can I go to Europe? And like he had a good relationship, 

Wendy: right 

Mariah: boss?

And he is like. Why do you need to go for six weeks? Can you go for five? I'm like, I really wanna go to October Fest. And he was like, okay. But [00:21:00] like, don't tell anyone else that I said yes. 

Wendy: Oh my gosh, Mariah, that is so funny because the first time that this happened, when, uh, when I was in that director job, um.

I wanted to take a month off and go to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Yeah. And, and in our jobs, a typical two weeks is all you ever get. Mm. You may get a few days at holidays, but two, we a two week vacation. That's considered, like, that's what you get. That's, that was pretty standard. And I wanted a month.

If I was gonna go to Europe, I needed a month. Yeah. And I said, well, they, they, they were giving me this promotion. This was a, this was very early in my career. I said, I'll take the job, but only if you agree that I can have a month off next fall to go to October Fest, 

Mariah: Wendy, we live in the same life. 

Wendy: Isn't.

That's so funny. Yeah. I mean, I really wanted to go to the Alps, but you know, October Fest is an Alps, so whatever. Yeah. You go 

Mariah: while you're there. It's, it's a once in a 

Wendy: and I learned to negotiate If, if you want me to take this position, I'll take it, but I need a month. But it was a month without pay. [00:22:00] 

Mariah: Yeah.

Wendy: They were like, you can take it, but we're not. I'm like, I don't care. Just gimme the 

Mariah: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my God, that's, that's Funny's. So funny. I love that. Amazing. Well, let's go back to the foundations and, and the pillars. Sure. And, um, yeah. You know, when we spoke, you spoke about, you know, there's, and you sort of alluded to it in, um, talking about it, but what are the ones that you find your clients really struggle with the most and sort of how do you navigate those?

And I mean, we can break it into the two or Sure. Or however many there are, but what are the ones that you find people just trip up on? And it is a real struggle for them to kind of navigate. 

Wendy: The biggest one is the payment is pillar number five, which is the payment. Um, money is such a loaded issue for my people.

Um, and I had someone tell me that they had referred somebody to my podcast and they said it was a podcast about money. It's not a podcast about money. It's really about all of it. But I got tickled when I heard that. 'cause I thought, well, we do actually talk about it quite a bit because it is such. Such a [00:23:00] stumbling of luck for people.

And so for example, so it's payment and promotion. So the marketing piece, yeah, they either don't do it at all, they do it badly or they do it inconsistently or they do it with their, you know, sort of their shoulders up around their ears apologizing kind of thing. 

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: Um. But the payment stuff, what I have seen people do, I've had, I've done coaching with folks who will tell me, oh, I'm, I'm good with that.

I charge full fee. I've, you know, I'm making decent money. I've got, and when I start poking into it and asking the details, well, how many do clients do you have at full fee? Well, I've got two at this rate and one at this rate, and four at that other rate that I had 10 years ago and one at this really discounted rate.

'cause I really feel sorry for that person. And I'll end up, they'll have like 5, 6, 7, 8 different pricing levels because they don't wanna have this difficult conversation with their clients when they raise their rates. That happens a lot. Um, I have clients who in the US know we have a different system here for how we handle, um, healthcare.

I know that people in in England never know what I'm talking [00:24:00] about when I say this, and I think it's the same in Australia. We have insurance and, um, so, and, and the way that works is that in, in the healthcare. I as a private citizen, pay an insurance company who helps, helps offset the cost of my healthcare.

So if I go see a doctor, insurance will pay part of the bill. I pay part of the bill. So as a therapist, as a re on the receiving end of that, if, if I accept insurance as an option, what that means is I have contracted with this company and have said, if your. Covered people come to see me for services. I will accept a lower rate in return for you to help them, right?

So you end up basically giving away a whole lot because they basically cut your rates quite dramatically. So there's always this tension between do I accept insurance or not? 'cause, uh, because it is harder to in, in the US system, but it's very difficult. To build a private practice that is not, does not accept [00:25:00] insurance, 'cause it means people are paying out of pocket and they're paying a lot.

It's not a small thing, however. I know for a fact that it does happen and it can work. And if you run your business well, you can make this work, right? Mm-hmm. But what I will see is people will accept terrible contracts where they're getting paid, like 40% of what they should be paying, like really terrible contracts.

Um, or. They'll have a client that does pay them, but they let them get behind or they don't hold them accountable if they miss a miss the session and they owe for the missed sessions. There's just all these games we play with ourselves around money, and I have had, I've coached people who were having to work two jobs.

To make ends meet, even though they had a perfectly solid practice and plenty of clients and should have been fine, but they were playing so many games around money that they weren't collecting for the services they were providing. 

Mariah: Hmm. 

Wendy: And with a little bit of cleanup with. We like more [00:26:00] than once. I've had people who were able to get themselves to a six figure practice, not because of any dramatic thing they had to do, but just plugging in the holes where they were bleeding money often.

Mm-hmm. 

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: That's a biggie. 

Mariah: Yeah, I, I can totally relate to that, even as a service provider in general. And I think like. It also. Yes. Like that, that's where that, that perspec like mindset piece plays in as well. Yeah. And I think especially as women, because you know, we were, we haven't often had that financial literacy that, you know, it's normally taught to males because they're the Yeah.

Breadwinners, you know, like I'm the breadwinner in my family, um, at this stage. 'cause my partner works with me, but I'm mm-hmm. I started the business. I created the business. So like, and I have clients and friends that they're the breadwinner as well, but we weren't given that sort of title growing up.

Like in my household, my dad was the breadwinner and my mom Yeah. You know, always had lower paying jobs and that was just how it was. Right. So we're not, we're not exposed to it [00:27:00] either. So having those difficult, like I've had, I had someone in the United States still owe four and a half thousand dollars.

I had to just write it as bad. Oh my gosh, girl, this fell off the face of the earth. Fell off the face of the earth. Never paid me. Actually, no. He said to me, I don't, the business is gone under, I don't have any money to pay you. And I was like. I've delivered this service and he's like, sorry. Oh wow. I'll help you.

So, you know, and I think, like, would that have happened to a male? I don't know. I have no idea. But I know the conversation would've been very different. And I even had a client, we did a post for her recently. It's like, if I am assertive, I'm known as aggressive. Whereas, you know Yeah. It's, it's those labels that come up.

So it it can that process. 

Wendy: It's very true. It's very true. And then if you add on top of that, that you're a helper, you're a healer, you are, um, yes. General in some way, or a teacher, a social worker, a counselor, any of those sort of jobs that have been traditionally feminine in the past, well, you didn't do this for the money anyway, right?

You just wanna help people. Right? You didn't, you didn't go into this for the money. And I'm like, you would never say that [00:28:00] to an attorney or to a plumber or to like, what if I did go into it for the money? To help people. 

Mariah: Yeah, 

Wendy: to can, like why does it have to be either or? Can 

Mariah: coexist. Yeah, exactly.

Wendy: Absolutely. So you're totally right. This, the, um, the gender aspect of it is absolutely critical. Women are taught to feel bad for wanting more, and I like a lot of what I talk about is like. It's okay to want more. It doesn't make you a bad person, it makes you ambitious, it makes you alive, it makes you engaged.

It means you're growing. So grow and want more. I mean, you want your clients to want more. This is the other thing. So one of the things that I teach a lot that, no, I don't think anybody talks about this, is that when you avoid the hard money conversations in your work. You are making your discomfort, your client's discomfort.

And that becomes, in my world, a clinical issue. A therapeutic issue. It affects the quality of your work, right? I want my clients to do well. I want, I want them to stand up for [00:29:00] themselves. I want them to find their voice. I want them to expect better things out of their relationships. I want them to run their own lives, right?

Well, if I come at them with this shrinking energy. Where I'm like, yeah, I, I mean, I don't really wanna ask too much. Then I am setting a terrible example for them. I'm not modeling what I want for them, and I am disrespecting the value of our work together. Mm-hmm. I feel really strongly about this. I can start preaching about it, like when I own, like, yeah, I'm good at what I do and I charge this and I know it's hard.

But you know what? I'm really proud of you for investing in yourself the way you are. Um, this is important work, what you're doing here, and it's huge, and I'm so excited to be doing this with you. And we're gonna make this work. We're gonna make this work together, and I'm going to model self-respect because I want you to also do the same thing, right?

Mm-hmm. It's, it's all part and parcel of the same thing. And with your guy with the 4,000. I feel for you, but I wanna tell you, I have been there. Love I've had, things like that. I haven't had [00:30:00] I, in the, in the first couple of years of my practice, when I first was getting started, I was accepting a form of payment that the government provided for particularly low income people.

And I was terrible at the paperwork and I didn't really understand how the system worked. And I kept putting it off and putting it off. And in one year I lost about. $13,000 in claims that I never, I never filed or I misfiled. And that was when I was like, I have got to figure this out. This is not a good thing.

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: Yeah. So we've all done that. We've all done that. But going forward, you learn to not let people dig themselves into a $4,000 hole. Absolute right. You catch it 

Mariah: when its a 

Wendy: hundred dollars. 

Mariah: Absolutely. My boundaries, my contracts are very strong now, and I communicate that with clients that this is why, because this has happened to me and it was a really hard time for me and my family whilst in Europe.

Yeah. Not being able to afford much because. 

Wendy: You learned, you learned 

Mariah: a good lesson 

Wendy: there. 

Mariah: You do le definitely learn the hard way. But I, it's so, I I love that you say that, like that [00:31:00] communication piece. And it's so true. Like even in different services, when you're not paying your worth, that resentment also comes in it, it affects the quality of your work.

So if you wanna be at your best, you have to charge your worth. And I literally had an email yesterday, you know, breaking down my pricing. To, to ask, you know, where it would fit in. And I've, I'm sitting with it and I've written an email that will go back. I do not charge hourly. That is not how I operate.

Yes, it would make sense. Good, but based on my, my, my IP and everything that I put into it, it's just not feasible for me to do it hourly. Mm-hmm. And I understand that makes sense to you, but that is not how it makes sense. That's 

Wendy: great. 

Mariah: That's 

Wendy: really good. 

Mariah: But that, that takes a, yeah, that's a lot of work to get to that point.

And I think you gotta, you definitely make a lot of mistakes along the way, and I think it's like. Yeah. You really, and, and one of the thing that my accountant said is understanding not what things cost you per hour, but like say McDonald's knows everything, what a slice of cheese cost, what this, and if you know that in your mind, you are able to confidently express your prices in a way that feels authentic.

Mm-hmm. Because it's like, [00:32:00] well, I've done the calculations and I'm, this is where I'm at and this is, yeah. People can't question that. Right. It's like, oh, okay. It's either you but 

Wendy: Maria, that's also what you're doing there, is you're nailing down the product piece of your work. Um, and what it's worth. That's what you're figuring out and the payment that goes with it.

Like that's what you're doing. That's so the two pillars that you're strengthening, that you're ta tapping into there. I had a coach. One of my early coaches said to me, charge for the difference. It makes not the time it takes. 

Mariah: Oh, I love that. 

Wendy: The difference it makes, not the time it takes. Um, you don't ever, you don't wanna do it by the hour.

I have done it that way. I do it on the counseling side that way. I have been experimenting in the last year. I went through a lot of family. My folks were elderly and I had all kinds of challenges I had to do with taking care of them. And in the middle of that, when I was at a sort of a low point and I just didn't have the energy to deal with it, I briefly stepped into doing an hourly version of my services.

It doesn't work. Like [00:33:00] there's a reason why I don't do it that way, and I have reason I've stopped doing that because, um. You can't if for, well, for one thing, when you charge by the hour for one thing, it is to your advantage to take more time. Right. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do more. Right. It's to your client's advantage to do less.

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: On the other hand. When you are charging by the package, by the program, by the service as a whole, they are getting the, the value and you're gonna do whatever it takes to get the work done. 

Mariah: Absolutely. 

Wendy: And that's such a much better way to do things. Yeah. Yeah. That's 

Mariah: really good. Totally, totally agree.

Well, let's, um, with the time we have left, dive into the other one you said was promotion, which is the marketing piece. Yeah. What, talk us through what, what are our, what are we missing? What are the mistakes we're making or what are the things that we're holding back on because. Of, um, yet beliefs, all the things that come up with promotion?

Wendy: Well, it's, it's both, it's mindset and strategy. So I say two things. Um, the mindset piece is folks feel like, I, I, it's like [00:34:00] pulling teeth for me to get people to start promoting themselves in some way because they feel like it's bragging. They feel like I don't wanna put myself out there and like I'm all that, well, if you're not all that, why should I hire you?

Right? Absolutely. Like, seriously be all that. Like, that's okay. You know, and, and I need to, I'm looking, I'm suffering and I'm looking for someone to help me. I need you to be confident in yourself, otherwise I'm not gonna trust you and I'm not gonna hire you. Right? So, but the mindset is, I don't wanna put myself out there.

I'll be, I'll look silly, I'll look like I'm bragging, et cetera, et cetera. So people hesitate, um, or they shrink, or they do a bare minimum. But the other piece of it that I find is that we're just not taught this. We are taught clinical skills. We are not taught how to run a business. And so like what is marketing and how do you do it and what is good marketing and what do, what do you, what is the, what is the lead magnet and why do I need a mailing list and what do I do with those names once [00:35:00] I have them?

And why do, why should I care? I do a lot of teaching about that. And before we can even get there, it is amazing to me how often I end up starting with people on who their ideal client is and getting their message straight. 

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: Because what they will do, and y'all who are listening, no disrespect 'cause you're my people and I love you, but my folks will have these like beautiful websites with beautiful pictures and quotes and all this kind, but you can't tell what they do.

Or you can't tell who they help or they all sound exactly alike. Um, like there's nothing that separates. And if I am in trouble and I'm trying to find a counselor for my kid, let's look. Let's say I've got a teenager who's in trouble and I'm trying to find a decent therapist that I can trust with my kids' safety, that's gonna help guide their mental health during a really critical time in their life.

And I'm terrified as a parent, and I look at 20 therapists and they all sound exactly the same. [00:36:00] And I can't tell, like they all say, they see kids and adults and couples and like, they do it all and they all like, there's, there's nothing that separates them. 

Mariah: Mm. 

Wendy: Drives me a little nuts, honestly. Um, and it, and it's very.

I have to apologize for this on my podcast all the time. 'cause I'm always like, I don't, I really don't wanna make anybody feel bad because we're not taught how to do it. Yeah. But they, they're all very wishy-washy. Um, they are not all often very wishy-washy. And it's like, I'm just, you know, I, I believe that you have the answers inside and I'm here to help you discover those.

I don't, if I knew the answers, I wouldn't be calling you for help. Like, I want you to tell me what to do. 'cause I don't know what to do. Yeah. So if you tell me. I'm an expert in adolescent mental health. I understand brain development for teenagers. I've been doing this for 20 years. I have several modalities that I can pull out depending upon what I think is best.

I'm not gonna be freaked out by the crazy things that your kids are doing. I promise you. [00:37:00] I'll respect your desires as a parent, but I can take, I can help you with this, and I speak with that kind of clarity and strength. Um, I am going to be a solid voice in a very, very fuzzy, foggy landscape, and that's gonna stand out.

But I, but I have to teach people how to do that. 'cause they don't know how to do that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So muddy messages, unclear, ideal client, muddy messaging, a lot of pretty stuff that doesn't actually say anything. Um, and then just the whole hesitance about saying like, really standing in your value and owning your authority, you know?

Mariah: Yeah. I love that piece between like people and, and I think a lot of the times, like we look to other people in our space because we're like, okay, I am starting this business. I'll go and look at that other therapist or that other meditation teacher or that, yeah. And we go, okay, cool. I kind of get what they do.

And then you sort of replicate it and then, and, and then when you don't know, that's kind of what you do instead of sitting down and sort of. [00:38:00] Ignoring that for a minute. Find what you want. And then after that, going and seeing what others are doing and what works for them and what doesn't, and then go, oh, well audience seemed to resonate with people talking to camera.

It's not necessarily what they're saying. It's maybe them talking. So I'll do, maybe try that and things like that rather than going like, oh, what's everybody else doing? And I'll just sort of Right. Copy and paste that. 'cause you're right, that's where your point of difference doesn't come in. And I, it's interesting, I, I did a workshop with, um, a woman who has her own, um.

Practice. And she runs outside of a, like a coworking space that I was running. Mm-hmm. The workshop. And, um 

Wendy: mm-hmm. 

Mariah: We, we, we, we did the workshop and we talked about audience, et cetera, et cetera. And then I saw her just unleash on social media and it's like, her content is so good and it's so specific and it's, and it also looks good, but it's like authentic to her, like her brand, what she wants to be put out there.

And she is attracting sort of those that, that younger. Generation that are neurodivergent and like it nails it. Like she's absolutely [00:39:00] nailed it. And I think like that's Yes, that's what it is, right? It's like, 

Wendy: yes. 

Mariah: And I love what you say about when you said earlier about your people and becoming obsessed with that person, because like that's, at the end of the day, all that matters is that person on the other end.

And a lot of the times we get caught up in the Yeah. Like what's the algorithm gonna like and what's but the algorithm of the people that you're trying to reach, right. The algorithm really morph. Like the p like the algorithm is morphed by what people are consuming. And if you are right. Talking to that specific person, and that's where we start to go down that, oh, content creation route over.

Mm-hmm. Marketing. You know, as you're saying that messaging and I, and I think. We forget to sit down and actually do those things. We spend more time trying to work out how to do a Canva template and make our quote look nice over. 

Wendy: Yeah, yeah, 

Mariah: yeah. 

Wendy: I do think it helps. You're an entrepreneur and you're learning, and I do think, like one of the things I encourage people to do is like, pay attention to the marketing that you react to and what is it that draws you in?

Like what are the TikTok videos that catch your eye? [00:40:00] What are the Instagram posts that catch your eye and why? Um, and, and notice like study of what other people do. What is it about that that hooked me? And then yes, learn from that. And what are the ones that turn you off? And why learn from that too? Uh, because it's not that you want to copy other people, but you can learn from people.

Like there are people like, um, James Wedmore who is somebody I follow and like a lot, he says. Success leads clues, leaves clues, and I'm like, that's true. So, and it's funny that you had mentioned this person you're talking about. There is a therapist in New York that I don't know from Adam, but I've stumbled onto her stuff on YouTube and she does all these shorts and they are so tight that I have started recommending my coaching clients go watch her.

Mariah: Yeah. 

Wendy: Because. Every single video, there's very short, less than a minute. All of them have a very specific formula. Yeah. Like I can almost predict the way she's gonna do it, but it is tight, it is clear, it is useful, [00:41:00] practical. Um, and by golly it is consistent for her brand. It makes you want, like, I wish I lived in New York.

I would wanna go work with her. Yeah. Like it's really that good. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I learn from that. Absolutely. 

Mariah: Yeah. I love that recommendation. I think it's always like, be a consumer and you know, 'cause a lot of times we like post stuff and we're like, would I actually read that? Yes. Or would I actually watch that?

Yes or no? I think yes. You know, we, we don't often critique our stuff because at the end of the day, we're just trying to get it out there and that's fair enough. Amen. You absolutely spend more time, you know, getting it right. It's gonna pay dividends in the future, but waffle, we just wanna get the ball rolling or.

Hide away and not do it at all. So I think there's definitely, yes. I like that you say that strategy and mindset piece, because I think there are two very important elements. So thank you so much for sharing those. I think we could all resonate with Sure. Pricing and promotion. And also I like all of it really.

Um, you know? Mm-hmm. And as you said, we could literally, there's a podcast in each of your pillars. Really. That's true. 

Wendy: That's true. 

Mariah: People can [00:42:00] go and follow your work, and I do know there are. Practitioners in the healing space that do listen to this. So I am sure they'll come in, um, stalk your page and learn a little bit more about you.

But 

Wendy: yeah, and I'm talking about healers, but it really applies to anybody with a small business, 

Mariah: honestly, really 

Wendy: doesn't matter what you do. 

Mariah: Yeah, yeah. It's a, it's, it's really like, it's that that it, that's why it's those foundations, right? Like those foundations that can be taught no matter your business.

Um, it's just, that's your, your niche and your lens. And I think, um, but there's so many people in this space that have the, the same, you know, all those sorts of. Limiting beliefs and blockers, but how can people find you, learn more from you? You mentioned your podcast, we'll put everything in the show notes, but thank you.

If people wanna reach out, where's the best place to find you? 

Wendy: Well, I was thinking about that. So yes, the best place to find me is my podcast, which is called Ideal Practice, and it's on all the places that you're used to, wherever you listen to podcasts, you can find it. So ideal practice. My name is Wendy Pitts Reeves.

People tend to leave the S off of Pitts, so I always hyphen, you know, wanna emphasize that Wendy Pit Reeves is what people say. [00:43:00] Um. What I would recommend, actually, I was thinking that would help people a lot, is I have, um, a free tool that I call the IP 360 School Scorecard. So the ideal Practice 360 scorecard.

And what it is, is you can download this free thing and it's basically a sort of a self-assessment of where you are on each of these seven pillars and it's scored and based on your score, you'll get a, you can, it's very like you, it takes you 10 minutes to do and it'll be like, oh, I'm solid here and here.

That's where I got some work to do. And so I encourage people to do that. It's really, it's just a, in fact, even when I'm coaching people, I'll have them do this every now and then. It's sort of like a reassessment. Yeah. Like where am I now? Um, the way to get that is to go to my website. So it's Wendy Pitts, P-I-T-T-S, Reeves, REEV as in Victor, ES as in Sam.

So Wendy pitts reeves.com/ 3 6 0. The number 360. Right. And they'll, they'll see how to get that. Yeah. 

Mariah: Yeah. And it's free. Amazing. 

Wendy: It's 

Mariah: free. Yeah. 

Wendy: Yeah. 

Mariah: I think [00:44:00] that's the best place to start. Right? We need to see where we're at now before we can improve anything. Yeah. But absolutely love that. Wendy honestly could talk to you all day.

We've had multiple conversations, so you know, I love to chat, but thank you so much for coming on the podcast and sharing your knowledge and thank you for having me. It's 

Wendy: been a great, yeah, and I'm gonna have you on my show and that's gonna be really good too. We're gonna be talking about a whole different aspect of this.

It's gonna be so much fun. Amazing. Looking forward to it. 

Mariah: Thanks 

Wendy: so much, candy. 

Mariah: Thank you. Here. And I'm back. I'm back in Lanta. Although the interview was done in Lanta as well, I could have talked. To Wendy for ages and reiterate, yes, definitely payment and promotion are the two things that get in our way, and I've had that experience myself, but I really loved the take on purpose and perspective as well.

I would be keen to know in the comments if you're on Spotify or come over to Instagram at Content Queen Mariah, and tell me which one you are gonna work on. I think for me, I am going to work on, oh, it's a good question. [00:45:00] I think my focus will definitely be. Uh, the person, so my target audience, I need to refresh or redo and.

I want to work on product as well. So that's what I'm gonna focus on in this quarter. But let me know what you are gonna focus on. Obviously we know promotion and pricing can be a big one. I've done a lot of work on that one, so I'm moving somewhere else, but I'd love to know what you thought of the episode.

And yeah, Wendy is absolutely amazing with a wealth of knowledge, so we are really lucky to have it on. But be a content queen or king, and remember that developing your strategy and story develops your business. Thank you so much for joining me today, and please don't forget to share this with all your business and entrepreneurial friends.

You can do this by adding it to your Insta Stories and tagging me at Content Queen Mariah, or just tell 'em about it. And if you do rate review or share your thoughts about this episode, it does help me get amazing guests like Wendy on, because they see the content in the charts and they'll message me, and I've had some really great.

Emails about coming onto the show, so it means you are rating and review. But if you haven't done it, I would love to hear from [00:46:00] you and follow me on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, wherever I'm there, come and say hello and let me know if there's any topics or guests you'd like me to get on in the future.

I, I would love to do that. But other than that, I'll talk to you next week. Bye.

PodcastMariah MacInnesmarketing, marketing advice, how to be authentic online, business ownerComment