Keith Cross

From professor and solo practitioner to professor and thriving group practice owner.

Keith Cross, Ph.D., LMFT
Prescott, AZ

Overview

Keith’s primary job was as a full-time professor for a local university. As a part-time job, he a had a well-respected solo practice in Prescott, AZ specializing with couples and EFT. He always had a full caseload because of the relationships he had carefully built over the years with his peers.

Problem

“When my caseload became full, I had to refer out many couples to other therapists in my area. One day I realized that I had worked so hard to get these referrals, and I was just giving them away.”

Main challenges before working with Be A Wealthy Therapist:

  • Group practice was new and so roles of therapist and business owner were blurry
  • Unsure how to put the needs of the business first before any specific therapists’ needs
  • Owner very stressed as he did all the admin work to save money 

“When I started with you, I was simply overwhelmed with all the decisions that needed to be made. These days, I can do more higher-level thinking and less detailed work.”

Keith Cross, Ph.D., LMFT
Prescott, AZ

Solution

We worked with Keith to:

  • Increase CEO functions
  • Get his time back by hiring admin
  • Set priorities for the business to be sustainable over time

Our first task was to help Keith modify his mindset from therapist to CEO of a group practice. “I learned that I can be caring to the clinicians in my practice, but I am not their therapist. My job as the business owner is to make the best decisions for the business which may, at times, conflict with what the clinicians want.”

With this new mindset and confidence, Keith began to address the significant areas of this business. He ran his business empathically and practically using his P&L report. Keith looked at the infrastructure and identified systems that would streamline things.

Results

Results for working with Be A Wealthy Therapist:

  • Practice doubled in size
  • Systems documented and less practice overwhelm
  • Owner freed to make strategic decisionss

It is in Keith’s nature to wear many hats and shift roles quickly. But as the practice grew, the stress of the phone ringing more and clinicians needing support began to wear on him. However, the idea of hiring an assistant felt financially risky. Once we showed him how an assistant can be revenue-generating, Keith hired one and has not looked back.

“I was doing cost-benefit analyses for the bigger business decisions like for additional space. Once you showed me how to do it for the assistant, it was a no-brainer. I now wonder why I didn’t do it sooner.”

Keith can continue his full-time professorship while his assistant answers the phones, schedules clients, assists in onboarding therapists, and handles so many of Keith’s daily tasks. “She is creating systems and documenting the policies and procedures that I never got around to doing.”