Question: Won't advertising in the yellow pages get me referrals? Answer: No, except the ones you don't want. Most people who will call, based on your yellow page ad, can't afford your services or will not show up for the initial appointment. It is a waste of money. Take the standard listing that comes with your business phone.

Question: What about a sliding fee schedule?

Answer: Don't do it. Does your car mechanic offer a sliding scale based on what you think you can afford? If you needed brain surgery do you look for a surgeon offering $X off this week? If you reduce your fee for one client, you will need to do it for all and you will go bankrupt.

Question: Why do I need to work with insurance or managed health care companies? Why not only work with clients who can pay out of pocket?

Answer: Because you will starve to death. If we had a dollar for every person who said that when they went into private practice and failed, we could have retired. There are not enough clients who can afford your full fee to sustain a private practice.

Question: How can I get into private practice when all the managed care companies tell me I cannot be a provider or their panel is closed?

Answer: If you want to be in private practice bad enough, we can help. Buy The Complete Guide to Private Practice and learn the three-part denial letter system to get paid and become a provider.