355: Strategies for Securing Contracts (with schools and the government)

Today’s session covers the unusual topic of securing contracts from different agencies for mental health services. This aspect of therapy work is not what we normally think about as clinicians, but the connection between private practice and federal funding for programs that can be a wonderful niche. Whether you’ve ever thought about this topic or this is brand new to you, today’s conversation will be food for thought about opening new doors and opportunities in the therapy world. Join us to learn more!

Our Featured Guest

Dr. Ajita Robinson

Dr. Ajita Robinson is a dear friend, a highly respected colleague, and a sister in the faith. She has secured many millions in government contracts both for her private practice and in coaching other clinicians to do the same. In sharing her wealth of knowledge today, Ajita explains how to build relationships with government agencies and the top three things she looks for in available contracts. She shares the biggest mistakes our colleagues make in securing contracts and her unusual perspective on contracts that appear to already be given out. We wrap up our discussion with a transparent look at how Ajita’s strong faith influences her work and impacts the contracts she pursues. 

Website 

You’ll Learn:

• How working in marginalized communities led Ajita to pursue contracts with local and federal governments–and solved a problem she was passionate about
• How Ajita leveraged what she knew firsthand about social programs, combined with her research skills, to access available systems
• Where a clinician should begin in forming connections and relationships that lead to government funding opportunities
• How state-level certifications position a clinician for government contracts and can assist in the corporate contracting market
• Why the biggest barrier to securing government contracts is mismanaging money and not having your books in order
• What business insurance is required to become a government subcontractor
• The top three things Ajita considers with any contract opportunity: the scope of work, payable terms, and whether the contract is renewable or not
• How Ajita has been able to strategically position herself to recover contracts when they have fallen through for others
• The biggest mistakes our colleagues make around securing government contracts: they think they aren’t qualified to pursue them, they aren’t open to partnering with others, and they get stuck in DIY-mode
• How Ajita’s Christian faith aligns with the contracts she pursues, how she operates as a therapist, and how she functions as a Black, female business owner
• An overview of The Purposeful and Profitable Therapist Summit, an annual conference focused on diversifying income scheduled for July (2024) in Washington, DC 

Resources:

Visit https://sellingthecouch.com/upheal and enter the promo code “COUCH25” for a special 25% off a paid plan for the first 2 months just for STC fans.

Interested in becoming part of our affiliate program? Learn more at

https://sellingthecouch.com/jointhehealthcasters  

Want to launch your online course?

Please check out our free 7-Day Course Creator Starter Kit For Therapists: https://sellingthecouch.com/coursekit

Mentioned in this episode:

Course Creator Starter Kit

I know that many of us are thinking and planning for the upcoming year. If an online course is on your radar, I want to encourage you to download our free online course starter kit. It's a seven-day email course that will help you validate your course idea. Now, it's going to be 10 years for me as a course creator next year, and the validation part is the most important part of an online course. You can download it over at coursecreatorstarterkit.com.