None of these feel like much on their own. That’s exactly why they survive! They’re too small to notice when you’re looking at the big picture and too embedded to question when you are deep in the day-to-day and scanning your numbers. And then, when you stack them up across a year, the number is almost always bigger than owners expect. I have sat with practice owners who found over a thousand dollars a month in expenses they had honestly forgotten they were paying for.

If you’re like many therapists I work with, you didn’t set out to become a business owner. You were simply full—emotionally, energetically, and in your caseload. Referrals kept coming, and it felt too painful to turn people away. So you brought on an independent contractor. Then another. Then one more.

Before you knew it, you weren’t just running a private practice—you were running a business with a team.

But here’s the catch: most therapists in this position didn’t count the cost—literally or figuratively. They didn’t run the numbers or look at the full range of responsibilities that come with the shift from solo therapist to CEO of a group practice.

So that’s where I want to start with you today.

One of the most common (and loaded) questions I hear from group practice owners is this:

“How much should I be making?”

It’s often whispered with a mix of uncertainty, guilt, and even shame—as if asking about money is somehow a betrayal of the work we do as helping professionals. But the truth is, your paycheque is one of the clearest indicators of your business’s sustainability. It’s not just okay to ask this question—it’s essential.

Let’s unpack it.

Before you can offer a competitive rate to your therapists, you need to have a clear understanding of your practice’s financials.