The Business of Psychology: Podcast and Community

Aim

Psychologists and therapists have big ideas to reverse the crisis in mental health. I provide the business skills they need to succeed.

Why do we need the Do More Than Therapy Community?

The world knows there is a crisis in mental health. As psychologists and therapists we have ideas that could make a big difference. But we don’t have the training in business skills, marketing and finance that we need to get our ideas off the ground and create sustainable change. With the Do More Than Therapy community and the Business of Psychology Podcast I aim to fill that gap in our training in an affordable and accessible way. Members of the community will sign up to monthly peer supervision groups and masterclasses from experts who know how to create and sustain projects that have big impact. Any profit made from subscriptions will go back into the community as grants to help get your projects going. 

Why are you Crowdfunding?

I'm very excited to be part of the Bring it 2020 competition which is hosted by the Back Her Business partnership between Natwest and Crowdfunder. The programme aims to promote, empower and increase the number of female entrepreneurs in the UK.   As part of the competition, I must raise money from the crowd, gain some customers and spread awareness of the Do More Than Therapy Community and the Business of Psychology Podcast and the bank will match fund towards my crowdfunding campaign! This is an opportunity for us to accelerate the good that this community (which is already amazing on Facebook) can do. So please help me by pledging for a reward, as a donation or sharing my page with someone you think will be interested.

What have you got lined up so far?

I am excited to announce that in April we will be running a challenge and masterclass for people who want to self publish a book. The short course will cover:

• The pros and cons of self publishing rather than traditional publishing
• Myth busting - fighting the fear of writing a book
• Finding and writing for the people you want to help
• Creating a book blueprint
• How to get great at writing
• Editing
• Launching
• Marketing 

As with all the challenges and masterclasses I am planning to run the course will run live from the 19th - 24th April but all content will be available to members afterwards so anyone who can't attend live will still be able to benefit.

Everyone who pledges over £10 (and who wants one!) will also receive a copy of my 31 page ebook "The Psychologist's Business Plan". This includes everything I wish I had known two years a go and actionable worksheets to help you plan and execute your dream project without having to study an MBA.

I don't want to write a book, what else have you got for me?

I am already talking to experts about masterclasses for May and June including: 

Social media marketing on a budget

Knowing your numbers and making them work for you (whatever your goal)

One thing I have learned from my own journey in private practice is that you can pick up helpful knowledge anywhere. So even if you don't think self publishing a book is for you there will certainly be tips about getting to know the people you are trying to help, researching, project planning and reaching people that you will find valuable.

What does the future hold?

Going forward it is crucial to me that I meet the needs of this community. The response we have had so far to the Facebook group has blown me away and I am determined to get you whatever you need to get your project working. My own experiences have given me some ideas of what we need help with but I fully intend to listen to what you want. That is why if you choose the "Founding Member" reward you will be invited to a quarterly zoom call where we can discuss the direction of the community and future podcast topics.

What will the money raised be used for?

At the moment I am doing everything for the community and podcast myself with a little social media help from the lovely Sam Hill. As both grow I suspect (and hope!) this will become slightly impossible. To make sure I can get you the expertise you need I think I'm going to have to grow a team to help me with:

• Podcast editing and other costs! This is SO HARD! It is important to me that the podcast remains as a free resource but it actually costs me quite a lot to make it so some of the money raised will be used to get me some help with editing and to cover hosting and similar costs. 
• Expert speakers. There are amazing people who support what we do and want to help us for free. I am amazed at how generous people are with their time and I haven't struggled to get free guests for the podcast. I don't however think it is ethical to take someone's time for free when it comes to a masterclass or training so I want a small budget to be able to pay for the expertise we need. 
• Membership site. I've started the bare bones of a website for us over on drrosie.co.uk . As the membership, resources and activity of the community grows I will need to invest in more technical support for this. I don't even know what that will look like but I know I have to pay for it!
• A team. One thing I know for sure is that to get a movement off the ground it takes more than one person and a laptop. Our strength will be in our numbers as the more of us there are the more we can share our experiences and expertise. So I think I am going to need help in the beginning to spread the word and as we grow to make sure it all works smoothly. This is a social enterprise so no one is going to be taking home mega bucks but I do think anyone involved should be paid fairly because when we aren't paid fairly we get stressed about money and when we are stressed about money we can't help others. 

This project successfully funded on 4th April 2020