Episode 87: Entrepreneurial Burnout... Thank You. Next. [featuring Kasey Compton]

Show Notes

If you're a therapist in private practice, you are most likely a bit of an overachiever and will face burnout as you develop and run your business.

There can be this drive to do more and make more, and it's easy to get distracted by comparison traps and overwhelm.

But there are ways to systematically and strategically build a business that automates the parts that generally lead to more burnout, which, ultimately, allows you more time to expand and explore your entrepreneurial journey.

If you are an entrepreneurial therapist who feels overwhelmed and burnt out, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I talk with Kasey Compton, therapist, author, coach, consultant, podcast host, retreat host, and more.

Top 3 reasons to listen to the entire episode:

1. Understand the source of burnout from the tendencies you have in your approach to business ventures and day-to-day work to the relationship it has with your past and upbringing.
2. Learn how to systematically get through each entrepreneurial burnout hurdle to allow more time to explore your passions.
3. Understand the power and growth you gain from delegating to, trusting, and supporting a team.

Having systems in place and a strategy for growth opens up so many possibilities for new entrepreneurial ventures, as well as helps reduce the burnout that can come with putting yourself out there and making bold moves.

If you are feeling a bit worn out and stuck in place, then it might be time to treat your next business move more strategically and with intentionality.

More about Kasey:

Kasey Compton is on a mission to help business owners find their entrepreneurial confidence. She went from bankrupt to Boss Babe when she took her first company from zero to three million in less than three years without ditching her life to do it. She owns three other businesses that have accumulated assets of over two million and are growing by the day.

Her superpowers include cutting through the clutter to identify a strategic starting point, increasing efficiency through systems, and tapping into a person’s highest potential. She helps others by designing maps for their entrepreneurial journeys, while she stands confidently as their guide.

Check out Meet You In Kentucky — a mini-conference for group practice owners who are ready to level up!

Kasey's Website: kaseycompton.com

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A Thanks to Our Sponsor: The Receptionist for iPad!

The Receptionist for iPad:

I would also like to thank The Receptionist for iPad for sponsoring this episode.

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Transcript

PATRICK CASALE: Hey everyone, you are listening to another episode of the All Things Private Practice Podcast. I'm your host, Patrick Casale, joined today by Kasey Compton. She's an LPCC in Kentucky. She's a serial entrepreneur, a group practice owner, author, coach, consultant, retreat host, all the things. So, we are going to talk a little bit about burnout today and diversifying income to try to prevent burnout. And I'm really happy to have you on here.

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.

PATRICK CASALE: So, you know, I followed your journey on social media. I've never actually met you in person. I think we were both talking at the same time at the Not Your Typical Psychotherapy conference last year. And I've been really impressed by what you've created out there, and your vision, and your ability to just grow, and then just be vulnerable about the experiences too. I know you've been writing books and kind of highlighting, like, what it's been like for you. So, burnout, why is that such a passion of yours, and how come we're talking about that so often in this field?

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, great question. I think, no offense to anyone, please. But if you are a therapist of any sort, you have to be just a little bit crazy. And not like a mental health crazy way, but like an over-achieving type of crazy in a way. I really never met a practice owner that would call themselves an underachiever. And, yeah, so I don't know if that is just part of how we grew up or part of something that's just within ourselves that we're trying to prove that we can do it, and we can be independent, and we can be, you know, a business owner, and self-sufficient, and all of those things. For me, I think that's really what it came down to. I didn't realize it when I started my first practice back in 2015, but I was entering into it with somewhat of a fear-based mindset in a lot of ways, and like I said, I didn't even know it. 

And so, I think I went into it telling myself, "Whatever it takes, I'm going to do whatever it takes to make this work." And during that process, and throughout the years that I've been going through this process, I've certainly been burnt out. There have certainly been days where I'm just like, I don't want to do this anymore, you know, I quit. I tell them downstairs in my office all the time like, "I quit, good luck, y'all." 

But no, I think burnout is just something that all therapists, all practice owners are going to endure. It's working so many different parts of our brain, and testing our patience, and our tolerance, and all of these things all at the same time. And so, it just happens a lot in this industry.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, I think you're right. I think there is this perfectionistic overachieving part of a lot of people who are helpers, and they constantly are feeling like I'm not doing enough, I'm not showing up enough, I'm not doing the things the way I want to be. And that can really create a lot of internal frustration and comparison too. 

And, you know, the work we do is fucking hard. And that's just another layer to it on top of personality traits and our own stories that we've brought into this journey. So, add in like entrepreneurial therapists who are not just saying I want to be a clinician, but I want to do A, B, and C or I have all these other interests, and these goals, and how do I bring them all together when I feel like I'm constantly exhausted? I'm constantly tired? I'm the person that's doing like the admin, the office work, the billing, all the things, I wear all the hats.

And you know, you have lots of different revenue streams going on, so how does that help with burnout to be able to, you know, own the group practice, diversify the income, the books, the coaching, the pod, like everything you've got going on?

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, it's definitely a lot. Sometimes I still, you know, I think if I just slow down enough to think about what I'm doing, like, I don't know if I'd be doing some of it, you know? But before I answer that, you said something that I just wanted to mention quickly that I think is so relevant, is that when talking about burnout, you know, go back, and I'm sure we're all different, but go back to the way that you were raised. And if you grew up anything like me, and probably a lot of people, I didn't see my parents. My parents weren't entrepreneurs. I mean, my dad worked in a factory, my mom worked in a factory, my mom had always had two or three jobs. 

In my mind, that almost programmed me to believe that it had to hurt, like, working, and it had to be painful in some way. Like, I need to be exhausted to feel like I can stop. And sometimes it makes me wonder what I'm doing for my own children, and how I'm passing that down because they'd certainly see me work a lot, but they see me work differently than what I was used to seeing. 

And so, I think a lot of it just has, we carry these suitcases from our past full of all of these messages and things that we picked up along the way. And it comes out of us in over functioning, which that's actually what I'm writing this next book about is how we're constantly trying to do more, do more to get more, the whole concept of more, and it really doesn't work. 

But talking about diversifying revenue. So, I think most entrepreneurs are like little squirrels, you know? We do something, and then, we get excited by the next thing. It's always like, what's next? What's the next thing? What's the next thing? And that's why we're entrepreneurs, you know? 

If we were just a business owner, then we would be happy with that one business and we would stay focused on that one business, but most of us are always looking at like, "Oh, what if I did some consulting in addition? Or what if I did a podcast?" You know? I think that's our creative side coming out. And that's what makes it fun. 

And so, for me, whenever I was considering that I kind of looked at it like this, my group practice was the foundation for me. So, it was the thing that paid the bills, and I was able to streamline that practice and systemize that practice enough to where it didn't need my daily attention. And so, it could essentially run without me. 

And so, that is when I started looking at like what else? What else can I do with that time that I'm saving or that I'm not involved? And then, came consulting. And so, I'm getting a little bit more into that field and saying, okay, how can I automate? How can I systemize some of these things so that I can do the next thing that I want? 

And so, ultimately, you know, it becomes you have a hub, maybe, maybe you don't have to, but you have a hub that's kind of like your safety net, and then these other opportunities that are coming at you, then you can make a decision as to, well, how much of my time is this going to require? And what's the potential return on that investment of my time? Then you decide if it's worth it or not. 

And now, you know, I've done group practice, wrote one book, my second one comes out in 2024. I have a commercial property company, I have a vacation rental in South Carolina, had a hair salon that I'm getting ready to convert for a restaurant. We have the consulting company, we have the membership community, and we have one podcast, we're getting ready to launch another one. So, there's just a lot going on. But it doesn't necessarily feel like a lot going on because of the systems we have in place.

PATRICK CASALE: Wow, congrats on all of that. That's amazing. How does that feel to [CROSSTALK 00:09:34]-

KASEY COMPTON: …made me tired.

PATRICK CASALE: Wow, yeah. Whenever I say all the things I'm doing I'm always like, "Oh, God, that just feels like a lot." But it's exciting too and I don't think I'd have it any other way.

KASEY COMPTON: No, I think it fulfills a lot of needs that I have just keeping, I think, I'm better all around if I have something that's pressuring me in some way. Oh, and I'm getting license, my real estate license. I'm right in the middle of that right now too. Yeah, I mean, because I thought, well, if I'm going to buy all this shit, then why don't I just get my license? That'll save me 6% whenever I go to sell, so I was just like, "Well, I might as well." You know?

PATRICK CASALE: I like how you also left out that you have an upcoming like conference that you're hosting too?

KASEY COMPTON: Oh, yeah. We try to do at least two events, like, two bigger events a year. And so, every year we do a meet you in Kentucky, which is my favorite. I love it. It's my favorite conference. Of course, I'm biased because it's mine. But so much fun. 

And then, you know, like, I know you, and all your buddies, and everyone doing all of these cool retreats, and like, the Greek Isles, and London, and I'm like Ernesto, you suck, if you're listening, you know, just like all these cool things. 

And I was talking to Emily downstairs, who does marketing the other day, and I was like, "Forget it, I'm not competing with the retreats, we're going to do an entire retreat." And so, we were hosting an anti-retreat in July where people come and work their ass off for two days. And we're only going to let them have just a little bit of fun, not much, we're just going to take them out one time. And we're just going to torture everyone, basically. But we're going to get a lot of stuff done. But yeah, we definitely have a big long list of to-do's.

PATRICK CASALE: And I think you named it really perfectly, like the systems matter. Because you could have a big long list of to-do's, and all of these interests, and all of these goals and aspirations. If you don't have the systems in place it's so freaking chaotic. And I think that also intensifies that feeling of burnout or that intensified feeling of comparison and insecurity when you're like, "Look at what everyone else is doing. Why can't I do anything?"

And I know that's a real feeling for people where they're like, "I can't even start my practice, let alone like host retreats, have a podcast, do coaching, do the thing." And in reality, it's it comes back down to like, what does the behind-the-scenes look like and how chaotic of a process is it? And I mean, my own process is chaotic, but I have like, systemized chaos and structured chaos, which is quite helpful, but like, I know we're so many therapists, and you named this, circling back to like the stories, the suitcases that you said that we bring into this work. And if you're not working through that if you're not unpacking that, if you're not learning to figure out how to manage that, it really takes a toll on your business, it really kind of starts steering the car, so to speak, and really doesn't allow you to have direction or clarity or any sort of consistency.

KASEY COMPTON: 100%, yeah, and also, with that, I think it's just learning and discovering more about yourself and what contributes more to your personal burnout. So, you know, you and I may have the same business, and the numbers, and the financials, and just all of the organizational things, and the operational things. They might just completely suck the life out of you. But for me, I'll do that any day before I will have to, like, talk to the people and manage the people. 

So, recognizing, like, what your strengths are in that regard and what it is that energizes you versus what it is that sucks the life out of you and then handing those off to other people. I mean, if you open the doors of my businesses, you would see a lot of people. And for me, I realized that I'm compromising some of that profit by having additional employees. 

But I also know that if I didn't have people to delegate little tasks to like picking my dog up from the vet, and you know, picking up this or doing that, or taking my kid who's going to the dentist right now during this podcast, I would not be able to do these things. And so, for me, it's a trade-off, and I'm willing to pay a little bit more money in revenue to have more time to be able to do other things. 

So, like you said, I mean, there's so many factors that play a part in burnout and the only reason that I can keep my sanity is because I have people that I can delegate the things that I really don't want to do too.

PATRICK CASALE: That is such an important part of this as even if it's just your private practice you're on your own, like if you can delegate the admin tasks that you hate doing, or that you don't want to learn how to do, so important, buys you that time. And I think time for entrepreneurs is the most valuable asset that we have because it's the one that we don't get back. And I think we're so intentional about like, okay, I need to figure out how I'm going to use this time to create this thing, or to give myself breathing room, or to enjoy the fruits of my labor, which we don't often do if we're just bouncing from thing to thing to thing too. 

But the reality is, outsourcing is crucial in terms of how to manage burnout, having a good support staff, I think you just mentioned, like, understanding your strengths, and what you enjoy doing because it's very easy to say, I'm good at something so I should continue doing it. But if you're not enjoying it, if it's not lighting you up, it's probably time to figure out how you can hire someone to handle that for you.

KASEY COMPTON: Absolutely, yeah, that's exactly it. It's not even that you're not good at it. Like you said, you just don't enjoy it. I love numbers, I could look at profit-loss statements all day long. But if I had to, I would lose interest at some point, obviously. But also, I think, as the practice, depending on what type of practice you have, you need some kind of separation, you need to be able to pull yourself out of your situation enough to have a different perspective on it as a business and not just from you being in there working in the business. I think it's important to be able to pull yourself out. And pulling yourself out of it also helps reduce burnout because it's not dependent. It's not like a little baby toddler that's chasing after you all the time, you know? You can hand it over to someone else to babysit for just a little while.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, and I think delegation is important, I think being able to look at your business with a different lens is important instead of always being in the business, being able to work on the business outside of the business with a different perspective. It allows you to have clarity too and like, if you're just head down, like going through the motions, doing thing after thing after thing without a plan, without structure, without intention, you know, it feels like a whirlwind, it feels so chaotic, and it's it starts to mess with your executive functioning too when you're like, I can't even think straight. Like, I can't even make good rational decisions about what comes next or what my plan is for this year. 

And I think a lot of solo practitioners can struggle with this because you're kind of on an island a lot of the time where you're like, pretty isolated, and you don't have teammates. So, the ability to like surround yourself with colleagues, and mentors, and support systems are so important in this so that you have a place to bounce ideas, or have a place to process stuff that's coming up for you. You have a place where you're like, I have this idea, but it's creating major impostor syndrome, and I don't think I'm going to move forward with it. These are really important tools to have, so that you don't have to keep yourself small, and keep yourself hidden, and kind of stay in that debilitating, paralyzing fearful place, too.

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, I love that. That's the one thing I really love about this industry, this mental health industry is that the community that so many of you have cultivated through conferences, and podcasts, and you know, meetups, and all of those things, I just feel blessed to be a part of it because I've done this private practice thing without the support of a community and the me now versus the me then, it's night and day. 

And you know, even to this day, what is it? I don't know, eight years after I started this whole private practice thing, my best friends in the world, like if I was dying, or in jail, and needed whatever, they came from this community. These aren't necessarily people I went to high school with or anything like that like they all came from this online community that I can just not thank enough for the support that it's given me over the years. So, absolutely, you have to get involved even if you're an introvert, even if it makes you nervous. Most of us are, that's really chalky. You know, you get us on a room and most of us are looking like really awkward until maybe we've had a glass of wine, or two, or bourbon, I don't know. But everybody just, it feels like home and it feels really, really nice. So, I would 100% encourage that, exactly what you just said.

PATRICK CASALE: Yeah, and I think, you know, for those of you listening, if you're like, "I'm introverted, how do I find my community?" You're not alone in that. I think we often internalize that a lot of the time as if we're the only person who feels socially awkward or introverted, or whatever the case may be. But this profession attracts a lot of like and similarly minded human beings. So, you're certainly not alone, you're certainly not the only one experiencing impostor syndrome or self-doubt. None of these things are just an isolated situation. 

You know, for me, and I imagine for you, I don't know about your story in terms of private practice startup, but when you started your private practice, from then to now, do you ever foresee, like, all of the things that you listed that you're doing? Do you ever think like back to eight years ago and say, "Holy shit, this has been an incredible journey?"

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, yeah. So, I mentioned earlier that I'm writing a second book. Well, when I started writing that second book, it was immediately after the first book. So, I've literally turned the manuscript in on Fix This Next and started writing the second one. Well, the second one was supposed to be about systems, like creating systems and all that stuff. The more I kept writing it, the more a totally different book came out of it. It was like it was having an identity crisis or something it just kept… I don't know, it was like something in me did not want to talk about systems. Like, it wanted to talk about all the other stuff. 

And so, it ended up being more about how we're always like searching for something. Like, seems like we're always looking for something to fulfill us. And so, in that process, I had to go back. And I'd teach the readers how to do what I did, which was create a timeline, basically, like a big long fence of their lives. And so, I had to go back and do my own and I was like looking at it. And I was like, "Oh my gosh." Like, I was so jacked up. Like, what was going on before all of this private practice even, it was, you know, highs, lows, highs, lows, highs, lows, and then private practice started. And wherever I was, which was like at the lowest of the possible low at that point, and everything just kind of started going up. It just started looking at looking better. 

And did I ever think that I would be doing all of the things that I'm doing now? No, I was just trying to get myself out of bankruptcy and that's it, really just take care of my kid and my family. But I'm just very ambitious. And so, I think it was like, let's do this. And once I did that, I was ready to just okay, what can I do now? 

And if anything, what happened because of private practice is that I was able to gain confidence that I did not have before, in not just about being a business owner, but confidence in being a female business owner, a female entrepreneur, all of those things that, you know, I wouldn't go to chamber meetings, I wouldn't know that any of those good old boy, you know, community events because I was like, they're not going to take me seriously. All of those things I really shied away from. 

And so, I think private practice just gave me so many opportunities and it was such a stepping stone to all of the other shiny objects that I've been after.

PATRICK CASALE: I love that. Yeah, I think that's a great reflection and a great testament too you, for those of you listening who might just be starting out or, you know, in it, but not really sure of what happens next. And I can certainly relate like, when I left community mental health to start my practice, I just wanted to start my practice. Like, I just wanted to get the fuck out of there. I thought that was the finish line. But I'm very entrepreneurial and ambitious. And I'm also one of those people that once you've kind of, "Conquered something." Then it's like, all right, well, this is no longer bringing me joy or satisfaction, what comes next? 

And there's a lot of us like that evidenced by a lot of similar circles that a lot of entrepreneurial therapists are in. And I think it's just really a cool way to showcase that this profession does not have to look one certain way. And that our skill sets are so applicable in so many different arenas, and you can just get out of your own way, and just start to have some sort of clarity, and creative vision. It's amazing. 

Like, I'm going to host my second annual retreat next week in Ireland. And there's never a part of me in my life where I was like, "I'm going to get paid to take people to Ireland." So, it just feels surreal and exciting to see what comes next. And I think you've really offered a lot of great insight into what that can look like, you know, as someone who has so much going on and has been able to really master a way of finding out how to not overdo it, how to not overwork to a place where you're not functional, you can still show up for your family, you can still enjoy what you're doing. And I think that's what this is all about.

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, absolutely, 100%. Meaning if we are sacrificing our health, or our sanity, or anything beyond what's necessary for this private practice, it no longer becomes fulfilling, it no longer becomes purposeful. And so, I think it's good, if nothing else, to have a community of people that can help keep you in check in that way and make sure that you're working toward joy as well and not just toward revenue goals.

PATRICK CASALE: That's so important because you can chase the money, you can chase the shiny object all day, you can fall into the comparison traps, but if it's not bringing you joy and satisfaction, then it's just going to lead to more burnout, and then, more frustration and resentment, and probably wanting to leave this career path and figure out something different. 

So, I encourage everyone to stay rooted, and centered, and anchored in your values, what you find to be important, what lights you up, that stuff is going to change over time. Whatever you decide that you're passionate about today doesn't have to be what you're passionate about a year from now, or six months from now, three months from now it's going to change. And just ride the wave. It's a really enjoyable experience. And there are definitely days where you want to pull your hair out and burn it all to the ground, which I often experience and my admin staff helped me with that sometimes, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. And I say that my worst day as an entrepreneur is a million times better than my best day at my community mental health job and I would never trade it for anything.

KASEY COMPTON: Same, same. Can't say anything any better, yeah.

PATRICK CASALE: Look, Kasey, it was a pleasure having you on here and just meeting you like this as well. And good luck with everything you've got going on and just tell the audience where they can find that information because I'm sure they're going to want to hear more of it.

KASEY COMPTON: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I love talking about this and helping therapists to stay on the right path. It's so important. We're pretty active on all social medias. but if you just hop onto the website, it's just my name, kaseycompton.com. We have links to all of our social channels and everything we have going on, and all the good stuff. So, find us there.

PATRICK CASALE: And when is your conference coming up? When is that?

KASEY COMPTON: Oh, yeah, that is the third week of May. So, I think it's May 24th and 25th.

PATRICK CASALE: Clear. 

KASEY COMPTON: Around the Derby time.

PATRICK CASALE: Love it. Well, have a great time and I look forward to connecting in the future. To everyone who's listening to the All Things Private Practice Podcast, our new episode's out every single Sunday on all major platforms. Like, download, subscribe, and share. Doubt yourself, do it anyway. We'll see you next week. Thanks, everyone.