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Welcome to The RD's Edge, 5 minutes to help RDs build income, impact, and independence — starting with what you already have.
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Hi Reader,
Say you decide to open a private practice. A few weeks in, a former colleague refers someone to you, and the client emails asking to book and pay for a session. What do you send back?
Most of us have an answer ready when someone says, "What's the name of your business?" or "Can you point me to your website?" We're less prepared for the part where money changes hands. So today we're talking about the unglamorous setup that stands between you and getting paid.
What's inside:
- 🎯 This Week's Edge — the three things that have to be running before your first paying client
- 📋 5-Minute Momentum — the one sentence that decides most of your setup
- ✅ Tried & True — why those three jobs belong to one platform, not three tools
- 💬 Your Turn — what's standing in the way of your private practice?
This Week's Edge
THE THREE THINGS THAT COME BEFORE YOUR FIRST PAYING CLIENT
When we picture opening a practice, we picture a long list. Business name. LLC. Logo. Website. A business plan. Those matter eventually, but none of them is what keeps you from accepting money from a client.
Three things do:
1. A HIPAA-compliant place to keep your documentation. Your clinical notes need to live somewhere that isn't a Google Doc or a folder on your laptop.
2. A way to collect payment like an official business. Venmo works right up until a client asks for a receipt they can submit to their HSA.
3. A superbill. This is the itemized receipt your client submits to their insurance to get reimbursed, and they'll ask for it in week one. It needs your NPI, the CPT code you billed, their diagnosis code, the date of service, the fee, and your credentials. Assembling that by hand for every client, every visit, is how admin starts eating your hourly rate.
That's the list, and it's probably shorter than the one in your head.
5-Minute Momentum
ANSWER THE ONE QUESTION THAT DECIDES THE REST
Open a note and finish this sentence: "I'm building a practice that bills ______." Insurance, cash-pay, or both. You can change your decision later. But almost every setup decision after this one branches off your answer — including which platform you'd use and what you'd charge. Five minutes, and the next ten decisions get easier.
Tried & True
ONE PLATFORM, NOT THREE TOOLS
Notes, payment, superbill. Those are three jobs, but they only need one tool. If your answer above was insurance, SimplePractice is the EMR I'd point you to — documentation, payments, and insurance billing all live in the same place. Simple Practice helps with credentialing and has integrated insurance billing, by far the most tedious parts of running a practice. (Planning a cash-pay practice? That's a different recommendation, and it's a future issue of The RD CEO.)
SimplePractice has a free trial, so you can try it before you commit to anything.
Try SimplePractice FREE
Your Turn
If you're thinking about private practice, what's the #1 thing stading in your way?
Hit reply and tell me. A few words is plenty, and I read every one.
See you next Tuesday,
Julie
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Know an RD who'd get something out of this? Forward it their way — it's how most new readers find me, and I'm always grateful for the intro. 🙏 |
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Julie Cunningham, MPH, RD, CDCES
Helping RDS increase income & influence.
Creator of The RD CEO & The RD's Edge
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The RD's Edge may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an affiliate product, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income is donated to one of several 501c3 charitable organizations focused on food security.
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