Startup Adventures of a Business Nerd

Today I signed my first insurance provider agreement. It was exciting, and made me want to hurry up and get started, but I still have so much to do. This is a long waiting game, and waiting is not one of my strengths. While I wait there are still a few things I need to do: The Website My website is in the final stages of completion, once I get those last bits of copy completed it can be finalized. Then I can get my domain transferred. Once I have a functional website, I need a few more things people often expect from a professional company of any type. I have a professional logo, so that's complete. I don;t think there is any need for business cards yet, or any printed materials. Professional Phone Number I am using a Google Voice Number that I have had for a few years. I have used it to communicate with clients since before the pandemic. I still have not really figured out telecommunications, but will likely go with a voip account from Ring Central for $35 a month. It includes cal...

Getting credentialed with insurance companies is a pain in the neck, to put it politely. So far as I can tell, there are four options for working with insurance: Work for someone else who has a billing department Sign up for a company like Alma or Headway and be dependently credentialed Do everything yourself, get independently credentialed, and work on your own Hire an outside billing company to do insurance credentialing for you I suppose the 5th option would be to not take insurance, but I do. The advantages are obvious. So let's explore the four ways to accomplish this. First, we could just work for someone else. This does not necessarily mean being an employee, but that is an option. There are many businesses out there who would gladly hire an independently licensed counselor. We are in high demand. We can bill at a high rate than entry level clinicians in many cases. Clinics like that. The other option is that I could join a group practice. This would eat into my bottom line,...

Hello friends, Erv the business nerd here. I have sifted through all the confusion, and made this long journey into entrepreneurship. It has been a wild ride. I feel I have done all I can do at this point. It is just a waiting game. I am hoping the companies I have hired can do good work. Let me explain. I spent much time looking for someone to get me credentialed with insurance companies. In lay terms, this means that I will be able to take private insurance. The process is long and arduous, and it is not something most people can do on their own. It will cost me money, but I am going to contract with the same company to process my billing claims, so they are giving me a break on the up front costs. This process takes at least a month or two, maybe more in some cases. It is now just a waiting game as this small company gets around to processing my paperwork. They will require me to work with a company called Simple Practice, which will be a whole other blog post. It will take my custo...