Up Close and Personal (Why your private practice isn't growing)
If your private practice isn’t growing, it’s tempting to blame the economy, the competition, or the latest marketing trend that didn’t deliver.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: more often than not, the main factor holding private practices back is the owner - yes you!!!
I know that stings. But it might also be the most empowering thing you hear this week - because if you’re the problem, you’re also the solution.
Read on to find out why this happens, how it shows up in your practice, and most importantly, what you can do about it π
The practice merry-go-round
Does this sound familiar?
You’ve tried Facebook ads. You’ve printed flyers. You've tweaked your website. You’ve posted on Instagram, maybe even dabbled with TikTok. You’ve read blogs, listened to podcasts, watched YouTube videos on "How to . . ." and signed up for webinars - AND NOTHING IS CHANGING?
Different tactics. Same results? A kind of private practice déjà vu.
It’s like riding a merry-go-round - you can pick up speed, but you are never going to really move from the spot you're on. No matter how hard you push, you just keep ending up back where you started. The same slow trickle of patients, or an avalanche of the wrong patients, your momentum never builds, and you’re left exhausted, frustrated, and doubting yourself.
The real reason: the person you’re being
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you are using tried and tested marketing tools (which hopefully you are if you've been hanging around here long enoughπ) they don't usually fail. BUT often the person using them does.
If you are not acting like a person who is getting great results, you are not going to be getting great results.
Every result you get in your practice (good or bad) starts with what’s happening between your ears.
Beliefs → Thoughts → Feelings → Actions → Results
If your beliefs are limiting, your results will be too - no matter how many new tactics you try.
And I know this because I lived it. For years, I kept chasing the “perfect marketing strategy.” I switched business models, business branding, experimented with every tool out there, and still… nothing really shifted. It felt like I was fighting myself every step of the way.
It wasn’t until I stopped tinkering with the tools and started working on myself that things actually changed. My mindset, the stories I was telling myself, the way I was showing up. That’s when Practice Momentum started to shift and gain its own momentum.
The science of belief
When I talk about this stuff, I know many health practitioners are sceptical, BUT this isn’t woo-woo. It’s neurological wiring.
There are whole textbooks written on this subject, but I am going to try and summarise what's going on, as succinctly as I can π€πΌ
Every belief you hold shapes the way your brain filters the world around you. Neuroscientists call it the Reticular Activating System - the part of your brain that acts as a filter, letting in and reinforcing things that match your established beliefs and pretty much ignoring or discounting the rest.
Here’s how it plays out in your practice:
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If you believe “I’m not good at marketing,” your brain will filter for every piece of evidence that proves you right. You’ll notice the one post that flopped, not the patient who booked because of your Facebook ad.
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If you believe “patients won’t pay more,” you’ll unconsciously underprice yourself, hesitate when you talk about money, and attract people who only want a bargain.
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If you believe “I can figure things out,” your subconscious hunts for solutions, your confidence grows, and suddenly you see opportunities that were invisible before.
And it’s not just about filtering information. Your thoughts trigger your emotions, and those emotions drive your behaviour.
Think about it: you cannot have an emotional reaction before you’ve had a thought. The thought always comes first, even if it’s subconscious. That thought sparks a feeling, and that feeling fuels your actions.
For example:
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If you think “my marketing never works,” you’ll feel deflated, and your action will be half-hearted posting at best.
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If you think “I can learn how to make this work,” you’ll feel motivated, and your action will be consistent and confident.
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If you think “I want more patients,” but then let your fear of being judged stop you from promoting your clinic, your actions won’t line up with your intentions - and your results will stay the same.
Your beliefs drive your thoughts.
Your thoughts generate your feelings.
Your feelings dictate your actions.
And your actions create your results.
Here’s a simple way to picture how this cycle actually works - and why it keeps reinforcing itself unless you change the belief at the top.
It’s not magic. It’s psychology. Change your beliefs, and you literally change the way your brain notices, reacts, and behaves in the world.
This is why you can try the best marketing tactics or business strategies in the world, but if your beliefs are working against you, you’ll sabotage yourself before you even start.
And it’s also why working on you is the highest-return investment you’ll ever make in your practice.
Why this matters right now
Staying stuck in practice Groundhog Day isn’t just frustrating - it’s very costly. And not just financially.
Every year you stay the same:
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You lose a little more confidence in yourself.
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Your income plateaus while your costs creep up and your stress levels rise.
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Your practice drifts further behind the ones that are adapting and growing.
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Your patients feel it too - because a tired, frustrated practitioner can’t show up as their best self.
And here’s the bit no one wants to admit out loud: eventually you start to wonder if maybe it’s just you.
“Maybe I’m not cut out to run a practice. Maybe this is as good as it gets.”
Spoiler alert: It is you.
BUT that’s the best news you’ll hear today - because if you’re the problem, you’re also the solution.
N.B. I want you to really understand that you’re not broken. You’re not destined to stay stuck in practice Groundhog Day; you are just repeating old beliefs and patterns that no longer serve you. Until you change them, they’ll keep pulling you back to the same results, no matter how hard you try to push forward.
Once you see that clearly, everything changes. Because now you have a choice.
You can keep looping in Groundhog Day . . . or you can do the work to rewrite the beliefs that are running the show and create a very different future for you and your practice.
Be under no illusion it is work - hard work - but it's essential work if you want to achieve different results - you have to really want the change to be consistent in putting in the work.
So how can you be sure it really is you?
I totally get it - I've been there. You could well be thinking:
“Surely it can’t be me. I’m working flat out. I’ve tried everything. I’m doing all the right things.”
But here’s the thing. . . if after all of this time and effort and you’re still not getting the results you want, there’s a good chance you’re stuck in patterns you can’t even see. That’s what makes this so tricky. From the inside, it feels like effort. From the outside, it looks like self-sabotage.
That’s why we created the Is it me? Quiz to help you gain that clarity - to see it in black and white
It takes less than five minutes. Just 7 simple questions. And at the end, you’ll see - as clear as day in your own bespoke results report - whether you’re helping your practice grow, or whether you’re the one unknowingly putting the brakes on.
This is your easy first step. No overthinking. No judgement. Just clarity.
ππΌ Take the free “Is it me?” Quiz now and find out for yourself.
But then what?!
Oh crap - if it really is me how the hell do I start figuring my way through that minefield? I’m not a psychologist π³
Relax, I hear you. When you finish the quiz, you won’t be left staring at your results thinking, "Sh*# what do I do now?”
Don't panic we’ve got you.
Your next step is the Momentum Mindset Reboot - a simple but powerful 20-day reset that helps you start rewiring your thinking straight away.
Think of it as your safety net. Instead of relying on willpower (which always runs out), we’ve built a 20-day reboot programme designed specifically for super-busy, stressed, and overwhelmed practitioners. Inside, you’ll find small, practical steps that fit into your day - so you can start moving forward with more clarity, confidence, and calm.
This isn’t about fixing you (you’re not broken). It’s about helping you get unstuck so you can finally step out of Groundhog Day and start building the practice, and the life you really want.β€οΈ
Stop spinning your wheels
You don’t need another flyer or a better logo. You don’t need to jump on the latest social trend.
And you definitely don’t need to keep dragging your old self into every “new” attempt at growth.
Enough with the spaghetti marketing. Enough with blaming the tools.
If you really want things to change, you’ve got to start with the only thing you can actually control: you.
ππΌ Take the free “Is it me?” Quiz today. It’s quick, it’s eye-opening, and it might just be the first step that changes everything.
At the end of the day, this isn’t about working harder, finding the latest shiny marketing trick, or sacrificing more of yourself. It’s about finally facing the truth: the biggest shift your practice needs starts with you. The good news? You don’t have to figure it out alone — the Is it me? Quiz is your first, simple step. Take it today and see for yourself how much lighter and clearer the path forward can feel.
ππΌ Take the quiz now — your practice, your patients, your team, and your future self are waiting π₯°
Thank you soooo much for taking the time to stop by my healthcare marketing blog today. I really hope you found value in spending some time here today.
I’d be so grateful if you could spare me just another 5 minutes to share your thoughts or questions in the box at the end of this page. What are you going to do differently now in your private practice?
Oh, and please use the social share buttons if you think other people you know might benefit from seeing this.
Until next time.
Thank you
Jill Woods
Healthcare Marketing Specialist
Founder of Practice Momentum
