The Top 3 Challenges Every Self-Employed Health Practitioner Faces

I love being self-employed!

But let’s be honest: being self-employed is also a balancing act between marketing a successful business and fulfilling a heartfelt mission.

When I opened my acupuncture practice 25 years ago, I had zero business training. I was motivated purely by the desire to help others experience the healing transformation that acupuncture and herbal medicine gave me. Like you, I didn’t choose this career for wealth or fame. I chose it to help people heal.

But running a business requires more than a good heart and great skills. I learned the hard way that no matter how good or smart you are, you also need to know how to market and sell your services.

For most health practitioners, this happens in three phases that shape every private practice I’ve ever seen (including my own). They overlap like a Venn diagram and pull on different parts of us: People, Money, and Time.

Each represents both a core desire and a core stress point. The heart of our work lives in getting People through our doors. Our sense of responsibility and good business planning motivates us to make enough Money to pay our bills (and hopefully grow). And we seek Time to experience the work-life balance that brings us peace of mind. 

Phase 1: Foundation — The People Phase (Where Passion Begins)

Early on, everything revolves around connection. You’re eager to fill your schedule, help more people, and feel the satisfaction of seeing lives change. It’s all heart. Networking events, word-of-mouth referrals, and your first website are all driven by love for your craft.

The catch is that when appointments stop, income stops. Your satisfaction becomes tied to your schedule, and taking a break can feel impossible.

Phase 2: Growth — The Money Phase (When Reality Knocks)

Sooner or later, expenses pile up: rent, CEUs, insurance, software, and taxes. Raising prices or extending hours helps for a while, but it keeps you chained to your treatment table.

I once coached an acupuncturist who reached out to me for help “getting more patients through Facebook.” When I asked questions and looked a little deeper, I discovered she already had a full schedule and was heading toward burnout. What she really wanted was more income without seeing more people. She needed leverage. (You can hear her full story here.)

 You can hear her full story here. 

Phase 3: Transition — The Time Phase (Freedom and Friction)

Eventually, you crave breathing room: time for family, health, and life. Yet as a self-employed practitioner, time off often feels like a double whammy. You lose income because you’re not there to see people, and you spend money while you’re away on flights, hotels, and entertainment. Then you return to a backlog of calls, emails, and work waiting to catch up.

I remember coming back from vacation to a packed week that made me question whether time off was even worth it. That’s not a healthy way to live, and it’s certainly not sustainable.

Why These Phases Overlap

You’ll move through People, Money, and Time over and over again, sometimes all in the same day. When your heart, mind, and sense of peace are out of sync, burnout creeps in. When they align, you begin to Love Your Livelihood™ again.

That’s why understanding this simple framework matters. It gives you language for what’s really happening and a way to design systems that support all three.

If you’re ready to explore how your website can become a working partner that supports you through every phase (instead of just acting as a static brochure), check out my next article and livestream on how to shift from a website to a web platform that attracts patients and creates new income opportunities beyond the one-to-one model.

You deserve to love your livelihood, not just your mission. Here’s to building a practice that supports your heart, your income, and your time.