Changing the Name

From several e-mails I've received it's obvious that some of my colleagues have noticed that over the past month my practice has undergone a name change. It's true. I didn't make a big deal about it because I really thought few would even notice.

But some have noticed. I'm now working as a nonprofit Limited Liability Company that has been built around my name.

For the past 16 years I've run my practice as part of an association of practices called Counseling Ministries, Incorporated. It's been a good association and I've benefited from my years with the company. So this is a happy parting and I wish my former associates nothing but good.

When one is starting out in the profession there is a benefit to being part of a company or organization. It helps others take you seriously and the moral support you get from your associates is important. However, as time passes there comes a point when you need to ask yourself if continuing to be part of someone else's organization remains a good idea. After a while your name, not a company name, needs to become the "trademark" of your work.

I had some help in getting to this decision. I've always valued consultation. After ten years of practice I became a client of a wonderful and insightful practice consultant, Lynn Grodzki (www.privatepracticesuccess.com) and the help she gave me was invaluable. This time around I did an internal consultation using resources from the National Guild of Hypnotists and I want to thank Dr. Damon for his support in my taking a hard look at where my practice was and where it needed to go. Also, colleagues who have not taken a look at the work of the Guild's marketing expert, Elsom Eldridge, are missing out on a good thing. I can't recommend his book The Obvious Expert highly enough (www.obvious-expert.com).

So, with a little help from friends I've repositioned my practice, changing the sort of corporation I use in the process. The option to form a Limited Liability Company in the United States only became available in 1997, and it's a far better format for me than the corporate structure I had been using.

So, from now on my practice name is Rev. C. Scot Giles, D.Min., LLC (I'll use "CSGilesLLC" for short) and my new domain name is www.csgiles.org. If you get a minute, change your Address Book listing for me as I'm not planning on keeping the old domain name forever.

Everything else remains the same in my practice. I'm not even going to re-arrange my desk. But I do plan on adding some new services and products as we enter the New Year.