Establishing your own firm or practice is an incredibly daunting task. From myriad of legal and regulatory hurdles to the financial and career related risks, professionals who choose to start their own firm have to overcome so much and so we wanted to reach out to those who’ve done it successfully for advice, insight and stories.

Lauren Harper

Starting my own medical practice began with a dream seed planted by my mom. I had been in the pediatric medical field for over 10 years, as a pediatric intensive care nurse and charge nurse, and a pediatric nurse practitioner in a large children’s hospital. I loved what I did, and had never thought outside of the box to do anything differently. Then, one day, when I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter, my mom mentioned to me that she thought I could practice integrative medicine on my own. Read more>>

Dr. Marc Ronert

From an early age, I knew that I wanted to have a career in medicine and be a doctor. But during medical school in Germany we attended a plastic surgery conference in Texas, where my trajectory changed. It was 2004 and I was giving a presentation at the conference about tissue expanders. Little did I know that I would meet my wife, Janna, at the conference. She had just launched a skincare line called Image Skincare. Even though I was a surgeon, I always had a dream of starting my own business. Read more>>

Daron Mathena

I never wanted to own my own business or practice. I wanted to get my degree, work under someone else, and go home and enjoy my kids. I ended up graduating during a global pandemic and getting licensed in March 2021. I got a job at my dream clinic, only working for someone else wasn’t as dreamy as I thought it was. Instead of being an employee, I was misclassified as an independent contractor and I was giving 50 percent of everything to the house. I ended up spending more to drive there, pay my Au Pair (nanny from a different country), and buy needles than I did working. I wasn’t getting the balance I craved. Read more>>

Jennifer Yaeger

I had been a Licensed Professional Counselor for 16 years before I started my own business. I decided to go out on my own because I had a vision for having a practice that not only offered counseling, but also offered Yoga for Mental Health, Expressive Art Therapy Groups, and Massage Therapy in order to help people take care of their mind, body, and spirit. I started small with one practitioner from each field in order to see if the business model would even take off. I allowed my business to grow bigger than our space even allowed in order to make sure that when we moved into a bigger space, that I could maintain it. Read more>>

Erica Thompson

I started my private practice in January 2018. Up until that time I had worked in community mental health, college counseling centers, and dual diagnosis treatment programs. I was ready to take the leap into being my own boss in the search for greater work life balance. The biggest challenge was probably the fact that in grad school we received little to no education on what it took to be a business owner. For me, it was important to network with those who were established, to identify mentors, and to take advance of business coaching programs. Other things that set me up for success included a love of networking, Read more>>

Mandy TRICHELL

As fitness professionals go, my story is a little unusual. I haven’t been a lifelong athlete. In fact, most of my life I would have given anything to keep from sweating. I was the kid that failed P.E. class. I was the last one to get picked for teams and the first one to get hit during dodge ball. I found my way into loving exercise as an adult, as a divorced mother of three who needed a life altering shift. I found that shift in learning to love and take care of my body. Read more>>