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.

Randi Botnick

When I began practicing alternative health and mind-body wellness back in 1997, I first established myself as a Reiki practitioner and then a yoga therapist. I should preface this by saying that I had gotten a master’s degree in management well before I ever knew that I was going to go in this direction. But having that background, as well as 10 years of experience working for nonprofit organizations and the arts, I knew the ins and outs of running a business. Read more>>

Ragan Killen

As for many young adults, the COVID-19 pandemic was a defining time period for me. During this time I was working at a large university in their mental health clinic on campus. The university I was working at had a student population of around 25,000 students and our counseling center had 9 full time clinicians. Our center offered individual and group therapy sessions to all registered students as well as crisis/walk-in hours for students with emergent needs. Read more>>

Elizabeth Clark

I am a doula with a decade of experience and wow what a different world we live in now. When I started my doula practice, I truly had no idea what it would take to run a success business. I don’t come from a business background, didn’t know any mamas here, but knew I was called to do this work. I knew I wanted to do this (serve mamas), I wanted to be successful (make money), and I wanted to this with my babies by my side. I had already dabbled in some entrepreneurship experiences and was eager to build a business and a career around the hours of mamahood. Read more>>

Angell Pearce

Starting your own practice is a wild ride! In my experience, I was met with 2 distinct challenges. The first was all the back-end stuff – creating a website, social media accounts, email funnels, branding – all that jazz. Figuring this stuff out on my own was like throwing hours and hours of my spare time (when not working my full-time job) down a black-hole and coming out with something that was “just OK”. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction, right? Read more>>

Jessica Schugardt

When starting early on in my Reiki & Spiritual Business, I took many chances on myself. During the pandemic I took a chance on running my business full time at my home. After having time off from my current teaching profession I already has a Reiki business that was already in the works. I noticed a need in my industry. Many people were seeking a safe space in person for healing. A space where they could go, relax and feel like they were seen and supported. Read more>>

Valerie Davis

I started my practice, Holistic Mountain Healing, LLC (previously Holistic Mountain Counseling) back in the whirlwind year that was 2020. Before starting my business, I was working full-time at a hospital that treated individuals with eating disorders and was continuously noticing aspects of the job that were not in alignment with my values as a therapist. I have always been passionate about holistic health and wanted to incorporate various types of support to my clients and community; I felt limited in what I was allowed to discuss and how I was able to practice in my position. Read more>>

Louis Degironemo

Everyday is a struggle when it comes to owning your own business . I believe its especially hard as a physician because not only do we have to be exceptional at being a doctor and treating patients to produce the best outcomes, but we also have to learn to own and manage a growing business . This isn’t taught in medical school . Also being from New York and transplanting to Dallas not only brought new cultural experiences but also created a struggle to create a name for yourself, network and create exposure.. I have been able to do that by creating a warm bed side manner and treating each patient as if they were family. Read more>>

Holly Wood

It was Friday, March 13, 2020. I finally got to the point where I had had enough at the group therapy practice where I was working. I was fed up with working at a place that was unethical to both staff and clients and for the first time in my life, was going to quit without another job lined up. I had only been working at this group practice for 8 months, but it was time to go, and I was confident that I could find a job at another group therapy practice in LA. Read more>>

Latonya Hardy

My desire to become a business owner in healthcare is multifactorial and built upon a desperation to address barriers in healthcare I witnessed while practicing in healthcare over the past 15 years. There have been several life challenges that delayed this journey to becoming a business owner, but I am always reminded of my childhood dream of wearing a “white jacket to work”. I was ignorant to what this dream meant. As a child growing up in a single parent home, education was not a priority. Read more>>

John Humphrey Jr

My journey into entrepreneurship began about 2 years after graduating from dental school. Having worked as an associate in three practices I hoped to learn about how to run a business. I did learn a lot, but mostly what not to do, which is also extremely important. I purchased an existing practice from a retiring dentist, so I had an immediate stream of income and a full patient base to jump right into. On the down side, I came into a practice that was someone else’s vision. Read more>>