Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole (Nikki) Lacherza-Drew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nicole (Nikki), thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

As a Licensed Psychologist, I never imagined I would own a virtual assistant company, alongside my private practice. My professional path had always been rooted in mental health… helping others manage burnout, anxiety, and stress. Ironically, a few years into running my private practice, I realized I was experiencing the very burnout I so often helped my clients navigate. I opened my private practice in 2019, right before the world shut down with COVID-19. Overnight, my caseload was full, which was great, but also an emotional marathon. I specialize in boundary work and thought I had mine figured out, but over time, I found that my usual limits weren’t protecting me anymore. I knew I needed a change. In the summer of 2022, I made a bold decision: I began scaling back my caseload and started offering administrative support as a virtual assistant. It wasn’t a calculated business move at all… it was more like following a spark of curiosity and I just figured it would be a “side-hustle.” I’ve always loved organization, systems, and the behind-the-scenes logistics that make things run smoothly. A few colleagues hired me to help with scheduling, email management, and admin tasks. Before I knew it, word spread, and within six months, I had a waitlist. At that point, I had a choice to make. I could keep it small and manageable, or take a real leap and build a team. I chose the leap. I brought on two trusted colleagues, both clinicians who understood the sensitivity of the work and the needs of therapists. It was nerve-wracking… I didn’t know if it would work, but I did know that there was a need for ethically grounded, organized, and thoughtful support in the mental health space. Fast forward to today, that small side project is now CouchSide Coordinators, a team of ten providing administrative, social media, graphic design, SEO, and soon, copywriting services for mental health professionals and entrepreneurs across the country. It wasn’t always smooth- there were hiring mistakes, tough lessons in leadership, and late nights figuring out systems, but the risk was worth it. Not just because the business grew, but because I rediscovered joy and balance in my work. Taking that leap reminded me that growth often means stepping outside of the boxes we build for ourselves, even when it’s scary!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

So, by day, I’m the owner of CouchSide Coordinators, and by night, I’m a licensed psychologist. CouchSide started as a side-hustle during a period when I was feeling the effects of professional burnout. I had opened my private practice in 2019, right before the pandemic, and while business was steady, the combination of a full caseload and the world around me quickly became overwhelming. As a psychologist, I’ve always specialized in boundary work, but I realized that even my own boundaries needed re-evaluation. So, in 2022, I decided to take a step back clinically and explore something that had always come naturally to me: organization, systems, and admin work. A few colleagues reached out for help managing their practices, and from there, CouchSide Coordinators was born. Today, we’re a virtual assistant and business support agency that specializes in helping therapists and entrepreneurs streamline the “behind-the-scenes” side of their work so they can focus on what they do best. Our services include administrative support (like email management, scheduling, and newsletter setup), social media management, SEO and Google Ad Management, website creation and design, graphic design, and now copywriting.

The problem we solve is simple but powerful: we give our clients their time back. Most of our clients are therapists or other wellness providers who were never taught the business side of private practice. They know how to help people, but not necessarily how to run a business efficiently, and that’s where we come in. What sets us apart is that CouchSide is owned and operated by a licensed psychologist. Every decision I make comes from an ethical and clinician-informed perspective- understanding HIPAA, client confidentiality, and the emotional weight of running a mental health business. We offer month-to-month contracts because I understand firsthand how private practice can ebb and flow throughout the year.

What I’m most proud of is my team. They’re the heartbeat of CouchSide. We’ve grown from a one-person operation to a team of ten, and each person brings something unique to the table. I’ve worked hard to create an environment that’s supportive, positive, and burnout-free… because that’s exactly why CouchSide began.

At its core, CouchSide is about balance, boundaries, and building systems that make business easier, so our clients can truly focus on what matters most.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Managing a team, especially in a virtual setting, requires equal parts structure and empathy. For me, the foundation of leadership has always been trust, transparency, and communication. I’ve learned that people do their best work when they feel genuinely valued- not just for what they produce, but for who they are. At CouchSide Coordinators, I make it a point to check in with my team regularly- not just about tasks or deadlines, but about how they’re doing. I think I talk to most of them every single day. We celebrate wins, talk openly about challenges, and make space for personal lives because, at the end of the day, we’re all human. I also believe strongly in giving my team autonomy. I hire people I trust, and then I trust them to do what they do best. Micromanagement kills morale faster than anything. Another big piece of maintaining high morale is keeping the culture grounded in why we do what we do. CouchSide was born out of burnout, so everything we build prioritizes balance, boundaries, and support. I never want my team to feel the kind of exhaustion that led me to start this business in the first place. That means keeping workloads realistic, encouraging time off, and modeling healthy boundaries myself. Lastly, I think small gestures matter. Whether it’s sending a message of appreciation, celebrating birthdays, or highlighting great work in our group chat. Those moments remind the team that what they do matters. When people feel seen, respected, and supported, morale tends to take care of itself.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Our best source of new clients has consistently been word-of-mouth referrals. The majority of people who find CouchSide Coordinators come to us because someone they know, whether a colleague, a friend, or another therapist, has worked with us before and had a great experience. We’ve had clients who used us for an ongoing contract, and others who just needed one-time project support, like help with a website redesign or launching a new offer. Either way, when they tell others about the ease, efficiency, and peace of mind they gained from working with us, it naturally builds trust before we’ve even met the new client. To me, that’s the best kind of growth- when your clients are so happy with your work that they want to share it. It’s a warm handoff from someone who’s already seen what we do, and it speaks volumes about the relationships we’ve built and the quality of service our team provides.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.couchsidecoordinators.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couchsidecoords/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CouchSideCoordinators/