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.

Laken Stamps

I was working at an everyday type clinic and knew I wanted to open a practice inside a gym. I had to fight to get where I ended up and I wish I had a mentor to show me the do’s and don’t’s along the way. If i could give any advice to docs opening their own clinic, reach out to someone who seems to have a successful practice and ask for guidance. Read more>>

Courtney Avery

My name is Courtney Avery and I am a Licensed Dispensing Optician in Tennessee. I am the owner of Clariti Eye Care which is the only mobile Optical dispensary in Memphis and currently opening its first physical location in Collierville which will open in October of this year in the Carriage Crossing Shopping Center. My journey as an Optician started very young as I was only 17 years old when I was given an opportunity by my idol Mrs Kim Williams the owner of 2001 Vision Center. She taught me so much about valuing your patients and treating them as family. Read more>>

Lina Alvino

This story probably sounds familiar. I was a burnt out clinician trying to survive a busy schedule and constantly working to overcome imposter syndrome. I stayed in this constant state of overwhelm with simultaneous doubt for about 3 years before I decided to test the waters of starting my own business. I had so much fear of failing and that I wouldn’t be good enough, but I finally met people who encouraged me to take the leap and that I had what was necessary to be an entrepreneur. I tried to go at it on my own for the first few months, and the best thing I did for myself was invest in a business coach. She only helped me for a few months, but the amount of confidence I gained in networking with others and marketing myself was priceless. Read more>>

Branden Nelson

From the moment Branden Nelson decided to start his own firm, BN The HR Guy LLC, he knew it would be no small task. After years of honing his skills in human resources and business consulting, he envisioned creating a consultancy that would cater to businesses of all sizes and industries, delivering world-class HR solutions. Reflecting on the early days, Branden explains that it all began with a strong sense of purpose. “I started my firm by first crafting out my mission statement,” he recalls. “It was important for me to understand my ‘why’—what my purpose was, and who I wanted to serve.” With that foundation, Branden locked himself in his home office for weeks, meticulously writing out his game plan by hand. This wasn’t just about services and pricing—it was about creating a client management process that would define how his firm operated. Read more>>

Joseph House

I graduated chiropractic school in December of 2017, thinking I had a plan. As we all know, plans don’t always go as planned! I was an associate doctor at an office in my hometown for five years when I decided that I wanted to start my own practice. I had a different vision for how I wanted to serve my community. I wanted to get away from a pain management style office, and start focusing on improving the health of my people for the rest of their life! Read more>>

Rikki Mccoy

I started my practice because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in my field. I wanted to create a safe space for people who look like me to heal and live life as their highest selves. That is how Flourishing Minds LLC was born. Authenticity is big for me. As a therapist, I wanted to be able to show up as my self in the work that I do. I believe that being authentic shows others that they too can be authentic and live in their full truths as human beings. So many stigmas are alleviated, and so many hearts are healed in the therapy room. It is truly amazing experience. My advice would be to show up as your full self. Who you are, what you believe in, and how you want to be remembered in this world. Your business will thrive as a result. Read more>>

Jennifer Whang

I remember graduating from Graduate School in 2015 in getting my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy. Going to graduate school and getting a degree in therapy was something I had my eyes set on since I was in high school, but the thought of achieving it seemed out of reach for me. Going through my graduate program and having my first hand experience of doing my own therapy was eye-opening in several ways. I had a great relationship with my therapist and it was my first time having a therapist who was a woman of color. I felt validated, understood and seen by her, along with also challenged by her in the best ways possible. When we finally closed I just remember thinking I wanted to be like her in supporting others through their journeys and helping them get to a space of authenticity. Read more>>

Sara Hallajian

After co-owning a salon for several years, I had a clear vision of the core values and atmosphere I wanted for my own salon while I incorporated my Trichology practice within it. Finding the perfect location was a top priority, and while I had to learn a lot about working with contractors, budgeting, and securing finances, I enjoyed the research and felt confident in my choices. Now, nearly three years in, I’m glad I stayed true to my vision and brought in people who shared it. Every decision, from the glassware to the products we carry, was intentional and aligned with the kind of clients I wanted to attract. My advice to anyone starting a business is to take calculated risks. It’s important to have the financial resources to realize your vision, as it will ultimately give you the freedom and autonomy to run your business your way. Read more>>

Gregory Andonian, Md

Approximately 2 years after I had graduated residency and was working as a hospitalist I decided to follow my true passion of aesthetic medicine and get trained and become board certified in aesthetic medicine so I sought out to find the best training and experience I can get which I found at the American Board of Aesthetic Medicine. I had always wanted to become an aesthetic physician and after becoming board certified I immediately started to look for an office that I could work out of and establish my practice. It was at this time that I found my primary location for Andon Aesthetics and started on the journey of opening my practice. This was not an easy undertaking as the office needed a lot of remodeling as well as all the factors involved with an aesthetic practice like opening accounts with various companies and obtaining products as well as lasers in order to provide everything a patient could need or ask for in one location. Read more>>

Kori Frieling

I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2012. In that time I have worked in many different settings. Including chiropractic offices, clinics, and 4 star resorts. I love helping people recover from injuries and to help them have an hour of relaxation. I decided to go out on my own and open my business shortly after my child was born in 2020. I realized that working as an employee was not compatible with being a new mom in the pandemic. I found an office space and slowly began to build my clientele. I did a lot of marketing of myself and my skills to other wellness professionals, such as chiropractors, acupuncturists, and mental health therapists in the early stages of my business. Read more>>

Liz Gray

I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was a little girl. It started with lemonade stands and selling crayon drawings to my family, and later morphed into a private psychotherapy practice in 2 states (IL and CT), an online consulting business to help therapists streamline their systems, and most recently, a multi-state LLC with my business partner, Olivia Verhulst, LMHC, PMH-C, called Maternal Trauma Support. When I first opened up my private practice in 2016, I spent so much time researching the big decisions (i.e. what type of business entity to create and where to rent office space) as well as the tiny details (i.e. the logo, name of my business, and website host), that I ended up in information overload. When I started to see my computer screen as a blurry blob of information, I knew I needed to start making decisions. So I met with an attorney who guided me to create an S-Corporation, which is something I would’ve done differently knowing what I know now. At the time, I did not realize how much more expensive, time-consuming, and complicated an S-Corp is than an LLC (at least in Illinois), especially as someone just starting out who barely made enough money to cover my business expenses. Read more>>

Christy Cannon

As a long time NICU nurse of 20+ years, I saw a lot of unnecessary medical intervention around labor and childbirth in the hospital setting. It bothered me that women weren’t given choices about their body, and their birth experience. I witnessed providers making choices out of convenience, staffing ratios, and other external factors that often were not in the best interest of the patient. I always knew I wanted to go back to school for my masters in nursing, and when my youngest child of five was in preschool, I started exploring options and wondering where I could make the most impact. I attended a spiritual psychology program in 2017 at the University of Santa Monica where we dove into questions such as, “what brings you joy and purpose in your work?” Read more>>

Cordelia Hanna

I established the non-profit back in 1993. Along with two midwives, we founded Wholistic Midwifery School of Southern California (WMSSC) as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit community charity in Los Angeles. The aim was to provide an alternative to the lengthy apprenticeships for student midwives to become California Licensed Midwives and Certified Professional Midwives, as licensure for direct-entry midwives had just been codified in the California Business and Professions Code in 1994. The founders also envisioned a freestanding birth center accepting Medi-Cal and serving low-income families. Read more>>