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.

Robbie Patton

I am currently in the process of transitioning from being a freelance video editor to starting a production company that will handle everything. After being a staff video editor for 6 years and two years of being a freelance video editor. I felt the need to have more control over which kinds of video I make, as well as the quality of those videos. I get clients from word-of-mouth and some cold outreach. For cold outreach I have been filming myself talking to the potential client and sending that video embedded in an email with a custom thumbnail with their name on and my face on it. It adds a super personal touch that seems to get a good response rate. My goal with this new production company is to not just make videos but help clients to create a strategy around photo and video so that they can get more business themselves. Read more>>

Lisa Callahan

I started my coaching career in 2004, when I was hired to work for Weight Watchers. I loved helping people develop a healthy relationship with food. When we moved to Los Angeles in 2017 I decided I wanted to go out on my own. I got certified as Master Transformational Coach and founded Transformation for Real. The main challenge was believing I would get clients. I had been coaching for 14 years for a company, would people hire me directly? What I know now is it takes patience and consistency in marketing yourself. You have to stretch yourself outside of your comfort zone for things to happen. Potential clients don’t magically know that you exist. I found that networking to be incredibly helpful in growing my business. Read more>>

Leia Rispoli

Initially, I had no plan to start my own practice. The opportunity presented itself coinciding the timing of deciding to end employment at a previous practice. There had been several mentors around me, encouraging the consideration of starting my own practice. This encouragement, combined with the support from my husband and family, we decided to take the leap and go for it! I was 4months pregnant at the time, with my 2nd child, so we knew there would be challenges. I also had no background nor significant interest in business and finance, so I needed guidance. I am grateful for incredible colleagues and mentors. I was not shy about asking for help to those that I respected, trusted, and envisioned as those being “successful” in a private practice healthcare sense. My advice: you never know what opportunities may fall into your lap, and it’s always great to take chances outside of your comfort zone; But the best preparation, in my opinion, is to surround yourself with people you trust and respect, with similar ethics to yours. Read more>>

Tej Mudigonda

Medicine has transitioned quite a bit from when I was a medical student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, almost 10 years ago with big hospital conglomerates, large corporate medical groups, and fewer traditional isolated solo/group practices. In my specialty (dermatology), in particular, there has been a surge of large private-equity backed groups and practices dominated by non-physicians (advanced practioners) with few formally residency-trained board-certified dermatologists. This new model, for the better, has certainly immensely improved access to care for many patients in remote areas who may not be able to drive or receive care. At the same time- and I stress this to my colleagues at all levels- it is important to continue to provide the utmost highest level of care to each and every patient as if he or she were a family member and triage patients when appropriate while practicing in this new climate of medicine. Read more>>

Hannah Flammang

In the back of my mind I always knew I would one day own my own practice, but getting there was a journey. I had been an employee for several years after graduating from chiropractic school, and for several reasons. it became very apparent that it was time to leave and go out on my own. The hardest part for me was taking the initial leap of faith in leaving a steady job for the unknown of self-employment. But I can tell you that starting a business is one of the best decisions I have every made! Yes, there are challenges and yes, sometimes it’s really hard, but in the end, it’s always been worth it. My advice to young professionals considering starting their own practice is to take the leap of faith and just do it. I wish I wouldn’t have doubted myself and waited so long. Read more>>

Justyna Wawrzonek

The early days of starting my own practice were both exhilarating and daunting. I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to be confined by the traditional therapy model. I wanted my practice to feel true to who I am and reflect my diverse interests. The first step was gaining clarity on the type of work I wanted to do—integrating s*x therapy, yoga therapy, somatic modalities, and body-centered approaches. This holistic vision required not only setting up the practical aspects of a business but also navigating how to present this integrative approach in a field that often expects a more traditional framework. Read more>>

Treva Gordon

Hello, my name is Treva Gordon, and I am the founder of Lending Our Shared Stories (L.O.S.S.), a nonprofit organization/ministry dedicated to grief support. My journey towards creating this organization was unexpected and stemmed after the loss of my beloved spouse Robert of 26 years who passed away from cancer on June 26, 2019. The loss left me hurt, broken, devastated, and shattered. Read more>>