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.

Shelina Glenn

During the time, when I finally, obtained a moment to sit down from working full time, and or being in school, I was able to draw and design from the heart. I learned to move by Faith, as I have not ever been to an actual class to learn how to sew. With admiration and belief, I embarked upon a journey to the fabric store, once again lead by the heart to obtain exactly what was required to accomplish the designs bestowed upon me. This mission was unquestionable, and became quite evident, as the amount of fabric and items purchased, created the designs in an exact manner. I could no longer question this gift, nor deny the fire that burned within. Some would call it passion, but it is with understanding, I desired to reverence God. Suddenly, it came to me, Agape Kidz Couture. Read more>>

Albany Rojas Carrero

My path to establishing Rojas Law Office has been one of resilience, reinvention, and unwavering dedication to the law. I began my legal career in Venezuela, where I practiced for eight years. However, in 2016, I made the difficult decision to emigrate to the United States with my newborn child. This meant leaving behind my established career and facing the challenges of rebuilding my life in a new country. Read more>>

Gregorio (greg) Lozano Iii

he moment I chose to want to become a Licensed Professional Counselor, and realizing how through this role I can do work for a living independently, was the defining moment of when I started working on my goal of being in business for myself.
The biggest challenge for me to get to where I am today, was needing to return to school while already working a full time, and very stressful job while also trying to start a family. Working full time was an obstacle but not an actual barrier as I was able to get through it, despite me needing to drop classes and up to a semester at times. Once I got past my course requirements, I had to pass the national examination which required ongoing preparation all throughout my coursework and beyond, needing to study within school breaks. Read more>>

Helen Mcneil

The greatest challenge I ever faced when preparing to launch the Facial Treatment Services for Body by Helen McNeil was accepting the decision that I had to quit my first full-time Esthetician role. The beauty giant I previously worked for prohibited performing and selling the exact services you offered their clients. Because this decision was so difficult, I was very resistant to leaving my job for months. As time passed, my manager became more spiteful, a few clients left without paying, and I developed nightmares of frightening store thefts. My lack of peace grew as I noticed the lack of career advancements despite being one of our district’s highest retail and service-selling aestheticians during a pandemic. Read more>>

Bri Wyatt

Like any rational human being, I decided that the perfect time to start a business was while recovering from surgery. Because why not? Nothing says “entrepreneurial spirit” like being stuck in bed, juggling strategic planning between scheduled pain medication, and being unable to lift anything heavier than a throw pillow. Read more>>

Rita Lynn Lawrence

When you have a vision that’s as large as life itself others don’t always see it and that’s the main challenge. In the beginning of this idea I saw the fact that we need a new way to be healthy. The typical route we are taught to follow in America for our wellness is flooded with hustling, over working, and profits over people in the Healthcare system without much care. I had a vision to bring true love and support to healthcare with holistic resources such as love and meditation. This sounds almost too simple so people can’t imagine how these easy resources could save the world. However, when we first focus on self care and self love that is what oozes out to others and society as a whole. As time passes the hearts came to me and we now have a team of 12. Read more>>

Jennifer Ritchie

Owning a private practice was never something I saw myself doing. My burnout was real after working three years at a community mental health center exclusively treating children with severe trauma. I was encouraged to start my own practice by two colleagues who had recently done the same. I had no idea what this would involve or what I would do but I needed something different so I took the leap! With the guidance and support of these colleagues, I began taking steps to set up my practice while continuing to work full-time. Within four months, I was able to leave my full-time job and focus solely on my business in January 2020. Read more>>

Jessica Straughn

I’ve always believed that quality mental health care should be as compassionate, person-centered, and accessible as possible. Working in government agencies and community mental health settings, however, made me realize how often these environments limit both providers and clients. The high caseloads, restrictive policies, and misalignment with my personal values eventually took a toll on my well-being. I witnessed firsthand the sacrifices that both clients and therapists were forced to make—sacrifices that conflicted with the holistic, caring approach I wanted to offer. These experiences were the driving force behind my decision to establish a single-provider practice, Supportive Counseling LLC. Read more>>

Montserrat Andreys

Hey Doc Clinic started even before I realized it. The clinic started when patients in my care asked if I knew of other BIPOC and Queer healthcare providers in the area they could go to for other services. For many of my patients I was the first provider that shared some of their identities and they were hoping I would know more. Those inquiries inspired me to start a list of BIPOC health care providers in Portland OR. The list quickly grew in popularity with patients sharing it with friends, other providers sharing the resource and providers asking to be included. Patients would frequently muse about how cool it would be if we were all in the same place. So when it came time for me to open a clinic, I took the desires of the community to heart and decided to open a clinic with intersectional providers of varied disciplines. Read more>>