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. 

Micki Schaffer

I have founded two health and wellness businesses, each at different stages of my life when I needed more autonomy and flexibility in my work. The first was a Pilates studio I started when my twin daughters were between the ages of one and three. I wanted to pursue my passion for helping others get healthy while still being present as a mom. Read More>>

Maria Adorjan

After graduating from college in 2014, I worked for different spas, a chiropractor, and a fitness community center in which I learned how to put in practice what I learned in school to help people heal and improve their health. I opened my practice in 2017, and since then I have been working and studying for better serve my clients. Read More>>

Brittany Dickinson

When I first decided to start my own practice, it seemed like a quick decision from the outside. In reality, I had been practicing for nearly a decade, honing my craft of cosmetic dentistry and loving how my work could transform a person’s life. Read More>>

Jared Caban

I didn’t start MD Fit because I wanted to be an entrepreneur—I started it because I got fed up with what I was seeing in traditional medicine. I went through the full medical training pathway. You’re taught how to diagnose, how to prescribe, how to manage disease. But what I kept running into—over and over—were patients stuck in a loop. Read More>>

Justin Killingsworth

When I decided to start The Color Bar, it wasn’t because I woke up one day wanting to own a business. It came from seeing a gap—both in the guest experience and in how stylists were supported. I knew there had to be a better way to build something that felt consistent, professional, and growth-focused for everyone involved. Read More>>

Alena Zdorovchenko

The decision to open my hypnotherapy practice was both intuitive and intentional. For years before officially launching on September 21st, 2025, I had been supporting people through tools like energy work and subconscious exploration. But it wasn’t structured. I realized that to create deeper, lasting results, I needed a more precise and ethical framework—so I committed to hypnotherapy and opened my practice. Read More>>

Meenakshi Gupta

Establishing my own practice was less about entrepreneurship and more about responsibility. After years of formal training in classical Ayurveda, I began to see a growing disconnect. Wellness was becoming increasingly fragmented. People were consuming information on diet, gut health, and lifestyle in isolation, often guided by trends rather than understanding. AyurRoots® was built to address that gap. Read More>>

Curteesha Bell

The early days of building my own brand/business began with a decision to finally give myself permission to walk in my purpose. At the time, that meant stepping away from the security of a full-time position and transitioning into part-time work so I could create the space to explore my passion for fitness and life coaching. Read More>>

Josh Funk

The story of Rehab 2 Perform didn’t start in a boardroom. It started on a lacrosse field. As a Division I athlete at Ohio State and later a professional player in the National Lacrosse League, I lived in the performance world. I knew what it meant to train at a high level, to compete, and to push a body to its limits. Read More>>

Miriam Hall

Building Something Beautiful: The Story Behind Hall Orthodontics When I first decided to start my own practice, it wasn’t just about opening doors—it was about creating something that truly reflected who I am, both as a clinician, a mother, and who I am as a person. I wanted to build an environment that felt elevated, welcoming, and deeply centered on the patient experience. Read More>>

ARACELI VAZQUEZ

The Story of Building My Own Practice: From Butterflies in My Stomach to North Texas Success. Starting my own practice was one of the most nerve racking moments of my career. I clearly remember the butterflies in my stomach as I prepared to sign my very first lease. Read More>>