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.

Bonnie Bradley

((I am certainly not a “practice” but there wasn’t another option for my field, so hope this works! ) Back in 2009, I was a new Mom staying up late watching the hit show, “Ace of Cakes” and wondering who would create something so wonderful for my new daughter, Stella at her birthday parties. I began to research cupcakes and all the recipes and decided I would learn. Read more>>

Dan Chapman

I came out of residency in May 2020 – not exactly he best time to begin a new job. As a residency-trained physical therapist, finding work is rarely a challenge but considering the state of the world at that time, I couldn’t even find an interview. Physical therapy clinics were empty, no one was hiring. Read more>>

Susan McCulley.

In 2000, I was working in a corporate job for a company that sold electronics and I hated it. I hated sitting in a cubicle, putting energy into selling TVs and car stereos when I had no interest in either. The culture was the embodiment of the patriarchy with a sexist, greedy, unkind owner and a bunch of male executives who ran around trying to please him. Read more>>

Liz Kent

I never imagined having my own practice. I figured with two small kids at home, I would never be able to get a business off the ground. I was working in a private practice as an independent contractor and setting my own hours and schedule and that was all going fine. But there were so many frustrations about the organization and systems in that practice and I guess my husband eventually got tired of my complaining about it. Read more>>

Rona Aquino

I started blogging because I wanted to share how yoga changed my life. It was a really good idea born out of honest intentions. I’m glad I started. Sometimes that’s the most important (and scariest) step, just taking the leap and taking action. From blogging, getting certifications, getting more followers, negotiating brand deals and getting sponsorships – I’ve made countless mistakes that turned into learning opportunities. So that’s my advice to anyone wanting to start a practice, business or creative idea. Don’t be afraid to take up space. Dream big and take inspired action. Read more>>

Michelle Stauffer

I have always had a dream of owning my own practice, but I never knew how it would come to fruition. I had glamorous visions and dreams of an extravagant brick n mortar business. Then came the pandemic and a little over a year of working as a physical therapist treating COVID-19 patients. I became burnt out by the workload. I also was able to see the growing gap in quality and available healthcare for the queer community. It was then I knew I needed to build this business I had been dreaming about for years. Read more>>

Seketa Bing-Nelson.

I received my Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling in 2008 from South University. After receiving my degree I worked for various mental health facilities and organizations in Savannah and the Atlanta area (via work from home). After years of being a dedicated employee, I decided that there was an organization within me and started my own practice. Seketa Bing-Nelson, Inc formally Nelson’s Counseling and Wellness, Inc was founded and started in February 2017. Read more>>

Emily Pardy.

I didn’t know I was starting a business when I established my practice, Ready Nest Counseling. If it had already existed, I would have happily applied to work here. But, there was a glaring gap in the system between medical care and motherhood that spoke to me as a woman, a mother, and now as a therapist. The need seemed obvious to me, to care for the emotional and relational well-being of a couple as they transition through conception, pregnancy, infertility, loss, or early parenthood. Read more>>

Willie Tarver III

When, I established my own firm I had just left a very good firm here in Atlanta. I did and didn’t know what I was getting into. Some of the main steps that I had to take after establishing the business basics were, where is my office going to be, what area of architecture and design am I going to focus on. Some of the key challenges that I ran into was organization through scaling. Read more>>

Tatyana Gluzberg.

Dr. Gluzberg is Board Certified in Family Medicine, Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine, and Certified in Skin Cancer Medicine, with over 38 years of experience. She has over 10 years of active training and certifications in lifestyle and anti-aging medicine. Tatyana worked as a family medicine physician in Murrells Inlet, and saw much success in her practice, even being awarded the Herald’s Best Choice Award in 2018 in Best Primary Physician category. Read more>>

Eric & Angel Koenig

After spending years building our counseling practice, Mindful Counseling, from the ground up we felt like we were being led to incorporate holistic health and wellness into our practice. After a lot of consideration, we decided to open up a sister company, Mindful Wellness Center, to provide services beyond traditional counseling. The goal of opening Mindful Wellness was to be a one-stop shop in our community where clients could come to address not only their mental health but their overall well-being. Read more>>

Jackie Waechter

I was running the family Auto Body Shop and working 60+ hours per week with a 45 minute commute each way – with 3 small children at home. It was exhausting and I missed my kids. I decided I wanted to be a stay home mom so I resigned and began my life at home. Soon the itch to work was nagging me but I still did not want to be available to my kids. I started making custom wedding sneakers at home in the evenings and selling them on Ebay (back in 1998). Read more>>

Serafina Abrams.

I’d never been self employed before but I was ready in the months just before the pandemic hit in the U.S. My vision was to create a service that combines two established approaches in the wellness/therapy industries – astrology readings and energy healing using Reiki – and offer them as stand alone services or combine them into one session. Often, in astrology readings the client’s life challenges are focused on which can sometimes include personal trauma that the client still carries. Read more>>