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.

Eric McLoyd

I started my financial industry journey working in a global institution. It was a great experience, but I realized I wanted to approach financial services differently. I also realized that I wanted to focus on a niche group. This group is Black 6-figure earners with high-powered corporate careers –struggling with managing their finances. Read more>>

Alexia Konko

I took a leap of faith and recently opened up my own private practice. Over the past year, I can honestly say that the best “marketing” strategy has been being my authentic self. Of course having my website, Psychology today profile, and social media accounts up as advertisements helped draw clients to my practice. I narrowed down who I want to help and with what. My theoretical orientation is Mindfulness and Holistic Psychology, which sets apart from the standard modes of orientation. Read more>>

Dr. Kayla Borchers

Hey, there! I’m Dr. Kayla, a physical therapy and holistic wellness private practice owner serving clients in Columbus, Ohio and Virtually worldwide. After working in a renowned yet traditional Sports Medicine clinic for over five years, I knew there had to be a better way to help my patients heal more fully. So often we were treating clients retroactively instead of proactively. Read more>>

Julia Malone

It has been such an adventure. We moved to a new city and I wanted to put some roots down and do what I love. I didn’t know if I could actually do it all since I had no knowledge of how to start or run a business. I started small, read tons of articles, networked with other private practice owners, and talked to trusted colleagues about their experiences. Read more>>

Jessica Palmer

Personally, I come from a background in cancer research, studying Cell and Molecular Biology as an undergraduate student and later working to study cancer, melanoma, mesothelioma, the aging tumor microenvironment, and photodynamic therapy interventions in Phase 1 clinical trials. During my time in research, my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer. It became, in many ways, an overwhelming experience. Studying cancer and seeing a loved one receive a terminal diagnosis was one of the most pivotal, difficult times in my life. Read more>>

Jonathan Block

The vision of Mindful Veterinary Care is to pioneer a veterinary model where the main focus of our business is supporting the people from the ground up. We care deeply about every individual that walks through our doors- the employees, the clients, and patients. We strongly feel that if people are supported and treated with kindness, compassion and respect, that they will be more motivated to perform at their best. The end result is better work environment, better medicine, better outcomes, happier clients, and a growing, thriving business. Read more>>

Holly “Dr. Holly” Sawyer, PhD, LPC, NCC, CAADC, SAP

I started my solo practice, Life First Therapy in April 2017. I help professional Black women navigate microaggressions in the workplace by helping them find their inner power through assertiveness without using substances to cope. Read more>>

Trisha Andrews

I entered the field of sex and relationship therapy a bit later than most. After staying home to raise my three kids full-time for 8 years, I decided to go back to graduate school for marriage and family therapy at 40 years old. Raising three kids put a big strain on my marriage and I knew we couldn’t be alone. I wanted to help others in our situation. By the time I completed my graduate work, I knew I wanted to open up my own practice. Read more>>

Omayra Lopez

I started my own practice in the summer of 2020, after the pandemic lockdown here in Florida. Read more>>

 Ashanti Rivera

In 2015 I launched my business as Red Tent Doula Services. As I grew in my field, I decided that I didn’t want to limit my brand to Doula services, because I provide so much more than just that. I decided to rebrand in 2017 as Woman’s Choice Perinatal Services. In the same year of my rebrand, I also launched my non-profit organization, Woman’s Choice Charitable Association which is a sister organization to my LLC. Providing all of the same services, but at no-cost or at reduced rates for eligible women in the community through the Community Doula Program. Read more>>

Andrea Cabrera Jakucs

It was challenging and fun to establish my own practice. I did this while I was still working full-time in community mental health. I would see my private practice clients after work or during the weekends. I worked long hours but thankfully my husband supported me around the home doing the chores such as cooking and cleaning which helped a lot. It took a year or so to entirely leave my community mental health work but I’m so glad I did. I am happier and less stressed. I love having the freedom to do what I want to do and when. Read more>>

Sybil Cummin

I have actually started and continue to run two separate businesses based on the needs I see in our community and the life that I would like to create for myself and my family. I started Arvada Therapy Solutions in 2011, a therapy practice focusing on children, teens and families. And then I started a membership community, Rising Beyond Power and Control at the end of 2021 for women survivors of relationship abuse. Read more>>

Chris Shelton

Taking the plunge and starting my business in 2001 was one of the scariest things I’ve done in my life. At that time, I was a full-time butcher, ‘working for the man,’ a single father of two and a martial artist. But I persevered and despite nay-sayers, I refused to give up! Even when family members and mentors told me I would not succeed, I ignored them. Read more>>

Luki Schultz

I started my own practice at the beginning of this year. Initially I was working for someone else, and I realized that I wanted to do things alittle differently. In my own practice I offer sliding scale, which makes it accessible to more people. This is one of the most important aspects that I wanted to address going into the healthcare field. When I was younger, I learned how to take care of my health through nutrition and herbs and I want to be able to share this with other people, because it helped me go down the right path. Read more>>

Kimberly Sebeck

As I trained as a doula and childbirth educator nearly 23 years ago, social media was not the go to method for finding clients or establishing a presence in the community. I clearly remember going to an office supply store and selecting thick stationery that had a rose on it and going back to my husband’s office and typing out letters of introduction and mailing these through the postal service to every pregnancy provider listed in the phone book. Yes, really! Read more>>

Samantha Allison-Evans

My firm was established during pandemic in 2020, when mental health was on the rise. I saw so many people across the country on social medial, TikTok , Instagram suffering in silence . I saw a need for telehealth and more people needing access to more therapists. I said. I need to start a telehealth practice so people could have more access to mental health. Read more>>

Joshua Torres

My journey into the world of tax and real estate business began with a deep passion for financial management and a desire to help others navigate the complex landscape of taxes and property investments. After graduating from the University of South Florida, I embarked on a mission to establish a business that would not only provide exceptional services but also drive tangible results for our clients. Read more>>