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.

Priscilla Rodriguez

I started my practice 8 months after I finished graduate school. I knew I wanted to eventually have a private practice of my own and it was thanks to my clinical supervisor at the time who supported me in taking the leap. It was the best choice I made. I remember I shared my worries and concerns of starting a private practice, as everything related to growing and managing a business was so new to me. She shared with me that I could take it slow as I maintained a full-time job as a foster care agency and slowly learn essential business skills. Read more>>

Dr. Elyse Cho

From the moment I opened that pink, plastic doctor play kit, and hopped on my Fisher Price rocking horse to ride to work, I knew that I wanted to be a doctor. I would convince all of my family to play doctor any chance I could. As I grew up, I did all of the “doctor-y” things. I spent many hours with my grandfather, who owns a large-game ranch, dissecting animal hearts, and brains, and whatever else I could get my hands on while he was busy processing the animals for customers., I volunteered, I “doctored” our pets, and I took a health science class in high school so I could experience what working in the hospital was like. Read more>>

Caryn Kirchhoff-herrera

I took a huge leap of faith going out on my own. I was terrified that no one would come . I decided to run a Groupon and that changed the game for me. I sold 300 facials with no reputation! That was huge! So from there I just hit the ground running. I built a monthly membership in order to keep my clients coming back. I would not have done anything differently to be honest. As far as advice I would say to make your own way. Yes people will give you advice but honestly you know what is best for you and your business. It is not always easy, but it is definitely always worth it! Read more>>

Tanya Pittman

When I decided to become a massage therapist, it was always to be able to help people with pain. Shortly after getting my first job with a Franchise, I quickly realized that the career I wanted to build and the kind of therapist I wanted to be would need to be done on my own. Practice and learning additional techniques was the most important thing, so I took as many classes as I could to become a better therapist. Read more>>

Dr. Stacia’ Alexander

I vividly recall announcing my intentions to my classmates in graduate school of planning to open a private practice as a licensed professional counselor. An older student in the back scoffed and implied I should rethink my plans because black people don’t go to counseling. I turned in my seat to face him directly and said some thing to the effect that his assumptions have nothing to do with my intent to educate my community on the value of counseling and to my services to communities where services were limited. This was the first of many naysayers when I launched in a time where there were very few resources about opening and sustaining a private practice. Read more>>

Staci Schnell

I started a small private practice working one day a week out of someone else’s office and quickly was full. I had a website, social media, paperwork, malpractice insurance, and a phone number to start. I was getting calls for things I didn’t specialize in and was starting to refer to other therapists. I built a nice referral network within the community. That’s when I came up with the idea of having a large group practice with multiple therapists with different specialties. Read more>>

Joyce Logan

In April 2016, I was affected by a company downsizing after 24 years of service. The layoff certainly came as a shock, and I felt grief for many months. I initially accepted another position within the company out of loyalty and ease, but ultimately ended up turning it down, as I knew it wasn’t the best fit. I was then faced with a life changing decision. Do I stay in the same industry or pursue entrepreneurship? Read more>>

Stacey Rosenfeld

I’ve actually opened three practices in three different states, so I’ve learned a lot along the way! One thing I wish I had done from the start was get some solid business coaching. I think I could have benefitted from the expertise of others while trying to forge my path. Similarly, I have a tendency to want to manage everything myself, and while that might work early on, it’s not sustainable and certainly doesn’t work if you want to scale. Read more>>

Elyse Dickerson

I started my business with my business partner, Joe, in 2015 after leaving a corporate job in big pharma. We talked to many doctors in many fields to see what unmet need was present in the market. It turned out, earwax impaction was a big problem with no innovative solution. We decided we could fill that gap and created our first product, EARWAX MD. Now, we have a full line of ear care products in over 13K stores nationwide and growing. Read more>>

Zach Beatty

There is no sugar coating the stress of starting a business, but once it is established, every drop of blood, sweat, and tear that you put into it, feels more than worthwhile. At the beginning, I was waking up every couple of hours, thinking I needed to get this, this, and this done. I was so stressed I barely sat down because I had to constantly get something done. Read more>>

Amanpreet Randazz

In June 2013, after nearly two decades of training, fellowship, and professional work experience I launched AR Psychological Services. It was nerve racking – the idea of launching a practice and being an entrepreneur was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying! I started small by subleasing a single office from another Psychologist and began seeing patients in the evening and on weekends so I could build the practice while keeping my other full-time job. I was focused, yet cautious, to be sure that I could do both jobs exceptionally well. Read more>>

Melanie Storrusten

Prior to starting my own practice, I had a really great job as Director of a high-end treatment program for a well-respected company. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was time for me to go when they got acquired by a publicly traded healthcare corporation (which is a whole ‘nother story for another time!) But a lot of people couldn’t understand why I would ever take a risk in leaving when I had kinda hit the job jackpot for a therapist. Read more>>

Tama Tran

Ten years ago, aesthetic medicine was often considered a novelty and was not as mainstream as it is today. Then, patients would seek out injectables from plastic surgeons or dermatologists. Laser treatments were also not readily available (other than laser hair removal). With that knowledge, I wanted to be in the forefront of this area of medicine, so I rented a small room and started offering botox and dermal fillers. The following year, I purchased a Sciton laser device, which I still love and use today. Read more>>

Jared Lien

The early days as an acupuncturist are pretty tough. Most acupuncturist get out of school, pass their boards and then have nowhere to work. This leaves you with a couple options, go work for someone else or start your own practice. I was no different, I worked at a Hilton Spa and several Chiropractors offices before finally starting my own office 5 years later. Read more>>

Cristina Busu

As a fresh graduate looking for some extra experience with children with autism, I stumbled into the profession of behavior analyst almost by accident. As an Early Intervention Specialist I had the opportunity to work with children with different abilities providing developmental therapy to address developmental delays. During this time, I was introduced to autism and I became fascinated with its complexity. Read more>>

Mark Kovacs

We first established the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) over a decade ago now and it was a major undertaking developing evidence-based information, education and certification for the healthcare, performance, medical, coaching and wellness industries who work with tennis athletes. This took more than two years of development from putting together the structure, the education, the levels of certification and the experts to help guide us to deliver the highest quality education and service for strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors, tennis coaches, medical doctors, wellness professionals and other individuals who test, train or treat tennis athletes. Read more>>

Daniel Oromaner

Being an entrepreneur is very different compared to working for someone else. Many employees dream of the freedom to “be my own boss” and finally “do what I want.” In fact, that attitude usually plants the seeds of business failure. Starting and running a successful business or practice involves thousands of small decisions. Some are inconsequential, others matter A LOT! I was fortunate when I started my practice, as I had already started and ran two successful businesses. Read more>>

Lisa Tetreault

After nine years, I began contemplating leaving the large group practice I was with. Many of my colleagues and I had dreamed of this but all had the limiting belief that we couldn’t possibly make it on our own. As all of the benefits of going out on my own kept presenting themselves, the doubts were still present. When I shared my dream with others, help was offered and I began to feel supported. I was gifted a website and some credentialing assistance. I felt that if these people had faith in me then why don’t I have the same faith in myself? In the end I had to hold my breath and jump with the affirmation, Read more>>

Dr. Cali Estes

I started my private practice with $300 in my bank account and a renting a condo at the Wind. I had 3 weeks before rent was due and knew that I had to hustle. I made a bunch of cheap business cards at Vista print and put them out at LA Fitness. The biggest challenge would be how quickly I could get a client or two and cover rent and expenses. Within two days I had my first client, my first paid in full 10 session coaching package and it covered my entire rent and gave me enough money for food for the month. The biggest thing I can tell someone first starting out is that you really need to focus on that initial marketing and start to build your reputation. Read more>>

Leslie Lawson

I began practicing Pilates in NYC in Fall 2001. After rehabbing a serious shoulder injury several years later, I fell in love with the practice all over again. While wrapping up a long-term television job in Doral, I realized that I wanted to help people with their fitness and in November 2016 Renegade Pilates was born on Miami’s Upper East Side. Read more>>

Dr. Philip Cordova

My wife and I walked the stage at our Chiropractic school graduation in December 1996, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona at the end of that month. We couldn’t officially get licensed until February so we worked smaller retail jobs until then. After looking around for office space and realizing we had no idea what we were doing, we ended up renting rooms from another husband/wife chiropractic couple in the Phoenix area. Read more>>

Kathleen Ketola

Before starting Beachside Community Acupuncture PLLC, I worked as a 1099 contractor in private practice clinics. At that time, I owned a general business as a sole proprietor, which required a bit of research and upkeep…but nothing that compared to running a full clinic! When I got the idea for Beachside, I immediately filed for an EIN and started the paperwork to create the PLLC, gathering information about supply resources, possible furniture pricing, and decorations along the way. Read more>>

Sally Fryer Dietz

When I moved to Dallas from San Francisco in 1990, I had joint degrees in Child Development & Physical Therapy and had been a practicing pediatric physical therapist for over 10 years. I had worked with children of all. ages in the hospital setting as well as in the local outpatient learning & development center & I knew that no two children were ever alike, and they all had unique needs when it came to healing, learning and development. I had a two-year-old son and another in the plan, Read more>>

Jennifer Rigsby

I never wanted to own a business. In fact, when I was given the opportunity to do so, I actually started crying out of pure fear. I had been working for a company that did something similar to what I do now, and they were changing their focus. Therefore, I was given the chance to go out on my own and create my own version of an educational consulting firm. I was petrified. I had never owned a business and had no desire to do so. Yet, I could not pass up the chance. Read more>>

Ashley Zimmerman

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to have my own practice…I just didn’t always know what it would look like. The struggle was always allowing my voice to be heard in the way I wanted it to be heard, and being okay with people not agreeing with me all the time. When I decided that it was time to really branch out on my own I had just gone through the hardest year I’ve experienced thus far (emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually). Read more>>

Denise Foster

All of my life, I have had intuitive gifts. When I was in my mid 30’s, I took my first Reiki class in Tucson, AZ. It was at this moment, that I knew that, being a Healer was my lives purpose. I now was able to use my gifts during a healing session. I rented space for 2 years at a church, providing Reiki sessions by donation. During this time, I started a Reiki Circle to bring together both Healers and those wishing to receive energy. Read more>>

Brittany Boehnke

autonomy with my clients. While working in other practices, the drive to start my own business came from the frustration of health insurance. Generally, physical therapy practices are dictated by insurance reimbursement and authorizations leaving little room for the individuality that clients need. I decided I wanted to do things differently. Read more>>

Tiffany Di Pietro

From day one, I knew that I wanted to have my own medical practice. Unlike most physicians who would rather be employed and only focus on “the medicine”, I always felt that being a great physician meant being available, being communicative and having a welcoming environment for my patients. As one could imagine, setting up and establishing your own private medical practice is not an easy feat. Read more>>

Erica Taylor

Sometimes you have a vision that no one can see. I started out simply wanting to provide quality mental health services that were affordable and convenient. 6 years ago there were very few virtual platforms for therapy. In spite of that I created Taylormade Counseling to meet a need. I sought out software and tools to help give people access to therapist securely from the comfort of wherever they are. The pandemic really sky rocketed business as more people saw the benefits of utilizing online platforms for service. I wouldn’t change a thing that I have learned on my journey. Read more>>

Kathy Sietos

I had absolutely no business experience at all when I started my practice. I knew right from the start though that I wanted to have a studio space that provided the feeling of safety and security so that those that entered would feel seen and able to completely experience whatever range of emotions came up in the moment knowing that they were held without judgement. Read more>>

Alexandra Suozzo

Upon graduating from acupuncture school, I had no immediate plan to start a business. I had come from the fashion industry and, although I loved practicing acupuncture, entrepreneurship was a distant idea in my view. It was an immense responsibility I expected to pursue after working for someone and expanding my skills and experience. Startup costs, building a client base, and income unreliability collectively influenced my perception that my own business would come in my career’s later stages. Read more>>

Dakota Hindman

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a doula/midwife. Since my own birth, through my teenage years and into my early adulthood, it has called me. And that is what many birth professionals say: it is a “calling”. Because of this unique calling to my profession, I’m not sure I can appeal to the general population of young professionals about starting their own practice, but I can say this: Follow Your Heart! And your intuition, if you’re tapped into it! They will guide you in ways that the brain cannot. Read more>>

Jason Polk

When I was in grad school for Social Work, the eventual goal and dream was to have my own counseling practice. After I graduated, I decided I’ll wait a couple years until I’m a fully licensed counselor to do that. During those two years waiting to be licensed, I worked in community agency counseling jobs that were fine, but I was itching to be my own boss. I wanted to take lunch when I felt like it, make my own schedule, and eventually make more money helping clients my own way. Read more>>

Andrea Wadley

In early 2018, I started to become burned out from my job as a hospital pediatrician and found myself daydreaming about what it might be like to own my own pediatric practice. As an employed physician, I found there to be many benefits that were bestowed upon me during my years of loyal service to my profession. However, I also discovered that there were many down sides to being an employed physician in a large hospital system. There were numerous challenges, not the least of which was the loss of freedom and flexibility to practice medicine in a way that was beneficial to not only my patients, but also to my role in my family as well. Read more>>