Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Apree and Alex. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Apree and Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Alex and I spoke about this question at length. Ultimately, we have both been very fortunate to have people in our lives who have shown up for us and done kind things. We decided it would be best to focus on the kindest things we have done for each other and how those actions have created a foundation for us to be good business partners.

Alex and I both believe that one of the kindest things people can do for each other is to show up without expecting something in return or making the other person feel indebted. It creates a sense of being seen and known, offering the opportunity to build trust and the types of relationships we all deserve to have. We decided it would be best to focus on what are the kindest things we have done for each other and how those have ultimately created a foundation for us to be able to be good business partners. The common theme was we show up and have built trust through all of the small day-to-day behaviors. For me, I am more of a quality time person, and it has been so wonderful to see how Alex has shown up in that space with daily phone calls or checking in. His attention to detail is ubiquitous – he picks up on those small details and asks about them using that increased level of awareness. I’m glad to reciprocate the same for him. I am an intentional person, and I try to show up for someone in the way they need whether that’s helping with something, or engaging a creative side of their brain or also just asking questions. Alex and I ask all of the questions – we crave understanding the unknown! And we are good at sacrificing time for one another.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

The company, Waypoint Professionals, was started in 2023 by Alex and myself (Apree). What we discovered through our friendship is that we have diverse yet complementary backgrounds and have a unique blend of skills to address the complex challenges facing small businesses. Our company seeks to provide financial analysis, provider coaching, and process optimization for businesses. Additionally, we have a passion for speaking engagements focused on trust and leadership as well as understanding the culture of the military.

Alex Morales is a seasoned strategist with a rich history in technical aspects of business. With 9 years of Active Duty in the United States Navy, Alex honed his leadership skills and project management prowess, tackling everything from administrative process redesigns to revamping industrial production lines. His extensive experience with healthcare TPAs and Benefit Administrators, including Tricare, UHC, and ADP, positions him as a valuable asset for medical providers seeking efficiency in patient advocacy management. Alex’s passion for entrepreneurial business processes translates into a commitment to helping small businesses operate more efficiently, from entity selection to comprehensive business revamps.

As for myself, my name is Dr. Apree Clicque, and I am a Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Professional Counselor, and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor. My journey includes successful ownership and operation of a mental health private practice, where I provide counseling services and manage the ins and outs of the practice with my partner. My expertise extends to specialized training for military personnel, first responders, and their families. As a public speaker and trainer, I have focused on leadership development and engagement within mental health communities. The collaboration with Alex is rooted in a shared vision of merging our expertise to create specialized mental health-oriented business strategies and plans.

At Waypoint Professionals, we believe in the power of collaboration, leveraging the strengths of our team to provide comprehensive solutions for your business. Whether you’re navigating the complexities of healthcare administration or seeking tailored mental health business strategies, we are here to help you achieve your professional goals. Join us on this journey where experience, passion, and innovation converge for the betterment of businesses and individuals alike.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

“This is the way we’ve always done it.” I (Alex) was fortunate to learn this lesson on two fronts simultaneously during my time on active duty in the Navy – I focused on treating junior Sailors like people, and we became one of the most productive teams in the organization. Productivity is rooted in the quality of the people, and by extension their morale and well-being. If you know anything about the industrial-military complex, you know that it is a very well-oiled, bureaucratic environment to operate in. By design, I was able to see firsthand how little process change exists in a bureaucratic culture where everybody has a specific job to do, and the lack of progress it causes for the organization.

On the other front, during my MBA program, I was studying how this normalized culture is the antihero of profit-generating corporate America—where agile environments are necessary if you want to survive. The way it’s always done is the direct opposition to progress. Apree and I recently discussed an incident where she struggled with the panic that is so common to business owners—seeing a tiny issue and feeling like it may take down the whole company. This leads to poor decisions, irrational thinking, and hurt feelings. She will be the first to tell you that she chose wrong—she prioritized the business running smoothly over being slow to react and find out what was going on from the employee’s perspective. She and I both share the belief that the people who work for a company are the most important asset and deserve to be the first priority. They are more than a number; we all are.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Alex and I (Apree) actually had an unusual start. We met in 2023 through the online dating app, Hinge. We tried the dating thing before ultimately deciding, like so many others, that a romantic relationship was not in the cards. However, we both believe in the power of healthy relationships. Even if we couldn’t make a romantic relationship work, we wanted to keep that spark of aliveness we both felt. So, we transitioned to being friends and worked hard at it. We were intentional, showed up for each other, learned about one another, and grew. Through that process, we discovered how much passion we both have for creating healthy workplace cultures and building up strong leaders.

Then, one day at a happy hour, we decided to start a consulting business with the hope of bringing together my experience as a psychologist in the mental health field with his business knowledge gained from two master’s degrees and time in the field. I cannot tell you how many hours we have spent brainstorming business ideas or discussing what would make a situation or person healthier. The desire to spark change is hands down one of my favorite things about Alex, and I love being able to bring that collaboration to clients.

I’m hoping clients can mirror our business partnership in their own. To be able to learn to argue well, inspire one another to lean in, understand how to be vulnerable, and make decisions that move the culture of their company forward by shifting the focus to how to be healthy humans.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waypointprofessionals.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waypointprofessionals
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waypointprofessionals

Image Credits
All of these were taken with Apree’s camera