We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful April Dupree. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with April below.
April, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I honestly never wanted to have my own private practice. When I became licensed and I was working for another private practice, everything seemed ideal. I got up in the morning, drove to the office, saw my clients, left the office and went home. Occasionally, I would have to work on some things at home. And now here I am all because I needed to start a business for tax purposes. I was informed that I could write more off if I had a business and so then my business started working for the private practice. Covid happened and we all went home and worked via telehealth, and one day someone said, “why don’t you just start your own?” My first instinct was NO because I never wanted to have my own private practice. But I had come across a situation that needed my business to see the client and it was nice and simple at first because I worked at home due to Covid and I only had one or two clients. As time progressed, I decided to speak to the owner of the private practice and let her know some thoughts. With her permission, guidance, and wisdom, I began walking forward and doors started to open figuratively and literally speaking, and here we are. After finding a small location, I began seeing clients in person, and it was just me. As I’m walking through the doors and moving forward an opportunity came about to move into a larger location. I was very content with Butterfly Counseling being just me, but I came up with a three-year plan and a five-year plan and I figured in three years I could decide whether or not I truly wanted to expand our wings. My three year plan turned into a three month plan because shortly after moving into a larger location, I hired my first clinician. From September 2022, until now Butterfly Counseling has six clinicians, one personal/business coach, and a college intern.
My personal schedule has been all over the place and with the help of a life and business coach, I have been able to balance and figure out ways that I can continue to see patients because I love helping people, but also figuring out how I can run the business. Many people say just hire someone but I am a firm believer that if something were to happen to an employee, I need to know how to do their job. Some days it feels like I’m working backwards with administrative duties for owning a business but I am doing what I love to do and reaching goals I never even knew that I had.
So, sometimes do I wish I had a regular job? No. No, because if I did, I don’t feel that I could reach our community as effectively as I am now. My goal is to help people, help people, and in doing so owning a business and seeing others grasp the vision that I have, and knowing that someone out there is being helped because of Butterfly Counseling, I will take the stress of owning a business over working a regular job any day of the week.
So as Butterfly Counseling reaches a year at our new location, I reflect back to the journey that has brought me to this point in my life and my business. Owning this business has truly given me ideas on how to expand our wings and continue to help people, and help people, but at the end of the day, knowing that I have some ability to help one person makes me smile, makes me happy, and makes me feel content. I only hope and wish that one day I can look back and have no regrets for any of the decisions that I’ve made being a business owner. I know I’ve made mistakes and I know that I will continue to make mistakes but making mistakes allows me to understand what I need to do differently and in doing so I hope that I continue to grow and expand my wings personally.
April, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC). I provide an eclectic approach technique while assuring that the therapeutic techniques are what best suit the client. While specializing in counseling for depression, anxiety, life transitions, domestic violence, sexual issues, self-esteem, suicidal ideation and previous suicide attempts, PTSD, and more, I primarily use client-centered, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and as a trained Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist, I also am able to help individuals impacted by trauma in their lives. I believe that most clients’ issues stem from some sort of trauma in their life.
I have a diverse background in business, real estate, and designing houses, but have always felt that I was being called to help others. I believe when given proper guidance, people can become more capable of drawing out their own strengths and realize their potential to live fulfilling and happy lives.
I am the proud owner of Butterfly Counseling, PLLC.
Butterfly Counseling, PLLC started in 2021 and is named in memory of’ my mother. Butterfly Counseling officially opened in January 2022. Butterfly Counseling represents the transition of one’s life as a butterfly transitions from a caterpillar to a free flying butterfly.
When I’m not helping others, I enjoy reading, spending time with my family and my farm animals, and relaxing. I believe that “It is okay to not be okay” and “You don’t know until you know, and then you know”.
I’ve always been one to help others, but after high school, I took a different path that led me to designing homes, and then pursuing a career in real estate. After the economy took a dive, I decided to go back to college and become a therapist.
One thing that I am most proud of is that I have stayed true to who I am. I have tattoos that have meaning, and I do not hide them from others and especially not from my clients.. Sometimes being true to who I am has cost me relationships as well as clients. It’s not always easy learning to love yourself for who you are but as I’ve gotten older, and especially after becoming a mom, I have truly found myself not caring about what other people believe in me or about me. There are three people that I care about what they think of me: one is in heaven, one is my son, and the other one is my husband. I have found that I am not everyone’s cup of tea, but not everyone likes tea and that is OK.
When I’m not working and spending time with friends or family, I can always be found at my home, hanging out with my farm babies. I have several Nigerian dwarf, goats, mini pigs, and currently have one miniature donkey. I have found purpose and delight in spending time with my farm babies whether it’s walking them on our property, laying on the ground with them for naptime, or just hanging out with them inside of their fenced area. We all need self-care, and they provide me with a sense of peace that allows me to reset after a long day of seeing clients.
As Butterfly Counseling Continues to grow and spread our wings, I will personally be reducing my hours that I see clients in order to pursue other avenues that I am able to help people help people. My dream is to be able to see clients who are unable to either financially afford to see a therapist for free. I would love to one day have a foundation that allows for individuals to be able to see a therapist and have the session fee covered by the foundation. I truly believe that every person should talk to someone at some point in their life, which is why I also value having a therapist or a life coach that can assist me when I am feeling like I am falling short of being the best version of myself.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
This question actually made me think because I’ve not thought about my reputation. So, I reached out to some professionals and friends, and asked them what they think has helped build my reputation within my market.
“Your ability to connect and talk to people without judgement”
“You are loyal and trustworthy – there is never a moment in my mind where I don’t feel safe and supported with you and at the Butterfly house“
“You are a champion for the people/community; mental health, connection and wellness are at the top of your value system. You are the definition of “where there is a will there is a way” you back up your mission with action and the outcome has been beautiful change and growth.. I can go on and on lol”
“I think your willingness and transparency in being a real, authentic, and vulnerable human both personally and professionally. Most people do this on a personal level but feel as if they have to be a robot on a professional level. I think these characteristics allow vulnerability and a stronger and more inviting sense of connection with those who have the pleasure of interacting with you. I think the other thing is your ability to meet people where they are at, helping them digest bite size pieces in determining where they are going and holding them accountable in becoming the best versions of themselves.”
“Your true genuine heart for mental health. It goes deep for you!“
“You are amazing, you connect with people and they love you and your connection for mental health is something very special and everyone sees it! You absolutely love what you do!“
“I can come to you with anything and will be met with understanding, love, compassion, and objectivity (guided direction). I am welcomed in, just as I am, no matter what and everything and anything that is on my heart matters. You are the same authentic person and unapologetic about it. You can hold your ground and when it’s tested, you remain objective but fierce with intention. You pave the way for others to see what can be done and you let nothing become too big or too over-analytical (if that is a word)
Oh, and you called me sweetheart when you didn’t know me and that meant the world to me at that time“
“Your ability to connect with anyone leads to high referrals from the local public. But your service to the public and word of mouth leads to personal referrals from your clients. Based on that- you have exploded!!!”
After reading these comments, and shedding some happy tears, I feel that my reputation is built on Me being Me and never trying to be someone then I’m not. I have grown fond of the community that I live in, and I always want to figure out ways that I can help people so that they can help people. It’s not always about the money or the praise so much as it is ALWAYS about helping someone in a time of need.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When it comes to social media, I think the key has been for us to post quotes every day. I used to find quotes and just post them, but I have now started making my own and branding them to the business. Because it’s branded with my logo or the butterfly then if anyone should see it, I hope that they think of Butterfly Counseling.
I pick a topic for the month and I focus on that topic or topics. Every quote that is posted each day of the month reflects the topic for the month. I also then add a few things that might be helpful depending on the topic. If we were focusing on anxiety for the month then I would have posted about coping skills or referencing other people or books that specialize in anxiety.
Some days it’s just harder to sit down and work on social media so as long as we have our quote of the day, I feel like I am providing something for the community. We don’t have a lot of followers and we don’t post anything that requires a comment.
Luckily, with Business Suite, which links to Facebook and Instagram, I only have to make one post and it goes to both places. It also provides an opportunity for me to share specific post with groups that I am a part of whether it is business groups or social groups.I don’t think there’s anything that I actually do that is special but consistency seems to be the one way that I feel that I am reaching the audience whether it’s one person or 400 people.
I was recently helped by our personal and business coach, Kahla Maguire, and she helped me to figure out the things that exhaust me and the things that energize me in social media is not one that specifically energize me so I’ll pay someone to make a post every day of the month That includes the quote. Anything else that gets posted is either by myself or provided by a clinician that I will post. This allows me to focus on specific things while still providing information about the topic that was chosen for the month.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.butterflycounselingnc.com
- Instagram: Butterflycounselingnc
- Facebook: Butterflycounselingnc
Image Credits
Sydney B. Photography