We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Crystal Jackson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Crystal below.

Alright, Crystal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

I’m so fortunate to have such a strong support system from my friends and family. My friends are always tagging me on posts for shoutouts on black owned business socials. My family seems to always send referrals even if I’m not licensed in their state. It’s been overwhelming with the amount of positive support.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a psychotherapist providing therapy to clients who need help maneuvering through different phases of their lives. I help individuals heal from childhood trauma, breakups, low self esteem, anxiety, and depression.

I got started working a psychiatric facility for almost three years. The hospital helped me to realize I wanted to continue their continuity of care, ensuring they were equipped to handle stressors outside of the hospital and move forward in their wellness journey.

I work with children as young as nine up to clients in their 50s. My joy comes from watching my clients transform throughout our sessions to a healthy and happy mindset.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

As I mentioned before, I started my counseling career working at a psychiatrist hospital. When I began pondering towards the idea of individual counseling, I started moonlighting at a private practice, working a couple nights per week. The clients I treated in private practice gave me the confidence I needed to venture out on my own. Once I became fully licensed, with the help of a good friend, I quickly registered my business as a PLLC. She helped me build my clientele by teaching me to sign up as a provider for several directories. Once I hit 15 consistent clients, I went down to part time at the hospital and fully launched my private practice.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

An important lesson I learned early on was to write my clinical notes immediately following my client session. At the beginning of opening my practice, I found myself spending hours in the evening writing notes. I missed out on a lot of family time writing notes for my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makinicounselingpllc.com
• Instagram: Makinicounseling

Image Credits
Danielle Smith