We recently connected with Jessica Jefferson and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Building my practice has been one of the most daring risks I have taken on in my life. As the first in my family to graduate from college, earn not one but two advance degrees, I am not averse to challenging myself to do better. I believe that challenges allow you to learn more about yourself and those around you.

Now while building a practice can be challenging on its own, but at this time in my life it was more than just a risk, it was something I needed to do. I needed to do it because I was expecting my first child and I wanted to be able to enjoy that experience while also moving my career forward.

In a sense, I was having two different birthing experiences … the birth of my child and that of my business. Both came with its own unique challenges, but challenges I knew I needed to face.

While many people might not see building a business as a risk, especially now when there are many entrepreneurs out there, but at that time in the mental health field it wasn’t something that many people did. Especially considering that I just graduated with my Masters. I found myself to be in a very isolating position as many of my peers decided to pursue traditional therapy jobs and many “above me” frowned upon my decision.

I could have taken that as a sign to go the “traditional” route but let’s be honest, not many jobs are willing to hire pregnant women and give them the maternity leave that they deserve. Even if I was to get a position, I wanted to be able to be home with my son, enjoy motherhood the way I saw fit and not give up my career. I knew that creating my practice was going to the right decision for me and my family.

As I continued this path to building my business, I learned a lot about myself, who I am as a person and as a clinician. I teach my clients that sometimes risks are necessary to move our life forward. It can be scary at times and may feel very isolating, but sometimes you must create your path versus waiting for one to be provided to you. Ultimately it can lead to being one of the best decisions you can make for yourself.

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?

My name is Jessica Jefferson and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in the state of Florida, as well as, a certified maternal mental health professional through Postpartum Support Internationally.

Essentially, I help individuals, couples and parents through all stages of heartbreak. Whether that is heartbreak because life feels unfulfilling especially when anxiety and depression continuously weigh us down. Heartbreak within a couple because their relationship has lost its spark and they aren’t sure if it can come back. Or heartbreak within parents because our expectations of parenthood isn’t matching up to reality.

Regardless of the heartbreak you are experiencing, I am here to help you figure out what you need to become the person that you want to be.

I do this by providing a space to allow you to be you. Through our sessions, you will feel free to say what you want and how you want, without judgement. That way you can feel open to talking about what you need and want for yourself. My role in your journey is to provide you guidance and tools to help you become the person you want to be 24/7.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been being authentic to who I am.

Once I finally accepted that I didn’t have to be a “cookie-cutter” therapist, I started to really see results in my business.

People come to therapy to get help from an expert, but they also want to feel like they are connecting with a person. Once I established who I wanted to be in my business, which is essentially myself, I started to feel more comfortable in my marketing messages which has helped align me to the clients I am called to serve.

So, if you are looking for the best strategy for anything in life, I say being yourself should be #1.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

While I want my business to be successful, that doesn’t mean I take on any client.

I want to ensure that anyone who is seeking out therapy, gets matched with the right therapist. Even if that therapist isn’t me. Having that understanding on the clients that I am not suited for, has allowed me to connected and refer out to other therapists and build a network . That allows me to connect with others in my field and for us to establish a better referral relationship. The worst thing you can do in any business is to not nurture relationships with others in your field because that doesn’t move things forward. It keeps us stuck.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cloud09therapy.com
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