We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Kuhnen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
I own both a private mental health practice and a boat chartering company. I often guest lecture at the University of Chicago around decolonizing spaces and as a result try to integrate standards of practice that defy those norms. Most business environments are heavily influenced to follow Eurocentric standards of hiring. The cover letter, resume, application, interview etc. My companies do a really great job of identifying talented staff, that are typically people of color, in a way that also makes the candidate feel prioritized as well.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am blessed to be able to make a living off of the two things I am very passionate about; mental health and boating.
I am the CEO of a private mental health practice- Hyde Park Center for Healing.
We provide virtual mental health services to both adults and adolescents by licensed mental health professionals. We help clients with a variety of different ailments such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and adhd.
I am also the CEO of a boat chartering company- BIP Boating that operates during the summer season at 31 st Harbor in Chicago. This past summer BIP Boating was award a ticket kiosk at Grant Park across from
Buckingham Fountain in Chicago where we sell tickets to our boat charters and other water sports around the city. Stop by the kiosk this summer and grab a ticket or purchase one online to enjoy Lake Michigan this summer.
Have you ever had to pivot?
During Covid a lot of people purchased boats and decided to get into the boat chartering industry. The increased competition had impacted our revenue and I had to think about new ways to market our company. That is what inspired me to propose a ticket kiosk at Grant Park to the Chicago Park District. We were awarded the kiosk in the summer of 2023. Over 30k people visit Grant Park daily and I’m excited about the brand exposure we are getting and the ability to tap into the tourism sector.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
As a mental health practitioner and private practice owner I think the most effective strategy has still been good old fashion word of mouth. I’ve been very blessed to not have to spend a lot of time or money on marketing because our clients progress is usually very notable. So their friends and family start to comment on how different they seem and how happy they are. Which leads to them sharing their therapy journey and spreading our contact information along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hydeparkcenter4healing.com/
- Instagram: @hydeparkcenter4healing.com