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

Jessica , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My path to founding Encompass was windy at best and likely far less intentional than many entrepreneurs. The seed was planted while I was pursuing my undergraduate degree at The University of Pennsylvania, where I was studying to become a medieval historian. Yes, that’s right. It was my dream to be a professor and scholar of ancient and medieval history, ha! But I needed income to help support myself at school. I had always babysat and nannied and decided to start tutoring because it typically paid a higher wage. But most people don’t really need history tutoring. The concepts are not usually difficult, like with Math, per se. What I realized is that my clients more often needed help with learning how to take notes, study, organize, and time manage their history work. Once I began marketing myself as a tutor who helped with these skills, I was shocked at how many families and even peers wanted to hire me.

After I graduated from UPenn with my BA and Post-Baccalaureate degrees, I began my Phd at UT Austin where I was given a 5 year teaching assistant contract. I was so excited! I’m from Dallas originally and knew that I was going to support the best and brightest in our state. I started teaching introductory courses, Western Civ, for example that should not have been very challenging. Boy was I wrong! I was gobsmacked at how underprepared so many of my students were for college life despite being in the top of their high school classes. What I heard over and over was that they could keep up with what they were learning, they just couldn’t manage the work. They had a hard time keeping track of due dates, understanding rubrics, studying and performing on tests, taking notes, procrastinating and managing their time. They were overwhelmed and insecure. And, most importantly, they didn’t know what to do to fix the problem. In fact, they struggled to even name the problem. My office hours started then to become early prototypes of executive functioning sessions.

At the same time, I continued to market myself as a tutor for middle and high school students in the Austin area who similarly struggled with their executive functioning. I soon had a number of clients that spanned various ages and attended diverse schools. It quickly became clear to me that there is a gap in our education system when it comes to instilling strong executive functioning strategies and skills and I wanted to try to fill it. Additionally, I came up against the problem of not having enough time to see all of the potential students who wanted to work with me while also being able to meet the demands of my Phd program and teaching obligations. I first began to hire friends. Bad idea! I then moved to finding other graduate students and soon I had a team working with and for me.

Fast forward 5 years, a lot of grad school burnout, and a rapidly growing passion for executive functioning work. I knew that I no longer wanted to go into academia but was still unsure of this “little project” I had started. I decided to take a year and travel and apply for jobs to see what felt right. The plan was to keep doing this thing that I loved, that was profitable, while I looked for a “real job”. That was 12 years ago. :)

Beyond recognizing a gap in our education system, it also became increasingly clear to me that there is a gap in the field of mental health. Low executive functioning is prevalent for those who are neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, etc), have learning differences, and struggle with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, for so many, low executive functioning drives mental health challenges. When we don’t function the way that we want to we often experience shame, insecurity, and isolation. So I started to market Encompass’ executive functioning services to mental health professionals and neuropsychologists and it was a giant turning point in the growth of the company. Our unique approach is to take a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy methodology and apply it to executive functioning work. This is singularly what excites me the most and sustains my passion for the work that we do. Put simply, by improving our clients’ executive functioning, we often improve their mental health and quality of life.

Jessica , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in the Dallas area and attended college and graduate school in Philadelphia at The University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduating, I immediately started my doctoral work in medieval and ancient history at UT Austin (so much school!) and this is where I started what would ultimately become Encompass. I currently live in east Austin with my partner, Peter, and our dog, Stella Blue. Like so many Austinites, I have strong opinions on where to get the best breakfast taco, go to too many breweries, am trying to sustain a garden despite the intense heat, and chase as much music and travel as possible. I love bluegrass and one of my favorite things to do is to fly to Denver to see shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater. I just spent 5 weeks this summer traveling to Italy and Turkey and it was wonderful.

For how I got into the industry, please see my previous response.

Encompass is a team of executive functioning specialists. Executive functioning affects each of us in our own way no matter our age or where we are in life. That is why we support intelligent, creative, interesting people who have friends, hobbies, and in many ways are successful. But they struggle with their executive functioning for reasons often related to ADHD and neurodivergence, anxiety and depression, and learning differences. They often exist within a vicious cycle of avoidance and procrastination, inconsistent motivation, and disorganization that drives shame and insecurity and exacerbates mental health issues.

Having nothing to do with intelligence or capability, our students often struggle with missing assignments, disorganization, poor test scores, and inconsistent motivation. And, of course, not far behind come low grades, stress at school and at home, and a resistance to future planning.

Many young adults struggle with adjusting to life outside of the home and having to manage college, a job, and their new financial and personal responsibilities. Having to stay on top of so many tasks with various consequences at one time can be overwhelming. Without the right tools, this phase in life can exacerbate preexisting stresses and lead to low self-confidence.

And I think we can all relate to the fact that many adults struggle to balance their work, home, financial, and personal responsibilities. It can just feel so hard to keep up with everything. To get it all done on time. To make space for ourselves. Sometimes it’s even hard to understand what we want, what our goals are. It’s overwhelming and isolating.

We provide a comprehensive and holistic array of services to meet the needs of our students, their parents, young adults, and adults. We provide Executive Functioning Assessments, individualized Executive Functioning Sessions for all ages, Parent and Education Consultations, Collaborative Group Workshops, presentations on executive functioning, and will collaborate with schools and mental health professionals to support our clients.

Our unique methodology, EFCT (Executive Functioning Cognitive Training) is what sets us apart from the rest. Often when people recognize that they could use help with their executive functioning, they buy planners and organizing tools but they don’t stick or address larger issues surrounding low or inconsistent motivation. Procrastination and overwhelm often persists. Motivation therefore is the critical puzzle piece for people with low executive functioning.

EFCT recognizes that there are three primary pillars that either prop up or deplete our motivation. The first is value and personal metrics of success, understanding the why behind our tasks and responsibilities. EFCT promotes mindfulness around intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and teaches strategies to identify when we place too little value or too much value on our tasks. The second pillar is our environment, creating strategies around how we approach our tasks and responsibilities. This is the most pure form of executive functioning work: what we do, when, for how long, where, etc. For so many, not having the answers to the questions contributes to overwhelm that results in avoidance or procrastination. The third pillar centers around our thoughts and our feelings, recognizing the ways our mental health impacts our ability to engage with our tasks and responsibilities. We understand that the symptoms of low executive functioning, the disorganization, the missed deadlines, the avoidance and the procrastination, both affect and are affected by our mental health. Put simply, the bigger our feelings the lower our functioning. The lower our functioning, the bigger our feelings. It is for this reason that we apply a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach to our executive functioning work. Our aim is to encourage mindfulness, reduce negative thoughts and feelings, and in doing so increase engagement. During each session, we address each of these three pillars in tandem in order to ignite consistent motivation.

I take the most pride in helping our clients, no matter their age, to reduce the shame, isolation, and insecurity that is so adjacent to executive functioning challenges. We are often told that we should just be able to keep track of our work, to prioritize appropriately, to strategize and … well execute and function. When we can’t, we tend to blame ourselves for our deficits. Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought I was? Or not capable? Or I’m just different from others? By educating our clients on executive functioning, by arming them with information around motivation, by teaching them strategies and identifying tools for them to utilize, we not only improve their executive functioning but their confidence. Just this week, I had a student tell me that he does want to apply to college after years of thinking that he’d never get in anywhere and, even if he did, he’d never graduate. I had an adult client tell me that she finally told her boss that she has ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder and, while intimidating, she was so proud of herself for owning it and confidently sharing. It’s moments like these that have sustained me throughout these many years, through the stressful days, through the administrative headaches. This is why I love what I do and am so proud of everyone within the Encompass family.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

As is true for all executive functioning work, language is a huge part of the puzzle. When we can’t accurately identify problems, we can’t accurately identify solutions. Within the Executive Functioning landscape, a large part of our work is teaching clients, parents, educators, and mental health professionals more constructive verbiage around low executive functioning. I hear parents say all the time, “My kid is so lazy? Why can’t they just do the work?” That is shaming and blaming. Suffice it to say, we feel strongly that having clear communication tools is paramount to success.

I have tried to apply this same logic to managing my team and keeping their energy and confidence high. Remember, we often are supporting people in crisis who are panicked about themselves or their children. Because of this, there can be a lot of high conflict emails and blame thrown at us. It is paramount to me that my team not only feels secure in their ability to provide the highest quality of executive functioning work, but that they know that I will always have their back. In order to do this, I have identified that the three pillars of our company culture are: professionalism, communication, and compassion. When approaching any work challenge, whether internally or client facing, I try to frame any problems and then potential solutions within each category.

For example, the other day a parent intervened in a session to yell at their child about some homework that was late and a low grade. My specialist spoke with me after being unsure if they had handled the situation appropriately. They validated the parents feelings, asked them to leave calmly, and then cited our Parent Pledge that outlines session expectations. They nailed it! When we discussed the incident, they stated that they tried to pull one strategy from each of the three pillars: professionalism, communication, and compassion. Conversely, when someone on the Encompass team needs constructive feedback per se, it allows me to clearly speak to my area of concern with a focus that they can understand and expect.

While it can feel somewhat scripted at times, this communication strategy has allowed me to feel more confident in my management style and I’ve also received a lot of positive feedback from my team.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2015, I was audited by the Texas Workforce Commission. The dispute was in regards to whether my tutors were contractors or employees. It was awful. They came after me with full force and, at that time, Encompass still felt very fragile. I had to hire accountants and lawyers who had all agreed that I had accurately categorized my tutors as contractors. I had paid all taxes on time. Filed all forms on time. And I hit every metric for qualification for contract work. But, after months of headache, money, and stress, I lost my case. It was ugly and nearly bankrupted me. More than that, it broke my confidence as a business owner.

After my case was settled, a lawyer from the TWC called me. He said he shouldn’t say anything, but he felt awful for what had happened, especially since the outcome was weakening a small business in the education market. He confirmed what I had suspected, that I was always going to lose. Without going into too much detail, this call and the support of my family, friends, and professional community, turned my defeatism into anger. Anger spurred action. I was determined to not just rebuild Encompass, but to turn this big bag of lemons into lemonade.

Now with employees and the authority to enact more oversight, I began developing training models, putting materials together, managing schedules more diligently, etc. I took full advantage. At the same time, I started marketing to mental health professionals (therapists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists) because I felt that our services complimented each other so well and there was no bridge in sight to link us. It’s something that I had long wanted to do, but didn’t feel like I could. Not anymore! My thought was that if it backfires it couldn’t be worse than the audit. These two actions in conjunction are what led to a major growth in business, but more importantly a major growth in the quality and efficacy of the work that we do. While I would not wish an audit on any business owner, this experience made me infinitely more resilient. I’m now proud to say that I have a team of executive functioning specialists who are fluent in our methodology and a wonderful network of providers that I’m happy are part of my professional community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.encompassefct.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EncompassTutorialServices/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-shore-a3a12b12/