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

Julie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I’m a Nurse practitioner who worked in a variety of environments from the ER to the VA before starting private practice. I was always interested in becoming a nurse practitioner because of the opportunity with my license to work autonomously. However, I found that there was limited education on how nurse practitioners could be in the workforce as their own boss outside of the hospital or clinic setting. I first started private practice in 2015 while taking a small business class. Then in 2017 I partnered with a clinical psychologist to start a small integrative mental health clinic which I co-founded and managed for eight years. The clinic was at the forefront and intersection of integrative mental health, ketamine assisted therapy, and psychedelic assisted therapy research. In early 2024 I sold my half of the business, and transitioned back into private clinical practice and professional consulting.

My advice for young professionals comes in two parts: 1.) It’s easier to take the risk of starting a private practice earlier in your career before you get caught up in the “golden handcuffs” 2.) Running your own business isn’t as scary as you think, so start taking small steps now.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up with two parents who were physicians, and I initially thought I’d go to medical school. My father in particular was one of the few physicians out there who was also a great entrepreneur. So I knew I had the genetics, but I always felt clear I needed to pave my own path. I knew I wanted to work at the intersection of business and healthcare. My personal path took me towards holistic and alternative healing modalities. Everything from acupuncture, to natural medicine, to psychedelic assisted therapies. Through my own personal healing journey with various chronic medical conditions, I became curious in a healing profession, where my degree and license was well respected in the professional field, and also allowed me flexibility in how I practiced. So I became a nurse practitioner. After running my solo practice I felt inspired to help elevate other mental health professionals be able to develop practices that allowed them to bring their unique and alternative skills into their clinical work. This first started with creating a space where psychotherapists, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, acupuncturists and body workers could integrate their therapeutic modality with safe and legal altered states of consciousness with ketamine assisted therapy.

Another area of profound interest for me is helping other business owners, clinicians, and entrepreneurs discover how they can bring their unique passions and skills into the world in a way that have profound impact and service, and allows them to find autonomy in a way that feels liberating. I also want to inspire in these individuals that they can work in a way that is sustainable, with healthy work life balance.

Over the last 15 years I’ve facilitated workshops, written book chapters, and spoken at conferences about the intersections of western medicine, and psychedelic assisted therapy.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I sold my business early in 2024. My biggest advice to individuals considering selling their business, is listen to your gut. At first inclining that it might be time to transition away from your business start inquiring as to what that voice is calling your attention to. It’s incredibly hard to choose to let go of the baby you worked so hard to create, and ultimately, “as well as you close one door, is as well as you close the next.” Waiting to make the transition, or worse reaching a point of burn out because you ignored that intuitive voice for too long WILL make the transition harder. It’s important to make sure you are making an informed and grounded decision, so seek consultation along the way to ensure you are making the right decision and executing your exit in the best way possible.

My next biggest piece of advice would be hire the right consultants to execute the sale. I hesitated on hiring more consultants for a variety of reasons such as wanting to save money, fear that using consultants would negatively impact my personal relationship with my former business partner, or simply just feeling too overwhelmed to know who to hire for what. In the end of the day, I would’ve saved money, saved myself from burnout, and felt more resilient through the sale if I had hired the right consultants for legal and financial negotiations from day one.

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

Investing in long term relationships. People across the field of mental health, ketamine therapy, and psychedelic assisted therapy respect me because I’ve maintained long term relationships with peers, colleagues, mentors, and elders of the field.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://holisticrootspsychiatry.com

Image Credits

Robert Hickling took my professional headshot