We recently connected with Macarena Corral and have shared our conversation below.
Macarena, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
The most defining moment in. my career thus far, and also my biggest risk, was the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until 2020, my business partner and I ran a small mental health clinic. Following the first lockdown, we started to see how much people were struggling and from there came the idea of expanding our clinic to include preventative mental health services. We physically grew our space and our team in early 2023 and we have been actively trying to promote this concept since then. The reason why I also call this the biggest risk is because until this year, we were doing what we knew, mental health. Our space was small, our monthly expenses low. And now we have entered into a new realm that is more foreign to us and we have been struggling to learn and navigate how to market these new services. This has been discouraging. But we are trying to lean on others’ experiences and the lesson that sometimes you must take the risk. We are so passionate about what we are trying to do for others in our community that we hope the risk and struggle is worth it.
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 am the co-owner of the Center for Collaborative Health, a comprehensive wellness clinic in Edina, Minnesota. We go beyond traditional therapy to nurture a client’s complete well-being. We are dedicated to helping clients not only in times of crisis but also in preventative self-care, providing them with the tools to thrive in their everyday life. We understand that life often requires you to keep going. But we also know that this can create a myriad of problems down the road. For this reason, we believe in being proactive about your mental health and taking care of yourself to live better today and build resiliency to withstand future challenges. Our team of highly skilled clinicians, with diverse expertise, work seamlessly together to guide you toward your optimal health. We have created a tranquil and welcoming space, where we offer a spectrum of services including therapy, assessment, medication management, nutrition counseling, functional medicine, acupuncture, physical therapy, yoga, pilates, and shamanic healing.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
In the field of psychology, building a reputation is so important for succeeding. The easiest way to get clients is through word of mouth. You do a good job and then people will want to refer clients, family, or friends to you. I have always been open to meeting people in the community, as any of them could be a connection for our business or a source of referrals.
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
My business partner and I funded the initial capital for our business. Since then, we have personally funded both expansions of our business. From the beginning we knew that we just wanted it to be us and we wanted to do it on our own. However, as a good startup company, we have not been able to do it without the support of our friends and family donating their services such as helping to move, helping to build furniture, posing for pictures, collaborating for giveaways, promoting our business on social media, coming to events, referring patients to us, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.centerforcollaborativehealth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centercollaborativehealth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforcollaborativehealth/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/center-for-collaborative-health/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl7R06F3ZQKVBVTi-mryMwA
Image Credits
Katherine Derus Photography