We recently connected with Mariah Emery and have shared our conversation below.

Mariah , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

As the co-founder of Integral Partnerships, a therapists owned staffing agency that supports schools and organizations. I learned many things in regard to building a reliable team. Integral Partnerships is more than just filling vacancies. We genuinely invest in finding the best school for the therapist and look at staffing as finding a piece to a missing puzzle. Many therapists have a list of things they are looking for when they are seeking new opportunities, we truly vet the therapist and the school to make sure all parties will be happy. We started off with just one therapist and now we have many therapists all throughout the state of Florida. We have a 100% retention rate because we have created a system in place in which the therapists we partner with truly feel valued. When we worked for bigger staffing agencies, we both felt overworked, underpaid, and didn’t feel valued. We valued to create something different and meaningful that we could be proud of. Integral Partnerships is now a mighty team. We market on various platforms to seek out therapists, but the most important thing we have learned in staffing is, finding someone to partner with that is passionate about what they do and when their professional mission aligns with Integral Partnerships mission. That is when we know greatness will flourish.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I first learned about the field of speech-language pathology as I was working at Graeter’s Ice Cream store located in Cincinnati, Ohio. I had a regular client who was a world renown speech-language pathologist, Dr. Gloria Jean Wallace. At the time, I was in college studying to become a dental hygienist, but I didn’t find fulfillment in dental hygiene. Although there is nothing wrong with being a dental hygienist, I personally could not find purpose in it. I started to research different careers that aligned with my interests, and I stumbled upon speech-language pathology. Little did I know that my regular client that came to order from me at Graeter’s was a speech-language pathologist. When I communicated to her that I wanted to study more about what she did, she took me under her wings. She invited me to her office at The University of Cincinnati, invited me to shadow her, introduced me to faculty in her department, and invited me to help with literature reviews. After my exposure into the field, I knew that it was my calling to be a speech-language pathologist. However, this wasn’t just the only event that made me feel that it was my calling. Around 2015, I vacationed with family and friends over the summer break, just like many families do. During the vacation, one of my dear friends survived a sudden cardiac arrest playing basketball on Venice beach. This tragic event opened my eyes to the many roles that speech therapists play, when helping individuals who have survived severe brain injuries. I continued my education at The University of Cincinnati and received a Master’s in Speech Language Pathology. I moved to Florida and worked for a big staffing agency supporting schools with their therapy needs, but I still felt like I could do more. Working for the bigger staffing agency I felt overworked, underpaid, and didn’t feel valued. My first year working in Florida as a speech-language pathologist I met my dear friend and business partner, Shante Sellers. She created the CEO Link, a safe space for individuals who were interested in entrepreneurship to discuss their process and their journey. I felt empowered and created my own private practice, Meaningful Intervention Services. In addition, we quickly learned that we had many goals alike and shared passions and decided to create our own staffing agency, Integral Partnerships. We partner with many therapists around Florida to support schools and organizations by providing therapy services to their learners. I am most proud of the difference that we have not only made in the children in the schools lives but also the difference we have made in the therapists we have partnered with lives.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Social media is everything! It controls the world around us. It is now the main source of advertising for many businesses. I have always been a person that truly believes in networking and meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds. Before I moved to Florida, I told myself that I wanted to meet other likeminded individuals. I met my business partner on Instagram by simply sending her a direct message. I messaged her about simply wanting to connect and meet new friends. We grew to become sisters instantly. Our passion for wanting better for ourselves and the therapist community aligned, and we created Integral Partnerships. Integral Partnerships is a therapist owned staffing agency, that supports schools and organizations by providing therapy services. Integral Partnerships has grown to not only Central Florida Orlando but also, Tampa, and other surrounding areas.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing your business is to stay true to yourself, be willing to always learn, grow, and to stay consistent. I wish, I had a longer answer for this question, but it truly is this simple. Stay in your lane and remember your purpose in why you decided to do what you are doing now. Most people lose themselves when they become to consumed with what others around them are doing. Always be willing to learn and grow, as life evolves. Lastly, stay consistent, even when it gets rough or boring.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thinkintegral.net; www.meaningfulintervention.com
• Instagram: @integralpartnerships @meaningfulinterventionservices
• Linkedin: Mariah Emery – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-emery-74976389/