We were lucky to catch up with Meaghan Semple recently and have shared our conversation below.

Meaghan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Being a business owner has its ups and downs. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about having a so-called “regular job.” The steady pay, the predictability, getting to check things off of my to-do list. It sounds so dreamy at times. If you haven’t caught that I am a planner, an introvert and an Enneagram #1 (improver). So I like to know what will happen (as much as I can), to prepare myself and to have effective systems in place. Of course, being a business owner there isn’t too much you can control. You can work hard and do all the things, but ultimately it is difficult to predict what will happen and how it will happen. Although it goes against my nature, I think it has been a great challenge for me. It gets me out of my comfort zone and has grown and stretched me in ways I wouldn’t have had I secured that regular J-O-B. I am learning how to put myself out there, attending networking events, advertising my practice, and on top of that doing the business side of things. I didn’t go to business school, nor was I taught how to start a private practice in grad school. So learning how to crunch the numbers, budget, file taxes and navigate things like SEO hasn’t been easy. It has been quite the learning curve, but ultimately it has been so rewarding. I see that I am capable of so much more than I imagined and am no longer confined to the “box” I once put myself in.

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

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Texas. I own and started Fort Worth Women’s Counseling (FWWC) in 2021 where I provide individual therapy for women. My practice was built on a vision of working with women experiencing trauma and/or perinatal issues (e.g., infertility, miscarriages, birth trauma, postpartum depression, etc). Starting a family is “supposed” to be a joyful and exciting time, but it is not always like that for everyone. I personally experienced infertility and the issues that go along with that. Today, my husband and I are proud to say that we are parents of four amazing children (two of which are adopted). However, that is not everyone’s story. It wasn’t and hasn’t been an easy journey, but it is because of this that I developed a deep passion to help those going through similar struggles. According to the World Health Organization, “almost 1 in 5 women will experience a mental health condition during pregnancy or in the year after the birth.” The need is great and my hope is that I can help women by providing a safe and non-judgmental space for anyone who might need it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Burnout in the helping profession is a real thing. Most go into this field to help and not to earn a big paycheck. However, it can be very taxing after a while, especially if you have a large caseload and are compensated very little. When starting my own private practice, I had to learn that my time is worth more than I think. My knee-jerk reaction was to charge less for sessions, because ultimately, I wanted to help as many clients as I could and to be as reachable as possible. This is all great and fine and I am still for reasonable fees, but I knew deep down this would lead to burnout pretty fast. I had to realize that setting a higher fee (based on my education and experience) was less about greed and more about self-care. I am a mom of four and as you can imagine my home life is not always “chill.” So, working part-time and having autonomy while still being financially stable and secure helps me to be the best counselor, mom, and business owner that I can be.

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

There were times I doubted myself and other times when I wanted to “pull the plug” entirely. Not having any business experience or training definitely made this venture very daunting. However, with the support of friends and family cheering me on, as well as connections with fellow private practice owners, I was able to keep pushing through. It was a slow start and my caseload was small. It felt like it took forever to fill my days. I would feel defeated and unsure if this was the path I was supposed to take, but I kept forging ahead. What really helped me to persevere was the love and support from those closest to me and new friends in the field. Having a sense of community was what helped get me through those tough times. So if I could offer any advice, it would be to find like-minded people that you can grow with and rub shoulders with, because we know times will get tough and we will inevitably need someone to lean on, as will they.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fwwomenscounseling.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fwwomenscounseling/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fwwomenscounseling/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fortworthwomenscounseling2596

Image Credits
Amber Shumake Jay Semple Meaghan Semple