Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sherrie All, Owner of Centers for Cognitive Wellness, located in Chicago, IL, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I own a group mental health practice specializing in offering treatment services to people affected by cognitive decline. We provide the “what’s next” to patients and their families after a diagnosis of memory loss or other cognitive change. Our customers are anyone who is under the care of a neurologist and needs mental health support or cognitive rehabilitation or anyone worried about their brain.
Tell us about yourself
I started CCW in 2012 to fill a very important treatment gap for people with cognitive disorders. I trained as a neuropsychologist and learned how to tell people what is wrong with their brains, but I wanted more. I wanted to help people figure out “what to do about it.” Very few practices exist like ours that take referrals from other neuropsychologists and help patients and families implement the treatment recommendations. Unfortunately, far too many families feel at a loss after getting a diagnosis, but now they can come to us, and we take really good care of them.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Bringing a practice model that only really existed in research settings into the private practice space and making a difference for our patients and their families. Also, I published my first book, which helps guide my therapists and therapists around the world in our methods.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The risk.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Get helpers who are not your employees. Someone there who just got you, like a business advisor or a coach.
- “Business people don’t know what they are doing” - squash any fantasies that you might have that everyone else is doing it “the right way” and you just haven’t figured out what that right way is. There is no one right way. There is your way.
- Make friends with your banker.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Have a beginner's mind, and learn as much as you can.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cogwellness.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherrie.all
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherrieallphd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherrie-all-ph-d-bb59747/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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