Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental health but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jacqueline Plante, Director of Gather & Grow OC, located in Fullerton, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Gather & Grow OC is a mental health and wellness center located in California. My business partner Traci and I both felt strongly that we wanted to create a space in Orange County for like-minded therapists and healers to cultivate and share their gifts with our communities under an affirming and anti-racist lens. We offer ongoing support, education, and consultation, so clients who reach out to us can feel confident that the therapists they connect to are highly skilled in their specialties. We work hard to de-stigmatize mental health care by depathologizing and by holding that often the things we feel are in response to the challenges of the world around us or the things we have experienced. In that, we also feel mental health care is not limited to those in mental health crises.
Tell us about yourself
I'm a licensed therapist as well as co-owner of GGOC. I get to have the best of both worlds at times, and while I continue to support a small caseload, specifically with relationship concerns, I also get to pass on my experience to the next generation of therapists. I started specializing in relationship therapy a few years ago when I realized that most of the healing work we do happens in interactions with those around us. The insight and reflection we gain in therapy are challenged by others, and relationship therapy expedites that process.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Being able to grow and support our team is far and above my proudest accomplishment. Coming from a solo practice, I knew I "had what it took" to support myself in this field, but to be able to expand that to other clinicians is an amazing feeling. Therapists have always had to carry a heavy burden, but that load has been even harder during the pandemic, and I'm glad we've been able to cultivate wellness and care amongst our team and work hard to continue expanding benefits and services to help circumvent burnout.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The hardest thing for me is finding the balance between my director self and my therapist self. Throughout the days and weeks, I have been operating under so many hats and having to code-switch so often and shift and hold different boundaries.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be comfortable with risk. Sometimes owning a business will mean having to jump off the cliff before you see the soft landing.
- Be exceptionally clear in what you are offering and how it is unique from others in your market.
- Cultivate your community. You only know what you know, so find others doing what you want to do, pay them for consultations, ask them all of the questions, and grow your mindset.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I hope that all of my clients and team know how grateful I am to get to do this work every day. There is so much heart and compassion that goes into our field that is unique from other types of business, and I try not to ever let that get lost.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.gatherandgrowoc.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacquelineplantetherapist/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-plante-0b561b68/
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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