Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental health but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Traci Medeiros-Bagan, Director of Gather & Grow OC, located in Fullerton, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Gather & Grow OC is a proud LGBTQ Affirming and Women-Owned + Operated group therapy and wellness practice based in Orange County and serving the greater California Area. While each of our licensed clinicians and wellness providers has their own individual specialty/style, our service focus is to support folks in their mental health healing journeys from an anti-racist, intersectional feminist, trauma-informed, attachment healing lens.
Tell us about yourself
I started my individual private practice (compassionaterevolt.com) in 2015 to uplift the lived experiences of LGBTQ, Non-Monogamous, Kink, and Sex Worker Bodies of Color and Cultures. These are demographics I believe are misunderstood and pathologized by the larger mental health industry, but who I also believe hold great wisdom in their journeys on the margins. Folks with minoritized identities who have had to fight for visibility and existence have unique experiences in stretching creatively towards resiliency!
I feel so grateful for the stories that I've been privileged to bear witness to, and it is this intersectional lens that centers on' queerness' and 'otherness' rather than just 'tolerating' it (or worst, attempting to stamp it out through normativity) that led me towards wanting to expand into a group practice. I was lucky to reconnect with a colleague from my day's training at The LGBTQ Center in Orange County, Jacqueline Plante, who had a similar ethos, and we opened the doors of Gather & Grow OC in 2019, managing to grow with our team even through the pandemic!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We don't get to do this nearly as often as we'd like, as we're all still figuring out what "safety" means in a post-COVID world, but every time our clinicians are able to gather and hold space for one another, I'm struck with so much gratitude! I think there's a belief that business and gentle hearts aren't a successful combination, but when our clinicians are consulting, and I hear them hold such reverence for their clients' stories as well as each other, it's so affirming of the way that Jacqueline and I have stuck to our values as we've grown into the practice that we are today. The idea was to create more space that honored tenderness and self-care and to see everyone flourishing, in all the ways, feels like we're on the right track!
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
While I do believe, as mentioned above, that gentle hearts and business can be a successful combination; we are a team of sensitive and intuitive empaths, and, of course, not everyone 'does business' the way that we do. It's often as much a practice of faith in abundance as it is about the day-to-day tasks of keeping the lights on and everything up and running!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- I've always found that having a clear and congruent center is the way to go! Rather than trying to create a product or service in reflection of the market, we've figured out what we're strongest at offering and then worked to help the folks who need it most access it!
- Surround yourself with those who inspire and reflect back on your best self! Be open to this growth and fluidity! I'm constantly learning from my Co-Director, the Gather & Grow team, and the communities we serve.
- We will have areas of ease and areas of challenge. Lean into the ease and figure out what can be delegated if you keep coming up against resistance.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Everyone deserves therapy! I know it's not the easiest to access our insurance system but reach out for support! We'll do our best to find you the right fit, whether it's with our team or our local community of therapists!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.gatherandgrowoc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gatherandgrowoc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gatherandgrowoc/
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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