Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tom Carter, Founder of Tom Carter Hypnotherapy, located in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My business is helping people overcome life-limiting thoughts, feelings and behaviours using an integrated hypnotherapy approach. My clients include people with anxiety, panic, depression, fear, phobia, OCD, addiction, trauma, pain, insomnia, and often combinations of complex symptoms that keep people stuck.
Tell us about yourself
I am a Hypnotherapist and Neuro-Linguistics Practitioner, registered with the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council and the International Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I work with Clients from The Practice Rooms in central Norwich and also via video calls. Like many in the therapy profession, my journey to becoming a therapist began with my own mental health. Back in the early 2000s, I experienced a period of intense anxiety, panic, and depression. It was a frightening and exhausting time during which it took every bit of strength I had to keep going. On reflection, it was both the worst and best thing that ever happened to me. It set me on a path of discovery to understand how our minds work and how to help them work best. Today, as a Hypnotherapist working with my Clients, these experiences give me valuable insight into what it can be like to suffer and, more importantly, the feeling that people get from taking control, finding enjoyment, and living their potential.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment has been building a practice on Client referrals; my client's successes lead to growth for them and my business.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Believing in yourself in the early days, the experience will address this over time. Remember, even the most established professionals in your field started at their start.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Optimal planning - it's easy to over-plan and, in doing so, limit your options. Whilst a base level of planning and forethought is important, over-planning can lock you in and take away your ability to be spontaneous. The truth is growth and opportunity can come from the most unexpected place, be ready to spot and work with it. But you must be crystal clear on one thing, your intention.
- Set your POSITIVE intention - whilst goal-setting can be daunting, it is vital. If you set a clear intention for your outcome, your chances of achieving it or something close grow exponentially. If you're clear about what you want, the universe has a strange way of aligning to make it so. You can look into the Reticular Activity System if you want more evidence. Know this; your intention must be framed in the positive, explore the Well-Formed Outcome of NLP for more on this.
- Everyone is your network - business networking can be an off-putting idea for some. In truth, everyone you know is your network, and if they see/hear you being excited and enthused by your venture, they will rally to support you - if everyone you know told 3 people about what you're doing, imagine how far that word will spread. And word-of-mouth is the best advertising you can get.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.hypnotherapy-norwich.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomCarterHypnotherapy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tom_carter_hypnotherapy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TomCarterHypno
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tom-carter-hypnotherapy/
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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