Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kendall Hagensen, founder of Wellness Center Creators, located in Vancouver, WA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Our vision at Wellness Center Creators (and Vancouver Wellness Studio) is simple. We want to create a world where patients are never left alone to navigate the disjointed system bouncing from one isolated specialist to the next. We are changing what it means to be a wellness center by creating the frameworks and systems needed to truly collaborate and find the best possible solutions for every client.
Tell us about yourself
My interest in becoming a therapist (in particular a Dance/Movement Therapist) began as a senior in high school when I researched the healing properties of dance and looked for ways to support a family member with MS. I was then diagnosed with MS in 2008 when I was in college. I had a very disjointed experience in western medicine and started to envision a place where people with chronic illnesses could come to have a much-needed, collaborative, truly holistic, different experience in healthcare.
I have BA in psychology and dance from Western Washington University and an MA in Somatic Counseling Psychology/DMT from Naropa University. I became a Somatic Psychotherapist, Dance/Movement Therapist, and Certified EMDR Therapist. I opened our multidisciplinary, collaborative healthcare clinic, Vancouver Wellness Studio (in Vancouver, WA, USA), in 2016. I've also worked as a therapist since 2014 with clients with chronic pain, medical illness, and medical trauma.
Present day, I lead our team at VWS and started Wellness Center Creators to provide business coaching for health and wellness providers who are expanding to multidisciplinary teams or wellness centers. What motivates me? Seeing clients every single day at our clinic get well and stay well and being able to help healing professionals create the collaborative, integrated wellness practices they always wished they had in their community and that their community is craving!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Bringing together a team of people who love what they do, respect each other, and work creatively and collaboratively on behalf of patients.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It's a high learning curve and can become all-consuming, which is the exact opposite of why most people start their own businesses. That's exactly why I started Wellness Center Creators, I don't want health and wellness professionals to have to reinvent the wheel!
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Focus on people and relationships first.
- Double your cost projections and cut your revenue projections in half.
- You don't have to be an expert in all things. Hire experts early on in the process!
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Private FB Group for Wellness Center Creators. This is a large, engaged group of wellness center owners and hopefuls with a ton of resources!
Also, Vancouver Wellness Studio website to see an example of a multidisciplinary wellness center.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WellnessCenterCreators
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesscentercreators/
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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