Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dr. Cynthia King, Co-Founder of FemFwd, LLP, located in Asheville, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
My co-founder (Dr. Arianna Boddy) and I own FemFwd. We teach women how to have healthy relationships with others and with themselves. Our customers are women who want to improve their relationships. They might be interested in how to be a better mom, improve their friendships, or have a stronger relationship with their partner. Our customers are interested in how to have better boundaries and how to have more effective communication in their relationships. We teach this information through educational articles, social media content, handouts, and workshops.
Tell us about yourself
Dr. Boddy and I are both clinical psychologists, we are therapists, and that’s how we spend most of our working lives. My expertise is in treating adult survivors of prolonged childhood abuse, and Dr. Boddy is a child clinical psychologist. We are also moms, and each has two kids under the age of five.
We love being therapists, but we were interested in reaching a wider audience, so we started FemFwd. We were interested in providing education about relationships to more people and doing that as teachers/educators rather than as therapists. An online platform reduces the barriers to access (i.e., financial, time, etc.) that therapy often brings, so it also allows us to reach people who would otherwise not show up to therapy.
Dr. Boddy and I are both motivated by a shared belief that relationships are the cornerstone of having a happy and full life. We also believe that most of us aren’t taught how to do relationships in a healthy way. We have witnessed this in our clinical work as therapists and have felt this in our own upbringings. We are invested in helping to repair this skills deficit through information and access to education. We also believe that when people feel seen and heard and like they are not alone in their experiences, there is a collective sigh of relief and therefore healing in that, in and of itself. We love when we hear women say, “I am so glad somebody gets it,” or “That is exactly how I feel.”
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our biggest success thus far has been finding balance in our lives while building a new business (we are only about a year old). We have managed to continue our work as therapists (Dr. Boddy even owns and operates her own practice), raise our toddlers, and build FemFwd. Dr. Boddy and I are both very tenacious and have a ton of sticktoitiveness, and that has been a huge asset in this first year of business.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The learning curve! For example, we are psychologists and have no training in online marketing. So it has (and still is) been a lot of learning about how to use marketing in a way that means our ideal audience is actually going to see our content.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Have patience - It takes time to build a successful business. It is supposed to so take a deep breath and lean into the process.
- Have a ton of self-compassion - It feels hard because it is hard. You’re learning a new thing, so extend a ton of grace to yourself in the process.
- Be curious - Test hypotheses and see if things work. So much of learning something new is trial and error. So approach your business with curiosity, test out what you think might work, and be open to alternative solutions or ideas.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://femfwd.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/femfwdblog/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femfwdblog/
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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