Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health and wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nancy Ryan, M.A., LMFT, Owner and CEO of Relationship Therapy Center, located in Sacramento, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Relationship Therapy Center is a counseling center in the Sacramento, CA area with two locations: Roseville, CA, and Fair Oaks, CA. As the owner, I am a Certified Gottman Method Couples Therapist and mentor all the clinicians who see couples in our center. They all move on to become at least Level 2 trained clinicians. We started out specializing in couples and found that the community began asking for more types of counseling or if we could see their children. We now serve children, teens, families, and individuals as well. We have a great group of therapists that all have different specialties, so we can treat trauma, codependency, depression, anxiety, grief, life transitions, and all emotional and mental health.

We help couples improve their marriage - their communication, intimacy, friendship, and conflict resolution - with real tools that work or if they are not sure if they want to stay or go. We provide discernment counseling, divorce counseling, and also co-parenting. One of the exciting programs we have developed is a personalized weekend intensive where a couple comes in and works with their therapist over the weekend to do a real jump start on resolving issues.

Our offices have the feel of being in a living room so that people feel comfortable. We have a signature scent of aromatherapy, relaxing music, and beautiful artwork. Some of our clients have said it's like walking into a spa. We believe in great client care from the minute they call to the completion of their therapy. Much of our business is referral based. We also believe in being great therapists. We have a rich training program for all the therapists that work here.

Many of our clients are successful professionals or business owners that need help in their personal lives and relationships. We only know how to do relationships based on what we have seen modeled to us, and that is not always a healthy way. I really like to tell people that you don't have to be close to divorce to come into couples counseling. Why not learn how to have a great relationship based on over 40 years of research by John Gottman?

Tell us about yourself

Becoming a therapist was a second career for me after spending 25 years in the corporate world. I have always wanted to help people, and therapy did so much for me as I was figuring life out. It was a long journey, working full time, going to school, then building my business up on the side. Finally, I was ready to leave my full-time job after about two years of seeing clients in the evenings and weekends, and I had a full practice pretty quickly. I spent three years or so in a private psychotherapy practice, and then when I had to keep turning clients away, I thought I would hire a therapist to work with me. Many therapists don't have business experience but want the feel of private practice. I thought I could provide a great place for therapists to collaborate and be supported well. I started with one therapist in 2018 and now have over 20 therapists.

I am always looking for ways to make our place of work and the experience of our clients and therapists better. I love that creative process and, at the same time, create systems that make the business flow. Over the years, I have had some bad experiences with therapists personally and also had couples tell me that I was their third couples therapist. I worked hard to learn and train so that I would be an effective therapist and provide an environment where clients felt heard and understood but also given real tools and processes to get better. Because this is a second career for me, I really want to make a difference in the therapy world. I want clients to have good therapy, so coaching and training is a passion that I have with the therapists as well as our admin staff.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We have grown to have two locations in nice buildings, and our reputation in the community is great. People know we do good work, and that is so rewarding. To provide jobs to over 25 people who feel valued and supported is a pretty big accomplishment.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

There are so many decisions and processes that I deal with behind the scenes that employees don't ever see. I am the one responsible for the business, the leases, the big purchases, the legal aspects, etc., and making sure that my employees have clients to see to support themselves. Employees sometimes don't see all of that and think it's really easy, and I can feel taken for granted. I have to remember that even though I love our team and our environment, I have to make hard decisions sometimes for the good of the company. But with the hard things come growth. Owning and running a business can be a huge area of personal growth if you work with coaches, mentors, or therapists to work through your limiting mindsets.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Be prepared for it to take a lot of time to build, and make sure you have adequate financial resources to get you through. Overestimate the time and money you need for the first 2 to 3 years.
  2. Enlist a mentor or coach that is ahead of you and in the direction that you want to go. You have to have some type of vision of what you want to create and do your research, but make the investment of a coach to help you with what you don't know.
  3. You will feel overwhelmed at times, and it is good to build a team around you that can take some of that pressure off. You may need to hire an assistant before you think you have the money for it. Join a group of other entrepreneurs to help you stay positive and focused.
  4. Believe you can do it, but back it up with research and plans, and take it step by step.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.therelationshiptherapycenter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RelationshipTherapyCtr/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relationshiptherapycenter/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancycounselor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sac-relationship-therapy-center/

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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