Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health & wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Kate DeStefano-Torres, Founder & Executive Director of The Artemis Center for Guidance, LLC, located in Glassboro, NJ, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Artemis Center for Guidance is an outpatient counseling practice. We serve children and adults in Gloucester County and across New Jersey who struggles with anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, and other emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Tell us about yourself
I am a professional counselor, licensed in NJ, PA, and DE. I am also registered and permitted to provide telehealth services to residents of FL and SC. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from LaSalle University in Philadelphia and my master’s degree in Applied Psychology from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. I founded Artemis in 2013 in an effort to meet unmet needs in my community. Primarily, Artemis provides evidence-based treatments to those suffering from psychological disorders or distress. Artemis has also served as a training facility where students and new graduates can learn to be strong and ethical clinicians. I consider my current role to be one of creating and maintaining a safe and supportive work culture for my 22 employees so that they can provide the highest level of customer service and clinical care to the individuals and families that we serve.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Thanks for asking this question. Too often, we are just focused on the day-to-day, and we don’t stop to revel in our accomplishments. I struggled to pick just one accomplishment to highlight, and I realize that is because the business itself IS the biggest accomplishment. A thriving practice that provides a safe and nurturing space to employees and clients alike. The jobs that I’ve created, training highly skilled clinicians, and the individuals and families we have helped to heal and grow are the things I’m most proud of and that I keep in the forefront of my mind as I make decisions and plan for the future.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
The learning curve is STEEP. I had no business training in my graduate work; it was purely on-the-job training — with no trainers. I’ve made a lot of mistakes - like paying a “publisher” (read: conman) for print ads when we literally had no marketing budget - that $5k netted exactly zero clients and a police report (when I told the “publisher” that I wasn’t going to renew the listing he started having his associates call in and make fake intake appointments to try to “prove” to us the ads were working — clearly, he didn’t think this through and when we had three no shows for intakes in a week we figured out what he was doing).
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Have a clear plan of how you will pay yourself from day one. This won’t be sustainable if you can’t eat.
- Find a mentor, preferably a free mentor. No sense in reinventing the wheel if you can learn from other’s mistakes.
- Pick something you love because you’re going to be living and breathing it. Also, love makes sacrifice a bit more palatable, and there will be sacrifices along the way.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://artemisguidance.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtemisGuidance/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artemisguidance/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/artemisguidance
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-destefano-torres-50542b3/
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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