What I Wish I Had Known About Being a Clinician Business Owner

I’ve been thinking about all the things I wish I’d known earlier—about being a clinician, while building a business and about the long arc of doing this kind of labor in the world.

Good enough is a complete sentence. Great is a lovely exhale—not a demand.

This work doesn’t come with a vow of poverty. Being intentional about earning is not morally suspect—there are many pathways.

You’re likely already ethical and making decisions from that place. That doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes—it means you don’t have to treat yourself as suspect.

You might write a whole-ass book with your bff business partner. Not because you got lucky, but because you showed up for it, over and over. 

My newbie enthusiasm and vision was gold. Don’t trade it for looking like everyone else

Investing in yourself and your business is expected and necessary for business owners. If you want or have a practice, you have a business.

You will have enough clients pretty soon. Keep going.

CEUs and trainings alone won’t hold your professional growth. Real growth asks us to use our voice differently, create new things, work in new ways, lead, and challenge what helping is even supposed to look like.  

You might create a learning space that becomes the community you never had but always longed for—one that feels like home for others, and for you.

The field will evolve in unexpected ways—again and again.10 years ago I would not have been able to guess that telehealth would become normalized & teaching and healing work would be beautiful online. New tools will expand your reach. And you’ll have more options than you ever thought possible. You are not less credible for pivoting.

You will heal, grow and evolve through the work you do. And that is part of it.

Maybe your own list is quietly forming—made of truths you’ve lived, lessons you’re still learning, and questions that don’t always have tidy answers? I’d love to hear what’s on it.

And if you’re ready to keep going—to build something steady, spacious, and sustainable in a world that doesn’t always make that easy—I’d love to walk alongside you in EMBER.

It’s not a quick fix. It’s not hustle culture. It’s a space to get support, strategy, and community while you build the business side of your calling—on your terms.

🔥 Come see what EMBER has to offer. Our orientation call is THIS FRIDAY, August 8th from 9-10am Pacific, which makes this the best week to join!

🔮 What I’m Up To Lately

Here’s a little look at what’s brewing behind the scenes:

🌀 Carmen Cool and I will offer Tending this Fall, beginning in mid-October. Details to come very soon!
If grief has been living close to the surface—or quietly tucked in your bones—you’re not alone. More details soon. We have a waitlist here and you will be the first to know when it opens.

❤️ Got a significant project planned and want my support and counsel every step of the way? I'm offering intensive support for growing and building your vision. Imagine having questions answered when you have them? Gold for building momentum and making it happen. Reply for deets.

🔥 EMBER is open for registration.
This is the coaching community I built for therapists, coaches, and healing professionals who are ready for strategy and inner work. You've got this, I've got you. Join and be anchored by the extensive course curriculum + community support.

Thanks for being here,
Hilary