Deah Curry PhD, CPC
Helping introverted solopreneurs
with the anxieties of doing
business in cyberspace
The No Hype Mentor
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& Solopreneurs' WorryTamer
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2019 marks my 29th year as a solopreneur. Most aspects of being my own boss are exactly how I saw my adult life unfolding. And a few have been a surprise, a disappointment, or an annoyance.
I really get it when you say you feel discouraged!
As an introvert, I like operating behind the scenes. Business networking was neither fun nor rewarding for me. I realized early on that I'd have to find another way to make connections, and get people interested in my work. Writing came naturally to me, but marketing was a whole different story. I spent two or three years studying and translating marketing advice for small business into methods that worked for the one-person show like me.
About Deah
I've had my tech-nightmare moments -- I wiped the hard drive of my dad's first home computer !!! LOL
Back in the day, computers were anything but intuitive. You practically had to be an engineer in a hazmat suit to operate one. Thank goodness times have changed. But I still remember feeling intimidated by it -- still can be at times -- and I know it is a nerve-wracking learning curve for some of you.
I want you to have the practice that makes your heart sing!
Being in business for myself has always been part of my personal vision. And yet, like so many of my therapist, naturopath, and psychic friends, my training was in the healing arts, and before that in whole systems design, and before that, in communication arts — not in business skills!
One of the first things I’ve discovered is that most people in private practice are either scared to market themselves, or they are trying to follow really bad or inappropriate advice. No wonder most small businesses fail in the first 3-5 years.
Even though I was determined that wouldn’t happen to me, I sure have my own story to tell about going through that period of feeling scared and desperate before I learned the secrets of marketing a healing arts practice.
But I had to become a self-directed learner in the best ways to get clients in my door so I could survive as a business owner because no one had the answers that applied to my unique combination of personality, business model, and professional needs.
Now, being a self-directed learner is right up my alley, given my master’s in Whole Systems Design (health & healing systems and organization transformation) from Antioch University Seattle and my doctorate in Psychology (Naturopathic Healing consciousness and Spirituality) from Saybrook. Both degrees required me to design my own curriculum, which meant determining what I really needed and wanted, then weaving it into a functional, practical, and enjoyable approach achieving my goals.
As a marketing mentor, I bring a systems design mindset and a grounded psychological understanding to the energy, spirit, art, and mechanics of attracting enough clients to make a private practice thrive.
Having been a private practice, fee for service clinician myself, I know the challenges faced by independent business owners in the healing arts. I’ve had to face and solve them myself, and I believe we have to work with the emotional side of marketing as part of the solution.
Getting to this point has definitely been a winding road, with some pretty big potholes along the way. Perhaps it helps to know that I can most definitely relate to your struggles.
Feeling anxious about marketing?
Pick up my Kindle book for extra
reminders about coping with insecurities
Deah's Own Marketing Mentors
I have studied or trained with some of the best client attraction gurus and marketing coaches for solopreneurs. If you prefer a different personality style or expertise other than mine, I highly recommend:
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CJ Hayden -- for solid planning
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Ronnie Noize -- for networking for introverts
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Barbara Griswold, LMFT -- for dealing with insurance
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Milana Leshinsky -- for recurring revenue projects
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Sean D'Souza -- for stellar copywriting
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Fabienne Fredrickson -- for client attraction wisdom
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Seth Godin -- for purple cows and meatballs on sundaes
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Lisa Sasevich -- for the invisible close