Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in mental wellness but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jeremy M. Jobson, co-owner of Quandary Counseling & Consulting, LLC., located in Oviedo, FL, USA.

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

My wife and I are both Licensed Mental Health Counselors who work with all types of clients. Quandary is a Mental Health Counseling, private pay only, private practice. We have multiple other counselors with varying expertise and are collaborating with Massage Therapists for a whole body health center.

Tell us about yourself

When we met, we both felt called to provide a place for healing and transformation, a gift we had received consistently over the years from others through counseling, mentoring, and friendship. In 2013, while hiking on Mt. Quandary with close friends, we solidified this earlier vision with the hope of opening our own private practice, which we did in March 2021.

Since then, it has grown in scope to include not only multiple counselors but also consulting with ministries, churches, businesses, and other counselors to maximize each potential in their work. We bring all of our experiences in business, education, ministry, counseling, and family to our work at and through Quandary.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I am so proud of my wife, our three kids, and myself for sticking with it when it was so very challenging. We overlapped for one year in a rigorous Masters of Arts in Counseling degree pursuit while I worked full time and my wife ran our home. While it is referred to by all of us as the most difficult years, we made it and are reaping the fruit of that time.

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

There is always something more that could be done. As one of my early business managers once said, "the inbox will never be empty again," so you have to learn to be ok with that and close the office door, even if it's only in your mind.

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

  1. For me, it was essential to ask as many questions to others who have done something similar and read/research as much as I could about how to do so and then allow that to be melded into something that I can use for me, my giftings and skillsets.
  2. I'm a list guy, so I made a lot of lists and kept reordering them based on what I was learning was just the 'next' right thing I needed to do. It can be overwhelming at first to think of all that needs to be done, so breaking it down into bite-sized chunks and putting it in the right order helps. Don't try and do it all, or none of it will get done well. Starting and keeping a successful small business is a marathon, NOT a sprint.
  3. As much as it feels like in the beginning, you have to be/do all the things, as soon as you are able to hire others who are more gifted in an area, do it. For example, I can do social media and web/SEO stuff, but hiring someone as soon as I can (or bartering) allows them to do more, better, faster, and frees me up to do other things I am better at. It's okay to NOT be the everything person.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I remember looking around while driving throughout central Florida and thinking, man, there are so many small businesses, and yes, I'm sure plenty fail, but lots don't. They keep going, figuring it out, pivoting, and if they can do it, surely so can I. Someone once told me, "the only difference between us and them, is they DID IT." So DO IT! Believe that all those other small business owners out there do not have some special skill set, advantage, or knowledge that you lack. They took the risk, did the work, showed up, learned, and kept going. It is hard, but hard is not inherently bad.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.quandarycounseling.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QuandaryCounseling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Quandary_Counseling_Consulting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/quandary-counseling-consulting/

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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