[INTERVIEW]: Samantha Stern on Trusting Yourself To Do The Things!

Speaker 0 (00:00:01) - All right. I think we are live. Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another Purpose and Pixie Dust podcast. My name is Lindsay Dollinger, and I'm so excited for you guys to meet my friend Samantha Stern. So Samantha, welcome to the show.

Speaker 1 (00:00:14) - Hello. How are you, ?

Speaker 0 (00:00:16) - I'm so good. I've literally been looking forward to this. I feel like you've been on my calendar for like two months or like three months for this to be booked.

Speaker 1 (00:00:23) - It feels like it, like between my schedule and your schedule, we're all so busy. But I was like, I have to get on.

Speaker 0 (00:00:29) - I know, I know. Well, I'm so glad that you are here today. So Samantha, tell my audience a little bit about you, your journey, how you started to do what you do, all the things, and we'll go from there.

Speaker 1 (00:00:38) - Yeah. So my name is Samantha Stern, um, and I opened my own business in Power Kids Therapy. Uh, I am an occupational therapist and I treat pediatrics, so it's solely children who I end up focusing on in my business. Uh, and I live in Orlando, Florida, which is amazing.

Speaker 0 (00:00:58) - , how could that not be amazing? ? So I guess I should have prefaced this, um, to let the audience know, Samantha and I met each other at Lumen Jellos. Yeah. Momentum Mastermind weekend. I the names. I'm, I like always so many words, the events I know. So all the momentums. Um, so this past October, um, we headed off, I loved brainstorming with her. Mm-hmm. , and then we've worked together a few times since then. And then we have Samantha saved my, you know what, on the, the Boardwalk during the Disney Marathon. ,

Speaker 1 (00:01:30) - Yeah. Um,

Speaker 0 (00:01:31) - This's part of the WDW radio team. And you did the, was it the 5K that weekend?

Speaker 1 (00:01:37) - 10 K. Uh, yeah. So the Princess,

Speaker 0 (00:01:40) - Yeah. So wait, this was, yes, princess did 10 K

Speaker 1 (00:01:44) - Princess. I did 10 K. And then before that, the only other race that I did was the 5k, uh, March, whatever. They keep on changing every single year. Oh,

Speaker 0 (00:01:54) - Okay.

Speaker 1 (00:01:55) - That was my first 5k. Gotcha. But the rest of my friends and family were running, uh, in January when you ran. And I just so happened to be closer to the end and was like, Lindsay, you coming in? Are you good? Do you need anything? I was like, I have, and I was like, she's, I can see that she's struggling. So here's some Gatorade. Here's a banana.

Speaker 0 (00:02:15) - I was gonna say, I don't even remember what you gave me. It was like a banana. Was it like crackers or something too? Something else We had that morning, I feel like. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:02:23) - It's just like, here's all this stuff. You can keep on doing this. You got this. Because I definitely could not .

Speaker 0 (00:02:28) - Yeah. Oh my gosh. It was so, it was so bad. Guys, when I say it was so bad, it was bad. Um, but so Sam texted me and said like, I have this and this and this. Like, let me know what you need. And I think I just said, yes, . Like, I was like all of it. That

Speaker 1 (00:02:41) - Is what happens at Marathon. You're like, I can only type three letters.

Speaker 0 (00:02:45) - . Yes. I'm like, this is all I've got left. Yes. Yes. To all the things. Um, so anyway, yes, she saved my ass, uh, marathon weekend. So she's a real MVP . Um, but tell us a little bit, how did you decide, or maybe when did you decide, because you worked for a occupational therapy practice first, right? Yes. Before you opened your own. So tell us a little bit about your thoughts with that.

Speaker 1 (00:03:07) - Yeah. So I'll start with, uh, first my transition to Florida and how that happened. So I love Disney. Uh, it's, you know, it's everywhere. We got it everywhere. Um, and I was living in New York at the time, and New New York was my next step before I wanted to move back down to Florida. So I ended up in 2019 in December, uh, making it here to Florida. And I got a job working for a private company at the private therapy pediatric company here in Orlando. Pandemic hit was like, okay, now's not the time to jump off on my own and try to make my own practice. So I worked for and transitioned to another therapy company. And what I was finding all throughout, uh, my years as being a practitioner was I didn't like following everybody else's rules. Uh, I didn't find that insurance-based care was able to support kids and families the way that they deserve to be treated and the way that I wanted, or the therapist that I wanted to be.

Speaker 1 (00:04:04) - So it was always in the back of my mind ever since I graduated, uh, oh goodness, 20 13, 20 12, uh, that I wanted to open my own practice, but I never had the guts to do it because I have the mindset of I need to learn everything before I do, which we all know is not necessarily the case. But, uh, I was working for two private pediatric therapy practices down here on Orlando, and I just was like, this is not the right fit. So I did some research as I do, uh, and started to build my own practice on the backend. So I was working nights and weekends on courses, uh, taking in all the information that I could of figuring out how I best could treat parents and kids so that they could get the support that they needed. Uh, so I opened actually, uh, today's Tuesday, uh, on Thursday. It'll be one full year since I was fully open and ready to treat clients. That's awesome. So it's been a vulnerable since, since then. . Thank you. It's, it's been a feat, but I, yeah, I'm doing it and I, it's been fantastic.

Speaker 0 (00:05:07) - And do you wanna share what you just told me right before we hopped on here?

Speaker 1 (00:05:11) - Yeah. So about a month ago, I became full, uh, with all of the clients that I am able to physically, emotionally, mentally handle in my caseload. Mm-hmm. . Uh, and so I now need to figure out how I'm gonna hire someone, uh, which is fantastic and it's such a great thing to have, but, um, it's always those next steps that I'm always looking at and trying to figure out how I can do. So yeah, I'm fully full-time, which is amazing.

Speaker 0 (00:05:36) - It's so exciting. I'm so excited for you. Okay. So let's talk a little bit about, um, and you kind of already mentioned it, but kind of like that jumping before you're ready or Mm. How you have been able to get through the, everything has to be perfect and lined up before . I create action of it, and I know, I mean, that's just human of us, right? Yeah. Like, especially you are a type, I'm assuming, like a type A, like, oh yeah, yeah. . I'm like, I don't, I shouldn't assume you. That's how I'm, but I assume, like, normally the people that I talk to, like, we like to have all our decks in a row. Yeah. So what are some things that you did to kind of get through that mm-hmm. .

Speaker 1 (00:06:13) - So, right in the beginning, I knew here are the things that I want to learn in. I knew I needed to know more about business because I didn't know, you know, I, so let's back up. So basically I wrote a list of all the things that I already knew. I knew how to be an ot. I knew how to provide parent education. I knew how to treat children. Uh, little bit of finance stuff, but finance business. I had no idea how to do that. So I wrote a list of all the things, or all the aspects about running a business that I didn't necessarily know. And I started to do research on who are the people that I should be talking to, who are the people that I should be reading from. Uh, so I made all that list and I started to do that.

Speaker 1 (00:06:50) - And what I was finding was, uh, when I got all this information, I reached a standpoint where I was like, well, what else do I need to know? And that was the point where I felt like I was looping right, of the fear of maybe I don't know all this information. Maybe I don't, maybe I'm not ready. Uh, I need to know more information. But I was finding was I was hearing the same things over and over and over again. Yeah. So I did know the information. I just needed to become confident in myself and just saying, I'm not gonna know everything. And what I have also been finding in my business recently is I, there's no way that I could ever think of every single problem or, you know, occurrence that might arise that I may need a solution for, because I can't think of the problems.

Speaker 1 (00:07:30) - So it's just do as you go in some of these instances. But I felt at that point that I felt myself looping and knowing and researching the same and or getting the answers to the same or similar information was at the point where I said, I just need to open. I just need to be confident that I've done the work that needs to be done up until this point and just go for it. Because I won't be able to know everything until I actually do. Right. I think that's one saying that I, that I heard you say a little while ago was like, um, uh, making sure, uh, that doing better is perfect or it's better to do than have it be perfect. Yeah.

Speaker 0 (00:08:06) - Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:08:08) - Do it perfect.

Speaker 0 (00:08:08) - Perfect. Later .

Speaker 1 (00:08:10) - Yeah. Yeah. There it is. You gotta do in order to then, you know, make it perfect. Um, so just get out there and, uh, one of the, the scariest things I think in, in my practice is it's reliant on clients and reliant on someone believing in you. Uh, and so that was hard of figuring out, are people going to even want to get my services? Are they going to want my type of support? Because my support is a little bit different than, like I said, mentioned before, regular insurance based care. Uh, right. People pay for packages. Um, and this is something cool that I had found out along the way, but you know, everyone's doing packages everywhere. Um, and so I said, why not healthcare? Uh, so I packaged services and consults, um, and support in between sessions so that families can get the support that they deserve. Um, they can bill insurance too, but it was a new way to do this type of therapy. Yeah. And so I just needed to trust myself that this was the direction I needed to go.

Speaker 0 (00:09:08) - Okay. So I, you've said a lot trust, confidence. Yeah. So was there at any point, like, cuz it sounds like you had this kinda like aha moment where you're like, okay, I know that, I know that, I know that. Was there anything where you were like, okay, I'm trying to think of how I need, I want toward this. Because a lot of women especially, but I know a lot of my listeners really struggle with the confidence piece and with the trust piece. So is there any advice you could give them for ways that they can find that, you know, maybe even before they have testimonials from clients or any, was there anything specific that you caught yourself doing? Like that self-awareness piece? I

Speaker 1 (00:09:50) - Dunno. Yes. Question

Speaker 0 (00:09:52) - .

Speaker 1 (00:09:52) - No. I, and I think it, it makes sense. I think it's really hard to trust ourselves in general of do I know all of this information. Uh, one of the things that actually helped me was, um, I reached out to other previous clients who I've had in the past and I started to bring back memories of all these people who I've supported or who've supported me from other jobs and other careers who wanted my support. And that just validated for myself of you do know the information and you Yeah. It's okay to go out there. Um, another thing that I did that I know it can sometimes be challenging to other people, um, is I was finding the information that I was getting from, not from a business standpoint, but from my own, you know, specific career of OT is I was seeing all these people online posting everything that I already knew mm-hmm. . So they're offering services to other professionals and I know that information. Yeah. So I was comparing myself to them, not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way of, well I know this information. Why am I not sharing it? And why am I not adding to the population of like, I know that information, but I may know a little bit more detail and can provide it in a better way. Um, so the comparison factor, at least for me, worked

Speaker 0 (00:11:04) - Was helpful, uh,

Speaker 1 (00:11:05) - Was helpful in saying, why am I not doing that? They're obviously success from the outside. Right. They're obviously successful in what they're doing, so I can do it and I know I can do it better.

Speaker 0 (00:11:15) - Yeah. So

Speaker 1 (00:11:18) - That, that was helpful for me, which I know for some individuals mm-hmm. are not because then they get stuck of thinking that they aren't as good. Yeah. Um, as others. But it was helpful for me. And then just talking about it with other people, that was another big thing. And I think why, you know, we had connected at that conference is I was like, Lindsay, I need some help. I know you have the information you can give me. Um, but I think it's good to find people who will be in your corner. Uh, like I went to a conference just for OTs and I met two individuals who we talk every day. Um, we're in different situations in our business. One has been open a year longer than I I have. And one is very slow to be picking up cuz her full-time job is taking, uh, more time and more precedents. But we talk every day about things in the ot, profe in the occupational therapy profession, things as a business owner, things in our personal life. And so having that support, uh, for all those avenues to validate and problem solve as you go, is super important too. And then, oh my God, take throw the, take the step into saying like, I can do this.

Speaker 0 (00:12:19) - Yes. Yes. That's even, that's so much better of an answer than I was even expecting . Well, there's so many. No, there's so many pieces of it because I think a lot of times people are like, I, you know, it's like a one stop answer and it's not. Yeah. It's these little pieces that you implemented into your life, your accountability buddies, you know, other people that you can bounce ideas off of. Mm-hmm. the validation from, and I actually read that in, gosh, who knows what book at this point. But I read that in a book when you were trying to find confidence in like a new area in your life mm-hmm. to think back even in something else that you've done, even if it's unrelated, like you have succeeded at something, everyone has succeeded at something. So like, you are good at just certain things and, and how can you kind of transfer those skills and that belief into your new thing. Um, and I think that's so, so smart. So talk to us a little bit about your Instagram page, because you have one of the most beautiful Instagram pages, , um, anyone that I have seen. So did you start that about a year ago when you decided to start Yeah. You know, doing this or was it before? What, what did that look like?

Speaker 1 (00:13:23) - So, I love social media. I shouldn't love it as much as I do. Uh, but I find like the quick, the quick amount of information that I can get out there, um, and share information so that people who maybe can't afford certain services or have access to certain services can see and get value from what I'm providing. Even if they do or do not have a kid. Like a lot of the things that I post are also can be tailored to adults. But, uh, I, funny enough, so I started the INS Instagram page. This, I was at this, uh, occupational therapy conference where I met these ladies and they had said in the conference, like, just make the page, make the page, get it up. So at least it's semi out there in public. You don't have to add anybody or anything. So I quickly grabbed my handle for my company name.

Speaker 1 (00:14:10) - Cause I was like, I wanna grab it. What if it someone else does? Yeah. So I grabbed it in November of 2022. No, that's a lot. Why 20 20, 21. Yeah. Uh, and I didn't post in it. I just had it, it was there. Okay. And I was like, okay. And people started adding me. I'm like, I didn't even post anything on there yet. . Uh, so people started adding me and then I started actually posting in March or April, uh, like the month and a half before that I really launched out to the public mm-hmm. because I wanted to slowly start to get some traction in what I was posting. Yeah. Before people started looking at my business online. Uh, I wanted to make sure that I had a little bit of a presence before I was saying like, here's me pay for services, come get support. Right,

Speaker 0 (00:14:57) - Right.

Speaker 1 (00:14:58) - So I started the page and being that I'm a Disney lover, uh, a small niche that I'm trying to branch out into and going to branch out into the next year or so, um, is combining my love for children in pediatrics and therapy and Disney. Uh, so I started posting, uh, videos and posts all about how you can explain the sensory system, which is something that's so complex through the lens of Disney. So I started making those videos at first and it just, the traction just started. And yeah, I'm gonna be go back to returning it. I did, I've done Magic Kingdom, I've done Animal Kingdom, I still got Epcot and Hollywood Studios to do too. Uh, but that's in the future works. But I,

Speaker 0 (00:15:40) - I love that

Speaker 1 (00:15:41) - Love, love, love social media and you know, making it, um, a way to share information but also a common presence. So I really dove in hard in the beginning, uh, into some of that, which is really cool.

Speaker 0 (00:15:54) - Well, and your brand. Yeah. And your branding is beautiful. Did you do all that on your own? Did you do a branding class? Like where did that or you just

Speaker 1 (00:16:02) - No, I following other people on Instagram. Yeah. And reading all the, the blogs and the things that other people are posting out there mm-hmm. . Um, and I saved a lot of pages that were and weren't relative to ot. And I looked at the similarities between them and why I liked them as a person aesthetically in how they were sharing information. And I actually had a whole Google, I have so many Google docs, um, but Google Docs, I'm like, why I liked it. Right. Um, this is what I did before I actually fully launched my business. I said, you know, what colors are calming for me. What are co gonna be colors that are calming for a parent visiting my page who is in overwhelm with their child and looking for answers? Well, you know, this light blue teal color is gonna be great and let's start using some beiges in there. And so it just kind of snowballed effect on thinking about everything between, you know, font colors, like how I was gonna present information. So yeah. That was all me at first. .

Speaker 0 (00:16:56) - Oh my gosh, I love it. I love that. So well, and I'm working with, um, some women in my membership right now about branding, and I think that is such a good piece of advice for people is like, what draws you in? Like, and yeah. Mm-hmm. and what is going to attract your ideal client to you? Um, because for a while, and I did this whole like, big branding mastermind and it was super informational, but um, the colors that this, um, coach was, was pointing me towards were like, like a dark red. A dark blue. And I was like, that's not , that's not my vibe. Like, that's not like, and so I tried it, I did try it for a while. So if you guys look back at my colors like four or five years ago, there was like a little brief season until I finally like, came back a couple weeks later and I was like, I can't do it. I can't do the dark.

Speaker 1 (00:17:45) - I wanna go back and look at it now. .

Speaker 0 (00:17:47) - Yeah. It's like a dark, a very dark green. Um, yeah. I'll have to find, I'll have to find something and like share it out and show people like the

Speaker 1 (00:17:55) - Evolution. There are so many blogs and books all about color theory. Uh, I could dive deep into that because, you know, even right now there's a ton of TikTok going on around about like, you know, what colors you should be wearing for your, your, your skin tone and your hair or color. Uh, and so diving into color theory is so interesting to me. Yeah. And how we perceive certain information in their importance based on their color. Yeah. And so, you know, you are searching for bright, bubbly individuals, right? Yeah. Uh, Disney aspect in there. So your font and your color choices need to be different than mine, where I'm looking to ease the mind and calm the body, uh, you know, to attract those types of parents who are saying, oh, this is a calming thing. So yeah. It, it's subliminal, but it, it, it definitely plays a, it's there

Speaker 0 (00:18:44) - For sure. Well, and it's so funny you just said that about Disney because when I showed her like this bright pink and like a teal that, um, my colors have changed just slightly, but when I showed her those, she was like, that's more like a creator vibe, like a Disney vibe. She's like, that's not what you're going for. And I'm like, yeah, you're right. . It was like before, like I brought all the Disney into my branding so it, it's so funny. Like, just Well, good. Um, okay. Now your content planning, cuz you put out a ton of amazing content. Walk us through how you plan your content. Um, do you do it weekly, monthly, daily? Do you have stuff like in storage that you pull out? What do you do?

Speaker 1 (00:19:23) - So, uh, as of right now I have shifted, uh, social media despite me loving it. My main priority right now has to be treating children and treating clients. So I've actually, uh, exported some of my social media Okay. To a social media individual or me an individual who manages my social media. We plan it weekly. Uh, and I have a massive list. ,

Speaker 0 (00:19:45) - I bet, I bet

Speaker 1 (00:19:46) - A massive list of all the topics of conversation that I want to have with clients or, um, with individuals on my social media. Mm-hmm. . So the way that I've planned it is I have, uh, a couple really big pillars of information under there, all the details. And so, uh, the way that we have chosen to do it is alternate, um, between talking about Disney and sensory, talking about feeding, uh, talking about parent education and then my services. Cuz that was a big piece that I feel like, and the way I was educated was that was a piece that I was missing was showing and demonstrating like by spell what I can do. Yeah. And that didn't come to the forefront in the beginning when I was building my social media and said it was just, here's all this information here I look, I know what I'm talking about, versus like, here's then how I can help you. Yep. Um, so that's really big. But back then, the way that I was doing it was trying to alternate and do a lot more reels, uh, than post Instagram. And social media is always constantly changing. Right. And so I was trying to fit the trend and the trend wasn't working for me. So instead I shifted. Instead it's easier for me to put out static posts or carousel posts that are related to certain topics from that. So this massive list that I have also has related blogs that I've already written. Uh, , there's about

Speaker 0 (00:21:08) - Of them. .

Speaker 1 (00:21:09) - Yeah. So there's about 20 of them. And so what we're trying to do is get into this routine and pattern of, um, one real a week and, um, every other week a blog post. And then whatever is in that post is gonna get, uh, whatever's in that blog post is gonna get to social media posts, uh, during that week so that we can direct people more to it. Um,

Speaker 0 (00:21:31) - How long have you been following that

Speaker 1 (00:21:33) - Plan? Uh, two months now.

Speaker 0 (00:21:36) - Okay. Have you noticed any change in your insights?

Speaker 1 (00:21:41) - Yeah. So actually a lot of change I'm having, I forget the actual phrasing for it, but I'm, I u what used to happen is when I was making the reels, I was gaining a lot of followers ish. Um, or I was gaining more followers from the, what I noticed, but they weren't necessarily people who I needed to actually follow me. Right. There weren't the ideal client. They were a lot of people from other countries who yes, I can support them virtually, but realistically Right. That's not my clientele. Uh, so what I have noticed is since we've shifted, I've been getting a lot more other businesses, um, and individuals here in the Florida region. Um, I've gotten a lot from Miami recently, which is nice because now I'm at least niched more to Florida.

Speaker 0 (00:22:23) - Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:22:24) - Um, we've had a lot more traction in people sharing, uh, the posts between each other, where before I would just get likes from my family and that was kind of all all that I was getting initially. Yeah. Uh, so we've definitely branched out in that, so at least I know. And we know that other people are sharing the posts so that they know that they're sharing information in their friends. So that's been nice. And we've seen that shift, which is, that's

Speaker 0 (00:22:49) - Really great. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Are you primarily on, you're primarily on Instagram, right? Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:22:56) - I'm, I, I found myself initially too, even beginning getting into all the different types of social media was really challenging for me. I knew that I needed blogs to help support families so that I had a place to direct them to information. But then deciding between Facebook and Instagram, it was a little bit more challenging for me to decide and or be able to do both. Mm-hmm. , what I'm finding now is the opposite of, of what I initially thought. So I was getting a couple clients actually from Instagram every month they were booking calls through Instagram to see about my services. Mm-hmm. and then the conversion rate from that. Like if I had 10 calls, it was like 30%, three people would sign on for services. That's great. Or be want to transition, which is amazing. What I'm finding now is a lot more is happening in these family Facebook groups who are sharing information. So someone will post on there and say, Hey, I'm looking for services in Orlando. And someone else who maybe I don't even know Yeah. That has been happening recently, have said, oh, I've heard about empower kids therapy. So this word of mouth situation yes. Is booming and I'm getting a lot more people from Facebook groups. So it's like now we need to shift and try to reach and gain more individual into Facebook. So yeah, it's been interesting to watch the trends happening, but it's, you know, it's amazing at the same time because

Speaker 0 (00:24:17) - That's so awesome.

Speaker 1 (00:24:18) - You can use it as a tool versus a hindrance. And so that's,

Speaker 0 (00:24:23) - And I love that you Oh, so sorry, go ahead. It's okay. Go ahead. I was gonna say, I just love that you have reached the point that you're okay with outsourcing that, but yet you guys have very much come up with a plan that is still you mm-hmm. , because I think that's the biggest thing a lot of people when they're working with social media managers is they just completely outsource it. And you know, even if you have a really great social media manager, they need some sort of content to pull from mm-hmm. unless they've been like your best friend forever and like can basically, you know what I mean? Yeah. But they're not you. And so having those blog posts that you can pull from is not only genius social media wise, but great for, you know, like you said, a resource to your clients. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1 (00:25:03) - , another thing which I think is kind of cool too, which I didn't mention before, is there is an individual in my field who I met at this occupational therapy conference who she is an OT and she did treat clients, but now she has shifted her business to be specifically for OT and healthcare professionals. So like O T P T speech therapists. And she does and did so much education on branding and, um, getting your message out there out there and shifting the phrasing that you're using on your website to more professional and more specifically niche down language on your website. So I actually worked with her to help transition my own thoughts and ideas into, I had this, she created this really awesome, uh, big p d f of information for me to constantly reuse and rephrase and shift. But it, it has allowed also my social media person to understand and know my brand and my business better than I would've even been able to convey to them.

Speaker 1 (00:26:09) - So That's awesome. That has also helped too in the whole process. You know, there were, there were certain things that I knew that I needed ahead of time because again, I don't know anything about, I didn't know anything about finance at first. I didn't know anything about, um, marketing. And so I went to at least professionals that I know in my field and said, followed them first and watched what they were doing and then said, Hey, you know, can you help me with this? And they were like, yeah, we actually have a service that you can, you know, help support. And so then I needed to decide like what was gonna push me further along, uh, in the beginning to help. And it was that it was setting up my systems, getting my financials so that I had a baseline understanding, understanding like my client progression and you know, what their process is gonna be when I sign them on. But also being able to share and have the language for sharing my information more effectively on everything in marketing materials on my website, in my social media. So that has significantly helped me to help Yeah. You know, branch off to make sure that I'm saying the same thing to everybody.

Speaker 0 (00:27:15) - I feel like you are next. Um, passive quote unquote passive project is like that. Like creating a course on how to go out on your own as, as occupational the Cause you've done it like you have. Yeah. Yeah. And I, I know with all your Google sheets and all your Google stuff that you kept track of, of all, you know what I mean? Like, you probably already have a checklist made. Let's be ready.

Speaker 1 (00:27:37) - I do. Yeah. I do. Uh, it's funny cuz I have shared it. It it's really just that you said it cause I have shared it with, uh, my, um, those two friends that I, that I was talking about. Yeah. Uh, on just like, you know, how to figure out finances and you know, if I wanna hire someone, what do, what am I paying them? What am what are they bringing in for me? Like how many hours do they have to have? Like it's, it's very specifically niche down to this types of service and package program that I'm using. Yeah. But it's super effective to have these spreadsheets for me at least, uh, to have it broken down. Um,

Speaker 0 (00:28:11) - Well, and I, yeah. Not like occupational therapists, lawyers, people who can open their own practices that a lot of reason they don't succeed is because of the things that you're saying cuz they don't know mm-hmm. how to, they don't even know what they don't know. Right. And I love that you have gone out and you have figured all this stuff out and you have done that by soliciting help in all the area. You're like, this is not my area of expertise I'm going to Yep. To find them and get it figured out and rope it in. And I think that's such an important message for everyone to hear because it, the information is out there. You just have to find the right people or the right resources to like pull it from and start using it cuz you can do it and

Speaker 1 (00:28:50) - Yep. And exactly what you said, that goes back to the first thing that I mentioned was like, I had a list of things that I knew I was really good at and things that I had no idea about. And then I said, okay, these things that I really don't know a lot of information about in terms of business and how to run things successfully, how do I get information and who's the best person to get information from? So, you know, I started doing initial research then, you know, it was like, okay, you need this book by this person, you need this book by this person. Mm-hmm. . And then what I ended up doing is, this is just my personality is I took that information, I boiled it down and said, how does this work for me? And that was how I really created this system that I have now, which is also ever changing.

Speaker 1 (00:29:30) - Right. But at least I had a baseline to work off of, like you said, my spreadsheets, like I have written down mm-hmm. because, um, the way my business works is people pay upfront and monthly or they pay quarterly. So how do I track that? What systems do I use to make sure and guarantee are, are that I know how much money that I am bringing in for my company cuz that's how I'm sustaining myself in January. What does that look like in February? And what about in May? How many clients do I need? And so it was really helpful for me to create this system, uh, from books that I read in order to help me see the picture. And so that's just, you know, stuff that I've learned over time in with other people having businesses too. So yeah, I think that, you know, that's just the trajectory that I created for myself. But I also had to say, at what point do I stop creating systems and what point do I actually do ? So

Speaker 0 (00:30:25) - Yeah. And I I can fall into the creating the systems all day long, so I understand. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:30:30) - Well systems are fun for us people, right? Yeah. Like, it's such checklist and you have a concrete thing, right? You're working on this, you're working on this. Like my website, this is a really good example. I noticed when I was doing my website, I was trying to be that perfectionist and I was working, but it was busy work, right. I'm not with the clients, I'm not going out and marketing myself. And I was finding myself in this loop of adjusting my website. The website did not need to be adjusted as much as I did . I was spending two and a half weeks. I mean, I'd never built a website before, so I did need to spend a little time on it, but I was spending two and a half weeks building a website legitimately Monday through Sunday, like right early in the morning until, you know, the sun was down. And I was like, oh no, I haven't drank water in eight hours. Like those are the things that I was, I find myself getting stuck on. And yes, a website is important, but not as important as I was leaving it label labeling it.

Speaker 0 (00:31:24) - Right.

Speaker 1 (00:31:24) - So the self-reflection that I needed to have and the awareness that I have about myself was, oh, I'm stuck in a loop. How do I get out? Yeah. Like this website is just gonna have to launch. Yeah. Um, and it's gone through edits since then. Not a lot, but you know Yeah. En enough for me to recognize that it's o okay to do that. So

Speaker 0 (00:31:41) - That's the cool thing about websites is I feel like they're constantly evolving. Like it's never gonna be like, if you're not gonna just put it up there and not touch it, most likely. Yep. , I mean maybe, but most likely not . Um, okay. One more question because you sure are also planning your Disney wedding, , which I think is so, so fun. How do you do all the things because you have a full client load now, . Like what are some tips for, you have for the woman listening, um, who has maybe even like you two a year ago when you were, were juggling the full-time job still plus building up your own thing. How did you make that work?

Speaker 1 (00:32:17) - Yeah, so that's a really good question because at some moments I'm like, I don't even know what I'm doing. Or some moments my fiance is like, Sam, the sun has gone down. You, you don't need to sit,

Speaker 0 (00:32:30) - Get outta here with your kid.

Speaker 1 (00:32:31) - Yeah. It's, I mean it's exactly it. I have, you know, this second bedroom that I'm in, it just is the computer and I face a wall and I could face this wall for 20 plus hours and still be okay because I am so motivated mm-hmm. , but it's not healthy. Yeah. So one of the things that actually has helped me that I'm finding that I stay much more on track in compartmentalizing myself is on my calendar that I use, it has client appoint. I've, I've mixed it, and this maybe doesn't work for other people, but it's, I needed something in one place. I've tried and I'm usually a paper pencil person, but what ends up happening is then I, it doesn't look pretty and then I have to erase it and do it again. And so I've noticed that about myself. So I now I've shifted.

Speaker 1 (00:33:10) - So everything is in one spot, so I don't have multiple calendars to look at, but what I do is I actually have a whiteboard and I divide it into four sections. I have things that need to be done this week, things that need to be done this month, things that need to be done this quarter and future ideas. And so what I do is Sunday or sometimes Monday morning, I look at that list and say, where can I shift things? Where can I move things? What things can I start to work on? Because what I was finding was I was putting record course on my weekly to do, and then it sits there because I've only done a part of it. I haven't fully finished it. And then mentally that's hard on me because I haven't done anything all week and I'm putting quotes around that, which is so not true.

Speaker 1 (00:33:54) - Right. So what I do is I move and shift things around based on what the priorities are and what things need to be then broken down. So recording, because I am in the future building currently actually building, uh, courses for families and parents in both sensory integration and feeding because I'm only one person and I need to be able to reach a lot more people or people who need more support. So I'm working on building these courses and what I've done is I've broken it down into sections. So now I have a list of, here are all the sections I need to record. And so then I can pull that from my quarterly to-do list and put it on my monthly to-do list or my weekly to-do list like that. So from there, once it's, I've moved it around on my whiteboard, then I put it on my calendar.

Speaker 1 (00:34:38) - So I will look at my chunks of time. I'm a very chunk of time person. Yeah. I can't just start a project and do it for 30 minutes and then be done. I need mm-hmm. 45 minutes to an hour to like get my mind into that project and then I can shift to other things. So I look at my entire calendar and I look for the largest chunks of time and I see what on my to-do list needs that largest chunks of time. And then I put it in the calendar. Smart. I am a person who like, when it's on the calendar, I will do it . So yeah. What I was finding is when I started this system is I was starting things at like seven o'clock in the morning and then ending things at like eight o'clock at night and then that wasn't healthy for me.

Speaker 1 (00:35:14) - Right. So I've blocked out my personal time now in my calendar. Right. For my morning routine that doesn't have to do with my business end, my nightly routine and then I build and piece things in from there based on my to-do list. Perfect. That has worked amazingly for me because I can say that last week I didn't do that and not that IED around and did nothing. I have a client base that does a lot, but I did things that maybe weren't the top priority. Mm-hmm. So that has been super helpful for me and I know and can track back to when I was building my business, that that was also helpful for me when I did it. Then subconsciously I was doing the same system until I had to self-reflect and be like, I have too many clients now that need my time and attention in these appointments to shift my brain to now I'm a therapist mm-hmm. and now I'm a business builder and a C E O, uh, for me to not have the system in place. So yeah.

Speaker 0 (00:36:06) - I love that it's

Speaker 1 (00:36:07) - Helped me

Speaker 0 (00:36:08) - Yeah. That No, but it took

Speaker 1 (00:36:09) - Some time to get there. Right. It's like mm-hmm. it took time to get there and it also took a lot of self-reflection. Yeah. For me to realize that, you know, me using my paper pencil method, which I really do love is not efficient. Yeah. So I do the same thing with planning wedding too is wedding has to stay either at night, or, uh, on the weekends, unless it's a call that require is required during the day for someone or something. Uh, because I can go down that rabbit hole real fast if, uh, I op, you know, open social media and start scrolling myself and then I'm stuck on wedding talk and then I'm there for hours and thinking of all the inspiration that I need to write down during my workday. Yeah. Which I don't have. I don't have time to do that. .

Speaker 0 (00:36:50) - Well, I love that. Yeah. And saving some of that stuff for later, like mm-hmm. , stopping that temptation to scroll and being like, no, that's my like, fun thing that I get to do later. Right now I'm doing X, Y, z I think that's Yep. A important lesson for everyone. . And I feel like a big theme throughout all of this has been self-awareness, which was a huge thing for me in my business too, when I was really able to start honing in on that and using that to my advantage.

Speaker 1 (00:37:14) - And it's helped, it helps in so many ways. I am very, uh, a self-aware person and I'm a very reflective person. Mm-hmm. and I have a lot going on in my brain at a lot of different times. But it's super helpful for me as a therapist too, to help support families in or find those families who I know that I will mesh and pair well with and that I can support. Because self-reflection, I know that I'm good at x, y, z things. I'm good at getting down on the kids level. I am really good at problem solving. I'm really good at thinking of innovation or innovative ways to help a child. And I good at that trust and that bond with that child and with that parent. So I have good self-reflection for that as a therapist. And I also then have good self-reflection as the CEO to say, you know, here are things that I can do and here are things that I really shouldn't at this time because I know that I can go down a rabbit hole real fast. Yeah. So, yeah.

Speaker 0 (00:38:07) - And it's, it helps them both ways. Help you Yeah. Help you do those things. Why not ? Exactly. Why not? We can manage that. Yeah. Okay, Sam, so tell everyone where can they find you and I will be sure to link all this in the show notes as well. And what are some things maybe that you have coming up that we can know about as well and share with our friends?

Speaker 1 (00:38:25) - Yeah, no, that would be so awesome. So, um, uh, my company name is Empower Kids Therapy and uh, I am on Instagram, so it is Empower Kids Therapy. We do have a Facebook page as well. Um, like I said, we kind of push most of information from Instagram over there, so if you really wanna know what's going on, uh, Instagram's the way to go. Um, if you are curious about occupational therapy and what that means and how maybe it can help your child in, you know, whatever area you are listening in, um, you feel free to check out my website too. It is www.empowerkidstherapy.com. Um, and I'm more than happy to talk with anybody who maybe has a child who maybe needs a little bit of support. I do provide support and can provide support virtually, which is awesome. Um, I know it's so much different, uh, than being in person with an individual, but if someone is looking for some type of support or education and knowing what to do next with their child in their area, I'm always there to help support.

Speaker 1 (00:39:24) - I do have a couple of courses that I'm building, like I alluded to. Uh, one is in feeding therapy. So learning and just the basic strategies first and understanding how to introduce kids to new foods or try to problem solve a kid who is a picky eater because picky eating it, although we've labeled like the kid diet as being picky eating, uh, it's not typical. It really shouldn't be. There are so many ways that you can help expand your kid's diet. So that's one of them. Another thing is understanding your child a little bit better in terms of their sensory integration or their sensory processing. We know that a lot of children coming out of the pandemic are having a lot more sensitivities to a lot of these areas than, uh, other generations. And so helping parents really understand their kids a little bit better, that's kind of those two courses that I'm building.

Speaker 1 (00:40:13) - And then the one that I'm really excited about, and the one that Lindsay, you have pushed me to do a little bit more in, to try to figure out a little bit better, uh, is obviously I love Disney and coming to Disney is super overwhelming and super stressful as a parent. Um, and then if you're a parent who has a child who has, um, alternative needs or needs a little bit more support or is neurodivergent, uh, figuring out how to access the parks best for them and you and your entire family is the direction that I'm gonna go. So I'm gonna help support and build, uh, some ways on how to help parents come down here from an occupational therapist's perspective. So I'm really excited about that one. Um,

Speaker 0 (00:40:51) - I love that so much.

Speaker 1 (00:40:52) - , . It's, it's, you know, combining two of my loves together, which is Yeah, fantastic. And my body gets super excited when I talk about it mm-hmm. . Uh, but you know, I need to be in a really good spot, uh, within my business to help support that end of it. Right. Which is amazing. But we're, we're getting there. Or this summer have I have, I have a layout, so at least , I have a Google doc Yes. So yes,

Speaker 0 (00:41:17) - That's gonna be Sam's quote, like her like slogan. I have a Google Doc for that.

Speaker 1 (00:41:22) - I have a Google doc. It's, I mean, it is true. I got, I got, I have a, a Google doc for this podcast with all the ideas that I had in the beginning. So, you know, it's,

Speaker 0 (00:41:31) - Oh my gosh, I love it. It, I don't know if anyone's ever told me that. I feel so honored, .

Speaker 1 (00:41:36) - I was like, I need to make sure that I share with everybody all this important information, uh,

Speaker 0 (00:41:41) - Because Well, was there anything that we did not go over that you wanted to share today?

Speaker 1 (00:41:46) - Nope. We actually cover it at all. And I didn't even look at it. I'm check at it now. That makes sense. But yeah, no, it's, it's amazing. The, the, the, I mean, the other thing that I kind of alluded to and mentioned is just like trusting yourself and trusting the process. That was the only thing that I had put else on here. Uh, yeah,

Speaker 0 (00:42:02) - Because

Speaker 1 (00:42:03) - It's sort

Speaker 0 (00:42:03) - Of, which I feel like you talked about at the beginning when you were talking about that transition to how you became confident enough Yeah. To, to go full-time. Like just start your own thing, that trusting yourself and sometimes

Speaker 1 (00:42:14) - You've just gotta, gotta trust it. And as long as you've made a plan that works for you and, and have that awareness of yourself, then you know, there are some hard points. But otherwise it's smooth sailing and it's fun. It should be fun. Right. Like

Speaker 0 (00:42:28) - It should be fun. You

Speaker 1 (00:42:29) - Built a business like that is amazing. You know, as a, as a woman, especially now, like to have and build your own business. Like, it's,

Speaker 0 (00:42:37) - It's

Speaker 1 (00:42:37) - Huge. There's so much freedom in it and so everyone should be proud of that. Yeah.

Speaker 0 (00:42:40) - Well I am so proud of you and I am so excited for all the things coming down the loop for you. Um, I definitely want an affiliate link for your Disney course you come out cause I'll be sharing it with everyone.

Speaker 1 (00:42:52) - Yes, yes, yes. It's gonna be so fun.

Speaker 0 (00:42:55) - Um, yeah, it is. Well, thank you so much Sam. I really appreciate your time and listeners when you are either watching this, um, video style, if you're watching this on Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube, um, or whether you're listening to this in the podcast, please screenshot it. Tag us both on social media. We would love to know your biggest takeaway and be sure to connect and follow Sam in all the places.

Speaker 1 (00:43:15) - Awesome.

Speaker 0 (00:43:16) - Thank you. Thank you. Okay.