Season 2 Episode 12 | Amanda Shaw | Starting Over: Preparations for Moving Your Practice to a New City

FEATURED GUESTS: Amanda Shaw, MA, LMHC, ATR, is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida (MH 20223) and certified art therapist (ATR), who is the sole owner of her private practice Create Flow Heal Art Therapy & Counseling LLC located in sunny Saint Petersburg, Florida. Using a holistic, client centered approach, she provides mental health counseling and art psychotherapy to adolescents, adults and families - as well as hosts wellness retreats throughout the year. In addition to working with individual clients, Amanda also works with local non-profits in the St. Pete area. Currently in partnership with Selah Freedom, she provides art therapy groups for sex trafficking survivors. Selah Freedom is a faith-based nonprofit anti-human trafficking organization, based in Florida and the Midwest, with the mission to end sex trafficking and bring freedom to the exploited. ​ Prior to the start of her career, Amanda competed her master’s degree (MA) at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. with an emphasis on trauma-informed care and art psychotherapy. Her undergraduate studies is in psychology from the University of Central Florida (BS). Amanda’s professional background includes working in a variety of settings such as acute psychiatric facilities, assisted living (memory care), substance abuse recovery, eating disorder treatment centers, school based programs and sex trafficking residential treatment centers. ​ She has been featured in the Sarasota Magazine, presented at conferences held by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and was the former Membership Chair of the Florida Art Therapy Association in 2019-20. 

LISTEN & LEARN: 

• The benefits of working with a business coach when planning a business relocation. 
• How starting her social media for her business before she had a business helped build awareness
• How to factor for attrition as a result for the move. 
• The importance of networking in the community you plan to build your business in prior to your move. 
• Why it is important to calculate the financial costs of relocating one's practice, in order to identify how much to save to cover the losses and expenses of the move. 
• How completing an evaluation of the health of your business is vital to determine if your business can sustain the move. 
• The importance of completing market research in the potential location to determine if the area has the clientele and collaborative organizations to partner with in the community. 
• The benefits of collaborations and networking to create momentum in the business. 
• How joining entrepreneurship groups within your local community can raise awareness for your practice. 
• How a single educational focused speaking engagement can create a snowball effect of referrals for the business. 
• The benefits of partnering with another practitioner when you are planning a retreat. 
• The average retreat takes approximately 100 hours to plan and host. 
• Why you want to have accommodation information on your retreat website even if you aren't including that in the cost of the attending. 
• Why a retreat needs to be experiential, immersive and offers diversity in location for the different experiences. 
• Creating value for retreat attendees and hosts by offering post-retreat products and services. 
• The importance of follow-up calls and post-retreat surveys when hosting events and using the data learned from those to enhance future offerings. 

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:

• Amanda's website: www.createflowheal.com
• For a free 20 min. phone consultation or to Get first session at 15% off, email Amanda at createflowheal@gmail.com and use promo code TPC23
• Amanda's Retreats https://www.createflowheal.com/expressivearttherapyretreat 
• Selah Freedom antihuman trafficking NPO https://selahfreedom.com/
  
• Amanda's Coach, Katie Close, that helped her plan for the business relocation https://katieclose.com