They Say Don’t Mix Friends and Business – We Say You Absolutely Can

            Dr. Julie Gass, PhD                                                                        Dr. Kimberly Kamper-DeMarco, PhD

Two good friends with full-time jobs, three young children, and daunting family health concerns should probably not decide “now is a good time to start a business.” Yet, that’s what we (Drs. Julie Gass and Kimberly Kamper-DeMarco) did, in a state known for bureaucracy. Working in an academic medical setting and academia (respectively) for our full-time jobs, however, we decided that having something else, a psychology private practice, would be a way to supplement our incomes, diversify our careers, and allow us to create something together. We stumbled along the way, we bordered upon failure – how could we not? But here is how we pushed through.

First, we are both confident and eternal optimists, often bordering on delusional – many of our initial “business meetings” ended with one of us shrugging and saying, “I’m sure we’ll figure it out!” When one of us lost faith, the other was optimistic – we can figure it out. And we did. Remembering that we didn’t get to where we are out of sheer luck, but rather because we are resourceful, smart, and driven, was crucial.

Secondly, we consulted. A lot. By the grace of other local psychologists, business owners, lawyers, and Reddit listservs, we didn’t rely only on ourselves. We asked questions, we knew our limits. Yes, we successfully earned our PhDs, but we didn’t get PhDs in the order of operations of opening a business, so we consulted. Having a network and admitting “hey, we don’t know what we’re doing!” allowed us to learn from others successes and mistakes. Additionally, we are both blessed with wonderful life partners who could offer their own skills (legal advisement, countless hours building furniture) and support. Because the formation of the business happened exclusively afterhours due to our other jobs, our husbands took on more child/housecare and our business, Village Psychology Group, was aptly named, as it truly took a village.

Third, we relied on each other and accepted our weaknesses and strengths. Julie is great at managing the finances; Kim is great at keeping things in perspective and talking Julie down off the ledge. There are more traits and attributes that we could list here, but the point is - in a partnership, accept and help each other. We forgive ourselves and each other for mistakes – whoops, we were supposed to pay quarterly taxes and now have a fine? Now we know, let’s move on.

Finally, it was crucial to keep our friendship strong. We’d been through graduate school, studying for licensing exams, and many career ups and downs. We lead hectic lives, ever more hectic by now managing both a business and 20+ clients, but we remember why we did this: we wanted to create something together. What used to be nights drinking wine and crafting are now spent discussing our cases and making sure we’re compliant with state laws. But after the business talk is done, we just talk. About our lives, about our futures, about the shows or books we’re consuming, about our families. So if we can give one piece of advice it’s this – surround yourself with, and maybe even try to work with, friends. It makes it all worth it.