“The goal of my business is to help people,” said one sweet, but very tired-looking lady  on a virtual Q&A session. 

“My goal is to make an impact,” said a zealous nurse practitioner who was oozing warmth and fuzzies in a webinar. 

I get...

Wanna know what I did this morning? 

Come on; I know you do. It's not like you're doing anything important, like work or something! 

Kidding. Just kidding. Seriously. 

I want to tell you what I did this morning because it's kind of a big deal. In the last two months, life has...

Everything happens for a reason. 

Do you believe that? 

Most days I do, but somedays I don't. Some days I believe things happen because we're not paying attention, or we make a bad decision, or for no reason at all. Some days I believe that the only reason in this world is a...

|By Tara Vossenkemper, Ph.D.

“I’d hate to have to deal with everybody’s complaints.” 

This is a direct quote from one of my employees after overhearing another employee make a complaint and lodge a request about something they wanted to be different. 

There are...

There's so much I want to do. 

Like writing in a journal with my pen to the page, letting the words roll straight from my heart, and landing right here permanently with ink. 

I want to write because I haven't found the space to do so for a while. I want to remember how sometimes, most...

|By Tara Vossenkemper, Ph.D.

I ordered a desk for my home office. I just redid my basement and carved out space for a home office (all thanks to peel-and-stick wallpaper and a couple coats of paint). Took me a very long weekend, one full day of help from my mom, and more than one night of working...

|By Tara Vossenkemper, Ph.D.

Have you ever felt confused by your business? Or by how to think about your business? Or what to do next within your business? A better question might be this: have you ever felt confused about where to focus within your business to get out of the overwhelm?

...

|By Tara Vossenkemper, Ph.D., LPC

During my doctoral program, I had to take a systems class. Rocco was the instructor. Rocco was old school - he liked original systems thinkers, and he spent a lot of time talking about Bateson, Minuchin, and Haley like they were his besties.

One of the required...

When I started graduate school in 2007 I knew that owning a private practice was part of the end goal for me. What I didn’t know was the process of creating and growing businesses would ultimately become such an important part of my life. 

In 2009 I finished grad school and immediately...

| By Tara Vossenkemper, PhD

I’ve only worked a handful of jobs in my life. When I started at the restaurant, I was hired on the spot. It was a new store opening. I remember walking into the restaurant as it was gearing up for the grand opening and meeting a woman named Kim, the manager. I ...

Prompt: What do you always have an excuse for? 

This weekend I read the book, Brag Better by Meredith Fineman. I listened to it, actually, with my eleven-year-old daughter riding in the back seat. We were on the way to Suntan City so I could get a spray tan. 

   ...

Do you think your team could win the business Olympics?

Prompt: You are the coach and your team is losing an important game. Write a speech to motivate your team to a win.

I survey the field where the team works frantically. Sweat rolls off tiny faces as they perform their tasks in...