Michael Del Vecchio ⋅ Killingworth, CT U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 3 years served

Hi, several free resources exist - try SCORE, SBDC, VBOC - they all have expertise in starting businesses up - look for a specialist. The VA may also have some resources for you. The local uiversity in your state mmay also have a veteran counseling service availablle to you, especially if they have an EBV branch. I counsel veterans (and others) as a SCORE volunteer, have helped many small businesses startup. Best of luck.

Patrick E Alcorn ⋅ Arlington, TX Veterans Business Outreach Center ⋅ 20 years experience

Connect with your SBA Resources (especially your VBOC) for all things related to starting and growing a business: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Laurie,
The recommendation regarding the score group out of Chamber of Commerce's is a solid recommendation. I would also look into the market as a whole, specifically the adolescent market. Right now there is a huge need in children and teen counseling, based upon the school's responses to the pandemic. It is unfortunate that our children took a huge mental health hit, and many areas are desperate for mental health professionals with pediatric experience or background.

Jordie Kern ⋅ Amherst, MA 7 Eagle Group ⋅ 27 years experience

www.score.org is an awesome free resource. Find a mentor on the site with Health experience. Conserve your cash and bootstrap as much as you can. Starting a new biz if very challenging (and rewarding!). Learn from the mistakes of others, learn best practices, and get some mentors...otherwise odds are against you. Happy to share my experience and guidance anytime if you want to meet.

Laurie Serratore ⋅ Wakefield, MA Harvard University ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Sam,

Thank you for your suggestions. Maribel knows that she wants to be a Targeted Mental Health Worker as she has been in the past so is looking for suggestions on how to get started (when the timing is right), financial piece. etc. I told her to speak with her local Small Business Admin in Florida as well as connecting with other folks who have started a business particularly in the Mental Health field. I did also reach out to my ACP contact to see what he can do for her. If you have other suggestions I would love to hear them so I can pass them on to her.

ACP AdvisorNet Staff ⋅ New York, NY ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Laurie,

Thank you for reaching out, please take a look at this link, which I believe would be helpful.

- 20 Wellness Business Ideas:
https://aventivestudio.com/20-wellness-business-ideas/

- 5 Startups That Are Changing the Mental Health Industry
https://www.inc.com/amrita-khalid/mental-health-startups-healthcare-innovation.html

I do highly recommend taking a look at what other companies are doing in the mental health field, studying their websites would be very helpful to create a clear image of the next step.

I also recommend contacting your ACP point of contact for more information regarding a quick informational call where your point of contact would be able to connect you with another Mentor who has experience in Finance & small businesses in the mental health field.

Best,
Sam

Richard Byrne ⋅ Hillsborough, NJ Intel Corporation ⋅ 53 years experience

I've added links to sections of my EE webpage that might be helpful.

http://eehot.com/ee.html#funding
http://eehot.com/ee.html#vosb
http://eehot.com/ee.html#sba
http://eehot.com/ee.html#grants
http://eehot.com/ee.html#networking
http://eehot.com/ee.html#usa
http://eehot.com/ee.html#usaid

For legal:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/department-104-CMR

For freelancing:
https://www.upwork.com/work

https://www.upwork.com/freelance-jobs

https://www.upwork.com/services/search?nbs=1&q=mental%20health

https://www.upwork.com/nx/jobs/search/?q=mental%20health&sort=recency

https://www.upwork.com/search/profiles/?q=mental%20health&user_pref=2