Courtesy of Juliet Austen, Marketing Consultant and Copywriter for therapists and natural health businesses 

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, guest speaker at our May Woman of Insight VIP Dinner, was featured in a recent Businesses in Bloom podcast. Businesses in Bloom was created (and is hosted) by Juliet Austen, and focuses on therapists, holistic practitioners, wellness and natural health businesses and their journeys of success.

See below for a summary of Juliet’s interview with Vanessa, or you can listen to the whole interview here and hear about the incredible work Dr. Lapointe is doing.

Interview Summary

Dr. Vanessa Lapointe story of building her private therapy practice with 10 associates is a textbook example of how to build a business. She knew from the beginning that she did not have business and marketing skills and therefore hired a business coach to help her start off with a strong foundation with a clear message. From there, she started offering workshops to organizations and built strong relationships with other professionals in her community.

Dr. Lapointe offers 80 workshops a year and one of her therapists now works as a community manager maintaining relationships with referral sources. If you want to know how to build a business do exactly what she has done – have a “dogged determination” and genuinely build strong relationships with others.

Interview Highlights

[2:46]  Vanessa says that she was drawn to work with children because of the untainted passion that children have.

[4:14]  Vanessa shares her perspective on children and parenting. She states how profound it is when you look at what children’s behavior is telling you and then respond to them on that level.

[7:07]  Vanessa discusses the impact devices are having on children’s development.

[9:15]  Vanessa shares that she and her staff offer 80 workshops and year.

[12:34]  Vanessa explains the supportive services offered by other professionals in her clinic and how she has partnered with a yoga business to offer yoga classes for children and families.

[14:04]  Vanessa discloses how she balances her life with work and her family.

[16:54]  Vanessa shares the workshops that she offers for community organizations.

[19:48]  Vanessa shares the history of their business, how she came into it and when and where it started.

[22:19] Vanessa describes how she started building her business and the importance of hiring a business coach.

[26:11] Vanessa explains her strategies for networking and building relationships with professionals in her community.

[32:28] Vanessa describes the marking materials she uses in building her business.

[36:18] Vanessa talks about her experience marketing her business online.

[43:15] Vanessa says that the most difficult aspect of managing her business is time management. She shares how she manages her time.

 [46:18] Vanessa gives advice to others starting a business – have “dogged determination.”

---

Bio-Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, Registered, Psychologist- Vancouver, BC