Meet Hilke Legenhausen, the small business owner of Nurture Our Nature Counselling in Point Cook, Victoria.
Meet Hilke, the small business owner of Nurture our Nature, a counselling business based in Point Cook, Victoria. She started her counselling journey because she was always curious about health and psychology. This curiosity grew stronger when her first child was diagnosed as autistic. Now, she has three wonderful kids who are both autistic and have ADHD. Through her business, she intends to provide a safe and supportive therapeutic environment to people who are suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
“I feel that Many Rivers is a Godsend for me because honestly, I could not start, operate, or grow my business just by myself. Being a stay-at-home mum for so many years, I had no idea how to start or run my business without professional guidance. I just had the right qualifications, background, and experience in this field but not much business acumen.”
Read more about Hilke’s business journey so far:
Hilke’s Business
I started my business officially in March this year. Prior to starting this counselling business, I was a health coach. The thing that really drew me to start this business is that it brings together all my past experiences and educational background – past primary school teacher, acupuncturist, health coach, nutritionist, etc.
Through my business, I intend to provide a safe and supportive therapeutic environment to people who are suffering from stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. In my practice, I develop individually tailored plans to address the issues my clients need help with. I provide a judgement-free zone where I support my clients in finding the solutions that work for them and their families. I strongly believe that in counselling and therapy, there is no ‘one size fits all’.
I am determined to provide counselling to people who are struggling in their lives just like I did at one point while caring for my three children with special needs. Counselling can really make a difference in the lives of those who are struggling with the hardships of life and are going into depression, anxiety, or other mental illnesses. I provide counselling through the following three channels: telehealth, in-person appointments or phone calls.
My counselling process revolves around the following three solid points; 1. Getting to know you and your situation to develop the best plan for moving forward. 2. Establishing your values and goals to support you in living a rich and meaningful life. 3. Supporting you to implement the steps you need to take to thrive.
As a person-centred counsellor, I believe that my clients are the experts in their lives and respect I respect their individual experiences and situations. During the counselling process, I try to walk beside them so that we can come up with the best possible solution.
Working with Many Rivers
I found out about Many Rivers through a friend. She is also a client of Many Rivers and when I talked to her about my business idea, she recommended that I get in touch with Many Rivers as well to benefit from professional business coaching.
“I feel that Many Rivers is a Godsend for me because honestly, I could not start, operate, or grow my business just by myself. Being a stay-at-home mum for so many years, I had no idea how to start or run my business without professional guidance. I just had the right qualifications, background, and experience in this field but no business acumen.”
My business coach from Many Rivers, Grace has been phenomenal and a great blessing with respect to being always so helpful and knowledgeable. She schedules weekly meetings with me to answer all my business-related questions and gives me tips and ideas on how to operate and grow my business in the most efficient way possible.
Moreover, she has helped me with my website as well and continues to guide me on how to reach out to my clients. On Grace’s suggestion, I have recently enrolled in a copy-writing course so that I can write more specific content to catch the eyes of my potential clients. Once I am done with my copywriting course, I will re-write the content for my website and social media platforms as well.
Did you get a loan from MR?
No, I didn’t get a loan from Many Rivers.
Do you have any current employees?
I don’t have any employees. Theoretically, I am making a profit, but it wouldn’t be enough to live off. Wit
h the carer payment, they take half of it away. If I earn too much, the carer payment would stop. I don’t know how secure my income is yet and I am re-investing money back into the business. I want to achieve stability before the carer payment stops. I need the profit to reach a higher level where I can support my kids and pay the bills.
Biggest Challenge
I think the biggest challenge for me is that I am doing everything for my business on my own while taking care of my special needs children at the same time. Since my business is still in its initial phase, I can’t afford to hire any assistant right now.
I feel that running a business requires a lot of time and attention as there are so many aspects and not just providing counselling to clients. I am developing and managing my website, marketing on social media platforms, managing cashflow and so many other things simultaneously.
I am also dealing with my industry-specific challenges and also doing a copywriting course to improve the content on my website and social media platforms.
Biggest Success
The biggest success is that I feel more empowered since I started my own business. I have been living on carer payment for quite a long time because I had to look after my special needs children full-time. But now that my kids have grown up, I feel that I can stand on my own feet. I am now able to utilize my education and experience for my own good.
Moreover, another accomplishment for me is that I am maintaining an average of five clients per week and when I inquire with my clients, they consistently express that my counselling services have had a positive impact on their lives.
Biggest Change
In terms of change, I feel that my business has had a positive effect on my children as they now see me as a busy and professional person as well. I say this because they have always seen me as a carer or mum dependent on carer payment. I am glad that they are noticing that I am spending time on my business and doing something for myself too, something that will make us financially independent and empowered.
Future Goals
In the future, I hope to cater to most of my clients through telehealth so that I have the flexibility to work from anywhere and I wish to establish my name and reputation in the field of counselling.
Thank you, Hilke, for sharing your business journey with us. We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours and business success.
If you would like to stay updated with Hilke and her small business, follow Nurture our Nature Counselling on social media:
Website: https://www.nurtureournature.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/?nurtureournature_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilkescounselling
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