Amanda Smith

I've worked in Mental Health for over a decade providing services in the home, school, and community settings. I recently transitioned into working for myself providing virtual mental health counseling services and related resources.

Website: amandasmithlcsw.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amanadsmithlcsw
Wilmington NC
Member since October 03, 2020

Hi! I'm Amanda. I'm a therapist with Betterhelp and facilitate their Self-Care 101 Groupinar. I live at the beach in NC and love every minute of it! Quote_down

About

Education

UNC Chapel Hill , BA

UNC Wilmington , MA , Conflict Management and Resolution

UNC Wilmington Master in Social Work (MSW)

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Amanda Smith, LCSW

Companies I work or worked for:

American Health LLC, Triumph LLC, New Hanover County Schools (NC), StillPoint Counseling and Wellness PLLC

Achievements (products built, personal awards won):

Insoo Kim Berg Award- MSW class of 2014
Best Research Poster- MSW class of 2014
Poster presenter at the National School Social Work Conference in Washington DC (2014)
Youth Mental Health First Aid facilitator for New Hanover County Schools

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I'm bursting with ideas!

Why did you start your company or why do you want to innovate inside your company?

Both of my parents are entrepreneurs so I grew up watching them grow and flourish their businesses. I've been a creative since birth and I am always coming up with new ways of thinking about and doing things. I feel that I have a lot of creative energy to offer the world and I love to share my passion with others as much as possible.

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

I recently left a state government job that came with great benefits including a protected schedule, lifetime health insurance, potential for student loan repayment assistance, and a state retirement pension. Moving away from this sense of a security was difficult, to say the least. However, the freedom of being able to control and determine my own contributions to the world has been very refreshing. While it's scary to go out on my own, the potential is endless and I kind of like that.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

In my experience, the fear of failure can lead to designing things out of fear versus pure innovative spirit. I have had to learn to trust my vision instead of impulsively compromising it out of a desire for safety. It can be tricky to effectively live out our intention without being limited by fear.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Trust yourself- don't overextend yourself just to keep busy when starting out- the work will come and when it does you want to have the energy and capacity to handle it.

2. Being your own boss means not having someone else to lean on to tell you what to do or how to do it. A great hack to this is to create clear and precise policies and procedures so that you can create a sense of foundation to stand on when you need support.

3. Own your schedule, don't let it own you! One of the perks of working 100% for myself is that I get to control my schedule. If I don't set careful boundaries, I have a tendency to not turn work off and can easily end up overextending myself. No one is checking my hours for overtime- I have to do that myself.