Cincinnati Therapy Guy's Anniversary

April 1st marks the 1 year anniversary of opening up my full time private practice – It’s been a fun year!

I had a part time private practice going for about 10 years or so – working a couple of nights a week, or on a Saturday morning. My wife had been talking to me about the work I had been doing, helping people and couples and believed that if I opened an office for a ‘full time’ practice that I could help a lot more folks. She spoke to me about this off and on for about a year before I finally agreed to her idea. She believes in me and what I do – she came up with my practice name, ‘Cincinnati Therapy Guy’; she made bumper stickers with a catchy phrase ‘He’s Hypnotic!’ on them; she convinced me to blog (she wants me to do this more often and I’m working on that), she developed my website and logo of the pocket watch (a connection to the hypnosis work I do). She was instrumental in coming up with my current brochure; she is my biggest fan and I cannot stress the importance of having someone in ‘your corner’ like this – it makes all the difference.

I remember being told by someone last year in March when I announced that I was going to start my practice, ‘this really isn’t a good time to do that sort of thing, because of the economy’ – I heard what that person said, thanked them for that feedback and pushed on ahead. I found an office site (6900 Silverton Avenue) in Silverton, near the Kenwood Towne Center, had business cards made, took my brochures, and hit the town making calls on Doctor’s offices, businesses and any place I could put up a card on a wall. I joined the Greater Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce and have since renewed my membership with them; a very good thing to do.

The first couple months were spent networking; getting my name ‘out there’ in the community (I still need to do this) and making contacts and connections. Talking to people about the work I do, how long I’ve been doing this work, and answering questions.

And as I did this, my anxiety was pretty high. My wife though, she reminded me ‘trust - The Universe will provide’ – a difficult message for me to hear. I had spent my life relying on myself and my own abilities and skills, but I had never done before what I am doing now. And I listened to her, and I did, and I still do, and The Universe provides. But that doesn’t mean I sit on my butt and wait for The Universe to drop people in my lap. My job is to keep my eyes open for opportunities that present themselves and then act on those opportunities. It means presenting topics to organizations, and talking to people.

So the year has been fun. I’ve met a lot of people and look forward to meeting even more folks. My wife likes to tell me that I help people who are ‘stuck’ somewhere in life. I agree with that. I help people get ‘unstuck’ and move forward on their life path.

If you feel stuck, if you’re in pain and you’re not feeling like what you are doing is working or relieving your pain, give me a call – 471-2250 or email me and we’ll talk about what we can do together. I have been doing this for over 30 years because I believe people get unstuck.

Namaste
Dennis Mendleson/The Cincinnati Therapy Guy

On Finding an Office and Open House

So I’m getting ready for my open house – coming up Thursday, Sept 4th – I really like my office space. It’s relaxing, which is good since I do counseling and hypnosis there. I have this piece of furniture, it’s not a couch, but not a bed – it’s kind of like one of those pool deck recliners without arms – I can adjust the head from flat to different angles. It’s great for hypnosis.

I was driving around Cincinnati looking for space and almost rented at Longworth Hall, down near the Bengal’s stadium. Great office space and lots of free parking. But when I told the lady that there are times when doing work with couples they get angry and raise their voices toward each other, (yes this does happen in therapy) I was shown the door. Quiet place there.

So, I drove around with my notebook and pen, looking for potential space. I ran into a couple problems. The first was space itself. There’s lots of space out there, but not much small space. I don’t need much. I am in private practice by myself. I needed space large enough for when I facilitate small workshops, maybe 12 – 15 people but not much more than that. People have lots of space to rent. I mean lots of space. Like a couple thousand square feet – and while no one laughed and hung up on me, I quickly realized just how small a fish I am.

The second problem really surprised me. I’d drive by some place, see an advertisement, and write down the number. I’d call, leave a voicemail with my phone number and information that I wanted to see the space. Many times I never received a return phone call. That was odd. I figured people wanted to rent space.

I found my office on one of my trips. I was driving down Montgomery Road, into Silverton when I saw the advertisement for office space on this cool looking building. I called, they called me back, and voila`! I am now in an office about a mile west of the Kenwood Towne Center, on the corner of Montgomery Road and Silverton Avenue. I now can see people on the west and east side of the city.

So if you’re reading this, you’re invited to my open house on Sept. 4th, from 4:30 – 7:30pm at 6900 Silverton Avenue. There’s free parking behind the building, and those who come will be entered for a chance to win a free hypnosis session. And I’ll have drinks and hors d’oeurves. All are welcome. All are welcome.