We recently connected with Roxanne Francis and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Roxanne, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from my ancestry. I come from a long line of women who are overcomers. My maternal grandmother had to raise 7 children with food from her small farm while my grandfather travelled internationally for work. I hear stories of her waking up hours before dawn to make bottles of coconut oil from scratch to be sold at the market.
Yet she was very involved in her children’s education and while there was not a lot of money, the kids were always clean and smartly dressed.
My mother in turn raised 3 children by herself and while resources were often minimal, she instilled in us the importance of education hard work and never giving up when times get tough. From my grandmother to my aunts, my mother and even her best friends. I have seen them work hard, persevere through tremendous difficulty and make $10 out of $1. So when things get challenging I am reminded that there is no guarantee that things will be easy, but I have seen my family and those around me get through.
I also get resilience from the people around me – it’s so important to have a good community. When life gets challenging, my squad reminds me that I can do it. They support me, check in on me, tell me there’s nothing I can’t do and remind me of my greatness. When I had my part-time hustle on the side for almost a year, and when I had the undeniable nudge to leave my 9-5 to pursue my current business, my husband was out of a contract. But when I shared my plan, his response was “let’s go get it!”
So when I can’t find resilience in myself, I borrow from the awesome people around me.
I also get my resilience from my own life. I realize that my being here, right here in this moment, means I have survived every one of my challenging seasons. I have been a lonely immigrant, I’ve had bill collectors call me, I’ve had to borrow money to make rent, I’ve had to take the bus between school and work in sub zero weather, and I’ve had to navigate the health system with gravely ill loved ones. I remind myself that I have survived it all, and I will get through on the other side of whatever comes my way if I just keep going – even if I have to cry first!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
The team at Francis Psychotherapy offers therapy support to children, individuals and couples in Ontario Canada, as well as leadership and mindset coaching to anyone in North America. We also provide consulting and training internationally to organizations who are looking support wellness in their staff and teams in the workplace. We have a strong belief in the ongoing support of new and established therapists and so we also teach clinicians how to start their private practices, and coach and/or supervise existing clinicians on how to have thriving practices that they love. To that end, we host Canada’s only annual event for therapists focused on entrepreneurship skills and wellness. The Therapist’s Lounge Canada supports the administrative, legal, finance and revenue needs for practice owners as well as their wellness needs (therapy, massage, chiropractic, nutrition etc.).
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’m not sure if these are qualities as much as tips for success, but here goes: 1 – Get support. Whether it’s a mentor, coach a business bestie, or you join a mastermind of peers, get around people who are walking the same road as you, or preferably someone who is a few steps ahead of you who can provide advice, solace when things get difficult, and advice on how to avoid pitfalls.
2 – Get therapy. Your career/entrepreneurship path is difficult. Your stress, family history and trauma will all drive you into the ground. A therapist will be your best investment. Even if you can only afford to go once per quarter. Get a therapist.
3 – Ask for help. You cannot do it all on your own. That is definitely a recipe for failure. Delegate household tasks to family members, hire a VA even if it’s only for 2 hours a week to flag your important emails and check your voicemail. When you can afford more, outsource your content creation, newletters, book keeping etc. You need to be able to take breaks. You can’t work nonstop. You are not a fridge.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
As the business is growing the challenge that we are currently facing is expansion. There has to be enough therapists and consultants on our team to serve our clients and stakeholders, but we also have to be careful not to expand too quickly so we don’t compromise quality of service, and we also need to ensure that there is enough revenue that we remain profitable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.francispsychotherapy.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/francispsychotherapy
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/francispsychotherapy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannefrancis-mswrsw/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrancisTherapy
Image Credits
Jenny Jay
