ABOUT
Meet our founder
Claire Blakey, MA, LMFT, PMH-C is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in Santa Barbara, California. As the founder and lead educator for The Flourishing Therapreneur©, Claire is passionate about empowering therapists in business and entrepreneurship. Whether teaching clinicians how to build successful and sustainable private practices, sign book deals, launch podcasts or create courses, Claire believes that every therapist deserves the tools and support to flourish as therapists and entrepreneurs— as therapreneurs.
Your Deserve to Flourish.
The Flourishing Therapreneur© is rooted in concepts of vulnerability, authenticity, and resilience - first as a person and second as a professional.
Often times business models and philosophies focus on our business growth and mindset, and while our vision is to equip therapists in innovative business resources and tools; most importantly we want you to connect with your unique heartbeat, lived experiences and desire for impact in your community.
As therapists and specifically as entrepreneurs, WHO we are and the life we cultivate and live is the foundation for the businesses we launch, the therapy sessions we hold space for, and the innovative foundation in which our companies thrive.
Without identifying both the personal and professional elements of a flourishing life, our businesses, innovative goals, and entrepreneur skills will only ride the surface.
When we embrace our values and our stories, our businesses take on new meaning, our messages become more congruent and our offerings more clear.
This also induces a deeper satisfaction and return for business owners, therapists and innovators because the heart, time, and energy spent is in alignment with what fuels their specific meaning and purpose.
Our signature course Flourishing in Private Practice includes a segment on The Philosophy of the Flourishing Therapreneur© — essentially an assessment, self-reflection tool to connect with your core values and make sure your business growth and endeavors align with these.
We believe that flourishing is only possible when you cultivate the ideal environment for your vision to grow. If you don’t tend to the soil, weed out the roadblocks or launch when timing isn’t right, that can detrimentally impact your business growth, and subsequently your impact as a therapist + business owner.
We believe in connecting with each of our own unique visions for private practice + entrepreneurial endeavors. For some, this might look like a cash pay private practice working just a few days a week. While others, this could look like a blend of private practice and other entrepreneurial ideas being cultivated (i.e. - writing books, teaching in graduate programs or pursue other hobbies - like quality time in your schedule for spin class or yoga.).
Many therapists that take our courses and listen to our podcast agree — there is a desire to find a work life balance that works for each person. A lot of times this means making a quality income that affords the opportunity to be present with your family, raising kids or spending time with close friends.
We believe in assessing our systems + structures to create sustainable models of private practice + business growth that do not perpetuate cycles of burnout or lead to compromising our own boundaries, needs or mental health.
We believe in creating rituals, rhythms and rest to sustain our businesses, and cultivate a flourishing life - both in and outside of private practice + business growth.
The mission of The Flourishing Therapreneur© is this:
To thrive through life’s challenges and difficulties, to become congruent in our personal and professional lives, and to identify our people, our passions, and our purposes so we can flourish both personally and professionally.
How did The Flourishing Therapreneur© begin?
Claire Blakey founded The Flourishing Therapreneur© after noticing a deficit in business education and development for therapists interested in entrepreneurship and private practice. She found that education systems, books and other resources were perpetuating a scarcity mindset and teaching a whole tier of therapists to believe that their passion of helping others couldn’t be a lucrative business model.
As a former lifestyle blogger with experience building a community of over 17k readers, and a previous career and education in communications and PR, Claire desired to merge her lived experiences and education with her current career and passion as a licensed therapist, business owner, and therapreneuer.
Claire may not have all the answers. but that she has the curiosity, the creativity, and the call to join forces with those who do—collaborating with experts throughout different fields including attorneys, CPA, wealth advisors, literary agents, marketing professionals, branding specialists, and other successful business owners.
Claire desires to equip fellow clinicians and business innovators with strategic, strengthening, and worthwhile investment of tools to flourish in their careers.
Pairing Claire’s love for communications, public speaking and writing, with her passion for people, connecting others and cultivating community — The Flourishing Therapreneur™ was birthed.
Alongside founding a group private practice called Thrive Therapy Santa Barbara, Claire also hosts our weekly podcast The Flourishing Therapreneur© (available wherever podcasts are streamed) and is the lead educator and presenter in the courses The Flourishing Therapreneuer© offers.
In addition to being a therapist and business creative, Claire also serves as the Past President of the Santa Barbara Chapter of CAMFT - a local community of clinicians. But beyond these titles, Claire is a human aspiring to live a kind and impactful life. She’s a mom of two incredible little humans. She enjoys beach walks with her pup, traveling, and enjoying a cozy cup of coffee with good friends.
Begin flourishing - today
There are many ways to begin cultivating the soil to your help your private practice or entrepreneur ideas flourish.
Here are a few ways to get plugged into our community:
Sign up for an upcoming course or masterclass
Become a member and join our Facebook group - who knows you might meet your new business accountability partner and best friend, or at least have a community to bounce ideas off of and journey through this process together
Book a custom business consultation with our Founder, Claire Blakey for hands on support, strategy and systems to launch your next endeavor!