Small Business Spotlight: Emotional Health Colorado


“Quote."
– Terrilynn Nickerson, Owner
Denver, CO | Women & Black-Owned Professional Services Business
Owner: Terrilynn Nickerson
www.emotionalhealthcolorado.com


Q&A with Owner, Terrilynn Nickerson

Give a high level overview of your business. What products or services you offer, where you're located, etc.
Emotional Health Colorado incorporates caregiving practices with pastoral, prophetic and counseling insights to help people heal at their deepest and, core to pores, live well.

How did you find out about CEF? Please be as specific as possible?
CEDS.

If you were working with a different lender(s) prior to CEF, please describe your experience. Ie, how long had you been looking for a lender, what problems did you encounter that ultimately led you to CEF?
CEDS was wonderful.

Why did you choose CEF as your lender?
We were offered a low-interest loan.

If you have worked with our Business Acceleration Services team, please give a brief overview of what you have worked on with your coach. (If you haven't worked with them and would like to, you can let us know here, too!).
I have been meeting with a Business Coach, not recently but in months past, to reorient my thinking to executive perspectives.

We'd love to share your successes. Please tell us about any recent wins, plans for the future, etc. Anything exciting, that you are proud of, advice you'd like to share with other entrpeneurs, etc.
I’ve implemented counsel from my business coach in incremental and personal ways. For instance, I have several clients who simply cannot afford the sessions they need. So I have created tiered pricing to meet three levels of fees and all but one client is on a path towards full fee payments. I also had a client who rarely paid on time. A mentee/colleague advised me to charge client credit cards the day of their sessions. But this felt unhelpful as clients might then have additional crises to address. Instead, I engaged in the conversation of value, time and money with my client. Over the course of five months, I began to cancel their monthly schedule if I did not receive their package payment. We maintain a wonderful rapport as they confront much more deeply-seated issues than dollars. And in turn, they trust me and have begun funding a family member seeing me on a regular basis. So I addressed a financial issue as a caring counselor with an executive heart towards longterm affiliation and helping my client heal what clearly affected more than their paying bills in a timely manner. Too, as some months I found bill paying a challenge, I have learned better how to manage my cash flow, enjoy client loyalty and space details of my living and working to pad fluctuations in income. I am not living closer to the bone but thoroughly aware of my business choices and reasoning behind them.