Champion Family Therapy
Jessica Champion had a vision for fifteen years about creating a mental health therapy clinic that was family-centered. She saw the need for a clinic that would address the challenges of individuals, couples and families, by incorporating the many facets of recovery, including relational dynamics and core beliefs transferred through generations. The concept for Champion Family Therapy was vague for all those years, until inspiration to begin led to an internet search where she found the Business Plan Accelerator class offered at the Lane Small Business Development Center. Slowly her vision began to form, and she created a business plan using the LivePlan software she accessed through the class. The result was a business plan she took to the bank to obtain financing in order to make Champion Family Therapy a reality.
Champion Family Therapy is a partnership of Jessica Champion and Susan Moore. It is an outpatient mental health clinic that specializes in multi-generational treatment of trauma and addiction. “As a team, we wrap around each family, providing individual, couple and whole family support as needed” says Jessica. “We work with individuals, couples, and families to recognize strengths, heal from the past, change the trajectory and get clients from surviving, to coping, then thriving” she says.
“Without a doubt, we would not have gotten started without our business plan, but the individual advising from Roger Wong was essential in keeping us going. He continues to be not only a wealth of knowledge and ideas, but an advocate, cheerleader, and supporter” says Jessica of her time with the SBDC. Within three months of opening, Champion Family Therapy saw fast growth, adding six staff members in only three months. Jessica’s quick success is undoubtedly a result of her calculated planning, and willingness to seek out expert advising.
Going forward, Jessica wants to remain a small practice in order to provide the multifaceted care she envisioned, but she still has more plans, “We plan to add a Wellness Program within the next year that incorporates yoga, acupuncture and massage to our therapeutic work in-house, that will help our clients to better manage stress, anxiety and depression.” Her advice for anyone else wanting to start a small business, “Seek the wisdom of those more experienced than you who are willing to help shape your dream.” We are sure to see Jessica around the SBDC for years to come, and we can’t wait to see how her business continues to succeed!
