Mission Driven Business Building a Profitable Practice with Authenticity and Heart
Rooted in identity, community, and purpose is what it truly means to build a business with heart. Brian Thompson sits down with Kala Lacy, an EMDR-trained yoga psychotherapist and founder of The Well Healing, a holistic wellness practice centered on Black and queer people of color. Kala shares how she turned her own healing journey into a thriving private practice, why niching down with radical specificity was the key to her success, and what inspired her newest venture: the Wellspring Care Collective, a mentorship community for Black, queer, and trans clinicians building aligned private practices.
A Business With Heart
Kala defines a mission-driven business as a business with heart. One that is striving to create a positive impact and isn't solely focused on profit. Her path into mental health began with her own early experiences and a curiosity about what healing could look like if it were created with someone like her in mind. She entered the field through yoga, which she found integrated naturally and powerfully with therapy, and The Well Healing grew from there, shaped by what her community asked of her.
The Power of Showing Up Authentically
Kala's journey wasn't without self-doubt. In graduate school, she felt pressure to whitewash who she was in order to be taken seriously as a clinician. It was a professor who openly claimed a Black feminist lens in her work that gave Kala the permission she needed to believe there was space for her in this field. Brian connects this deeply to his own story, reflecting on how seeing a Black gay CFP early in his career gave him the confidence to pursue his own path. Representation, they agree, changes everything.
Niching Down and Finding Your People
Kala is intentional about naming Black, queer, and trans clinicians as the specific community she serves, even when she had reservations. The result? Nine out of ten people who reach out to her are already aligned. Her private practice went from part-time to where she wanted to be in about a year and a half. As Brian puts it, the more specific you get, the easier it is to find your people and for your people to find you.
Introducing the Wellspring Care Collective
Kala's newest endeavor is The Wellspring Care Collective, a monthly mentorship group for Black, queer, and trans mental health clinicians building private practices. The collective offers weekly connection, learning on topics specific to private practice, guest speakers, community support, and space to show up as their full selves. Kala is candid about why this matters: grad school teaches you how to be a therapist, not how to run a business. The collective bridges that gap by offering both practical entrepreneurial skills and an affirming community.
Resources + Links
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Connect with Kala Lacy: Website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok
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Follow Brian Thompson Online: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Forbes
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Follow & review the podcast: on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
About Brian and the Mission Driven Business Podcast
Brian Thompson, JD/CFP®, is a tax attorney and Certified Financial Planner® who specializes in providing comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. The Mission Driven Business podcast was born out of his passion for helping social entrepreneurs create businesses with purpose and profit.
On the podcast, Brian talks with diverse entrepreneurs and the people who support them. Listeners hear stories of experiences, strength, and hope and get practical advice to help them build businesses that might just change the world, too.