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It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE, PBS, and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation, with funding provided by the Rural Reimagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

Whether you're starting a business for the first time or you've already taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, it always helps to learn from the experience of others.

And that is what this show is all about.

We know that small business is the backbone of any economy, and we want you to be successful.

So come along.

As we speak with professionals who provide essential resources for business owners and learn from the valuable experience.

Entrepreneurs across the Upper Cumberland have learned in their successful business endeavors.

[♪♪] When Isha Chaney pursued her passion for helping others, she saw the opportunity to turn it into a business.

But she didn't just go off to build a business anywhere she could.

She saw the chance to bring her compassion and skills back to the place she called home, and give back to the community that gave so much to her.

And now her business is growing and thriving, as she brings much needed help and comfort to those in her community and beyond who are facing difficult challenges in their lives.

We're here in Sparta, Tennessee, talking with Isha Chaney, owner of Insightful Pediatric and Family Therapy.

Isha, a big welcome to the show.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

First of all, I'm really interested in your story.

I'm interested in what you're doing.

But let's start out with the basics.

Absolutely.

Insightful Therapy.

What do you do here?

Yeah.

So here.

Insightful therapy.

We take the holistic approach of doing a family center counseling, whether that's for individual people that are needing some counseling, families, children.

Honestly, any walk of life that you're in right now, we're going to be there to help out.

So it's a safe space to come to, to say, this is where I am in life and I'm having trouble.

I need help navigating.

So for me, it's when someone comes and says, okay, I'm at my most vulnerable state because no one's walking through that door unless they're they're vulnerable at that point in time.

And I think for me, that's the point where I go, okay, I'm going to hold your hand and we're going to sit in here and we're just going to talk.

I'm going to get to know you.

So I want to take that.

And I just my approach is to take that clinical part out of that and go, I just come sit.

We're just having the conversation.

We're just having a conversation.

What we through just a little bit more.

We've sat down.

We built some rapport.

Right.

So I'll start come and seeing you.

What does that look like.

Walk me through that.

You know I think what that looks like is being able to establish one routine of hey, all right let's see you weekly.

Let's see you two every two weeks.

And then let's build a plan.

Let's build a plan of if this is what you want your goal to be.

And this is what you want to see to improving your life.

Let's make that plan together.

Right.

You know, unfortunately, I think that there is a stigma surrounding mental health, and don't get me wrong here.

You saying this is a little bit of a joke, but but to illustrate, you know, it's like, oh, well, he's going to go see the shrink, right?

I don't believe it's that way.

Right.

So again, for the uninformed, tell us just a little bit about why counseling.

Why therapy?

Why is it so important.

If you're in a state and it's where I feel stuck or I don't know how I'm going to get out of this situation.

I think that's where the importance comes in.

As in, oh, it's okay to go to someone that's been trained in this and someone that's able to help navigate me through this.

It's okay to go into that space to go.

I need help and I don't know how to get through this.

Help me get through that.

And you're right.

The stigma is there and it's better.

It is so much better from where we used to be.

This generation of kids and, you know, the last few generations, they're changing that.

You know, where counseling is cool again.

You know.

So but I do think it's it's part of that, being able to just open up that space to go hey, It's okay to ask for help.

It's okay not to be okay.

So let's talk a little bit about your training.

Yeah, absolutely.

You've been doing this for a while.

I have been.

I have been.

Walk me through what did you have to do to to learn how to counsel.

What do you do now and what are some of your future aspirations for education?

So I was able to get my undergraduate at Tennessee Tech University, and that was in psychology.

So I got my undergrad there.

And I guess I just love Tennessee Tech so much that I decided, hey, I'm going to continue to go.

Well, we and appreciate that.

Yeah.

So then I ended up getting my master's there.

And within that program, that's where the training began.

And, you know, through practicum, through internship.

So once I did that, I was able to work in community health for a little while.

But I always knew I want to I want to have a private practice.

So that was that was always my goal.

Let's switch over to the business aspect.

Absolutely.

In all of that training, I didn't hear a single word about business training.

How did you learn how to do this?

Yeah.

So, you do not get business training, with there and with our degrees.

You know, a lot of me was just it was, jumped in.

I was just deep dived.

So once I started just looking around, I go, okay, this is what I need to do.

Once I got my business agreement, then I got to do this and this, and it's, honestly, I am learning these things as I go.

Throwing it out there.

Oh, no.

Getting rejected for this or this or.

I didn't turn this in correctly, but it's really navigating that part of the up front of that.

And then afterwards.

Okay, now I got to be like this financial advisor to myself.

So trying to navigate that space so honestly, like that first couple of years, it was like, okay, like here we go.

Like I'm jumping into this.

So you're not the only person here.

You have, what, five counselors here.

Social workers.

Tell us about them, what they do and then we'll take it from there.

So yes, I have five total other counselors that are, in-house.

So I have another a licensed professional counselor, licensed social workers.

And then I also have a nurse provider.

She does our med management, for individuals that are on medication.

I cannot exclude Melissa.

Melissa is the glue to this place.

I cannot insinuate that any more.

But like, she is the person that honestly keeps us going.

So, without her, I would, would have no clue where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to be doing.

What is your approach to leadership?

How are you the manager, and how are you the leader here?

Because you're counseling, you're seeing clients, but you got to switch over and be the business owner too.

So I think for me, I think leadership, very there's times where I'll take the backseat, you know, I feel like for me, being a leader, I don't have to be the one that's, ok let's do this and that and micromanage, right?

So I think for me, leadership is I'm there when I need to be.

And everyone knows they can come for me when they.

When they need to.

Right?

And to I think everyone knows like, okay, when there is a problem, then I should help and take care of that.

Right?

And I think that's where I like to be with leadership.

Like I'm going to be very silent, very silent until.

And I need not.

You need to not be.

So we're here in Sparta, Tennessee.

A couple questions on that.

First of all, beautiful building here.

I love what you've done inside.

Thank you.

Now you're telling me before the interview that this was a CrossFit gym.

Yes.

This is a labor of love.

You have a family affair.

Tell us a little bit about what you've done with it, and how you've really seen that vision of what you want to be.

I would always pass by the building.

I knew it was for sale and I kept thinking something just was like, okay, that's your building, that's your building, that's your building.

And then finally we were like, okay, let's let's just see what happens.

And it happened.

And I'll always say, if things are easy and things fall into place, then it's meant to be.

So we ended up buying it.

Like I said, you walk in, you can stand at the front door and look all the way back.

So all the walls are in here are made of love and the vision really came from, from Laurie, she, she was the mastermind of, of the, the vision and like what goes what and the interior design.

So all credit to her for that too as well.

So.

Well it is really a beautiful space and I think more importantly is it's a very comfortable space.

Absolutely.

We wanted the person, people, family to walk through this door and to go, this feels comfortable.

So another question I typically ask is, you know, you could be anywhere.

You could be down in Nashville, Knoxville, more urban market, more clients, etc.

but you've chosen to stay right here in Sparta.

Why is that?

I'm born and raised here in Sparta.

Rural area.

Lack of access, you know, just disparities with mental mental health.

So I knew right off, like, okay, I want to go to Sparta.

And then that connection of, okay, well, this is where I'm rooted, right?

And a chance for me to go back to go.

Okay.

This is for my community.

Was it scary to start a business?

Or, you know, and pardon my ignorance, but sitting here talking to you are a licensed counselor, can you counsel yourself?

Do you have does that make sense?

Or, you know, or was this something that, that maybe you needed to reach out to somebody else?

Not necessarily a counselor, but maybe a trusted, you know, friend, another business owner?

How did you work that through yourself?

Yes.

To answer that first part, this was very scary because it's a leap of faith.

It's like you come from a steady income.

You come from, having benefits, to going into, I don't know, this is going to be a steady income and I do not have benefits right now.

Health care.

Right.

I think that part is.

Yes.

Very scary.

I think that's where a lot of people get scared of taking that, that job because it it makes sense, you know.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

So it's kind of like okay, can I care for my family?

You know I'm I'm getting older like what does health care like?

like I wouldn't I'm never used to thought about health care like what.

Okay.

But now it's like I'm like oh okay.

Yes.

Like these are things I have to think about.

So yes, that was probably the most scariest thing I've ever done in my life.

And I think that's kind of what my mindset was, was, I want this because there's a lot of freedom in it.

But you have to make it work and you have to grind to make it work.

And I think that's the part is you have to grind.

So the younger people are that are wanting to get in this field, private practice, private practice because it seems so glorious, right?

I often get to share with them, like, okay, but then there's some, we got some up and downs.

Yes, there's benefits, but there's a lot of grind that you have to do that you don't that you don't know about.

So let's look to the future.

Where do you want to take it.

In this rural area.

Lack of access, I want to broaden that out to where people can come whether and not even it has to be this, but something that's created and where they can come in and this could be their One-Stop shop.

You know they get the services, they get the resources.

So I want to continue creating something for the community to go, let's decrease that gap and let's let's figure out how to put that access out there.

Isha, thank you so much for being on the show.

I really feel like I could sit here and talk to you for hours.

I guess that's inherent in it.

But there has been a great interview and, just kudos on what you're doing.

Thank you.

So thank you.

For many of us, myself included, our septic system is not necessarily high on our list of priorities.

In fact, many of us probably never even think about it until there's a problem.

Well, thankfully, there are people like Landon Grant who have built an entire business around helping people when that day comes.

Although he offers many services, one of his most valuable services is being there when problems arise, and he's got the skills and resources necessary to help fix those problems and most importantly, get life back to normal for his customers.

[♪♪] We're talking with Landon Grant, owner of Grant Septic Services.

Landon, welcome to the.

Show.

Thank you.

So let's start out with the basics.

Okay.

Grant Septic services obviously are septic services.

But what does that really mean?

What do you all do?

So basically we we clean septic systems.

We install septic systems, we service them.

Basically anything with your septic, we do it we also do drain cleaning on the side.

It's kind of just by default.

But we take care of that.

Troubleshooting everything.

We take care of it.

I know you do a lot of different things, and probably not every service call is going to be the same.

But on average, could you walk us through you get you get a call.

Yep.

You show up, you're on site.

What happens?

Walk us through that process.

I try to figure out if they're having an issue or if they want, just general service, you know, or if or if they actually have an issue.

But generally we just show up to a house, we find a septic tank.

Usually we do our research before and figure out if there's a permit for it, but we find the septic tank, we dig it up, we pump it out, and then we address the problems that there may be having.

Sometimes it's not even a septic issue.

It's it's something in the house.

Lines clogged.

And we'll usually just unclog it for them.

And then sometimes it's a bigger issue.

You know, maybe their Leitchfield been in the ground for 60 years, and it's time to to put some new Leitchfield in.

So we'll obtain a permit and put a new Leitchfield in for them, things like that.

And that stuff takes time.

But generally most of about 60% of our calls, we can go and take care of them in about two hours.

Now, I got to ask you.

Yeah.

How did you get involved with this?

How'd you get the idea?

I'm going to own a septic services company.

Yeah.

So when I was getting a business degree in college, I never thought I would own a septic service company, but, when we moved out here from the West, you know, you start asking around and looking into different things, and it kind of came up and I was like, oh, I might be interested in that.

I've always been more of a hands on.

It's something that's more of an owner operator role to start with anyways.

And so, started looking into it and believe it or not, so some of the things I'd done in the past, I was like, I kind of have the skill set.

So I, I got a couple of licenses and figured I could do it.

So you make it sound really easy.

I bet it was a little bit more involved than that.

So walk me through.

Okay.

You had the idea.

You know, I've got the experience.

I think I could apply it to it.

So how did you actually get into this?

So.

All right, so let's start out with the licenses.

What do you what's involved in that.

And then you got to get a truck.

You got to learn how to do this.

Walk me through all of that.

So first thing that I knew I was going to need was a commercial driver's license.

So I went and got a class ACL, from a company in Knoxville.

I did that.

And then meanwhile, I was looking into the other stuff.

And then.

So you need a license to pump septic systems, and then you have to have contracts with the different counties.

So I got that stuff going, and and it's not hard to do.

Mostly it's just paying money.

You need to get the license and then to get the installers, you do have to pass a test and, and know some stuff.

But I have an excavation background.

So that was fairly easy.

And then and other than that, it's just the business stuff.

Getting your insurance and, and all that stuff rolling so you can hit the ground and, and get going.

Definitely.

So all right, so you got all your licenses, you got your contracts, etc.. So now you're out on the job.

Tell me about you know, you're an entrepreneur now.

Yep.

Tell me about day one.

What did that look like for you?

So it's not my first rodeo because I've had another business before, but it was a franchise.

And this time I'm on my own.

And, you know, I was a little nervous because I was wading into territory that I hadn't exactly worked in before, even though I had a bunch of skills to to combine for that.

But I was a little intimidated.

But honestly, every job I got kind of walked into the next job and I never have encountered anything that I couldn't do.

So it just by the grace of God, I guess I just got, stair stepped into, you know, higher jobs and better jobs, and it just worked out really well.

Well, so let's talk about the marketing aspect.

How did you get that first job?

I'm assuming there's probably a lot of word of mouth, but how are you getting your information out there for people to call you up, say, hey, come, I need you.

Yeah.

So it's kind of knocking on doors.

And when I say that, I mean, like realtors doors and stuff like that, people that are that are in the housing industry, the residential space, you got to get out there and, and sell yourself to them.

And, you know, you go and talk to all these realtors and I even set up a couple, like a conference thing at the, it's a chamber of commerce up in Livingston.

And, you know, six people showed up.

You know, you're kind of like, man, I was really hoping there'd be 20 people here, but.

But it's good.

And I end up getting a couple jobs out of that, even though there was just six people there.

And you just kind of keep beating your head against the wall until something sticks.

You know, I did fliers, I've done, website.

Obviously you got to have a website.

A lot of my competitors don't have a website, but you gotta use Facebook and all those things, and if there's one thing I've learned from previous business experience, you can never do too much marketing.

No, you're absolutely right.

You never can do too much marketing.

Although the marketing that you do whatever dollars in time you put into it, obviously it's got to have that return on it.

It sounds like, you know, even there were only six people at that meeting.

You got some business out of it.

Yep.

So thinking about your your marketing and particularly your website, did you build this?

Did you have somebody build it?

How'd that work?

So I, I did look into doing it myself.

And then, I decided not to I did a scheduling app and they had an option for a website.

And I kind of looked at it, and I'm not very techie at all.

So I went ahead and just let let a company build my website for me.

And it's worked out really good.

Absolutely.

Well, you know, as a business owner, as you very well know, I mean, you got to be the accountant, the website developer, the head form operator, and everything in between.

And so that really kind of leads me to my next question is, you know, you've got to be out there physically out there doing your services.

How are you making that balance as a business owner with all the other stuff, the accounting, the etcetera, etcetera, the maintenance of your truck?

How do you deal with that?

Yeah.

So it's just constant.

I mean, I've had restaurant experience and if you open a restaurant, you're married to it.

But any business, if you open it, you're married to it.

And so you come home at night and, you know, my wife, she has her own business, too.

We come home, we sit down.

We we do work stuff for a few hours in the evening.

We talk, we catch up on, you know, the day, but but really, it's just constant.

It's a constant grind.

And then, you know, little by little, those everything falls into place.

You get the good accountant that takes care of stuff where you got your bookkeeping, take care of you, kind of get a marketing game, and then next thing you know, you can do a little bit of relaxing.

But it is a hard work life balance.

And for me, this is the first time that I've owned a business where we do emergency work.

And so I've kind of had to make some boundaries there because I want to be available 24 seven to help people out and to service their needs.

But at the same time, you have to to set some boundaries.

So similar question for you.

We talked about balancing the business aspect, but your wife is also an entrepreneur, owns her own small business.

You have got a family, you got kids, you got parents.

How are you making the balance between work and personal life?

To be honest, there's not much balance.

The balance is my wife.

Yes.

She works three days a week, and then I to work seven.

But, you know, I told my family, I had a lot of time with my kids when they were younger, and I just told them We're just in a season of life where I got to grind it out because, one thing I've learned is the first few years in your business kind of set the tempo.

And so you have to be available.

You have to take those jobs.

And they know that.

And, you know, they went on some trips or done some things.

And I didn't get to be a part of it.

But when you're an entrepreneur you got to be able to put the grind in and and get to it.

So.

Well, I would imagine that your kids are looking at dad and learning some things too.

I mean, surely they look up to that.

And you said that they understand.

What do you think is important for you to show to them about dad and mom, for that of going out and doing it on your own?

Even though I'm married to my business, you you're so flexible.

I mean, if I need to take a lunch or go out, meet somebody for lunch or or be at a basketball game, I mean, I just arrange my own schedule.

And maybe that means I got up really early that morning.

Or maybe that means I'm going to go back and work late.

But, there is a lot of flexibility in it.

You know, when you're an entrepreneur, you're manifesting your own destiny, essentially.

So it is neat they see that there's there's more opportunity in the private sector and entrepreneurship than there is working for the government or other things like that.

And, and they recognize that and they've seen us work for people.

And then they've seen us working for ourselves.

What I really like to know, too, is, you know, there's a lot of risk and I would say stress involved in owning your own business.

You know, you're out there making your own schedule, which is great, but you're also the only one that has any control to a certain degree over your next paycheck.

How do you deal with the stress?

I kind of thrive on living in the stress bubble, so, I like a little bit of turmoil.

It's what keeps me going.

And so you know, when the phone's ringing and there's almost too much to handle.

That's when I'm thriving.

And in the line of work I do with with emergency calls and stuff, people are stressed out, and you're getting there, and you're saving the day.

And so it's the service aspect of it showing up, troubleshooting things.

Every septic tank is different.

And, sometimes it's a mess.

Sometimes they're under the patio or the house or whatever, and it's just fun for me to figure it out, even if it's late at night or early in the morning.

What would you say to an entrepreneur?

What advice would you give to them that they're thinking about doing it, but they just haven't crossed that fence yet.

What would you say to them?

If you find something that you're really into, you can make it happen.

We live in a day and age where you can almost figure out anything online.

It's just if you have the will or the desire to.

And if you do, you're going to make it happen.

And if you make that commitment, hey, this is what I'm going to do.

And you stick to it, you'll you'll succeed.

So think about again back to that day one.

Yep.

Sitting here right now, what do you know that you wish you knew then?

I would probably say get out there even more.

I think looking back, I would have I would have probably got out and beat on some more doors and, and conjured up some more business.

So let's take it in the opposite direction.

What does the future hold for your business?

Actually, this is the first one of the first days I've ever, I've ever had the company where I've got two guys that are out working right now while I'm in here.

It's been easy to do business here in Tennessee, and I'm just really, really excited about the the way things are going.

Well, Landon, it certainly does sound bright.

I really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show.

Thanks for having me.

[♪♪] I'm Mindy Tramel.

Loan officer in economic development at the Upper Cumberland development district.

Finding funding for your business can be complicated and confusing.

The Upper Cumberland Development District partners with the Tennessee Small Business Development Center to help guide you through the loan process.

We also work with regional partners such as USDA and local banks to help you find the right financing for your business.

When traditional funding sources don't fit your needs, the Upper Cumberland Development District is here to step in and assist in financing your project.

We operate a revolving loan fund in-house to provide gap financing to small businesses in the upper Cumberland, with a focus on job creation and growth in the region.

We can lend to almost any type of business.

Our business development loan program consists of our more traditional small business loans.

The loan amounts typically averaged between 250,000 and $500,000, with a maximum loan amount of $1 million and terms ranging from 5 to 20 years.

Our micro loan program was created for new startups or businesses open less than a year.

Microloan amounts can go up to $30,000 with a maximum term of five years.

These are a great option for new business owners who need a little capital to get their ideas off the ground.

Microloan applicants must also be working with one of the small business experts at the Biz Foundry or Tennessee Small Business Development Center to apply.

In addition to our small business loans, we also have a farm loan program created to provide low cost financing for a portion of the cost of machinery and equipment purchases for farm and agribusiness in the Upper Cumberland.

Loan amounts go up to $25,000 with terms up to seven years, and applicants must be engaged in general agricultural production, agritourism, or generate area farm income.

Whatever your needs are as a business owner, the Upper Cumberland Development District is here to connect you to any of our resources to help ensure your success.

The Upper Cumberland is a great place to live and work, and it's people like you that help make it even better.

Thank you for joining us yet again for another episode of It's Your Business.

Hopefully, you've learned that there are plenty of great resources right here in the Upper Cumberland to help you achieve your dream of starting your own business.

And if you would like more information on today's topics, please visit the WCTE website and to learn more about free small business resources and expert assistance, please visit the Business Resource Collective website.

Until next time, I'm Michael Aikens.

[♪♪] It's Your Business with Michael Aikens is brought to you by WCTE, PBS, and the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation, with funding provided by the Rural Reimagine Grand Challenge and the Tennessee Rural Development Fund.

This program was made possible by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.