In Washington State, some therapists are waiting 6 to 9 months for their license to be approved, right in the middle of a shortage of clinicians. It's one more sign of how strained the system is, and how heavy the judgment can feel for providers trying to build sustainable careers.

In this episode, Kendall Hagensen and Anna Rudel tackle the “no-win cycle of shame” around insurance versus private pay. Accept insurance and you may be told you're undervaluing yourself. Skip it and you may be told you're making care inaccessible. Kendall shares what she was taught in graduate school about “doing your time” in community mental health, and why self-sacrifice is a privilege not everyone can afford. Anna brings her perspective from the acupuncture world, including why no single small business can fix the failures of the American healthcare system.

They also talk about why profit pays for support staff and a safety buffer, and whether a year of copays really costs less than a few months of out-of-network care.

Along the way, they admit they don't have all the answers, only an honest conversation worth having.

If you run a wellness center and have ever felt guilty about how you get paid, this one is for you.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

Good vibes will not fix a dropped ball. In wellness workplaces, it's tempting to lean on positive energy, compassion, and a little space when a hard conversation is what's really needed. That habit has a name: spiritual bypassing.

In this episode, Kendall Hagensen and Anna Rudel get candid about where they've tolerated things too long. Anna shares how handmade welcome cards for new patients, a policy she put in place 20 years ago, quietly stopped getting written, why she let it slide, and the moment she decided she wasn't willing to compromise anymore. Kendall describes a provider who said they needed three months to process a request energetically, and what she does differently now.

They also dig into why wellness work looks easy to patients but isn't easy behind the scenes, how to hold compassion and accountability at the same time, and how small corrections can become part of the culture without drama. Anna also shares why she calls it lazy thinking when team members use good vibes to explain their behavior. She admits it was the first time she'd heard the phrase spiritual bypassing, which leads to Kendall's clear definition.

If you lead a team in the wellness world, this conversation will make you rethink what positive leadership really looks like.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

What if a healthy wellness center isn't one without conflict, but one that knows exactly what to do when conflict shows up? Because it will show up: a snippy comment in an all-staff meeting, a hurt feeling nobody names, a well-meaning leader who hovers a little too close.

In this episode, Kendall Hagensen and Anna Rudel get honest about how they handled repair in the early years of their clinics and how they handle it now. Kendall admits she once tried to prevent every bad experience by buying the team lunch every week, only months after opening with no money to spare. Anna shares that she leaned on “maintaining integrity” long before she had a defined way to repair.

Then the two walk through a five-part framework any wellness center leader can use: Recognize, Receive, Responsibility, Repair, and Return. Along the way you'll hear why “I'm sorry you felt that way” lands as dismissive, how impact and intent can both be true, what happened when a team member asked Kendall to stop micromanaging, and why the follow-up conversation two months later is the step most leaders skip.

If you want people who care about their work to stay on your team, this conversation is for you.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

Every day is a choice. Get up. Lead the team. Care for the patients. Manage the business. Hold the vision. Do it all through pain, through fatigue, through uncertainty, through a body that doesn't always cooperate. And then do it again tomorrow.

In this brief, unscripted episode, Kendall steps away from strategy and tactics to send a direct message to the wellness center owners and practitioners living with chronic illness—because she is one of them. As someone who has lived with multiple sclerosis for 20 years, Kendall speaks to the particular loneliness of holding leadership responsibility while managing a chronic condition that most people around you may not fully understand.

"I just want to say that I see you," she says simply. "And it's hard to do in the beginning when you're going through that process, and it's hard to do 20 years later when you've been dealing with it for this long."

She speaks honestly about her own recent experience—navigating immunocompromising MS medication, waking up with an infection, and battling a new phase of debilitating migraines that led her to cancel an entire day. And she names what so many chronic illness business owners feel but rarely hear validated: "It's okay to cancel things."

Short, unscripted, and deeply human, this episode is a reminder that showing up imperfectly is still showing up—and that the impact you're making is real, even on the hardest days.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

Ten years from now, what will your clients say when they walk through the door? What will your team still believe? What will your community know you for? And perhaps the hardest question of all: are you actually building that organization today?

In this thoughtful episode, Anna and Kendall step away from tactics and systems to ask something bigger—what do we want to still be true about our businesses a decade from now? Both hosts share their own answers with surprising vulnerability, and then guide listeners through five journal prompts to explore their own long-term vision.

Anna's vision for Lokahi is clear: "I want patients to come and say we feel like we're immediately part of the family... I want the community to extend continuously through the practitioner network." She also articulates something rarely discussed: building a company that "takes care of acupuncturists and clinicians into their retirement... really elevating the standards of employment."

Kendall grounds her vision in impact: "My motivation is always around impact—how can we have a deeper impact for our community?" But perhaps her most resonant moment comes in response to "I will know I built something meaningful if...": "The truth is, we've already built something meaningful. My invitation to myself would be to sit in the acknowledgment that it is already meaningful."

Bring your journal. This episode is an experience as much as a conversation.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

You've heard from business coaches, financial advisors, and hiring experts. But have you ever heard the perspective of the people who live with the wellness center owner around the clock—and have opinions about payroll days and closed office doors?

In this delightful episode, Kendall hands the microphone to her daughters Pauline and Winnie, who came prepared with their own questions and zero filter. Their honest reflections on life with a business owner mom are equal parts heartwarming and hilarious—and more insightful than you might expect.

On the perks: "We get a lot of perks like getting a massage." On the hard parts: "Sometimes you're away a lot and I don't get to hug you that much." On advice for other kids of business owners: "When your business owner parent is in the zone, let them stay in the zone."

But perhaps the most unexpectedly moving moment comes in Pauline's closing message to wellness center owners who feel like giving up: "When you achieve what you want to achieve, it feels really good. And then there's something in the world that wasn't there before. And it would probably help people, just like Vancouver Wellness Studio did. The community needs you."

If you've ever wondered how your business ownership looks through the eyes of the people closest to you—this episode is a gentle, joyful reminder of why you started.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

A practitioner just handed you their resignation. Your stomach drops. You're already calculating the schedule gaps, the client conversations, the team morale impact, the hiring process you'll have to start all over again. And somewhere in the middle of all that stress, you still have to figure out how to say goodbye in a way that protects your clinic, your clients, and your reputation.

In this episode from Kendall's "What the Wellness Center?!" series, she walks through her complete system for practitioner departures—from the moment a resignation lands on your desk to the farewell social media post. As she notes: "Team members leaving is inevitable. It's important to be prepared with a system."

The framework covers three key areas: an offboarding checklist (resignation letter, exit interview, notes completion, system access removal), a structured client communication approach offering three clear referral options, and a final public farewell that gives your community a chance to show appreciation.

Perhaps most valuably, Kendall addresses the emotional reality of handling departures when you've invested heavily in someone: "It's incredibly difficult at times to stay positive... even so, as the owner and the leader we have to step back, try to look at all the sides, have the best transition possible and wish that person well. You will be remembered as the leader who was understanding and kind."

If you've ever fumbled through a team departure or dreaded writing that farewell email, this episode gives you a clear, compassionate framework.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.

You've added a new service. You're excited. You post about it on Instagram, mention it to a few clients, maybe update your website. A few weeks pass. Crickets. What went wrong?

Most new service launches fail not because the service is bad—but because the groundwork wasn't laid before the marketing began.

In this episode from Kendall's "What the Wellness Center?!" series, she walks through five essential checkpoints every wellness center owner should complete before launching a new service. These questions aren't just strategic housekeeping—they become the foundation of every marketing message you'll use.

The five checkpoints cover: whether the service genuinely complements your existing offerings; whether the name is clear and confusion-free; what problem it solves and how clients benefit; who the target client is and what they actually want; and how to price it intentionally relative to local competitors while ensuring profitability.

Once those questions are answered, Kendall adds two practical launch strategies: share with your existing client base first—"and often"—and offer exclusive access or a discount to current clients as an early incentive.

At just over two minutes, this is one of the most concise and actionable episodes in the archive. If you've ever launched a service that didn't gain traction, or if you're preparing to add something new, these five checkpoints will change how you approach the entire process.

Get all the links, resources and show notes here: https://wellnesscentercreators.com

And for information Bloom and Grow Monthly Mastermind Groups, go to: https://www.wellnesscentercreators.com/group-coaching

Sponsored by Jane App, Jane offers online booking, charting, scheduling, secure video and invoicing on one secure, beautifully designed system: https://jane.app/ Use code wellness1mo for a one-month grace period on your new Jane account.