Sophie Robinson is blending spirituality with evidence-based psychological treatments & understanding to create an integrative balance of wellness.
I stay motivated by… being clear on my whys and what I'm aiming for. I am also very in touch with my future Self who will be the one thanking me for the things I am doing in the present moment! I care about her happiness, just as much as my own and I feel that is a big thing that helps me keep a positive mindset and attitude towards what I do.
Three adjectives that describe me are… calm, creative, and resilient.
If I could have dinner with one person it would be… not a profound answer, but a personal one - my nanny Pam, because the memories I do have of time spent with her, she felt like my soulmate and I would so love to have a catch up with her, that would mean a lot.
The most exciting innovation to me is… the technology that now enables me to work with clients from anywhere!
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur? Is having your own business something you always wanted?
I was motivated from my very honest dialogue with myself as I have a self-promise that I will endeavor to never waste time doing something I don't believe in. That philosophy meant that I couldn't ignore the fact that I didn't agree with the prescribed and limited way of working with clients that I was having to adhere to before being self-employed. It created an ethical dilemma in myself that I would know of something that would almost definitely help a client but I couldn't suggest it because it wasn't on the "prescription". I started to not feel that I was serving clients in the best way possible and that I was being stifled so self-employment was the route at the time that solved those problems.
What were you doing before this? How did it prepare you for the entrepreneurial life?
I've had many jobs in different mental health areas before this, with lots of variation in client base, presenting issues, modes of delivery etc. But right before I was working on an intensive mentoring project with young people with various problems and took an opportunity to decrease my hours and work on building up my practice and sorting all of the admin type things that need to be done to ensure everything is legit and smooth running. Once I filled that time, I dropped more hours for my employer and so on until I was confident with what I was doing and felt secure. The last thing I wanted to do was put unnecessary pressure on my business, I wanted to build it so that it would grow sustainably and that is exactly what happened and what is still happening.
Do you have a fixed work routine? Is it important to have one? Any tips for our readers?
I find there's always tweaks to be made as things change and evolve in life, but the most important thing I have found in this area is to actually stick to strict working days and hours. I find that it's all too easy when you care about people to be too flexible and accommodating and if you're not careful, you'll realize you have no life outside of work which also means you can't be practicing self-care all that good which is incredibly important in my industry so we don't burn out. We know that when we are at our best, we give our best to clients, and that's what we all really want.
What are your short/long term goals?
Short-term, I am training to be an EFT (emotional freedom technique) practitioner so that I can safely add that to my eclectic tool belt to support clients, and long term I will train in hypnotherapy.
If you were a book, which one would it be and why?
Interestingly, I've already written me as a book! It's called Wellness Magick (author name Sophie L Robinson) and combines the very best of and my most used therapeutic techniques with clients to build their wellness foundation. The book gives you lots of things that you could explore further if you wanted to but I walk the reader through loads of things that they can easily implement on their own to make real lasting positive change and improvements in their life.
What are some pros and cons of having (OR not having) entrepreneurial parents?
My parents initially thought I was making a mistake, that I should climb someone else's ladder because they saw it as more stable. I had more belief in myself though, that what I was doing did have a place and that it was valuable to people and necessary too. With a lot of things in life where people are used to seeing things be one way, this was no different and the proof was in the pudding. Now they are fully supportive and proud, which is lovely as it's always nice to have your hard work recognised, supported and valued - much easier than being in opposition!