As the founder and owner of F.L.O.W. Wellness Center (F.L.O.W. stands for ‘For the Love of Wellness’), Jamie Nichols, MA, LPC, CCHt, RYT, had a clear vision of the holistic-wellness center that she aimed to create when she first applied for financing with Pursuit in 2022. Since receiving that SBA Microloan, Jamie has returned to Pursuit two more times, receiving Pennsylvania Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) financing in 2023 and 2024 to create a full complement of holistic wellness services.
Today, F.L.O.W. includes three facilities on two campuses in Abington and Langhorne, PA, in the Philadelphia metro region, where Jamie and the F.L.O.W. staff serve clients of all ages. Here’s how Pursuit provided financing and entrepreneurial support services to help F.L.O.W. become a leading holistic-wellness practice, while also serving as a launch pad for new practitioners to further expand access to services in the area and beyond.
Starting out strong
Jamie received an SBA Microloan from Pursuit in 2022 and used the financing to complete renovations to F.L.O.W.’s existing space. That enabled her to bring on more therapists and other wellness practitioners to provide the holistic mental-health and wellness care that she envisioned for F.L.O.W.’s growing clientele.
“When I started my clinical practice, I wanted to offer a more integrated approach to wellness. Mental-health counseling is essential and for many clients, a more comprehensive approach can even better meet their needs,” Jamie says. In addition to the core service of mental-health counseling, F.L.O.W. offers a range of integrated services that include yoga, reiki, massage therapy, clinical hypnotherapy, addiction-recovery services, and functional nutrition.
After receiving the SBA Microloan, F.L.O.W.’s clientele grew by almost 50%, with a roster of about 700 clients coming in for more than 1,000 care services each month.
Honing management skills for success
Jamie credits VP and Senior Business Strategist Malini Krishna of Pursuit’s Business Advisory Services team, and the free consulting services she received as a Pursuit loan recipient, with introducing her to people and resources that have made a tremendous difference in F.L.O.W.’s business operations.
“I’m a therapist, not a business person, so having both the financing I need and additional business-support services has been invaluable,” Jamie says. “Through Malini and Pursuit, I worked on financial management and participated in the Path to Profitability program.” Path to Profitability is a nine-month business-accelerator program that connects Pursuit clients with consultants to help them set deliverables and track their progress.
“Pursuit’s teamwork to support our work has been incredible,” Jamie says. “Pursuit and Malini have been essential to our business growth and success. With a strong financial foundation and the skills to build a successful enterprise, F.L.O.W. is positioned to continue building on services in our communities.”
Malini adds, “As a business strategist and the facilitator for Pursuit’s Path to Profitability accelerator, I had the privilege of working closely with Jamie as she scaled F.L.O.W. Wellness. Jamie is both a disciplined and strategic business owner and a deeply compassionate clinician. This combination enables her to build a financially sustainable business while genuinely serving her community’s mental health needs.”
Continued growth and expansion with Pursuit
Jamie secured a second loan from Pursuit to finance a redesign and renovation on the Abington campus to expand the range of services that F.L.O.W. offered onsite. That loan program, PA SSBCI, provides affordable financing for small businesses to stabilize, strengthen and grow, with fixed-rate financing up to $500,000 and a five-year repayment term.
Jamie is using the most recent financing – another PA SSBCI loan – to further enhance services, including additional renovation to the campuses.
“Whether it’s everyday stresses or something more traumatic, it’s so important for our clients to come to a place that’s soothing. The financing from Pursuit has helped us create the warm, welcoming, and healing environment that I always envisioned,” Jamie says. She’s also transitioned her staff from a contractor-based model to primarily full-time employees, which means that they receive a range of benefits along with salaries.
Benefits beyond F.L.O.W.’s campus
Jamie counts a master’s degree in clinical mental-health counseling and certifications and training in addiction recovery, trauma treatment, grief counseling, and clinical hypnotherapy among her specialties, and she knows that demand is high for more skilled practitioners. To help meet the need, F.L.O.W. offers a clinical-internship program that provides services for clients who might not otherwise have access to care, as well as professional training programs. She says that several interns have since received licensures and started their own practices.
“It’s gratifying to know that F.L.O.W. is having additional positive impact in and beyond our area,” Jamie says, adding that the need for mental-health and wellness services far exceeds the current capacity within the community. Jamie also knows that newer practitioners have benefited while learning F.L.O.W.’s integrated and client-focused philosophies.
Since receiving the first loan in 2022 – and thanks to Jamie’s vision, skills, dedication, and the outstanding team that she has cultivated – F.L.O.W. has doubled its service capacity while maintaining profitability and providing essential professional-development opportunities for more than 50 staff and graduate interns.
Planning for more ways to serve and grow
Even with phenomenal growth to-date, Jamie’s always looking for more ways to benefit her clients and community.
“We’re working on several exciting initiatives,” she says, “including Employee Assistance Programs for small and mid-size businesses in our area to help them offer mental-health services to their teams. We’re also working on new partnerships in the recovery space. And we’re exploring a new online portal that will have both free and membership-based resources and programs to help us reach and regularly engage even more people. That means that even if someone isn’t ready to commit to onsite services, they can still explore what we offer and begin to gain benefits in their own time and space.”
“During the accelerator program,” Malini says, “Jamie fully committed to the work of scaling. She strengthened her leadership, built and empowered her team, and stepped back from day-to-day operations to focus on her highest-value work as both owner and therapist. I’m confident that F.L.O.W. will continue to flourish and grow beyond the greater Philadelphia area under Jamie’s leadership – and I’m grateful that Pursuit could play a role in that journey!”
Finding the right partner in Pursuit
Asked how she’s managed to substantially and successfully grow her business while maintaining a focus on the F.L.O.W. philosophy and service model, Jamie admits, “Delegation is something I learned the hard way. It’s funny to admit that, as a therapist, I have trouble asking for help myself, but as a small business owner, you eventually learn that you and your team do best when you let others step up and grow.”
She continues, saying, “Looking back, going to Pursuit was really the first time that I sought help to grow F.L.O.W. and what I got was so much more than I expected! Now, I have a great financing partner and ongoing guidance and support. Both of these have played a huge role in our success.”
With financing from $10,000 to $5.5 million, loans from Pursuit can be used for working capital, equipment purchases and leases, commercial real estate, refinancing business debt, and more for businesses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, and Delaware.
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