A Sex Therapist Had 4 Days to Leave Her Job and Start Her Own Business: Rachel Dorneanu

Her boss said payroll was due Thursday and asked if she could be gone by then. Rachel Dorneanu had just gotten her therapy license, and she had four days to wrap up roughly 100 client files and launch her own practice. She barely slept, and she got it done.

Today Rachel runs a six-clinician practice that specializes in sex therapy across the lifespan. But this isn't a story about a niche. It's a founder story. She was rejected from her first master's program for lacking experience, moved to Montana to get it, applied to 50 internships, and spent four years networking before she ever hung her own shingle. When the push came, she already had client transition paperwork prepared.

Rachel breaks down how she went from taking any client she could get to owning a niche, and why ruling out what drained her (grief, trauma, high-conflict divorce) mattered as much as finding what she loved. She also talks about teaching herself QuickBooks and business finance through YouTube because grad school never covered any of it.

In this episode:

• How she built a transition plan before she needed one
• Why Georgia non-compete law shaped how she handles departing clinicians today
• The intern networking hack: ask business development reps to lunch
• How she landed on sex therapy by ruling out what burned her out
• The business skills nobody teaches clinicians, and how she learned them
• Growing from solo practitioner to a team with interns and monthly mentoring

If you're building a business, choosing your niche, or facing your first forced start, Rachel's story is a case study in preparation meeting a deadline.

Connect with Rachel Dorneanu:

• racheldorneanu.com
• sagecws.com

Learn more about our episode partners and support the show:

• 💼 Max Capital Hub: https://maxcapitalhub.com/
• 🌊 Oceans Talent: https://hire.oceanstalent.com/dave_gulas

#entrepreneurship #therapypractice #mentalhealthbusiness #sextherapy