Happy Friday, all!
This week on the podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Kayla Lacey, an EMDR-trained yoga psychotherapist and founder of The Well Healing. Our conversation centered on something that many mission-driven entrepreneurs wrestle with: how to build a business that truly reflects who you are while remaining financially sustainable.
Kayla describes a mission-driven business as a business with heart. One that is focused on creating meaningful impact—not just revenue. But as we discussed, impact and profitability aren’t opposing forces. In fact, when your work is deeply aligned with who you are and who you serve, those two things often reinforce each other.
Kayla shared how her own healing journey led her into mental health work. She initially entered the field through yoga and discovered how naturally it paired with therapy. From there, her practice evolved into what is now The Well Healing, a space intentionally designed for Black and queer people of color.
But one of the most powerful parts of her story was the moment she realized she didn’t have to water down who she was to succeed.
In graduate school, Kayla felt pressure to “whitewash” parts of herself to be taken seriously as a clinician. It wasn’t until she encountered a professor who openly described her work through a Black feminist lens that something clicked. Seeing someone else claim their identity within their professional work gave Kayla permission to do the same.
That moment reminded me of my own early career experience when I met a Black gay CFP. Until that moment, I had never seen someone who looked like me doing that work. Representation has a way of expanding what we believe is possible.
This idea also showed up in Kayla’s approach to niching her business.
Rather than trying to serve everyone, she made the intentional decision to name exactly who her work was for: Black, queer, and trans clinicians. It felt scary at first. Many entrepreneurs worry that being too specific will limit opportunities.
But the opposite happened.
Once Kayla clearly defined who she served, the right people began finding her. She shared that about nine out of ten people who reach out already feel aligned with her work. Her practice grew from part-time to full-time within about a year and a half, where she wanted it to be.
There’s an important lesson here: clarity attracts alignment.
When you build your business around your authentic voice, lived experience, and community, you create a signal that the right people can recognize.
Your people know when something was built with them in mind.
So if you’ve been hesitating to claim your niche, soften your message, or hide parts of your story, consider this your reminder: the very things that make your work specific are often the ones that make it powerful.
Questions of the Week
- Where in your business might you be holding back parts of your identity or perspective that could actually strengthen your message?
- Who is the specific community your work is meant to serve—and how clearly are you communicating that today?
- What would change in your business if you trusted that the right people would find you when you show up authentically?
Tool of the Week
Community-Centered Niche Mapping
If you’re struggling to clarify your niche, try this simple exercise:
Draw three circles and label them:
- Your lived experiences and identity
- Your professional expertise
- The community you feel called to support
Where those three circles overlap is often where the most aligned business ideas emerge.
Kayla’s work sits right at the intersection of her healing journey, clinical training, and deep connection to Black and queer communities. That clarity didn’t limit her—it strengthened her impact and made her work easier to find.
If you’ve been trying to market to “everyone,” this exercise can help you start identifying the people your work is truly meant for.
Because the goal of a mission-driven business isn’t just to grow.
It’s to grow in alignment with the people and impact that matter most.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Best,
Brian