We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Rondeau and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary, do you have a budget?
Yes! I am a big fan of budgets both on the personal side and the business side. The benefits of budgeting is really knowing how much certain areas or your life or business cost which is immensely helpful in planning short term and long term. Budgeting is often thought of as a time consuming, tedious task. To which it is really neither! I spend on average about 1-1.5 hour total per month budgeting both my personal and business accounts. In my opinion, it is very difficult to determine how much to “pay myself” from the business if I do not budget and do not know much of total revenue came in and went out on expenses, payroll and taxes. Also without budgeting it can be difficult to assess long term trends. One of my favorite ways to use a budget is to have a notes section on the budget that way I can note if something was unusual that month in spending or receiving. Additionally, budgets help tax preparation and each month a percentage of gross revenue is moved to another account for tax time. I have taught business strategies for small business growth and have found that lack of understanding of finances and budgeting to be a major area that can create hardship for growing businesses.

On the personal side, budgeting is very important for planning for the future. Many small business owners need to take extra steps to set up retirement accounts as these are not automatically in place as it would be if you were an employee and a large company. I also have different types of accounts that I transfer money to each month that help me track progress. These accounts include investment account, savings account, misc account for things I’m saving up for like a vacation or a new dryer. Each of the accounts the money is marked for different life events. If I had just two accounts (a checking and savings acct) it would be difficult to track home much of the total account was allocated for different life events. There are many free budgeting examples online to start this process. It may take a few hours to do it the first time but after this it does not take much time to continue and see the benefits. Budgeting helps me live within my means and helps me safe for future trips/purchases. I look at the world from the view of an optimist and with good planning and an understanding of budgeting and finances it is great to help so many people as a doctor AND build a wonderful life for myself and family.

What should our readers know about your business?

Currently I have several business within the health framework. First is Wholeness Center. Wholeness Center is located in Fort Collins and we are an integrative mental health center. We have a team of experts that look at mental health from a whole person perspective. We truly treat the mind, body and spirit to bring wholeness to those that walk through our doors. Our goal is to change mental health care! We are different from other mental health centers in that we have collaboration from different specialties including psychiatrist, naturopathic doctors, nutritionist, therapist, psychedelic therapist, nutritional IV therapy and brain mapping. We are one of the only mental centers to use objective data to help guide treatment decisions (which is not common!). The field of psychiatry is based mostly on subjective information (meaning just an interview with the patient and not lab testing and brain mapping). We use state of the art diagnostic tools like QEEG and lab testing to determine all the factors that are contributing to current mental health state.

A second business AXON EEG SOLUTIONS branched out of Wholeness due to demand by psychiatrist, therapist and neurofeedback centers to be able perform QEEG brain mapping and reporting to private practice clinicians so they can better serve their patients.

I don’t think starting a business is ever easy! No it hasn’t been easy but it has been steady. Where attention goes, energy flows…. Perseverance and integrity, I believe are two of most helpful moral ethics of business to have. A balance between the big picture of where you are going and what needs to be done each day can be tricky but must stay in balance. Getting stuck too much in the every day will prevent a business from moving forward. A deep passion to help change mental health has continued to move me forward each day. Find your passion and your why!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I grew up in Colorado and love my home state!

Here are some of my favorite places to take visitors
1. Downtown Fort Collins- I love just strolling along downtown! Shops I always hit The Cupboard and Savory Spice shop.
2. If in season, oyster happy is in order at Bistro Nautille or Jax
3. To explore the nature Colorado has to offer I prefer the trails up the Big Thompson Canyon all the way to Rocky Mountain National Park, I grew up in these mountains and never grow tired of walking/hiking in them. An entire week could be spent on these trails and having picnics buy BY the river.
4, Warm spring and summer days, we enjoy mountain biking in Lory State Park there are great trails for beginners and up
5. Taking a dip in Horsetooth reservoir is always enjoyable after mountain biking
6. Colorado has so many great fishing spots and St. Pete’s Fly Shop is great for out of town (and in town!) folks to learn where to go and what to do. I grew up fishing with my family so this is always fun to share with visitors.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

There are so many individuals to thank in my growth as a person and a business owner. First I would like to thank my husband, Steve. We have worked together (literally and figuratively!) from day one in building our practice with a goal to change how mental health is treated. We support each other 100% and thank him from the bottom of my heart

Andy Belanger is a master business coach that I was connected to 17 years ago and he initially opened my eyes to the power of budgeting and understanding how to build a practice.

Scott Shannon who is my current business partner and we together have built an amazing mental health center to serve our local community and extended community throughout the US

My family- from my parents who have been supportive of this “alternative” profession and encouragement since I was little. To my children who look at me in awe each DAY and light up my world and are my drive to help move the world towards a more loving and peaceful place.

Without being wrapped in love and support from these individuals and more, it would have been difficult for me maintain my drive to see patients, practice medicine and make any dent at changing the framework of our current mental health system.

Website: www.wholeness.com and WWW.AXONEEGSOLUTIONS.COM

Instagram: @maryrondeauND

Twitter: @wholenesscenterpc

Facebook: @wholenesscenterpc

Youtube: The Wholeness Chef and The Wholeness Center

Other: Additionally on IG @synergy_neurofeedback is more geared at our brain mapping and neurofeedback information

Image Credits
Kantrast Photography Loveland, CO

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