Meet Tami Vienn Allen | Licensed Professional Counselor – Mediator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tami Vienn Allen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tami, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been an entrepreneur for over 25 years in the hair business as I owned and operated three salons over the years. I decided to retire from the business in 2016 and transition to my new career as a Licensed Professional Counselor. I worked a “job” for one year as an employee and I was miserable having to work on someone else’s terms. The thought of reporting in, limited income, office politics, and an overabundance of redundant paperwork made me realize that if I was going to do all of that, I would rather do it in my own business.
In August 2017, I opened my own private counseling practice and worked part-time for three years until I realized I just could not work for anyone else, the office politics and governmental red tape was too much,
In December 2020, I made the decision to leave my full-time job and work in my private practice full-time. The pandemic had a positive impact on my business with the surge of people requesting counseling, so much so that I was able to replace and advance my income.

Entrepreneurship is in my blood so I could not have it any other way!

What should our readers know about your business?
My practice is the Allen Counseling Group and I am affectionately known as “The Relationship Coach” and a Certified Mediator. While I do coach individuals with daily life challenges, I love working with couples to help mend their relationships. My inspiration for working with couples was birthed out of the realization that when I was married, we did not have someone to coach us through the process to teach us about communication, conflict resolution, or love languages. In the beginning of my startup, my business primarily grew through insurance referrals. Today, my referrals now come from advertisement and word of mouth. The unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic has increased the demand for therapist and conversley creating a shortage of availability. It helped that I work evenings and Saturdays when the average therapist works 9am-4pm, Monday-Thursday.
Growing the business was a relatively smooth process because of my entrepreneurial history and experience. The most important thing that I have learned is that I never want to work for anyone again. The freedom and flexibility of working and living on my terms has offered much needed balance in my life.
What I want the world to know about me is that I have walked the path of many of my clients which allows me a greater understanding and level of empathy for what they may be experiencing. I believe in what I do and I am passionate about serving others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Houston has so many things to do and see that I hate to admit I have yet to experience a lot of it. The craziest thing is that I learn a lot about things to do from either people who are visiting and have researched what they want to do or from people who have moved to Houston and took the time to learn the city. As a native Houstonian, I will have to make a commitment and get out more and experience all that Houston has to offer.

What I will say is always a hit is the diversity of food and restaurants in the city. The pandemic has impacted the opportunity to hang out but some of the best entertainment we have are comedy clubs, a great nightlife all over the city, and beautiful parks and entertainment venues. Now that we are “coming back to life”, I am looking forward to taking full advantage of exploring the new Houston.

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?
Though he is no longer with us, I would like to dedicate my shout out to my dad as I am following in his footsteps. My dad was an avid reader and very profound man. He was always working to become smarter and better. Most importantly, he studied psychology in school and I am now practicing it.

We are the sum total of all of our experiences therefore, I would also like to acknowledge the people and experiences of my past as they have shaped who I am today!

Website: www.AllenCounselingGroup.com

Instagram: allencounselinggroup

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/tamiviennallenlpc/

Facebook: Allen Counseling Group

Image Credits
Grady Carter D-Mars