Kelsey Mora, Founder of Kelsey Mora PLLC
Name: Kelsey Mora
Founder: Kelsey Mora PLLC
Who is Kelsey Mora?
I am a dual Certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who provides custom support and guidance to parents, families, and communities experiencing medical illness and grief related stress. I am also the author and creator of The Dot Method - an interactive tool to teach kids about cancer. I worked in the pediatric ICU for almost a decade and am uniquely focused on extending support for families beyond the hospital setting and into the home as well as every day life.
In less than three sentences tell us about your company and what you do.
Through my practice, I provide clinical and professional services to children, teens, parents, and entire families facing medical and grief related challenges. Some of my specialties include working with cancer in the family as well as managing anxiety in the context of food allergies. I aim to teach kids strategies that reduce stress and increase coping as well as guide parents on how to best support their children through challenging life events and experiences. Additionally, I sell my workbook to help more families trying to teach kids about cancer. I envision more opportunities to fill gaps through designing additional resources, consultation services, and individualized support.
What does BEING a FoundHer mean to you?
Being a FoundHer means pushing the envelope to reach your utmost potential as a female professional and expert in specific fields and areas of genius. It means thinking outside of the box. Being creative. Identifying gaps and filling them. It means balancing and integrating personal with professional life such as parenting and self-care.
How do you support other female founders and women in business?
As a new professional to the social media world, I have worked hard to cross promote and collaborate with others doing complimentary work. I also consult with those local to me for optimal and well-rounded support of my patients and families and am always looking for new ways to scale the services that I provide. Separate from my business, I also work for a non-profit organization that provides support to kids who have a parent with cancer. In this role, I am focused on increasing access to families. Additionally, I volunteer in different capacities to extend my expertise and passions.
At what point did you make your company a full time gig? How did you know the time was right?
I really think so much of my business mindset has evolved as I have worked hard to figure out how to strike a balance that allows me to work hard doing what I love AND be present for my kids. That was the ultimate goal and dream and having more autonomy and ownership makes that even more possible. That being said, I work a TON but I am able to piece my schedule together in a way that allows me to do both. I miss most bedtimes, but I get to do the morning and some day-time routines. My husband and I are the ultimate co-parents and partners and I'm so grateful for that.
Let’s talk social media—who handles it for your company (you, an internal team member, an outsourced solution?) and what is the secret to making it successful? What is the biggest challenge?
I am definitely in a 'learn as you go' mindset! I do everything on my own with a little help and insight from trusted colleagues, family, and friends. I created my own logo, brand colors, and make everything using a free canva account. As a therapist and parent, I am strict about personal/professional boundaries so while I don't show my children or focus on myself, I am very authentic and genuine in the content that I create. I have met so many wonderful people who are eager to support one another ultimately to support more families.
What is something you do differently from the industry standard?
What's unique about me is that I am a dual certified child life specialist and therapist. Most therapists aren't trained in medical or grief experiences and most child life specialists aren't trained in traditional counseling or therapy. So I bring together those two backgrounds and trainings to curate support that is clinically informed but individually customized for a child or family.
What was an obstacle you overcame to get your business where it is today? Please share the story behind it.
Honestly, I was part of a practice before I started my own business. I have learned SO much from my colleague who I worked with for many years. But when it was time to publish my book and I had to create a business, website, and platform anyways - it just made sense to move all of my services under one business umbrella. For me, it was truly taking a leap of faith. I learned and did everything on my own from creating a website from scratch to setting up my patient portal and billing. It has been so exciting and fun to create something that is truly mine and having a colleague and family who believed in me - made it that much more possible! A therapist told me that my greatest fear was actually being successful and I think she was right. I needed to just do it. And I'm so glad that I did.
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