Unfinished Business

About Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business is a weekly show for entrepreneurs, professionals, and leaders who are building something meaningful and real. We explore the lessons, mindset shifts, struggles, and breakthroughs that shape people into who they’re becoming — not just what they’ve built. In each episode, Kimberly Griggs sits down with founders, experts, and changemakers to talk about: ✔️ Why they started ✔️ What they’ve learned ✔️ What’s still a work in progress ✔️ And what they’d do differently if they could start again We also dive into raw, real questions about leadership, burnout, reinvention, impact,

Publisher

Kimberly Griggs | Ignite Coaching & Consulting

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

21 May 2025

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

78 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   “Every Month We Wondered If We’d Shut Down” | Dr. Irina Marcoff

   Summary: Dr. Irina Marcoff believes every child deserves a healthy, strong, and bright future, no matter their family's income. But with limited insurance reimbursement, many pediatric clinics rely on private pay, and families who can't afford high out-of-pocket rates go without care. So she built a nonprofit to close that gap, then spent two years with no grants, wondering every month if the doors would stay open. Today, TheraYouth Foundation provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy and counseling to New Jersey families at a substantially reduced cost, with plans to expand nationally. By 2024, just three years in, it had delivered nearly 1,700 therapy sessions, with 125 children in treatment and 59 graduates, and its waitlist has since grown past 400. Kimberly and Irina talk about hearing "no" dozens of times, the cash-reserve catch-22 of grant funding, building a working board, and the personal cost of keeping the mission alive. In this episode you'll learn: What a school for kids with disabilities and a NICU rotation taught her about never giving up Why school-based therapy leaves bright kids without the help they need The documentary moment that turned a frustrated clinician into a nonprofit founder Why Medicaid rates make pediatric clinics nearly impossible to sustain How she handled rejection: remember you're asking for kids, not yourself How to answer donors who don't trust nonprofits The grant catch-22: needing six months of cash reserves to get funded How a board advisor trial keeps "dead weight" off a working board The leadership lesson she learned the hard way: "Don't be a soft cookie. Be a chocolate chip cookie." The personal cost of funding the mission, and her unfinished business Keywords nonprofit, pediatric therapy, physical therapy, healthcare access, Medicaid, fundraising, board of directors, leadership, delegation, entrepreneurship Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: will the ship sink or float? 00:37 – Welcome: meet Dr. Irina Marcoff 01:06 – The "babies to boomers" therapist 01:52 – The school that changed her perspective 03:58 – NICU lessons: don't give up 05:52 – Inside NYC public school therapy 08:48 – Families follow her to New Jersey 10:07 – Why Medicaid can't sustain a clinic 10:56 – The documentary that sparked a nonprofit 11:32 – A year-long road to nonprofit status 13:06 – Her first believers 15:48 – Dozens of no's and "you will fail" 16:28 – You're asking for kids, not yourself 17:58 – Surviving two years without grants 19:05 – Building the first board 21:36 – Why some donors don't trust nonprofits 24:26 – The cash reserve catch-22 25:52 – Impact and a 400-child waitlist 28:30 – When she realized she was the leader 29:58 – The anxiety behind the calm 33:42 – Delegating and letting go of control 35:33 – Why a working board matters 36:31 – The board advisor process 40:42 – Be a chocolate chip cookie 42:16 – The personal cost: no college fund 43:48 – What this country gave her 46:00 – How she defines success now 47:23 – The next three years 48:52 – A message to younger therapists 50:48 – Irina's unfinished business More on TheraYouth https://therayouth.org/about-therayouth-foundation/ (https://therayouth.org/about-therayouth-foundation/) Donate to TheraYouth’s Mission: https://therayouth.org/#donate (https://therayouth.org/#donate) Music licensed through Soundstripe Code: RUZ6YMIY1YPOFP1G

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   She Never Wanted Employees. Now She Leads a Team of Six | Brittany Garcia

   Summary Brittany Garcia knew by fifth or sixth grade that she wanted to be the support she didn't have as a child. She went on to specialize in trauma as a licensed clinical professional counselor, then left a group practice in 2022 to go solo, with no plans to ever hire anyone. A month later, she was diagnosed with cancer. Today she leads Restorative Connections Counseling, a trauma-informed, LGBT-affirmative group practice in Billings, Montana. In this episode, Kimberly and Brittany talk about going from solopreneur to leading a team of six clinicians: learning to delegate, hiring lessons learned the hard way, protecting the practice's voice, and knowing when it's okay to stop building, at least for now. In this episode you'll learn: Why trauma responses need more than "just change your thinking" What clients told her about past therapists, and why it shaped her practice What finally pushed a self-described introvert with a waitlist to hire Why clear deadlines and structure make onboarding easier How she delegated marketing without losing her brand voice The hiring story behind her rule: "Be slow to hire and quick to fire." What her team needed from her that she didn't see coming How a cancer diagnosis shaped her plan for the practice to run without her Why her practice is pausing growth, for now Her unfinished business and her advice for taking risks without 100% certainty Keywords group practice, private practice, trauma therapy, mental health, entrepreneurship, delegation, leadership, boundaries, burnout, business growth Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: when caring too much leads to burnout 00:25 – Welcome: meet Brittany Garcia 01:09 – Becoming the support she never had 03:49 – Signs of unresolved trauma 05:13 – What clients said about past therapists 06:30 – Why trauma needs more than CBT 07:53 – What "Restorative Connections" means 09:24 – How that shapes her team and culture 10:52 – What school didn't teach her about business 12:38 – From waitlist to first hire 14:51 – A hiring nightmare: slow to hire, quick to fire 17:34 – Building structure into onboarding 19:43 – The business work no one expects 21:28 – Delegating marketing without losing your voice 25:39 – Learning to let go of control 27:30 – What her team needed from her 30:03 – Trusting other clinicians with client care 31:56 – When caring becomes overextending 34:46 – Why it's okay to pause growth 36:24 – How she takes care of herself 38:26 – The hidden costs of building a practice 42:21 – How cancer changed her definition of success 47:15 – What's next: retreats and speaking 48:10 – Brittany's unfinished business 49:06 – Parting advice: trust that you can figure it out More on Restorative Connections: https://www.restorative-connections.com/ (https://www.restorative-connections.com/) Social Media: https://www.linkedin.com/company/restorative-connections-counseling/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/restorative-connections-counseling/) https://www.instagram.com/restorativeconnectionscoun (https://www.instagram.com/restorativeconnectionscoun) https://www.facebook.com/RestorativeConnectionsCoun/ (https://www.facebook.com/RestorativeConnectionsCoun/) Music licensed through Soundstripe Code: RUZ6YMIY1YPOFP1G

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Why This Special Ed Teacher Left the System to Build Her Own Agency | Amelia Zephyr

   Summary Amelia Zephyr spent years as a special education teacher helping young children with developmental delays, autism, dyslexia and dysgraphia. She saw the same problems repeatedly: bureaucratic delays, kids expected to learn "in one box," and families left to figure out a complicated education system on their own. When her own daughter was diagnosed with autism at 18 months, and she began navigating the early intervention process as a parent, that's when she decided to do something about it. In January 2024, she founded Creative Foundations, an early intervention agency serving young children and families across the New York City area. In this episode, Kimberly and Amelia talk about what it really takes to turn a skill you're good at into a business: earning trust as a brand-new company, hiring people who care about the work, handling hard conversations with employees, and how Creative Foundations is using AI to reach busy parents. In this episode you'll learn: Why being great at your work isn't the same as building a business around it How a personal experience turned Amelia's frustration into her mission What she underestimated about starting a business, from how many families needed help to hiring for authenticity and quality work. How to earn client trust quickly when nobody knows your name yet What "excellent communication" looks like day to day, including weekly family check-ins and sharing local resources The interview question she uses to hire for authenticity: "What song describes your personality?" How she handles underperformance How Creative Foundations uses an AI-generated podcast to give parents tips they can listen to on the go The low-cost retention idea any business owner can use tomorrow Her "unfinished business" and why contentment matters to her Keywords: early intervention, education, entrepreneurship, child development, community support, special needs, leadership, business growth Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: what parents of kids with special needs want from their community 00:18 – Welcome: from educator to CEO 01:45 – The kids she served: developmental delays, autism, dyslexia 02:52 – Why she left the school system to build her own agency 05:38 – The moment frustration turned into fuel 06:59 – Starting Creative Foundations (and being nervous) 09:07 – What she underestimated about starting a business 11:57 – The hardest part: building a supportive team in a "cutthroat" industry 13:50 – How to earn trust fast as a new business 15:01 – What excellent communication actually looks like 17:11 – A family's story: finding community at the local library 18:45 – What outsiders misunderstand about early intervention 19:42 – Growing visibility: social media, referrals and word of mouth 21:32 – From doing the work to leading: hiring for heart 22:16 – "What song describes your personality?" 24:03 – Skill fit vs. culture fit 24:56 – How to handle difficult performance conversations 27:50 – Redefining yourself as educator, entrepreneur, wife and mom 28:53 – The hidden costs of building a business 30:08 – The 5-year vision: expanding Creative Foundations nationwide 30:48 – How Creative Foundations uses AI 33:23 – One idea to steal: employee recognition 35:04 – Advice to her younger self 35:47 – Amelia's unfinished business More on Creative Foundations: https://www.creativefoundations.net/ (https://www.creativefoundations.net/) Music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: SD6D4DH5OKP9WSLL

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12 ratings

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