Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Skurtu.
Hi Angela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It was 2010. I was broke. I barely had enough money to survive-working at an agency right out of graduate school. Go to college to make good money, you say? Not in the mental health field! Good luck with that! I was making 34K a year. My husband (now an ex) at the time and I had just gotten into a car accident that left him writhing on the ground daily with terrible headaches. Needless to say, he wasn’t able to work. We both had school loans (a lot!) and I was the only one bringing in an income to make things work.
I was sick of working for barely any money. I knew I wanted to start my own business but I had not idea how. My dad was a teacher and my mom was deaf and a stay at home mom until they divorced when I was 5. Neither parent had taught me the ins and outs of business ownership and I hadn’t gone to business school to learn. So I did what I could. I networked with other therapists who ran their own businesses.
I went to local therapist groups in St. Louis and asked the burning questions. How did you start your practice? What worked for you? I repeatedly got a similar answer, “Oh, my husband has a great job so I have been able to take my time and learn how to grow at my own pace.” Naturally I was pissed. That wasn’t my story. I didn’t have someone financially to lean on and I certainly couldn’t take my time. I had to look elsewhere for help.
Then, I started going to my local entrepreneurs outreach group at Washington University Skandalaris. I also went to my local chamber of commerce and the St. Louis Small Business Association. From there, I learned actual business skills-how to start an LLC, how to create a digital presence, how to market a business. I was incredibly grateful for the things learned from people outside of my field. One woman I met at Skandalaris was responsible for planting the seeds for a Youtube channel early on. By 2012, I had started my own private practice and was starting to see some success.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Back in 2012, I started to see success quickly. I was able to leave the agency and run my private practice full time. Every year after that, I was able to improve my income. I raised my rates and income every year and saw a lot of success as a Marriage and Sex Therapist.
Then, in 2020, something terrible happened. The pandemic! Every year since 2012, I had a full client caseload and saw my revenue grow. Then, when the pandemic hit, I went to half capacity. I had so many people cancel and I had to completely redo my business to include zoom sessions. What was zoom? I literally would sit in front of my closet doors in my bedroom while seeing clients, then I would watch my kid. She was going into kindergarten that year and they planned to do zoom kindergarten! Luckily I was divorced at this time, so I was able to share custody with my ex and work hours when she was at his home. But I also had to hire a babysitter to walk my kiddo Olivia through her online courses while I worked on days she was with me.
I was terrified to find out that most people weren’t thinking about therapy when they were locked in their homes. They were struggling to survive. They were scared about whether they would lose their job. Sex was the last thing on many people’s minds. I had to take my first business loan ever. I am so grateful the government stepped in at that time because I honestly don’t know how I would have survived that year.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Sex Therapist, I bring a specialized lens to corporate retreats by helping business owners and CEOs strengthen their most vital relationships—the ones at home. When marriages or partnerships are strained, it impacts focus, productivity, and the overall success of the business. I offer a customized experience that not only addresses communication and connection but also opens the door to those “taboo” topics that are often the hardest to discuss. By guiding leaders and their partners through transformative conversations, I help create lasting relationship shifts that ripple into stronger leadership, healthier teams, and thriving businesses.
I recently rebranded to www.openbedroomdoors.com, the home of my mission to bring real talk to real relationships. Through my Open Bedroom Doors Show, I dive into the essentials of sexual health, relationship wellness, and everything in between. Backed by a stellar podcasting team, the show runs on YouTube, Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify—and soon, e360Tv.
In addition, I’m the author of the Open Bedroom Doors Book Series, with my latest release From “F” No to “F” Yes S3x kicking off a new wave of annual books on sexual health. This builds on my earlier works, “Helping Couples Overcome Infidelity” and “Pre-Marital Counseling: A Guide for Clinicians.”
As a keynote speaker, I bring dynamic and thought-provoking talks to conferences and retreats, including:
1) Uncomplicating Sex: How Neutral Sex Builds Better Bonds
2) Repairing the Unrepairable: A Fresh Approach to Healing Affairs
3) The Solopreneur Advantage: Creating Freedom, Impact, and Income on Your Own Terms
How do you define success?
Bravery. I tell my daughter every day, “Being Brave means you are scared, but you do it anyways.” As a business owner, I live with self doubt every week of my life. I wonder, ‘Am I doing this right? Will any of this work out?’ But, I don’t let my fears hold me back. A big part of my success is risk tolerance. I have the ability to put myself out there, try new things and figure it out as I go. It’s okay to not know things! It’s okay to not know you’re next step. Success is telling yourself, I will do this and I will learn as I go. That is how I wrote and sold my books, became a keynote speaker, and have run a successful solopreneur practice since 2012. I don’t know what I am doing sometimes, but I will figure it out. That has been the defining factor for my success.
Pricing:
- Fees Differ based on the Service
- See www.openbedroomdoors.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.openbedroomdoors.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/openbedroomdoors
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/openbedroomdoors
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Openbedroomdoors
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/c/OpenBedroomDoors
