Hey there, fellow OT practitioners! Today, let's talk about a topic that's close to home for many of us in our female-dominant profession...

Why is there so little female representation in OT entrepreneurship?

We live in times where women are breaking barriers in all spheres of life, including the workforce. Yet, despite the strides we've made, women still tend to be more risk-averse when it comes to pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors. 

A large study from 2022 on thousands of women in the workplace found that women experienced less positive consequences from risk-taking in the workplace compared to men. This resulted in women taking less risks in the future compared to men. 

So it's not that women are more averse to risk than men. It's just that women are more likely to experience negative consequences from taking risks at work which deter them from taking more risks.

No wonder that even as women take on more responsibilities...

Have you ever feared of losing your professional license by venturing out into the online business world and accidentally doing something "illegal"?

Lots of health professionals that I've talked to share this hesitation.

But I've come to learn that this fear stems from a lack of knowledge on how to run an online business legally and safely. 

Let me explain:

When you're teaching someone something through an online course, you're not providing formal occupational therapy services.

No evals

No goal setting

No formal treatments

All you're providing is general education and online resources for clients, caregivers, or other professionals that they can take and apply on their own.

So first and foremost, you should add a disclaimer to your course that:

• You are NOT providing formal therapy services.
• Your online resources are for educational purposes only.
• Your services are NOT a substitute for any necessary medical,...

When was the last time you bought something without looking at the price tag?

I hope you answered never because that's not very smart consumerism. 

So the same should apply for starting an online business. You have to and deserve to know how much money you can expect to invest in to get you started.

First things first.. the freebies 

Yes, you read that right.. there are goodies that you can get for FREE when starting your online business!

For starters, you can begin by using the free version of a video conferencing platform like Zoom or Google meets (thank youuu, pandemic ) to meet with clients interested in your digital product or service, team members, and others.

Most of these plans have limited participant and meeting duration limits, but you can get away with it for a few months as long as you're not planning to host big online events with a massive number of attendees.

Another handy, free tool is a meeting scheduling app like Calendly...