Meet Mandy Smith | Family Nurse Practitioner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mandy Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mandy, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but starting my own business was not on my radar when I went back to school to become a family nurse practitioner (FNP). Those gears started turning when I completed clinical rotations at two different independent practices founded by women. One MD was particularly encouraging in this regard, egging me on when I first started dreaming out loud about starting my own practice. She helped me see beyond some of my fears and self-imposed limitations and begin to believe it really was possible.

I had entered my FNP training in a place of significant burnout while working in a pretty intense hospital setting during the early years of the pandemic. The idea of seeing five or six people an hour as a primary care provider in a typical healthcare system had me gasping for air. What I love most about this role is developing relationships with people, and you just can’t do a great job of that in 12 minutes.

I knew I wanted to take my time with each patient encounter, to really listen and get to the heart of people’s health concerns, learn about their unique strengths and obstacles, and make an actual impact in their lives. There were a few jobs that I knew of that might have gotten close to this ideal, but they didn’t have openings when I graduated and got licensed. I even interviewed at what I once thought would be my dream job, but at the end of the day I just wasn’t as excited about it as I had thought I would be. Something didn’t feel quite right, so I set about making the job I really wanted for myself and for my patients.

My goal is to see more like five or six people a day, give them my full attention, and help them get what they want out of life. Long-term I would love to partner with other providers and services that operate from a similar mindset and passion for the queer community, and share space in a facility where all of this is accessible under one roof. I want to increase queer representation in healthcare professions by providing scholarships and mentorship to folks looking to pursue a related career path. And I will always be learning and growing as a provider, advocate, and community member.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Lord no- it has not been easy! There are a lot of obstacles for nurse practitioners wanting to start their own practices, a lot of people who believe we shouldn’t be allowed to do it, and not a lot of precedent to draw from. I am super proud of not letting that stop me, and I would love to be a resource to others who have similar aspirations. We belong in the realm of running our own practices.

Every step has been a major learning process, and I’ve had to be okay with being a novice at a lot of things on the way to becoming an expert (or reasonably proficient). I have honed my skills of looking for answers and asking for advice from others when I’m struggling. For example my friend and high school classmate Lis Saunders who owns the gym Team Lis Smash in the EAV- if she hadn’t told me to go down to City Hall, I might still be waiting to hear that my initial zoning request wasn’t approved. Also, shout out to all the wonderful folks down at Atlanta City Hall for helping to make the process of obtaining a business license as enjoyable as possible.

I’m really just getting started, about three months out from my official launch back in September, but it has been a really interesting journey in personal growth. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is getting comfortable with hearing “no” from people, and not taking it personally. Not everything is meant for you, but the only way to know is to ask for what you want. Keep asking. Embrace the “no” as a crucial element of keeping you on the right path. It makes all the “yes” that much sweeter too.

Another big learning curve that’s ongoing is not getting stuck in the traps of perfection. There’s a saying that perfect is the enemy of done, and I may need to put it on some post-its around the house. As a healthcare provider, especially in the roles of diagnosis and treatment, I want to make sure I gather every detail and get it exactly right. But in business, sometimes you have to make choices without many clues, and trust yourself to make adjustments when you need to.

Probably the lesson that excites and challenges me the most though is the idea that you don’t have to be everything to all people. Some business advice would tell you otherwise, but when it comes to being a solo provider with a micro-practice, being clear about who I am and what I do is key. It would be physically impossible for me to be everything to everyone, and it would be in direct opposition of my mission to provide an incredible collaborative relationship-based experience to every person I do serve.

I delight in providing an affirming experience to all sorts of folks- that’s why I called it All Y’all. But my deepest passion is in providing a wholeheartedly affirming experience to queer, transgender, and gender-expansive people. The responses I get from my patients let me know that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be, creating this beautiful feedback loop that is fulfilling to me like nothing else I’ve ever done. I get to show up every day as my most authentic self, and from this place I get to encourage and support others in doing the same.

This strikes me as something that may be common to queer small business owners. We don’t see the thing we want in the world, at least not in a way that quite speaks to our experiences. So we go out and create it for our community, and in the process we get to do the thing that is so right for us too. So yeah, shout out to all the queer business owners out there too- y’all have inspired me to keep believing in my vision every step of the way.

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.
Well, in addition to entertaining my visiting friend, we would have to keep up with my 88-pound puppy Goody. Fortunately we live in a neighborhood with lots of great creeks and woods, so we would take him on a romp through Frazier Forest. We would also spend a morning at his favorite dog park on Freedom Parkway, followed by lattes and a pup cup at Finca to Filter’s walk-up window in Old 4th Ward.

There is no better pancake than Ria’s, so we would definitely do that on a weekday morning and then walk it off at Oakland Cemetery. Weekends were made for farmer’s markets, specifically the Freedom Farmer’s Market on Sat and the Grant Park Farmer’s Market on Sun. We would pick out fresh veggies and flowers, and hopefully make it in time for treats from Lil Tart Bakeshop. Since treats are important in the evening too, we would have to visit another favorite, Big Softie in Summerhill. But not until after halfway stuffing our faces at Junior’s Pizza (RIP). If there’s a Community Market happening, we’d cruise through and check out all the wares from local queer makers and artists.

Hopefully this guest will want to join me for my thrice weekly gym habit at Team Lis Smash, or maybe they’d be more into recovery days at Conjure Yoga & Ritual. When I travel I love to visit independent bookstores, so I would also want this visitor to experience Bookish in EAV, Charis in Decatur, and Virginia Highlands Books. Lattes are life, and Ash Coffee pairs well with VaHi Books, Guild & Journeyman with Charis, and Joe’s with Bookish.

I think no visit to Atlanta is complete without a stroll through Little Five Points, grabbing lattes and bagels from Aurora and then shopping at favorites like Kiss & Ride and Criminal Records. Next we would check out some public art on the Freedom Parkway trail en route to my favorite sandwich- The Beeter- at Victory Sandwich Bar. For more people watching, we’d keep strolling the Beltline to the Old 4th Ward Skate Park. And if we wanted to spiff things up a bit, I would take them out for a delicious dinner at La Semilla or Kitty Dare, two of our favorite date spots.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh absolutely- my mentor Michelle Sariev. I won the preceptor lottery when I got to learn the primary care role from Michelle. She taught me everything I know about gender-affirming care, while approaching each person with genuine curiosity and care. She also lit a fire under the policy advocate and research nerd in me, inspiring me to engage with every dimension of this work beyond the walls of any job. As if that wasn’t enough, she also opened me up to so many networking opportunities, showing me I wasn’t alone in my passion for this work.

Website: https://www.allyallatl.com

Instagram: @allyallatl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-smith-msn-fnp-c-b2559a93

Image Credits
Bonnie J. Heath (professional headshot)

Mo Bell (TEA on Tuesday Injection)

Sarah Martin (TEA on Tuesday at Kiss n Ride)

MJ Pennington (at Community Market)