Marissa Neathery stands at the forefront of therapeutic innovation in Colorado Springs as the esteemed owner of Resonate Music Therapy. This distinguished business, staffed by board-certified therapists, harnesses the transformative power of sound, melody, rhythm, and movement to assist individuals in attaining their physical, cognitive, and social-emotional objectives. Marissa has cultivated a healing environment where music becomes a pivotal tool for rehabilitation and personal growth. Resonate Music Therapy exemplifies a business committed not only to the well-being of its clients but also to the broader welfare of the community it serves.
What is your name? And what is the name of your business?
Marissa Neathery, and I own Resonate Music Therapy.
How long have you been in operation? And what services/products do you provide?
We just celebrated our 7th birthday! We’re a team of 8 board certified music therapists, and we primarily provide music therapy services. We also provide standard and adaptive music lessons.
For those that aren’t familiar with music therapy, we’re using training (4-6 year degree in music therapy, 1,200 clinical hours, and a board exam) to help clients of all kinds reach physical, cognitive, social/emotional goals through music. For example, suppose I’m working with a teenager on emotional regulation and coping tools for mental health. In that case, we may use lyric analysis of their favorite songs that ‘fit’ what they’re experiencing to gain insight and brainstorm tools that might help.
We also provide music therapy groups at our location and in the community, in addition to some fun summer camps for kids and teens.
What has been the driving force behind your business? And in what ways are you hoping to grow in the future?
The driving force has simply been that I find music therapy very cool! It’s incredibly motivating to work with people towards creating active change in their lives. Increasing access to services (as many major insurances are still reticent to cover music therapy services) is also something that keeps me going.
I’m thoroughly looking forward to adding speech therapy to my practice in 2025. Working with SLPs will be a learning process for me as I’ve previously only had MT-BCs at my practice, but this expansion has the opportunity to provide rich experience and expertise to our clients.
As an entrepreneur what is one challenge you’ve faced in the past? And how did you overcome it?
It can be a challenge to manage others as you’re still learning and growing. Growing as a human is a never-ending process, so I often reflect on situations I could’ve handled better- or where I was just plain in the wrong. Taking intentional time to actively strive toward being an emotionally intelligent person has been key in developing as a leader, and becoming the person I wish I was when I look back at challenging times with coworkers at my practice.
How was your overall experience working with Energize Colorado? What solution did Energize Colorado provide? And how did/will the solution benefit you and your business?
It was a genuinely phenomenal experience. Accessing financing when we needed it made a huge difference, and the training and coaching we’ve been able to access alongside this has been wonderful. I highly recommend your program to other small business owners, as it can be a game changer.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone with aspirations to start a business of their own?
You absolutely can do it! Everyone who starts a business does it differently. Listen to collective wisdom, but also trust that there’s no one path to being a business owner.