Child Sleep Consultant – Sasha Carr – Off to Dreamland
She had been a psychologist for many years, but her baby’s playgroup led her to a new venture. Sasha Carr was a full time therapist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. She was working with multiple clients when she had her son. “When I became a mom myself, I saw a lot of misery over the little sleep so many new moms were getting, myself included.” This is when Sasha learned about the field of sleep consulting.
Sasha says, “I had every intention of going back to my therapy practice but I wanted something with more flexibility and where I wouldn’t be tied to an office.” She heard about the Family Sleep Institute and researched what they were offering. The center trained people to assist parents in getting their children to sleep on a regular schedule. She signed up for the course which was an 8 month intensive program that included hands-on supervision.
During this time, she was still managing her own therapy practice but once trained she began to offer this new service. Sasha even aligned with a local pediatric office where she gave talks to new mothers on establishing good sleep habits for their children.
The real transition came when she began a coaching course for parents with children ages 4 months to 5 years. “I offer a two week program that has very close to a 100% success rate. So after 2 weeks I’ve worked myself out of a job.” But it turned out that so many parents needed her help, she was able to scale down her therapy sessions and focus exclusively on sleep coaching.
Her new venture’s name – Off to Dreamland. She set up a website describing her services and prices. But rather than having and online payment link, she suggests that prospective clients call, “I like to discuss the issues and make sure we are a good fit to work together.” Then she sends a to pay via PayPal. The new clients also get an extensive questionnaire to fill out and send back to Sasha. “This guides me in setting up a plan to help the parents implement over the next two weeks. ”
Sasha starts with an hour long session by phone or in person. She is available during the course to talk with the parents and walk them through any issues by phone or email. “Some clients need a lot of intensive support while others only check in once or twice.” She says when a client calls, they are usually at their wits’ end and need help yesterday. “My job is to come up with a specialized plan for the child and empower the parents to implement it.”
And she’s working on a children’s book that encourages good sleep habits. The inspiration when a young client began “teaching” her teddy bear good sleep habits. She teaches this technique in her coaching. Using that as a base, her book is about a boy who helps a monkey get good sleep.
Sasha is not at a loss for clients, “I work with about 20 clients a month,” and she feels good that she is doing something that makes a difference in people’s lives. Most of her business comes from pediatrician’s offices and word of mouth. Sasha heard about two moms at a local coffee shop talking about her, when another mom overheard them when she walked by and said, “Call Sasha Carr, she will get your child to sleep.”
VentureMom Tip
Get training in something that is useful to a client base that will always be new.
