[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello beautiful people and welcome to another segment of Complete Wellness with Cindy the busy Woman's Cheerleader. This is the channel where women from all walks of life can stop by, get tools and resources to help them thrive 360 in mind, body, spirit and finances. I invite you to stay connected, subscribe to this channel and visit me
[email protected] now for today's segment.
Hello beautiful people. Welcome to another episode of Complete Wellness with Cindy the busy Wellness Cheerleader. I am so super excited as usual to be here. But first, let's do a little housekeeping. A word from our sponsor.
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[00:02:01] Speaker A: Awesome. And our quote for today is if you don't like the road you're on, the road you're walking, start another one, start paving another one. And that comes from Dolly Parton. So please help me welcome Nicole Daher. I will butcher a name. Nicole. Did I say that right?
[00:02:20] Speaker C: It's Daher. But it's okay. It's Arabic.
[00:02:23] Speaker A: Nicole Daher. She is an autism mom with a health care background who founded the Success on Spectrum. After facing long, heartbreaking wait lists and realizing no parent should have to fight this hardcore journey alone, Nicole wants to build a future where more children feel seen, more parents are supported, and entrepreneurs find purpose in the progress. Please help me welcome Nicole Daher.
[00:02:50] Speaker C: Cindy, thank you for having me.
[00:02:52] Speaker A: You are welcome. You are welcome. So I always like to start off with a person telling us how they got here. How did you get to the point of and I realized that you are a mother of autism. An autism child.
Tell us about that journey. Tell us how you got to this point to found the success on Spectrum.
Yes.
[00:03:13] Speaker C: So in 2014, I got married to a man who had a child with autism. So I didn't, you know, have a baby and then suddenly get thrown and. And slowly learn like I was.
Knew nothing about autism. And then I was an autism mom. It was overnight type of thing. And I had to learn a lot about how to care for this child.
And she was level two in severity, which is like moderate severe. She didn't speak, she didn't make eye contact. She had a very restricted diet. She would feel fecal smear, she would tantrum.
And I had to learn how to take care of her. And we enrolled her in ABA Therapy, which stands for Applied Behavior Analysis, which is the gold standard treatment for kids with autism. If you get diagnosed, the doctor's like, hey, go find aba.
And it's a fantastic therapy that teaches kids with autism new skills in a nonverbal way because they can't talk about it. You have to teach them and encourage them to do certain things without being able to speak to them about it. And they also help teach coping skills that would help reduce tantrum behavior.
And it was amazing. I mean, this girl learned how to talk and then she wouldn't stop and she made eye contact and she got sassy very quick and her tantrums reduced. And autism is always still there. It's not a cure, but it helped her function in the world, and it was fantastic. And I was doing the parent training, and they were helping me feel like I could gain control back of the situation instead of being held hostage by this little girl. And everything was wonderful until she turned seven.
And then they kicked her out of the program because she, quote, unquote, aged out.
[00:05:04] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:05:05] Speaker C: It was horrible.
You don't grow out of autism. Why would you grow out of the treatment?
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Right?
[00:05:10] Speaker C: And so I thought, no big deal. I'm just going to go somewhere else. If you're not going to take her, you know, I'm going to go somewhere else.
But there was nowhere else. There was so many ABA clinics in my area, but they either had a wait list that was six months to a year long, or they didn't take kids over 7. And most of them, I have found throughout the whole United States, don't take kids over 7. They're like your school agent.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: Why is that? Why? I mean, why? Why is that?
[00:05:38] Speaker C: It's a great question.
[00:05:40] Speaker A: It doesn't. They don't outgrow it. They just learn, I guess, to to live with it.
Why is it like, you know, it is this to, to take them out of the program?
[00:05:52] Speaker C: It's harder to deal with a bigger older kid.
If there's any sort of aggression, it just gets more difficult and it's higher, harder to hire staff.
[00:06:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:06] Speaker C: They really just want you to be like your school age now. Go to this. You're the school district's problem now. And it gets kind of pushed into the schools and the schools, the teachers try their best, but when you have kids with special individual needs, you can't teach in a group setting. And our school system is not built for one on one instruction. It's built for group instruction. And so just.
[00:06:31] Speaker A: Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.
[00:06:32] Speaker C: It's, it's just sad that there's really no place where they belong, you know.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: So with the, I would say company or is it an organization that you started do is that specially especially for those over the age of seven or do you just not have an age range to age them out of the system?
[00:06:54] Speaker C: We don't have an age range so we take all children under 18 because it's a whole different ballgame as an adult.
But I started success on the Spectrum. It's an ABA therapy company that takes kids of all ages.
And of course we have that specialized one on one instruction for everybody. So each kid has their own teacher and whatever that kid needs to learn, that is what they're learning. And every kid with autism is different, right? Some know how to talk, some don't. Some are potty trained, some aren't. Some have aggression, some don't, some have restricted.
So they all need different things.
And there could be a physically 12 year old child that's mentally seven. Well, they're going to learn seven year old things and the schools can't adapt to that, but we can. So it's the perfect environment for these kids that need really customized curriculum.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Okay, and so you started this, you took on a relationship where this was an existing concern and your heart apparently.
Tell me about that. Tell me. Because normally, and you know, we're straight shooters, normally if a person finds an element of a relationship that's too difficult, they retract. They don't want anything to do with it. How was that for you that you actually embraced that and took that a part of your, you know, your life's mission?
[00:08:21] Speaker C: My mother tells me I'm hard headed.
I don't know, I think it's that mama bear instinct that you don't tell my kid what she can and cannot do. And if you're not going to give her the help that she needs, I'm not going to sit around and wait for it to fall into my lap. I'm going to make it.
And what was great about the whole thing, I started this really just for her.
But as I was helping other kids, I discovered it felt just as good helping other kids and other moms and other dads just as much as it was to help my own kid.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:57] Speaker C: And after she became better and more functional and she eventually did, you know, transition into the mainstream school system, I was so happy just to continue serving other children. But there was another problem.
Okay, I. My clinic that I opened in Houston became full within nine months.
And I was the one on the phone turning parents away. No, I can't take your kid. No, I can't take your kid. And it, again, heart wrenching, all this.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Yes, that's heart wrenching.
[00:09:31] Speaker C: So I opened a second clinic a little bit on the other side of town, and it was twice as big as the first.
And I was like, huh, solved it, right?
Six months later, that one was full.
[00:09:45] Speaker A: So were these local people or were these people from different, I guess, outlining areas?
[00:09:50] Speaker C: I mean, it was all within the Houston Metro.
[00:09:53] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:09:53] Speaker C: And I thought, man, Houston's huge. Right? And I'm like, the population is big, so maybe this is a Houston problem. And I kind of wanted to, like, look up what was going on and discovered this was a national problem.
The number of kids being diagnosed with autism year after year, greatly growing more and more kids. I mean, the CDC's last report is 1 in 31 kids is going to be diagnosed with autism before they're eight, two and a half percent of the population.
And the number of ABA clinics that exist cannot keep up with that increasing demand.
And currently in the United States, like nationwide, there are only enough ABA clinics to support 33 to 35% of kids that need it. So that leaves 60 something percent of kids needing ABA but sitting on a wait list or in a place where there is no ABA therapy clinic anywhere near them. So this was a national crisis.
[00:10:56] Speaker A: So how does someone else, I would say, get involved with what you're doing?
[00:11:04] Speaker C: Well, as time went by, so, and I wish I could remember who it was, but somebody told me, well, you should just franchise the business so you could expand. And I'm like, maybe I will.
So I did. So success on the Spectrum has become the very first ABA franchise in the country.
And I now teach aspiring entrepreneurs how to open up and run their own ABA therapy clinic. And just like me, you don't have to have experience to come into it. You don't have to have any sort of degree or training or background, because to run a business, to do payroll, to hire and fire people, the paperwork side of it, keep the lights on, pay the rent, you don't need special training for that. We can teach you all of those things.
And to date, what is this? This is March. We have 87 open and running locations across 19 different states, and we have 30 more in the pipeline.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: That is absolutely amazing.
That is amazing. I've always said that it takes a special person with a special grace. And, you know, in my circle, we say a special anointing, you know, a special grace for those individuals that work with special needs on any level. You know, excuse me, any level. And it was very interesting because when you, you know, mentioned that when they gave me your information and said that it was a franchise. And I'm thinking this started from such a small seed, from a need that you met that basically has spanned now, you know, countrywide. And I think that's absolutely awesome because as busy women, a lot of times we think that it has to be like a Fortune 500 company in the beginning that we attach ourselves to, not that little small still voice that is guiding you, giving you wisdom and instructions, that a lot of times, because you figured it out or came to you when you were gardening or at home, you know, eating breakfast, you dismiss the thought, but you didn't dismiss the thought, and look how it has grown. This is phenomenal. So what is, you know, it is absolutely phenomenal to take something, a thought to fill a gap, a need in your current life, and then spread it out. This is just absolutely awesome.
Tell me how you balance being the mom, being the entrepreneur, being the wife, and just being Nicole.
[00:13:37] Speaker C: It wasn't easy, especially in the beginning, because when you start out small, like you said, it's not like I could afford to hire a whole team of people and assistants.
[00:13:48] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:13:49] Speaker C: I didn't have. It was me, and I wore a lot of hats. I was hr, I was marketing, I was support. I, you know, I was everything. And for a while, I really had to bust my behind to make everything work the way that I wanted it to.
But as you collect people around you, as you find people with the same goals and mission in their mind as you, and they really buy into the idea of we're really going to make a difference, that's really what helped. I contribute everything to my team. Honestly, I could not have done this without such a phenomenal team.
The sales guy that I have found me online, he had experience in franchise sales and he was an autism dad.
And he found me online and said, hey, I'm gonna work for you. I'm like, dude, I don't know who you are. Like, you just call me. And he's like, no, no, no, I'm gonna work for you. And he, he's been amazing in helping us grow and taking his experience and combining it with mine and making the perfect product.
My director of training, who helps all, the clinician, the, the clinical side of things because she's a behavior analyst, has a brother with autism. So. So all these people that came together all have the same similar background.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: Like minded.
[00:15:08] Speaker C: Yeah, like minded, Very like minded. Profit is secondary to let's do this the right way.
And I think having that foundation, that base is what makes us stand out against other ABA companies out there.
And 25 of our franchisees are also autism parents.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:15:31] Speaker C: So even they have the same mission.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Because a lot of times, like I said earlier, you're thinking about external factors.
It's not always an external factor. So that leads me to my, my next question.
Why do you believe purpose driven work, which oftentimes are like non profits with missions or. And I'm going to say something here in a minute as well, that just, just dashed across me. But I wanted to ask you, and you can think about it while I'm talking, you know, why do you think purpose driven work outlast? I would just say sales driven work. Something that's just. I would say product versus service.
I'm really big on service. Everything that I do has the common denominator of serving, Serving someone else's needs, serving some type of capacity, feeling some type of gap, helping somebody get from place A to place B or place A to place C.
You know, that's a common denominator.
Even as an accountant, which, you know, I've had been an accountant for decades. But even as an accountant, early on in my career, I decided as hard as I was working with those hours and the stress level behind it, I said, you know, I don't want to do this type of work to cushion somebody's bottom line.
I want to, if I'm going to work this hard, I want it to be that I'm helping somebody.
Now I understand you helping somebody as an accountant in the secular, you're helping somebody as a cat, whatever. But the bottom line is I switched over from corporate to focusing on nonprofits because nonprofits at the time, you know, was the baseline of mission based work.
Work with a mission versus just working for the bottom line and passing out dividends.
So to help me out, help the listeners out with that. Why do you believe purpose driven work will always outlast, I would say, sales driven, the self driven market for products versus services.
[00:17:37] Speaker C: I love that you asked this question and you're one of the few podcast hosts that actually it occurs to them to ask.
There is this common belief that philanthropic work or charitable work has to be non profit, has to be charity, that you can't get rich doing good things. And for the most part it's very true because it's hard to reconcile. Let's help somebody and do good for them and make profit off of that person at the same time. It feels like you're exploiting them. But this is a very unique situation because health insurance pays for ABA therapy. So these families that we're helping, we're getting paid. I mean, ABA therapy is expensive. It costs $10,000 a month per kid. Wow, imagine that daycare bill. But we don't have to burden the parents with that. They don't pay anything. Their health insurance pays it. So I can help them and do all this stuff. I can make money without being a financial burden on them at all.
And it's, it's this very rare combination where you have this mission driven, purpose driven business that is also making you money. And you're right. If the people in corporate America, if you are tired of making your boss rich and you want to do something that matters, open a business for yourself that has meaning but also will provide you with the lifestyle and the comfortability that you're seeking, the flexibility of work hours. And that's hard to find. And when I started this, I didn't know it was going to be profitable. This was going to be like a tax write off for my kid to get the therapy that she needed. I was honestly shocked that this little side gig I started. Side gig. Now it's like my whole life, the side gig that I started always.
[00:19:31] Speaker A: People always say side gig, side hustle. And it's like, I want to start a business. It's like. But you're doing something in the back room that's not official.
Do you realize that is your line, that's your, your nudge, that's your purpose. You do it well, but you haven't formalized it.
And it's a lot of those, they haven't formalized that. They keep wanting to, to move forward to something big. And you're sitting on it.
You're sitting on it.
[00:19:57] Speaker C: The best ideas are usually never put into action.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's what, as the busy woman's cheerleader, I try my best to pull that out of the people whenever I'm working with them, whether it's one on one or our group coaching sessions, that's what I really work to pull out of them. Mind, body, spirit and finances. Because it's like you have this idea in this picture, you have it in you, but your mindset is telling you that it's not good enough.
Your mindset is telling you, okay, I need to wait for the next big gig, the next big thing, or it's going to come like a thundering cloud. Oh, the sky is going to break. My lights are going to flicker. That's not the case.
[00:20:41] Speaker C: No.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: You know, I am a firm believer as well. You know, all good and perfect gifts come from above. That's scripture, actually. But with the good Lord being our destiny driver, it's like our life's line was already written for us. We just have to align with it. And sometimes it takes people a long time to line up with, with their actual purpose here on Earth. You are a prime example of what I say a lot. I say that purpose, our purpose here on earth is attached to somebody else's destiny. It is important that we fulfill what we were created to do because it affects other generations, other people. Some people we may never meet.
It may be another generation when we're going on.
It may be that you're in the States and this happens over, you know, in Japan or it helps somebody over in Australia or somebody up in Africa. You just never know. So it's important to listen to that voice of instruction. God is always, like, trying to talk to us and, and, and get our attention. And sometimes so many people just pass it by because they're just thinking, oh, you know, that was. Wow.
But that's your guiding force. And I commend you. So for listening, I commend you. I commend you for listening because I
[00:22:07] Speaker C: don't think I had a choice.
I think destiny came for me.
[00:22:11] Speaker A: Yes, but you listen.
[00:22:13] Speaker C: I didn't.
[00:22:14] Speaker A: Yes, you listen. You don't know. Countless people miss the mark or, or they're delayed because they don't listen.
Not just listening spiritually or listening to, you know, that, that small still voice.
They don't listen to conversations. They talk all over you. And then it's like, well, you know, I didn't learn anything. Well, you didn't listen. God gave us Two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Okay, he did that for a reason. And again, a lot of times people overlook.
They overlook that small still voice that makes so much sense because it didn't quite make sense to them. But again, I commend you for what you're doing. I commend you for spanning the growth this is going to be perpetual for many generations to come. I'm so happy, so proud of you. I am so proud. Hey, listen, I'm cheering for you. I am so happy. I am so happy because oftentimes, and not just with, with the field and the industry that you're working with, with autism, there are a whole lot of other people possibly listening to us right now, you know, that have a thought for some type of scientific something or some type of holistic way of curing something, and they're sitting on it thinking it's not good enough.
So, you know, I just encourage anybody that you're. If you're sitting on it, you know, ask the good Lord for clarity and for understanding and wait for the answer. I'm really big for listening. Wait for the answer. And. And like I said, tell these people. This is awesome. I'm so proud of you. I am sincerely so happy for you because that, like I said, this is. I'm really big on not just fulfilling destiny, but legacy, you know, for your name, outliving you.
[00:24:05] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: This is so awesome.
[00:24:07] Speaker C: A better place.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Make the world a better place. One footstep, one issue, one person, one family at a time. You don't have to make big impact by saying, okay, I've got to do 10,000 people at one time. You can't. You're one person, but ship at it. Little, little, little, little, little. A little at a time, little at a time. And next thing you know, you look back, you've got this big, you know, check off list that you've helped xyz, you've accomplished xyz, and you're walking out purpose. This is so wonderful. Tell people how to connect with you, how to connect with you, where to find your clinics and your website, or tell them how to connect with you, how to find you.
[00:24:45] Speaker C: If you are a parent of a child with autism and you're looking for ABA services, you can go to our consumer website, successonthespectrum.com but if you're an entrepreneur looking to make a difference, looking to open your own business, that leaves that legacy. If you're not letting fear stop of the unknown stop you from making a difference in the world, you can visit sosfranchising.com where we can talk to you about opening your own SOS ABA Therapy Clinic in your local community and earn those wings. Bring in the good work. Make an impact where you are. And again, like, like you said earlier, Cindy, you can't. You can only do so much by yourself.
But that's the power of franchising. I could not have opened 87 clinics myself. But if all of us join in on the same cause as a group, we can create incredible impact in our country and eventually abroad.
[00:25:47] Speaker A: Absolutely. Absolutely. It'll happen. You know, power in your words, it'll happen. Just keep plugging at it. I have so enjoyed you. I have enjoyed you so much and this information.
I know that it's absolutely going to help people navigate, navigate the nuances of the what's the ADH system.
That's really going to help them a lot. I appreciate you. I appreciate you. Again, I'm cheering for you.
And that is all for today.
We will see you next time.
[00:26:18] Speaker C: And for our listeners, please leave Cindy five stars on whatever platform you're listening on because she comes up with the most incredible questions and brings in this valuable insight. She deserves the thumbs up.
[00:26:29] Speaker A: Thank you. I appreciate you so much. I appreciate you.
[00:26:34] Speaker D: Are you looking for a savvy speaker to add value to your upcoming event? Cindy the busy woman's cheerleader empowers groups across the globe to thrive 360 on purpose in mind, body, spirit and finances. As a dynamic speaker known for delivering insight in a relatable tone, Cindy brings real world experience, practical strategies and an energy that keeps audiences engaged from the very first minute. She's a thought leader, serial entrepreneur, author, leadership coach, humanitarian and purpose pusher that produces impactful dialogues. Her style blends clear expertise with authentic storytelling and humorous candor, making even complex ideas attainable and actionable for every audience.
Be it faith based, co ed or secular. Whether your goal is to empower, educate or spark positive change, Cindy creates an inclusive environment where people feel seen, motivated and ready to act. She's now accepting new speaking engagements. Book the busy woman's cheerleader today submit your request by email to thrivehesindyrand.com or online thrive www.thecindyrand.com make your event most memorable and remember, together we can thrive 360 on purpose.
[00:28:02] Speaker A: Thank you again for tuning in to complete wellness with Cindy the busy woman's cheerleader. Follow me on social media izzyWoman's Cheerleader Remember, together we write our stories and share our journeys, create memories and leave our marks in history until next time. Peace, blessings and joy be multiplied to you, Ta Taan.
