With Ombrelossa, I can focus on what really matters.
Anne Mansikkamäki is one of Ombrelo’s longest-serving employees. She started working as a newly graduated speech therapist at Ombrelo’s Seinäjoki office in 2010. In 2019, she is still working as a speech therapist under the umbrella of Ombrelo, but now as a private entrepreneur.
Anne Mansikkamäki is one of Ombrelo’s longest-serving employees. She started working as a newly graduated speech therapist at Ombrelo’s Seinäjoki office in 2010. In 2019, she is still working as a speech therapist under Ombrelo’s umbrella, but now as a private entrepreneur.
Employees have time for client encounters
Anne appreciates that Ombrelo’s way of working ensures enough time is reserved for client work. A maximum workload is defined for employees, and it may not be exceeded. The aim is to safeguard both employee well-being and high-quality service for clients.
“Meeting the client is central, and that time cannot be cut. However, a therapist’s work also includes things like planning and writing reports, which also require time. The client benefits when their situation is approached thoroughly and holistically.”
Anne encourages people entering the field to carefully weigh their own values and professional interests.
“There is a lot of work available in this field. To keep your motivation alive, it’s worth exploring different options and thinking about which direction you want to go. When your work is meaningful and the workload can be adjusted to fit your life, it has a big impact on your well-being and on how your expertise develops,” Anne advises.
Ombrelo’s business incubator encouraged entrepreneurship
At Ombrelo, speech therapists can work in two ways: either as employees in Ombrelo’s companies or as private entrepreneurs. New Ombrelo employees can, alongside their work, participate in a business incubator where they have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship in connection with their own job. If a speech therapist later wants to become an independent entrepreneur under Ombrelo’s umbrella, they will be well prepared for it.
Ombrelo’s business incubator also sparked Anne’s idea of starting her own company. Kaikua Oy was founded in 2018 and now operates under Ombrelo’s umbrella as one of the companies providing speech therapy services.
“I weighed the idea of starting my own business together with my employer, Ombrelo’s Nina von Schantz. I’ve never had a particular urge to become an entrepreneur, and there are no entrepreneurs in my family background either. I just felt that now was the right time to make this move. I don’t know if I would have done it without the services Ombrelo offers. Ombrelo provides an excellent framework for my work, and I can focus on what’s essential: the clients,” Anne explains.
An entrepreneur working under Ombrelo’s umbrella receives the support of a work community and can also be of help to others. Anne finds the work community extremely important.
“I get support from others, but I’m also happy to advise and guide my colleagues. Reflecting and discovering together is beneficial for everyone.”
Kaikua hears and listens
From her own experience, Anne says that moving from studies to real-life practice was a big leap. In reality, theory can take many different forms. A therapist must see beyond the symptom and diagnosis to the whole picture, where the client, family, everyday life and the person’s entire life all come as one package. Change happens when a person feels truly heard.
In fact, this realization is what led to the founding of Kaikua, and today Anne increasingly uses networks and a strengths-based approach in her work. In practice, this means active involvement of the client and their environment in the therapy process. Solutions cannot be handed to the client on a silver platter.
“I want my clients to understand what their diagnoses mean for them. Together we can consider solutions and methods that make their everyday life easier. My goal is to turn my clients into experts in their own situation and, through this, empower the whole family. It’s wonderful to see that clients appreciate being truly understood.”
Even though as an employee I was able to influence my own work quite a lot, now I can develop myself exactly in the direction I strongly feel and want to go. At this point I don’t even know what all that might include. I do what feels right, Anne says.
Facts:
✓ Anne Mansikkamäki (36 years old)
✓ Originally from Kauhajoki
✓ Studied logopedics at the University of Oulu, graduated as a speech therapist in 2010
✓ Started working as a speech therapist at Seinäjoki Ombrelo in 2010
✓ With the help of Ombrelo’s business incubator, founded her own company, Kaikua Oy, in 2018, which provides speech therapy services under the Ombrelo umbrella
✓ Works in rehabilitation with children with special needs and adults. Experienced in speech-motor rehabilitation for preschool children and rehabilitation after adult cerebrovascular disorders
✓ Works to ease eating difficulties in young children together with a nutritionist
✓ Uses communication aids, a strengths-based approach, and network-based collaboration in her work
Contact Anne to learn more!
Anne Mansikkamäki
Kaikua Oy
tel. 044 9756691
anne.mansikkamaki@ombrelo.fi
Read more about the business incubator here