Podcast Episode: Creating a Strong ABA Business: Marketing, Mindset, and Mission with Tim Zercher

In this episode of In the Field: The ABA Podcast, I sit down with Timothy Zercher, entrepreneur and CEO of A-Train Marketing, to talk about how ABA businesses can strengthen their marketing, clarify their message, and build in ways that align with their mission. Tim shares how his journey as a three-time founder and his personal ties to behavioral health led him to focus on the ABA space, and what he has learned working with organizations across the country.

Key Topics:

• The ABA Marketing Gap: Why so many ABA companies struggle with differentiation and how clearer messaging can actually improve client fit and outcomes.
• The Website Factor: Why your website is often the number one barrier to growth, recruitment, and client acquisition, and what to prioritize if you invest in an update.
• Ethical and Effective Marketing: Strategies to market within compliance and confidentiality constraints without sacrificing authenticity or impact.
• Mindset Shifts for Owners: Why marketing should be viewed like accounting, a necessary function that supports growth, recruitment, and sustainability.
• Letting Go of the Bottleneck: How ABA leaders can overcome the challenge of wearing all the hats and when to invest in outside expertise.
• Leadership Lessons: What Tim has learned about trust, accountability, and clarity as a business owner, and how those lessons apply directly to ABA practice owners.
• Quick Wins: Practical steps ABA leaders can take today to strengthen their brand, attract the right families and staff, and reduce wasted time.

Key Takeaways:

• Marketing is not “dirty” or optional, it is a service that connects families and staff to the care and culture you have built.
• Clear differentiation benefits everyone: it brings in the right clients, sets accurate expectations, and reduces frustration for families and staff alike.
• A strong website is not just a nice-to-have, it directly impacts your ability to recruit staff and attract the right families.
• As an owner, your time is worth more than you think. Outsourcing strategically can free you to grow your business and improve services.
• Strong leadership balances trust with accountability. Your team needs to know you believe in them and that their work truly matters.

Keywords: ABA Business, ABA Marketing, Behavior Analysis, Business Leadership, Differentiation, Recruitment, Client Acquisition, ABA Entrepreneurship, Timothy Zercher, A-Train Marketing

Connect with Tim Zercher and A-Train Marketing:

• Website: atrainmarketing.com
  
  
• LinkedIn: Timothy Zercher
  
  
• Podcast: Tim Talks
  
  

Subscribe to the Podcast:
Do not forget to subscribe to In the Field: The ABA Podcast for more practical conversations about supervision, training, and leadership in ABA. Visit Sidekick Learning
for fieldwork supervision resources and continuing education opportunities.

Disclaimer:

BCBA®, BACB® [or any other BACB® trademark used] is/are registered to the Behavior Analytic Certification Board® BACB®. This website and products are not in any way sponsored by the BACB®.

All information and products are for educational purposes only.

Podcast Episode: The People Side of ABA: Recruiting, Onboarding, and Retaining Talent with Holli Clauser

In this episode of In the Field: The ABA Podcast, I sit down with Holli Beth Clauser, founder of ABA C.A.R.E.S. Staffing, the ABA C.A.R.E.S. Conference, and host of The People Contingency Podcast.

Holli brings a wealth of experience from her early days as a behavior technician to her current work helping ABA organizations rethink hiring, onboarding, and retention. We talk about how ABA principles can (and should) be applied to the people side of the field, why turnover is a clinical issue, and what ethical, retention-first hiring looks like in practice.

Key Topics:

• The People Side of ABA: Holli shares her journey from direct care to founding ABA C.A.R.E.S. Staffing, and how her passion for improving client outcomes through better staff systems drives her work.
• Ethical, Retention-First Hiring: Why honesty and clarity during recruitment lead to long-term stability—and how being upfront about the realities of the job helps both candidates and clients.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: How organizations can use metrics beyond turnover rates to evaluate hiring, onboarding, and employee support.
• Bridging Operations, HR, and Clinical Teams: Strategies for breaking down silos and building collaboration between recruiters, clinicians, and leadership.
• Culture, Belonging, and Brand: How small decisions—from who gets celebrated to how feedback is handled—communicate organizational values and shape retention.
• The ABA C.A.R.E.S. Summit: Holli’s annual conference focused on workforce sustainability, leadership development, and meaningful collaboration across roles in ABA.

Key Takeaways:

• Recruiting is not just filling seats—it’s the first step in delivering quality care.
• Retention starts before hiring. Being transparent about expectations builds trust and long-term alignment.
• ABA organizations must apply the same analytical rigor to people systems that they apply to client programs.
• Collaboration across HR, operations, and clinical leadership is essential for sustainable staffing systems.
• Building culture is an ethical act: how you treat your people directly impacts how they treat clients.

Keywords: ABA Staffing, Retention, Recruitment, Onboarding, Organizational Culture, Workforce Sustainability, HR in ABA, Behavior Technician Hiring, Ethical Hiring, Employee Engagement, ABA Leadership, Holli Clauser, ABA C.A.R.E.S. Conference

Connect with Holli:

• LinkedIn: Holli Beth Clauser
  
  
• Email: info@abacaresstaffing.com
  
  
• Website: ABA C.A.R.E.S. Staffing
  
  
• Podcast: The People Contingency
  
  

Subscribe to the Podcast:
Don’t miss more conversations about leadership, supervision, and workforce development in ABA. Subscribe to In the Field: The ABA Podcast for weekly insights from practitioners shaping the future of our field. Visit www.sidekicklearning.net
for resources on fieldwork supervision, RBT® training, and continuing education.

Disclaimer:

BCBA®, BACB® [or any other BACB® trademark used] is/are registered to the Behavior Analytic Certification Board® BACB®. This website and products are not in any way sponsored by the BACB®.

All information and products are for educational purposes only.

Podcast Episode:

Preventing Crisis and Building Culture: Leadership Lessons with Dr. Paul "Paulie" Gavoni

In this episode of In the Field: The ABA Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Paul Gavoni (better known as Dr. Paulie), BCBA® and organizational leader, to talk about leadership through the lens of behavior analysis. Dr. Paulie shares how his experiences in schools, coaching, and organizational behavior management shaped his approach to leadership. His core belief: leadership is not about titles, it is about behavior.

Key Topics:

1. From Frustration to Leadership: How Dr. Paulie’s early experiences with coercive leadership inspired him to study educational and organizational leadership, and why he sees behavior analysis as the foundation of all great leadership models.
2. Leadership as Behavior, Not Title: Why the measure of leadership is found in the behavior of followers, and how anyone in an organization (BCBA®, RBT®, teacher, or parent) can be a leader.
3. The Four Hats of Leadership: Dr. Paulie introduces his framework for leadership behavior:
   • Leading Hat (inspiration and motivation)
   • Training Hat (building fluency in pivotal skills)
   • Coaching Hat (supporting generalization and independence)
   • Managing Hat (maintaining systems and preventing drift)
4. Feedback as the Core of Leadership: How feedback functions across hats, why good leaders create feedback-rich environments, and how radical vulnerability helps leaders model reflection and growth.
5. Crisis Management and Systems Thinking: Drawing from his work with PCMA, Dr. Paulie explains how prevention, fluency, and system design are the best crisis management strategies for schools, clinics, and organizations.

Key Takeaways:

• Leadership is defined by behavior, not position, and anyone can engage in leadership practices.
• Effective leaders inspire, train, coach, and manage with intention, aligning their behavior with the needs of their people.
• Feedback is not just about correction, it starts, maintains, and shapes behavior across all levels of an organization.
• Systems should be deliberately designed to reinforce valued behavior and prevent coercion.
• The best crisis management is prevention disguised as daily practice, built on fluency and behavioral principles.

Keywords: Leadership in ABA, Organizational Behavior Management, Feedback, Four Hats of Leadership, Performance Diagnostic Checklist, Crisis Management, PCMA, School-Based ABA, Behavior Systems, Paul Gavoni, Applied Behavior Analysis

Connect with Dr. Paulie Gavoni:

• LinkedIn: Paul Gavoni
  
  
• Instagram: @drpauliegloves
  
  
• The Crisis in Education Podcast: Listen here
  
  
• PCMA: Professional Crisis Management Association
  
  

Subscribe to the Podcast:
Don’t miss more conversations with ABA leaders, innovators, and practitioners. Subscribe to In the Field: The ABA Podcast for insights, strategies, and tools to elevate supervision and leadership in ABA. Visit Sidekick Learning
for more resources on supervision and professional development.

Disclaimer:

BCBA®, BACB® [or any other BACB® trademark used] is/are registered to the Behavior Analytic Certification Board® BACB®. This website and products are not in any way sponsored by the BACB®.

All information and products are for educational purposes only.