Thinking about adding Orton Gillingham to your own private practice? You’ll love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories!

I sat down with Elizabeth Doherty, who is a speech-language pathologist and reading specialist with a private practice in New York called Manhattan Speech, Language & Literacy.

After working in the schools, she decided to start her private practice in order to gain more flexibility and financial freedom.

In this episode, she talks about her interest in the relationship between speech, language, and reading, and how that led her to discover the Orton Gillingham approach which she added to her private practice. Elizabeth discusses how this niche focus has helped her find success with clients, increase her rates, and provide training to other SLPs.

She also talks about how having her own practice has allowed her immense freedom and flexibility in her life as a mom and a doctoral student.

Elizabeth founded Manhattan Speech, Language & Literacy, LLC, in 2013 with the mission to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for career success in the 21st century. With the unique perspective of both a speech-language pathologist and reading teacher, Elizabeth supports both oral and printed language, helping students gain proficiencies that translate across speaking, hearing, processing, reading, writing, and spelling.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• The power of choosing a niche that helps you stand out
• The truth about the compensation we deserve as SLPs and OTs
• The key to getting confident and asking for referrals
• The one thing Elizabeth did that helped her private practice take off
• How you can make your private practice work for you in any season of life
• The simple math for how your private practice can help you work less and make more
• How offering Orton Gillingham services in her private practice helped Elizabeth find her passion and grow her impact
• How Elizabeth is using her knowledge to empower and educate other SLPs with her course

I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Elizabeth! She is a perfect example of someone who noticed a need in her community and filled it by offering trainings to other SLPs, which helps to grow her own practice and support the SLP community around her.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Elizabeth on Instagram and learn more about her course: https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_readingslp

Check out the Manhattan Speech, Language & Literacy website:

https://www.manhattanspeechlanguage.com/

Where We Can Connect:

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-practice-success-stories/id1374716199

Follow Me on Instagram:

Thinking of transitioning from home health to private practice?

You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with one of my Start program students, Alex Wynter. She’s a speech-language pathologist with a private practice in Philadelphia, PA called the Wynter Wellness Group. She decided to start her private practice while working in home health. Alex loved the work she was doing in her community but wanted more freedom to do things on her own terms.

In this episode, she talks about the obstacles she faced working in corporate healthcare and how having her own practice has led to more freedom and fulfillment.

Alex also discusses the importance of non-clinical skills when it comes to multiple streams of income and how she also offers public speaking engagements, mentorship, and caregiver coaching.

Alexandria has been treating the adult and senior population for 10 years, working for some of the top healthcare systems in Philadelphia including Penn Medicine at Home & Hospice Services with the Penn Medicine hospital network and Mercy Home Health with Nazareth Hospital.

After her beginnings in home health 6 years ago, she realized the unique challenges and services needed by those living with chronic conditions. Often seen as "frequent flyers" by their healthcare team, with their concerns frequently swept under the rug as being "the usual complaints" she continued to see this population underserved. It's the exact reason she decided to work with adults & seniors with chronic conditions.

Due to her special abilities to build authentic relationships with her patients and communicate with their healthcare team (including physicians, specialists, and other therapists), she has been able to help her patients see significant gains, not only with their speech therapy goals but with their overall health as well.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• The seeds you can plant now that can bloom into a successful private practice
• A peek into what it’s like owning an adult-focused private practice
• One simple question you can ask your clients that will help your private practice grow exponentially
• The best way to get the support and encouragement you need when you start your private practice journey
• The power you have to choose your own adventure as a private practice owner
• A realistic look at what it’s like when you decide to leave your job and go all in on your private practice
• The one thing that could stop you from fulfillment as an SLP or OT
• The key thing you have to remember when figuring out billing and insurance

I hope you enjoyed hearing from Alex and how she took the initiative to start her own practice. She is a perfect example of someone who expanded her practice through diversifying her income streams and focusing on non-clinical skills in addition to clinical care.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support you - just like we supported Alex - please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/Resources

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit Alex’s website: http://www.thewynterwellnessgroup.com/

Follow her on Instagram:

Are you thinking about specializing in your private practice? You’ll love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories.

I sat down with Farwa Husain who is a speech-language pathologist with a neurodiversity affirming private practice in New Jersey. She decided to start her private practice after feeling burnt out and wanting to have a deeper impact on the children she was working with.

In this episode, she talks about specializing in Gestalt Language Processing and the importance of neurodiversity-affirming care. Farwa discusses how specializing has allowed her to have more control over her caseload and avoid burnout.

She also talks about how she grew her practice by providing in-services and education for families and the community and how she is now selling physical products.

Farwa Husain is an experienced bilingual speech-language pathologist and private practice owner of One-on-One Speech Therapy located in Raritan, NJ. She obtained her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Farwa presented at the 2022 American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) National Convention on ”Using Natural Language Acquisition to Support Autistic and Neurotypical Gestalt Language Development .“ She was awarded the 2021 and 2022 Award for Continuing Education (ACE) from ASHA.

Farwa is currently serving as President of Morris County Speech and Hearing Association. Farwa takes a holistic, sensory-driven, play-based approach to support children’s language development and goals.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• How starting your private practice can be the key to overcoming burnout and reigniting your passion
• Farwa’s proven tips to successfully attract clients - even if you’re just starting out
• The simple mindset shift that can propel you to success in your practice
• The secret to differentiating your private practice from all the others and attracting your ideal clients
• Little-known ways you can incorporate additional streams of income into your private practice for increased financial stability
• The power of connecting with other SLPs and how Farwa does it to grow her professional circle
• The simple way to exponentially grow your impact and make a lasting difference in your community

I love how Farwa started her own practice so she could operate within her zone of genius, Gestalt Language Therapy. She is a perfect example of someone who is growing their practice through multiple income streams and tailoring their offerings to their interests and skills.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit Farwa’s website: https://www.oneononespeechtherapy.com/

Follow Farwa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/one.on.one.speechtherapy

Gestalt Goodness:

Are you a neurodivergent SLP or OT thinking about starting your own private practice? This episode of Private Practice Success Stories is for you!

I sat down with Alex Green, a speech-language pathologist with a private practice called Green Family Therapies in La Verne, California. She grew up watching her mom work as a school-based SLP and fell in love with the field, but decided to start her private practice after being in an unsupportive work environment.

In this episode, Alex talks about how she almost left the field entirely after her clinical fellowship year where she felt exploited, overworked, and unsupported. She discusses how her daughter was the key to discovering her own ADHD diagnosis, and how having a clinical director has helped her maintain work-life balance as a neurodivergent SLP.

In 2022, Alexandria Green, MS, CCC-SLP, a seasoned entrepreneur and private practice owner, experienced a pivotal moment. Drawing from her 11-year journey in communication disorders and inspired by the collaborative spirit that defined her SLP community, she envisioned a platform to amplify the collective wisdom of Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs).

Motivated by her personal challenges as an undiagnosed neurodivergent ADHDer and a desire for work-life harmony, Alexandria founded the SLP Link. This dynamic platform serves as a haven where SLPs from diverse settings unite, share direct-access resources, and collectively elevate their practices through a supportive and collaborative community.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• What led Alex to start a private practice
• How she got her first client
• How Alex grew her private practice from nothing up to hiring over 10 therapists
• How she transitioned to virtual therapy during the pandemic
• The power of having a strong team as a large private practice owner with ADHD
• How Alex changed her life and business after her diagnosis
• Why private practice is perfect for people with ADHD

I hope you enjoyed this episode with Alex! I love how she learned how to work with her neurodivergence, not against it. The field of SLP is evolving and making progress when it comes to neurodivergence, and Alex is part of that change.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/Resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit Alex’s website: https://theslplink.com/

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theslplink/

Where We Can Connect:

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-practice-success-stories/id1374716199

Follow Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentclinician/

Connect on Facebook:

Feeling burned out? Wondering if private practice is the answer for you?

You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories. I sat down with Vanessa Alcala, who decided to start her private practice after feeling the effects of burnout and having the desire to be her own boss.

This is her second time on the show and she talks about her non-traditional journey to the field of SLP. Vanessa discusses how having her own private practice has helped her avoid burnout and how she has the freedom and flexibility to work with a variety of clients, ranging from bilingual children to older adults.

She also talks about the importance of branding your business and the additional streams of revenue she’s added to her practice.

Vanessa Alcala, M.S. CCC-SLP, CDP is the owner and founder of TheraVolve Wellness Co., a bilingual Speech Therapy private practice serving adolescents and adults. In her professional career, she has provided skilled evaluation and intervention services to children, adult and geriatric populations in outpatient settings and skilled nursing.

Vanessa is also the co-creator of Sip & Social, which creates opportunities for connection and collaboration for female entrepreneurs in the healthcare industry by hosting social networking events throughout the Tampa Bay area.

It is her mission to provide a holistic approach to speech therapy by utilizing evidence-based and culturally sensitive practices with clients, parents, caregivers, and families.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• Vanessa’s atypical journey to private practice
• The freedom you get when you have your own business
• The mindset shift that increased her success
• What a typical week looks like as a private practice owner
• The work Vanessa is doing with Sip and Social
• The power of building a referral network
• Why we don’t need to be competitive in private practice
• Why you don’t have to wait years to start a private practice
• The power of charging your worth
• A mindset shift around earning money in our profession
• Vanessa’s plans to hire help in her practice

I hope you loved this episode with Vanessa! She is a perfect example of someone who reduced her burnout and found freedom and flexibility through private practice. She has created her ideal career and life for herself by being her own boss, and you can too.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit Vanessa’s website: www.theravolvewellness.com

Follow Vanessa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theravolvewellness

Follow Vanessa on Facebook: Facebook.com/theravolvewellness

Follow Sip and Social on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.social/

Ever wish you could hear directly from the “regular” SLPs or OTs who transformed into successful private practitioners after going through the Start Your Private Practice Program?

Their words? Their experience? Their outcomes from being in the program?

Well, now you can!

In this episode of Private Practice Success Stories, I’m introducing you to 4 amazing Start Your Private Practice student alums: Kacie Bartlet, Emily Gavin, Caitlin Celendano, and Melissa Perez.

All 4 of these Start students came from different backgrounds and had their own unique reasons for starting their own private practices. Some had experienced burnout early on in their careers, and others wanted more freedom and flexibility in their day-to-day lives for their current - or future families. Others had a particular niche that they wanted to serve and knew that there weren’t enough services in their community.

All 4 of these students had the same fears, doubts, and hesitations as you do - but they decided to go for it, join The Start Your Private Practice Program, and create a new future for themselves.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• How each of these students decided to start a private practice
• The power of having a support system when starting a business
• The freedom that having a private practice gives you
• How the Start program helped these students figure out how to succeed
• What it’s like to start your practice on the side of your regular job
• How the Facebook community helps support students in the program
• The income potential with a private practice
• How to fund or access assessments when you’re first getting started
• The impact of collaborating with other practices in your area
• How to find clients for your private practice
• The benefits of investing in yourself

I hope you enjoyed this episode and that as you listened to their stories, you could see how you can do the same. They took a chance on themselves by joining the Start program, and it worked to give them the future they needed whether they were seeking freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, or financial independence.

Enrollment for the Start Program is open now! To enroll, just visit: PrivatePracticeCourse.com and you’ll get immediate access to the exact same program that Kacie, Emily, Caitlin, and Melissa all went through to get set up, started, and seeing private clients.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Enroll in the Start Your Private Practice program: PrivatePracticeCourse.com

Where We Can Connect:

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-practice-success-stories/id1374716199

Follow Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentclinician/

Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/slp.private.practice.beginners/

Wondering how you can get more clients in your private practice? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories!

I sat down with Melissa Perez, a speech-language pathologist with a private practice called Honeybee Speech in El Centro, California. She decided to start her private practice after experiencing burnout from teletherapy and discovering the Start Your Private Practice program in 2022.

Melissa has been one of our Start Start students who recently joined The Grow Your Private Practice Program.

Melissa grew quickly, quicker than she thought she would. In this episode, she talks about how she went from zero to 30 clients in the first 3 months of starting her practice. Melissa shares how she started out by renting a dentist’s waiting room for $50 a month, and expanded her practice through referrals and taking small, consistent steps.

Melissa Perez graduated with a Masters of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from New York University in May of 2020. She has spent the majority of their career working as a teletherapist for a clinic based in Palm Desert, CA. There, she had the opportunity to work with individuals across the lifespan with various communication difficulties.

It was during her time there that she found a true love for working with children with speech sound disorders and the early intervention population. Once the idea of opening a private practice popped into her head, she knew they wanted to focus on those two areas.

To date, it has been 8 months since she opened her private practice and it was truly the best decision she ever made.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• Why Melissa decided that private practice was right for her
• How her private practice took off
• Why you don’t have to start big, you can start small
• How Melissa went from 0-30 clients in 3 months
• The shift from traditional employment to fully self-employed
• The cool things that Melissa has on the horizon for her private practice
• Why other practices aren’t your competition
• Where Melissa gets her clients
• The power of running your practice like a business

I hope you enjoyed this episode with Melissa! I love how she found a way to grow her practice through a variety of referrals and by taking small, consistent steps in the right direction.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Follow Melissa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ivhoneybeespeech/

Where We Can Connect:

Follow the Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-practice-success-stories/id1374716199

Follow Me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentclinician/

Connect on Facebook:

Have you been thinking about starting a neurodiversity-affirming private practice? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories!

I sat down with Samantha Rothman, an occupational therapist with a private practice called Play and Purpose in Phoenix, Arizona. She decided to start her private practice after being laid off during the pandemic and realizing she didn’t want to rely on others for income anymore.

Join us as she talks about creating a neurodiversity-affirming practice with a whole-child approach. Samantha discusses how she grew her practice to include 5 therapists, as well as the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout as her practice grows.

Samantha is a licensed and board-certified pediatric occupational therapist, DIR Floortime provider, and the owner/founder of Play and Purpose. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Health and a Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Florida Gulf Coast University.

She enjoys using a "whole child" approach, including all aspects of being human-especially focusing on emotional and mental health. She is passionate about using child-led and non-compliance-based techniques to promote engagement and self-advocacy skills.

Samantha has experience working with children who have unique needs and consulting with schools/parents to ensure great outcomes. Additionally, she enjoys helping parents to advocate for services and programs that may be beneficial to the child's progress.

Outside of patient care, Samantha is devoting time to mentoring new therapists and building/supporting our team. In her free time, she enjoys reading, kayaking, traveling, and weightlifting.

In Today's Episode, We Discuss:

• How being laid off led to her starting a private practice
• Why Samantha decided to focus on neurodiversity-affirming practices
• The burnout many therapists feel in traditional settings
• How Samantha eased into private practice
• The freedom and happiness you get when you have your own private practice
• Why boundaries are so important in private practice
• When she decided it was time to hire help
• How Samantha helps her employees feel valued and appreciated
• How she finds her clients using Facebook networking groups and referrals
• Samantha’s plans for the future of her private practice

I hope you loved this episode with Samantha! I love how she focuses on neurodiversity-affirming approaches and created a practice that allows her to provide the quality care her clients deserve.

If you would like to know more about our Programs and how we help support SLPs and OTs who want our help to start and grow their practices, please visit www.IndependentClinician.com/resources.

Whether you want to start a private practice or grow your existing private practice, I can help you get the freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and financial abundance that you deserve. Visit my website www.independentclinician.com to learn more.

Resources Mentioned:

Visit Samantha’s website: https://playandpurposeaz.com/

Follow Samantha on Instagram: ​https://www.instagram.com/playandpurposeaz/

Where We Can Connect:

Follow the Podcast: