Private Practice Success Stories

Thinking about working part-time in private practice and want to make more money? Then you don’t want to miss this episode! In this episode of Private Practice Success Stories, I sat down with Marissa Joy, a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in Eastern Pennsylvania. Her practice “Ripple Speech Services” focuses on speech, myofunctional, and feeding therapy and she’s also offered Lactation Consulting. Marissa discusses her decision to open her practice due to her personal experiences with her son's feeding issues and a desire to help other parents avoid the struggles she faced. She joined The Start Your Private Practice Program because she wanted guidance and structure to launch her business. In addition to her private clients, Marissa secured a small school contract which has provided extra financial stability while maintaining the flexibility to focus on her private practice. This arrangement allowed her to balance her professional and personal life, including spend

Have you been thinking about starting a private practice on the side in a niche you are passionate about? Then you’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with Kyarra Bright, one of my Start Your Private Practice students to share her story. Kyarra is a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in Orange County, California specializing in infant feeding. She started her private practice after having frustrations with patients being prematurely discharged and not receiving continued services, which led to her private practice “Little Pod Speech and Feeding Therapy.” In this episode, Kyarra shares her desire to continue working at a hospital while having her practice on the side allowing her to maintain her passion for hospital work and provide continuity of care for discharged patients. Kyarra also reflects on her journey in the Start Your Private Practice Program and how the program helped redefine what success meant to her.After working

Thinking about starting your private practice on the side? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories with SLP Instagram hero Dr. Dani Gaff! Dr. Dani Gaff aka The Messy SLP launched her practice, Messy Speech and Language Therapy, part-time on the side of her school job. However, the joy and fulfillment she found in private practice, coupled with the autonomy it provided, ultimately convinced her to take the plunge to go full-time. Dani is an alum of the Start Your Private Practice Program and in this episode, she shares her journey from being a part-time private practitioner to fully shifting into full-time private practice. Dani also discusses the financial benefits she discovered, and how she nearly doubled her income by combining school contracts with her private practice work. Despite the challenges and uncertainties, she is loving the unparalleled freedom and fulfillment she now experiences.Dr. Dani Gaff, aka The Messy SLP, is a pediatric speech-langua

Have you been thinking about starting a private practice early in your career? If so, this episode is for you! In this episode of Private Practice Success Stories, I sat down with Breeah Carey, a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in New Jersey. She started her private practice at just 26 years old after getting the inspiration from other young private practitioners who had the flexibility and freedom she was striving for. After feeling stuck in a negative work environment, she decided to start her own practice.  In this episode, Breeah and I discuss a major shift with the younger generation who is simply not willing to wait for the freedom, flexibility, and income they desire. Breeah S. Carey, M.S., CCC-SLP is a New Jersey native and the Director of B.E.S. As the daughter of an educator, Breeah was always interested in serving her community, similar to her mother. Breeah graduated from Purdue University and received her undergraduate degree in Speech,

Welcome to The See Clients Challenge, VIP!This week, your only job is to show up, use your VIP tools, and take action.Because this isn’t just about learning. It’s about building your exit plan.You’re ready. And I can’t wait to watch what you do with this.Let’s go.VIP Area: SeePrivateClientsChallenge.com

Have you been thinking about providing parent coaching and want to connect with your client’s families and your community through your private practice? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with Sarah Pendergast, a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in Tampa, Florida. She launched her practice, Awesome Kids Therapy, in August 2023 after working in multiple private practices and finally decided she wanted to be her own boss.Despite initial doubts about her ability to start her own practice, between the pandemic and support from her friends, she decided to join the Start Your Private Practice Program to get help with getting set up so she could start seeing clients.In this episode, Sarah emphasizes the importance of community engagement and connection by providing caregiver coaching. She also highlights the value of organization, work-life balance, and having a supportive network.Sarah Pendergast, an enthusiastic and child-led speech-l

Have you been thinking about starting a private practice because you want to prioritize family and extra income? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with Kristen Fernandez who is a speech language pathologist and the owner of Spark Pediatric Therapy in Northern Virginia. She started her private practice after being drawn to the independence, flexibility, and financial benefits that owning a private practice offers. I got to know Kristen during her time in the Grow Your Private Practice Program and it has been amazing to see the success in her private practice in just 1 year! In this episode, she talks about her background in school settings and previous experiences in private practices, which led to her inspiration to start her own practice using a child-centered, play-based therapy approach that is neurodiversity-affirming. Kristen discusses the importance of setting boundaries, self-care, and prioritizing personal well-being to sustain a fulf

Have you been thinking about starting a private practice while still being there for your family when they need you? You’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with Marcia Church, a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in Dallas, Texas. In this episode, Marcia shares her journey from working in various locations and settings before establishing her private practice. I got to know Marcia during her time in the Grow Your Private Practice Program. She has expanded her practice by hiring and offering additional income streams such as marketing and branding services to SLPs. In this episode, she talks about her journey into private practice as a mom and how enforcing boundaries in her business allows her to remain flexible and available for her children.Marcia Church, M.A., CCC-SLP is a Texas Licensed, ASHA certified Speech Pathologist of over 14 years and owns Pediatric Speech Stars, a boutique private practice in the Dallas-Fort Worth

Have you been thinking about starting to see private clients and are curious about offering Special Education Consultations through your practice? If so, you’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories! I sat down with one of my students, Ali Moulton. Ali is a pediatric speech language pathologist with a private practice in Northern Virginia. She started her private practice after reevaluating her priorities to focus on family and fulfilling her aspirations as a clinician. In this episode, she discusses the importance of family and personal fulfillment in her decision to pursue private practice. She also discusses how she added another income stream to her private practice in the form of special education consultations and advocacy work - and how starting to specialize made her sought after for these services. Ali is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed as a Speech-Language Pathologist by the Commonwealth of Virginia

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

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 Ho

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 Pathol

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 co

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 childre

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 Th

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 h

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, inclu

Have you ever thought about starting a coaching-based private practice? You’re going to love this episode! I sat down with Emily Gavin who decided to take the leap into private practice with encouragement from her peers and spouse after being laid off from her job.In this episode, she talks about her journey from SNFs and inpatient rehab to owning her own dementia-focused business. Emily shares how caring for her mother-in-law with dementia inspired her special interest. Emily S. Gavin, MS, OTR/L, came to occupational therapy as a second career in 2012 at the age of 41. After a few years of clinical work in geriatrics, she transitioned into a management position at a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in Philadelphia, PA. This non-traditional setting allowed her the freedom to develop specialized knowledge in dementia care training, though she always felt the vulnerability of being a middle manager. Being laid off in May of 2023 seemed like the perfect time to start Phill

Have you ever dreamed of opening a small niche private practice so you can specialize in working with your dream clients? If so, you’re going to love this episode of Private Practice Success Stories. I sat down with Jodie Wallis, who decided to take the leap into private practice when her mentor moved locations, leaving an opening in her area.In this episode, she talks about how she discovered her love of feeding therapy and turned it into her own private practice, what it’s like to have ADHD as an SLP and entrepreneur, and the importance of hiring an assistant to manage her workload. Jodie Wallis is a speech-language pathologist and certified lactation counselor who specializes in pediatric feeding. She focuses on functional outcomes with the ultimate goal of helping to reduce stress in families related to feeding difficulties. She is committed to helping families feel heard and supported.Her approach combines skilled intervention with parent coaching so that a child’s therapy plan can easily be in