I began seeing a few clients privately beginning around 2007, and gradually saw an increasing number of clients over the years. I took the leap to full-time private practice in 2015. I always liked the idea of having my own business and the creativity and autonomy that it offers. For example, (with respect to autonomy) in private practice I am able to streamline and really focus in on the population I treat. Although I have treated many disorders in the past, my passion lies with treating speech sound disorders in kindergarten and school-age children, and my caseload is now exclusively this population. 

From a creative perspective, I launched my Party Animals line of products in 2020. The line started with the book Party Animals! A Wild Collection of Speech Sound Poems and have since expanded to include two sets of cards and a poster. Our newest product, Party Time Bingo, recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign and is expected to be released later this year. These products are very much a reflection of my philosophy and approach in therapy, and while heavily speech-and-language-related, also allow me to tackle novel challenges and add tremendous variety to my work as a speech-language pathologist.

I value the independence clinically in terms of being able to have a focus area in my caseload, and I find the business aspects of working for myself exciting and tremendously fulfilling. 

"My passion lies with treating speech sound disorders in kindergarten and school-age children, and my caseload is now exclusively this population."

Having a private practice means being comfortable with a high degree of risk. The caseload and income generated can be unstable, and retirement, pension and benefit options limited. In addition, clinicians might feel unsupported without the ongoing presence and support of colleagues. Finally, many of the drier aspects of business (read admin and bookkeeping) are on your shoulders as a business owner. There’s an ongoing learning curve that I don’t believe we are adequately prepared for in our field. 

The best advice I got when I started was to start small. Build gradually so that you don’t need to learn everything at once.

A degree of comfort with risk is essential, and successful practice owners approach these risks as opportunities for creative problem-solving/strategic planning rather than as setbacks. Another important trait is flexibility – allow your business to evolve as you grow and learn. You may need to steer in a different direction than you first envisioned as it develops. An openness to learn from others both within and outside of our field is also instrumental.