Blog Posts

16 Years and Growing in a Pandemic: Robyn's Story

8/14/2020

Robin Drothler is a private practitioner who has been growing her practice for over 16 years. Even in the midst of a pandemic, she has seen growth within her business, Advantage Speech Therapy Services. We talk about how she went from seeing private clients on the side to going full-fledged into running a private practice. She shares the referral sources that led to clients early on in her business and how she learned to navigate becoming a service provider for insurance companies. She also tells us her experience of growing her practice during the pandemic and advice for other SLPs who are considering private practice.

What we discuss:

Robin’s story of what led her to the speech-language therapy field
How the early intervention program helped her gain referrals
Her experience of becoming a service provider for insurance companies
What her private practice has been like during the pandemic

Links:
Advantage Speech Therapy Services

For more information, visit: www.IndependentClinician.com

Guest: Robyn Drothler, M.ED. CCC-SLP & Owner
As the owner of ASTS, Inc., Robyn graduated from the College of Wooster in 1995 with an undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Psychology. She then worked for 3 years in the Manatee County School District in Florida after which she graduated from Valdosta State University with a Masters in Education in May 2000.
During her three years in Gwinnett County, post graduate, she earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence while also simultaneously working for other private therapy companies on the side. ASTS was founded in 2002.
Robyn is an ASHA member and both nationally and state certified with continuing post graduate education courses to continue to develop her knowledge in the field.

Host: Jena H. Castro-Casbon, MS, CCC-SLP
Jena is a private-practice consultant who has helped thousands of speech-language pathologists start and grow their own private practices through her company, The Independent Clinician. She has written articles for The ASHA Leader and Presented at ASHA Connect (2017).

You'll find her online in the SLP Private Practice Beginners Facebook Group and in her premium programs, The Start Your Private Practice System and the Grow Your Private Practice Coaching Program.

Jena lives in Boston, MA and is a wife and mama to two young boys.

From 4 Kids on Fridays to 2 Locations and 40 Employees: Carrie's Story

8/7/2020

Carrie Hinnant became a private practice owner and in just 6 years in the business, she has grown her practice to two locations with over 40 employees. She went from serving just a few kids one day a week to now serving about 1,000 sessions per month with her team. We talk about how advice from a professor led her to this career and how a mishap at a practice she was working for led her to starting her practice. She talks about the need for adaption in this field, learning to wear many hats as a business owner and a great tip on where to find referrals! She shares how she grew her practice and her advice on finding the right people to help serve your clients.

What we discuss:

How she got into her career as an SLP after advice from a professor
Her advice for someone who wants to do a private practice but is scared of failure
Why she believes in hiring people who are excited to learn and the strategies she uses to retain employees
Her plans for expanding and having a multidisciplinary approach

Links:
Carolina Therapeutics

For more information, visit: www.IndependentClinician.com

Guest: Carrie J. Hinnant, M.A., CCC-SLP, CAS
Carrie is a Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Autism Specialist, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst student. Carrie attended The College of Charleston and earned a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Psychology. While practicing as an ABA line therapist while pursuing her undergraduate degree, Carrie fell in love with patients who have special needs. Carrie received her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from South Carolina State University.

Carrie is married to her loving husband, Chip, and loves raising her sweet, little girl, Charlotte. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, taking trips to Lake Keowee, and playing with her pups Ruxin and Millie.

Host: Jena H. Castro-Casbon, MS, CCC-SLP,
Jena is a private-practice consultant who has helped thousands of speech-language pathologists start and grow their own private practices through her company, The Independent Clinician. She has written articles for The ASHA Leader and Presented at ASHA Connect (2017).

You'll find her online in the SLP Private Practice Beginners Facebook Group and in her premium programs, The Start Your Private Practice System and the Grow Your Private Practice Coaching Program.

Jena lives in Boston, MA and is a wife and mama to two young boys.

Where are they now? Kate Williams + Michelle Ogston

7/31/2020

Kate Williams is back to share how her private practice has grown since we last spoke in early 2019. In this episode, Kate also brought on someone who works with her, Michelle Ogston. These two talk about the shift they made to a more holistic practice. Kate and Michelle discuss how they’ve diversified their services by adding in a life coaching aspect to further help their clients and their loved ones. They also talk about their move to a group setting and creating other systems for success to help further speech therapy progress. The two also share some advice on sitting in the why and using this time as an opportunity to go inward and really dive into who you are, what you value and what you hope to bring to the world.

What we discuss:

What’s been going on for Kate this past year
How having a life coach in their practice has helped their clients
How they noticed a need and developed something for that
What they’re doing to help other clinicians
Their hopes for the next year within their practice
Kate and Michelle’s advice for having a holistic practice

Links:
"Self-Care for Private Practitioners" with Katie Samples-Willams, SLP
Santa Rosa Speech Therapy
Kate’s Instagram
Cloud9 Life Coaching

Guest: Kate Williams, CCC-SLP
Kate is a nationally certified Speech-Language Pathologist from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed by the California Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiology Board. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree with honors in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from California State University-Sacramento and earned her Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences from the University of Oregon. She interned in medical speech-language pathology at Oregon Health Services University in Portland, Oregon with a strong emphasis on swallow disorders and head and neck cancer, including laryngectomy. Kate’s advanced clinical training includes certifications in LSVT for people with Parkinson’s and FastForWard for auditory processing.

Guest: Michelle Ogston, CLC
Michele has been an integral part of Santa Rosa Speech & Language Services since 2008. She is often referred to as the “Lucy” (of the Peanuts cartoon) of our practice and is usually the first point of contact with clients. Her role as our office manager goes well beyond the scope of her traditional medical management. Although Michele has over 16 years of management experience and holds certifications in telephone communication, office etiquette, billing, and workplace ergonomics, it is her role as a Certified Life Coach (CLC) of which she is most proud. Michele uses her training and her experience to not only manage our office but also is instrumental in leading several of our groups. She answers questions and sets expectations about our services that are done professionally and confidentially. Her compassionate nature, positive personality, and reliant smile help put potential clients at ease while letting them know how we can help. In her downtime, Michele loves being with her family and fur babies. She also enjoys traveling and spending time at the ocean. Outside of our office, Michele runs her own life coaching business, Coaching 9 Life Coaching. She is a firm believer in the practice of mediation and mindfulness which make her the perfect fit for our team.

Host: Jena Castro-Casbon, MS CCC-SLP
Jena H. Castro-Casbon, MS, CCC-SLP, is a private-practice consultant who has helped thousands of speech-language pathologists start and grow their own private practices through her company, The Independent Clinician. She has written articles for The ASHA Leader and Presented at ASHA Connect (2017).

You'll find her online in the SLP Private Practice Beginners Facebook Group and in her premium programs, The Start Your Private Practice System and the Grow Your Private Practice Coaching Program.

Jena lives in Boston, MA and is a wife and mama to two young boys.

Growing Her Private Practice, Her Education Business and Her Impact: Jessie's Story with jessie ginsburg, ms ccc-slp

7/23/2020

What we discuss:

What her early career as a speech-language pathologist was like
Her journey of building and growing her private practice
Their process of finding their core values as a company and defining what they believe in
How she’s developed an education-based model to help serve clinicians

Guest: Jessie Ginsburg, M.S CCC-SLP
Jessie received her Master's from Chapman University and her Bachelor's from University of Redlands.

Jessie created ASD from the Inside Out, an online course for speech-language pathologists working with young children on the autism spectrum.

Jessie is from Carmel, California. She has two little boys, Connor and Tucker, and a rescue dog named Emmy. She enjoys having dance parties with her little boys and family sushi outings.

Host: Jena H. Castro-Casbon, MS CCC-SLP
Jena H. Castro-Casbon, MS, CCC-SLP, is a private-practice consultant who has helped thousands of speech-language pathologists start and grow their own private practices through her company, The Independent Clinician. She has written articles for The ASHA Leader and Presented at ASHA Connect (2017).

You'll find her online in the SLP Private Practice Beginners Facebook Group and in her premium programs, The Start Your Private Practice System and the Grow Your Private Practice Coaching Program.

Jena lives in Boston, MA and is a wife and mama to two young boys.

this episode is sponsored by:

"Tragedy to Triumph: Beth's First 9 Months in Private Practice" with beth brady, m.s ccc-slp

7/18/2020

What we discuss:

How she got started as a speech-language pathologist
What made her decide to start a private practice of her own
How she overcame unexpectedly losing her business partner
What Beth’s been working on for her business to help expand her caseload

Guest: Beth Brady, MS CCC-SLP
Beth is the co-founder of Talk Play Grow and the lead Speech Language Pathologist. She started Talk Play Grow in 2019 with Michelle out of a love of working with children and because she felt passionate about providing innovative therapy in a family and child-centered environment. Beth has been a licensed, certified Speech Language Pathologist for 8 years. Her resume includes working with children and adults of all ages in a variety of settings, including skilled nursing facilities, public and charter schools, home health, and a therapy clinic.

This episode is sponsored by:

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