This episode will have you captivated, motivated and in awe!  Kim and Mary feature Barbara Fernandes, an SLP, author, CEO of Smarty Ears and Smarty Symbols, advocate, and educator.  To say she has taken her business and created something so unique and on her own terms is an understatement.  She is a testament that staying true to who you are and on the path that you believe in will create a life full of joy and meaning.   Barbara's educational journey began in Brazil, where she pursued speech-language pathology. She moved to the US as part of an exchange program at Temple ..read more

In this episode, hosts Mary Brezik and Kim Dillon discuss all things AAC, podcasting (The Speechie Side Up Podcast), presenting and more with guest Venita Litvack, a speech therapist and entrepreneur. Venita details her progression in specializing in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and her eventual roles including an AAC consultant (where she helped numerous SLPs get insurance approvals for devices) and an assistive technology specialist. She shares her experiences in private practice, exploring various areas of speech therapy before returning to her passion for AAC.  Ve ..read more

SLP Annie Gist joins us this week to share her remarkable journey from an employee to a proud owner of the speech therapy practice, Play on Words.  After working for a private practice for several years, Annie was staying home with her 2 little girls and living the mom life when she found herself in a position as a single mom needing to bring in income.  Annie shares about the growth from seeing kids in her neighborhood to running a successful brick-and-mortar practice in an old home that offers a curiosity for kids and endless language opportunities.  It's a path that might hav ..read more

Ashley Christensen, an experienced speech language pathologist with a background in educational settings, leveraged her expertise to create My Magic Words Speech Sound Academy, a digital speech course born out of a successful Zoom session.  The name of the program stems from affirmations she would consistently use at the beginning of each speech session with her students, which were a central part of her teaching approach. In episode 6 of our "How I Built My Speech Path Business,"  Ashley shares the comprehensive journey of developing and launching her digital course. She discusses ..read more

In our 6th episode of this season's "How I Built My Speech Path Business," Kim and Mary talk to Jenna Rayburn Kirk, a pioneer in the world of digital creation and blogging and owner of Speech Room News. Her story begins in graduate school, with a literacy intervention program that set the stage for her online venture.   Working as an SLP in the schools for many years, Jenna has created hundreds of resources that can be accessed by other speech therapists.  As she shares her experiences, you'll learn how crucial it is to keep publishing and nurturing connections within the SLP communi ..read more

On this episode of the series "How I Built my Speech Path Business," we talk with SLP Jacey Bullock.  Jacey spent the beginning of her career as a speech therapist in the school setting, and once she became pregnant with her 3rd child, she knew she wanted to create an opportunity for herself that would allow more time with her children while still using her passion and knowledge as a therapist.  What started as testing out the waters seeing a couple of kids privately quickly turned into a full blown speech therapy clinic with several speech therapists working with and for her.  ..read more

Whitney McMullin joins us on the Speech Source Podcast with an insightful conversation that shares her experience of balancing contract work with the entrepreneurial spirit. She discusses how she sidestepped the pressures of productivity quotas to craft a career that's both fulfilling and flexible. Her journey is a testament to setting boundaries that work with her dual role as a clinician and mother. We discuss contracting with companies, her unique hybrid approach with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) and a mobile private practice, the importance of knowing personal clinical strengths and ..read more

In this episode, we talk with speech pathologist Belle Ormiston about her journey in blending creativity with the discipline of speech pathology. Belle's entry into entrepreneurship began as an endeavor to fill a gap she observed in the market during the global pandemic—an absence of merchandise that connected and appealed to speech therapy professionals. The creation of her product line, Bee the SLP, marked the beginning of a new chapter.  Continuing as a full time speech therapist at a local pediatric hospital in her city, Belle is balancing her day to day work with entrepreneurship.&n ..read more

In the first episode of our new series "How I Built My Speech Path Business," we talk to pediatric speech pathologist Marcia Church.  Over the last few years, Marcia has built her private practice in the Dallas, Texas area called Pediatric Speech Stars.  Not only has she grown her pediatric private speech practice into a thriving business, but she has also created resources for other speech pathologists to successfully market and brand their own business, as well as an online retail shop with cute apparel for speech therapists!  Pediatric Speech Stars provides families with dir ..read more

On this episode of the series "How I Built my Speech Path Business," we talk with SLP Jacey Bullock.  Jacey spent the beginning of her career as a speech therapist in the school setting, and once she became pregnant with her 3rd child, she knew she wanted to create an opportunity for herself that would allow more time with her children while still using her passion and knowledge as a therapist.  What started as testing out the waters seeing a couple of kids privately quickly turned into a full blown speech therapy clinic with several speech therapists working with and for her.  ..read more