Speechie Side Hustle

30: From Hospital Leadership to Private Practice Success: Building a Niche Adult SLP Clinic

In this episode, we interview Kristin Winter, owner of SpeechRx in Stuart, Florida, about transitioning from a hospital leadership role to building an adult-only private practice specializing in dysphagia, voice, and head and neck cancer care. Kristin explains how her side hustle began in 2020 with home visits, grew into an office-based clinic centered on in-office FEES, and expanded to a team of four clinicians with specialized roles. She shares early marketing tactics (flyers, rack cards, physician outreach, networking, chamber of commerce), conducting market analysis by “searching like a patient,” and using support groups and community education to drive referrals and outcomes. Kristin discusses credentialing and the realities of insurance participation, emphasizing Medicare’s importance, renegotiating rates, and going out-of-network when reimbursements are unsustainable.

29: Turning Clinical Skills into a Children’s Book

In this episode we are joined by Tori Ross, Speech-Language Pathologist, owner of Talking with Tori Speech Therapy, and author of Once Upon a Doodle: An Alliance Adventure. Tori explains how her school and private-practice experience shaped an interactive wipe-clean “choose your own adventure” book designed to increase engagement, support early language, narrative development, early literacy, and motor speech needs through short phrases, predictable story structure, story grammar elements, sequencing/retell supports, and problem-solving prompts. She shares ways parents, educators, and clinicians can embed goals during shared reading—purposeful open-ended questions, modeling/expanding language, natural articulation and phonological awareness practice—and describes companion downloadable activities accessed via QR code. Tori cites dialogic reading research showing greater language gains than passive reading and encourages clinicians to create needed resources grounded in evidence-based practice.

[Podcourse] The Science of Collaboration: Moving from Independent Practice to Integrated Care Models

In this podcourse episode, we are joined by Rachael Ioquinto on interprofessional collaboration (IPC) and integrated care models, outlining learning outcomes around defining integrated care, identifying factors that drive siloed practice, and applying strategies to build collaborative teams. Rachael is the owner of Simpli Speech and co-founder of the Kids Therapy Co. in Michigan. She describes independent, parallel, and integrated care, and explains how coordinated, trust-based teamwork improves client outcomes, reduces fragmentation for families, and supports clinician sustainability. Rachael shares how productivity-focused systems and business barriers (including insurance limits on co-treats) contribute to isolation, and how intentional meetings, family inclusion, affirmative language, and curiosity-driven outreach enable collaboration. She also discusses relationship-based marketing and partnerships (e.g., OT, feeding therapists, myofunctional therapy, pediatric chiropractors), plus mentorship tips for new grads and resources by Bowman & Suarez and Bennett & Gadlin.

[Podcourse] From Overworked to Aligned: REDEFINING SUCCESS AS AN SLP ENTREPRENEUR

In this podcourse episode, we are joined by Natasha Agha, a Speech-Language Pathologist, private practice strategist, and alignment coach, as she explains burnout as chronic stress, dysregulation, and misalignment rather than personal failure or a motivation problem, emphasizing that system-level workplace interventions can be more effective than individual coping strategies. Natasha discusses early burnout signs (irritability, dread, emotional numbness, feeling on edge), how nervous system overload, cognitive load, emotional labor, and decision fatigue contribute, and why “just do less” is insufficient. She also sites practical strategies include time audits, designing an ideal week, clarifying boundaries and invisible labor, batching tasks to match energy patterns, tracking daily wins, and focusing passions in seasons or themed days.

28: Your Prescription for Visibility and Credibility in an OverSaturated Market

In this episode, we feature Jocelyn Wood, a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, media contributor, and owner of Everyday Language Co, to discuss media pitching as an intentional, sustainable visibility system rather than a one-time hustle. Jocelyn defines media pitching as approaching outlets such as podcasts, local media, magazines, or blogs with ideas that serve their audiences while representing your services. She shares how pitching expands reach beyond social media, and how a repeatable system can make pitching quick, lead to ongoing editor relationships, and even create paid opportunities. Jocelyn outlines two approaches—responding to editorial requests and cold pitching—and recommends building a spreadsheet of target outlets, brainstorming timely and evergreen topics, and using short, audience-focused pitches. She also notes common mistakes, explains SEO and backlink benefits, shares outcomes from features, and describes her Pitch Rx program and where to connect with her.