From On-The-Side to Full-Time Private Practice
What resources I’ve been using in this transition
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Transitioning from my private practice being “on the side” with no more than four clients to this practice being a part-time venture has been quite the process. I’m fortunate there are many, many other SLPs and other allied heath practitioners who have done this before. I’m even more fortunate they haven’t kept things to themselves and have offered some guidance along the way. It’s my hope I am able to do this for some who have this little inkling that’s nudging them to take the leap. But, before I get into the resources I’ve been using, I’m going to take a quick aside.
Let’s face it: It’s hard to know what you want to do when you are constantly faced with the cool things others are doing on social media. We scroll through other’s lives and think, “Should I be doing that? What about this? Is that something I need to do?” Let’s not forget the broad field of speech pathology and all we are able to do within our field. It’s a lot. It’s overwhelming. The super fun Instagram Algorithm is also front loading our feeds with what we engage with most and I know my feed is often full of amazing SLPs doing awesome things that make me step back from what I’m doing and go, “Wait…is this what I should be doing?” Take the information and any inspiration you might draw from others but find the career that brings you joy and happiness. Don’t let others serve as your barometer. Each one of us is different.
Okay, back to it. RESOURCES!
SimplePractice: I am really loving SimplePractice. It has a lot of features I really like. I am currently in the middle of trialing (free) the $99/mo Plus Plan. I think once I am at the end of my free trial, I’ll be bumping down to the Essential Plan, which is $69/mo. If I were to hire someone within my business, I’d have to up to the Plus Plan but that’s not the case as of this blog post. I like that things are all in one place. I was previously using IvyPay for billing and loved that, but having my billing in the same spot as everything else is beautiful. IvyPay’s processing fee was lower (2.75%) and SimplePractice is 3.15% + $0.30 for each transaction. There is also the option to have clients pay cash or card. The reason I ended up transitioning to SimplePractice was to have everything in one spot. In SimplePractice, I’m able to create eval, SOAP note, and progress note templates, as well as track my income and provide other analytics like what percentage of my appointments have shown and if I have all my notes completed. It also sends clients an invoice and has a client portal that allows parents/guardians/clients to have access to shared documents. It has also made my intake process significantly easier. I was able to transfer my previous documents I was using for intake over to SimplePractice and send it all to the parents with just the click of a button. I previously set up what is included in my “intake packet” and that makes it super duper fast when it comes to sending out intake forms. If you want to take SimplePractice for spin, take a peak over at my link to get to your free trial going: Messy SLP Affiliate Link This link gets you up to 2 months free trial. Take it for a spin without the financial commitment!
QuickBooks: I have not quite explored all that QuickBooks has to offer but what I do use daily is the mileage feature. It is a lot easier to track mileage using the app than remembering to do it on my own. I have toyed with the “receipts” feature that allows me to track my spending and such. Again, helpful around tax time. I don’t have a ton to report about QuickBooks except the mileage feature makes it worth it for me!
Google Voice: So, I remember the first time I called a parent from my cell and my (909) area code (a CA area code) popped up here in Indiana. They were confused and sent me to voicemail, thinking I was spam. I signed up for Google Voice shortly after. It allows me to have a business line with a local area code and also allows me a separate place to communicate with parents. If I get a text or call on that number outside of my “business hours” it’s easier and I’m less likely to forget it in my message inbox. I have started to turn off notifications for that app after a certain time and on Sundays. It’s been really helpful for me to separate and turn off my work mode.
Canva: I am not the most artistically creative individual. I love Canva because my lack of artistic ability doesn’t inhibit me from making eye-catching content for stories or my static posts. There are tons of templates that are awesome. I was able to easily edit my logo with the new business name and get it rolling out super fast.
Google Forms: Okay, this has been one of the most helpful things for me. I love, love, love this addition. I essentially have this as a preliminary “get to know you”. I get to learn about the child, what parent concerns are, and if they’re in an area I see kids in since I do in-home services only. This has significantly cut down how many emails are sent back and forth and it gives me the info I need that I’d otherwise take notes on if we were doing a phone call. I also have a spot that links to my rates page so parents know exactly what they’d be paying and if that’s okay for them or if we need to discuss alternatives. This is helpful being private pay only. It cuts down the amount of back and forth and ensures I don’t miss anything. This has been just a great resource for me. I have made a copy of my business’ form for you to view and see what it looks like. Please do not submit responses. Google Form Example
While there are a lot of things I’ve used to get this business growing from being on the side, these are the primary resources I’ve been using to get things going. I don’t promote things I don’t love and I love these resources.