Knowing Your Worth: Nicole Judratis on Starting a Rural Speech Therapy Practice

Nicole Judratis's father didn't mince words. She was explaining the rates she'd been charging at her new private practice in Oglesby, Illinois. He heard her out, then said what she needed to hear.

"Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services organization. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family."

She cried. And then she started charging what her services were actually worth.

Nicole is the first guest on Clinic Chats, and her story is one part rural access mission, one part honest reckoning with the business reality every private practice SLP eventually has to face.

Nine Years Before the Leap

Before starting Speech Suite 815 in May 2018, Nicole spent nine years across hospital, school, and outpatient settings. Six of those years were at a local hospital, giving her broad exposure (infant feeding, early intervention, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) that would eventually become her differentiator in a rural market.

She's careful and deliberate by nature. So when she finally made the move to private practice, she didn't just quit and go all in. She built in a safety net: two days a week contracted with a local school district for guaranteed hours, two days building her private caseload. Fifty-fifty, by design.

"I just knew that those seven guaranteed hours two days a week were going to be the same income coming in. It kept my anxiety down a little bit."

Smart. It meant she could grow without white-knuckling the finances through year one.

Year Two: All In

By her second year, Nicole was ready to commit fully. She stepped away from the school contract, not without difficulty, because she genuinely liked the staff and the kids. But she knew she couldn't give 100% to two things at once.

Today, Speech Suite 815 is a solo practice. Just Nicole. One insurance accepted (recommended by other Illinois-based SLPs in private practice Facebook groups as the most reliable payer in the state), with plans to expand thoughtfully. No brick-and-mortar overhead to speak of.

She's still learning as she goes. But she's building something real and sustainable.

The Rates Conversation

Nicole describes herself as having a "bleeding heart." Her instinct is to bend for families, discount a session, forgive a cancellation, make exceptions when life gets complicated. That empathy is exactly what makes her good at what she does.

But unchecked empathy, without a business brain running alongside it, will sink a practice.

It took her father's candid push and several honest conversations to get there. She realized that undercharging wasn't just hurting her, it was undervaluing the field.

"I think we are significantly underpaid as speech therapists, and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. If I didn't recognize my own worth, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general."

The hours she spent at specialty trainings over weekends, away from her family, to bring services back to her rural community, those have real value. She learned to charge accordingly.

Filling a Real Gap

What makes Nicole's story stand out beyond the business journey is what she's actually trying to build in her community. Families in the Oglesby area drive an hour to an hour and a half, sometimes two hours with traffic, to access infant feeding therapy, oral myofunctional treatment, and other specialized services that should be available locally.

Nicole is positioning herself to provide those services close to home. She's reached out to local breastfeeding support groups, connected with lactation consultants, and is building referral relationships with pediatricians who can point families her way before they make that long drive.

"Dealing with a newborn and having that commitment of driving that far weekly, that is just a lot. It hurts my heart."

That's not marketing language. That's a speech-language pathologist who sees a gap and can't look away from it.

Starting Small Is Still Starting

Nicole's closing advice for anyone considering the leap: you don't need a clinic, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, or a room full of expensive therapy materials to call yourself a private practice.

Two private pay clients on the side. No insurance. No lease. That's private practice. Get your feet wet, learn the business, and scale when the demand tells you to.

"It's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator."

And get on those Illinois-specific private practice Facebook groups. She credits them with some of the most practical, state-specific guidance she's found anywhere.

Building a solo practice means juggling everything at once. ClinicNote is a HIPAA-compliant EMR built specifically for private practices and university clinics, handling documentation, scheduling, and billing in one place so you can spend more time on the families you're there to serve. See how ClinicNote works.

Transcript

Kadie: You are listening to Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice, a podcast full of personal journeys where we will not only talk about success stories, but also real life struggles of small business startups. Clinic Chats is sponsored by ClinicNote, a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based EMR platform used specifically by private practice owners and university clinics. I'm your host, Kadie Jackstadt, and this is Episode 2.

Kadie: Hi there to all of our listeners today. I'm speaking with Nicole Judratis, the owner of Speech Suite 815 in Oglesby, Illinois. I cannot wait to hear your journey today. Hi, Nicole. Thanks for joining me. And how are you doing?

Nicole: I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.

Kadie: Yes. You are actually our very first guest on Clinic Chats. So we really appreciate you calling in for the beginning of this exciting adventure in podcasting. Today, I'd like to begin with some information regarding your private practice. So to jump right in, can you tell me a little bit about where Speech Suite is today?

Nicole: Sure. Well, I have been doing this for about a year now, a little over a year. So I started about May 2018. And I kind of live in a rural area, and I really wanted to focus on pediatric therapy. So I've started it. It started kind of slowly. And this year, I'm kind of jumping in with both feet and really trying to grow my practice now.

Kadie: So before starting your private practice, were you in the schools? Is that correct?

Nicole: I was in a combination of places. So for about nine years, prior to me starting my own private practice, I was in a hospital for six years, a local hospital. And then prior to that, I kind of contracted myself with some schools and then also a clinic. So that's kind of what I've been doing for nine years.

Kadie: Wow. I was actually reading on your Facebook page a little bit about the background and all of your experience and just some of your trainings and infant feeding and swallowing all the way up to the Lee Silverman voice training. Sounds like you definitely have experience across the board.

Nicole: I do, which is great because when you come out of grad school you have just such a general knowledge of everything. And what I did enjoy kind of in the past nine years is that I've had a lot of pediatric feeding experiences, early intervention. But when I was working in the hospitals, I had to do inpatient and outpatient. And I really enjoyed that as well. So it's kept me kind of fresh in all areas. And as I've kind of gotten older, you see a little bit kind of how you can do a lot of adult techniques with even peds kids as well.

Kadie: Yeah. And that is so true coming out of grad school. I remember jumping right into the school setting as a speech therapist. And so whenever I needed a little summer gig and tried to hop back into a nursing home, you really kind of get pinholed into your first experience because grad school leaves you with just a broad knowledge and then you learn so much from each placement.

Nicole: Absolutely. Yes.

Kadie: So starting Speech Suite, did you still balance some of your side gigs for a reliable income or was that not something you really had to be concerned about as you were making that switch?

Nicole: Well, I'm kind of one of those people that I definitely have to have a plan going into things. And I think one of the things that some people would think that when you start a private practice is that you have to do it completely. That's your main focus. And so my first year is I kind of got my feet wet a little bit. I wanted to have some steady income coming in as I kind of started gaining knowledge in private practice and all those details. So I actually reached out to a school district to contract myself in there a couple days a week. So I did part-time in the schools this past year when I contracted myself in there. So I always had steady income coming in. And then two days I started, just had my own private practice clients. So that's kind of how I started last year. I kind of did 50-50.

Kadie: Yeah, that is such a great idea because especially as you're contracting and you're working for yourself still, you know, the school probably negotiated somewhat, but you're still determining your own rate and what you're willing to take. So you're essentially still doing private practice just in a school.

Nicole: I was, you know, that's definitely correct. I just know that like within the schools I've got was guaranteed like seven hours two days a week. So I knew that that was going to be the same amount of income coming in. So that kind of helped me, kept my anxiety down a little bit.

Kadie: So now as you starting your second year in private practice, are you still going to be contracting? Or are you at a place where now you are solely within your brick and mortar practice?

Nicole: You know what? This is my year that I am kind of going, jumping right in. So as much as I love the school district that I was at, the people were phenomenal, the staff, the kids were great. I just knew that this was kind of my baby and I knew that it wouldn't be fair to myself or even my families that I serve if I didn't give it 100% of my attention.

Kadie: And you have some great reviews and feedback from past or current clients on your site. Is that your main source for referrals, just word of mouth and being well known throughout the community?

Nicole: You know what? I really haven't done much marketing. So yeah, I guess a lot of it has been word of mouth. I guess that's the good thing in kind of being in a small town or rural community is that people talk. So I mean, that can go against you and it can go for you. And I've just been fortunate enough that I've had some pretty good experiences with families and children.

Kadie: Oh yeah. I think that's the best referral source. And right now, are you a single practitioner or is anyone under you?

Nicole: I'm just me.

Kadie: Are you private pay only?

Nicole: I have since expanded. So I do accept one other insurance right now. So that insurance, understanding the insurance world has been definitely an interesting thing. I mean, I don't even understand my own insurance. So now I'm trying to understand other people's. But I knew that I had to take that. And so I just started with one and I'm going to start with one, kind of get comfortable with that. And then I might start opening up to some additional insurances. But that takes a lot of time. And it's a big commitment. It's a lot of documentation, a lot of paperwork. So I'm just starting with one. I'm not totally jumping in, but just little by little, I'm gaining knowledge. And when I feel comfortable, I'll start seeing if it's going to be necessary for me to accept additional insurances.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. I think that's very smart because like you said, it is such a learning curve. So you'll become an expert on this insurance. And then once you're ready and once the need is there, then you can always think about expanding. But how did you decide which one insurance you wanted to begin with?

Nicole: Well, I'm a part of a bunch of private practice Facebook groups. So I gotten on there and I asked a lot of questions and specifically to the other SLPs that were in Illinois and doing private practice in Illinois. And they all advised me just to take one insurance from this one company. So I got the same response from everyone. So I'm like, okay, so this is what I'm going to start with. This is what I'm going to do. So that's kind of how I started it.

Kadie: Yeah. And whenever we set up this interview, you did mention that if we might hear a little kiddo in the background to please bear with you. And I totally understand that. I have a little one as well. And so I wanted to know a little bit about how private practice has impacted your work-life balance. Is this something that's helped you improve your time with family or has it made it more challenging?

Nicole: Sure. You know, I would love to say that it has improved my work-life balance. But I think that would be unfair to say as of right now, because you're running a business. And especially when you get started, you are going to be taking a lot of time to get things going, to understand things. So yeah, I am working a lot more than I previously used to, maybe not like on the clock or where I'm away from my kids. But I mean, I am at home. It's just my focus has to be at this time while I'm building my practice, it's definitely a lot. It's taken a lot more of my time.

Nicole: I'm hoping in the next couple of years, though, that once I kind of get the ball rolling and I'm feeling I kind of get into the flow, that definitely, absolutely, I'm going to find that balance. But I want to be truthful is that when you do start this, you can go into it as much as you want. You can start very little, taking only a couple of clients on the side, just doing private pay. Or you can start getting a brick and mortar and getting insurance and getting credentialed with insurance. And I want to be truthful. It is going to take some of your time and it will take a little bit of time away from your family, but I'm hoping this is a means to an end, to have a little bit more balance as I get more comfortable and get in the flow with things.

Kadie: Oh yeah, exactly. And I appreciate the honesty because like you said, even if you're not on the clock or doing therapy for as many hours, you're still the person of contact. So if you're technically home, you're still taking calls, you're scheduling, you're doing your paperwork. So it is quite a balance, I'm sure, when you're trying to not only give your children attention, but also make your business successful.

Nicole: It's true, yes. I always tell my families that when I became a speech therapist, I always said, you know, being a mom has made me a better therapist, but it's made me a crazier mom. You just know too much about development. And kids teach me so much. So I get it when I talk to families, and I know that, hey, they weren't able to get to their homework this week, because life is crazy at home. So I get it, you know, but it's finding that balance with that family to being able to talk to them being like, okay, let me know if I'm giving you too much or too little. Because I don't want to overwhelm them. I want to make families be successful and have that balance at home with their kids as well.

Kadie: And I'm sure that they appreciate your understanding. And I was guilty of it too before having my son. I had all of these tasks and all of this judgment for every family of why they aren't following through. And for the first year of my son's life, I was a crazy speech therapist mom, withholding objects or giving choices and being on my husband for not speaking in one and two word utterances for a good model. You have to take that hat off.

Nicole: Yeah. And he's only 19 months old now, but we're finally feeling like, okay, we're not responsible. Well, we are fully responsible for our child, but we can be fun too.

Kadie: Yes, exactly. But you know what? They need you to be a mom too.

Nicole: Oh yeah. It is quite a learning journey viewing it from a therapist perspective.

Kadie: And now as you dive into private practice world, I'm sure those families just really appreciate that understanding from you.

Nicole: I try. I hope they do. I mean, I get it. I get it so much.

Kadie: So as time passes and you continue to grow, what's your ultimate goal for your private practice moving forward? What do you want it to look like?

Nicole: Well, definitely I want to increase my referrals. So that's kind of doing, you know, why this year I'm putting a 100% focus into it. So I want to increase my referrals. My other big goal this year is I want to establish things that our community doesn't have. I mean, we're rural. We don't have a lot of resources. So a lot of our families go to the bigger cities to get these specialized therapies. And I get it. Like as we were talking about being a mom, like, I get it. That's tough. Transportation enough or just getting their commuting enough is just tough.

Nicole: And so I really want to be able to establish those resources for our families. And feeding, I think, is such an underserved area. Another one of my goals is I really kind of got into the oral myofunctional therapy world. And this is something that has been such a passion of mine in the past year as I'm learning so much and I'm working with younger kids. And I really want to be able to provide that resource because there's so few therapists that can provide that resource. And I think that would just be really such a great asset to our community.

Kadie: I'm curious about the infant feeding and swallowing treatment that you want to kind of bring to your community. So how far away is, say, the nearest large hospital where a family would have to drive to?

Nicole: So they're about an hour away, just depending on where you go. Or it can be up to an hour and a half, two hours with traffic. So I have had families that have told me, you know, when they've started with me and didn't realize that I did feeding, and they just came to me for the speech. They were going an hour and a half, two hours every other week to get feeding therapy. And I said, you know, you certainly can make your own decision, but I want to let you know that I can provide some of these services locally. But you know, it's up to you, whatever you guys feel most comfortable with.

Nicole: But that's what a lot of our families are doing. And I get it. And that kind of hurts my heart, kind of a bleeding heart a little bit. Dealing with a newborn and then having that commitment of driving that far weekly, bi-weekly, that is just a lot.

Kadie: It is. It's tough. Yes. And especially once pediatricians would find out your specialty in that, I think that could be huge.

Nicole: Definitely. I've reached out to some local breastfeeding support groups in our area. And so I'm hoping to go to kind of one of their meetings soon, just to kind of get to know the lactation consultant. And I'm all about collaborating. You can't know it all. And really just getting my name out there as well to know that these families don't have to go so far away.

Kadie: So just a couple more questions. As far as pure honesty, biggest struggle throughout this process, whether something ongoing or just a hiccup that was in the road, what would you say that has been for you?

Nicole: I think as I've been this past year, the hardest thing, as I kind of mentioned, I kind of have a bleeding heart. And so the biggest struggle for me is knowing my worth, I guess, and knowing that the time I have spent going to these specialty courses to be able to bring these things to my community here. And I had to have an honest conversation with some of my family members who are a little bit more business savvy than me. And I knew that in order for me to continue to provide services and quality services and to stay afloat, I had to increase my pay, essentially, in order for me to stay afloat.

Nicole: And I think the best and most raw moment for myself was when I was speaking to my dad, who has a financial background. And he said to me, Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services, that's wonderful. And I give you props for that. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family. So that was a very raw moment for me, recognizing that I have to find that nice balance where my families can still afford it, but I'm still being a caregiver for my family as well, being a provider.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. That was a very raw moment for me, and I cried a little bit. And that's learning the whole business side of things. And I was never that type of person before, and it's been a big struggle for me. But I'm learning how to really kind of separate those two.

Nicole: That's good. And as time goes on, hopefully that initial guilt of upping your price or determining the best rate, I'm sure that will hopefully go away. And the other thing I always say is that if I didn't recognize my own worth, you know, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general. I think we are significantly underpaid and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. That's a whole nother podcast though, but it's true. No speech therapist goes into our practice knowing that we're in it for the money. That's just not what it is. But when you go to these specialty trainings and take weekends away where you're away from your family, all to service, you know, to know that you just have this passion to serve these kids in your community, we got to know our worth and know how we affect these people's lives.

Kadie: Absolutely. Yes. And we have to stay true to that. Our education has led us to where we are and there is definitely worth behind our experience and knowledge. As far as a follow-up question for that, has enforcing a cancellation policy also been difficult just from hearing your heart and how hard it is to balance some of these issues for families financially?

Nicole: I do have a cancellation policy. I thankfully have fantastic families and they are very respectful of my time and as I'm respectful of their time as well. So I really haven't had to enforce that as of yet. But if I see it getting abused, that's kind of where I'm going to have to really enforce my policy.

Kadie: Well, as we wrap things up, are there any words of encouragement that you'd like to share for anyone listening who also has aspirations of taking a leap into private practice?

Nicole: I think I kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier, is that you can make it what you want. This has been nine years in the making that I've always known that I've wanted to do something and I saw an opportunity in our community and I saw where services weren't being rendered. You can make it what you want. If you just want to do a couple clients on the side, not take insurance, you know, that's private practice right there. You don't have to have a brick and mortar.

Nicole: So get your feet wet a little bit and start doing something like that. It doesn't have to be this huge presentation where there's a ribbon cutting ceremony and you purchased all these expensive therapy materials. No, you know, I tell a lot of SLPs that who I've kind of supervised through their first year, I said, you know, it's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator. And so just know that you don't have to buy all this stuff and there doesn't have to be a lot of overhead costs to get started here.

Nicole: The other thing I would say is something that really, really helped me is getting involved in some private practice Facebook groups. Social media has been such a wealth of information for me. You post a question on there and they'll answer it immediately. And they're all different ranges of experiences, those who've had their private practice for many years and those who are just getting started. I recently was at a course the other weekend and met a couple girls that we, I'm like, gosh, they look familiar. And we had gone to a couple courses before previously. And so I got their contact and I realized that, hey, they have their own private practices in Illinois as well. And so we kind of have our own little text thread that we're doing now. So it's just nice to kind of get in contact specific with other speech therapists with their own private practice in Illinois. Because I feel like Illinois, we're a different ballgame than other states, especially when it comes to insurance, accepting insurance and whatnot.

Kadie: You're so right. What works for one state does not work for Illinois. So it's kind of learning all those details and learning how to jump through those hoops. Good points of encouragement. And I really do appreciate all of your time this morning. That's all we have time for today. I thank you for joining me and I wish your private practice the best as Speech Suite 815 continues to grow. So that's all for today with Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice. If you have a moment, please leave a five-star review for Clinic Chats to help other SLPs find our podcast. If you'd like to share your personal journey through private practice, please email me at kadie at clinicnote.com. That's K-A-I-D-E at clinicnote.com.

Knowing Your Worth: Nicole Judratis on Starting a Rural Speech Therapy Practice

Nicole Judratis's father didn't mince words. She was explaining the rates she'd been charging at her new private practice in Oglesby, Illinois. He heard her out, then said what she needed to hear.

"Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services organization. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family."

She cried. And then she started charging what her services were actually worth.

Nicole is the first guest on Clinic Chats, and her story is one part rural access mission, one part honest reckoning with the business reality every private practice SLP eventually has to face.

Nine Years Before the Leap

Before starting Speech Suite 815 in May 2018, Nicole spent nine years across hospital, school, and outpatient settings. Six of those years were at a local hospital, giving her broad exposure (infant feeding, early intervention, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) that would eventually become her differentiator in a rural market.

She's careful and deliberate by nature. So when she finally made the move to private practice, she didn't just quit and go all in. She built in a safety net: two days a week contracted with a local school district for guaranteed hours, two days building her private caseload. Fifty-fifty, by design.

"I just knew that those seven guaranteed hours two days a week were going to be the same income coming in. It kept my anxiety down a little bit."

Smart. It meant she could grow without white-knuckling the finances through year one.

Year Two: All In

By her second year, Nicole was ready to commit fully. She stepped away from the school contract, not without difficulty, because she genuinely liked the staff and the kids. But she knew she couldn't give 100% to two things at once.

Today, Speech Suite 815 is a solo practice. Just Nicole. One insurance accepted (recommended by other Illinois-based SLPs in private practice Facebook groups as the most reliable payer in the state), with plans to expand thoughtfully. No brick-and-mortar overhead to speak of.

She's still learning as she goes. But she's building something real and sustainable.

The Rates Conversation

Nicole describes herself as having a "bleeding heart." Her instinct is to bend for families, discount a session, forgive a cancellation, make exceptions when life gets complicated. That empathy is exactly what makes her good at what she does.

But unchecked empathy, without a business brain running alongside it, will sink a practice.

It took her father's candid push and several honest conversations to get there. She realized that undercharging wasn't just hurting her, it was undervaluing the field.

"I think we are significantly underpaid as speech therapists, and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. If I didn't recognize my own worth, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general."

The hours she spent at specialty trainings over weekends, away from her family, to bring services back to her rural community, those have real value. She learned to charge accordingly.

Filling a Real Gap

What makes Nicole's story stand out beyond the business journey is what she's actually trying to build in her community. Families in the Oglesby area drive an hour to an hour and a half, sometimes two hours with traffic, to access infant feeding therapy, oral myofunctional treatment, and other specialized services that should be available locally.

Nicole is positioning herself to provide those services close to home. She's reached out to local breastfeeding support groups, connected with lactation consultants, and is building referral relationships with pediatricians who can point families her way before they make that long drive.

"Dealing with a newborn and having that commitment of driving that far weekly, that is just a lot. It hurts my heart."

That's not marketing language. That's a speech-language pathologist who sees a gap and can't look away from it.

Starting Small Is Still Starting

Nicole's closing advice for anyone considering the leap: you don't need a clinic, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, or a room full of expensive therapy materials to call yourself a private practice.

Two private pay clients on the side. No insurance. No lease. That's private practice. Get your feet wet, learn the business, and scale when the demand tells you to.

"It's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator."

And get on those Illinois-specific private practice Facebook groups. She credits them with some of the most practical, state-specific guidance she's found anywhere.

Building a solo practice means juggling everything at once. ClinicNote is a HIPAA-compliant EMR built specifically for private practices and university clinics, handling documentation, scheduling, and billing in one place so you can spend more time on the families you're there to serve. See how ClinicNote works.

Transcript

Kadie: You are listening to Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice, a podcast full of personal journeys where we will not only talk about success stories, but also real life struggles of small business startups. Clinic Chats is sponsored by ClinicNote, a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based EMR platform used specifically by private practice owners and university clinics. I'm your host, Kadie Jackstadt, and this is Episode 2.

Kadie: Hi there to all of our listeners today. I'm speaking with Nicole Judratis, the owner of Speech Suite 815 in Oglesby, Illinois. I cannot wait to hear your journey today. Hi, Nicole. Thanks for joining me. And how are you doing?

Nicole: I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.

Kadie: Yes. You are actually our very first guest on Clinic Chats. So we really appreciate you calling in for the beginning of this exciting adventure in podcasting. Today, I'd like to begin with some information regarding your private practice. So to jump right in, can you tell me a little bit about where Speech Suite is today?

Nicole: Sure. Well, I have been doing this for about a year now, a little over a year. So I started about May 2018. And I kind of live in a rural area, and I really wanted to focus on pediatric therapy. So I've started it. It started kind of slowly. And this year, I'm kind of jumping in with both feet and really trying to grow my practice now.

Kadie: So before starting your private practice, were you in the schools? Is that correct?

Nicole: I was in a combination of places. So for about nine years, prior to me starting my own private practice, I was in a hospital for six years, a local hospital. And then prior to that, I kind of contracted myself with some schools and then also a clinic. So that's kind of what I've been doing for nine years.

Kadie: Wow. I was actually reading on your Facebook page a little bit about the background and all of your experience and just some of your trainings and infant feeding and swallowing all the way up to the Lee Silverman voice training. Sounds like you definitely have experience across the board.

Nicole: I do, which is great because when you come out of grad school you have just such a general knowledge of everything. And what I did enjoy kind of in the past nine years is that I've had a lot of pediatric feeding experiences, early intervention. But when I was working in the hospitals, I had to do inpatient and outpatient. And I really enjoyed that as well. So it's kept me kind of fresh in all areas. And as I've kind of gotten older, you see a little bit kind of how you can do a lot of adult techniques with even peds kids as well.

Kadie: Yeah. And that is so true coming out of grad school. I remember jumping right into the school setting as a speech therapist. And so whenever I needed a little summer gig and tried to hop back into a nursing home, you really kind of get pinholed into your first experience because grad school leaves you with just a broad knowledge and then you learn so much from each placement.

Nicole: Absolutely. Yes.

Kadie: So starting Speech Suite, did you still balance some of your side gigs for a reliable income or was that not something you really had to be concerned about as you were making that switch?

Nicole: Well, I'm kind of one of those people that I definitely have to have a plan going into things. And I think one of the things that some people would think that when you start a private practice is that you have to do it completely. That's your main focus. And so my first year is I kind of got my feet wet a little bit. I wanted to have some steady income coming in as I kind of started gaining knowledge in private practice and all those details. So I actually reached out to a school district to contract myself in there a couple days a week. So I did part-time in the schools this past year when I contracted myself in there. So I always had steady income coming in. And then two days I started, just had my own private practice clients. So that's kind of how I started last year. I kind of did 50-50.

Kadie: Yeah, that is such a great idea because especially as you're contracting and you're working for yourself still, you know, the school probably negotiated somewhat, but you're still determining your own rate and what you're willing to take. So you're essentially still doing private practice just in a school.

Nicole: I was, you know, that's definitely correct. I just know that like within the schools I've got was guaranteed like seven hours two days a week. So I knew that that was going to be the same amount of income coming in. So that kind of helped me, kept my anxiety down a little bit.

Kadie: So now as you starting your second year in private practice, are you still going to be contracting? Or are you at a place where now you are solely within your brick and mortar practice?

Nicole: You know what? This is my year that I am kind of going, jumping right in. So as much as I love the school district that I was at, the people were phenomenal, the staff, the kids were great. I just knew that this was kind of my baby and I knew that it wouldn't be fair to myself or even my families that I serve if I didn't give it 100% of my attention.

Kadie: And you have some great reviews and feedback from past or current clients on your site. Is that your main source for referrals, just word of mouth and being well known throughout the community?

Nicole: You know what? I really haven't done much marketing. So yeah, I guess a lot of it has been word of mouth. I guess that's the good thing in kind of being in a small town or rural community is that people talk. So I mean, that can go against you and it can go for you. And I've just been fortunate enough that I've had some pretty good experiences with families and children.

Kadie: Oh yeah. I think that's the best referral source. And right now, are you a single practitioner or is anyone under you?

Nicole: I'm just me.

Kadie: Are you private pay only?

Nicole: I have since expanded. So I do accept one other insurance right now. So that insurance, understanding the insurance world has been definitely an interesting thing. I mean, I don't even understand my own insurance. So now I'm trying to understand other people's. But I knew that I had to take that. And so I just started with one and I'm going to start with one, kind of get comfortable with that. And then I might start opening up to some additional insurances. But that takes a lot of time. And it's a big commitment. It's a lot of documentation, a lot of paperwork. So I'm just starting with one. I'm not totally jumping in, but just little by little, I'm gaining knowledge. And when I feel comfortable, I'll start seeing if it's going to be necessary for me to accept additional insurances.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. I think that's very smart because like you said, it is such a learning curve. So you'll become an expert on this insurance. And then once you're ready and once the need is there, then you can always think about expanding. But how did you decide which one insurance you wanted to begin with?

Nicole: Well, I'm a part of a bunch of private practice Facebook groups. So I gotten on there and I asked a lot of questions and specifically to the other SLPs that were in Illinois and doing private practice in Illinois. And they all advised me just to take one insurance from this one company. So I got the same response from everyone. So I'm like, okay, so this is what I'm going to start with. This is what I'm going to do. So that's kind of how I started it.

Kadie: Yeah. And whenever we set up this interview, you did mention that if we might hear a little kiddo in the background to please bear with you. And I totally understand that. I have a little one as well. And so I wanted to know a little bit about how private practice has impacted your work-life balance. Is this something that's helped you improve your time with family or has it made it more challenging?

Nicole: Sure. You know, I would love to say that it has improved my work-life balance. But I think that would be unfair to say as of right now, because you're running a business. And especially when you get started, you are going to be taking a lot of time to get things going, to understand things. So yeah, I am working a lot more than I previously used to, maybe not like on the clock or where I'm away from my kids. But I mean, I am at home. It's just my focus has to be at this time while I'm building my practice, it's definitely a lot. It's taken a lot more of my time.

Nicole: I'm hoping in the next couple of years, though, that once I kind of get the ball rolling and I'm feeling I kind of get into the flow, that definitely, absolutely, I'm going to find that balance. But I want to be truthful is that when you do start this, you can go into it as much as you want. You can start very little, taking only a couple of clients on the side, just doing private pay. Or you can start getting a brick and mortar and getting insurance and getting credentialed with insurance. And I want to be truthful. It is going to take some of your time and it will take a little bit of time away from your family, but I'm hoping this is a means to an end, to have a little bit more balance as I get more comfortable and get in the flow with things.

Kadie: Oh yeah, exactly. And I appreciate the honesty because like you said, even if you're not on the clock or doing therapy for as many hours, you're still the person of contact. So if you're technically home, you're still taking calls, you're scheduling, you're doing your paperwork. So it is quite a balance, I'm sure, when you're trying to not only give your children attention, but also make your business successful.

Nicole: It's true, yes. I always tell my families that when I became a speech therapist, I always said, you know, being a mom has made me a better therapist, but it's made me a crazier mom. You just know too much about development. And kids teach me so much. So I get it when I talk to families, and I know that, hey, they weren't able to get to their homework this week, because life is crazy at home. So I get it, you know, but it's finding that balance with that family to being able to talk to them being like, okay, let me know if I'm giving you too much or too little. Because I don't want to overwhelm them. I want to make families be successful and have that balance at home with their kids as well.

Kadie: And I'm sure that they appreciate your understanding. And I was guilty of it too before having my son. I had all of these tasks and all of this judgment for every family of why they aren't following through. And for the first year of my son's life, I was a crazy speech therapist mom, withholding objects or giving choices and being on my husband for not speaking in one and two word utterances for a good model. You have to take that hat off.

Nicole: Yeah. And he's only 19 months old now, but we're finally feeling like, okay, we're not responsible. Well, we are fully responsible for our child, but we can be fun too.

Kadie: Yes, exactly. But you know what? They need you to be a mom too.

Nicole: Oh yeah. It is quite a learning journey viewing it from a therapist perspective.

Kadie: And now as you dive into private practice world, I'm sure those families just really appreciate that understanding from you.

Nicole: I try. I hope they do. I mean, I get it. I get it so much.

Kadie: So as time passes and you continue to grow, what's your ultimate goal for your private practice moving forward? What do you want it to look like?

Nicole: Well, definitely I want to increase my referrals. So that's kind of doing, you know, why this year I'm putting a 100% focus into it. So I want to increase my referrals. My other big goal this year is I want to establish things that our community doesn't have. I mean, we're rural. We don't have a lot of resources. So a lot of our families go to the bigger cities to get these specialized therapies. And I get it. Like as we were talking about being a mom, like, I get it. That's tough. Transportation enough or just getting their commuting enough is just tough.

Nicole: And so I really want to be able to establish those resources for our families. And feeding, I think, is such an underserved area. Another one of my goals is I really kind of got into the oral myofunctional therapy world. And this is something that has been such a passion of mine in the past year as I'm learning so much and I'm working with younger kids. And I really want to be able to provide that resource because there's so few therapists that can provide that resource. And I think that would just be really such a great asset to our community.

Kadie: I'm curious about the infant feeding and swallowing treatment that you want to kind of bring to your community. So how far away is, say, the nearest large hospital where a family would have to drive to?

Nicole: So they're about an hour away, just depending on where you go. Or it can be up to an hour and a half, two hours with traffic. So I have had families that have told me, you know, when they've started with me and didn't realize that I did feeding, and they just came to me for the speech. They were going an hour and a half, two hours every other week to get feeding therapy. And I said, you know, you certainly can make your own decision, but I want to let you know that I can provide some of these services locally. But you know, it's up to you, whatever you guys feel most comfortable with.

Nicole: But that's what a lot of our families are doing. And I get it. And that kind of hurts my heart, kind of a bleeding heart a little bit. Dealing with a newborn and then having that commitment of driving that far weekly, bi-weekly, that is just a lot.

Kadie: It is. It's tough. Yes. And especially once pediatricians would find out your specialty in that, I think that could be huge.

Nicole: Definitely. I've reached out to some local breastfeeding support groups in our area. And so I'm hoping to go to kind of one of their meetings soon, just to kind of get to know the lactation consultant. And I'm all about collaborating. You can't know it all. And really just getting my name out there as well to know that these families don't have to go so far away.

Kadie: So just a couple more questions. As far as pure honesty, biggest struggle throughout this process, whether something ongoing or just a hiccup that was in the road, what would you say that has been for you?

Nicole: I think as I've been this past year, the hardest thing, as I kind of mentioned, I kind of have a bleeding heart. And so the biggest struggle for me is knowing my worth, I guess, and knowing that the time I have spent going to these specialty courses to be able to bring these things to my community here. And I had to have an honest conversation with some of my family members who are a little bit more business savvy than me. And I knew that in order for me to continue to provide services and quality services and to stay afloat, I had to increase my pay, essentially, in order for me to stay afloat.

Nicole: And I think the best and most raw moment for myself was when I was speaking to my dad, who has a financial background. And he said to me, Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services, that's wonderful. And I give you props for that. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family. So that was a very raw moment for me, recognizing that I have to find that nice balance where my families can still afford it, but I'm still being a caregiver for my family as well, being a provider.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. That was a very raw moment for me, and I cried a little bit. And that's learning the whole business side of things. And I was never that type of person before, and it's been a big struggle for me. But I'm learning how to really kind of separate those two.

Nicole: That's good. And as time goes on, hopefully that initial guilt of upping your price or determining the best rate, I'm sure that will hopefully go away. And the other thing I always say is that if I didn't recognize my own worth, you know, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general. I think we are significantly underpaid and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. That's a whole nother podcast though, but it's true. No speech therapist goes into our practice knowing that we're in it for the money. That's just not what it is. But when you go to these specialty trainings and take weekends away where you're away from your family, all to service, you know, to know that you just have this passion to serve these kids in your community, we got to know our worth and know how we affect these people's lives.

Kadie: Absolutely. Yes. And we have to stay true to that. Our education has led us to where we are and there is definitely worth behind our experience and knowledge. As far as a follow-up question for that, has enforcing a cancellation policy also been difficult just from hearing your heart and how hard it is to balance some of these issues for families financially?

Nicole: I do have a cancellation policy. I thankfully have fantastic families and they are very respectful of my time and as I'm respectful of their time as well. So I really haven't had to enforce that as of yet. But if I see it getting abused, that's kind of where I'm going to have to really enforce my policy.

Kadie: Well, as we wrap things up, are there any words of encouragement that you'd like to share for anyone listening who also has aspirations of taking a leap into private practice?

Nicole: I think I kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier, is that you can make it what you want. This has been nine years in the making that I've always known that I've wanted to do something and I saw an opportunity in our community and I saw where services weren't being rendered. You can make it what you want. If you just want to do a couple clients on the side, not take insurance, you know, that's private practice right there. You don't have to have a brick and mortar.

Nicole: So get your feet wet a little bit and start doing something like that. It doesn't have to be this huge presentation where there's a ribbon cutting ceremony and you purchased all these expensive therapy materials. No, you know, I tell a lot of SLPs that who I've kind of supervised through their first year, I said, you know, it's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator. And so just know that you don't have to buy all this stuff and there doesn't have to be a lot of overhead costs to get started here.

Nicole: The other thing I would say is something that really, really helped me is getting involved in some private practice Facebook groups. Social media has been such a wealth of information for me. You post a question on there and they'll answer it immediately. And they're all different ranges of experiences, those who've had their private practice for many years and those who are just getting started. I recently was at a course the other weekend and met a couple girls that we, I'm like, gosh, they look familiar. And we had gone to a couple courses before previously. And so I got their contact and I realized that, hey, they have their own private practices in Illinois as well. And so we kind of have our own little text thread that we're doing now. So it's just nice to kind of get in contact specific with other speech therapists with their own private practice in Illinois. Because I feel like Illinois, we're a different ballgame than other states, especially when it comes to insurance, accepting insurance and whatnot.

Kadie: You're so right. What works for one state does not work for Illinois. So it's kind of learning all those details and learning how to jump through those hoops. Good points of encouragement. And I really do appreciate all of your time this morning. That's all we have time for today. I thank you for joining me and I wish your private practice the best as Speech Suite 815 continues to grow. So that's all for today with Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice. If you have a moment, please leave a five-star review for Clinic Chats to help other SLPs find our podcast. If you'd like to share your personal journey through private practice, please email me at kadie at clinicnote.com. That's K-A-I-D-E at clinicnote.com.

Knowing Your Worth: Nicole Judratis on Starting a Rural Speech Therapy Practice

Nicole Judratis's father didn't mince words. She was explaining the rates she'd been charging at her new private practice in Oglesby, Illinois. He heard her out, then said what she needed to hear.

"Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services organization. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family."

She cried. And then she started charging what her services were actually worth.

Nicole is the first guest on Clinic Chats, and her story is one part rural access mission, one part honest reckoning with the business reality every private practice SLP eventually has to face.

Nine Years Before the Leap

Before starting Speech Suite 815 in May 2018, Nicole spent nine years across hospital, school, and outpatient settings. Six of those years were at a local hospital, giving her broad exposure (infant feeding, early intervention, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) that would eventually become her differentiator in a rural market.

She's careful and deliberate by nature. So when she finally made the move to private practice, she didn't just quit and go all in. She built in a safety net: two days a week contracted with a local school district for guaranteed hours, two days building her private caseload. Fifty-fifty, by design.

"I just knew that those seven guaranteed hours two days a week were going to be the same income coming in. It kept my anxiety down a little bit."

Smart. It meant she could grow without white-knuckling the finances through year one.

Year Two: All In

By her second year, Nicole was ready to commit fully. She stepped away from the school contract, not without difficulty, because she genuinely liked the staff and the kids. But she knew she couldn't give 100% to two things at once.

Today, Speech Suite 815 is a solo practice. Just Nicole. One insurance accepted (recommended by other Illinois-based SLPs in private practice Facebook groups as the most reliable payer in the state), with plans to expand thoughtfully. No brick-and-mortar overhead to speak of.

She's still learning as she goes. But she's building something real and sustainable.

The Rates Conversation

Nicole describes herself as having a "bleeding heart." Her instinct is to bend for families, discount a session, forgive a cancellation, make exceptions when life gets complicated. That empathy is exactly what makes her good at what she does.

But unchecked empathy, without a business brain running alongside it, will sink a practice.

It took her father's candid push and several honest conversations to get there. She realized that undercharging wasn't just hurting her, it was undervaluing the field.

"I think we are significantly underpaid as speech therapists, and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. If I didn't recognize my own worth, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general."

The hours she spent at specialty trainings over weekends, away from her family, to bring services back to her rural community, those have real value. She learned to charge accordingly.

Filling a Real Gap

What makes Nicole's story stand out beyond the business journey is what she's actually trying to build in her community. Families in the Oglesby area drive an hour to an hour and a half, sometimes two hours with traffic, to access infant feeding therapy, oral myofunctional treatment, and other specialized services that should be available locally.

Nicole is positioning herself to provide those services close to home. She's reached out to local breastfeeding support groups, connected with lactation consultants, and is building referral relationships with pediatricians who can point families her way before they make that long drive.

"Dealing with a newborn and having that commitment of driving that far weekly, that is just a lot. It hurts my heart."

That's not marketing language. That's a speech-language pathologist who sees a gap and can't look away from it.

Starting Small Is Still Starting

Nicole's closing advice for anyone considering the leap: you don't need a clinic, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, or a room full of expensive therapy materials to call yourself a private practice.

Two private pay clients on the side. No insurance. No lease. That's private practice. Get your feet wet, learn the business, and scale when the demand tells you to.

"It's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator."

And get on those Illinois-specific private practice Facebook groups. She credits them with some of the most practical, state-specific guidance she's found anywhere.

Building a solo practice means juggling everything at once. ClinicNote is a HIPAA-compliant EMR built specifically for private practices and university clinics, handling documentation, scheduling, and billing in one place so you can spend more time on the families you're there to serve. See how ClinicNote works.

Transcript

Kadie: You are listening to Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice, a podcast full of personal journeys where we will not only talk about success stories, but also real life struggles of small business startups. Clinic Chats is sponsored by ClinicNote, a HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based EMR platform used specifically by private practice owners and university clinics. I'm your host, Kadie Jackstadt, and this is Episode 2.

Kadie: Hi there to all of our listeners today. I'm speaking with Nicole Judratis, the owner of Speech Suite 815 in Oglesby, Illinois. I cannot wait to hear your journey today. Hi, Nicole. Thanks for joining me. And how are you doing?

Nicole: I'm doing good. Thanks for having me.

Kadie: Yes. You are actually our very first guest on Clinic Chats. So we really appreciate you calling in for the beginning of this exciting adventure in podcasting. Today, I'd like to begin with some information regarding your private practice. So to jump right in, can you tell me a little bit about where Speech Suite is today?

Nicole: Sure. Well, I have been doing this for about a year now, a little over a year. So I started about May 2018. And I kind of live in a rural area, and I really wanted to focus on pediatric therapy. So I've started it. It started kind of slowly. And this year, I'm kind of jumping in with both feet and really trying to grow my practice now.

Kadie: So before starting your private practice, were you in the schools? Is that correct?

Nicole: I was in a combination of places. So for about nine years, prior to me starting my own private practice, I was in a hospital for six years, a local hospital. And then prior to that, I kind of contracted myself with some schools and then also a clinic. So that's kind of what I've been doing for nine years.

Kadie: Wow. I was actually reading on your Facebook page a little bit about the background and all of your experience and just some of your trainings and infant feeding and swallowing all the way up to the Lee Silverman voice training. Sounds like you definitely have experience across the board.

Nicole: I do, which is great because when you come out of grad school you have just such a general knowledge of everything. And what I did enjoy kind of in the past nine years is that I've had a lot of pediatric feeding experiences, early intervention. But when I was working in the hospitals, I had to do inpatient and outpatient. And I really enjoyed that as well. So it's kept me kind of fresh in all areas. And as I've kind of gotten older, you see a little bit kind of how you can do a lot of adult techniques with even peds kids as well.

Kadie: Yeah. And that is so true coming out of grad school. I remember jumping right into the school setting as a speech therapist. And so whenever I needed a little summer gig and tried to hop back into a nursing home, you really kind of get pinholed into your first experience because grad school leaves you with just a broad knowledge and then you learn so much from each placement.

Nicole: Absolutely. Yes.

Kadie: So starting Speech Suite, did you still balance some of your side gigs for a reliable income or was that not something you really had to be concerned about as you were making that switch?

Nicole: Well, I'm kind of one of those people that I definitely have to have a plan going into things. And I think one of the things that some people would think that when you start a private practice is that you have to do it completely. That's your main focus. And so my first year is I kind of got my feet wet a little bit. I wanted to have some steady income coming in as I kind of started gaining knowledge in private practice and all those details. So I actually reached out to a school district to contract myself in there a couple days a week. So I did part-time in the schools this past year when I contracted myself in there. So I always had steady income coming in. And then two days I started, just had my own private practice clients. So that's kind of how I started last year. I kind of did 50-50.

Kadie: Yeah, that is such a great idea because especially as you're contracting and you're working for yourself still, you know, the school probably negotiated somewhat, but you're still determining your own rate and what you're willing to take. So you're essentially still doing private practice just in a school.

Nicole: I was, you know, that's definitely correct. I just know that like within the schools I've got was guaranteed like seven hours two days a week. So I knew that that was going to be the same amount of income coming in. So that kind of helped me, kept my anxiety down a little bit.

Kadie: So now as you starting your second year in private practice, are you still going to be contracting? Or are you at a place where now you are solely within your brick and mortar practice?

Nicole: You know what? This is my year that I am kind of going, jumping right in. So as much as I love the school district that I was at, the people were phenomenal, the staff, the kids were great. I just knew that this was kind of my baby and I knew that it wouldn't be fair to myself or even my families that I serve if I didn't give it 100% of my attention.

Kadie: And you have some great reviews and feedback from past or current clients on your site. Is that your main source for referrals, just word of mouth and being well known throughout the community?

Nicole: You know what? I really haven't done much marketing. So yeah, I guess a lot of it has been word of mouth. I guess that's the good thing in kind of being in a small town or rural community is that people talk. So I mean, that can go against you and it can go for you. And I've just been fortunate enough that I've had some pretty good experiences with families and children.

Kadie: Oh yeah. I think that's the best referral source. And right now, are you a single practitioner or is anyone under you?

Nicole: I'm just me.

Kadie: Are you private pay only?

Nicole: I have since expanded. So I do accept one other insurance right now. So that insurance, understanding the insurance world has been definitely an interesting thing. I mean, I don't even understand my own insurance. So now I'm trying to understand other people's. But I knew that I had to take that. And so I just started with one and I'm going to start with one, kind of get comfortable with that. And then I might start opening up to some additional insurances. But that takes a lot of time. And it's a big commitment. It's a lot of documentation, a lot of paperwork. So I'm just starting with one. I'm not totally jumping in, but just little by little, I'm gaining knowledge. And when I feel comfortable, I'll start seeing if it's going to be necessary for me to accept additional insurances.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. I think that's very smart because like you said, it is such a learning curve. So you'll become an expert on this insurance. And then once you're ready and once the need is there, then you can always think about expanding. But how did you decide which one insurance you wanted to begin with?

Nicole: Well, I'm a part of a bunch of private practice Facebook groups. So I gotten on there and I asked a lot of questions and specifically to the other SLPs that were in Illinois and doing private practice in Illinois. And they all advised me just to take one insurance from this one company. So I got the same response from everyone. So I'm like, okay, so this is what I'm going to start with. This is what I'm going to do. So that's kind of how I started it.

Kadie: Yeah. And whenever we set up this interview, you did mention that if we might hear a little kiddo in the background to please bear with you. And I totally understand that. I have a little one as well. And so I wanted to know a little bit about how private practice has impacted your work-life balance. Is this something that's helped you improve your time with family or has it made it more challenging?

Nicole: Sure. You know, I would love to say that it has improved my work-life balance. But I think that would be unfair to say as of right now, because you're running a business. And especially when you get started, you are going to be taking a lot of time to get things going, to understand things. So yeah, I am working a lot more than I previously used to, maybe not like on the clock or where I'm away from my kids. But I mean, I am at home. It's just my focus has to be at this time while I'm building my practice, it's definitely a lot. It's taken a lot more of my time.

Nicole: I'm hoping in the next couple of years, though, that once I kind of get the ball rolling and I'm feeling I kind of get into the flow, that definitely, absolutely, I'm going to find that balance. But I want to be truthful is that when you do start this, you can go into it as much as you want. You can start very little, taking only a couple of clients on the side, just doing private pay. Or you can start getting a brick and mortar and getting insurance and getting credentialed with insurance. And I want to be truthful. It is going to take some of your time and it will take a little bit of time away from your family, but I'm hoping this is a means to an end, to have a little bit more balance as I get more comfortable and get in the flow with things.

Kadie: Oh yeah, exactly. And I appreciate the honesty because like you said, even if you're not on the clock or doing therapy for as many hours, you're still the person of contact. So if you're technically home, you're still taking calls, you're scheduling, you're doing your paperwork. So it is quite a balance, I'm sure, when you're trying to not only give your children attention, but also make your business successful.

Nicole: It's true, yes. I always tell my families that when I became a speech therapist, I always said, you know, being a mom has made me a better therapist, but it's made me a crazier mom. You just know too much about development. And kids teach me so much. So I get it when I talk to families, and I know that, hey, they weren't able to get to their homework this week, because life is crazy at home. So I get it, you know, but it's finding that balance with that family to being able to talk to them being like, okay, let me know if I'm giving you too much or too little. Because I don't want to overwhelm them. I want to make families be successful and have that balance at home with their kids as well.

Kadie: And I'm sure that they appreciate your understanding. And I was guilty of it too before having my son. I had all of these tasks and all of this judgment for every family of why they aren't following through. And for the first year of my son's life, I was a crazy speech therapist mom, withholding objects or giving choices and being on my husband for not speaking in one and two word utterances for a good model. You have to take that hat off.

Nicole: Yeah. And he's only 19 months old now, but we're finally feeling like, okay, we're not responsible. Well, we are fully responsible for our child, but we can be fun too.

Kadie: Yes, exactly. But you know what? They need you to be a mom too.

Nicole: Oh yeah. It is quite a learning journey viewing it from a therapist perspective.

Kadie: And now as you dive into private practice world, I'm sure those families just really appreciate that understanding from you.

Nicole: I try. I hope they do. I mean, I get it. I get it so much.

Kadie: So as time passes and you continue to grow, what's your ultimate goal for your private practice moving forward? What do you want it to look like?

Nicole: Well, definitely I want to increase my referrals. So that's kind of doing, you know, why this year I'm putting a 100% focus into it. So I want to increase my referrals. My other big goal this year is I want to establish things that our community doesn't have. I mean, we're rural. We don't have a lot of resources. So a lot of our families go to the bigger cities to get these specialized therapies. And I get it. Like as we were talking about being a mom, like, I get it. That's tough. Transportation enough or just getting their commuting enough is just tough.

Nicole: And so I really want to be able to establish those resources for our families. And feeding, I think, is such an underserved area. Another one of my goals is I really kind of got into the oral myofunctional therapy world. And this is something that has been such a passion of mine in the past year as I'm learning so much and I'm working with younger kids. And I really want to be able to provide that resource because there's so few therapists that can provide that resource. And I think that would just be really such a great asset to our community.

Kadie: I'm curious about the infant feeding and swallowing treatment that you want to kind of bring to your community. So how far away is, say, the nearest large hospital where a family would have to drive to?

Nicole: So they're about an hour away, just depending on where you go. Or it can be up to an hour and a half, two hours with traffic. So I have had families that have told me, you know, when they've started with me and didn't realize that I did feeding, and they just came to me for the speech. They were going an hour and a half, two hours every other week to get feeding therapy. And I said, you know, you certainly can make your own decision, but I want to let you know that I can provide some of these services locally. But you know, it's up to you, whatever you guys feel most comfortable with.

Nicole: But that's what a lot of our families are doing. And I get it. And that kind of hurts my heart, kind of a bleeding heart a little bit. Dealing with a newborn and then having that commitment of driving that far weekly, bi-weekly, that is just a lot.

Kadie: It is. It's tough. Yes. And especially once pediatricians would find out your specialty in that, I think that could be huge.

Nicole: Definitely. I've reached out to some local breastfeeding support groups in our area. And so I'm hoping to go to kind of one of their meetings soon, just to kind of get to know the lactation consultant. And I'm all about collaborating. You can't know it all. And really just getting my name out there as well to know that these families don't have to go so far away.

Kadie: So just a couple more questions. As far as pure honesty, biggest struggle throughout this process, whether something ongoing or just a hiccup that was in the road, what would you say that has been for you?

Nicole: I think as I've been this past year, the hardest thing, as I kind of mentioned, I kind of have a bleeding heart. And so the biggest struggle for me is knowing my worth, I guess, and knowing that the time I have spent going to these specialty courses to be able to bring these things to my community here. And I had to have an honest conversation with some of my family members who are a little bit more business savvy than me. And I knew that in order for me to continue to provide services and quality services and to stay afloat, I had to increase my pay, essentially, in order for me to stay afloat.

Nicole: And I think the best and most raw moment for myself was when I was speaking to my dad, who has a financial background. And he said to me, Nicole, that's great if you want to run a social services, that's wonderful. And I give you props for that. But if you continue on this, you're doing no service to your own kids and family. So that was a very raw moment for me, recognizing that I have to find that nice balance where my families can still afford it, but I'm still being a caregiver for my family as well, being a provider.

Kadie: Oh, yeah. That was a very raw moment for me, and I cried a little bit. And that's learning the whole business side of things. And I was never that type of person before, and it's been a big struggle for me. But I'm learning how to really kind of separate those two.

Nicole: That's good. And as time goes on, hopefully that initial guilt of upping your price or determining the best rate, I'm sure that will hopefully go away. And the other thing I always say is that if I didn't recognize my own worth, you know, I'd be doing a disservice to speech therapists in general. I think we are significantly underpaid and insurance companies have not yet recognized that. That's a whole nother podcast though, but it's true. No speech therapist goes into our practice knowing that we're in it for the money. That's just not what it is. But when you go to these specialty trainings and take weekends away where you're away from your family, all to service, you know, to know that you just have this passion to serve these kids in your community, we got to know our worth and know how we affect these people's lives.

Kadie: Absolutely. Yes. And we have to stay true to that. Our education has led us to where we are and there is definitely worth behind our experience and knowledge. As far as a follow-up question for that, has enforcing a cancellation policy also been difficult just from hearing your heart and how hard it is to balance some of these issues for families financially?

Nicole: I do have a cancellation policy. I thankfully have fantastic families and they are very respectful of my time and as I'm respectful of their time as well. So I really haven't had to enforce that as of yet. But if I see it getting abused, that's kind of where I'm going to have to really enforce my policy.

Kadie: Well, as we wrap things up, are there any words of encouragement that you'd like to share for anyone listening who also has aspirations of taking a leap into private practice?

Nicole: I think I kind of mentioned it a little bit earlier, is that you can make it what you want. This has been nine years in the making that I've always known that I've wanted to do something and I saw an opportunity in our community and I saw where services weren't being rendered. You can make it what you want. If you just want to do a couple clients on the side, not take insurance, you know, that's private practice right there. You don't have to have a brick and mortar.

Nicole: So get your feet wet a little bit and start doing something like that. It doesn't have to be this huge presentation where there's a ribbon cutting ceremony and you purchased all these expensive therapy materials. No, you know, I tell a lot of SLPs that who I've kind of supervised through their first year, I said, you know, it's not the therapy materials. It's you. You're the service and you're the educator. And so just know that you don't have to buy all this stuff and there doesn't have to be a lot of overhead costs to get started here.

Nicole: The other thing I would say is something that really, really helped me is getting involved in some private practice Facebook groups. Social media has been such a wealth of information for me. You post a question on there and they'll answer it immediately. And they're all different ranges of experiences, those who've had their private practice for many years and those who are just getting started. I recently was at a course the other weekend and met a couple girls that we, I'm like, gosh, they look familiar. And we had gone to a couple courses before previously. And so I got their contact and I realized that, hey, they have their own private practices in Illinois as well. And so we kind of have our own little text thread that we're doing now. So it's just nice to kind of get in contact specific with other speech therapists with their own private practice in Illinois. Because I feel like Illinois, we're a different ballgame than other states, especially when it comes to insurance, accepting insurance and whatnot.

Kadie: You're so right. What works for one state does not work for Illinois. So it's kind of learning all those details and learning how to jump through those hoops. Good points of encouragement. And I really do appreciate all of your time this morning. That's all we have time for today. I thank you for joining me and I wish your private practice the best as Speech Suite 815 continues to grow. So that's all for today with Clinic Chats, an inside scoop on speech therapy private practice. If you have a moment, please leave a five-star review for Clinic Chats to help other SLPs find our podcast. If you'd like to share your personal journey through private practice, please email me at kadie at clinicnote.com. That's K-A-I-D-E at clinicnote.com.