Building a Flexible and Fulfilling Adult Medical Practice with Francesca Hernandez
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What inspired Francesca Hernandez to become a speech‑language pathologist?
Starting a private practice isn't what it used to be. Today's clinicians are starting private practices much quicker, easier, and cheaper than before. And they aren't guessing their way through it or getting stuck in analysis paralysis, they're following a tried and true roadmap in order to save time, money, and frustration. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel or struggle to figure out how to start a private practice on your own. We've helped thousands of SLPs and OTs through this process and now we want to help you too. For a limited time, I'm offering a free copy of our private practice roadmap, specifically for SLPs and OTs who are curious about private practice and want to see what the journey looks like.
To download your free copy, please visit startyourprivatepractice.com backslash roadmap to sign up. Now on to the episode. Francesca Hernandez is a speech language pathologist and the proud owner of Chihuahuan Desert Speech Therapy in El Paso, Texas. Francesca was inspired to pursue the field after her father suffered a traumatic brain injury and developed aphasia when she was 18. After graduate school, she began her career by juggling four different PRN jobs. Francesca joined the Start Your Private Practice program in 2022, right after finishing her CF, but didn't dive into it right away. As she became increasingly frustrated with the productivity demands and lack of autonomy in her job, she turned back to the program and began working through it, realizing that she wanted more control over how and who she served.
In this episode, Francesca shares how she grew her caseload through word of mouth and pediatrician referrals, and how that steady growth gave her the confidence to take her private practice full-time. Time, including adding mobile fees services. If you've been thinking about starting a private practice but feel overwhelmed by the logistics, or you're wondering if it's possible to grow a sustainable adult caseload without a huge marketing budget, and you want to hear how another SLP did it step by step, then this is a must-listen episode, so stay tuned. I'm Jenna Castro-Kasbon, speech language pathologist, business coach, and creator of the Start Your Private Practice System. And I'm on a mission to turn stuck SLPs into successful private practitioners.
If you're tired of dealing with high productivity requirements, high caseload sizes, and low pay, it's time to take control of your professional, personal, and financial life and finally get the freedom, flexibility, and financial abundance that you deserve by working with private clients in your own practice. Join me here each week as I share tips, best practices, and inspirational interviews on the Private Practice Success Stories podcast. If you're a private practitioner or one in the making, you're in the right place, so let's get started. Before we dive in, can you please share your name,
your location, and the name of your private practice? Yes, of course. So my name is Francesca Hernandez. I live in El Paso, Texas, and the name of my private practice is Chihuahuan Desert Speech Therapy.
Okay, I am so excited to do this with you today because I have enjoyed having you be a part of our start program and seeing what you've been able to accomplish through private practice. But before we get to where you are in your private practice journey right now, can you take us back to the beginning of how you got started in the profession and then at what point did you start thinking about private practice?
Yes. So what kind of drew me to the field of speech language pathology was my dad. He actually had a traumatic brain injury when I was 18 years old and he has aphasia. So I got to see really firsthand how speech pathologists worked with him in different settings. And I knew that that was something that I wanted to go into. Going into private practice, I feel like I kind of knew early on that that was something I wanted to do. For me, when I visualized like the ideal private practice, it would be working with the brain injury population, traumatic brain injuries, or individuals who've had strokes, other neurological disorders as well, Parkinson's dementia.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Francesca Hernandez to become a speech‑language pathologist?
0:00–5:09
2
How did Francesca’s four PRN jobs after grad school shape her clinical experience?
5:09–7:49
3
What made Francesca decide to leave her full‑time job and start a private practice?
7:49–10:39
4
How did word‑of‑mouth and pediatrician referrals help grow her adult caseload?
10:39–13:23
5
What does a typical workday look like for Francesca running a mobile adult practice?
13:23–16:53
6
Why did Francesca add mobile speech‑therapy services and how does she market them?
16:53–19:40
7
What challenges did she face when transitioning to full‑time private practice and how were they overcome?
19:40–22:46
8
What advice does Francesca give to clinicians who are hesitant to start their own practice?
22:46–24:41
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Private Practice Success Stories
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She Started With Two Clients on the Side - Now She Has Nine SLPs and a Clinic with Samantha Taylor
From 2 Clients on the Side to Ready to Hire — Then She Decided She Didn't Want To with Bianca Gizzi Fusco
She Told Her Dad She’d Never Start a Private Practice - Now She Has a Successful Clinic and Growing Team with Sarah Landry
She Started at 26 With One Referral - Now She Has a Downtown Office and a 3-Year School Contract with Becca Vilsaint
She Didn't Hate Her Job BUT She Left to Start a Private Practice Anyway with Heather Danielkiewicz