How I Gave Myself a $24,000 Raise
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What motivated the host to start a private practice and how did it begin?
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backslash roadmap to sign up. Now on to the episode. All right, I want to tell you the story of how I
gave myself a $24,000 raise. So I'll never forget my first December working as a speech pathologist. I was on the phone heading home from work when my dad asked, What did you get for your Christmas bonus? And to be honest, it felt like a
punch to the gut. Nothing, I said. Nothing, he said in
surprise. I said nothing. I don't think they do bonuses here. He was completely shocked and I kind of was too. As someone who works in corporate and is used to getting bonuses as part of his compensation package, he was so sad to hear that I wasn't getting one. You know, he knew that I worked really, really hard, and I was also sad to not be getting a raise. And one of the major reasons was because I was getting married in the next year, and I knew that I could really use some extra money to put toward the wedding fund. I was a new SLP and I didn't realize yet that most SLPs and OTs two don't get bonuses, right? That's just not part of the culture of our work, unfortunately. And this happens despite our level of expertise, right?
Despite how much we care about the clients we serve, and despite how hard we work for our clients, but on behalf of our employer. So a couple months later, I had an opportunity to start working with private clients. And I was 26 and I had recently completed my clinical fellowship. And I loved my patients. I loved my coworkers.
How did the first private‑client opportunity arise and what rates were set?
But the bureaucracy, the endless paperwork, and the limitations on the care that I could provide, and yes, the low pay, were starting to lean to the first signs of burnout. I didn't know what burnout was. I was so early in my career. Um, and they didn't have the term early career burnout back then. But all I knew was I was having regrets about the profession, which I absolutely loved, but I didn't really like how the job was set up. And frankly, it was around this time that something really cool happened, which is that two of my coworkers, we were having lunch one day and they started talking about their private practices. And I had no idea that they had private practices because I literally had no idea that you could have a private practice on the side of your job.
I literally thought you were either in private practice or you weren't. And I just didn't know that you could have a private practice side hustle. So they started talking about their practices and how they did not have a brick and mortar location, either of them. And again I was thinking like, what do you mean? I thought that you had to have a physical location for your private practice. And they both said, oh no, we're both mobile. We go see clients at their houses. And I was like I didn't know that that was a thing. And so they said, Jenna, do you want to see private clients? And I thought, Me? I'm only 26 and I haven't been at this for very long. Um, I could see private clients. And they said, well, has anyone ever asked you to treat privately?
And I said, well, yeah, a couple people have asked, but I've always said no. Um and so then they said, Jonna, you should say yes next time. So I called my dad, right? And uh he's his businessman. And when he knew that I was gonna go into speech therapy, he was really happy, first of all, because he was disfluent as a child.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What motivated the host to start a private practice and how did it begin?
0:00–2:28
2
How did the first private‑client opportunity arise and what rates were set?
2:28–4:31
3
What impact did the first client have on burnout and professional control?
4:31–6:19
4
How did the side practice grow from one client to a steady stream of extra income?
6:19–7:35
5
How was the $24,000 “raise” calculated and what financial milestones were hit?
7:35–9:46
6
What business‑side lessons does the host share for clinicians wanting to earn more?
9:46–11:39
7
Why does the host argue that earning more as a therapist isn’t selfish?
11:39–13:43
8
What next steps and resources does the episode recommend for launching a private practice?
13:43–16:02
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Private Practice Success Stories
She Spent 5 Years Too Scared to Start - Now She Has a 4-Room Clinic with Tiffany Fairdosi
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