Prioritizing Family in a Growing Private Practice with Kristen Fernandez
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What motivated Kristen Fernandez to start her own private speech‑language practice?
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-trude 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 Kristen Fernandez is a speech language pathologist and the owner of Spark Pediatric Therapy in Northern Virginia. She started her private practice after being drawn to the independence, flexibility, and financial benefits that owning a private practice offers. I got to know Kristen during her time in the Grow Your Private Practice program, and it has been so amazing to see her success in private practice in just one year. In this episode, she talks about her background in school settings and her experiences in private practices, which led her to the inspiration to starting her own private practice using a child centered, play-based therapy approach that is neurodiversity affirming.
Kristen highlights the importance of setting boundaries, self-care, and prioritizing personal well-being in order to sustain a fulfilling and successful career in private practice. If you've been thinking about starting a private practice because you want to prioritize family, but also have extra income, this is a must-listen episode, so stay tuned. I'm Jenna Castro-Kazvan, CEO of the Independent Clinician and founder of Private Practice School. First, I started my own private practice. And then over the past 15 years, I've worked with over 10,000 SLPs and OTs to start and grow their successful private practices so they can have more freedom, flexibility, fulfillment, and finances. I created the Private Practice Success Stories podcast.
to share what's possible for you, your family, your clients, and your community when you choose private practice. We'll share everything from small private practice side hustles to flexible lifestyle private practices to traditional brick and mortar practices, and everything in between. You'll meet regular clinicians, just like you, who followed our steps and are now living their private practice dreams. If they can do it, you can do it too. So let's get started. First, can you just introduce yourself and share your name, your location, and the name of your private practice?
Yes, so uh my name is Kristen Fernandez. I live in Northern Virginia. In Loudoun County, so about forty five minutes outside of DC. And my practice is called Spark Pediatric Therapy.
How long have you been in private practice and when did you first get
started? So I launched Spark back last June. So we're going up on a year.
Not that long ago. And what made you s like what factors contributed to you deciding to start a private practice?
Oh man. Just so many things. Independence. Flexibility. I have three kids. So that's big. It's big. Bringing in a little bit more money while also having that flexible schedule has been huge for us.
Totally. And before your private practice, what setting or settings were you working in? I was primarily in the
schools. I had a lot of graduate placements in private practice. And so that's kind of what granted the seed. But then post grad I ended up in school, like a lot of us, right? Yeah, since then just kind of been trying to get back into it.
Love that. And when you were you had a couple of these experiences in other people's private practices, what were some things that you kind of took from that experience that you were like, you know what, this is something that I either and you don't have to throw anybody under the bus or anything, but you know, what were some things that you you saw that you do like, okay, I definitely want to do that, or I don't want to do that.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What motivated Kristen Fernandez to start her own private speech‑language practice?
0:00–4:35
2
How did Kristen’s experience in schools and other private practices shape Spark Pediatric Therapy?
4:35–7:18
3
What is the number‑one lesson Kristen learned from working in other private practices?
7:18–10:14
4
How does Kristen choose the types of clients she works with and why is that important?
10:14–13:10
5
What strategies does Kristen use to attract new clients on autopilot?
13:10–16:41
6
How does Kristen structure her schedule to balance three kids, a husband, and a growing practice?
16:41–19:33
7
What non‑negotiable self‑care practices does Kristen follow to avoid burnout?
19:33–22:45
8
What are Kristen’s future plans for expanding her practice and why does she advise not waiting for “perfect timing”?
22:45–26:37
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