Transitioning to Full-Time Private Practice After Starting On The Side with Dr. Dani Gaff
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What motivated Dr. Dani Gaff to start a private practice on the side of her school job?
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 dot com backslash roadmap to sign up. Now on to the episode. Dr. Danny Gaff, aka the Messi SLP, is a speech language pathologist with a pediatric private practice in Indiana. She launched her practice, Messi Speech and Language Therapy, with the intention of staying part-time or on the side of her school job. However, the joy and fulfillment that she found in private practice, coupled with the autonomy that it provided, ultimately convinced her to take the plunge and go full time. Danny is an alum of the Start Your Private Practice program, and in this episode, she shares her journey from being a part-time private practitioner to fully shifting into full-time private practice.
Danny also highlights the financial benefits that she discovered, noting that she nearly doubled her income by combining school contracts with her private practice work. Despite some challenges and uncertainties, she emphasizes the unparalleled freedom and fulfillment that she now experiences. If you've been thinking about starting a private practice on the side, and Danny is one of your Instagram influencer heroes, just like she is for me, 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. How's it going, Danny? I mean, how are you? I'm fantastic. Are you having a good day so far? been a great day. It was a day in my office. So I loved it. I love it. So I'm pretty sure pretty much everybody on Instagram knows who you are.
But just in case, can you kind of introduce yourself and share who you are and also how you got started in private practice?
Yeah, so I'm Danny Gaff. I am a speech language pathologist. I graduated in twenty eighteen. So this is six years of being an SLP, which is awesome and exciting. I worked everywhere in an elementary school, now a high school. I have worked in private practice. I now own my own private practice. I worked in a SNIF. I worked in a feeding and swallowing clinic. I've been all over the place and I'm currently in South Bend, Indiana. And for almost a year, I've been operating my private practice full time. with a school contract and then running my own office and starting next week on Monday, I start in my own office full time. I love everything
about that, right? I know that you're a hard worker, right? And I know that you've been in like a million different settings. I know that you've talked about just being making sure that you're like flipping all the kids and whatever else.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What motivated Dr. Dani Gaff to start a private practice on the side of her school job?
0:00–5:57
2
How did Dani recognize and address burnout and the need for professional boundaries?
5:57–10:55
3
What were the key steps and challenges in launching Messy Speech & Language Therapy as a part‑time side hustle?
10:55–15:25
4
How did Dani’s financial picture change when she combined school contracts with private‑practice work?
15:25–19:59
5
What factors led Dani to decide to go full‑time with her private practice?
19:59–25:00
6
How does full‑time private practice give Dani flexibility in scheduling, family life, and personal hobbies?
25:00–30:14
7
What are Dani’s plans for expanding her practice and trying new initiatives (insurance, community events, collaborations)?
30:14–35:21
8
What advice does Dani share for SLPs who want to start or grow a private practice while avoiding burnout?
35:21–41:36
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