"Am I Too Old to Start a Private Practice?"

posted on OCTOBER 21, 2020

Many people think that you should wait until the end of your career to start a speech therapy private practice. Here's why that mindset is holding you back from gaining the freedom, flexibility, and fulfillment that you deserve.

There are so many reasons why people feel they need to wait until "they're ready" to start a private practice.

People wait because they want to feel like an expert first. People wait because they want to gain more experience. People wait until their kids are out of the house. People wait until “it’s the right time.”

Wondering if you waited too long to start your private practice? Nope. Your expertise is badly needed and there are real people in your community who need your services and expertise!

The truth is that the best time to plant a tree is yesterday — the second-best time? That's today! In the same way, the best time to start a private practice is now! Let's hear from 2 SLPs who started their private practices later in life to see what they have to say about their experience.

2 SLPs Who Started Their Practices Later In Life Weigh In

Meet Liz: After spending 25 years working with children with disabilities and supervising clinical fellows, being passed over for promotions, Liz was laid off in her early 60’s and had to figure out what to do next.

"I just couldn't face having a boss anymore." — Liz

Liz started a private practice called Better Speech Now, which provides accent reduction services to people in the Queens, NY area.

On her “off days,” Liz spends time with her grandchildren and friends.

Meet Claudia: Claudia works in the school system full-time but has started a private practice “on the side” so that she can supplement her future retirement income with money from private practice. She always wanted a business of her own and private practice made the most sense.

“Old dogs can learn new tricks.” — Claudia

There are tons of SLPs out there who always meant to start private practices and now is your chance.

4 Steps to Start a Private Practice As You Approach Retirement

Determine What You Want Your Schedule to Be

Before you get too far into this whole thing, decide when you want to see your own private clients.

For example, do you want to see clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays and leave the other days open for visiting grandchildren, friends, hobbies, etc? Do you want to see clients in the mornings only? It’s completely up to you!

Determine Which Types of Clients You Want to See

You have spent your career working with various populations - but which one(s) are truly your favorite(s)?

Whether it’s children with autism, adults who want to reduce their accents (like Liz from above), adults with aphasia and more, you get to choose which populations you can best serve.

Determine How Much Money You Want/Need to Make

I highly suggest taking a look at your finances to see how much money (on a monthly basis) you need to earn to achieve your goals. Divide that number by your hourly rate (say $125/hour) and that will give you an idea of how many sessions to schedule each month.

If you have a pension at work, take that into account. You may not want to leave your job entirely and risk losing it. Another option would be to have a small, part-time practice on the side until you’re fully retired.

Determine If You Need Help to Achieve Your Goals

If you want help to start your private practice, I offer a comprehensive, step-by-step online course that walks you through the entire process start to finish.

Claudia is a graduate of the program and will welcome you with open arms when you join. Click here to learn more.

If you’ve been waiting until “someday” to start your private practice, start today instead. 

You already have the clinical knowledge, now you just need the business skills to start your practice off right and minimize any legal, financial and personal risks. 

If you’ve been serving in a school, hospital, early intervention, etc. for your entire career, it’s time to serve yourself. 

It’s time to work on your own terms, your own schedule, and in a way that suits you.

You’re not too old and it’s not too late.

You can do this.

Want to start working with your own private clients? Get help to start your private practice today and shorten the learning curve.

Hundreds of SLPs have gone through my step-by-step course, The Start Your Private Practice System.

Want to join? Click here to hop on the waiting list and you’ll be notified as soon as it’s available.