Starting a Private Practice for SLPs and OTs: 10 Steps to Success

Ready to make the next move in your career? Starting a private practice is a great opportunity to make the most of the skills and expertise that you’ve built as a clinician! However, starting a private practice can be tricky; there’s no blueprint for how to do it (and they definitely didn’t teach this stuff in grad school). It can be helpful to learn from those who have done it before and use their wisdom to avoid common pitfalls or mistakes. To get you started on the right foot, we’ve put together a guide that walks you through ten steps to success in starting your very own private practice.

 

Step 1:

Decide if you’re ready for private practice. 

Starting a private practice can be exciting, but it also takes work. Between work commitments and family commitments, it can be difficult to know when you are “ready” to take the leap. But, if you’re ready for:

• Flexible schedule
• Higher financial upside
• Freedom to practice the way you want to

…then you are ready to start a private practice today! Saying “yes” is the first step! Once you’re committed, you’re on your way to creating a great private practice of your own.

 

Step 2:

Select an appropriate business structure. 

As an independent clinician, you’ll want a formal business structure for your practice. You might have heard terms like sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or S Corp. Selecting a business structure depends on what makes sense for your specific situation. For more information, check out this article. When actually creating the business, it usually makes sense to get professional help from a lawyer or an online service provider like Heard.

Note: You’ll want to research the specific policies of your state. For example, in California, LLCs are not allowed if you are providing medical services (applies to SLPs and OTs).

 

Step 3:

Complete your “business card.” 

When someone hands you a business card, they are generally sharing five things: name, address, phone number, email, and website. You’ll need to have all five of these “business card” requirements for your private practice.

• Business Name. This is your chance to get creative! Some clinicians choose to have their name in the title while others want to mention a specific city or region. There also might be requirements for naming based on your state. (If you create an S Corp in California, your name must include one of the following: “speech pathologist,” “speech pathology,” “speech therapy,” “speech correction,” “speech correctionist,” “speech therapist,” “speech clinic,” “speech clinician,” “language pathologist,” “language pathology,” “logopedics,” “logopedist,” “communicology,” “communicologist,” “aphasiologist,” “voice therapy,” “voice therapist,” “voice pathology,” or “voice pathologist,” “language therapist,” or “phoniatrist,” or any similar titles.)
• Business Address. You might be practicing in a number of different locations: a clinic/office, in families’ homes, in your home, in-community, or virtually. Regardless, for families and required business documents, you’ll need an official address. If you have a physical office, you can use that, but if not, you’ll likely need to use your personal address.

💡 Pro Tip: If you don’t have an office location and don’t want your personal address to be public, you can get a virtual mailbox from a place like Anytime Mailbox or UPS.

• Business Website. You’ll want your own website so that families searching for care online can find you. A well-designed and thoughtful website can help you rank higher in Google Search results and reach more families. There are many options that can help you create a professional-looking website: sites like Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, and Web.com. Squarespace is a great option — with a business plan, you get Google Workspace and a website domain included free for a year.
• Business Email. A business email is a great way to keep business and personal communication separate. Google Workspace is a great option to create a business email and gives you access to the entire suite of Google products. (If you’re using Squarespace for your website, they can help set up your business email too.)
• Business Phone. You’ll need a phone number when registering your business. This phone number will be public and might be shared with families, insurance companies, or other entities. If you use your personal number, you might be more prone to spam calls. To keep your personal and professional communication separate, you can set up a business phone number. The Starter Plan from Google Voice is $10/mo and a great option for private practice beginners.

 

Step 4:

Register your business. 

You’ll need to make your practice a distinct legal entity and register with federal and state departments.

• EIN Number. At the federal level, you’ll want to register your business with the IRS. If you don’t get an EIN, you’ll have to use your personal social security number on tax documents and other official documents. You can get started with creating an EIN by clicking here.
• Business Registration. You’ll need to register your business with your state (for S Corps, LLCs, and partnerships) or your county or city (for sole proprietors). You can find more information here.

 

Step 5:

Protect your practice. 

We’re not lawyers, so don’t take this as official legal advice, but if you ask anyone in private practice, they’ll tell you that you want to protect your practice from risk. As a clinician, you’ll want to protect yourself by securing professional liability insurance (also known as “malpractice insurance”). Without this, you could personally be on the hook for thousands of dollars if you were to be sued. Also, if you’re operating your own office or even subleasing a space, you’ll want to have general liability insurance to protect yourself since families will be on your premises. You can apply for both of these online through companies such as Next Insurance or CPH Insurance.

💡Pro Tip: Most clinicians in private practice get $1M Individual/$3M Aggregate.

 

Step 6:

Organize your finances. 

For many clinicians moving into private practice, finances is the most unfamiliar territory. The most important thing when it comes to finances is staying organized. A business bank account, accounting help, and a bookkeeping software can help you do just that.

• Bank Account. For tax reasons, it’s important to keep personal expenses separate from business expenses. A good first step is to open up a business bank account and get a business credit card.
• Accounting. Taxes are complicated and it can be helpful to have an expert help you. We recommend hiring an accountant (typically $600-$1000 per year) to help make sure you are filing quarterly taxes correctly and taking advantage of deductions you’re entitled to. To find an accountant, we’d recommend asking your local network for referrals.
• Bookkeeping software. For bookkeeping, you can ask your accountant what they’d recommend. Quickbooks is a software that we’ve seen a lot of therapists use. It allows you to stay organized and make sure everything is categorized correctly. Plus, it has plans starting as low as $30 per month.

 

Step 7:

Decide if you want to take insurance. 

This is an important decision to make: are you only interested in private pay clients or are you looking to serve families through insurance as well? There can be pros and cons to being an in-network provider:

Pros:

• Reach: Many families are not able to afford private pay rates. Taking insurance allows you to say yes to a wider range of potential families
• Referrals: Once you’re in-network, insurance companies will refer families to you, resulting in a strong channel of new clients
• Stability: If there is an economic downturn, an insurance client is going to stay with you while a private pay client may not

Cons:

• Delays: It can take two to four months to get credentialed and after you submit each claim it could take two to three months to get reimbursed.
• Reimbursement rates: As an individual provider, it can be difficult to negotiate high enough reimbursement rates that make economic sense
• Administrative Burden: You’ll likely have to go back and forth with the insurance company when claims don’t go through the first time around. Plus, you’ll have to deal with families insurance plans to make sure they are covered for services

💡Pro Tip: Wouldn’t it be nice if you could enjoy the benefits of insurance without all the delays and administrative burden? That’s what we offer at Beaming Health. If you’re interested in taking insurance with higher reimbursement rates and no administrative burden, let’s talk!

Note: If you’re interested in taking insurance, see Step 8. If not, you can skip to Step 9.

 

Step 8:

Prepare to be an in-network provider. 

In order to accept insurance, you’ll need to complete the necessary forms, and be prepared for the expectations that come with being part of an insurance company’s network.

• Universal Forms. Regardless of which insurance company you decide to work with, you’ll need certain documents.
• NPI Number. Your NPI Number is a unique identifier developed by the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). You can create one by getting started here. If you ever plan on hiring staff, you’ll also need an NPI-2.
• CAQH Form. This is similar to a Common Application for colleges and universities. This profile, a comprehensive overview of your credentials and work experience, will be used in the process of getting in-network. You can get started here.
• Credentialing Paperwork. In order to get in-network with an insurance company, you’ll need to follow their unique process. Unfortunately, each process will be slightly different and may involve emails, forms, interviews, or other vetting processes. Check out a specific insurance company’s website to get started.
• Language of Insurance. When you get in-network, you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing things correctly so you get paid for the services you provide. You’ll need to learn: how to fill out a CMS-1500 Claim Form, the intricacies of secondary billing, how deductibles and copays work, and ways to avoid insurance fraud.

💡Pro Tip: With Beaming Health, we take care of getting this all done for you. In under an hour of your time, we’ll get all of the information we need to get you credentialed. Plus you’ll never have to learn the language of insurance yourself because we’ll take care of the billing for you. If you’re interested, let’s talk!

 

Step 9:

Prepare to see clients. 

You’re almost there! With most of the paperwork and registration tasks behind, you’re ready to see your first patients. When you’re seeing patients, you’ll want to be sure that patient data is secure and organized.

• Secure patient communication. To maintain the privacy of your patients, you’ll need an HIPAA-compliant way to send emails. If you primarily use Gmail, you can still use it, but you’ll need to adjust the settings to ensure it follows HIPAA requirements. Instructions can be found here.
• Progress notes. You’ll want a basic structure to organize progress notes and keep patient data up-to-date. EMR (Electronic Medical Record) systems are designed to do this in a user-friendly way. For private practice starters, we like Simple Practice.

 

Step 10:

Spread the word. 

This is it! — the final step is to reach families in your community! You likely have connections in your professional network to preschools, daycares, or other clinicians who might have families who are looking for services. That’s a great place to start. We also recommend building out your digital presence: update your website with more information about you including any testimonials you might have from parents or colleagues, and create an Instagram and a Facebook page. This will help reach families in your area who you might not be connected to yet. Lastly, join directory websites that list local speech therapists.

💡Pro Tip: The best way to build a consistent flow of families looking for services is by taking insurance. If you’re worried about finding your first families or building out your caseload, we can help! Feel free to chat with our team here!