Today’s episode is all about practice management software with Beata Klarowska, M.S. CCC-SLP. Beata is a speech and language pathologist who started working on practice management software and apps after listening to a professor speak about telehelth services in graduate school. Today, TheraPlatform has grown into a robust practice management and EMR software for SLPs, OTs, PTs and mental health providers. Its features include: scheduling, documenting, billing, secure video conferencing, teaching tools, reports and homework.

In this episode:

02:32 – Building a Speech Therapy Empire

03:05 – All-in-one practice management software platform

06:50 – Your own Business and Flexibility

09:40 – Telepractice software

10:59 – Specific Features

13:06 – Multi Modality Learning Approach

14:35 – Open Ended Built-in Tools

20:23 – Practice Management Features

22:15 – Additional Option

30:29 – Special Promo Code for PrivateSLP Listeners

It kind of all started for me when I was in grad school, so we had to take a technology class and this class mainly focused on AEC devices. It also covered all over button of practice management and therapy software. And at some point and during this class our professor briefly mentioned that ASHA approved Tele practice and that one day we’ll be just doing therapy online. And so he really kind of planted this little seed in my brain and since that point I was doing a lot of research. I was taking CEO classes about a Telepractice. I did a lot of market research and I finally decided to build a Telepractice software.

Well, Hello everyone you’re listening to the Speech Therapy Private Practice StartUp Podcast. This is episode number 47. My name is Kyle Meades and I’m a Speech Pathologist since 1993. And these podcasts are designed to help you improve your business and your life one Podcast at a time.

Welcome back to the show everyone. Thanks again for all the emails and all the questions and as of today, today is Sunday February 17th 2019. We have well over 45691 listeners to the show and I’m super glad you guys are out there getting good valuable information, and I said every single episode, “value is what you get in the absence of money”. And these podcasts are free for you so if you wouldn’t mind can you please go over to the iOS or Android platform of your choice and leave some good five star feedback. That way other people just like you can get the same valuable information that you’re receiving. Also if you are interested in joining in all access community where you can learn how to grow scale your Speech therapy Private Practice, look no further if you go to privateslp.com/coaching you’ll see some options there. I’m not really talking about working from home or just working on the side, I’m talking about a speech therapy empire. I’m talking about having employees, paying taxes and being independent. I’m not really talking and really trying to help people just have a few clients on the side or something like that. I’m talking about the real deal so if you want help you’ve come to the right place privateslp.com/coaching.

Now today we are talking to Beata Klarowska and she is a Speech and Language Pathologist and the Owner of TheraPlatform, and what she has done is created an all-in-one practice management software platform. Now TheraPlatform.com is a practice management EMR software for Speech Therapist, OTs, PTs and Mental health providers. Its features include scheduling, documenting, billing, secure video conferencing, teaching tools, reports, homework and more. So let’s take a listen to today’s interview.

And today we’re talking with Beata Klarowska and she is one of the co-founders of TheraPlatform and the Virtual speech center.

Kyle: Hey Beata, How are you today?

Beata: I’m good. How are you?

Kyle: Oh, I’m doing great. We’re in Tucson and we’re just enjoying the 65 degree weather. I think it’s a lot different from our listeners up in the Michigan area. I was speaking to a gentleman recently from the state of New York and he said it was freezing cold. Do you guys have the same problem there and on the west coast?

Beata: Not freezing cold. I’m in Los Angeles in Burbank area, so February was very nice for us. We got a lot of rain which we highly appreciate given that we had a really bad two years of dry season and the fires, which really appreciate the rain here in February and it looks nice. I enjoy it and I miss the Four Seasons so I’m definitely enjoying the rainy weather today and planning to have a pizza party with my boys. We have tent put out in our living room and after this podcast we will make our own Pizza and have Pizza party. So it’s been nice.

Kyle: Oh that’s great. I remember my son used to like to make tents out of the sheet, we’ll get the clothes, pans and I get the broom handle and make the Center for the tent. And then we would go to the camping store and we will get used camping equipment and we used for sleepovers he would have a sleeping bag in the tents and now everything is just dirt bikes, fortnight and YouTube. So those times are going for me. I miss those days.

Beata: Yeah it’s fun. I love it. My boys are young so they’re 3 and 5, and such a beautiful imaginary. So I’m definitely enjoying them and camping, cooking, pretend play every day. It’s definitely fun. But they grew up way too fast.

Kyle: What a great age and obviously your accent, you’re from Texas. Right? I’m just joking.

Beata: No

Kyle: Where’s that accent from?

Beata: What accent?

Kyle: Yeah right. What accent? We’ve got a group of speech pathologist listening in and I’m sure everyone’s trying to guess the accent it’s not New Zealand it’s not Australia, it’s definitely not Southern Texas or Louisiana, that’s for sure. Where are you from originally?

Beata: I was born in Poland. So I have Polish accent. Yeah, I usually have people telling me Oh maybe you’re from Russia maybe you’re from Germany. I actually had one person who thought I was from Texas so I was kind of interesting. My accent is Polish.

Kyle: Yeah. My other half. Her mother’s name is Timinsky so I know about the Polish. I know about that. I know perogies and all that good food.

Beata: Yeah. My mom is here too. She’s visiting us from Poland too. So she’s treating us perogies, kyompki and poarst, good polish food.

Kyle: Gotta have it in. You’ve got your two boys. Are you able to stay home with him now that you’ve got this new business or are you doing speech pathology work and working with your businesses. How do you do both of those careers?

Beata: Well I’ve been in speech pathology for over 11 years in an medical setting so when I started of my career I didn’t have any children. But after we launched our software company I did get some somehow from family and friends. But having your own business gives you this flexibility and I’m not running a private practice so it’s a little bit easier for me I can kind of arrange my own schedule to meet both needs – the company needs and my kids needs and then it gets easier. They’re growing and are going to preschool now. So I definitely have more time. My working hours are longer. I work five hours in the morning and I have a year break with my kids and I we play and then I work from 6 p.m. to midnight sometimes. But it’s nice to be your own boss and to kind of have this flexibility for sure. It’s not always easy to combine the two but you just do your best.

Kyle: So you mean you’re working five hours in the morning and like a local hospital or something like that and then working 6 to midnight.

Beata: For our company.

Kyle: Oh, So you’re not even practicing any longer.

Beata: I am still in the clinical wards. I go to the hospital just twice a month just to keep in touch. It’s hard for me to quit the clinical setting completely. I love both. I love technology and I’m very dedicated to our software company and again our field is so flexible so I’m really blessed that I can focus in our company full time and then still be in touch with our speech word. So it’s nice.

Kyle: Yeah that’s awesome. Yeah it’s great to be your own boss. I mean that’s one of the reasons I started my own Speech therapy private practice was just so I could have free time with my son. I mean unfortunately he was sick the other day. He was home Monday and Tuesday because of this god awful flu thing going around but I was able to just text the office manager and say, “Hey I’m working from home today” and he was in bed and it’s just a nice benefit to have when you’re your own boss. How did you get from the Speech therapy world with direct treatment for 11 years to just saying “Hey, I want to start Thera platform or the Virtual speech center”? How do you do that? Did you have help or did it hit you like a bolt of lightning one night when you’re going to sleep. I mean how had that happen?

Beata: Well it kind of all started for me when I was into the grad school, so we had to take a technology class and this class mainly focused on AEC devices. It also covered all over button of practice management and therapy software. And at some point and during this class our professor briefly mentioned that ASHA approved Telepractice and that one