Today we’d like to introduce you to Hillary Erp.
Hi Hillary, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My journey to speech therapy started in the hospital. I was a practicing respiratory therapist at Baptist Health in Lexington, KY sharing a department with speech therapist. I got to see them in action with stroke patients and helping them to talk/speak again. It was awesome! Such a rewarding experience to see the joy they brought their patients. Then, my husband and I moved to Roanoke, VA literally right after getting married. We wanted to start a family and I was no longer willing to work night shift and we brainstormed a job that would fit the need to work day shift and still fulfill my need of helping others- this is when I knew I wanted to do speech therapy. After I completed a master’s program to complete speech therapy at Radford University, I started at a big corporation in town that services people for PT, OT and Speech. I had 3 little boys at this point, and I finished my CF year and immediately quit. I had just started my speech therapy journey and was already burned out after 9 months, I had back to back patients, little time to prep, constant scrutiny of productivity and little support building my clinical skills as a therapist. It felt like I was just a tool to make them money, while I got paid so little. I remember having to negotiate time off to pick up my sick kid from daycare- that was not acceptable. That’s when I decided I was going to start Over the Moon Speech, so I could be the mother I always wanted to be- present and giving my kids the best of myself, not some burned out version. This also allowed me to be the kind of speech therapist I wanted to be- one who was lively, rested, and had enough time to really do the best for the patients. Now, I have a practice that is open Monday-Thursday and I choose my own schedule, I see the patients I feel competent enough in my area of speech, language and fluency to see (refer the rest out to other competent clinicians) and I’m sustaining myself through my own practice. It’s completely a dream come true, way earlier than I ever anticipated. The first couple of years were difficult to build a clientele due to no social media, but I have slowly built something based on Google and word of mouth. My philosophy is to do good work, always be honest and follow what Jesus has called me to follow as I care and help others. It’s been a lot of work but very rewarding.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggles included starting my business from scratch. I remember getting paid less the first year than I was getting paid while working as a server at restaurants. Thank goodness for my husband, because we lived off his salary the first year. I went through so many avenues (other than social media) to build clientele and nothing really worked except referrals from other speech therapists that I know and some really great clients who were tired of waiting 6 months on a waitlist for speech services for their kids. They really took a chance on me and it paid off. I have some great kids that I’ve seen since I started! Others have graduated and moved on.
I even went to doctor’s offices, left fliers and cards, went to preschools and talked to directors. I really hussled and some people have told me no or ghosted me, but I’m like Michael Jordan and it just fuels me to try harder. Every no I hear, I just go to 2x more daycares to offer services.
An obvious challenge are all the big hospitals and corporations that are in here in Roanoke, VA. These businesses won’t even include my practice on their referral list (yet) they only refer to their own programs. They feed their own system, even though there is a 3-6 month waitlist for speech services in our area and surrounding areas.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Over the Moon Speech, we provide personalized pediatric speech therapy services for children throughout Roanoke, Salem, Cave Spring, Vinton, Daleville, and surrounding communities. We help children build confidence and communication skills through evidence-based, play-based therapy tailored to each child’s unique strengths and needs.
I specialize in phonological disorder, articulation, fluency, childhood apraxia of speech and language disorders. I am known for providing speech therapy for phonological disorders and kids who stutter, that is absolutely my jam! I love seeing kids with this type of speech disorder and it really fills my cup.
I have built my brand to really focus and tailor therapy to the kid and their parents. I make my office visits include the parents, so they can see the techniques I use and repeat them at home. The more we include families in speech services, the faster the kid get better and no longer needs speech. That’s one of the things that makes me different from other corporations in the area. I am also the only speech practice in Roanoke, VA that offers speech therapy only. I do not offer OT or PT, I care about speech therapy. That’s not to say that I do not care about the other specialities, but my specialty is in speech therapy and that’s what I want to shine in my practice. I do not want to spread myself across 3 specialites, I want to make speech my # 1 focus. I’m not here to just make a buck- I want people to see my practice and think, that’s the place I want to go if I’m focusing on speech. That is the speciality. !!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I used podcasts and listened to people who started their own businesses to get inspired. I also taught myself using google, the steps to take to start a business (it was trial and error for sure). I loved talking to a friend here locally who built a eye-care practice from the ground up.
Get out there and tell people who already own a business your story! Ask for advice from the people who have actually done what you aspire to do; don’t be afraid to hear no or negativity. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to starting a business, let it roll off your back if they don’t believe in your dream. The things in life worth having are the things worth taking a risk for 🙂
Pricing:
- Speech session 30 minutes $82.00
- Comprehensive language + articulation evaluation $200 (1 hour)
- 6 week (1 hour) Kindergarten Readiness Classes $195
- 6 week (1 hour) Little Communicators Classes $195
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.overthemoonspeech.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/overthemoonspeech_roanoke/
