We were lucky to catch up with Sadia Fuller-Palmer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Sadia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
I’ve been a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for over 18 years now, and during those years I’ve started my own speech therapy private practice, Speech Language & More, Inc. Being an SLP has brought me so much joy and fulfillment. Part of that fulfillment comes from all the various individuals I’ve been able to help along the way.
As an SLP, I provide speech/language therapy services for children to adults stemming from a wide variety of diagnoses. One of my most memorable success story is about a young man with a severe stuttering disorder. His speech impediment negatively affected him his entire life. He stated that as a child he was bullied during school, belittled by some family members, and was made to feel like he was worthless. This caused him to be withdrawn, and he kept his verbal communication at a bare minimum to get his wants/needs met. As a young adult, he started wanting more out of life. He started exercising more, obtained a job and started working, and started dating just to name a few things. He gained more confidence in himself; however, his speech disorder was still holding him back from his full potential.
Him and his girlfriend came to see me at my office for an evaluation one day. I was able to learn so much about this bright young man during the session and realized he had so much more to offer but was paralyzed by fear, embarrassment, and resentment due to his severe stuttering disorder. He even mentioned how scared he was to call me himself to schedule the evaluation, so he asked his girlfriend to do it for him. He was working in a customer service job where he speaks to customers directly each day and wanted to improve his verbal communication skills by reducing his stuttering episodes. During the subsequent therapy sessions, he was able to learn various strategies to assist in decreasing his stuttering episodes, which in turn helped him to produce a more fluid speech output. We of course also worked on rebuilding his self-confidence, talking more about his self-worth, etc. After few months, I was so pleased to get a phone call from him stating that he is now a manager at his job. Even though his stuttering disorder didn’t completely disappear, he’s now able to speak a lot more fluently, which makes him more intelligible to his listeners. He stated that he’s more confident during his day-to-day interactions with others, he’s more of a people person, and he loves himself just a little bit more.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’ve always been driven and a go-getter, even as a little girl growing up in Jamaica. I knew I wanted to own my own business one day. Fast forward a couple of years, at the age of 13, my family and I migrated to the United States. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to work in a field where I’m able to help others, especially children. During high school, I was introduced to the profession of speech-language pathology and fell in love. Not only will I be able to work with children, but I will also be able to help individuals of all ages. The complexity of the field was also alluring due to the broad range of therapies speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide to treat so many different disorders. I attended the University of South Florida, where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders and a Minor in American Sign Language (ASL) in 2002. In 2004, I graduated from the University of South Florida with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and became a Certified and Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in the state of Florida. After working in a variety of settings, I decided to start my own speech therapy private practice, and in 2012 became the founder and lead SLP of Speech Language & More, Inc. We now have locations in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, as well as provide speech, language and accent modification therapy worldwide via teletherapy.
At Speech Language & More, Inc. (SLM. Inc.), we provide speech/language therapy services, as well as accent modification therapy for children to adults. Our goal is to provide quality, functional and effective therapy to all our patients. We are able to achieve excellence by customizing specific therapy services to meet the unique needs of each individual patient, as well as responding to the concerns and needs of patients, parents, caregivers, and family members. Our therapists have extensive experience in the evaluation and treatment of a wide variety of diagnoses in children and adults. Our priority is to improve our patient’s ability to effectively communicate and function in his or her daily living, school, play environments, etc. The unique thing about Speech Language & More, Inc. is the great bond we achieve with our patients. We are like family at SLM, Inc. Our patients achieve such high improvement rates due to the highly effective therapy our therapists provide, but also due to the positive and close relationships that are created. Treating the whole person is what we do at Speech Language & More, Inc.
Being a multi-passionate person, I love anything and everything interior design. I am an Interior Design Enthusiast. I love decorating and creating spaces that are aesthetically pleasing yet functional. I believe your home and workspace shouldn’t be just a shelter, it should also be your oasis. And for that very reason, I’ve also created SFP Interiors to assist others in creating their own aesthetically pleasing sanctuaries. Our priority is to work with our clients to design/decorate their homes and take them from inspiration to flawless outcomes. At SFP Interiors, we provide interior design/decorating services to local residential and commercial clients, as well as E-design services worldwide. E-design is a simpler and more affordable alternative to traditional interior design.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The unique thing about Speech Language & More, Inc. is the great bond we achieve with our patients/parents/caregivers. We are like family at SLM, Inc., and due to that we get lots of referrals via word of mouth. Our patients and parents are always recommending us to other individuals, who in turn becomes actual patients. We are also on a majority of the pediatrician’s referral lists in our area and receive most of our patients through them. Keeping a good rapport with the doctors is very beneficial to our business. Knowing that their patients are in good hands by seeing progress and getting updates from us periodically, creates trust and gives them a sense of dependability. We also get referrals generated from our social media platforms and from our google listings. From our google insights, we noticed a high percentage of visitors to our website which generates numerous phone calls inquiring about our services.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
SFP Interiors started from me loving to decorate my home which is one of my most favorite hobbies. Being a mom of 2, I love creating aesthetically pleasing spaces, however, they definitely have to be functional. I posted most of the pictures of my home on my social media platforms and started getting tons of questions about my décor process. Since decorating is one of my passions, I was more than happy to answer as many questions as I possibly could. One day during a session with my business coach, she informed me that instead of giving away my décor tips for free, I can monetize them instead. I then created an LLC, started business pages on various social media platforms, and created a website to get my name out there. I offer various levels of services, such as paint color selection, choosing accessories, kitchen cabinet choices, etc. to full interior design/decoration services. This allowed individuals who thought they could never afford an interior designer the opportunity to get some assistance with their space/project that can fit their budget and based on their needs. SFP Interiors provides interior design/decorating services to local residential and commercial clients, as well as E-design services worldwide. SLP Interiors did not replace my full-time business/career as a speech-language pathologist which was by choice. However, it provided a great supplement doing something on my own time/terms and doing something I completely enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.speechlanguageandmore.com, www.fpconsultgroup.com
- Instagram: @slmspeech, @sfpinteriors
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SLMspeech, https://www.facebook.com/SFPinteriors
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadiapalmer