We were lucky to catch up with Ebony Green recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ebony, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Back in 2020 I had an idea to start a coaching business for speech language pathologists in business. I remember search for “SLP Business Coaches” in google and Instagram and only one person came up. That’s when I knew there was a gap in the market and I needed to fill that gap.
That night I remember going to sleep and literally having a dream about my coaching business. I wasn’t sure who my audience was going to be yet, but I knew that I would be helping people become successful.
Then one day I won a big government contract with a school district and this contract allowed my business to stay afloat during the pandemic. That is when I had a lightbulb moment and decided to teach other speech language pathologists how to diversify their business revenue streams through government contracts. That weekend, my first masterclass, The School Contracting Masterclass was born. Today, I’ve helped hundreds of speech language pathologists learn the process of obtaining contracts with school districts and my clients have received contracts with school districts totaling in the millions.

For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.

The thing I’m most proud of is that I am helping change the narrative for what it means to be a business owner in my industry. Many private practice owners lack business skills and education, at no fault of their own. Our graduate programs in this field tend to focus exclusively on clinical training and education. Through my online courses for business owners in speech language pathology, I am able to help provide resources and tools to entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in this field.

I got into speech language pathology after spending a few years working in public education as a teacher. I realized that the students who needed the most support were those with learning disabilities and speech difficulties. My desire to provide more support to the kids who struggled the most is what led me to pursue a career in speech language pathology. After working in the field for a few years I decided to start my own private practice. Two of my former mentors where private practice owners and they inspired me to do the same.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When I started my private practice, I got the initial funding from personal savings. For a few years leading up to me going into full time entrepreneurship, my husband and I started a debt free journey. We drove used cars, shopped at thrift stores and stuck to a strict budget during that time. As a result we were able to pay off all of our student loan debt, start an emergency fund, and have enough in savings to help me start my business. I also received a small loan from a family member to help with initial startup costs.
When I started my online business I used some funds from my other business to fund it. However, the online business space is much different than other businesses that have a ton of startup costs. There are very little startup costs in the online business world and profit margins are higher than in most other industries.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective way for growing my clientele in both businesses is to gain visibility in the marketplace and grow my personal brand. I’ve been able to speak at professional conferences, participate in charity events, establish partnerships with other businesses all due to growing my personal brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thespeakcenter.com
• Instagram: @thespeakcenter @theslpbusiness_suite

Image Credits

Keosha Aidoo Photography
Fem Force Photography