We recently connected with Olivia Schwalbach, MS, CCC-SLP and have shared our conversation below.

Olivia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Healthcare seems to be getting less and less personal. Patients often only spend five minutes with general practitioners, and many healthcare providers are limited by having to practice within the specific constraints of insurance companies. Summit Speech is different in that the quality of care for patients and the comfort of parents are top priorities. My mission is to foster communication skills for the purpose of connection. Our words carry great weight, and I’m honored to have a role in helping children find those words.

The practice provides concierge speech, language, and myofunctional services for children. Services are provided in families’ homes so that the child feels most comfortable, and the parents can be active members of the treatment team. The home environment also allows me to teach parents strategies to easily incorporate into their daily lives. The benefit, and differentiator, of being a small, specialty practice is parents have access to me for questions between sessions. The work doesn’t end when a session ends – I’m always thinking about my patients and the best ways to help them thrive. I’m a fierce advocate for the children I serve, and want parents to feel heard and cared for throughout the process. When a family chooses Summit Speech, I treat them like family. Pouring love, expertise, and passion into each child’s treatment plan is not always the industry standard, but I would not have it any other way.

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’m Olivia, the owner and speech-language pathologist (SLP) of Summit Speech, LLC. First and foremost, I am a wife and mother to two young children. Being a mom has allowed me to appreciate the level of trust required when choosing healthcare professionals for my own family. Ensuring families feel heard and cared for is of utmost importance to me.

My career began in the in-home early intervention space, where I served children ages birth-to-three experiencing speech, language, and swallowing disorders. I then moved into the private practice world and led the speech team at a pediatric clinic. When my family and I moved to Tennessee, I merged my experiences of private practice with the in-home therapy model to start Summit Speech.

I now serve children of all ages experiencing a vast array of challenges, including speech disorders (difficulty producing certain sounds, stuttering, lisp), language disorders (late talkers, difficulty forming phrases, using communication devices), and myofunctional disorders (tongue tie, mouth breathing, feeding disorders). I am trained in several innovative specialties, including PROMPT, DTTC, Orofacial Myology, TOTs, Feeding, and AAC, and also treat the autism and apraxia populations. This work is my passion – hearing a child say a sound perfectly, or say a word for the first time is a true gift and never gets old.

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

This business was built at the speed of cash, as Dave Ramsey says. My husband and I knew we wanted to start the business slowly, steadily, and without a lot of overhead so that it would be an enjoyable process. I was also pregnant with our second child while starting it, so keeping stress as low as possible was essential. This involved getting very creative! I minored in studio art in my undergraduate work and have always been interested in art and design. This hobby lended itself to creating my own website from scratch, as well as developing my own branding for my social media accounts and marketing materials. These services can cost thousands with professionals, so teaching myself these skills to develop the front door of the business was key. I spent many nights watching YouTube tutorials, Googling, and phoning friends to make it all come together! I also enlisted the help of talented friends and family members to brainstorm the mission, logistics, and most efficient business practices for Summit Speech.

A benefit of starting a business in the field of speech-language pathology is that we don’t require a lot of fancy equipment. A graduate school professor once told our class: “The most expensive piece of equipment you’ll use is your brain, which you’re training now”. My therapy style is very play-based, and luckily I have quite the collection of toys and activities at home, thanks to my almost three-year-old! That being said, there are ways to get creative with equipment costs as well. When I first started, I didn’t even have my own laptop – I would go to the library to work on my website. There’s always a way to keep expenses small in the early stages.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Networking with other local healthcare providers has been a wonderful source of finding new clients. When it comes to providers for children, word of mouth is often the best form of advertising. (removed exclamation mark) As a mom myself, if I’m seeking a provider for one of my little ones, the first thing I do is ask my friends for recommendations. Building trusting relationships with parents and other local pediatric specialists has been so beneficial. Ultimately, I want the children I serve to excel in all areas of life, not just speech and language. So it’s a big blessing to have a network of great chiropractors, holistic dentists, lactation consultants, craniosacral therapists, and occupational therapists who I know will treat families well.

I’ve also found that people in Middle Tennessee are so kind and generous. People go out of their way to help each other succeed and lift each other up. Many other professionals in this area are also holistically minded, so they take notice when their own patients may have a challenge with speech, language, or myofunctional skills. When a parent already trusts a current provider, the parent is typically thrilled to learn of other highly recommended professionals from that person. Being genuine and sticking to my mission has allowed me to build this network and ultimately spread the word about my services. For anyone just starting a business, finding a great professional network is a very important early step.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.summitspeechtn.com
• Instagram: @summitspeech.tn
• Facebook: @summitspeech.tn