Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rhonda Roth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Rhonda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

I think I knew from very early on, even before my career began, that I wanted to own my own Pediatric Therapy Clinic. Of course, 15 years ago I had no idea what that would look like, how much work it would take, or if it would even happen. During the first 10 years of my career, I was a “job jumper.” I rarely stayed in a job for more than a year. I really struggled to find happiness and to find work/life balance of any kind in every job I worked. I started early on in my career with trying to be an entreprenuer.

Starting a private pediatric practice in occupational therapy is not for the faint of heart. And, as I learned, it may take more than 1 attempt to get started. My company (or companies) has been started three times in three different states. Each time looked different. My first company was an Early Intervention company in Colorado called TheraPlay of Colorado. I provided in-home occupational therapy services to children ages 0-3 years. After leaving Colorado and moving around a bit, I landed in Boise, Idaho where I opened the first Children in Motion. At that time, I offered training and in-services to daycares, schools, and other early childhood providers. It was a side job and I enjoyed it. When I landed in Utah in 2018 I had a job I loved and the idea of again starting my own business was put on the back burner. But, after 4 years, and a pandemic, I was burnt out. I wanted to leave OT forever. As I reflected and processed my position, I decided I loved mentoring other therapists, supporting families, and being a part of a community. So, I dedided that after 15 years of practicing, it was time to take the leap.

There are so many challenges we face as entreprenurs. Where to find funding? How to learn to market our company? How to really support employees as we being to hire? How to find a way to pay ourselves in a time when our company is not making any money and we are just barely breaking even? How do we get started? Children in Motion started in the most simple way. We were lucky to have support from our family to help us get off the ground. I started in a very small office space, about 800 sq. feet, and just dove right in. We have been lucky as we have found a small amount of success in our first year. But it has taken a lot of time, patience (and patients!, and anxiety management skills.

For any therapist considering a therapy clinic of their own, there are so many things to consider. I have realized in opening Children in Motion that much of what I learned from all of my previous jobs gave me the skills to grow a small clinic in the first year. The most important thing you can do if you want to open your own clinic is to build your skills as a therapist, observe other clinics and what they are doing (both what they are doing right and what you would never do in your own clinic!), and be in a place where you can afford to take the financial risk.

I also think therapists need to be ready to function as a coach and mentor to their employees. Each week my employees get to spend time consulting with me in a mentorship session. My knowledge and experiences are becoming their knowledge and experiences, as they also grow their own skills. From all of my own experiences I have been able to help each employee develop a learning plan and begin to find their own path to being the therapist they want to be. This is time well spent and allows my skills to pass to other therapists which means we can help more children and families.

Finally, I think all therapists considering the entreprenur route should study entrepreneurship. We come out of school as therapists and build our clinical skills. But, the job of running a business and growing a business is a completely separate skillbase. Join social medial groups with Therapy Entreprenuer Coaches and fellow therapy Entreprenuers, but also be sure to connect with other successful business groups and programs. You can learn something from all of these places and apply it to your own private practice.

Rhonda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In my Junior year at Colorado State University I completed an internship as a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instructor in Bloomington, Indiana. While there, I met my first Mentor, Fern Boncheck who, at a very young age started her own non-profit and grew it into a very large and successful company. I fell in love with helping chilren and their families, working with people with different life challenges, and occupational therapy (OT). After completing my internship I applied to graduate school for Occupational Therapy, wanting to return to horses and helping people. Of course, our initial dreams are not always the path we follow in the end.

In 2007 I graduated from Samuel Merrit University in Oakland California and was soon employed in various pediatric occupational therapy settings. I have pretty much worked in every pediatric OT setting available. I also dabbled in teaching in some Master of OT programs and OT assitant programs, providing continuing education courses, managing therapy teams, and so much more.

I founded Children in Motion with my husband Erik in 2021. We are currently a small Pediatric Occupational Therapy clinic located in Murray Utah. I decided it was time to open my own company after 15 years of difficulty finding happiness in my work. While I loved working with families, OT students, and children I could never find a balance in my work and personal life. I was forever taking home documentation, working late into the night, and sometimes working up to 70 hours per week. I also felt that many companies lacked support for their therapists, but also for their families. I wanted to create a different kind of clinic that I had never had the opportunity to work in. So, I started Children in Motion intent on creating a supportive place for children, families, and our employees.

Children in Motion has two Missions. First is to create a supportive and balance work environment. Second, is to create a family centered pediatric therapy company for children and their familes. For our employees, we provide a highly structured and supportive onboarding for the first 3-months, where each therapist is not only mentored on a weekly basis, but also provided with 1:1 support in their sessions until they are comfortable taking over their clients on their own. After 3-months, therapists get consistent mentorship throughout their career at Children in Motion, and 1:1 support in sessions as needed. We also help to build an individualized learning plan so that therapists can work toward the area(s) of pediatric practice that interest them the most and that are the best fit for their strengths. All of this therapist support leads into improved interventions for our family based occupational therapy services.

Our second mission, support by the amazing support we provide our employees, is to provide family centered care. There are many therapy clinics that function more like a daycare. You drop your child off, sit in the waiting room, and the therapist takes your child back and does therapy. We believe therapy should be about supporting the whole family, not just the child. We also believe that in order to see improvements, parents have to know what to do every day of the week when their child is not in therapy. What makes Children in Motion’s services so different is that we support and guide parents and their child and include parents in every therapy session. This allows the therapist to provide education and guidance to the parent during the session and to help structure home programming so that families can begin to feel successful at home and in the greater community.

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

The most effective strategy I have found in growing clientele as an OT is to provide the best services you possibly can, provide support and guidance to familes, and then let the parents do the marketing for you. Word of mouth is so powerful. If parents feel you provide good services and have helped them and their child, if they feel supported, they will tell their friends, their family, and everyone else in their social circle. At the basis of what we do is providing good and ethical support to familes. I believe that, in the long run, is the best marketing you can do.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Teams are so important to what we do. And, a happy and supported therapist will provide amazing services, which then supports the marketing strategy of providing awesome care to clients. So, First is treating employees as people first and making sure they have time to take care of themselves, their families, and have lives outside of work is the best way to maintain morale and manage a team. Second to that is providing support, mentorship, and guidance. As therapists we often feel like we are on an island. We often treat alone and may not have time to interact with or discuss clients with other therapists and get support. This support must be built into our weekly schedules so that therapists have the opportunity to discuss challenges, vent, or get resources and support. Third, and finally, supporting therapists in their own growth and on their own path. I do not believe all employees that come to Children in Motion will work for us forever. So, instead I want to help them on their path to becoming the therapist they really want to be by supporting them in seeking additional training and maybe even better opportunities outside of our company. In the long run, they will reach more clients and support more families, which should be the ultimate goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.children-in-motion.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenInMotionUtah/about
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rhonda-roth-7b3064135