Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Wilson.
Jon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Well, let me first start off by saying that my career path has been ordered by God. Prior to moving to the Atlanta area, I worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant (SLPA) in New Orleans (WHO DAT!! LOL). After diligently working there for so many years, the Executive Director then promoted me to the Director of Clinical Services. While in that position, I gained a wealth of knowledge about managing staff, coordinating speech services and overseeing the daily operations of a clinic. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced me out of that position and into starting a new life here in Atlanta.
After my only daughter left for college in 2013, I began to work part-time at a pediatric clinic in the area in addition to my full-time position with the school district. After working there for about 1 year, the owner announced that she would be retiring and closing the practice and if we wished, we could keep the patients that we were treating and began our own practice. At that point, I had a tough decision to make. After discussing it with my husband and praying about it, we decided to start the practice. The practice started with four patients and I was the only therapist. My daughter has since graduated with a degree in Speech Pathology and works for the practice as well, which makes me super proud!! Since then, the clinic has expanded to its 3rd property with a staff of now 7 SLP’s and 2 SLPA’s/(Admin) servicing several kids on a weekly basis as well as offering teletherapy services.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Getting to this point has not been an easy road at all for me. I completed my undergraduate degree after giving birth to my daughter in my sophomore year of college and getting married to my high school sweetheart as well. Although I felt discouraged at times, I was determined to finish without taking any time off and that goal was accomplished. After graduating from undergrad, I worked in the industry for about two years and then, I began applying for graduate school programs. Unfortunately, I was not accepted by several programs in the first round. I became discouraged, however, I continued to work and gain more experience in the field. After several years, I decided to take the leap again and start applying for graduate programs. At that time, I was accepted and it was definitely in God’s timing and not my own. By the time I was accepted and completed my master’s degree in Communication Disorders, I had gained several years of experience as a therapist as well as in management. God knew just what he was doing because he knew that one day he would bless me with a private practice clinic that he prepared me for while waiting to be accepted to grad school.
Please tell us about TherapyZone.
TherapyZone’s mission is to improve communication skills by providing comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services to children and adults. Our goal is to maximize their potential by working as a team with the families as well as with other health care professionals. What makes me the proudest of the company is my team. My team and I all share the same vision of helping the patients and families, not only with treating their communication deficits but also caring about them in every aspect of their lives. My therapists go out of the way to make every family feel welcomed and loved in our clinic. The positive feedback that I receive from parents, kids, and doctors in the community reassures me that we all passionate about our work and absolutely love what we do! The thing that sets TherapyZone apart from others is that we have a great team that does an excellent job of making our patients and families feel accepted and loved.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I honestly don’t think that I would do anything differently. I continue to ask God for direction and I pace myself and make slow but steady movements in growing the practice. I don’t mind going to my mentors to ask questions and I continue to make sure that I am always open to learning new things. I enjoy inspiring and helping other speech therapists to start their own practice as well. If I can do it, anyone can! Being in business has its daily struggles, however, it’s all worth it and if I had it to do all over again I absolutely would!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2775 Cruse Rd Suite 2002
Lawrenceville, GA 30044 - Website: www.therapyzonega.com
- Phone: 770-871-1922
- Email: jon.wilson90@yahoo.com
- Instagram: therapyzone1
- Facebook: TherapyZone, LLC
Image Credit:
Jclerc Photography (IG: @jclerc), TanaeMariee (IG: @tm_slayerr)
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