Meet Erin Adamek | Business Owner and Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Adamek and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Simply put, developing relationships with others in my community. Once I decided to establish my LLC as a private practitioner, I quickly realized that I was not only challenging myself (my not-so-business-savvy self) to start a business, but also to begin growing one during such trying times. Under typical day-to-day life circumstances, I do not find it easy to share a sales pitch with others, so how would I go about doing this, and what exactly did I get myself into? Well, having become more intentional about checking on my friends during the Covid-19 experience, it dawned on me that I could check on other business owners including fellow practitioners in a similar, genuine way for the purpose of building relationships in my community. I knew, at least, that building relationships in any way would be helpful for my state of mind in such an isolating situation. It seemed that everyone was struggling in one way or another, so just by introducing myself, being kind, and asking how things were going for others in the community, I was able to begin sharing my private practice and services in a natural way.  

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
True to You Speech Therapy, LLC is a local small business providing both in-home and Tele-therapy speech, language and feeding sessions for children and their families. We are licensed by the state of Texas, and hold a certificate of clinical competence to evaluate, diagnose and treat delays and disorders of speech, language, and feeding. One of my favorite aspects of my work is to provide care, not only for children, but also for their families as a whole. I love to provide education for parents and empower them to support their child’s development in the home setting.

As far as starting a business, I had a lot to learn! I was fortunate to be able to join a group of beginning private practitioners through The Independent Clinician’s “Start Your Private Practice System”. Until I joined this fantastic group of folks, I had not considered building my own practice. Access to this program really sparked my interest in making a change in my life and career. My brand “True to You Speech” is still very new, and while I’ve learned so much as a new business owner, I understand and value the fact that there will ALWAYS be so much more to learn about both my field of work and small business, among other things!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being a resident of the Heights, I don’t have to go far at all to enjoy Houston, which I love in and of itself! I’ll start off by mentioning my two favorite “sit-down”, if you will, coffee spots- Boomtown Coffee and Throughgood Coffee. Now if my friend and I were going to drive thru somewhere for coffee (because yes we really like coffee) and breakfast on the way to say a museum exhibit, one of the many parks in town, El Gato Cat Cafe or the Houston Zoo, there is always Common Bond (On the Go) and The Kolache Shoppe, which are along beautiful Heights Boulevard. I’d also take my friend for a walk along 19th street, for a fun lunch and shopping experience. Ah, and as for late afternoons and evenings, there are endless restaurants that are amazing. Local favorites for my husband and I have been Ritual, Liberty Kitchen, and Eloise Nichols. As far as dessert, there are plenty of excellent treats nearby at Red Dessert Dive, including a giant chocolate chip cookie! One day, too, I’d imagine we could check out the breweries around town. Of course, there is so much more…these are just the things that come to mind immediately when I think of my personal Houston Experience.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people along the way who have supported me in this career move, and I am forever grateful. Most recently, I’ve relied on the following folks to help me get going:

1. Emily Roll, Owner of Speech Language Voice & Swallowing, PLLC in Dallas, TX (Emily is a private practitioner, mentor, and friend).

2. Natalia Gonzalez, Owner of Gonzalez Bilingual Therapy (Natalia is a private practitioner in Houston and friend).

3. Jena Castro-Casbon, SLP and Founder of The Independent Clinician and her amazing mentor group.

4. Kim Martinez, Founder and Director of Conmigo Spanish Program in the Heights (A very kind referral source).

5. Serena Houlihan, Founder and fellow Small Business Owner at LeWren, an e-commerce concept (My dear family friend and neighbor).

Website: www.truetoyouspeech.com

Instagram: @truetoyouspeech

Facebook: True to You Speech Therapy LLC