Meet Andrea Driskell | Speech-Language Pathologist, Private Practice Owner

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

Hi Andrea, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I had been working for 1 1/2 years as an independent contractor with a school district in Oklahoma. We have the option of working as an employee of the district and getting paid a teacher’s salary or contracting independently for speech services. I was told by others that if you establish an LLC, you will pay less taxes. I had another friend who had recently began working for himself as a building contractor and he generated a “Getting Started” guide that he allowed me to use. The schools were closed and I had extra time during an ice storm in my area in February of 2021 so my husband (Mike) and I went to the Secretary of State to submit the paperwork.

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?
I began establishing my business with the seemingly sole purpose of decreasing my personal tax burden. The road quickly morphed as I decided that I would like to bill insurance myself and increase my number of school contracts in rural areas of Oklahoma. My husband was a full-time student through 2020-2024 and was a stay-at-home dad. I needed to generate enough income to cover the bills for our family of seven. I was working for a rural school district as an independent contractor and seeing 2-3 children after school hours for a pediatric home-health company.
After registering with the secretary of state, I quickly hired a bookkeeper and bought an EMR system for billing insurance companies. The bookkeeper and the EMR system were both overkill for my business needs at the time, but I wanted to be cautious and I wanted to be quick. So we paid a lot of money for both of these things that ended up being unnecessary for what I was doing. I had met with an Occupational Therapy Assistant that was going into business for herself and she wanted to join forces, as it were. I was agreeable, but wanted to keep the businesses separate. She sent a few referrals my way, however, at this time, I was still getting my feet under me. I knew about 30% of the insurance billing process and was overly confident in my abilities to “get it”. I was not filing the appropriate paperwork and had 4-6 months worth of claims rightfully denied. During this time, my only school contract was 2 days a week and that was the only reliable income at the time. I spent many nights crying and frustrated. My husband initially was supposed to help me with the medical billing and clerical duties, but the dynamic was not suitable for either of us. Neither of us are a “follower”, so we would bump heads over things that needed to be done. He also had zero background in medical billing, therapy, or clerical work, so important details would be overlooked and background knowledge was missing. Neither of us knew how to effectively navigate him working for me.
I spoke with a few different friends along the way that had some business background and one of them said, “if you’re not getting money from these clients, quit seeing them.” It was so simple. I would have never thought to do that. In this field of work, it is so easy to feel as though you are the nearest lifeboat for these families, so you must ignore the leaks and maintenance in order to get more people aboard. But this model and thinking isn’t sustainable for making money and staying afloat. At some point, I had to tend to the boat. So, I took a big slice of humble pie and gobbled it down. I reached out to each family and explained that I had been doing things wrong and I need to “push the pause” button to reassess and figure out IF and HOW to get paid to see their children. It was incredibly embarrassing and unprofessional. But only one family never responded. Every other family was understanding and willing to wait for me to be educated by the insurance companies’ provider education reps. It took about two months to learn and submit all the appropriate paperwork, but the first approved prior authorization and the first approved claim came through and I hit a rhythm. In the years since then, we have accrued 4 school contracts, have approximately 35 privately-seen clients, and employ 9 people. There are 4 speech-language pathologists (including myself), 3 speech-language pathology assistants, our office manager and an independently contracted clerical worker that helps with bookkeeping and individual client invoices.
There is not a single person on staff that I don’t appreciate and respect. They are all self-starters, independent, kind, smart, and professional. I don’t do a lot of hand-holding with my employees because I don’t need to. Kelsie, my primary office manager, forced her help on me. Blue Cross Blue Shield was the easiest company for my company to get credentialed with and I had a client almost immediately. It was the parent of a student I had seen at one of my schools. The history is important here. Kelsie’s son had a TBI from infancy and as a result diagnosed with cerebral palsy. When I began seeing him at school, it was virtual because of COVID. I immediately liked Kelsie even though she had a reputation with the school staff for being “high maintenance”. In reality, Kelsie is a strong advocate for her son, as she should be. As soon as I posted on my personal Facebook about going into business for myself, she reached out. Hayden’s current private speech services were dismissing him since he had reached a plateau in his progress. We had seen progress when I was working with him at school and I happily took him as my first private client. Two and a half years into crying into my pillow, working nonstop, and praying every chance I got that the waves wouldn’t capsize me, Kelsie told me to teach her. She had previously worked for a collision-damage company billing insurance and she had 16 years of navigating Medicaid and Social Security for her son. I agreed and taught her as much as I knew.
Kelsie is a warrior. She is not a passenger, she is a driver. And she was exactly what I needed when I needed it. She is kind to all the parents and able to relate to their fears and concerns, she is a hound dog with the insurance companies (because every plan, like every snowflake, is different), and she problem-solves creatively and relentlessly. These characteristics are so necessary when you are dealing with insurance providers. Most importantly, Kelsie understands my vision for building community and helping people. And this is my brand.
I want to help. I want to hold the hands of my clients as they learn how to use language. I want to support their parents or grandparents as they figure out what the child needs and how to establish meeting that child’s needs. So many families are overwhelmed and discouraged by the amount of phone calls and legwork it takes to get all the appropriate services for their children, and I want Driskell Speech to be a lantern on the path.

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?
Oklahoma City is still finding its identity as an “exciting” city. It is very family-oriented, industrial, and quite segregated. Here are some of the things I would recommend checking out–“Cookie’s on Western”. Do karaoke here!! It is a small dive bar that is an open and inviting environment. “Flip’s Wine Bar” is also a great place to get some good and simple Italian food with great wine. There is a Scandinavian spa with 2 locations called “Udander” and you can book an hour+ and enjoy hot steam and dry saunas. The Civic Center is always hosting a musical show. For outdoorsy activities that cost money, there is River Sport Adventures. You can kayak and do other things on or around the river. For free hiking and fun, there’s Martin Nature Park. Otherwise, all state parks are a minimum 1 1/2-2 hours drive from the city. Roman Nose, Sulphur, and Broken Bow are all great places to spend time in nature. Norman has OU’s “Campus Corner” where there are a lot of boutiques, restaurants, and bars. I highly recommend going to an OU football or softball game. The other sports are fun to watch as well, but these are the events where the fans get loud and won’t disappoint.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out to Valerie Akinwande, a friend that is as close and dear to me as a sister. She is a rare gem that has the courage, audacity, and wisdom to face the hard things. She calculates her generosity and kindness so frequently that it seems compulsory. However, like most decisions I have seen her make, (in marriage, motherhood, and career), it is done with discipline and deliberation.

Website: https://www.driskellspeechservices.com

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