Listen Up Because I Finally Have a Podcast!!!

WHY NOW Sixteen years ago, when printed material was the norm,  I was the business columnist for Merion Publications, publisher of the OT Advance. 76 columns and 10 years later ,my Taking Care of Business column ran its course, a victim of the demise of print media. Most of the messages, content and material remain foundational and timeless. And after 40 years in the field, I have a good idea of what matter most…

Mark Bittman, a famed NY Times food columnist wrote that sooner or later,a column becomes a body of work. The columns documented  the history not only of my personal development in the  business end of therapy, but trends in healthcare that have ramifications for all  therapists. Updating the material for podcasts is very exciting. My first column appeared in 2004, when associating healthcare delivery by private practitioners and being a financial successful businessperson was still “taboo”. It took time for the column to find its true identity,  and I assume the same will be true of the podcasts.
The three continual elements of the columns will also be emphasized in the podcasts:
(1) There are cyclical trends that therapists need to acknowledge, understand, and anticipate what their impact will be.
(2) Pro-active planning and problem solving is essential to capitalize on these trends and make informed and strategic business decisions.
(3) Making sure of the direction you are headed is more important than the time it takes you to get there

The style of the podcasts is part of the message- in order to succeed, I want them to be short, concise and give actionable implantable ideas that listeners can  relate to and act on.  To transition to podcasts, I will often be collaborating with a colleague, Tomeico Faison, OTR/L. Tomeico and I have known each other for over 10 years; she originally sought my advice about her company and has gone on to grow and expand, not only as a practice owner, but as a business consultant/coach in her own right. I am committed to bolstering the business acumen of the next generation of stakeholders in the field.
Stay tuned for our first podcast together: White from the North, Black from the South- Professional Race Relations.

Episode One: Intro to The Podcasts, A Productive Distraction –Because there are so many therapist podcasts out there, I was hesitant to throw my hat into the podcasting ring so late in the game. Until I realized what a great vehicle it is to share information, something I have been committed to doing in the therapy community for the last 20 years. So this year for Mother’s Day, my daughter and son in law got me a microphone and a promise of one year of editing… sometimes I know they wish I went for the usual massage…

Episode Two: The Best Prophet is the Best Guesser – What Will Happen To Private Practices Post COVID 19 On this podcast, I share some thoughts on the first question most therapists have asked me in the last 90 days since COVID 19 entered our vocabularies and soon after, our day to day lives.   What do I think will happen to private practices??  While no one really knows what is going to happen, there are ways we can move forward from where we are.  I impart useful and practical information, demonstrate “pandemic positivity” and  point to one important concept: The post COVID future does not exist yet and will only exist after we create it.

Episode Three: The “Mother” of Invention – The Story of Barbara, Becca,and UnbuckleMe On this podcast, I have the great pleasure of talking  with  OT Barbara Heilman and her daughter Becca Davison, the creators of UnbuckleMe,  a patented, award-winning tool that makes it more than 50% easier to unbuckle a child’s car seat. This podcast will take you on their journey which includes a feature on ABC’s Shark Tank this past May that resulted in a deal with not one, but two, sharks!