Children's Therapy Place, Inc. - Boise
Sondra McMindes initially approached the Idaho Small Business Development Center in Boise in 2002, following her move from Florida. Her speech therapy business in Florida was very successful, but family issues required her to move to Idaho. She came to the Idaho SBDC seeking assistance with establishing a valuation for her Florida Speech Therapy business. She also wanted to explore, as an alternative, incentive programs that would motivate current members of her staff to manage the existing operation.
Sondra also immediately began collecting information on the status of the speech therapy market in Idaho. She developed contacts with the school districts, the Health and Welfare offices, medical facilities and social workers. She approached the business with a passion. Her experience in developing a company that offers qualified physical, occupational, and speech therapists was instrumental in the success of her business plan.
Within one year, contracts with local school districts and referrals from trade partners and government sources vaulted her sales well above what she anticipated. She solidified the resource therapist base during her second year, allowing her to expand contractual services to many school districts within the Treasure Valley. From year one to year two sales tripled and, most importantly, profitability surged. This growth continued into the current year 3, with sales anticipated to at least double the excellent results of year 2.
Sondra has the opportunity to expand her service business into multiple markets and is in the process of developing an expanded business plan to study this opportunity. She has had the assistance of the Idaho SBDC in development of her current business model, and is currently considering moving her expanding company into the TECenter business incubator in Nampa. The facility is sponsored by Boise State University, the Idaho SBDC, and other state and federal partnerships. The TECenter provides BSU faculty, interns, grant assistance, Idaho SBDC consultants, and administrative staff as additional support to its resident or non-resident clients.
