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ABA Business Leaders

ABA Business Leaders

By: Stephen & April Smith
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Summary

You started an ABA practice because you wanted to provide good services. Now you are also responsible for hiring, payroll, billing, training, supervision, policies, and making sure there is enough money to keep it all going. Somewhere in there you are supposed to have a life too.

We get it. We ran an ABA practice for nearly 10 years, and we know what it feels like when the business depends on you to hold everything together.

ABA Business Leaders is hosted by April and Stephen Smith, the owners of 3 Pie Squared. We talk about the practical work of starting, running, and growing an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) practice. That includes the decisions that affect your staff, your families, your finances, and the quality of the services you provide.

Some problems look simple until you start looking at where they came from. A billing issue may have started at intake. A staff performance issue may come back to unclear expectations or training that never included a competency check. A full schedule can look great while the company is struggling to make payroll. These are the kinds of things we talk through.

Along with our guests, we share experiences, ask questions, and discuss what owners and leaders can do to build better systems. You’ll hear conversations about:

  • Starting an ABA practice: Planning, startup costs, credentialing, choosing funders, and building the foundation before taking on more than you can support.
  • Hiring and supporting staff: Recruiting, onboarding, training, supervision, feedback, accountability, and helping people understand what is expected of them.
  • Billing and financial health: Claims, denials, cash flow, funder rates, expenses, and understanding whether the services you provide are financially sustainable.
  • Quality and ethics: Looking beyond billables to consider treatment quality, staff support, family communication, and the pressures that influence everyday decisions.
  • Policies, compliance, and audit preparation: Turning requirements into processes people can follow and keeping documentation from becoming something you scramble to fix later.
  • Leadership and growth: Delegating, tracking useful measures, developing leaders, and getting information out of the owner’s head so the team can do its work.
  • Technology and practice management: Making scheduling, documentation, communication, training, and billing easier to manage without creating more work for everyone.

We also talk about the strain of ownership. It is difficult to support your team when you are burned out, making every decision, and fixing the same problems every week. Hiring more people or adding more clients does not automatically fix that. You need to understand what is breaking down and build systems that your team can actually use.

Whether you are preparing to open your doors, managing an established practice, or leading a team, our goal is to give you something useful to think about and bring back to your company. We want more ABA businesses that can provide quality care, support their staff, pay their bills, and keep doing that over time.

Learn more about our training, handbooks, consulting, credentialing, billing services, and practice management software at 3piesquared.com.

2026 Stephen & April Smith Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • How to start an ABA Business?

    How to start an ABA Business?
    5 Nov 2026

    Thinking about starting your own business but unsure where to begin? Are fear of failure, self-doubt, or lack of experience holding you back? In this episode, Stephen Smith and April discuss common challenges aspiring entrepreneurs face when starting a business.

    They share practical business startup tips on overcoming fear, building confidence, identifying your strengths, and creating a clear business vision. Learn how to become an entrepreneur, embrace mistakes, find the right support, and build a business around your goals and values.

    Whether you're a first-time business owner or exploring how to start a business with no experience, this episode will help you take the first step with confidence.

    In This Episode, You'll Learn

    • Why fear of not being good enough can keep you from starting your own ABA company.
    • How to overcome the “Who am I?” mindset and build confidence in yourself.
    • Why you don't need to wait for the perfect moment to start your business.
    • How to create a business that reflects your own vision, values, and goals.
    • What Stephen and April learned from their own journey into ABA business ownership.
    • Why mistakes are an important part of learning and growing as an entrepreneur.
    • How to identify your business knowledge gaps and turn preparation into actionable goals.
    • Why recognizing your strengths and knowing when to ask for support matters.
    • How to stop comparing your journey to established business owners.
    • Why reconnecting with your purpose and trusting your gut can help you find joy in business ownership.

    Resources

    • Business Essentials List
    • ABA Business Leaders Support Group
    • Schedule a Consultation with Stephen
    • Free ABA Business Readiness Assessment
    • ABA Billing Tips Guide
    • ABA Business Leaders Podcast CEUs
    • ABA Practice Management System
    • How to Start, Grow, and Sustain an Ethical ABA Practice Without Losing Your Soul
    • The Joy of Running an ABA Business

    Have a Question for Stephen and April?

    Call the ABA Business Leaders Hotline: (737) 330 1432. Share Your Questions, Stories and ABA Business Challenges for Discussion on the Podcast.

    Show more Show less
    47 min
  • Why ABA Businesses Struggle: Sean Daly on Profit, Staffing & Sustainable Care

    Why ABA Businesses Struggle: Sean Daly on Profit, Staffing & Sustainable Care
    29 Oct 2026

    What does it really take to run a sustainable ABA practice? Stephen and April Smith of 3 Pie Squared welcome Sean Daly for an honest conversation about the business realities that can challenge even dedicated behavior analysts.

    Drawing on his experience building, downsizing and ultimately closing his ABA company, Sean discusses the gap between clinical expertise and business ownership. The conversation explores financial management, payroll, insurance delays, cancellations, staffing decisions, operational support and the pressure to accept every opportunity to help a family.

    The episode also examines the role of AI in ABA, the potential and limitations of accreditation, staff training and turnover and how behavior analysis education can better prepare people for real world practice. Sean’s experience offers ABA business owners and aspiring founders’ practical questions to consider when building a practice that can sustain its team, its services and its mission.

    In This Episode You’ll Learn

    • Why strong clinical skills do not automatically translate into strong ABA business management.
    • How wages, payroll taxes, cancellations, insurance delays and other costs can erode and ABA practice’s margins.
    • Why revenue, profit and cash flow need to be understood separately.
    • How a clear business plan can help owners avoid growing beyond their operational capacity.
    • Why ABA owners may need business minded partners and dedicated operational support.
    • How emotional pressure and the desire to help every family can complicate staffing and case acceptance decisions.
    • Why defining service boundaries can protect both clinical quality and business sustainability.
    • How AI may support documentation and thinking without replacing clinical judgment.
    • Questions to ask about ABA accreditation, including its cost, purpose and effect on everyday practice.
    • Why staff training, retention and leadership are connected to the sustainability of an ABA company.
    • How behavior analysis education can better prepare future professionals for practical work, communication and advocacy.
    • Why choosing to close or not start a company can sometimes be a thoughtful and responsible decision.

    Resources

    • Business Essentials List
    • ABA Business Leaders Support Group
    • Schedule a Consultation with Stephen
    • Free ABA Business Readiness Assessment
    • ABA Billing Tips Guide
    • ABA Business Leaders Podcast CEUs

    Have a Question for Stephen and April?

    Call the ABA Business Leaders Hotline: (737) 330 1432. Share Your Questions, Stories and ABA Business Challenges for Discussion on the Podcast.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 33 min
  • Scruffy, Shoulds and Mighty Mouse: Executive Functioning and Self-Awareness for ABA Leaders

    Scruffy, Shoulds and Mighty Mouse: Executive Functioning and Self-Awareness for ABA Leaders
    22 Oct 2026

    Why can’t I just be consistent? Stephen and April Smith talk with Nicole Skotz, M.S., BCBA and ADHD coach, about executive functioning, capacity and self-awareness for ABA business leaders.

    Nicole shares ACT tools leaders can use on themselves, from treating “should” as a cue to naming your inner critic. The conversation also covers why the BCBA fixer instinct makes delegation hard, what Stephen calls Mighty Mouse syndrome, and how to rethink loaded words like productivity.

    In this episode, you’ll learn

    Why executive functioning struggles show up with or without an ADHD diagnosis

    How to use “should” as a cue that you want something to be different

    A defusion exercise: naming your inner critic

    How Nicole reframes acceptance as willingness

    Simple body check-ins, the How We Feel app and a joy journal

    Why a BCBA’s training to fix deficits makes delegating hard

    “Mighty Mouse syndrome” and the pull to do it all yourself

    Why planning counts as part of the work

    Connect with Nicole

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-skotz-ms-bcba-841487121/

    Momentum ADHD Coaching

    Have a question for Stephen and April?

    Call the ABA Business Leaders Hotline: (737) 330-1432

    Resources

    Business Essentials List:

    https://www.3piesquared.com/blog/the-essential-list-for-a-successful-business_24

    ABA Business Leaders Support Group:

    https://forms.office.com/r/cigPR8wFFC

    Schedule a Consultation with Stephen:

    https://3piesquared.com/stephen-booking-page

    Free ABA Business Readiness Assessment:

    https://3piesquared.com/aba-business-readiness-assessment

    ABA Billing Tips Guide:

    https://3piesquared.com/productDetails/ABA_Billing_Tips

    ABA Business Leaders Podcast CEUs:

    https://3piesquared.com/productDetails/ABA_Business_Leaders_Podcast_CEUs
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 25 min
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