A Special Podcast Swap with Allyson's In the Field Podcast

This week, April and Stephen Smith of 3 Pie Squared and the ABA Business Leaders Podcast joined Allyson's In the Field: The ABA Podcast for a special podcast swap episode.

April and Stephen share the story behind building and operating their ABA practice for 12 years before transitioning into full-time consulting. The conversation explores the realities of starting an ABA business, scaling sustainably, building leadership teams, creating operational systems, and maintaining ethical profitability.

The episode also discusses the challenges of delegation, founder identity, work-life boundaries, and why many BCBAs® are unprepared for the leadership demands of business ownership.

Key Topics

✔ Starting an ABA practice without a business background

✔ Why founders need a clear vision before scaling

✔ Building systems that support delegation and growth

✔ The relationship between profitability and ethical practice

✔ Developing BCBAs into effective leaders

Key Takeaways

• You don't know what you don't know when starting a business.

• Vision should guide growth, not follow it.

• Systems create consistency, scalability, and freedom.

• Profitability supports ethical clinical practice.

• Leadership skills must be intentionally developed.

• Founder identity should extend beyond the business itself.

Resources & Links

• Grab Stephen’s Book Here!: "The ABA Business Leader's Guide: How to Start, Grow, and Sustain an Ethical ABA Practice Without Losing Your Soul" by April and Stephen Smith

• Free Consultation Booking Link & Business Essentials List

• Listen to Allyson’s Podcast

• SideKick Learning

• ABA Business Leaders Support Group: