Meet Wendy Agero | Speech-Language Pathologist

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

Hi Wendy, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
Work life balance will look different for everyone, at each phase of their lives. For me in particular, this is true. There was a point of my life, in my early 20s where work was the priority; despite having a newborn at home. I needed to prove to myself and to our future that we can bust our ass and do what we needed so in the future we can have a better work life balance. I really did believe this at the time. However, as life went on and I missed a lot of my son’s first few years of life experiences, and life circumstances showed up, that perspective changed. I wanted and needed to be there for my everyday life moments along with finding the joy in my work. It’s an everyday practice and some days will be harder to find that balance. But I remind myself what I want in that present moment and how I want it to feel like…because grounding myself in that is the way I find that balance.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’ve entered the world of business and entrepreneurship with resistance only from myself. I’ve been a practicing speech-language pathologist for over a decade. Not only that, but I’ve been involved with the upbringing of other businesses from their inception and have seen the grind that it takes to build something from an idea. I would talk myself out of owning my own practice for so many years because of the heartbreak and challenges that I saw from these other businesses despite so much support and affirmation from those around me that I could do it. But like all duality in life, I loved seeing the ability to create something of your own and make it what you want with the flexibility you wanted. The push for flexibility, love and creativity finally overcame the fear and challenges that I would experience from starting my own practice. Remembering Brene Brown’s quote too, “the brokenhearted are the bravest among us, they dared to love”, pushed me to start this practice and be vulnerable and share the love I have for helping others. That’s where the courage and tenacity to leave my comfort zone and all I knew of conforming to others ideas lead to starting my practice, Onward Speech and Language Therapy.

The actual start of licensing, applying, registering, and networking the business was the easy part! The part that I have to be mindful about is sustaining the momentum and being patient to what the original vision of the practice is. I want to provide services in my community in order to support them on their therapy journey onward through compassion, curiosity, individuality and integrity. In order to provide these values I have to practice them for myself and my business. Being compassionate to everyone’s journey, curious to how and what I can do to provide the best individual treatment and practices and being honest with the families in our practice whether it be Identifying what I can help with or can’t or what I don’t know and finding those answers particular to each situation. I want to be a source of reference and support for my community and that can look different for each family.

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?
Ohhh this is tooo good! I’d definitely take them to all the area farms and ranches in our area of Davie, FL. Being outdoors and seeing where the food comes from and trying new things is definitely something we’d include in our itinerary. Every farm we’ve visited will provide a walk of their premises and you’ll learn so much about what and how they provide for their community and what they’ve learned from others in their community. Another great place to be outdoors and experience my other favorite setting is at Park and Ocean at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale. We’d rent some kayaks for a few hours and then get some lunch and beers at Park and Ocean, then finish the day off with an afternoon swim in the ocean and basking in the sun. I’d definitely like to share my love for food and my culture by taking in some Colombian eats. I’d take them to our local Colombian bakery to eat some pandebonos and have some yummy avena or even order a traditional Colombian breakfast. Another place we can take in the diverse culture and eats is The Yellow Green Farmers Market. It’s incredible the evolution of the market to where it started to what it is today. Everything from fresh fish to the best cinnamon buns and a great place to buy some plants to take home and plant in our garden!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Throughout this life journey, there have been a few constants that despite what I did or said, they always supported me. Definitely the real MVP would be my mom. She always knows what to say and will show up no matter what. My second shoutout and my constant is my husband. From the moment we entered each other’s lives, it has been support, love and encouragement. He’s pushed himself out of his comfort zone and made so many changes to himself for our family and for me, too. The constant work to support my crazy shenanigans and dreams are not in vain and are definitely seen and appreciated. Every goal, life event, change, and dream have been by his side and that’s not a coincidence.

Website: www.onwardspeechtherapy.co

Instagram: @onwardspeech

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/wendy-agero-94241644

Image Credits
Headshots: Ashley Rivera