🎙️ In the Field: The ABA Podcast
Red Flags, Real Talk, and Systems That Scale: Building Ethical ABA Businesses
In this episode, I sit down with April and Stephen Smith of 3 Pie Squared—former ABA business owners who now support others in building ethical, sustainable, and scalable practices. They’ve helped hundreds of ABA organizations navigate the complexities of systems, staffing, and staying aligned with your values as you grow.
Whether you’re a BCBA evaluating job offers or a business leader juggling billables, burnout, and policies—you’ll find so much wisdom (and practical strategy) in this conversation.
🔍 Red Flags for BCBAs in the Job Market
From ghosting during interviews to suddenly discovering you’ve inherited 17 clients (not 7), we talk through the subtle and not-so-subtle signals that tell you a clinic might not have its systems—or ethics—together.
💬 Communication is a major indicator. If questions go unanswered or expectations are unclear during hiring, that culture likely continues into the role.
📋 Ask about: caseload size, time allotted for indirect work, policies on drive time and supervision, and the structure for student analyst support.
Stephen reminds us: “You can’t make a clinical decision based on what the funder allows. But if you’re accepting rates that don’t support quality care, someone’s going to pay for it—and it’s usually your staff.”
🧠 Employees, Not Contractors
April and Stephen break down one of the most persistent issues in ABA hiring: misclassifying employees as independent contractors. The IRS is clear. The BACB is clear. But this issue persists—and it has real consequences for ethics, legal compliance, and staff sustainability.
Red flag: If you’re offered a “contractor” position at a high rate with no paid training, no oversight, and vague policies… it’s likely too good to be true.
📈 When Training Is More Than Onboarding
Training shouldn’t stop once the paperwork is signed. April and Stephen share how their clinic structured a training ecosystem where:
✅ Staff completed self-assessments and competency checks at hire
✅ Supervisors had access to skill-specific checklists
✅ Support was tailored to each team member’s strengths and goals
✅ Growth pathways were visible, reinforced, and tied to wage increases
Training wasn’t just front-loaded. It was part of the culture—and it paid off in performance, morale, and retention.
💡 Practical Advice for Business Owners
Running an ABA business is hard. But it’s even harder without a clear plan. Some tips from the conversation:
🔹 Don’t strive for perfect. Policies, systems, and handbooks are living documents. Start with the basics, and revise as you grow.
🔹 Know your values—and revisit them. Your mission and core values aren’t just for marketing. Use them as decision-making tools when things get tough.
🔹 Delegate sooner than you think. You don’t need a full-time admin. You might just need 5 hours a week to start. Document your processes (even messy ones!) so you’re ready to hand them off when the time comes.
🔹 Automation > burnout. If you’re still doing paper notes, manually verifying benefits, or entering claims one by one—pause and evaluate where tech could buy you back some time.
🔹 Funders must be viable. Taking on contracts that lose you money might feel mission-driven—but it often leads to staff turnover, ethical compromise, or financial collapse. Have a plan. Know your margins.
💬 Key Takeaways
BCBAs should ask better questions during interviews—and owners should be prepared to answer them honestly.
Misclassifying employees as contractors isn’t just risky—it’s unsustainable.
Training and feedback systems shouldn’t rely on hope. Build infrastructure that supports growth, supervision, and self-advocacy.
You don’t have to do everything at once. You just have to do the next right thing—then build from there.
🔍 Keywords:
ABA Business, Supervision Systems, BCBA Red Flags, Staff Training, Self-Advocacy, ABA Hiring Practices, Employee vs Contractor, Caseload Management, Onboarding Systems, Values-Driven Leadership, Stephen Smith, April Smith, 3 Pie Squared
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