Outsourcing Labor: Some Signs You Need to Hire a Support Team
A private practice is more that just providing therapy, it’s running a business. And even more so if you are a solo private practice-you are wearing every hat. Now, I don’t know about you but I didn’t take any courses on business management, marketing, or accounting in my grad school program-I’m so thankful for the internet. While in general I consider myself scrappy and want to save the most money, sometimes it is more economical to outsource our labor. One way I like to think about labor is, how much does it cost for me to do this task, and how much would it cost for me to have someone else do this task.
For example: Currently, my going therapy rate is $200 per hour. It is overwhelming (sign #1 below) to me and would interfere to my work life balance (sign #6 below) to handle scheduling, client calls, and billing. I pay a company approximately $800 per month to manage that for me. If my rate is $200 per hour and I spend approximately 1 hour per day (20 weekdays in a month=$4000 I could be making in seeing clients) on those tasks I am actually saving myself $3200 worth of my personal labor by having a dedicated team do it for me instead.
Because I value transparency, I could not start off with this in the first two years of my practice, I had to build my practice to this level so I could outsource some of the labor. But I kept in mind the cost of my labor versus the cost of outsourcing and made decisions based on this info. There is more than just the financial cost to consider though, here’s a list of signs that it might be time to bring on support in your private practice:
1. Overwhelming Administrative Tasks
You’re spending more time on scheduling, billing, and paperwork than on client care.
Routine administrative duties are causing delays or mistakes due to time constraints.
2. Consistent Overbooking or Waitlists
You have a growing waitlist, and you’re struggling to meet client demand.
Your schedule is consistently overbooked, leading to long workdays and exhaustion.
3. Burnout and Fatigue
You’re experiencing physical and emotional exhaustion from juggling too many roles.
Self-care and personal time are being sacrificed to keep up with the demands of your practice.
4. Revenue Plateaus Despite High Demand
Even with a full caseload, your income is capped due to time limitations.
You’re unable to take on more clients because your time and energy are maxed out.
5. Missed Growth Opportunities
You’re turning away clients or opportunities due to lack of capacity.
Potential marketing, networking, or business development projects are being neglected.
6. Lack of Work-Life Balance
Your work is intruding into your personal life, leaving little time for family, hobbies, or rest.
You’re frequently working late into the night or on weekends to catch up on tasks.
7. Increased Errors or Oversights
Important tasks are falling through the cracks, leading to client dissatisfaction or compliance risks.
You’re noticing a decline in the quality of your work due to multitasking.
8. Desire to Focus on Core Strengths
You’d prefer to concentrate on client care, while someone else handles administrative, marketing, or operational tasks.
You’re aware that delegating certain tasks could free up time for more profitable or fulfilling work.
9. Difficulty Managing Finances
The complexity of financial management is growing beyond your expertise or comfort level.
You’re struggling to stay organized with invoicing, taxes, and budgeting, leading to stress or missed deadlines.
10. Ambitions to Expand or Diversify Services
You’re considering expanding your practice, whether by adding new services, seeing more clients, or taking on different projects.
Growth ambitions require more support, either through administrative help or by adding clinical team members.
Hopefully, this list helps you clarify when it’s time to add some support labor. It can also mean that you need to raise your rates. I encourage everyone to reevaluate their fee every two years which in the state of Georgia is how often we renew our license. At minimum you have gained, 35 more hours of professional education and two more years of experience and wisdom and need to consider if you want to reflect that in your pricing. Not to mention, inflation is real, most corporations provide cost of living raises, and we need to implement that into our own labor practices, so a review of costs to practice is vital at least every two years.
