I am convinced that there is nothing more wonderful for a therapy practice owner than having an amazing virtual assistant.
Imagine having someone to handle all those little everyday tasks that always bog you down.
Someone to cover your phones and email while you are on vacation. Even better, someone to answer your phone and schedule new clients every day of the week!
Talk about a major productivity upgrade.
However, these unicorns are not easy to find.
How it makes my life easier:
I had the good fortune of having the same wonderful virtual assistant for 5 years.
She started off just doing basic things like logging new referrals on a spreadsheet. Creating new clients in Simple Practice. Handling billing issues for my existing clients.
Just 5 hours a month made a significant impact and allowed me to grow my practice.
Fast forward to today. Now, I have a team of virtual assistants to handle everything from insurance billing and intake coordination to payroll and email newsletter scheduling.
It really is a game changer!
Leadership mentor Michael Hyatt said, “If your dream does not require a team, then your dream is too small.”
Just so you know, I was an evangelist for using virtual assistants way before I built this VA business. 😉
What I love:
- The huge time savings from not answering the phones myself!
- Having someone I trust to handle important daily tasks.
- Moving items off of my to-do list!
- Giving my clients excellent service, even when I’m not available.
- Getting more done, while working less.
- Realizing my dreams & ambitions with a solid team backing me.
- So many things!
What I don’t love:
I don’t love having to switch from one assistant to another, with the significant productivity drop that comes with training a new person.
I don’t love the idea of hiring a random person who I don’t know and considering trusting them with my sensitive practice info.
If you have ever put out an ad for an assistant you know what I am talking about!
I have also found that the process of learning how to delegate and let go of control is pretty tough. I am very particular about how I like things to be done (read: controlling).
That is another blog post for another day!
However, this is an important step for every successful therapy practice owner.
A very wise business coach once gave me this practical advice.
“There are $10/hr jobs, $50/hr jobs, $100/hr jobs and $1000/hr jobs. You should not spend your time doing the $10/hr tasks when you can make more money with that time.”
I would love to hear your experiences with virtual assistants, whether positive or negative. Feel free to comment below this post.
