Dear Dangerously in Love with Your Finances,
I am a speech therapist in private practice located in Sugarland, Texas. My three-year-old speech-language pathology practice is rapidly growing, and I need help. I know it is time to hire another therapist; however, I keep asking myself the following questions: Why would a therapist be interested in working for me? And can I afford to give the new employee the bells and whistles that a more prominent private practice can offer?
~ Skeptical About Hiring
Dear Skeptical About Hiring,
Let’s begin by addressing how you have grown your practice in three years by yourself – what an accomplishment. It takes determination, perseverance, and guts to enter the world of entrepreneurship. So, why wouldn’t another therapist want to work for you?
As an experienced medical practice accountant who has spent many years helping different practices, I can immediately identify several clear reasons why other speech therapists would be excited to become a part of your team.
Practicalities
The Benefits of a Smaller Practice
A small private practice like yours will give a new employee a chance to be heard and ideas to flourish while seeing patients. He/she may not get this opportunity in a more prominent private practice. You also provide therapists who aren’t sure if they want to open their own office a chance with less risk. They get to see what it is like firsthand to own and operate a practice.
Employees Who Prefer to Stay Employees
You will be surprised that many speech therapists or health and wellness therapists don’t want the hassle of recruiting patients or want to deal with the administrative side of the business. Some want to provide therapy to their patients and go home. So, they join a private practice that does that for them.
By joining a practice, the speech therapists don’t have to handle the marketing, billing, credentialing, bookkeeping and accounting, financial responsibility, answering the phone, maintaining the website, scheduling, and implementing processes. Like you, employers are responsible for these time-consuming duties.
Keeping these reasons in mind, many speech therapists are not interested in opening their private practice. You know firsthand what it takes to open and grow a business – not everyone wants that.
Personality
A Positive Environment for Both Employees & Patients
One other benefit that I notice you haven’t considered is that your future employees will get to work with YOU.
While this may not be a traditional benefit that you can share on a job posting in-itself, you have the opportunity to create the kind of environment you yourself would want to be employed in, and if you are successful, that very much is something that prospective job-seekers would like to hear. The passion which has fueled you over the past three years will likely be infectious for the therapists you hire, especially if you give them the same level of care and attention that you do your patients. Don’t let imposter syndrome get in the way of recognizing that!
Thank you for your question, and if you need some guidance on healthcare accounting as you continue to grow your business, please let me know.
– Lozelle Mathai
Your Medical Professional Accountant
This article is designed to provide information only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Because of the complexity of the law and the variables in your own personal tax and accounting situation, you can’t rely on our advice specifically related to your unique circumstances. In order to get the best tax savings and legal advice available to you, you should consult with your own accountant, attorney or advisor regarding your particular facts and circumstances. Healthy Bodies of Finance is an accounting firm that specializes in working with health and wellness providers. We provide monthly accounting & bookkeeping services and financial education. For more information on our specialized services for health and wellness providers please contact us at [email protected]