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Are the things you do in your practice what you should be doing as the owner? Why is hiring virtual help the key to breaking through the glass ceiling and keeping your business growth stuck? How can you distinguish a skill versus a will problem in a new hire?
In this podcast episode, Andrew Burdette speaks about the value of hiring virtual professionals with Beth Lachance.
Podcast Sponsor: Practice of the Practice
Are you ready to transition from a 1099 contractor to a W2 employee but don’t know where to start For just $595 a month—originally $795—you’ll get three months of personalized guidance. You’ll receive two 30-minute 1:1 sessions with Andrew Burdette, our Group Practice Consultant, and a 60-minute group session each month. Plus, Andrew will provide you with all the blueprints, checklists, templates, and strategies you need. But hurry—this offer is limited to just 10 spots and doors close June 20th. Secure your spot today and let’s make your transition smooth and successful! Head over to practiceofthepractice.com/w2
Meet Beth Lachance
Beth Lachance is leading Global Medical in vision and the day-to-day business operations securing the functionality of the business to drive extensive and sustainable growth. Combining her strong leadership and determination with her 16 years of experience as a business owner specializing in Real Estate Project Management and Investing with Hat Trick Holding, LLC, and over 22 years of corporate experience in the private and public sectors of Surgical Device, Pharmaceutical, and Specialty Pharmacy Industries – she keeps the company moving forward with high-level strategy while understanding the details of day-to-day execution to ensure steadfast success.
Visit Global Medical and connect on LinkedIn.
In This Podcast
- Virtual assistants, or virtual professionals?
- Integrating and delegating to your virtual professionals
- Skill versus will
- Scaling with virtual professionals
Virtual assistants, or virtual professionals?
The title “virtual assistant” [can have] a negative connotation in it across several industries because it minimizes what we think … the possibilities, and the skill level of what we think they can have. So, one of the exciting things … that we have been pushing is that we’re virtual professionals, we’re not virtual assistants. (Beth Lachance)
All of the virtual assistants – or professionals – that Beth and her company manage are highly educated and trained professionals, with an average four-year-long college degree, and heavy work experience in the medical industry.
When you think of assistants as professionals, it elevates what you may consider delegating to them, since the framework of viewing these hires as professionals can make you trust in their expertise.
It transforms [your mindset] and takes you out of just the thought process of when you think of virtual assistant versus virtual professional, it just instantly changes your mind [because] it’s a mindset shift … And that’s how you’ve got to look at utilizing additional staffing like this in your practice. (Beth Lachance)
Integrating and delegating to your virtual professionals
Beth’s company offers strategy sessions to their counselor clients, which includes a needs assessment so that the counselor can hire their best-fit virtual professional to meet their practice and admin needs.
We really want people to really analyze what can be done by what I call, “paint-by-number”, that simple … If you have remote staffing and you want to delegate tasks to them, you’ve gotta make sure that we have a very clear workflow that’s simple and easy to replicate and for [which] we can set KPIs. (Beth Lachance)
Hiring a virtual professional is not a one-stop solution to your needs, because they need to learn from you about how you want things done, and how you want things to run.
Therefore, you must be clear on your expectations, vision, and mission, and what you need their help with.
Have weekly meetings with your virtual professional hires so that you can maintain contact with them and so that they know that they can communicate openly with you as well.
Skill versus will
There is a balance of skill and will that all virtual professionals have.
They have skills before coming onto the job, and the will to learn more along the way and to be proactive.
However, trust is important to figure out whether someone’s struggle in working in the practice is due to a lack of skill or will.
Skill to me is easy. We can upskill, we can train, we can spend additional time with that VA [or VP]. It’s the will that’s the harder part, because that’s where the onus is on the virtual assistant … And if they’re not willing to move the bar and get to where they need to be, then we have no choice but to find a replacement. (Beth Lachance)
The virtual professional managers need to have management skills, discernment, and trust in their relationship with the assistants and professionals so that they can troubleshoot and assist wherever and whenever they spot support needed.
Scaling with virtual professionals
There comes a point in your private practice where you hit a glass ceiling when you are working without help since it’s only you doing everything, and your capacity becomes the bottleneck.
Therefore, scaling is another benefit that you can enjoy when you begin to pace out your income to be able to afford a virtual assistant or professional to join your team.
Then you can delegate to them, take some tasks off of your plate, and allow your business to breathe more by making space for more work and clients to come in since you and your practice now have support.
It’s all about mindset, and you’re not going to be able to hit or grow those additional goals without being able to let go of those $10 to $12 an hour tasks that you can easily delegate to other team members. (Beth Lachance)
All the roles are important. It’s simply about asking yourself, “Is this role the one I should be doing as the owner of this business?”
Books mentioned in this episode:
Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy – Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork
Useful links mentioned in this episode:
- Visit Global Medical and connect on LinkedIn.
- Secure your spot today and let’s make your transition smooth and successful! Head over to practiceofthepractice.com/w2
Check out these additional resources:
- Legal Need-to-Knows for Small Business Owners with Keren de Zwart | GP 229
- Practice of the Practice Network
- Group Practice Launch
- Group Practice Boss: www.practiceofthepractice.com/grouppracticeboss $149 a month
- PoP Group Practice Owners Facebook Group
- Free resources to help you start, grow, and scale
- Work with us
- Practice of the Practice Network
Meet Andrew Burdette
Andrew founded Mindful Counseling PLLC in Asheville, NC shortly after completing his graduate program in clinical mental health counseling. At the start of the pandemic, he pivoted to an online solo practice, and in 2022, began to grow a group practice. He most enjoys helping clients and colleagues identify what ignites their passions and assisting them in creating a life rooted in authenticity. Andrew approaches his business development with alignment in mind and enjoys the integration process connecting the many puzzle pieces and systems required to run a successful practice.
Visit Andrew’s website and Apply to work with him.
Email him at [email protected]
