One of the most common patterns I see among clinicians turned practice owners is that they struggle to pull the trigger, uncertain key things necessary to build a successful business… 

For many that “thing” is hiring … whether their first employee, or even their fifth. It’s a process that makes them cringe, and therefore, is often put off way too long.

The schedule is getting fuller. Their responsibilities are growing. They know hiring would likely help them move forward. Yet instead of taking action, they find themselves stuck in a cycle of hesitation.

Not because they are lazy.

Not because they lack ambition.

But because hiring feels overwhelming.

In this episode, I coach a Mastermind member who finds herself in exactly that situation. Her practice is growing, her responsibilities are increasing, and she knows she probably needs to hire. The problem is that when she thinks about recruiting, onboarding, management, payroll, and everything else that comes with bringing on an employee, the entire process feels so daunting that she ends up doing nothing instead.

Hiring does not have to start with your dream full-time clinician. Sometimes the smartest move is learning how to attract, evaluate, and onboard the right person for the next small role first. 

If you want a deeper step by step system for that process, my “How to Attract Top Talent, Manage Like a CEO, and Fill New Clinicians’ Schedules With Patients As Quickly As Possible” Masterclass walks through how to attract better employees, onboard them so they add value quickly, and manage them in a way that actually supports growth.

And before you leave this page, make sure you scroll down and grab this episode’s free resource, The Ultimate New Employee Onboarding Resource Guide. Most hiring advice focuses heavily on recruiting and interviewing, but what happens after someone joins your team can have an even bigger impact on whether they become a successful long-term employee.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why hiring often feels much bigger than it actually is
• The mindset trap that keeps many owners stuck in solo practice
• How to use “baby steps” to make intimidating business decisions easier
• Why your first hire does not need to be a full-time clinician
• How small hires can create significant growth opportunities
• The hidden risks of remaining the only revenue producer in your business
• A practical way to start building a team without feeling overwhelmed

The Real Problem Usually Isn’t Hiring

When owners tell me they are struggling with hiring, I often find that hiring itself is not the actual issue.

The issue is that they are mentally trying to solve every future challenge at the same time.

They are thinking about finding the right person, training them, managing them, paying them, keeping them productive, creating systems for them, and making sure the hire ultimately works out. When all of those responsibilities get bundled together into one giant mental picture, hiring starts to feel far more complicated than it really is.

That is exactly what was happening in this coaching conversation. The practice owner already had evidence that her workload was increasing and that additional support would likely help. Yet the size of the decision itself was creating enough friction to keep her from moving forward.

The reality is that many of the biggest growth opportunities in business are not missed because owners make bad decisions. They are missed because owners delay decisions that feel uncomfortable.

The Power of a Smaller First Step

One of the ideas I introduce in this episode is the concept of creating a smaller version of the decision you’re avoiding.

Instead of asking, “How do I hire my first full-time clinician?” ask a much simpler question: “What is the smallest version of this hire that would still move me forward?”

For this particular practice owner, that meant considering someone who could help run her Parkinson’s exercise classes rather than immediately trying to hire a clinician to take over a large patient caseload. That smaller role would still provide experience with recruiting, onboarding, delegation, and leadership while dramatically reducing the pressure associated with making a larger hire.

I think a lot of owners overlook how powerful this approach can be…

Business growth rarely requires one giant leap. More often, it comes from taking a smaller step that builds confidence and creates momentum. Once you have successfully hired and onboarded one person, the next hiring decision feels far less intimidating.

Hiring Creates More Than Capacity

Another important theme in this conversation is that hiring is not simply about reducing workload.

It is about creating opportunities.

Many practice owners focus entirely on what a hire will cost. What they often fail to consider is what not hiring may be costing them.

Every hour spent doing work that someone else could handle is an hour that cannot be invested into higher-value activities. That might mean seeing additional patients, strengthening referral relationships, improving marketing, developing new services, or simply creating more flexibility in your schedule.

When viewed through that lens, hiring becomes less about expense and more about leverage.

And if recruiting and filtering candidates is the part that feels most overwhelming, my Automated Top Talent Attraction and Hiring System goes even further by showing you how to use free Gmail filters and Google Forms to automatically weed out bad candidates, surface A-player resumés, and complete much of the interview process without taking more of your time. 

The practices that grow most efficiently are rarely the ones that work the hardest. They are usually the ones that learn how to leverage other people effectively.

The Risk of Staying Solo Too Long

Most practice owners begin as solo providers.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The challenge comes when the business becomes overly dependent on one person for too long.

When you are the only person capable of generating revenue, every vacation, every family emergency, and every unexpected life event immediately impacts the business. That level of dependence creates stress that many owners simply accept as normal.

What I want owners to understand is that building a team is not necessarily about creating a large organization. It is about creating stability, flexibility, and options.

Even a part-time hire can begin shifting the business away from complete dependence on the owner.

And once that process begins, growth often becomes far easier than most owners expect.

Your Free Resource: The Ultimate New Employee Onboarding Resource Guide

I’ve got a free resource for you: The Ultimate New Employee Onboarding Resource Guide, which will help you create a custom onboarding process that will help ensure all your new hires are set up for the highest levels of success in your practice.

Invest in your team, invest in your practice! Download your free guide now!

Thanks so much for checking out this week’s podcast… hope you enjoy the resource!

The Final Word

One of the biggest lessons from this episode is that growth rarely happens when everything feels comfortable.

The owners who successfully build teams are not necessarily more confident, more experienced, or less nervous than everyone else. They simply become willing to take the next logical step before they have every answer figured out.

If hiring feels overwhelming right now, stop focusing on the entire journey and start focusing on the smallest meaningful step you can take today. Often, that first step is all it takes to create the momentum that makes every future decision easier.

— Jarod

Want Step-by-Step Guidance to Start, Grow, or Transition Your Own Cash-Based Practice?

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HERE ARE SOME MORE EPISODES ON HIRING & SCALING YOUR CASH PRACTICE:

Cash Practice Admins That Crush It – Interview Musts to Find Yours
Learn the key interview strategies and hiring criteria that help practice owners identify exceptional admin staff who improve operations, conversions, and patient experience.

3 Healthcare Recruitment Strategies to Land A-Level Talent for Your Practice
Discover practical recruiting tactics that help attract high-quality clinicians in today’s increasingly competitive hiring market.

How to Get Patients Excited to Schedule a Visit With Your New Hire
Learn how to successfully transition patient demand from the owner to new clinicians while maintaining trust and protecting revenue.

MORE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU BUILD YOUR TEAM:

Automated Top Talent Attraction and Hiring System

Discover how to attract high-quality clinicians using modern recruiting strategies beyond traditional job boards, including social media, targeted outreach, and automated hiring systems. Check out the Training here.

How to Attract Top Talent, Manage Like a CEO, and Fill New Clinicians’ Schedules with Patients As Quickly As Possible

This masterclass shows you how to attract, onboard, manage, and quickly fill new clinicians’ schedules so your team starts adding value faster. Check out the Masterclass here.