Ep779 | How To Figure Out Staff Break Even
The P.T. Entrepreneur Podcast
Navigating the First Hire: Financial Insights for Growth
This chapter covers the key steps and considerations for physical therapists hiring their first staff member, including addressing financial concerns and calculating break-even points. It offers practical advice on expected visit rates and emphasizes the potential for profitability with effective planning and marketing.
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Speaker 2
Yeah like last season got a new owner in DC didn't really have anybody to blame the shittiness of it. Right
Speaker 1
right right you
Speaker 2
don't want to you
Speaker 1
don't want to have that happen you want the scapegoat.
Speaker 2
Now I yeah so I could see myself being Burr halter in just so that I guarantee myself a scapegoat.
Speaker 1
Yeah, but
Speaker 2
he's still a shitty coach.
Speaker 1
That's okay. I've said I'm gonna follow your lead. So I'll go Burr halter out for now as of right now. Okay, my fire fest. I don't know if I should tell this story, but I'll just tell it. Fuck it. I got in a I got in a splash battle with like a seven year old at the at the water park yesterday. I don't know if that was me being a bad person or not. I would like you guys to tell me if I'm a bad person or not.
Speaker 2
Did you win? So
Speaker 1
here's what happened. Went to the water park took my son I'm on vacation with my family and then of friends, like a couple friend and then their kid as well. So we went to the water park having a great time about to leave the water park and this seven -year -old comes up to me and he just starts splashing me in the face like legit eye contact splashing me in the face and I said I turned to him I said can you please stop splashing me in the face and he kept on splashing me in the face and then I said a little louder because how it works with these water parks is like, there's parents kind of around watching. So if you you know, I said, please stop splashing me in the face hoping a parent would be like, Hey, Johnny, stop, stop splashing that man with the Spongebob body and the big tits in the face and I would be like, okay, great. Doesn't know no parent, no parent looks up, no parent says anything. Another time, please stop slashing me in the face kid just standing there splashing me in the face three times. So I just went tsunami splash, like one of these just absolutely got it just smashed him in the face of the splash and then he left I
Speaker 2
think you had to do that I think you're in the right but here's why not because you were being splashed but because your children were there and if they see their dad getting bullied by a seven -year -old right and losing a splash fight right that's the worst thing that could ever that's something that they'll be in therapy for for 60 years it
Speaker 1
was one splash and done I didn't I didn't I could have stayed there and come just kept on splashing the kid if I wanted to but I didn't want to I just wanted to end the end the issue because he was like almost following me splashing me in the face.
Speaker 2
Now your son will get to go to school and say like my dad could splash the fuck out of your dad.
Speaker 1
Yeah, I'm already dealing with the whole like the kid in his class His dad is stronger than me. So I needed to do something to get a little bit of power back Yeah,
Speaker 2
do you think this is fair play? I think it's totally fair play. Yeah There's only gonna be two splashes. My dad gets a hold of your dad him splashing the water in your dad's head splashing open on the pavement I've
Speaker 5
been feeling bad about it. I really don't step in you just gotta, if parents don't step in, you gotta do what you gotta do. Right.
Speaker 1
It was just a quick splash right back in his face and he was gone. And he didn't even care. He didn't cry or anything. He just literally just left the scene. He was like, all right, I can't pick on this guy anymore. Because he was picking on me. Legit picking on me. I felt picked on. And there's nothing I could do. Also, I've had the revelation just being on vacation in pool environments. The light bulb, you have weird moments as a parent where the light bulb clicks and you're like, God damn it, I sucked so much as a kid for my parents. Trying to get my kids out of the pool, it clicked. I had that moment where I was like, I remember vividly, just never get it refusing to get out of the pool as a kid, and how much that must have sucked because
Speaker 2
it sucks because you know that your parents have have clothes on. Right. You can you're in a pool, you can just be like, No, I
Speaker 1
used to, I used to do the thing where I would lay down where I lay on my back and pretend that I couldn't hear because my, my ears were under. Yeah. And I would just lay there and or like go underwater and just keep going underwater and then come up for a little breath and go back underwater and just stay in the pool forever. If you're swimming
Speaker 2
around, you're making the splash noises. You can't hear anything. Right. Yeah, it's a strong move. And I don't think the kids are going to
Speaker 7
stop doing that anytime soon. No, they're smart. They're very smart. All right, Jake, you want to finish this off? Yeah, I've been back on a pickleball kick lately. And this happened last year. I was standing in front of the kitchen and accidentally hit a winner in a lady's face. Oh,
Speaker 1
that's way worse than me splashing that seven year old. Yeah,
Speaker 7
I said sorry. She was okay. But the guilt afterwards was bad. We won the point but we lost a lot more. So this is the
Speaker 1
second time you smashed a woman in the face. During a pickleball point you put you keep you keep finding yourself getting getting your balls in
Speaker 7
women's faces. Well, yeah, the way it works is if you're both at the kitchen, you leave a ball. So the women should be in the kitchen. Yeah, right. Okay,
Speaker 2
got it. Oh, but I think Jake saying she shouldn't be in the kitchen.
Speaker 7
No, she wasn't in the kitchen. She wasn't in the kitchen. Oh, that was bad. You were punishing her for not being in the kitchen. No, she was in the kitchen. She'd be disqualified.
Speaker 5
Jake, fuck her. Yeah.
Speaker 7
Yeah. But any highball in front of the kitchen, you're putting it away. It just happened to hit her and I felt bad. Did
Speaker 2
you just do the racket in the air or did you go to
Speaker 7
it? Yeah, no, I was like, sorry. Did she make a noise? Not that I know of. Did she yelp? No, I just said, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, are you OK? And she started crying and was like, God damn it.
Speaker 2
Jake, did you make a noise when you hit it?
Speaker 7
I don't think so. There's not as much grunting in Pickleball. That's a lot. Jake makes a lot.
Speaker 2
You lead the podcast. No, I do
Speaker 7
here and there, but not like tennis. Yeah.
Speaker 2
You grunted
Speaker 6
in ping pong. Yeah. Okay. No, that's less than. Yeah, that's less than pickleball. Not
Speaker 7
if you're slamming it. Apparently you do a lot to women. How old was this woman? Uh, she was probably about my age. Okay. Are you, are you ever catching yourself playing like against elderly people? Yeah, it happens. But that's what makes pickleball so great is like, you don't age, gender, it doesn't really matter. Like people, older people can really be good at this game. Yeah.
Speaker 1
I saw I read something that was like, pickball was invented to like to finally try to get back at boomers who have like ruined the entire country to just get them to play this sport and get injured, which I kind of like that theory. Yeah,
Speaker 7
but it's a very inclusive game. It's fun. Okay,
Speaker 1
except if you're across from Jake and outside the kitchen, get smashed is a
Speaker 2
one -on -one game. Ah, it's mostly doubles Mixed doubles or was it you and a guy against two girls? Ah,
Speaker 7
this game was pickup So it was just like four on four off. So it was me and a guy against the guy and a girl
Speaker 1
Okay,
Speaker 2
and you smashed the girl because she was not in the kitchen No,
Speaker 1
but oh my god already did a he did a face mash of Bucker and Jake March. Oh My god, that was so quick That was no
Speaker 7
but yeah, I respect appreciate women yes okay
Speaker 1
yeah work
Speaker 7
your magic okay
Speaker 1
okay should we do numbers PFT you're gonna have to yeah I got it yeah great show boys. Alright,
Speaker 2
what are the numbers? 20? 56. 8. 18. 3.
Speaker 5
I V you Hank. 99. It's your birthday. You can have
Speaker 7
it. You can have it. 89.
Speaker 5
21.
Speaker 7
No.
Speaker 5
You want it? 30. 33. Say
Speaker 1
it again. Sorry.
Speaker 2
If Hank wins this, can we all agree to murder him? Yeah,
Speaker 1
okay if the thing on his chin doesn't murder him first Yeah,
Speaker 5
I'm a little worried Were you on web MD? Yeah What'd
Speaker 1
they say?
Speaker 5
Uh I could have Hodgkin's lymphoma. I don't know Jesus
Speaker 6
WebMD is what got me to the urgent care for my hand too. Oh, what happened with your hand? It pretty much broke a hand. So it's not broken? It's pretty much broken. All right, here we go. Make sure you don't look. 14.
Speaker 2
14.
Speaker 3
Alright,
Speaker 2
see you on Monday. Love you guys. Anyway
Speaker 5
Take me out, take me out, take me out, take me out, me
Speaker 3
out, take me out, take me out, take me out, take me out,
Speaker 5
take me out, take me out, take me out, take me out, take me out, take take me out, out, take me out, take me out, out, take me out, take take me out, out, Oh I'm coming for you anyway Take on me, I'll make you a new day for me. Take on me, I'll make you a new day for for me.
Speaker 1
Take on me, I'll on me, I'll me, I'll on me, me, I'll make you a new day for me. Take on me, I'll make you a new day for me. Take on me, I'll make you a new day for me. Take on me, I'll make you a new day for me. Take on me Take me up Take on me Take on me you
In this episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast, Doc Danny tackles the fear of making your first hire. Learn how to calculate the break-even point for a new employee, strategies for building their schedule, and how to overcome the anxiety of salary burdens. Whether you're hiring part-time or full-time, this episode provides actionable insights to help you grow your team and business with confidence.
Key Takeaways:
- First Hire Fears: Hiring your first employee can feel daunting, especially with the perceived salary burden.
- Break-Even Calculation: Determine break-even by dividing the employee's salary by your average visit rate to calculate the required monthly visits.
- Part-Time vs. Full-Time: Both models can work, but full-time provides better focus and scalability if cash reserves allow.
- Initial Goals: Aim to get a new hire's schedule one-third full (break-even point) within the first 1-2 months.
- Growth Potential: Most full-time providers settle at 105-110 visits/month, far exceeding the break-even threshold.
- Recurring Visits Help: Strong recurring visit volume reduces the burden of new evaluations, building schedules faster.
- Plan for Reserves: Expect initial salary costs for 1-2 months before break-even and ensure cash reserves to cover early deficits.
- Mindset Shift: Focus on manageable goals like reaching break-even, not filling the schedule entirely right away.
- Scalability: Bringing on talented clinicians elevates your business and relieves pressure once they reach profitability.
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