The Fear Math: How Many Visits Pay for a New Hire?

Most private-pay practice owners think about hiring in feelings, not numbers.

It feels risky. It feels expensive. It feels like a lot of responsibility. And because it feels that way, a lot of great practices never grow past the one-person ceiling.

Here's what I want you to do instead: run the math.

Let's say a full-time associate at $60,000 a year costs you roughly $5,000 a month. Add employer taxes, which add another 8 to 12%. Call it $5,500 to $5,600 all-in, monthly.

Scary? Maybe. Until you do the next step.

Now divide that monthly number by your average visit rate.

At $325 per visit, a new provider needs to see 17 patients a month to cover their paycheck. That's less than one patient a day on a five-day schedule. Roughly 4 or 5 hours of clinical time a week.

Is that achievable in your first 90 days? Almost certainly yes.

The risk most practitioners have been calculating in their head is 10x the actual number. And meanwhile, patients are waiting. Referrals are getting lost. Your schedule is maxed, and you're turning people away or running behind.

The fear isn't the math. The fear is the feeling. And feelings don't build practices.

Run your actual numbers. Then decide.

Your move this week: Take your monthly hire cost, including employer taxes, and divide it by your average visit rate. That's your break-even visit count. Write it down. Then ask yourself: could a new provider realistically see that many patients in 90 days?

Stay Profitable, Dan

Want help with your own numbers? Schedule a free numbers review. One call, two or three of your real numbers, and a clear next step.

This post first appeared in The Profit Weekly, Dan's Friday email for private-pay and hybrid practice owners. Get The Profit Weekly every Friday.