As SLP, OT, or PT direct school contractors, it’s common to encounter situations where the demand from a school exceeds what you can provide. Navigating these scenarios requires strategic decision-making to ensure your business needs and mission are met.
Here are different ways to handle a school having more of a need than you can cover.
1. Say "No" to Additional Needs
Pros:
- Keeps your business intentionally small, maintaining your focus and control.
- Avoids the stress of recruiting and hiring additional staff.
- Allows you to work alongside fellow contractors without the burden of management responsibilities.
Cons:
- Potentially risks losing the contract if the district prefers all therapies to be managed by a single company (though this is rare).
2. Turn it Down but Outsource with a Finder's Fee
In this approach, you decline the additional work but you find a company/independent contractor that can take it on and charge a finder’s fee to either the provider or the school.
Pros:
- Have a say in selecting who will work alongside you, ensuring compatibility and quality.
- Gain a small amount of revenue from the finder’s fee.
- Support the field by facilitating opportunities for other provider-run companies or independent contractors.
Cons:
- Providers typically aren’t able to pay a large finder’s fee, making this option nowhere near as profitable as hiring/subcontracting.
- Risk losing YOUR contract to the provider you place there if they want to hire someday.
- May struggle to find a suitable provider to take on the additional work.
3. Hire or Subcontract
Outsource the need by expanding your team, either by hiring employees or subcontracting contractors (state allowing).
Pros:
- Creates a relatively passive revenue source.
- Expands your income without adding direct therapy hours.
- Pleases the school by consolidating all therapy services under your umbrella.
- Allows business expansion without the need for new-school sales.
Cons:
- Adds executive tasks and stress related to payroll, recruitment, and management.
- Requires upfront expenses to support with set-up
- Requires access to cash to run payroll should a school have a delay in paying
Ultimate Recommendation: Let Your Five-Year Goal Drive You
Your approach should align with your long-term business goals. If you envision having employees or subcontractors eventually, this scenario presents a low-hanging fruit opportunity to expand your business and initiate the hiring process. Need support? Check out our School Staffing Training and Packet—designed to give you all of the trainings and templates needed to get the ball rolling with hiring or subcontracting!
