ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Welcome back to the Will Power Podcast's special season, "AI versus Virtual Assistants"! This episode is a game-changer, especially if you dream of building a thriving business without losing your mind, or your spouse. Our guest, Lance Gross, just returned from a ten-day Bahamas vacation, boat and all, with zero work calls to return. Seriously.
Lance and his wife own over 25 locations and a small empire of businesses, yet he's more relaxed than a koala on melatonin. How? He's mastered the art of freedom, chill leadership, and building a business that runs itself.
In this masterclass, we dive deep into:
- Scaling a private practice without sacrificing sanity or relationships.
- The surprising impact of small, $8 Sonic drink investments on team morale and retention (he's lost only one therapist in 7 years!).
- Lance's secret weapon: not just one, but seven virtual assistants, with VAs even hiring VAs!
- The "Who, Not How" mindset and its profound influence on his entrepreneurial journey.
- How to build layers of leadership and systems (even old-school paper ones!) that protect your time and empower your team.
- The philosophy behind his decision to personally treat patients, even though he doesn't have to.
- Why Lance is all in on Virtual Assistants and his current perspective on Artificial Intelligence.
- Rapid-fire questions covering his top book, time-saver hacks, biggest business regrets, and more!
If you're ready to learn how to cultivate a freedom growth mindset and build a business that allows you to truly live life on purpose, this episode is for you. Buckle up, Rockstars, and get ready to transform your approach to business and life!
Don't forget: If freedom had a love language, it'd be delegation! If you're tired of wearing all the hats, book a free discovery call at virtualrockstar.com and see how a Virtual Assistant can free you up. We've paired hundreds of private practice owners with their ideal virtual rockstar assistants, helping them save over $20,000 per year in profit per hire. You deserve a business that gives more than it takes!
Rockstars specialize in helping support or replace all non-clinical roles.
Learn how a Rockstar can help scale your physical therapy practice.
Subscribe here to our completely free Stress-Free PT Newsletter for your weekly dose of joy.
SHOW NOTES 🔗
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
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Welcome back to the Willpower Podcast and our special season of AI versus virtual assistants.
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Our guest is Lance Gross, and this episode, guys, is amazing.
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I would have killed to listen to this episode 10 years ago.
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Lance just came back from a 10-day Bahamas vacation where he rented a boat with some friends and after 10 days he didn't have a single call to return any work he had to do.
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He's either a wizard or he has to return any work he had to do.
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He's either a wizard or he has mastered something the rest of us want to learn.
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Spoiler alert it's both Lance and his wife own 25 plus locations and a small empire of businesses, and somehow this guy is more relaxed than a koala on melatonin.
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We talk about how he scaled his private practice without losing his mind or his spouse, and how he was able to benefit his team with small $8 Sonic Drink investments that sometimes were the best investments he made.
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Oh, and his VAs.
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Not only does he have a small team of VAs, but he's got virtual assistants hiring virtual assistants.
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So buckle up.
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We're diving into a masterclass on freedom, chill leadership and how to build a business that runs while you're on a boat somewhere in the world.
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Let's roll.
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What's one thing you wish you would stop doing way sooner in your business?
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I'm treating patients.
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I do that every day, so I probably need to stop doing that as much, and I probably should have stopped doing that a little while back, to be honest.
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Well, Lance, thank you so much for being a part of the Willpower Podcast special season VAs versus AI.
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I want you to first just set the table for your audience a little bit here.
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Tell us about your businesses, the size of your organization, and then I'd love for you to explain afterwards your purpose and path, like why did you choose the thing that you're doing right now?
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Okay, oh, thanks for thanks for having me first.
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Good to see you again.
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Um, so I'm, my name is Lance Gross.
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I'm a physical therapist.
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My wife's also a physical therapist.
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We're from North Arkansas.
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Um, been a therapist for 28 years.
00:02:04.272 --> 00:02:07.081
Uh, had therapists.
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We're from North Arkansas, been a therapist for 28 years.
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Had my own business that whole time.
00:02:09.292 --> 00:02:10.718
Have only been in the outpatient business for about seven years.
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We currently have 24 outpatient locations opening our 25th August, the 1st.
00:02:15.252 --> 00:02:18.924
So we're over 25 locations across North Arkansas and one in Southern Missouri.
00:02:18.924 --> 00:02:35.276
Also, I'm a half owner of a DME company, half owner of an assisted living retirement community, half owner of a residential care facility, half owner of a home care business, half owner of commercial real estates and all those things.
00:02:36.443 --> 00:02:37.487
So yeah, that's a lot.
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Before you go into the why, it sounds like you have your private practice with the multiple locations and you're expanding rapidly that you own as the primary owner, and then you have partners and all these other businesses.
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Right.
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So my wife and I are the only owners of the therapy business.
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We're the primary a hundred percent owners of that, and then the other business I'm going to have a partner in.
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The others.
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So yeah, and then let me let me, before we get into the why of it, I do want people to hear this.
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Tell me how many business calls you had in that 10 day period.
00:03:07.367 --> 00:03:08.334
Oh, when I was okay, so I was, we were talking.
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Before that came on, I was.
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I was actually gone last week on vacation for 10 days and I had zero business calls the whole 10 days.
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So and came back and everything was just still on keel, running smooth, so yeah, remember, freedom isn't just possible.
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It's kind of the point.
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If this episode helped you laugh, learn or at least cancel one meeting, go ahead and hit subscribe, share it with your overworked friend and leave a review.
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I read every single one, usually while avoiding emails.
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Want more behind the scenes stuff?
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Then hit us up on the socials.
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Now go delegate something and take a nap.
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You've earned it, yeah, guys.
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So, rockstars, are you catching the vibe now of the new season?
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You heard the first episode last week, that short introduction about the mindset.
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So now we're talking about results.
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Do you want that, rockstars?
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Then buckle up Like we're getting into this freedom growth mindset and we're going to talk about, like, the latest trends and everything.
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But first let's go back to the mindset with Lance.
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Lance, tell me about your why, like, what was the purpose that got you into this space and why you're doing all these things?
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What's your driving force behind it?
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Well, that's changed over the years, of course.
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So, you know, at first, when you're the first sole owner of a business and the sole proprietor and you're the only one ever then your idea there and remind them in was, you know, to make a good living, to make money or to have your own place so you can be the boss and in charge.
00:04:32.055 --> 00:04:50.682
Um, as that's evolved now to where I've gotten way more people on my team, my passion now is, honestly, it's for them to have a great place to work, so like for those people to have a great place to go to work every day that they can be at forever, for like a lifetime career, that we're setting up a place for them to be able to do that, and that's honestly what I like doing and it's to that we're getting to that point.
00:04:50.742 --> 00:04:59.923
I think we're really close to that precipice where people that are on our team like feel like this is the home place they're going to be forever and they're going to stay here and work for our company forever and ever so.
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And then now, later on in my career, at 54 years old today not today, but my birthday is going to all back it up as we're speaking 54 right, um, I'm looking at you know, not stopping of course, but winding down to where I'm stepping away, kind of like I did last week when I was able to vacation not had not be the one running the business the business kind of went to itself.
00:05:21.648 --> 00:05:26.374
So that's, that's where that's, I guess it's where, if that makes, I wouldn't have the two sides of it.
00:05:26.795 --> 00:05:28.923
I'm in for being the chief cook and bottle washer Now.
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I'm just like setting the charting, the course.
00:05:31.949 --> 00:05:37.529
Yeah, it's amazing to think about how your purpose is twofold and one of them is deeply personal.
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The first one is the team, and that's a big thing for people listening and it was a big shift for me was when I realized that the team that I was building was the greatest gift that I could build and, ironically, that's when my freedom and money increased.
00:05:50.242 --> 00:05:56.002
But I love that you're being really direct Lance around this thing called like yeah, I'm 54.
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I don't want to be working crazy hours anymore.
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So it's the other side of the same coin and it's your purpose.
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Your purpose is to live life and love what you're doing and to be able to leave for 10 days and not have all these messages pop up.
00:06:10.468 --> 00:06:10.629
Yep.
00:06:10.629 --> 00:06:13.365
Yes, it was pretty enjoyable on vacation.
00:06:13.908 --> 00:06:15.250
Yeah, I'm super jealous.
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So, listen, I want people to relate to you.
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Can you share a time where you can explain how you can relate and connect to people's strife, like the pain of building these things, because there's a time in your life where you experience that?
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Right, right.
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So I'm painting the picture here where I'm just sitting back with all these businesses doing crazy.
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I'm doing nothing.
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Well, that's not really the case.
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This hasn't been the way from the start.
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No, you're hyper-entrepreneurial.
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Right.
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So for 25, 28 years it was me doing everything, working just around the clock-ish.
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So start early in the morning, 6, do notes until midnight, work weekends, try to fill in the gaps.
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Someone's off I'm covering Someone doesn't show up?
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I'm going to cover their shift.
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Someone's sick?
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I'm the one.
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I was it doing everything.
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So that was the way it was for years and years and years and strife that was some of the strife.
00:07:04.802 --> 00:07:10.788
And then, or hardship, probably the biggest time I would say, was when we made a decision.
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So our history of our business we were a contract company for years where I'd be contracted therapists with home health agencies, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, whatever.
00:07:19.257 --> 00:07:23.925
So we had a bunch of staff or team members that we contracted out.
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There came a point in time, seven years ago now, where I was thinking man, I'm getting close to 50, my business is just all based on these contracts, the whole thing, and if someone else comes in and takes my contracts or someone decides to hire their own therapist, my business is gone overnight.
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So I said, what well, what can I do?
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So we decided to go into our just kind of brick and mortar type private practice setting.
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So I announced to our staff, our team at our Christmas party.
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I say you guys ever thought about having our own clinics?
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Anybody want their own therapy clinic?
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And like they're all like, yeah, let's do that.
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So we opened five clinics in like four months.
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So we went from a December meeting to open our first clinic in March and by I think, may or June we had five clinics open and at the same time we were building a house, my wife and I building a house and our kids were in high school at the time.
00:08:10.045 --> 00:08:11.531
Oh yeah, all kinds of athletic sports.
00:08:11.531 --> 00:08:15.586
So I might I had I had zero hours in every day and $0.
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Because if you go from a pretty nice profitable contract business where there's really no overhead whatsoever other than paying salaries, and also now you're opening five new practices with buildings and equipment and all those things and there's no revenue coming because you have no patients yet, uh it was pretty stressful, uh pretty stressful time for me and my wife and if I'm a little even keel on things like things don't really upset me too much and my wife is the same way oh, is she the same way?
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because I've always been jealous about how you're.
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You know, hey, you owe a million dollars.
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You, you won a million dollars.
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You're like cool either one right, same text, yeah, and, but we're the same way.
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I'm a little more even than she is.
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She's yeah she, she steadies me a little more.
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She's like, hey, you should paint it in here because we're bleeding over here.
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We should look at this and and I'm like, oh okay, it'll be okay, it'll stop eventually, correct?
00:09:06.764 --> 00:09:10.470
So it's amazing I will say, especially having had high schoolers how difficult that is.
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In addition, there's like a financial and emotional bankruptcy that's occurring there in that journey.
00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:21.863
And the other thing, rock stars, I want you to hear, as Lance is talking, is that he's only on this PT practice for seven years.
00:09:21.863 --> 00:09:26.090
Right, I mean you're in your late forties, when you started.
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Right, yeah, I wish I.
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I wish I would've done this when I was 25.
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It would have been a lot better.
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Yeah.
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So rockstar is no matter where you are.
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Remember this rule it's not your age, it's the stage.
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It's not your age, it's a stage.
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Don't look around and say, oh, I'm too old or I'm it's too late for me to get on social media or to figure this crap out Like this is.
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This is legitimately an example.
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This is why I'm starting the season with Lance.
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He is an example of what's possible and I love, lance, that you've.
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You've put yourself in this position, in your, in your stage of life, where you're like really accelerating and recognizing like, hey, what do I want?
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Like you're not a victim to the, to that piece of it, where you're just like feeling overwhelmed.
00:10:03.006 --> 00:10:23.224
You know, what I would love to know is is like from that place where you were going through a great deal of strife to where you and, by the way, before we get any further into how you got from there to here tell people what you do with your time now oh, so my my like during the daytime time yeah, like we were talking about, yeah so I treat patients, so I'd still treat patients throughout the week.
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So this week, today's friday, as we're filming this and it's noonish noonish where I'm at um I've already done three evals this morning.
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I've got three more scheduled this afternoon.
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It'll make I'll have 23 evaluations done this week.
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So I do I do typically anywhere from 15 to 25 evaluations in the out patient clinics per week and then everything else but.
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But I like doing that, I enjoy seeing patients, I enjoy being around, I enjoy being around my team.
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Do you have to treat?
00:10:51.528 --> 00:10:53.485
No, no, I don't have to.
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No.
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So, rockstar, I want Lance to say that to you because I want you to hear that treating isn't bad.
00:10:58.808 --> 00:11:13.442
But there is such a difference between building a company that runs on its own and choosing to go in and Lance and I were talking before that we hit record that like one of the main reasons you're doing this is to really just to show your people that you're willing to walk the walk and talk the talk that that you set as the leader.
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You don't have to, but you choose to.
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I do choose to.
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Yeah, I could.
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I mean at this point I could stay home every day and and do something different.
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But used to, I've always treated so.
00:11:24.131 --> 00:11:24.331
I used to.
00:11:24.331 --> 00:11:29.845
You know, four years ago or three or probably three years ago now.
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I would treat all day and then go home and like manage the business all night.
00:11:31.513 --> 00:11:33.380
So go home and then like work on books, payroll and all those things.
00:11:33.380 --> 00:11:36.188
Well, now we have other folks in place to do much of that stuff.
00:11:36.188 --> 00:11:38.121
So I don't I have to really do that.
00:11:38.121 --> 00:11:46.274
I still, obviously I still do some looking at numbers and financials and making sure things are on track, but as far as the day-to-day operations, I don't really have a whole lot to do with that.
00:11:46.980 --> 00:11:52.129
You know I don't want to put words in your mouth, but as you're talking, I'm hearing Dan Sullivan in my head about who, not how.
00:11:52.409 --> 00:11:52.912
It's a great book.
00:11:53.421 --> 00:11:59.369
Yeah, how much did that concept play into that transformation of where you were doing everything to where you are now?
00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:05.500
Right.
00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:06.806
So I actually read that book the first time.
00:12:06.806 --> 00:12:10.039
I think you gave it to me to be truthful, sure, yep, and that's what prompted us to hire our director of operations.
00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:13.620
Some of you might call her a CEO or whatever, but she's our director of operations.
00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:20.094
Hired her almost three years ago, I believe now, and that's been a huge burden off of myself and off of my wife.
00:12:20.094 --> 00:12:24.529
So just running a day-to-day operations of everything, she oversees the whole business.
00:12:25.371 --> 00:12:25.493
Yeah.
00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:27.966
From hiring, firing, credentialing, payroll.
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She oversees all those things.
00:12:29.048 --> 00:12:33.548
And then there's other people that blow around her team that should do those tasks.
00:12:33.548 --> 00:12:36.703
But she makes sure they're being done and her and I obviously talk every day.
00:12:36.703 --> 00:12:39.731
A report at the end of the day, kind of a summation of what's going on.
00:12:39.731 --> 00:12:41.921
What do I need to address myself?
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Those things.
00:12:43.722 --> 00:12:45.203
Yeah, rockstars.
00:12:45.203 --> 00:12:47.886
I want you to hear how he's describing what freedom looks like.
00:12:47.886 --> 00:12:48.927
It's his passion.
00:12:48.927 --> 00:12:58.495
Going back to your team, lance of like, you're really passionate about creating a place where people are so thrilled to get up and go to work, to be a part of things, and that's one of the reasons that you're driven to treat.
00:12:58.495 --> 00:13:04.510
It's not just because you still like to treat, it's because you like to be with your people and then you know, but in a way that serves you.
00:13:04.510 --> 00:13:08.768
But yet Lance is still free and able to take these big breaks if he needs to.
00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:21.687
And I just again, that's what a CEO I always tell people I think the most important roles that CEOs need to remember that they have is, first is visionary, second is cultural leader and then third is team development.
00:13:21.687 --> 00:13:27.285
If they can be in that space, they can have ultimate you know, ultimate profit and freedom to be able to do what they want.
00:13:27.285 --> 00:13:30.173
So, lance, let's get into some of these things that you've.
00:13:30.173 --> 00:13:32.984
I want to ask you some really specific questions for our audience.
00:13:32.984 --> 00:13:42.707
Around some of the freedom helpers that you've had, can you tell me what is something that you've implemented in your practice that has freed you up outside of hiring people?
00:13:44.461 --> 00:13:45.287
Outside of hiring people.
00:13:45.287 --> 00:13:46.253
What has freed you up outside of hiring people?
00:13:46.253 --> 00:13:47.200
Outside of hiring people would just free us up.
00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:52.572
So well, hiring people people free us up.
00:13:52.572 --> 00:13:53.885
I mean people that take things off us.
00:13:53.885 --> 00:13:55.245
So we do put in systems.
00:13:55.245 --> 00:14:01.711
Obviously we have systems in place that do things, so we have teams of people that do different stuff.
00:14:01.711 --> 00:14:06.687
So, just from in a physical therapy practice I'm assuming most people watch this or some kind of physical therapist practice owners.
00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:08.547
PT, OTS, LP are most of our audience.
00:14:09.306 --> 00:14:10.679
So most everybody understands what I'm talking about.
00:14:10.679 --> 00:14:21.746
When you're worried about credentialing and revenue cycle management and referrals coming in and marketing and all those things and if you're the a lot of you guys may be sole practice owners, where you have your own practice, but where you have your own practices we were doing all those things.
00:14:21.746 --> 00:14:25.374
So we have people that do each one of those things.
00:14:25.374 --> 00:14:27.412
We have a whole marketing crew that just takes care of that.
00:14:27.412 --> 00:14:29.304
We have a whole credentialing crew that takes care of just credentialing.
00:14:29.304 --> 00:14:33.886
We have a whole team that just takes care of new referrals coming in and insurance author verifications.
00:14:33.886 --> 00:14:36.907
We have a whole team of people that take care of authorizations.
00:14:36.907 --> 00:14:42.870
So all these things are done individually and they all report to one person and it comes back to this anyway.
00:14:43.471 --> 00:14:44.953
So the leadership thing you hit kind of hard.
00:14:44.953 --> 00:14:50.971
It's hard because I said without people to challenge you, because I know that people is the main way that you've grown.
00:14:50.971 --> 00:14:52.477
But it sounds like what you did say it was systems.
00:14:52.477 --> 00:14:56.875
I heard like you've implemented like some processes and then leadership.
00:14:56.875 --> 00:14:58.280
So let's talk about systems really quick.
00:14:58.280 --> 00:15:00.024
Like what do you, do you use Google docs?
00:15:00.024 --> 00:15:02.488
Like how, when you say systems, what does that look like in your company?
00:15:03.370 --> 00:15:04.852
So systems are well.
00:15:04.852 --> 00:15:06.034
Funny enough, a lot of ours are on paper.
00:15:07.160 --> 00:15:09.948
So straight up old school paper systems they're really like right down.
00:15:09.969 --> 00:15:12.707
Here's what we do, here's our outline of what we're going to do, and we do that.
00:15:12.707 --> 00:15:15.566
So it's hard to explain that there's so many.
00:15:15.566 --> 00:15:17.890
We have you know, weekly meetings, weekly things.
00:15:17.912 --> 00:15:18.493
People check in.
00:15:18.493 --> 00:15:27.769
So if you're on that team, report to that person.
00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:30.265
They've got tasks they've got to complete and once they're completed everything's good.
00:15:30.265 --> 00:15:37.782
If they're not completed, they're marked in red and then they report back to her and if she can't figure it out, then she goes to our director of operations.
00:15:37.782 --> 00:15:39.403
If she can't get a problem solved, then it comes to me.
00:15:39.403 --> 00:15:42.788
So it's like a three-tier thing before it comes to me.
00:15:42.788 --> 00:15:44.230
No summit ever gets to me.
00:15:44.230 --> 00:15:47.855
Honestly, Everything is done.
00:15:49.639 --> 00:15:50.643
It's already organized in that way.
00:15:50.643 --> 00:15:53.572
Let me summarize this because Lance is living it so well.
00:15:53.572 --> 00:16:01.144
I'm going to take a step back and give you a little bit of perspective, because these things that Lance is doing is like gravity and sometimes we get worked up in terms of like.
00:16:01.144 --> 00:16:03.490
Should I use an online training platform?
00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:04.412
Should I do a paper?
00:16:04.412 --> 00:16:05.553
Worked up in terms of like?
00:16:05.553 --> 00:16:06.657
Should I use an online training platform?
00:16:06.657 --> 00:16:07.960
Should I do a paper?
00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:12.951
Look, you can't deny Lance's results with pen and paper systems in some of the cases that he's built it out.
00:16:12.951 --> 00:16:15.982
But here are the things that are universal for anyone who gets totally freed up, that Lance is demonstrating.
00:16:15.982 --> 00:16:19.230
That first piece is having accountability meetings.
00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:25.847
Meetings are a huge part of culture and in those meetings, matt isn't just or sorry.
00:16:25.847 --> 00:16:38.871
Lance is looking at statistics as well as green, yellow, red, and then he's got leadership, and then you have layers of leadership, so that it's almost protective of you and only comes certain things come to you.
00:16:38.871 --> 00:16:41.759
So let me ask you this, lance what are the things that do come to you Like?
00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:48.727
You've got layers of people handling most things, so what are the types of things that you do want to come to you?
00:16:49.989 --> 00:17:10.108
Things I want to come to me, like if we're seeing a, obviously any kind of um HR issues, which we hardly ever have like those usually come to me quick, like this comes down to having to have a crucial conversation with someone that's usually me, that has to have that Like the end I'll be all if there's someone's not pulling their weight, someone doing a thing you know they need to be kind of put back on.
00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:16.330
I'm guessing they've been coached already to a degree, but you're coming in more like you're not having the first conversation as much as like the last.
00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:19.462
Yeah, yeah, right, I'm, yeah, I'm dad's coming home.
00:17:19.462 --> 00:17:23.366
They don't want to talk to me, so talk to me.
00:17:23.366 --> 00:17:24.288
That's that.
00:17:24.288 --> 00:17:31.536
And anything that's going to be a financial leak or a problem, I need to address that.
00:17:31.536 --> 00:17:38.031
So anything that looks like there's something here that's costing us money more than it's bringing in.
00:17:38.031 --> 00:17:41.664
So we don't want to make millions of dollars on everything we do, but we want to make at least something.
00:17:41.664 --> 00:17:44.401
We don't want to lose money on anything we do, so we've got to monitor all that.
00:17:44.401 --> 00:17:44.640
So everything we do.
00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:45.200
But we want to make at least something.
00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:45.990
We don't want to lose money on anything we do, so we got to monitor all that.
00:17:45.990 --> 00:17:53.730
So if we see a profit leak somewhere, I got to figure that out, and that usually comes to me to figure out what's happening with that, and I'm Pretty good at finding out where the issue is on that.
00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:55.721
Okay.
00:17:56.285 --> 00:17:56.767
Awesome stuff.
00:17:59.021 --> 00:18:04.926
Those things have really added up over time and we could do podcast upon podcast about all those things and I'm tempted to dive in there.
00:18:04.926 --> 00:18:13.232
But let me ask you this last question what's the best business purchase that you've made under $100 that has impacted your business?
00:18:14.621 --> 00:18:16.084
Business purchase under $100.
00:18:16.605 --> 00:18:16.846
Yeah.
00:18:19.451 --> 00:18:23.166
Wow, what can you get for under $100?
00:18:23.166 --> 00:18:23.709
I don't know.
00:18:24.622 --> 00:18:28.010
It may not even be a question that we use moving forward, but I'm curious to see.
00:18:28.151 --> 00:18:28.511
I don't know.
00:18:28.511 --> 00:18:36.717
Honestly, I don't know Anything I could invest in my team honestly with that.
00:18:36.717 --> 00:18:37.079
So just.
00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:42.242
But you know, buying them, buying them things to work with, doesn't really affect them, but investing in them.
00:18:42.242 --> 00:18:48.835
So you know, it could be as simple thing as stopping a sonic and pick up some side drinks to take to them on the way oh my gosh, that's such a good answer.
00:18:48.835 --> 00:18:52.903
I didn't know if we were going to come up with anything but that's a great answer so like a small treat for your team member.
00:18:53.124 --> 00:18:53.503
That's it.
00:18:53.503 --> 00:18:54.746
Yeah, yeah, we do.
00:18:54.746 --> 00:19:03.115
Yeah, I mean we can do a whole other podcast about building teams and staff retention and all those things, because we have I don't even know how many employees we have.
00:19:03.115 --> 00:19:10.166
I don't know, honestly at the moment Hundreds Counting all the businesses, but we've only lost one therapist in the past seven years.
00:19:10.166 --> 00:19:11.087
That's left us.
00:19:11.387 --> 00:19:12.930
You guys listen to what just happened.
00:19:12.930 --> 00:19:14.231
He's got hundreds of employees.
00:19:14.231 --> 00:19:15.913
He's lost one therapist in how long?
00:19:16.534 --> 00:19:17.976
Oh, seven, seven years Okay.
00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:25.619
So listen, hey, rockstars, will you put in the comments if you want episodes on that, because I'm building this next season for Q4.
00:19:25.619 --> 00:19:27.227
I'm trying to piece that together.
00:19:27.227 --> 00:19:28.866
So, rockstars, I need your feedback to know.
00:19:28.866 --> 00:19:30.681
Is that what you want to learn more about?
00:19:30.681 --> 00:19:41.594
I would love to go into that, but right now I want to pivot, lance, because, as you know, the theme of this season is artificial intelligence versus virtual assistants, and you have how many virtual assistants?
00:19:42.694 --> 00:19:47.762
Seven altogether, seven across the board.
00:19:47.762 --> 00:19:54.574
Should I use five in my PT practice and we have two in our DME business at the moment and we're going to add a third in our DME business just right next week.
00:19:54.574 --> 00:19:59.355
We'll be looking for an interview for a third one.
00:19:59.355 --> 00:20:05.048
So if you're talking about freeing up time and freeing up labor, so you mentioned earlier about, can I you mind if I talk for a minute?
00:20:05.460 --> 00:20:07.007
Always, always, yeah, okay.
00:20:07.801 --> 00:20:10.049
So you mentioned earlier what strife is.
00:20:10.049 --> 00:20:11.204
I kind of mentioned the big thing.
00:20:11.204 --> 00:20:16.644
You know, opening mentioned the big thing of the clinics.
00:20:16.644 --> 00:20:17.207
That was strapped to me.
00:20:17.207 --> 00:20:18.653
But daily, daily worries or things are our staff or team turnover.
00:20:18.653 --> 00:20:21.863
So I mentioned we haven't lost it there, we haven't lost a therapist in one therapist in seven years.
00:20:21.863 --> 00:20:25.873
But ancillary staff members, those are the hardest to keep.
00:20:25.873 --> 00:20:33.645
Front desk people, insurance verification people, authorization, people that just don't work behind the scenes and you can't pay them enough to keep them.
00:20:33.645 --> 00:20:41.409
I mean you can't, you can't afford to pay them enough to keep them because someone else offers them 50 cents more to go do the same kind of job or work from home.
00:20:41.409 --> 00:20:43.301
They, they jump at that.
00:20:43.301 --> 00:20:51.343
So we have, even though we have fantastic benefits, fantastic culture, all those things, people that make those kinds of wages for 50 cents more.
00:20:51.343 --> 00:20:53.164
They're going to think they might leave for that.
00:20:53.164 --> 00:20:54.086
Does that make sense?
00:20:54.086 --> 00:20:54.967
I mean, I'm just being honest.
00:20:55.287 --> 00:20:55.468
Yeah.
00:20:55.948 --> 00:21:12.039
So, after you spent months or weeks or years training them to do the things you wanted to do whether it's authorizations or verifications or those things that they have to do and they do them well, and then they leave you for another $2 to work for a dentist somewhere.
00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:13.403
We've all been in that position, Lance.
00:21:13.403 --> 00:21:14.444
I used to tell my wife she'd go.
00:21:14.444 --> 00:21:14.865
How was your day?
00:21:14.865 --> 00:21:17.313
And, like everyone at the front desk showed up, it went great.
00:21:17.313 --> 00:21:18.876
Yes, exactly.
00:21:19.157 --> 00:21:23.790
So so that's what I was saying, so, so, so those were the things we were having issues with.
00:21:23.790 --> 00:21:27.383
Like we were, we we obviously have seen some growth.
00:21:27.383 --> 00:21:32.280
So we've seen tremendous growth from one clinic to 25 clinics in seven years.
00:21:32.280 --> 00:21:45.786
So with that comes adding multitudes of people to try to keep up with all these things we have to do every day Verifications, authorizations, denials, all that stuff and we just we're having trouble keeping up with that, even though we had great people that couldn't do it all by themselves.
00:21:45.786 --> 00:21:49.848
So we have basically one person trying to do authorizations for 27 clinics.
00:21:49.848 --> 00:21:51.807
Well, that's an impossible task.
00:21:56.299 --> 00:21:58.454
So the virtual assistant option came along and we added one.
00:21:58.454 --> 00:22:10.769
We thought we'll give you know, let's give this a try, see how this goes Hired one, came on board, had some experience with authorizations, which we were able to step in the role and help that out.
00:22:10.769 --> 00:22:16.188
We're like, okay, that's taken a significant load off of this one person that's been doing it for a long time.
00:22:16.188 --> 00:22:18.579
So we had hired another one, and then another one and another one.
00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:23.442
Anyway, so now at this point we used to have someone stateside that did authorizations and oversee that team.
00:22:23.442 --> 00:22:25.930
Well, now our virtual assistants we have one there.
00:22:25.930 --> 00:22:26.451
His name is Archie.
00:22:26.451 --> 00:22:27.980
He is in charge of the.
00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:29.564
He has four that work for him.
00:22:29.564 --> 00:22:31.446
So he's in charge and we give him promotion.
00:22:31.446 --> 00:22:34.612
He's totally in charge of all our authorizations, all our verifications.
00:22:34.632 --> 00:22:36.894
The last virtual assembly we hired, he did the hiring we interviewed.
00:22:36.894 --> 00:22:38.567
He actually hired them, picked them out who he wanted.
00:22:38.567 --> 00:22:40.346
We just sat back and listened to him talk.
00:22:40.346 --> 00:22:43.730
And now he trains them all and he oversees everything they do.
00:22:43.730 --> 00:22:48.127
So he gives us a report each week of what's going on and we essentially don't have to worry about them.
00:22:48.127 --> 00:22:50.201
It's literally seamless.
00:22:50.201 --> 00:22:56.948
So we get a referral that comes into us, we send the stuff to them, they verify the insurance, they do authorization part.
00:22:56.948 --> 00:23:02.913
They just take care of it and it's very organized and they actually live in the Philippines.
00:23:03.034 --> 00:23:05.096
Some people may not know that they all live in the Philippines.
00:23:05.096 --> 00:23:09.384
The virtual assistants do so.
00:23:09.384 --> 00:23:09.885
They do their training.
00:23:09.885 --> 00:23:11.510
They listen to him more because he's Filipino.
00:23:11.510 --> 00:23:12.713
So when he's training them they buy into it and they're all a team because he's Filipino.
00:23:12.713 --> 00:23:15.185
So when he's training them they buy into it and they're all a team.
00:23:15.185 --> 00:23:24.776
So that has been giant both mentally, not having to worry about those things anymore, not having to worry.
00:23:24.776 --> 00:23:26.780
So if our authorization person didn't show up to work that day.
00:23:26.780 --> 00:23:28.482
Who's going to do all?
00:23:28.482 --> 00:23:29.464
Who's going to check authorizations?
00:23:29.464 --> 00:23:30.665
I don't know.
00:23:30.665 --> 00:23:31.106
I have no idea.
00:23:31.106 --> 00:23:31.867
I wouldn't even know where to start.
00:23:31.867 --> 00:23:33.148
So know, I have no idea, I wouldn't even know where to start.
00:23:33.169 --> 00:23:37.494
So we'll be dead in the water when nothing's getting authorized, cause I would not even know where to start that Um.
00:23:37.494 --> 00:23:38.256
But now we're.
00:23:38.256 --> 00:23:44.522
We're at a point where that's I mean that's, it's covered and it's a, it's a worry off, totally off of all our plates.
00:23:44.542 --> 00:23:57.979
That's amazing and you know, again, I think what's great is that you have a company with systems that have really supported that and as you've implemented that, it's so obviously refreshing to hear that there's solutions, because that was so hard for me and that's one of the reasons I'm passionate about.
00:23:57.979 --> 00:24:07.760
The virtual assistant side, as you know, is like that was I remember hiring people and they'd show up like they were doing me a favor versus the virtual assistants now who, honestly, will cry when they get hired.
00:24:07.760 --> 00:24:10.523
And this is like life changing, I think, for the audience.
00:24:10.523 --> 00:24:15.388
I think what they would want to know is you know, how does your team communicate with your VAs?
00:24:15.388 --> 00:24:18.392
Like, how do you work with your VAs remotely?
00:24:18.392 --> 00:24:21.536
That would be different than how you'd work with somebody you know stateside.
00:24:21.996 --> 00:24:22.196
Great.
00:24:22.196 --> 00:24:25.346
So we, our VAs, are.
00:24:25.346 --> 00:24:30.727
They're part of our team like anybody else, like they're literally part of like every single correspondence.
00:24:30.727 --> 00:24:32.751
We get every email we send out every talk we do.
00:24:32.751 --> 00:24:33.894
We do a weekly meeting like a weekly Zoom meeting.
00:24:33.894 --> 00:24:34.295
We get every email.
00:24:34.295 --> 00:24:34.796
We send out every talk.
00:24:34.796 --> 00:24:36.319
We do a weekly meeting like a weekly Zoom meeting.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:40.257
Every Tuesday morning we have what we call our back office meeting, which is our authorization, credentialing marketing team.
00:24:40.257 --> 00:24:42.619
All those people come together for a Zoom meeting and I'm on that meeting.
00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:50.442
Every Tuesday morning we spend an hour and a half or so going over topics of the last week, topics of the next week coming up, and the VAs are on there every time.
00:24:50.442 --> 00:24:52.223
So they're just like everybody else on the team.
00:24:53.826 --> 00:25:01.595
As far as our communication with them daily, we set them up on a Zoom, so we're on an international Zoom with them and the Zoom is essentially open all day long.
00:25:01.595 --> 00:25:03.376
So it's basically like they're in the office.
00:25:03.376 --> 00:25:10.906
They're just literally a monitor sitting to the side of someone's desk and if the VA has a question, they just say, hey, steve, and they go oh, what do you need?
00:25:10.906 --> 00:25:14.051
And they just ask the question and literally it's just open all day long.
00:25:14.051 --> 00:25:16.955
So it's an open communication.
00:25:16.955 --> 00:25:17.717
They're just on a screen.
00:25:17.717 --> 00:25:22.165
Have you ever watched Big Bang Theory and you see the one where Sheldon has these like the screen and he walks around the house?
00:25:22.165 --> 00:25:22.967
That's kind of what it's like.
00:25:22.967 --> 00:25:24.309
They're just right there.
00:25:25.412 --> 00:25:30.263
That's so funny because I've never thought of that in any way.
00:25:30.284 --> 00:25:33.549
They're right there at easy access all day long and they we give them all.
00:25:33.549 --> 00:25:34.991
They all get their own company email address.
00:25:34.991 --> 00:25:38.183
So they have their own company email, the international Zoom.
00:25:38.183 --> 00:25:38.925
They actually use that.
00:25:38.925 --> 00:25:39.970
They can use that to call with.
00:25:39.970 --> 00:25:42.645
So they can actually use that system to make phone calls to the States with.
00:25:42.645 --> 00:25:43.986
And we have them set up with a local number.
00:25:43.986 --> 00:25:54.770
So if they have to call a doctor's office or an insurance company, it looks like a local number showing up and we go through some VPN stuff for security and things like that for for all of them.
00:25:54.770 --> 00:26:00.867
But the communication is really pretty easy, like once you're used to talking on a zoom with someone, it's it's just like they're in the room with you.
00:26:00.867 --> 00:26:01.229
It's not.
00:26:01.229 --> 00:26:01.609
It's not.
00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.867
And they worked our same hours, you know, eight to five, monday to Friday.
00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:04.961
Yeah, it's.
00:26:04.961 --> 00:26:07.403
I always tell people it's not a hard muscle to learn, it's just a little.
00:26:07.403 --> 00:26:25.605
For this is that the power of bringing them into your culture is the key thing that has to be done, but medical private practice owners do that so well, especially PTOTs and SLPs.
00:26:25.605 --> 00:26:27.229
Your whole focus is building your team.
00:26:27.229 --> 00:26:42.951
I wonder what that's like for the Filipinos, because you're benefiting all these amazing Americans who are blessed to live in the greatest country on the earth, but then you have Filipinos who are coming from also a great country, but they don't have the same financial opportunities that we have.
00:26:42.951 --> 00:26:59.185
I just wonder what that's like for them to be able to work for you and I don't really have a question here, as much as just like a statement that I think it's really neat that your focus is on your, your culture, and that it's actually becoming global, like you're impacting people, but um, I mean, we do we do it.
00:26:59.207 --> 00:26:59.627
Do we do us?
00:26:59.627 --> 00:27:02.567
Well, if all of our new hires come on board, we do us.
00:27:02.567 --> 00:27:04.285
I mean it looked like a welcome package.
00:27:04.807 --> 00:27:04.988
Yeah.
00:27:05.540 --> 00:27:06.806
They just get a welcome package from us.
00:27:06.806 --> 00:27:16.270
But the I know this is working the team and you know a couple of two or three t-shirts and some like swag you know, that has our logos on it some cups and tumblers and all this thing.
00:27:16.270 --> 00:27:18.954
Well, the Filipinos get them too, so we send them to them all you ship it to the Philippines.
00:27:18.954 --> 00:27:20.184
I do so they all get one too.
00:27:20.184 --> 00:27:25.749
They all get a box with all their T-shirts, and so we treat them like anybody else on our team.
00:27:27.282 --> 00:27:28.769
What have they said when they got those packages?
00:27:28.769 --> 00:27:30.105
Because I know they don't get that.
00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:31.982
Oh yeah, they love that, so it's so.
00:27:31.982 --> 00:27:34.165
They're no different to anybody else that works stateside.
00:27:34.165 --> 00:27:36.529
So no difference to us amazing.
00:27:37.010 --> 00:27:38.133
Yeah, and how was that?
00:27:38.133 --> 00:27:46.827
When you were first adopting that, how did your american team respond to like oh, because there's like a total stigma right about like yeah being outsourced overseas and not understanding the english like.
00:27:46.827 --> 00:27:47.671
How did your team respond?
00:27:48.040 --> 00:27:48.240
yep.
00:27:48.240 --> 00:27:53.769
So there was definite I wouldn't say pushback, but definite skepticism going into that, like, how's this going to work?
00:27:53.769 --> 00:27:59.964
Is not going to work, I don't see how this is going to work, so let's just try it, let's just be the pilot program, let's just see how this goes, let's just give it a whirl.
00:27:59.964 --> 00:28:04.580
If it doesn't work out easy enough, we can cut it loose after a month and just let it go so.
00:28:04.580 --> 00:28:20.471
But after that now it's like hey, everybody that works like in your stateside they're like hey, can I get a va?
00:28:20.471 --> 00:28:20.773
Do I need a?
00:28:20.714 --> 00:28:22.046
but he wants someone of their own, like their own little their own va, to help them do stuff.
00:28:22.046 --> 00:28:22.731
I'm like you're swell, hang on, so yeah.
00:28:22.731 --> 00:28:28.131
Yeah, I think the idea is that vas are going to replace americans, which they can to some degree, but, like, the positions that are already are harder to fill.
00:28:28.131 --> 00:28:31.385
But the people who are great, they're seeing them as like a personal value add.
00:28:31.385 --> 00:28:34.991
It's like, oh, you're taking care of me If I get a VA.
00:28:34.991 --> 00:28:42.990
Um, you know, lance, just telling you from personal experience, like my personal VA was a big shift for me, just having someone to go through my emails and stuff, cause that was a big shift.
00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:45.105
And um, where's your vision for you with?
00:28:45.105 --> 00:28:48.525
The last thing I'll ask you on the VAs is where's your vision at this point with VAs?
00:28:48.525 --> 00:28:50.411
Do you have any thoughts on next steps for you?
00:28:57.601 --> 00:28:59.045
Um, yeah, we're gonna.
00:28:59.045 --> 00:29:00.770
We'll keep adding more and more so to do, to do that, those, those things.
00:29:00.770 --> 00:29:04.123
So, those things that are, like we mentioned earlier authorizations, verifications um, we do for our dma company.
00:29:04.123 --> 00:29:08.982
They do billing, so we have two that do billing for our dma company wow well, pt practice will be outsourced to billing.
00:29:09.002 --> 00:29:10.006
So we don't do any in-house.
00:29:10.006 --> 00:29:16.553
We in-house that we would probably use some vas or probably outsource that um, but our DME campaign is billing and we're adding more for there.
00:29:16.553 --> 00:29:29.557
So probably anything we talk about it internally quite a bit in our meetings weekly, anything that we could that we need someone to be very dependable, very reliable and that's going to stay with us.
00:29:29.557 --> 00:29:32.333
We're probably going to put them in that role that they can do what they can do.
00:29:32.333 --> 00:29:34.932
Anybody that can work from home, we can use a VA to do it.
00:29:34.932 --> 00:29:35.615
Does that make sense?
00:29:35.785 --> 00:29:36.990
Yeah, I love it.
00:29:37.526 --> 00:29:39.451
If you can work from home and do this job, then a VA can do it.
00:29:40.154 --> 00:29:40.335
Okay.
00:29:40.945 --> 00:29:41.627
And the VAs that come.
00:29:41.627 --> 00:29:43.134
I mean, some of you people don't realize this.
00:29:43.134 --> 00:29:44.644
They're pretty educated.
00:29:44.644 --> 00:29:45.526
They're pretty educated.
00:29:45.526 --> 00:29:47.207
So two of ours are actually physical therapists.
00:29:47.207 --> 00:29:49.147
Two of our VAs actually have a PT license.
00:29:49.147 --> 00:29:51.128
They're actually licensed physical therapists in the Philippines.
00:29:51.128 --> 00:29:54.790
So they already speak our language, they can read notes, they can read diagnosis codes.
00:29:54.790 --> 00:29:55.810
They already know how to do all that.
00:29:55.810 --> 00:29:57.952
Archie came from a billing background.
00:29:57.952 --> 00:30:01.034
He actually worked for you and your billing company.
00:30:01.034 --> 00:30:03.535
Yeah Right, he had a billing background.
00:30:03.535 --> 00:30:05.415
So billing and coding is he knows all that stuff.
00:30:05.415 --> 00:30:06.876
So it's not like you have to train them.
00:30:06.876 --> 00:30:07.396
You have to train them.
00:30:07.396 --> 00:30:08.758
All you have to train them on is your systems.
00:30:08.758 --> 00:30:23.047
Really, you have to train them on your EMR platform and kind of the way you like things done, because they kind of have a good knowledge base of everything else and they're rapid, they can learn and, like anybody else, if you hire someone stateside they're not going to know what to do.
00:30:23.047 --> 00:30:24.648
You have to train them so.
00:30:24.648 --> 00:30:25.269
So it's no different.
00:30:25.890 --> 00:30:29.672
Yeah, lance, such a powerful summary there of the VAs.
00:30:29.672 --> 00:30:30.292
Thank you for that.
00:30:30.292 --> 00:30:32.054
Now let's shift over to artificial intelligence.
00:30:32.054 --> 00:30:35.256
Are you guys implementing any AI tools right now?
00:30:35.836 --> 00:30:38.117
None Interesting, and how?
00:30:38.157 --> 00:30:38.318
come?
00:30:38.318 --> 00:30:39.199
How come at this point?
00:30:39.199 --> 00:30:39.799
What's the?
00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:43.422
Is it just the lack of knowledge of what's out there, or have you looked at things You're like?
00:30:43.422 --> 00:30:44.222
Eh, not for me.
00:30:50.005 --> 00:30:50.766
Like, where are you at with that?
00:30:50.766 --> 00:30:53.211
Yeah, I've looked at several things over the years, the last few years, and just nothing.
00:30:53.211 --> 00:30:54.753
I'm kind of waiting a little bit, I guess, until things get to.
00:30:54.753 --> 00:31:00.738
I mean, things are great now, it looks like, but just a little more, a little smoother.
00:31:00.738 --> 00:31:00.980
I guess.
00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:03.695
Our EMR that we had currently used doesn't use any AI tools in it.
00:31:03.695 --> 00:31:04.460
Who do you use?
00:31:04.460 --> 00:31:10.986
Right now, we use Strata PT, strata PT.
00:31:10.986 --> 00:31:11.728
Right now, we use strata pt, strata pt.
00:31:11.728 --> 00:31:13.895
Yeah, they don't have any ai tools in in their software at the moment or that we can access, so we just don't.
00:31:13.895 --> 00:31:14.719
We just don't do that.
00:31:14.719 --> 00:31:16.163
I'm not opposed to it.
00:31:16.163 --> 00:31:17.969
I mean I think it'd be great, but we just don't.
00:31:18.611 --> 00:31:25.150
We just haven't yet yet it sounds like, yeah, it sounds like to me, you know it's coming, but you're, you're in a position where you're what you're doing is working so well.
00:31:25.150 --> 00:31:58.810
You're kind of letting the bigger, because when I think about big names, I know a number of AI softwares, but like that's part of this season is probably on the AI side is going to be more about discovering for the audience, like what is even out there, because I don't think the you know, the two fastest growing trends in healthcare not just in PT or OTSLP but like globally hospitals is AI and virtual assistance, and there's products that are popping up, but they're early stage adapting, so some of them are working well, some of them aren't, and so I really wanted to know cause I respect you, like where your perspective is.
00:31:58.810 --> 00:32:00.931
So you're really far down the road with the VAs.
00:32:00.931 --> 00:32:02.756
You're, you're open to AI.
00:32:02.756 --> 00:32:05.747
You're just waiting to see what's going to be the ones that are adaptable.
00:32:05.948 --> 00:32:08.189
We're definitely going to utilize AI.
00:32:08.189 --> 00:32:16.695
There's no doubt Everybody's going to, we're going to, but right now, I mean, if you have I'm sure you have and I have, and a lot of folks have it's overwhelming a little bit.
00:32:16.695 --> 00:32:26.607
There's so many new AI companies out there and they all have these things they say they're going to do or can do and you're like, can they really do that?
00:32:26.607 --> 00:32:32.846
I'm not sure they can really do what they're saying for sure, but because they all, they all sound so amazing and they're going to save you like you're going to get time back.
00:32:32.846 --> 00:32:37.614
You're going to be a time traveler if you start using ai, you're going to like have hours back in your day, like extra hour.
00:32:37.614 --> 00:32:40.846
You know, I get 27 hours a day instead of 24 because you're using our ad tool.
00:32:40.846 --> 00:32:45.211
Um, I don't, yeah, I just I just don't know which one to pick.
00:32:45.211 --> 00:32:46.192
It'd be be like wow.
00:32:46.353 --> 00:32:48.175
It'd be like you'd be like go into a, go to the dance.
00:32:48.175 --> 00:32:49.538
Look over there there's like 12 pretty girls.
00:32:49.538 --> 00:32:52.622
You're like okay, which one do I pick?
00:32:52.622 --> 00:32:53.866
I want to, maybe a psychopath.
00:32:53.866 --> 00:32:55.270
You don't want to pick her Right.
00:32:56.713 --> 00:32:59.228
You'll pick the one that chooses you, and I think that's true for AI as well.
00:32:59.228 --> 00:33:12.472
It's funny because, like, look at just your chat GPTs right, there's there's Gemini, there's Perplexity, there's all these different chat I don't even know what to call them.
00:33:12.472 --> 00:33:16.546
They're AI solutions, long language model solutions that you can use as a resource In my world.
00:33:16.546 --> 00:33:33.239
Lance, just to share for the audience, I have this network that has not a single healthcare company in it, and two of them are tech companies that are very like cutting edge, and so they're teaching me a lot about it, and it is even still overwhelming, because they'll tell me perplexity is good for this, whereas chat GPT is good for that.
00:33:33.239 --> 00:33:39.470
And then you have Google's Gemini, and this is the thing I'll just kind of hit, kind of for the audience and maybe for you as well.
00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:48.832
Gemini Google got into it late, but Google has such a powerhouse engine that just last week this is we're filming this in the first full week of June.
00:33:48.832 --> 00:33:53.980
Last week, gemini came out with these video producing I think it's VO three or something.
00:33:53.980 --> 00:33:54.125
It's.
00:33:54.125 --> 00:33:54.906
It's a.
00:33:54.906 --> 00:34:11.693
You can start putting um prompts in and it will create actual live video all artificial but it looks real of people talking and saying things, and so Google, because of their resources and power they have, they've caught up to and in some ways starting to pass, and then people are projecting that will be there.
00:34:11.773 --> 00:34:18.157
So I, just for personal use for the audience, cause I don't know how much we're going to get into AI I use chat GPT nonstop.
00:34:18.157 --> 00:34:19.989
I don't communicate without it.
00:34:19.989 --> 00:34:39.228
Um, I am going to for example, I don't have a meeting without that on in the background, like an AI note taker in the background, just because at the end of that meeting I can like download the transcript, throw it into chat GPT and say please create an email for all the delegations with due dates and identify anything that was missed that we can put into an email.
00:34:39.228 --> 00:34:41.594
So there's lots of ways that I think are going to be used.
00:34:41.594 --> 00:34:47.458
But, lance, like you, I'm kind of sitting back a little bit and partly excited about this season going.
00:34:47.458 --> 00:34:50.608
What is the ai solutions that people are going to bring up?
00:34:50.608 --> 00:34:52.092
So, yeah, we'll see.
00:34:52.092 --> 00:35:02.657
We'll see what comes up over time, um, but I respect the fact that, like you're leading the charge when it comes to the second fastest growing trend, which is vas, I think that's awesome all right, man, let's do some rapid fire questions.
00:35:02.697 --> 00:35:04.184
You ready, ready, let's go.
00:35:04.184 --> 00:35:09.536
Number one what is a top book that you have read that has blown your mind?
00:35:09.998 --> 00:35:10.679
Yeah, who Not how?
00:35:11.240 --> 00:35:12.322
Who Not how Love?
00:35:12.382 --> 00:35:12.443
it.
00:35:12.443 --> 00:35:13.065
It's a great book.
00:35:13.065 --> 00:35:22.869
I've read quite a few books recently, but who Not how is probably the one that has had the biggest impact on me lately lately being the last three years.
00:35:22.869 --> 00:35:33.833
So it prompted me to hire our director of operations, which took a huge burden off my plate, and then now it's got me thinking about hiring other people to do other things that I I do.
00:35:33.833 --> 00:35:36.599
So I mean I mean simply never read that book.
00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:38.389
It's like you need to hire someone to, like, mow your yard.
00:35:38.389 --> 00:35:40.494
I mean that's like that could be the person.
00:35:40.494 --> 00:35:47.253
I mean to be honest, so I still mow, should hire someone to do that to buy myself back a couple hours a week of time.
00:35:47.574 --> 00:35:49.396
But you know it's so funny about that.
00:35:49.396 --> 00:35:51.800
I am Nathan Shields told me about that book.
00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:53.909
The great Nathan Shields, who owns the PT owners podcast.
00:35:53.909 --> 00:35:57.465
He was telling me about that book and I went, yeah, I got the, I got the message from the title.
00:35:57.465 --> 00:35:58.206
I think I'm good.
00:35:58.206 --> 00:36:03.012
But then later I was on vacation and I was reading it and I'm like, oh, it's a mindset shifter.
00:36:03.012 --> 00:36:08.639
And even our conversation, as you and I are talking, Lance, right now, I'm thinking about people like, oh, I need to hire people.
00:36:08.639 --> 00:36:13.009
I want to hire people to go do some things that I'm doing right now, cause that's a big book.
00:36:13.329 --> 00:36:13.851
Yeah, so that.
00:36:13.851 --> 00:36:19.155
So normally I listened to both time there I listened audio version to books, so I'd listen to books, but who knows how I was going to actually carry.
00:36:19.155 --> 00:36:31.172
I carry it with me in my like wherever I go and worn, but it stays in my backpack all the time with me, so it's just my travel book.
00:36:31.172 --> 00:36:33.612
So I've read the whole thing in its entirety.
00:36:33.612 --> 00:36:36.795
Never walk all the way through, but I've read the whole thing in its entirety, probably five times.
00:36:36.795 --> 00:36:39.353
Just little snippets and pieces here and there, if that makes sense.
00:36:39.585 --> 00:36:41.172
Yeah, and rock stars listen to this.
00:36:41.172 --> 00:36:56.775
Like you heard at the beginning of this episode, what Lance has got going on and the freedom that he is protecting and what does he have tattered in his bag who, not how, and I will, I will throw, and I get it sounds like we're salesmen for this book, but I will tell you we get nothing for that.
00:36:56.775 --> 00:36:58.661
That book was such an easy read.
00:36:58.661 --> 00:36:59.505
That was the weirdest thing.
00:36:59.505 --> 00:37:01.737
It wasn't like this book where I felt like I had to grind through.
00:37:01.737 --> 00:37:05.327
This was like an entertaining, like oh, I'm done so.
00:37:05.327 --> 00:37:06.128
I love that you mentioned that.
00:37:06.128 --> 00:37:07.108
Let's get to the second question.
00:37:07.108 --> 00:37:10.172
Uh, what's one of your top time saver hacks?
00:37:11.793 --> 00:37:14.838
for me time saver hats, I guess.
00:37:14.838 --> 00:37:20.289
I mean I'm wow, I don't know, um, I guess just delegating things to other people.
00:37:20.289 --> 00:37:21.914
I hate to say, but I don't like the word delegate.
00:37:21.914 --> 00:37:23.047
I really like that word too much.
00:37:23.088 --> 00:37:26.786
But you know empowering other people to take on some responsibility, wow that's way better.
00:37:26.806 --> 00:37:28.257
That's a way more like a way to say don't responsibilities, Wow.
00:37:28.257 --> 00:37:29.465
That's a way more elegant way to say don't push me around.
00:37:29.465 --> 00:37:31.168
That's a way more yes.
00:37:34.266 --> 00:37:35.451
This is such a fun episode, lance.
00:37:35.451 --> 00:37:42.619
I just got to tell you this has been such a blast because if I had heard this episode 10 years ago in my career, it would have changed everything.
00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:47.257
So, number three, what's one thing you wish you would stop doing way sooner in your business?
00:37:48.264 --> 00:37:49.351
That I would have stopped doing way sooner.
00:37:49.590 --> 00:37:52.675
Mm-hmm wish you would stop doing way sooner in your business that I would have stopped doing way sooner.
00:37:52.675 --> 00:37:54.315
No, I mean honestly, I've mentioned we just now I'm treating patients.
00:37:54.315 --> 00:37:55.518
I could do that every day.
00:37:55.518 --> 00:38:02.394
So like I probably need to stop doing that as much and I probably should have stopped doing that a little while back, to be honest, so I could have more time to work on the business.
00:38:02.394 --> 00:38:11.273
That have in the business, so to speak, um, and probably would have been probably been way more successful quicker if I'd have done that years ago and but but I I didn't.
00:38:11.273 --> 00:38:25.556
But now somehow, somehow I managed to muddle through that and it's still get the treat patients and now it's kind of the business kind of runs itself without me having to be on the phone all day or worried about things happening, cause I was such a good team in place that they take care of stuff.
00:38:25.556 --> 00:38:26.885
Yeah, yeah.
00:38:26.925 --> 00:38:33.827
So, even though you wish you had done that a little bit sooner and you're looking at it now, it's it's more of a, it's more of an optimization than a judgment.
00:38:33.827 --> 00:38:38.797
Okay, Number four what's the most time consuming task that you secretly enjoy?
00:38:39.684 --> 00:38:46.967
Oh, so my, I I've still, you know, I still use pen and paper for a lot of stuff, a lot of things.
00:38:46.967 --> 00:38:53.615
So I really just like enjoy sitting back done and look at like going through numbers, like end of month numbers or end of week numbers for each comparisons.
00:38:53.615 --> 00:39:01.150
I love comparing trends for for flows, for percentage of growth, percentage of whatever, and ebbs and flows and how things go, and I compare those month over month.
00:39:01.150 --> 00:39:03.434
Like I know I know the last week of May is coming.
00:39:03.434 --> 00:39:15.041
We're going to see a downtrend of 12%, because I know that's coming, because it happens every year statistically.
00:39:15.041 --> 00:39:15.414
So I just like doing that.
00:39:15.414 --> 00:39:15.748
I do that almost every night.
00:39:15.748 --> 00:39:17.360
I do some sort of statistic looking at our business just to make sure I can do a quick look at our EMR setup and just how things are turning.
00:39:17.360 --> 00:39:21.766
Okay, everything's good here, and if I see a blip on the radar, something's not right, I can go, we can go address that.
00:39:22.427 --> 00:39:27.753
Yeah, you love the power of you inspect what you expect and the way that gives you the information to make decisions.
00:39:27.753 --> 00:39:30.458
It might be why you're so even keel because you have knowledge.
00:39:30.458 --> 00:39:32.340
Maybe, All right.
00:39:32.340 --> 00:39:34.269
So what's the latest thing you delegated?
00:39:35.313 --> 00:39:35.753
What did I do?
00:39:35.753 --> 00:39:36.577
What have I delegated?
00:39:36.577 --> 00:39:38.652
What have I empowered someone else to do for me there?
00:39:38.672 --> 00:39:38.833
we go.
00:39:38.833 --> 00:39:39.547
What's the latest thing?
00:39:39.547 --> 00:39:41.393
You've empowered someone else to take off your plate.
00:39:41.393 --> 00:39:42.746
I'm going to put that in my notes.
00:39:42.746 --> 00:39:46.309
That's a great way of phrasing yes, yeah.
00:39:47.730 --> 00:39:52.373
Probably honestly, the last thing kind of the biggest thing was the last VA we hired.
00:39:52.373 --> 00:40:00.119
I usually would sit in on those interviews and go to that and make the decision and we put that off to Archie, the other VA, and let him do that.
00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:08.648
That's the last time I'm like empowered him to do that, like this purchase is going to work for you anyway, so why are you in my end?
00:40:08.648 --> 00:40:09.130
But you don't need that.
00:40:09.130 --> 00:40:15.833
I was there, I was on the call with them, I introduced myself and told them good luck in the interview and then you know, let them go and then let Archie pick it out and that's it.
00:40:15.853 --> 00:40:17.425
Archie picked the next VA, yeah.
00:40:17.826 --> 00:40:18.326
Yeah, a hundred percent.
00:40:18.326 --> 00:40:21.329
Your VA, picked your next VA.
00:40:21.909 --> 00:40:23.411
By the way, Archie, I hope you're listening to this.
00:40:23.411 --> 00:40:30.157
We miss you over it in the black, but we're so grateful that you're with Lance, because you know you're growing in a way that is just how you're meant to be.
00:40:30.157 --> 00:40:31.699
So love that.
00:40:31.699 --> 00:40:32.800
What an inspiring way.
00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:33.722
Okay, last question.
00:40:33.722 --> 00:40:40.059
This is the big question for the season, In your opinion which is it AI or virtual assistants?
00:40:41.385 --> 00:40:43.590
Wow, so I'm going to have to.
00:40:43.590 --> 00:40:50.175
You know you vote for the home team, I guess, so you got to say, since it's virtual assistants, but I probably ai.
00:40:50.175 --> 00:40:58.016
I mean in the long term, 10 years from now, we're gonna ai, ai is gonna be I mean 90, 10 years, probably less than that's gonna take over every our whole life.
00:40:58.016 --> 00:41:03.043
I mean you're talking about the stuff google is doing where you can just create a video like you're not gonna, where they don't know.
00:41:03.043 --> 00:41:04.867
I mean you already don't know what's real and what's not.
00:41:04.867 --> 00:41:09.217
I mean it's coming, pops up on your phone or TV or movie or anything that's like.
00:41:09.217 --> 00:41:10.005
Is that real or not?
00:41:10.005 --> 00:41:11.369
I have no idea, there's no way to even tell.
00:41:12.152 --> 00:41:15.030
I agree, you know it's interesting and this is true because, the owner of a VA company.
00:41:15.050 --> 00:41:18.951
As we know, in 10 years we're dead in the water if we don't start integrating AI aggressively.
00:41:18.951 --> 00:41:19.873
So I agree, I think.
00:41:19.873 --> 00:41:30.728
But guys at home, listen, this isn't even an exciting episode.
00:41:30.728 --> 00:41:33.239
So, uh, seth, the amazing podcast editor that's not his title, by the way, he's our creative specialist who's behind the scenes.
00:41:33.239 --> 00:41:34.644
Super big shout out to Seth, who we can't do any of this without.
00:41:34.644 --> 00:41:40.068
If you would, for the people who are watching on YouTube or any of the video platforms, let's see the score.
00:41:40.068 --> 00:41:41.570
It's episode one.
00:41:41.570 --> 00:41:45.057
So, yep, that's one for AI and zero for VAs.
00:41:45.057 --> 00:41:59.009
But, lance, thank you so much for being on the show man, it has been such a gift to be with you and truly thank you for embodying everything that I am trying to help other people see in terms of what's possible.
00:41:59.009 --> 00:42:00.313
Any parting words?
00:42:00.713 --> 00:42:09.030
I think anybody's capable of doing great things if they really set their mind to it Not that I've done great things, but I've done good things and continue to get better every day.
00:42:09.030 --> 00:42:30.788
And I think empowering your team or your people around you whether it's whether your team is your wife or your husband, or whether your team is your people that you work with every day at work like empower them to do things and lead them and get them to train the need and get them to buy into you, to be part of you and want to be around you or part of your party organization that has that's the key they have to.
00:42:30.788 --> 00:42:33.320
So if they don't want to come to work with you every day, nothing's going to work because you can't do it yourself.
00:42:33.340 --> 00:42:33.460
No way.
00:42:33.460 --> 00:42:33.822
Awesome, lance.
00:42:33.822 --> 00:42:34.385
All right guys.
00:42:34.385 --> 00:42:37.074
Well, thank you for tuning in to the Willpower Podcast.
00:42:37.074 --> 00:42:45.534
As always, this is Will Humphries reminding you to lead with love, live on purpose and, above all, never give up.
00:42:45.534 --> 00:42:50.865
Until next time.
00:42:50.865 --> 00:42:51.887
Thanks for tuning into the Willpower Podcast.
00:42:51.887 --> 00:42:55.556
As always, this is Will Humphries reminding you to lead with love, live on purpose and never give up your freedom.
00:42:55.556 --> 00:42:56.657
Until next time.