Many lactation consultants are used to working solo, and it can be hard to surrender certain aspects of your private practice to others. When you wear many hats, like most private practitioners, it can be hard to recognize when you need to delegate a task to someone else who has more time or expertise in the area. 

But if you’re spending too much energy on tasks that you’re not proficient in or passionate about and they take you away from the clinical work you love, it may be time to bring on people who can share the workload.

Time is just as finite as money… and when you have more time for the things you’re passionate about, you might actually make more money! Finding support for clinical, administrative, or even personal tasks can free you up to focus on serving your clients and expanding your private practice to fit your goals.

You can start by writing down your weekly and monthly tasks outside of your IBCLC responsibilities and then assessing which tasks might be a good fit for outsourcing. You can hire out work for your personal or business life: billing, scheduling, clinical assistance, taxes, cleaning, laundry, school pickups, childcare, elder care — these are all great areas where you can free up more time for you to work within your own zone of genius and take better care of your clients.

“Identify your own zone of genius and stay there.”

In this episode, we will cover:

• Why social media is a great place to start when you’re looking to delegate — and where to find a great social manager (11:28)
• When it’s fine to brush up on your proficiencies and do it yourself, and when you should take the leap and outsource (14:13)
• What are some low-cost options for outsourcing (29:36)
• How time-tracking apps can help you figure out where your capacity issues lie (31:16)
• The importance of taking inventory of your time (37:28)

Like this episode? Want more?

The LBC podcast is ALWAYS free, thanks to contributions from supporters. 

Every contributed dollar counts and so do our contributors — as a thank-you gift to our top-tier members, we offer monthly LIVE Deeper Dive sessions with experts and access to all previous Deeper Dive sessions — check out our upcoming Deeper Dives and become a member! 

All contributions count; join at one of our starter levels here!

Links and Resources

• Alyssa Schnell (sponsor) https://www.alyssaschnellibclc.com/book
• Interview Question Swipe File https://annie-frisbie-ibclc-inc.ck.page/9b6f3d406c
• Incorporating Lactation Interns, Subcontractors, and Employees into a Paperless Workflow https://paperlesslactation.com/blog/expanding-lactation-practice
• G Suite https://gsuite.google.com
• Lactation Private Practice Essential Course https://learn.anniefrisbie.com/grow
• Subscribe to the Deeper Dive Membership: https://learn.paperlesslactation.com/subscription/deeper-dive-membership
• Have an idea for a podcast episode or a Deeper Dive? Let us know! https://learn.paperlesslactation.com/form/collaborate

If you like what you heard today, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram and leave us a review on iTunes. You can email us questions and comments at [email protected].

About Us

Leah Jolly is a private practice IBCLC with Bay Area Breastfeeding in Houston, Texas.

Annie Frisbie is a private practice IBCLC serving Queens and Brooklyn in New York City and the creator of the Lactation Consultant Private Practice Toolkit.

Many thanks to Stephanie Granade for her production assistance, and to Silas Wade for creating our theme music