Kelly AlhooiePelviBiz, Pelvibiz · Healthcare Business Strategy Assistant

My First Hire Quit After 2 Months

12 Mar 2026 · 2 min

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1:50

In this candid monologue, Kelly Alhooie recounts hiring her first physical therapist, Katya, who left after two months due to confusion over payroll (W‑9) and tax responsibilities. Kelly describes how she was overwhelmed, seeing over 55 patients per week while trying to train Katya, and how her disorganized financial setup and lack of systems led to the hire’s departure. She reflects on the fear of hiring without sufficient cash flow, emphasizing that practitioners must raise their service prices (suggesting >$200) and implement solid operational systems before expanding staff. Kelly warns that without these measures, the intense workload can cause severe burnout, as she experienced after three months of high patient volume and two months of training a new hire.

Chapters

My first ever PT that I ever hired, within 2 months she quit on me. She quit. I remember her name. Maybe she's on, I don't know. Her name's Katya. Her name was Katya. Okay, Katya. And by the way, it took me like 5 months to even pronounce her name. For those that know me, I have a hard time with names. Okay. And I remember she was like, Kelly, you put me as a W-9 and that means I got to pay taxes. And I'm like, what? What's taxes? And she was like, You know, you, you making me pay this extra money. And I'm like, I don't know, I don't know how to pay you. I don't know how to do payroll. And because I was so disorganized, she was like, peace out, I'm done. I just got done seeing over 55 patients a week. Y'all think you're tired at 20 patients a week? I was seeing 55 patients a week. You know why? Because I was freaking scared. I was freaking scared to hire. 'Cause I didn't have the money for me. I couldn't even afford me. So how was I gonna pay someone else? And if y'all are thinking about hiring, you must raise your prices. There is no other option. You have to be over $200 if you're gonna pay people, especially if you want good people, 'cause you're not gonna be able to afford them. And then you also have to have systems. Otherwise, you're gonna put all this effort into hiring them. I spent so much time putting her on, she shadowed me, she did all the things, and then she's like, bye, thanks for all the knowledge. And she left me after 2 months. And you know what I was? I was done. After seeing 55 patients for 3 months straight and then training her for 2 months, I had zero energy. I was gassed. Please don't be like me.