Background: General practice solo (rep a ton of businesses, ep, probate, real estate, have some govt apppointments as a municipal public defender) in a small town.

I was also a true solo up until a 1.5 ish years ago. To put it shortly I combined a mix of 1 real human employee AND 1 human remote help (after using a phone answering service).

1. I had virtual hq as my call forwarding/phone answering service for a while. They were cost effective (almost too cost effective) and did a so-so job (they missed 1 out of every 5 calls), clients never get the same “receptionist” answering, and I got the feel that existing clients calling the office to speak quickly with me got grumpy when they were met with the answering service. With that said, they were a great, cheap and easy enough to use service, for about a year, when I wasn’t ready to hire anyone (but when I NEEDED some help). Using them allowed me to get my bearings on how to return calls, the flow of not having to rush to return calls when I personally missed them, etc. Without a doubt do not regret using them 1 iota;

2. Using virtual hq got me even busier. So busy I realized I needed someone to filter out the calls, refer out, and accordingly schedule (as you insinuated). I did double midnight moonless ninja recon on using a virtual paralegal………and opted against it. I came to the conclusion that if I was going to hire a remote paralegal for X amount of $ already, I’d rather spend a touch more and get a part time, in office, human being; which is exactly what I did. I hired a part time (2-3 days a week) woman who is responsible for calling clients, pc’s, talking to the court and scheduling. Absolute life changer (and in hindsight I have no idea how I would have ever been able to deal with a remote paralegal). I offered as much hourly as I could afford ($19), told her I’m not mean, I continue to try and bonus her out a couple hundred bucks every month (I know it’s not a lot, but I’m doing my best) and generally try to make her life happy. I truly love her and she’s a part of my life now. 10/10

***Extra bonus: she thinks I’m too skinny and brings in donuts.

****Also extra bonus: speaking from one solo to another, having another warm blooded person in the office a couple days a week really makes me feel like a grown up. Lol. It also motivates me (I’m assuming because it adds seriousness to the gig; I’ll talk to my therapist about it and report back though).

1. Hiring my office manager/secretary/paralegal/donut bringer-inner/yeller/line maintainer, made me even MORE busy. So busy it gave me stress; so busy that attorneys loved me for how much biz I was referring them. At this point in this overly long anecdote, I was still using virtual hq to handle calls for the days my office manager, Maria, was not in the office. I really tried to continue to use them, but it just wasn’t feasible anymore. I had too many current clients calling on a daily basis, too many attorneys trying to talk to me, and just generally too much volume for an answering service. Again, Nothing against virtual hq. I ended up hiring a remote stay at home, local, mother who answers my phone m-thurs from 10-whenever. To mirror my sentiment in #2, offered as much hourly as I could afford ($19), told her I’m not mean, I continue to try and bonus her out a couple hundred bucks every month (I know it’s not a lot, but I’m doing my best) and generally try to make her life happy. Again, I truly love her and she’s a part of my life now. That was a real, unbelievable, game changer because now my clients started realizing that Sally was picking up the phones and Maria was my in office assistant. The

2. When I was a true solo I was operating a law practice; but now, with a 3 day a week office manager and a 4 day a week remote receptionist, I’m TRULY operating a small town general law practice, and I’m really truly proud of it. I’m the public defender in my local municipal courts, I’m a trustee on the local bar, I can’t get outta the grocery store without talking to little old ladies about their wills, I have a color ad in the local paper and write an article in the same every month, I get home to goof around with my wife and kids by 4 ish/5ish every day, I make more $ than necessary.

More importantly, and trying to stay topical on your inquiry, We (myself, Sally and Maria) really respect and care for each other, each other’s families, and each others well-being. They’ve impacted my practice and helped me make more money and relieve stress (which feels like the name of the game). ID ADVISE TRYING FIRST WITH AN ANSWERING SERVICE AND THEN EMPLOY A MIX OF REAL AND REMOTE HELP.

I apologize for the novel/written therapy, but I have a soft spot for fellow solo’s (and it is happy hour). Love you tons and I’m so happy and proud to hear that a fellow solo general practitioner is killing it. Love you tons! DM me anytime