Dropping out

The grand opening won't be until the spring, but we'll finally have the new clinic doors open in January.

Yes, it's taken much longer than we expected (that's a whole other story), but as we prepare, we've started interviewing nurses.

Here's something I didn't know - the pay scale for nurses is all over the board.

I'm talking extreme.

From my research and the people we've talked to, there's as much as a 100% difference in compensation for the same job.

"So, how much do we pay?" Julia asked me.

To figure that out, I turned to our financial reports.

The problem is, they suck.

Owing to how we found ourselves in the nutritional/wellness/IV therapy space - as a natural extension of Julia's existing medical aesthetics practice - it's all jumbled up.

For example, I know that giving a 1 liter IV with Vitamin C, Magnesium, and Glutathione is profitable because I know how much the IV Fluid, vitamins, tubing, and other supplies cost, and I know the retail price.

However, most of these treatments were provided in conjunction with botox and filler, resulting in variances in price.

Say our retail price of the IV is $350, but the patient is getting it along with $6,000 in facial work. In that case, we may have discounted the price of the IV.

And since it's all on the same transaction, I can't just say, "Hey Siri, give me a report of every time we've given this particular IV with a breakdown of the retail costs and any discounts. Sort by the date and also list how long it took for just that portion of the procedure."

(Note: We SHOULD be able to do this, but we can't today)

So, my answer to Julia regarding how much we pay the new nurse was to wait.

Now I've got somebody going back through the calendar for the last year, breaking out the nutritional/wellness/IV revenue from the aesthetics revenue and creating revised reports.

It's painstaking.

And it's going to take longer than I'd like.

But it's necessary; I need the data to make a rational, logical decision.

Without it, I'm relying on emotion.

I don't want to "feel like the thing to do" is pay the nurse $X only to realize that $X destroys our profit margin.

This is a trap - emotional decisions - that people fall into all the time.

Like when people get a new credit card at 0% interest and run it up (cheap money! feels good!) without calculating the payment in six months when the rate goes to 27% (shit, can't afford this! I'm broke!).

Or how (and I can't believe I'm saying this) my senior stepson is considering dropping out of high school to get his GED or HISAT instead.

Crazy, right?

And I'm not going to stop him because he has the full support and encouragement of his biological father (with whom he'll be immediately living if he drops out).

Besides that, kids can drop out at 16 in North Carolina with parental consent.

So it's his choice, but I've encouraged him to get as much information as possible to avoid flying blind and relying on emotions.

This morning, I asked if he knew:

— What the acronyms mean (HISET vs GED, for example)?

— How many tests are required to earn the GED or HISET?

— The best way to study (online vs in-class) for the tests?

— Which states offer which tests, and what are the residency requirements?

— The pass/fail rate for the various tests?

— The implications of a GED vs diploma for short and long-term income potential?

Thus far, he's making an emotional decision and doesn't know the answer to even one of those questions.

I hope he will find out.

Because, just like hiring an employee at a small business, it's a big deal.

And just like our revised financial reports, the data will tell him exactly what he should do.