December 12, 2025 • 21 mins
If your practice feels like it’s running on chaos, Post-its, and crossed fingers, this episode is going to be a breath of relief. I’m walking you through the first five SOPs I believe every therapist should have, because these are the systems that gave me my evenings back, lowered my stress, and stopped my practice from falling apart every time I hired someone new.
I’m sharing the real mistakes I made when I first started working with VAs, like assuming they could read my mind, or handing over tasks without any structure, and how simple, foundational SOPs completely changed my workflow. From weekly check-ins and shared agendas to onboarding rhythms, accountability systems, and clear “when you’re stuck” instructions, I’ll show you exactly how I keep projects moving without micromanaging or constantly feeling behind.
If you’ve ever hired a VA and felt disappointed, or if you’re just trying to organize your practice so it doesn’t drain the life out of you, these are the steps I wish someone had handed me years ago.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The five SOPs that transformed my practice, including communication rhythms, shared spaces, clear action items, and a visual workflow your VA can follow.
- How I delegate tasks without miscommunication, using Trello, AI notes, Loom walk-throughs, WhatsApp updates, and first-attempt feedback loops that set everyone up for success.
- Why onboarding takes time—and what that actually looks like, including starter projects, daily accountability check-ins, and the “when you’re stuck” SOP that keeps work from stalling out.
If you’re ready to stop running your practice on stress and start running it on systems, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for.
If you’re ready to lead with confidence, join the 2026 Supervisor Course waitlist for early access to bonus tools, templates, and fast-track grading. Strengthen your systems today with the free Supervision Onboarding Checklist, and get ongoing CEUs and live coaching inside the Step It Up Membership. You’re not just building a practice, you’re building a legacy.
Get your step by step guide to private practice. Because you are too important to lose to not knowing the rules, going broke, burning out, and giving up. #counselorsdontquit.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
I think this is sometimes why VAs get fired.
(00:02):
If my VA is stuck because I haveto complete an action item and I
forget, and then I getfrustrated because my VA didn't
do the job.
And then I look at my notes andI'm like, oh no, I was supposed
to do this first, right?
That's the kind ofmiscommunication this SOP will
avoid.
(00:28):
Welcome to Badass Therapists,building practices alive.
It's about working smart, nothard.
And here's your host, Dr.
Kate Walker, who is learningright now.
Let's talk about the first fiveSOPs every therapist should have
if they want evenings, sanity,and a practice that doesn't run
(00:52):
on chaos.
These are simple, foundational,and they'll change how your week
feels fast.
This episode pairs perfectlywith this month's bonus, the
Practice Reset Cheat Sheet atKateWalkerTraining.com slash
bonus.
Now let's get to work.
(01:14):
Hey, it's Dr.
Kate Walker, and I am gladyou're here.
So today I'm talking aboutspecifically SOPs, standard
operating procedures.
Now these are good whetheryou're going to hire a VA or
not.
But specifically, what we'vebeen talking about in the month
of October is how to hire a VAso that he or she lightens your
(01:39):
load.
And you know, the worst thingfor me is when I hear about
somebody who says, Yeah, I hireda VA and then I let them go
because they just couldn't dothe job.
I have like a bell or a sirenthat goes off in my head when I
hear that.
I'm just like, I think the SOPswere missing, or the SOPs
weren't detailed enough.
(02:00):
Or, I mean, there are a lot ofthings that could be a problem,
including the VA wasn't doingtheir job.
Don't get me wrong, I've hiredVAs that don't do their job.
So if I was going to put amagnifying glass on the issue, I
would want to see the SOP.
So I made a list of five SOPsand I tried to make them super
(02:22):
simple so that you can dissectthem.
You can make them longer if youwant to.
So number one is communication.
And it's funny because I do thiswith all of my VAs.
I did not do it at first.
I don't know if I wasembarrassed or I assumed too
(02:44):
much.
You know, the old saying aboutassuming, right?
But it's having a weeklycheck-in.
Now, with Zoom, it's amazing howZoom has helped this process
with me because you can turn onthe AI.
So, what I do when I schedulemeetings with my VAs, I have
(03:05):
three VAs right now.
I set the meeting and then Ihave a Trello card for them.
Of course, I have a Trello card.
If you know me, you know I haveTrello.
So in the Trello card, I look atlast week's meeting.
I copy paste everything fromthat meeting, all the notes, and
I put it into the new card fortoday's meeting.
(03:26):
And then I, this is still me,before the VA ever comes around,
I go through each thing on thelist and I strike through the
things that are finished.
So we have a visual of what wastalked about the week before and
what we're trying to accomplish.
Now, you may ask, but where didI get those notes?
I get them from AI.
(03:48):
So when AI takes the notes, soat the end of this meeting, I'm
going to have an AI transcript.
Well, it's the same thing withmy meetings with my VA.
I don't have to worry aboutremembering things.
I don't have to worry about myVA remembering things.
Because we have a Trello card,we can take the AI notes and I
(04:10):
just copy paste.
Now we do a little small talk atthe beginning.
So AI likes to remind me that Italked about my kids or they
talked about their vacation.
And so I do skip through all ofthat.
And I say on the Zoom meeting atthe end, I'll say action items.
Here are the action items fromour meeting.
Or as we're talking.
(04:31):
So let's say we're talking aboutcontent for December, or we're
talking about the step it updirectory plan for January.
I will say while we're in themiddle of that conversation,
action item for Kate or actionitem for Jamie.
And AI picks that up and it'llgive me a bullet point.
So at the end of the meeting,when I hit end on that Zoom
(04:54):
call, and then I get an emailthat says, okay, your AI assets
are ready.
I go through and there are myaction items.
I copy paste that into theTrello card, and there go are
miscommunications, right?
They're not going to happenbecause they're in plain sight.
So one of the things I learned,and this was actually from a
(05:17):
book that I read, is to alwaysend a meeting 10 minutes before
the top of the hour or 10minutes before the ending time
and review.
Take time, hit the end button,and take the time right then to
get the information and put thenotes in the Trello card.
Don't trust yourself to rememberthe following week.
(05:38):
So here are the SOPs.
Number one, schedule a recurringcheck-in.
Number two, use a shared agenda.
And so I use Trello.
I use just a simple Trello card.
So on our meeting before theend, I always check and say,
okay, when are we meeting next?
Because again, AI is going topick that up.
(06:00):
And I make a Trello cardimmediately.
So there we go.
We all know in Trello because Ishare that board, our next
meeting is November 5th orwhatever.
I always start with my so thisis number three.
I say, okay, what would you liketo talk about first?
Because if my VA has beensitting on something, they're
(06:22):
stuck in some area, maybe theyhaven't reached out and they
knew they kind of should.
That's what I want to startwith.
And then again, number four, I'mgoing to end the meeting by
saying out loud, okay, here arethe action items.
Some people call that what areour priorities for the next
week.
But I don't like to saypriorities.
(06:42):
That's like telling my kids andmy husband, hey, the house needs
to be clean.
That's a priority.
No, no, no.
I want action items for eachperson.
If my VA cannot go, and thishappens a lot.
I hear about this.
I think this is sometimes whyVAs get fired.
If my VA is stuck because I haveto complete an action item and I
(07:03):
forget, and then I getfrustrated because my VA didn't
do the job.
And then I look at my notes andI'm like, oh no, I was supposed
to do this first.
Like I was supposed to send thema login or I was supposed to
send them content before theycould edit it and make the blog.
Right?
That's the kind ofmiscommunication this SOP will
avoid.
And then of course, you want tomake sure, number five, I'm not
(07:28):
going to send them a summary.
I'm just going to make sure thatthey can see that Trello card.
All right.
So that's number one,communication, communication,
communication.
All right.
This number two SOP is creatinga task card Trello.
(07:48):
I'm just going to keep referringto Trello slash template and
helping them understand why it'simportant.
So for example, all of thetrainings that we do, all of
these group coaching everyTuesday, it's really, really
important that we get thoseprocessed for the following
month.
(08:08):
And because you guys know thenewsletter came out today, you
it's a super long email.
You get to see, okay, here'swhat members are getting in
December.
Well, we have to have that basedon what we're finishing, right?
If we get the CE from the expertwebinar loaded into Podia, if we
get the trainings into the onestart here module, it's a lot.
(08:31):
And there are a lot of movingparts.
Now, I can put that into Trelloand they can understand why and
still not understand.
And anybody who's ever worked inan organization, you guys know
that happens.
It's not because there's alanguage barrier, it's not
because you know they weren'tlistening.
(08:52):
It's simply because we all havean idea of what done looks like.
I mean, we're counselors, wework in metaphors, we're always
trying to help clients see whatwe're saying, right?
So using something like I talkedabout Loom, L-O-O-M, or voice
memos, or there's another appcalled Marco Polo, where you can
(09:17):
have your VA say back to youwhat they understand.
So you can put the project intoTrello and you can tag them and
say, hey, I need you to send mea voice memo or a Marco Polo or
something, a Loom, make a quickLoom video and tell me what you
(09:39):
think I'm asking you to do.
So it's a check forunderstanding.
And then the very first time youdo this task.
So if you're giving them a brandnew task, I want you to make a
Canva cover for my individualtherapy product.
You know, I call therapy, youknow, sessions, those are
products.
And you say, I want you to makea Canva for this, but you've
(10:02):
never asked them to do thatbefore.
You're gonna want to set a timeto give them feedback, very
detailed feedback on that firsteffort.
And then in the Trello card, youtake notes.
I know with Irvin, what I do isI will take a picture and I will
say, Nope, you see, you forgotto check this box, and we're and
(10:22):
I'll take the picture and sendit to him in WhatsApp.
So the three or the four modesof communication I'm talking
about are voice memos, and youcan just hit send on those,
WhatsApp, Marco Polo, which is aface thing.
It's kind of like FaceTimerecordings, which that's great
too.
And I'm sure there's stuff thatI'm not thinking of, and Loom,
(10:44):
L-O-O-M, which is nice becausethey can show like they can
actually do a screen share andrecord that.
So they're recording theirscreen.
Okay, this is what I did.
I went here, I clicked thisbutton, I put that in, and you
can get that loom and say, oh,uh-oh, no, no, no.
I see where you're messing up.
I think I showed you guys lasttime the Trello card that I
(11:05):
share with Irvin.
And I'm gonna share it again.
Quick break.
If you haven't grabbedDecember's bonus yet, go get it.
I put together the practicereset cheat sheet to help you
clean up your systems, tightenyour HIPAA basics, and walk into
(11:26):
2026 without dragging thisyear's mess behind you.
It's totally free for podcastlisteners.
Just go toKateWalkerTraining.com slash
bonus.
I'm gonna show you exactly howthis works.
So let's say, okay, soprocessing online course.
(11:48):
That's where it goes when itstarts.
It's processing.
All I've done is I've just put abunch of junk into it.
I've edited a video, I've giventhe information about CE hours,
there's an evaluation link, thenthey'll have the video and
there's a transcript.
So there's a lot of informationin this, including, and if you
remember last time, I create achecklist, and each checklist
(12:12):
has a quick little video thatI've made.
So a lot of people, I think theythink, okay, that's enough.
They should get that.
If that was me, I wouldn't getthat.
So Erwin and I have learned tomove things.
So here he he may slide it here,set to hidden, Kate check.
(12:32):
And then he'll go in and he'lltag me.
And this is where you tag me.
I put seven questions.
That's great because it's a90-minute CE.
And so I'll check it.
And then if there's somethingwrong, I'll slide it back and
I'll tag him.
And we may go back and forth andback and forth.
And then finally, if it's Kateapproved to publish or add to
(12:56):
the spreadsheet, then Irvin cantake the next step.
But we're tagging each other,we're visually moving things
back and forth.
I'm taking pictures, I'm sendinghim things from WhatsApp.
So having a VA doesn't mean,especially in the beginning,
that you can take your handsoff.
All right.
So that brings me to the nextSOP, which is kind of this
(13:21):
onboarding.
Onboarding can take some time.
And here's why.
If you had a job that you onlygave 10 hours a week to, and
some of you, you only want to VAfor about five hours a week.
That's one hour a day.
You know, I know a lot of usthink, well, they're going to
just devote five hours or 10hours to it in one day.
(13:43):
No, they're not.
They're going to devote one hourhere, two hours there, three
hours there.
So what happens is thatinformation, as good as you've
tried to package it, gets lost,as it would with anybody.
So from day one, you want anonboarding SOP where you share
(14:03):
what it is that you do, why it'simportant, if you have any kind
of policy and procedures, that'sgreat.
But what's even better is togive them like a list of logins.
You know, we talked aboutLastPass.
We talked about maybe givingthem their own email.
I know that's maybe something alot of you aren't sure how to
(14:26):
do, but if your VA has tocommunicate with someone outside
your organization for any reasonand they're sending it from
their personal email, you can'tcheck that.
And also if they get sick or youdo have to let them go, you
can't intercept that email inany way.
They have all those emails.
(14:47):
It's still going to them.
So if you have a domain name,you can set up an email.
If you have a Google account,you can set up an email with
your domain and share that withthem.
So giving them a packet withlogins through LastPass or
whatever, giving them access totheir own email domain and
(15:10):
giving them, and I love thisone.
This is number three, givingthem their first kind of a
starter project.
So something very, very simple.
So remember before I said, Iwant you to make a Canva cover
for my individual sessions.
But just make it simple.
See what they come back with.
Do they know how to use Canva?
(15:31):
Did you hire them because theysaid they knew how to use Canva?
Same thing with QuickBooks.
If it's something withQuickBooks or accounting or
spreadsheets, give themsomething simple.
So yeah, you're gonna have tohave a rudimentary knowledge,
which brings me to the otherreason I think a lot of VAs
fail.
I think as counselors, we kindof want to just hand over stuff
(15:54):
and just kind of do this.
Well, you have to know a littlebit.
Like I'm not an accountant, butI know a little bit and I know
how to use Chat GPT and I knowhow to check to see if my return
is, you know, wonky, right?
Just basic.
So having that rudimentaryknowledge and then giving them
(16:17):
feedback.
That's the other thing, too.
I think many of us, especiallyin the first 30 days of having a
VA, we don't give feedback.
Like that was excellent.
And use words like, great job,wonderful.
I mean, these guys and girls,people, they want to please us.
They want to do a good job, theywant to stay hired.
(16:38):
And so if we're able to staypositive and let them know, yes,
you are on the right track, butwe got to make one little course
correction here, we got to makea change or good effort, but
man, you blew it.
You got it completely wrong.
Don't worry though, I'm gonnatalk you through it, right?
If we are able to keep a reallygood attitude about the VA, and
(17:00):
you're confident that you havegiven them something simple that
they said they were good at, andyet they still cannot complete
the project without, and youguys have I've used this term
before, several touches fromyou.
Remember, every time you getinvolved with the project,
that's a touch, that's a touch,this is a touch.
You're trying to get rid ofthat, right?
(17:22):
We call that mental load.
We want that mental load off.
So if at the end of 30 days orso you feel like, yeah, I'm not
able to offload this at all.
In fact, it's become harder,then yeah, it's time to have a
talk about probably letting theVA go.
So another SOP, let's see,progress and accountability.
(17:44):
We talked about a sharedtracking space, like Google is a
great place to do that as well,but I like Trello.
Having your hire update itdaily.
Now, this is reallymicromanaging, but you can do
this.
If you want your VA, especiallyin the first 30 days, to go in
and put in a check-in, like,okay, it's Monday checking.
(18:05):
It's Tuesday, checked it.
Wednesday, checked it, right?
You can make a check-in just foraccountability and give it, give
them little feedback in context.
And then, of course, in themonth with a debrief.
All right.
I think I got to give you onemore SOP.
And I I know a lot of us when wehire a VA, we may be at this
(18:26):
point where we're kind of like,oh, you know, we're ready to get
rid of it.
And maybe our attitude kind ofshows that.
So when you are giving off thevibe of, man, you better get
this right.
And I hired you for this, anduh, you know what, I'm spending
good money and right.
So they're not gonna want to askfor help.
(18:46):
So it is nice to have uh whenyou're stuck SOP, right?
When can they reach out to you?
I know with Irvin, he can reachout anytime.
I'm not gonna respond becauseI'm not on my phone all the time
and I don't have notifications.
That would drive me crazy.
But I know I will check it at acertain time every day.
(19:07):
So I'm still in control.
And if I see, okay, there arefive messages from Irvin, I'm
gonna check those.
I'm gonna respond because I'veset aside time for that.
Then I'm gonna turn WhatsApp offand I'll check it one more time
at the end of the day.
So our stuck SOP would be, okay,use WhatsApp, use it in a
(19:28):
narrative way, and then I checkit once or twice a day.
But you might want more thanthat, right?
You might want them to text youand you're gonna respond all the
time, and you might have yournotifications on.
At the very least, I would keepa narrative going.
So let's say you're usingGoogle, right?
And you just have a Google Docthat you share, and you could
(19:51):
make it like a diary, right?
So October 1st, this is where Igot stuck.
October 2nd, this is where Ikind of figured it out.
October 3rd, I sent you anemail.
Email October 4th, I hadn'theard back, so I'm still stuck.
October 5th, I'm gonna reach outagain because I still don't know
how to finish this project.
So I think that's another reasonwe may fire RVAs too quickly is
(20:16):
because we don't give them anice way or a clear way to
contact you and help themunderstand you're not just gonna
respond like that because that'snot why you hired them.
Right?
Help them understand that youwill have some boundaries.
And you know, starting off,letting them know those
(20:38):
expectations is a great way totrain them into your system.
Before you go, grab December'sbonus, the practice reset cheat
sheet.
It's your quick guide tostarting 2026 with clearer
systems and less chaos.
Get it at KateWalkerTraining.com slash bonus.
(21:00):
See you next week.
If you love today's episode, besure to leave a five-star
review.
It helps other badass therapistsfind the show and build
practices that thrive.
Big thanks to Ridgely Walker forour original fun facts and
podcast intro, and to CarlGuyanella for editing this
(21:23):
episode and making us soundamazing.
See you next week.
I think this is sometimes why VAs get fired.
(00:02):
If my VA is stuck because I haveto complete an action item and I
forget, and then I getfrustrated because my VA didn't
do the job.
And then I look at my notes andI'm like, oh no, I was supposed
to do this first, right?
That's the kind ofmiscommunication this SOP will
avoid.
(00:28):
Welcome to Badass Therapists,building practices alive.
It's about working smart, nothard.
And here's your host, Dr.
Kate Walker, who is learningright now.
Let's talk about the first fiveSOPs every therapist should have
if they want evenings, sanity,and a practice that doesn't run
(00:52):
on chaos.
These are simple, foundational,and they'll change how your week
feels fast.
This episode pairs perfectlywith this month's bonus, the
Practice Reset Cheat Sheet atKateWalkerTraining.com slash
bonus.
Now let's get to work.
(01:14):
Hey, it's Dr.
Kate Walker, and I am gladyou're here.
So today I'm talking aboutspecifically SOPs, standard
operating procedures.
Now these are good whetheryou're going to hire a VA or
not.
But specifically, what we'vebeen talking about in the month
of October is how to hire a VAso that he or she lightens your
(01:39):
load.
And you know, the worst thingfor me is when I hear about
somebody who says, Yeah, I hireda VA and then I let them go
because they just couldn't dothe job.
I have like a bell or a sirenthat goes off in my head when I
hear that.
I'm just like, I think the SOPswere missing, or the SOPs
weren't detailed enough.
(02:00):
Or, I mean, there are a lot ofthings that could be a problem,
including the VA wasn't doingtheir job.
Don't get me wrong, I've hiredVAs that don't do their job.
So if I was going to put amagnifying glass on the issue, I
would want to see the SOP.
So I made a list of five SOPsand I tried to make them super
(02:22):
simple so that you can dissectthem.
You can make them longer if youwant to.
So number one is communication.
And it's funny because I do thiswith all of my VAs.
I did not do it at first.
I don't know if I wasembarrassed or I assumed too
(02:44):
much.
You know, the old saying aboutassuming, right?
But it's having a weeklycheck-in.
Now, with Zoom, it's amazing howZoom has helped this process
with me because you can turn onthe AI.
So, what I do when I schedulemeetings with my VAs, I have
(03:05):
three VAs right now.
I set the meeting and then Ihave a Trello card for them.
Of course, I have a Trello card.
If you know me, you know I haveTrello.
So in the Trello card, I look atlast week's meeting.
I copy paste everything fromthat meeting, all the notes, and
I put it into the new card fortoday's meeting.
(03:26):
And then I, this is still me,before the VA ever comes around,
I go through each thing on thelist and I strike through the
things that are finished.
So we have a visual of what wastalked about the week before and
what we're trying to accomplish.
Now, you may ask, but where didI get those notes?
I get them from AI.
(03:48):
So when AI takes the notes, soat the end of this meeting, I'm
going to have an AI transcript.
Well, it's the same thing withmy meetings with my VA.
I don't have to worry aboutremembering things.
I don't have to worry about myVA remembering things.
Because we have a Trello card,we can take the AI notes and I
(04:10):
just copy paste.
Now we do a little small talk atthe beginning.
So AI likes to remind me that Italked about my kids or they
talked about their vacation.
And so I do skip through all ofthat.
And I say on the Zoom meeting atthe end, I'll say action items.
Here are the action items fromour meeting.
Or as we're talking.
(04:31):
So let's say we're talking aboutcontent for December, or we're
talking about the step it updirectory plan for January.
I will say while we're in themiddle of that conversation,
action item for Kate or actionitem for Jamie.
And AI picks that up and it'llgive me a bullet point.
So at the end of the meeting,when I hit end on that Zoom
(04:54):
call, and then I get an emailthat says, okay, your AI assets
are ready.
I go through and there are myaction items.
I copy paste that into theTrello card, and there go are
miscommunications, right?
They're not going to happenbecause they're in plain sight.
So one of the things I learned,and this was actually from a
(05:17):
book that I read, is to alwaysend a meeting 10 minutes before
the top of the hour or 10minutes before the ending time
and review.
Take time, hit the end button,and take the time right then to
get the information and put thenotes in the Trello card.
Don't trust yourself to rememberthe following week.
(05:38):
So here are the SOPs.
Number one, schedule a recurringcheck-in.
Number two, use a shared agenda.
And so I use Trello.
I use just a simple Trello card.
So on our meeting before theend, I always check and say,
okay, when are we meeting next?
Because again, AI is going topick that up.
(06:00):
And I make a Trello cardimmediately.
So there we go.
We all know in Trello because Ishare that board, our next
meeting is November 5th orwhatever.
I always start with my so thisis number three.
I say, okay, what would you liketo talk about first?
Because if my VA has beensitting on something, they're
(06:22):
stuck in some area, maybe theyhaven't reached out and they
knew they kind of should.
That's what I want to startwith.
And then again, number four, I'mgoing to end the meeting by
saying out loud, okay, here arethe action items.
Some people call that what areour priorities for the next
week.
But I don't like to saypriorities.
(06:42):
That's like telling my kids andmy husband, hey, the house needs
to be clean.
That's a priority.
No, no, no.
I want action items for eachperson.
If my VA cannot go, and thishappens a lot.
I hear about this.
I think this is sometimes whyVAs get fired.
If my VA is stuck because I haveto complete an action item and I
(07:03):
forget, and then I getfrustrated because my VA didn't
do the job.
And then I look at my notes andI'm like, oh no, I was supposed
to do this first.
Like I was supposed to send thema login or I was supposed to
send them content before theycould edit it and make the blog.
Right?
That's the kind ofmiscommunication this SOP will
avoid.
And then of course, you want tomake sure, number five, I'm not
(07:28):
going to send them a summary.
I'm just going to make sure thatthey can see that Trello card.
All right.
So that's number one,communication, communication,
communication.
All right.
This number two SOP is creatinga task card Trello.
(07:48):
I'm just going to keep referringto Trello slash template and
helping them understand why it'simportant.
So for example, all of thetrainings that we do, all of
these group coaching everyTuesday, it's really, really
important that we get thoseprocessed for the following
month.
(08:08):
And because you guys know thenewsletter came out today, you
it's a super long email.
You get to see, okay, here'swhat members are getting in
December.
Well, we have to have that basedon what we're finishing, right?
If we get the CE from the expertwebinar loaded into Podia, if we
get the trainings into the onestart here module, it's a lot.
(08:31):
And there are a lot of movingparts.
Now, I can put that into Trelloand they can understand why and
still not understand.
And anybody who's ever worked inan organization, you guys know
that happens.
It's not because there's alanguage barrier, it's not
because you know they weren'tlistening.
(08:52):
It's simply because we all havean idea of what done looks like.
I mean, we're counselors, wework in metaphors, we're always
trying to help clients see whatwe're saying, right?
So using something like I talkedabout Loom, L-O-O-M, or voice
memos, or there's another appcalled Marco Polo, where you can
(09:17):
have your VA say back to youwhat they understand.
So you can put the project intoTrello and you can tag them and
say, hey, I need you to send mea voice memo or a Marco Polo or
something, a Loom, make a quickLoom video and tell me what you
(09:39):
think I'm asking you to do.
So it's a check forunderstanding.
And then the very first time youdo this task.
So if you're giving them a brandnew task, I want you to make a
Canva cover for my individualtherapy product.
You know, I call therapy, youknow, sessions, those are
products.
And you say, I want you to makea Canva for this, but you've
(10:02):
never asked them to do thatbefore.
You're gonna want to set a timeto give them feedback, very
detailed feedback on that firsteffort.
And then in the Trello card, youtake notes.
I know with Irvin, what I do isI will take a picture and I will
say, Nope, you see, you forgotto check this box, and we're and
(10:22):
I'll take the picture and sendit to him in WhatsApp.
So the three or the four modesof communication I'm talking
about are voice memos, and youcan just hit send on those,
WhatsApp, Marco Polo, which is aface thing.
It's kind of like FaceTimerecordings, which that's great
too.
And I'm sure there's stuff thatI'm not thinking of, and Loom,
(10:44):
L-O-O-M, which is nice becausethey can show like they can
actually do a screen share andrecord that.
So they're recording theirscreen.
Okay, this is what I did.
I went here, I clicked thisbutton, I put that in, and you
can get that loom and say, oh,uh-oh, no, no, no.
I see where you're messing up.
I think I showed you guys lasttime the Trello card that I
(11:05):
share with Irvin.
And I'm gonna share it again.
Quick break.
If you haven't grabbedDecember's bonus yet, go get it.
I put together the practicereset cheat sheet to help you
clean up your systems, tightenyour HIPAA basics, and walk into
(11:26):
2026 without dragging thisyear's mess behind you.
It's totally free for podcastlisteners.
Just go toKateWalkerTraining.com slash
bonus.
I'm gonna show you exactly howthis works.
So let's say, okay, soprocessing online course.
(11:48):
That's where it goes when itstarts.
It's processing.
All I've done is I've just put abunch of junk into it.
I've edited a video, I've giventhe information about CE hours,
there's an evaluation link, thenthey'll have the video and
there's a transcript.
So there's a lot of informationin this, including, and if you
remember last time, I create achecklist, and each checklist
(12:12):
has a quick little video thatI've made.
So a lot of people, I think theythink, okay, that's enough.
They should get that.
If that was me, I wouldn't getthat.
So Erwin and I have learned tomove things.
So here he he may slide it here,set to hidden, Kate check.
(12:32):
And then he'll go in and he'lltag me.
And this is where you tag me.
I put seven questions.
That's great because it's a90-minute CE.
And so I'll check it.
And then if there's somethingwrong, I'll slide it back and
I'll tag him.
And we may go back and forth andback and forth.
And then finally, if it's Kateapproved to publish or add to
(12:56):
the spreadsheet, then Irvin cantake the next step.
But we're tagging each other,we're visually moving things
back and forth.
I'm taking pictures, I'm sendinghim things from WhatsApp.
So having a VA doesn't mean,especially in the beginning,
that you can take your handsoff.
All right.
So that brings me to the nextSOP, which is kind of this
(13:21):
onboarding.
Onboarding can take some time.
And here's why.
If you had a job that you onlygave 10 hours a week to, and
some of you, you only want to VAfor about five hours a week.
That's one hour a day.
You know, I know a lot of usthink, well, they're going to
just devote five hours or 10hours to it in one day.
(13:43):
No, they're not.
They're going to devote one hourhere, two hours there, three
hours there.
So what happens is thatinformation, as good as you've
tried to package it, gets lost,as it would with anybody.
So from day one, you want anonboarding SOP where you share
(14:03):
what it is that you do, why it'simportant, if you have any kind
of policy and procedures, that'sgreat.
But what's even better is togive them like a list of logins.
You know, we talked aboutLastPass.
We talked about maybe givingthem their own email.
I know that's maybe something alot of you aren't sure how to
(14:26):
do, but if your VA has tocommunicate with someone outside
your organization for any reasonand they're sending it from
their personal email, you can'tcheck that.
And also if they get sick or youdo have to let them go, you
can't intercept that email inany way.
They have all those emails.
(14:47):
It's still going to them.
So if you have a domain name,you can set up an email.
If you have a Google account,you can set up an email with
your domain and share that withthem.
So giving them a packet withlogins through LastPass or
whatever, giving them access totheir own email domain and
(15:10):
giving them, and I love thisone.
This is number three, givingthem their first kind of a
starter project.
So something very, very simple.
So remember before I said, Iwant you to make a Canva cover
for my individual sessions.
But just make it simple.
See what they come back with.
Do they know how to use Canva?
(15:31):
Did you hire them because theysaid they knew how to use Canva?
Same thing with QuickBooks.
If it's something withQuickBooks or accounting or
spreadsheets, give themsomething simple.
So yeah, you're gonna have tohave a rudimentary knowledge,
which brings me to the otherreason I think a lot of VAs
fail.
I think as counselors, we kindof want to just hand over stuff
(15:54):
and just kind of do this.
Well, you have to know a littlebit.
Like I'm not an accountant, butI know a little bit and I know
how to use Chat GPT and I knowhow to check to see if my return
is, you know, wonky, right?
Just basic.
So having that rudimentaryknowledge and then giving them
(16:17):
feedback.
That's the other thing, too.
I think many of us, especiallyin the first 30 days of having a
VA, we don't give feedback.
Like that was excellent.
And use words like, great job,wonderful.
I mean, these guys and girls,people, they want to please us.
They want to do a good job, theywant to stay hired.
(16:38):
And so if we're able to staypositive and let them know, yes,
you are on the right track, butwe got to make one little course
correction here, we got to makea change or good effort, but
man, you blew it.
You got it completely wrong.
Don't worry though, I'm gonnatalk you through it, right?
If we are able to keep a reallygood attitude about the VA, and
(17:00):
you're confident that you havegiven them something simple that
they said they were good at, andyet they still cannot complete
the project without, and youguys have I've used this term
before, several touches fromyou.
Remember, every time you getinvolved with the project,
that's a touch, that's a touch,this is a touch.
You're trying to get rid ofthat, right?
(17:22):
We call that mental load.
We want that mental load off.
So if at the end of 30 days orso you feel like, yeah, I'm not
able to offload this at all.
In fact, it's become harder,then yeah, it's time to have a
talk about probably letting theVA go.
So another SOP, let's see,progress and accountability.
(17:44):
We talked about a sharedtracking space, like Google is a
great place to do that as well,but I like Trello.
Having your hire update itdaily.
Now, this is reallymicromanaging, but you can do
this.
If you want your VA, especiallyin the first 30 days, to go in
and put in a check-in, like,okay, it's Monday checking.
(18:05):
It's Tuesday, checked it.
Wednesday, checked it, right?
You can make a check-in just foraccountability and give it, give
them little feedback in context.
And then, of course, in themonth with a debrief.
All right.
I think I got to give you onemore SOP.
And I I know a lot of us when wehire a VA, we may be at this
(18:26):
point where we're kind of like,oh, you know, we're ready to get
rid of it.
And maybe our attitude kind ofshows that.
So when you are giving off thevibe of, man, you better get
this right.
And I hired you for this, anduh, you know what, I'm spending
good money and right.
So they're not gonna want to askfor help.
(18:46):
So it is nice to have uh whenyou're stuck SOP, right?
When can they reach out to you?
I know with Irvin, he can reachout anytime.
I'm not gonna respond becauseI'm not on my phone all the time
and I don't have notifications.
That would drive me crazy.
But I know I will check it at acertain time every day.
(19:07):
So I'm still in control.
And if I see, okay, there arefive messages from Irvin, I'm
gonna check those.
I'm gonna respond because I'veset aside time for that.
Then I'm gonna turn WhatsApp offand I'll check it one more time
at the end of the day.
So our stuck SOP would be, okay,use WhatsApp, use it in a
(19:28):
narrative way, and then I checkit once or twice a day.
But you might want more thanthat, right?
You might want them to text youand you're gonna respond all the
time, and you might have yournotifications on.
At the very least, I would keepa narrative going.
So let's say you're usingGoogle, right?
And you just have a Google Docthat you share, and you could
(19:51):
make it like a diary, right?
So October 1st, this is where Igot stuck.
October 2nd, this is where Ikind of figured it out.
October 3rd, I sent you anemail.
Email October 4th, I hadn'theard back, so I'm still stuck.
October 5th, I'm gonna reach outagain because I still don't know
how to finish this project.
So I think that's another reasonwe may fire RVAs too quickly is
(20:16):
because we don't give them anice way or a clear way to
contact you and help themunderstand you're not just gonna
respond like that because that'snot why you hired them.
Right?
Help them understand that youwill have some boundaries.
And you know, starting off,letting them know those
(20:38):
expectations is a great way totrain them into your system.
Before you go, grab December'sbonus, the practice reset cheat
sheet.
It's your quick guide tostarting 2026 with clearer
systems and less chaos.
Get it at KateWalkerTraining.com slash bonus.
(21:00):
See you next week.
If you love today's episode, besure to leave a five-star
review.
It helps other badass therapistsfind the show and build
practices that thrive.
Big thanks to Ridgely Walker forour original fun facts and
podcast intro, and to CarlGuyanella for editing this
(21:23):
episode and making us soundamazing.
See you next week.
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