‘I was afraid to delegate’: Founder says letting go helped grow business to $5M

A woman who once struggled to delegate tasks in her business says learning to let go transformed the way she worked. Luba Patlakh Kaplun built her speech language pathology practice while managing patients, finances and business growth herself.Business owner shares her lesson on learning to let go. (Business Insider)According to Business Insider, Kaplun’s company crossed $1 million in revenue in 2020 and reached $4.95 million last year. She says putting proper systems and procedures in place helped her move beyond doing everything herself and gave the business room to grow.Why did she start the business?Kaplun initially struggled to find a career that would satisfy both her interests and her family’s expectations. Many of her relatives worked in medicine, but she knew she could not handle blood or needles.After studying journalism and running a marketing agency, she searched online for careers offering stability and growth. Speech language pathology stood out because it was connected to healthcare without requiring her to work around blood.(Also Read: Techie says Patna lets him save more than Bengaluru, urges Bihar CM to create IT jobs)She eventually earned her master’s degree and joined a bilingual English and Spanish clinic run another speech language patholog. Kaplun also spoke Russian, and when the clinic’s owner realised this, her language skills helped bring in more clients from the Russian speaking community.She soon realised there was a larger opportunity. Instead of using her Russian skills to grow someone else’s practice, she decided to build something of her own.How did she grow the business?Kaplun began reaching out to Jewish clubs and churches to find students while also seeing patients and building her practice. She was handling billing, marketing and community outreach, often trying to do everything herself.”I worried I could never teach the business to another person, and that no one would treat the business, my ba, as well as I would,” she told Business Insider.After five years, the workload began taking a toll. She was missing payments because there were no proper systems to track them or follow up with clients.Around the time her business crossed seven figures in revenue, she came across resources on business management and financial planning. They helped her recognise that she needed standard operating procedures and a management structure.Once those systems were introduced, the company began growing rapidly. According to Business Insider, the business generated just over $1 million in 2020 and $4.95 million last year.Her children are growing up with the businessKaplun’s three children, aged 10, 8 and 4, have grown up alongside the company. She says they have also seen how its financial success changed their lives.(Also Read: Stone shatters Duronto Express window during dinner, man claims 4 friends injured)Her children now live in a large house with an in ground pool, something she contrasts with her own childhood, when her family lived in apartments and she shared a room with her brother.Kaplun says she reminds her children that their lifestyle is the result of generations of hard work, including the sacrifices made their parents and grandparents.