COVID19 - What if the worst is yet to come for physician entrepreneurs?

If your business isn't working the way you expected, it's not because you're bad at business. It's because no one ever taught you how it actually works. We were trained to master algorithms in medicine, but when it comes to revenue teams and growth, we were never taught anything. We weren't even told to figure it out. We just assumed somehow we'd know. Like it would magically make sense. But it doesn't. The era of the seven Figure Physician CEO is here. And it's not about working harder. It's about learning entrepreneurship as a system. The same way you mastered ACLs and pals, you can master the algorithm of building a profitable scalable business. That's why I recorded the Seven Figure Physician CEO audiobook. Whether you're building a medical or non medical business, and whether your goal is your first million, first 2 million, first 5 million, first 10 million, this is where the journey starts. There is no Calvary coming to save us. We are the Calvary. So. So go get your audiobook now. Www.entremd.com 7Figurebook. And let's rewrite the narrative for physicians starting today.

Hi, docs. Welcome to the Entre MD Podcast, where it is all about helping amazing physicians just like you. Embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Una. Well, welcome back to another episode of the Auntremity podcast. This episode is gonna be one of the most impactful ones that you've ever listened to. I've really put a lot of thought into this, and I think it's something that would prepare us for what is to come, just so that we can look back months from now, years from now, and go like that. Podcast episodes set me up to make sure that I thrived in spite of the hard times that came. Okay. And that's what this is all about. So today we're going to be looking at what if the worst is yet to come. But before we do that, I want to give a big shout out to a doc who left a review on the Entremdy podcast on iTunes. And this is what she says. Dr. Una's podcast is fantabulous. Okay, I have a whole word made up just for me. And she says this podcast is really good for my soul, is just what I need for the season I'm in. It's time to move. So very happy to have found this wealth of information. I can't wait to watch things unfold in my life. Exclamation mark. Dr. Valencia Johnson, Nassau, Bahamas. And Dr. Valencia, I am rooting for you. I cannot wait to watch things unfold in your life either. I can't wait to hear your stories and share your stories of the changes that have happened, and I'm so glad that you're on this path. Thank you so much for leaving this review and letting me know how the podcast is helping you. And if you're here and you're a listener and you've always thought, oh, my God, this podcast is amazing. Maybe you've told your doctor friends about it and you haven't left a review yet. I'm going to invite you to do that today. Just go to itunes or wherever you listen to podcasts at and leave us a review. Okay.

All right.

So I remember a few months ago, I was on a webinar, and it was a number of speakers, and it was maybe 900 pediatricians or so, you know, right in the middle of the COVID pandemic. And the host of the webinar, you know, when it got to my turn, he was like, you know what? Just look at Dr. Una smiling. I think if I was to be walking behind her and somebody pointed out and said, oh, that's Dr. Una, and the person wasn't smiling, he'll go like, that's no, there's no way that's Dr. Una. He's like, she's so positive, and, you know, she has practical tips for how we can do stuff. And, you know, I think I'm a pretty positive person, right? But today we're gonna look at something from a different angle. It may sound a little not positive, but it totally is. So just roll with me, okay? All right. So we're gonna look at what is going to be happening, right? So to put this in context, we are in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic. And December 2019, nobody was really thinking that it was possible for the world to change as much as it did. I think. I mean, 2019, I wasn't thinking that people will go around wearing masks all day, right? I wasn't thinking that businesses will shut down worldwide. I wasn't thinking that there was a disease that could come in that could lead to 130,000 deaths in the US alone. I mean, it's so dramatic, the change that has happened, you know, so in December, we weren't planning for that. But come March, we see practices that have closed. We see doctors laid off. We see doctors working longer hours and being paid less. Meanwhile, admins are still getting bonuses. But that's the topic for a different podcast episode. And, you know, before I go any further, I want to acknowledge the doctors at the frontline, the doctors in the ICUs, the doctors who have had to do a lot to take care of people. It's been a really difficult time. And I want to acknowledge you and I want to say thank you. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for putting yourself in harm's way to take care of other people. Thank you that you did that in spite of the fact that you are wondering, like, what am I taking back home to my family? Some of you even rented other places because you're like, I can't do all these shifts and come back home. I have a little baby at home. And thank you. Thank you for what you do. And if you're listening to this and you were affected in any way, maybe your practice or, you know, maybe you got furloughed or any of that, please don't misunderstand what I'm trying to do here. I'm not trying to poke at that pain. I'm trying to set us up to prevent ourselves from meeting this circumstance again. Okay? So the basketball players are very different. If you look at Little League versus the NBA, right? When you watch little kids playing basketball, everybody runs to the ball. Everybody, like all the players on both teams are running to the ball. But when you watch the NBA and you look at elite players like LeBron or Michael Jordan or Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, right, they have what people call basketball iq and they don't go where the ball is. They go where the ball is going. They don't go where the ball is. They go where the ball is going. So they're anticipating and they're positioning themselves for tomorrow, quote, unquote. So we're going to do the same thing here where, yes, we're in the middle of COVID there's a little bit of a lull, even though I think it's a fake lull, right, because cities, you know, states shut down and states have opened up again, but states have started shutting down again, and we're going to hit the fall and the flu is going to be here as well, and states are going to shut down again and things are going to happen. And we want to be the basketball players with a high IQ that have anticipated where the ball is going and we've prepared, okay? That's what's going to be happening. So what if the worst is yet to come? All right, now, when the whole Covid thing started and it got really serious, like March, Ish. And people started going like, oh, my gosh, everything's going bad. We're not going to survive this, and stuff like that. I remember screaming the top of my voice on every platform I could find that we have a choice. We can thrive. I kept saying, we're going to thrive. We're going to thrive. Yes, there's a pandemic, but we're going to thrive. Yes, there's a pandemic, but we're going to thrive. And I want to say that in my businesses, we've done well. And I don't say that to brag. I say that because of what I'm about to show you. I say that because I'm about to show you how to prepare for where the quote unquote ball is going. And it's not just me, okay? I had my clients saying things like you said that we're going to thrive, and we're thriving. I've had clients tell me, Covid has plans, but I have plans, too. I'm going to come out of this on top. I've had doctors who said, it's as though you knew what was coming and you prepared us for it. And one of the most touching ones was a doctor who is like, I am so happy I met you before COVID So the strategies, the things I'm about to show you are things that have worked, and they're things we're going to double down on so we can prepare for what is coming. Okay, So I think March to May 2020. Right. Has a twin, and that twin is September to November 2020. I think we experienced the first part. I think we have a little bit of a lull, which, like I said, is not even really real. And I think we're going to have another March to May between September and November. So the whole idea behind this podcast is to get you ready for it. Okay. Are you a prophet of doom, Dr. Una? No, I just told you at the beginning, I'm very positive. Right. But the plan is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The last thing we want to do is to be caught unawares and, you know, not have anything in place. In fact, in some Facebook groups, I asked today, I said, knowing what you now know, if this was December 2019, what would you have done to prepare for 2020? Because this is that time. This is that quote, unquote, December. We're at that point, we have inside information. We have an idea of what's going to happen. So how do we prepare ourselves to thrive in that time. Okay. All right, so I'm going to show you three things that you should do. And my hope is that you'll take this seriously. My hope is that you apply this right away and you start getting yourself ready for what's coming. So the first thing that you have to do is you have to change your mindset. You have to change your mindset. You have to make a decision, a quality decision that I am going to thrive. Now there are things we can complain about, right? Oh, furloughs. Oh, admin, right. But at the end of the day, my life is my responsibility. I mean, I can't control what's on the exterior, but I can control me. So you can control. You control. Make a decision, I'm going to thrive. You might go like, but I don't know how. That's not the way decisions work. You make a decision, then you make the decision, right? You make a decision first, you deal with the what and then you deal with the how. You have to make the decision, I am going to thrive. And if you're at home, you're going to need to write this on a post it thing or a three by five card and put it where you can see it. Make the decision, write it down. I am going to thrive. No matter what comes, I am going to thrive. It's a decision. You don't need the how. You don't have to have all the questions answered. You don't have to have everything perfect. You just need to make up your mind, I am going to thrive. Okay, Another decision you're going to have to make is I'm going to do whatever it takes. And of course I don't mean anything illegal or unethical or anything like that, but it's going to require you change. It's going to require you do things you haven't done before. It's going to require you invest in yourself in ways you haven't invested before. And your mindset needs to be, I'm going to do whatever it takes. I'm going to do whatever it takes. So you have to change your mindset. You have to make the decision, I'm going to thrive. And you have to make the decision that I'm going to do whatever it takes. So you can be like all these other clients of mine who are like, I never want to see a pandemic again, but it actually worked for me and I want that to be your story too. Okay? So that's the first thing is a mindset change. And, and you might go like, okay, let me think about it. This is not a think about type of mindset change. This is a decision I'm going to thrive. I haven't figured it out yet. I think she's going to give me two more points and I'm going to figure it out. But my thing is, I am going to thrive. I will do what it takes. I'm willing to do it right. All right, so that's number one. Number two, and this is so critical, so critical. You have to change your tribe. You have to change your tribe. You need to build a tribe of people who can help you weather storms. You have to change your threat. Now, I'm not saying get rid of all your friends, but you probably need to infuse a whole new set of people who will be saying the same thing you're saying. A tribe that will support your decision to thrive. A tribe that will support your decision to do whatever it takes. A tribe that when you're slacking off, you see them and you're like, oh, my gosh, I can't be the worst doctor on the planet. Like, let me go put my act together. You need a group of people who will inspire you. You need positive peer pressure. You need constant inspiration, constant motivation, and your tribe gives you that. You cannot just let your tribe happen to you. You have to intentionally create the tribe that will support your decision. Okay? Now, at the end of the day, you're going to be like the five people closest to you. So take a look. And if you need to bring some other people closer, then do it right. At the end of the day, you're going to look like your crowd. So take a look at your crowd. And if you're like, need to adjust my crowd a tad bit, then do it. Okay. You might say, well, I don't know that it matters that much. So I'll tell you what I tell my teenage patients because they're like. I mean, they're awful, but they're my friends. And I'm like, having bad friends is kind of like. And thinking that they won't affect you, right? Is kind of like being really cold and somebody accidentally puts the air on and you're sitting right underneath the vent and you're saying, I'm not going to be cold. Right? You now have your affirmations. I'm not going to be cold. I'm not going to be cold. What would anybody tell you? Get away from the vents. Like, what are you doing? Move. Right? Move. So at the end of the day, your environment, your tribe, they control what happens? Okay, so you need to be in a group of people who have made decisions to try. They're doing what it takes to thrive. They're paying the price to try. They're taking the actions to thrive so that they can keep you, hold you accountable, they can keep you inspired, they can keep you on your toes. You need to change your tribe, okay? So you need to get some colleagues who are doing that good. You need to get some mentors who are doing that great. You need to get coaches on board who are doing that fine. But you need to control your tribe. Okay? In my tribe, people are like, yes, we're going to thrive. It's a common saying. And they're thriving. They thrive through March through April through May. I have people who have done more in their business in the last three to four months than they did in 2019. Change your thrive. Okay? Change your tribe. Change your tribe. Change your tribe. Now, you may be asking, what entremd tribe? What is that? I mean, there are a number of places. We have a private Facebook group, and if you're not part of it, you should check it out. It's entre md.com join. Okay? Or if you go on Facebook, just search for entre md. We have a mailing list where I try to keep you motivated with podcasts and things I'm thinking about. And you would at least get an email from me once a week. And you can go to the website and you can sign up for the newsletter, and that's part of it. And the entremd business school, I mean, that's a great group of people. Like, we're building businesses. We're taking things to the next step. We're clarifying messages, and we're setting ourselves up to rock it. Right? Enrollment is closed, but you can get on the waitlist, so you'll be the first to know when it opens up. Okay? And it's entremd.com business and you can check it out. But these are all places where people who have made a commitment to thrive are. All right, so that's the second thing. Change your tribe. Change your tribe. The third thing, Doctors. Okay? We have to learn how to make money. We have to learn how to make money. Now hear me out. Yes. We at our core, we love to help. Oh, my gosh. Doctors love to help. In fact, I did a poll. I was like, why did you go to med school? And 90% of the people told me some variation of I want to help people. Okay? So we have that down path. We're great at it. Right? But in order to convert that help to something that serves people and helps you earn financial freedom, you're going to need another set of skills other than your clinical skills, and that's business skills. We're going to have to learn how to make money. Okay, I know that every physician has a seven figure business in them. I know. And you might go like, I can't see that. Fine. Every physician has a six figure business on the inside of them. Okay? But that's. I'm not going any lower than that because every physician does. And we have to learn, okay? We have to learn how to monetize what we have. And sometimes people are like, well, I don't have anything. So let's take a look at it. Okay, let's take a look at your assets. So you have clinical skills, which you can convert that to six figure stuff, right? Whether that's through a job or through a private practice or whatever. Telemedicine, right? And a lot of times we stop there. That's our asset. But that is not our asset. I can give you nine more assets. Okay? So you've learned how to lead a team because in many instances you've had to do that, right? So you have managerial skills, or you have leadership skills, or maybe your hospital or your job paid for you to get those skills, or maybe you paid for it yourself, but you've developed those skills. Those are monetizable. I'm not sure if I made up that word or if that word really exists, but roll with me here. Okay? So that is an asset. Your ability to lead a team is an asset for some doctors. They are so great at networking, they're so great at building communities, they're so great at connecting, and they're so great at building audiences. Everybody who can build an audience can monetize that. That is an asset. That is an asset. Okay? So that's number three. We as physicians, we have the best stories. The best. I mean, think of the number of shows that are made based on what we do, right? Er, Untold Stories of the er, Grey's Anatomy, the Residents, the whole nine yards. I mean, like there's tons and tons and tons of them, right? And we have the best stories. The best stories. And the best speakers are the best storytellers, right? We have a lot of stories. We have a lot of experience, we have a lot of knowledge. So we can all be great speakers. I mean, if we choose, right, we can all be great speakers. Your ability to speak is an asset. Okay? Now a lot of Us have experiences, problems that we've solved for ourselves. Every problem you've solved for yourself can be a business. For instance, why does Entre MD exist? Because I, a really good employed physician, found myself starting a practice, and I was scared spitless of the business of medicine. And I had to learn how to do it. I had to learn to market. I had to learn to sell. I had to learn to speak. I had to learn to do videos. I had to learn to lead a team. I had to learn to work on my business and not just in my business. I had to learn all of these things. And I always felt like not being able to understand the business of medicine was a handicap. And I just thought people were better than me. The people who did it, they did well because they were better than me. When I found out that this is just a set of skills that I have to learn, I was like, wait a minute. There are many more Dr. UNAs who have started businesses and who are floundering. They just don't know what to do. And all they're missing is a set of skills. And we're doctors. We love to learn. We love to acquire new skills. We do this stuff for fun. So if I could just give them a roadmap, the same roadmap I used, I can help them build six and seven figure business. And then on Trendy was born. So I took that experience, and I'm using it to serve, but I'm also using it to earn. Do you see what I mean? It's an asset. Your messes that you've come out from, they're assets. Okay, all right. So that's another one. Maybe you're here. You always wanted to develop a product. Always. I can't tell you how many doctors tell me about skincare lines. They want to do, you know, fashion stuff. They want, like, all kinds of amazing things. And every product is an asset. Every product is an asset. Okay? You start a practice right now. I'm not talking about working in the practice. I'm saying you build a system. A system that doctors can work in. A system that can take your patients from point A to point B. And they have a great experience, and they get expert medical care, and it's done in a profitable way. You do that as a business owner. That's an asset. Okay? There's skills you've had within, maybe within the hospital system. Maybe you are the person who is able to set up ers from beginning to end. Maybe you're the person who's able to work workflows Maybe you're the person who has training systems for, you know, onboarding new doctors and stuff like that. Maybe you've worked a lot in utilization review or whatever. These are all consulting services. You've done them. Sometimes you've even been medical director for something for free or for something nominal. But that is an asset, okay? Think about coaching and doctors. I mean, we coach. You know what I'm saying? That is an asset. So I've already given you nine different assets. Nine different assets that we as physicians can leverage, okay? Of course, at our core, to help people, but it also buys us financial freedom. Do you see what I'm saying? We have business. We're loaded with businesses. Loaded, okay? So the bottom line is that you have tons of assets that you can monetize. You just need the business skills to do it. You have what it takes to build a really wildly successful business. You just need to learn the business skills. So the third decision that you're going to make as we go through our list is you're going to learn how to make money. It's a skill and you can do it. You're going to learn how to make money. Okay? Now again, I'll take you back to the entrepreneur business school, because onto md. Business school is designed to put you in a system where at the first stage, or stage zero, you discover what is my business, what am I going to run With Stage two, you figure out what is my message, right? What do I stand for? Because that determines everything that you do, right? It determines how you get people to say yes to what you do. It determines how to get the word out there. I can't tell you how many times physicians are like, I developed this lovely course and it will help a lot of people, but nobody wants it, right? It's not that they don't want it, it's just that you haven't said it in a way. They're like, oh, my God, I need that. Then the second stage, you know, stage two is where we show you how to dominate the platforms. So where people begin to say things like, wow, you're everywhere. Where people begin to ask about the thing you do and people start tagging you, like, why are you asking? This is the person you should be talking to. Stage four, we show you how to create money makers, right? To create systems that are areas where the transaction takes place from. This is where you serve and earn, right? And the fourth stage, we show you how to systemize it all so that your business doesn't have to run your life like you don't have to just live day to day, hours on end, serving your business that your business serves your clients and serves you right. How do you build a team? How do you automate stuff so that you can. You don't trade one 90 hour work week for another one. Okay? So you should check it out. It's entremd.com business. Get on the waiting list. You'll be the first to know. And truthfully, these principles apply whether you go to OntraMD Business School or not. Right? The bottom line is you have to learn how to make money. Okay? So I said all this to say this. I know, I know that the twin of March to May 2020 is going to be September to November 2020. And so the time we have in between is time to prepare. We don't need to be caught unawares this time. It's time to prepare. And how do I need you to prepare? One, I want you to change your mindset and decide you're going to thrive. Secondly, I want you to change your tribe. I want you to upgrade your tribe. Okay? The people around you matter. They matter. They are the people who will determine if you're going to make it in September to November. Okay? The third thing I want you to do is I want you to learn how to make money. Okay? We were told the administrators will take care of us. They're not. We are told the insurance companies will take care of us. They're not. We're told the government will take care of us. They're not. Our job is to take care of, take care of ourselves. We need to go back and take back control of our financial future. We need to go back and take control of what our careers will look like, of what our businesses will look like. That is ours to control. Nobody's going to do it for us, okay? You're like, oh, they won't give me a seat at the table. It's time to build your own table. And you're not going to do that without business skills. So you got to learn business skills. Okay? So those are the three decisions I need you to make. I need you to prepare for what is coming. Remember, we hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst. Okay? And the other thing I want you to do is, you know what's going on. You know, the number of people being laid off, you know, the number of people being furloughed, you know, the anxiety and the depression and the despair. Don't just listen to this episode and say, that was amazing. Write a review and go away. I want you to listen to this. I want you to say it's amazing. I want you to write a review and I want you to share this on your social media platforms and I want you to text it to the doctors in your life and tell them, I need you to listen to this. I need us to do this together. Okay? We are going to thrive. We are going to thrive, but we need to set ourselves up, do just that. Okay? So I'll see you on social media. I'll see you in on trendy business school, and we are going to thrive in spite of everything that's going to happen because we're going to start preparing right now. See you on the next episode. If you love this podcast, please take a moment to subscribe, share and review it on itunes as you go about your week. Remember, you're not just an md, you're an entre md. Don't forget to tune in next week for another great episode.

Until next time.