From Endless Research To Launching My Business with Dr. Alicia Shelly

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's all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Una. Hello, my friends, and welcome to another episode of the ontream Day podcast. Now, this is a special episode that is part of the EBS show series. So it's kind of like the inside scoop of what happens in the ontremd business school. So Dr. Tamara Beckford is an emergency medicine trained physician and she is the founder of youf Caring Docs. And she's a student, a proud student of the Entrepreneur Business School and she is the host of the EBS show. So she interviewed students from the Entrepreneur Business School to feature their journeys and she uncovered it all. The good, the bad, the ugly. So whether you're a veteran entrepreneur or all you have is an idea, there is so much to learn. So I want you to lean in. So now let's join them.

Hello, everyone. Hi, it's Dr. Tamara Beckford and I am the host of the Eva Show. What is CBSUX on Tremd Business School, of course, which is the premier business school for physician entrepreneurs. Today I will be interviewing the one, the only, Dr. Alicia Shelley. So Dr. Shelley is the CEO and founder of Healthy Living LLC and the host of the Back On Track podcast along with Back On Track actually Overcoming Weight Regain. Because you Know how that happens, right? So she's the host of that podcast and also the YouTube channel. So, Dr. Chalet, thank you for jumping on the EBS show.

Hi, thank you so much for having me. It's such an honor to be here on the ebs, the premier school for physicians.

Absolutely, absolutely. So, you know, tell us about life before joining ebs.

Oh, Lord, life before ebs. You know, my business was non existent before ebs. You know, during the pandemic, I knew there was something that else that I needed to do. I am regularly a primary care physician and I. And I also board certified in obesity medicine. So I was doing obesity medicine once a day doing my regular primary care. But I felt like I was missing something. Like I didn't know what it was, but I was missing something. So I started. I don't know how I got to Dr. Una's podcast because I want to say she was my first podcast that I've ever looked at. Well, maybe I ever looked at. I would look at absorbed. Never ever absorbed. Like I had to literally go find where that was on my app and my phone. Like I had to go download it. I didn't know where it was. And so I remember I was expensive or heard about Dr. Una through Dr. Barbara Joy Parks. She would post, she went to her business retreat and she posted how really good it was and she would just post about Dr. Una. And I'm like, who is this Dr. Una? Who is this Dr. Una? And I'll be honest with you, I can be a little, a little bit, maybe a lot cheap. And so when I saw the retreat and I was like, the process, I'm like, oh, I can't do this. This is not for me. But fast forward two years, I'm like, you know what? There's something else I'm missing. And so I, for some reason, maybe it was a post Dr. Barbara Jordan did and she's like, look at her podcast. So I started looking at her podcast and just listening to what she was saying, I'm like, this is it. This is what I'm missing. I love my patients, don't get me wrong. But there I need to make a bigger impact. Like I'm seeing, yes, I see like 100 people a week, but they're like kind of the same people I need to see. I need to make a larger impact. So I started listening to her podcast and she talks about the business school. And at that point I had known like, yes, I'm going to do a podcast, but it's a different saying. I'm going to do a podcast. And what does that podcast actually, how does this all work exactly? And so she had an opening call talking about the business school. And I got on that call and she was talking about what, what the business school will help, you know, because I'm like, I'm not business minded, right?

She's like this, like, what did you learn about business and business? We didn't go to business school. We went to medical school.

Medical school, right. They don't teach you. They don't teach. They basically teach. They don't even teach you how to negotiate a contract. Okay. I have no business acumen. I'm just signing on the dotted line, like, oh, I guess they'll take care of you. Exactly. Hoping they would take care of me, but they don't. You know, I was on that call and I'm like, you know what this, when she described it, what it would do for me as far as bringing my business to the next level. Now, mind you, I'm starting at ground zero, so anywhere up would be awesome.

And I think that that's the great thing about it, right? People think that you're coming to the business school because you already have a business. It's like, let them know you don't have to have a business to come to the business school.

Right?

Because you said that you didn't even know what your business was going to be. You just knew that you wanted to make a change and you want to make a difference. So you came in at ground zero. Did you come in at ground zero or sub zero?

Probably sub. Well, probably ground zero because I was in the works of trying to start it. Like, I joined so many different online courses. I spent some money on online course. I got a podcast journal. It helped me launch. Like, I was, I went to clubhouse. I was everywhere trying to figure out.

How to do this and how long did it take? So first of all, it took you two years from the inception of hearing about it, right? And then you joined the school and how long did it take you to do everything that those two years encompassed? Tell me.

So I would say from. So April is when I was kind of made the decision, I'm going to do this. And so we did the phone call and then I didn't join in the April cohort, but I was like, or maybe that was the June core. Anyway, I wasn't sure. I didn't join in April. After I heard her, I was like, I'll wait, I'll wait. And then in May, I actually, I joined Another doctors group. And I was like, okay, that was my first. I got my feet wet. And I'm like, oh, this is actually very helpful. You know, just the camaraderie. But then I paid for coaching. And when I made that, when I actually was like, you need this. Pay for coaching. I was like, I need EBS Pay for ebs. So I went from a very frugal person to, like, wait a minute.

To saying, like, yes, I need to invest in myself.

Right, Exactly. That's. That was the shift I made. I made. I need to invest in myself, and here's how I need to do it. And that's. And I do not regret any of those decisions. Those decisions were the best decision I've made because I did all the research to start the podcast. Right. I know how to record, I can edit. But to have the momentum of the podcast is what EBS brought to me. Because I started. I was so nervous. I was supposed to release my podcast in June, and I was doing all my research. I'm like, oh, I need more research time.

And so research procrastination phase.

Exactly. Research procrastination phase was where I was. And if it wasn't for my accountability partner saying, hey, look, we're going to just post the Save the date for your podcast. And when I. And I did that, actually, I wasn't gonna post it. I was gonna wait till, like, later on. But I went to Entre MD Live, and in one of their breaks, they're like, for lunch, I want you all to post an introductory post. Now, she gave us one hour for lunch. Tell me why it took me a whole hour to write that post. A whole hour. I was not done. Like, she was coming back, and I'm like, no, I haven't pressed send yet.

I know. I remember. I remember that. That break. And then. But see, that's the thing, right? You get tasks to do, and then when you get them done, you look back and you're like, well, this is something that I've been holding back or been procrastinating on. And I just hit enter and like, wow, it's out there in the world. Right? So now, since you joined Entre MD between then and now, what are some of the, like we like to call them wins, Right? What are some of the wins that you've had? Like, how has your life changed?

Yes. Now, first of all, the one thing that EBS gives you that you can't really. You can't buy this is confidence. It gives you that confidence because you're in A school with like minded individuals who are trying to go to that next level and whatever their business is. And when you hear their wins, when you hear their struggles, when you hear their pain, you realize that you're not alone. So. So it gives you confidence and it gives you community. Two Cs. There's probably another C I'm going to come at within a second, but yeah, so confidence, community and courage. There we go. Got my six Cs there.

We knew it was coming.

Courageousness, that's for the community. Keep moving forward. Because you know, and you can't buy that I, to have that support starting this, I may have given up, you know, because that first, so that first interview, so that first step, entre MD Put your introductory post got so much great feedback. It encouraged me to keep going. When we first got there, month, June or July, it was the signature speaking. So her goal was for us to go everywhere and just put our name out there. And I started speaking, speaking, speaking, getting people to come join my podcast. So that helped me to be more confident. She gave us a framework on how we should be speaking and how we can be able to connect with the. Another C. Connect with our audience. And so the biggest win, I would say the confidence. I'm in community. But the second biggest win is now I know how to speak. Now I know how to, when I'm talking to my audience, make a difference. So we're shifting their mindset, you know, that was the other big. So. And then also kind of sharing how to maneuver social media so that I'm able to get myself out there. And how I'm like, people were like, hey, how do you do a reel? And somebody's like, oh, here's how you do it. They'll send a link, you know, or how do you, you know, what do you, how do you post? What do you put in your post? And so it's kind of like we're all mentoring each. I mean, definitely Dr. Una is mentoring us, but it's like we're all kind of teaching each other. And I'm learning from action and I'm learning from watching what you do. And I. And sometimes, sometimes people get discouraged in that group. And I'm like, are you kidding me? I was looking at your post. I'm like, you know what? I need to change this. I need to fix this. This is good. This is good. Yeah. And you all encouraged me. I think watching you do your Facebook lives, your LinkedIn lives, I'm like, okay, I got to do this. And it made A difference. It really makes a difference. So the other biggest win. So there's lots of big wins. I'm sorry, I'm gonna get big wins. I'm gonna get.

Cause I'm here waiting for this big, big win. That's a recent big win. So I'm like, you're not gonna leave out here without telling everybody about the big, big win.

But you're right. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. All the small wins first. And then the YouTube channel. I started the YouTube channel. And the funny thing was, because somebody else was struggling with it, and they're like, I finally finished my YouTube channel. And I was like, YouTube, That's a great idea. And so I started my YouTube channel, and I was able to repurpose my podcast for YouTube. So that was great. And then the biggest win that just started this yesterday, well, maybe two days ago, was. I was honored from the Atlanta Business Chronicle for the time first. 40 under 40 for Atlanta. Now, mind you, let's. Let's celebrate for a second. Okay. All right. Because. Oh, my goodness. A year ago, I was not doing anything. Okay? I had applied a year ago. I was not the lead. Oh, I forget. I wasn't doing anything. I wasn't a lead physician. Nothing. They turned me down. I applied again this year, and on my application, I had Healthy Living llc, CEO and founder. I actually had gotten promoted to lead physician. They asked me I would. I did not. I mean, they asked me to apply.

Think about this. You applied last year, and you were not accepted to the two things. The lead position and probably also for this award, right?

Well, just the award.

Yeah. In the span of a year or even probably less, because you started to make these leaps and bound a couple months, you thought about it, but the courage to do it. You were on the procrastination phase, the research procrastination phrase. Let me check it out one more time. And boom, now you are lead. You didn't even have to apply. They just saw it in you, right?

Yeah. She was like, I need to work with you. And I was like, are you sure no one else wants to do this? Dang it. Okay, I'll do it.

There it is. Because they see it. There's this change. It's the c. That confidence.

That confidence. That. Correct. And let me tell you something. When I was looking for this, 40 under 40. So it turns out only one person from these big corporations are usually chosen. And so my medical group. Well, my medical hospital. Let me just put it like that. They had chosen their chief talent officer to be that person. And so the lady was like, but you came under. Even though you're still wellstar, you came under your llc. So if I had not had my llc, I would have not been chosen again. So the LLC in another category, totally different category. Oh, my gosh, how great does that.

Feel that you put your. You put yourself in your own category so you didn't have to rely on someone else's category. You didn't have to rely on someone else or you having to compete against someone. You competed against yourself because you placed yourself in your own category. You know what you did? You made yourself a seat at that table.

Yes, ma'. Am. Yes, ma'. Am. That's exactly.

And now who's the 40 under 40?

This one.

Yes.

Wonderful.

And this is. And when did you join the school?

June. Oh, no, no. July, I think. Well, yeah, it was the June cohort.

June cohort was the onchain D Live. And then you joined in July. And at the time of this recording, we are in the beginning of November. Yes, but we're not even. Thanksgiving is not here. This is the beginning of November. And in that short span of time, boom, accelerated. We are an LLC. We have a podcast. We are top Atlanta 40 under 40, which we made our own seat at the table because we went in under our own business. And had you not, you'd have been. Someone else would have been chosen for you. But now you got the position to choose for yourself, Right?

Exactly.

Because you placed yourself at the seat at the table. CCC's Courage, community, confidence. There was another C out there.

If you can find it, you let me find it. Connection, Connection.

And that's all that's available here at the business school. Alrighty. So now we have some people listening, like, oh, that sounds great. You know, Dr. Shelley did it. But I don't know if that can work for me. How, you know, what would you tell someone who is thinking, who might be in that two year research phase, thinking about joining the entre Business school.

Do it. Start. Make that transition. I think you hit the nail. You hit the head on the nail when you said you had to realize that you need to invest in yourself. You know, whenever I run a marathon, whenever I do anything, I get a coach. Okay? When I run the marathon, I have somebody who tell me what I need to do, tell me what, what steps I need to do, how to have my nutrition. You have to have a coach. And Dr. Una is that coach. And then when we're in this community you have other people who are coaching. You are like, hey, you should maybe try this, or what do you think about this? Giving you ideas, you know, and so make that leap. You will not be. I'm telling you, the money I pay for ebs, I have never regretted it, not a month. I gladly. I'm like, well, let me make sure this money's in the account when it comes through.

So this is because there's so much, right?

This has been the best investment. I'm best investment. I don't think I would be where I am right now if it was not for ebs, hands down. Hands down. And I would not have that in.

The future like we have. So what are things to look out for for?

We're expanding. So I was been doing a podcast. I'm doing my YouTube channel. I'm expanding in January. I'm putting it out. We got two months to get it together. I will be starting an online course. So we'll be doing our online courses. Also. I'm. I'm leveling up. Okay. And so we're doing a Instagram journaling of my Ironman training. And then if God willing, finish this, I plan to turn it into a book and maybe a documentary. So that's kind of also in the. In the works for. So this next year is going to be a year of transformation, because not only am I physically being training, I want to encourage others that they can do it too. So that's where the Instagram live TV journaling, Chronicles of Ironman training start.

So now, here, talking about the wonderful seed, would you, prior to being in the business school, have taken any of these leaps? Would you think that you'd have been encouraged enough to say, okay, well, number one, I'm leveling up, I'm doing this. I'm. I'm gonna make a documentary of myself getting ready for the Ironman, and I'm gonna get a course together and I'm gonna journal all of this in the public's eye.

No, no, no, no, no. Because honestly, how many people, you know, seeing your fellow classmates doing an Instagram live and trying to figure that out, and you're like, what is this Instagram? I'll be honest with you. I was maybe on Instagram. I had 10 followers. One of them was my mother. So. And prior to this, now I have so many different followers, and it really makes a difference. I've learned how to network. I've always been shy networking. I would never have done this. I never wanted to put myself out there. But now I'm like, why not? You can just only ridicule me. Right?

Right. And the difference is that you are still in motion and you're getting it done.

So.

Hey, for those who have been thinking about joining the Entre MD Business School, we have Dr. Shelley that's telling you. What are you telling them to do?

Join. Join today. Join today.

Yes.

Yes. Do not let the sun go down before you join.

Say that again.

Do not let the sun go down before you join.

Wonderful. Wonderful. The research phase is over. It's time for the action phase.

We.

Alrighty. I'm Dr. Bedford with the Onchain D Business School. I am your host premier of the Onchamd Business School. We are going to thank Dr. Shelley for taking the time out to letting you guys know why you should join the Aamchain B Business School. Right? So thank you, Dr. Shelley. Let's say goodbye to all our audience. Bye, everyone. Have a great day.

Thank you so much for listening. I hope this inspires you to take even bigger steps as an entrepreneur. And if you're ready to go all in, come join us in the Entre MB Business School. It is the only school of its kind created just for you. And I'll see you, my friend, on the next episode.