How I Built Multiple Streams of Income from My Social Media Presence With Dr. Prem Tripathi

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Well, hello. Hello. I have been looking forward to interviewing my guest for today, Dr. Prem Tripathi. He is amazing. TikTok says he's a facial plastic surgeon. Are we going to be talking about building a brand? Social media. And I couldn't think of someone, you know, someone better to bring on to talk to you about that. Last I checked, he has like 623,000 followers on TikTok with 8.7 million likes. And I'm like, yep, I think he's the man for the job. So welcome to the show, Dr. Prem.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here.

Yeah. Okay, so I know I did the TikTok introduction, but I'm going to give you a moment to introduce yourself to the listener.

Yes. So I am premature Pathy. I'm a facial plastic surgeon. I work in the San Francisco Bay area. I am currently in a group practice where I'm the primary surgeon, but I do everything from facial aesthetics, surgical aesthetics, as well as non surgical. The face.

Awesome. So I'm going to get right into it. Right. And I'm, you know, like, so you work in. You work in a practice, you. You work A job. And here you are leveraging social media, building a brand, all of that. Was that something you plan to do from the beginning? Like, how did you get into that?

Yeah, no, that's a good question. I think, honestly, like most physicians, we are scared about social media. I mean, at least from even a privacy standpoint. We don't want to put our face out there or have our family members there. But then you realize that with everything that we've done, from going to medical school to residency to practicing, times have changed. Right. And that changes from the standpoint of how we market ourselves, how we position ourselves as thought leaders, how we position ourselves as experts in a particular niche. And. And what you realize is there's no real way to get your point across and for patients and your clients to know you before they come in without social media. And I think there's still a nice, you know, classy way that we can make that happen without sounding salesy or sounding tacky, but I do think we get in our heads a little too much. So to answer your question, it wasn't really something that I had planned to do, but it was something that I embraced as something I needed to do, and then it ended up being fun and following from there.

Okay, so you've said so many things that we actually have to stop here for a second, because you said you didn't plan to, but you noticed that times had changed. And I think if everybody can kind of get this one concept, it makes everything else, makes all the other decisions easier. Times have changed, and they're never going back. So the way of positioning yourself as an expert, attracting clients, all of those things is just different.

Right.

And so. So thank you for. For even starting from there and saying that. And then you ended by saying, you know, I didn't know I was going to do this. Then I started doing it. And now it's fun to think that building a brand on social media, being on social media, putting out content can be described as fun. Like, I just hope everybody. Everybody heard that. Okay, now we're going to talk about some of the amazing things that have happened because you've embraced this. But was this always super easy, or did you have any challenges when you started building out your social it on TikTok? All of those kind of things. What. Were there any challenges along the way?

Yeah, I mean, there are definitely challenges. At least the first part is just being on camera. I think there's just. There's no way that this is a comfortable experience to be sitting in front of a Camera. But you realize it's. You sort of do this every day with patients. You just are not looking at yourself. So it just became an issue of reps. Right? I mean, it's the skill. There's really not much skill. It's not like doing a rhinoplasty. Right. But at the same time, it is reps. But the other challenges, which I think a lot of us have in the field, is are we going to run out of material to talk about? Are we going to still have things that we find interesting to talk about? Do we think that what we say is important enough or not? Because it just becomes, at a certain point, it just becomes second nature. And so we think that all the knowledge that we've acquired, everybody sort of has it and it's not interesting or everyone's already talked about it. But I think in obviously listening to the Entre MD podcast and talking to people, that it's something that may have been said, but it's not said in our voice. We haven't answered the question in the way that we like to answer it. So I think the biggest challenges were, you know, overcoming my own reservations about social media and then realizing, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the way that I see comfortable, and I'm not going to run out of content if I continue to use questions and consultations that I do every day to fuel what I'm going to ultimately make content around.

Oh, man. If you're listening to a podcast, you should head over to YouTube. And while you just see me smiling like, yes, yes, right. And, you know, if I may, you said, you know, nobody really wants to be on camera. That's something that, you know, like, people be scared of and things like that. But you didn't talk about acquiring skill. You didn't talk about getting the best camera. You didn't talk about any of that. You said is putting in the reps. Like, you just put in the reps until you get to this point where you're comfortable. So if you're here, and I say this because it stops so many doctors, right? Like, I don't, you know, I don't want to put myself out there. I don't know what to say, all of that stuff. But if you just put in the reps, then maybe, like, Dr. Chapathi can start saying, and it's fun, like social media and fun in the same sentence, like, amazing. So now, when you started building this out, how did you pick out what platform you're going to use? Right. Because there's, there's LinkedIn, there's Facebook, there's TikTok, there's all the things, right? How did you pick which one you are going to use and at the end of the day, which one has been the best one for you?

Yeah, so I, I started with Instagram because I think it's the natural transition, at least in aesthetics, is to show befores and afters on Instagram of your work, you know, connect with clients through Instagram, you know, run ads through Instagram. But I, I added on TikTok because my marketing team said, hey, you need to start making TikTok content because it's the wave of the future. And it basically became the full time focus of my marketing because of the way TikTok pushes content out. So what I quickly realized is that the algorithm for, for that app is very different than other applications. It really does try and find the people that, you know, really resonate with your content, hones that content in for them. And because I saw a conversion with clients walking into my door from TikTok at first, which I thought was a joke, you know, it ended up paying off and so that became where I put most of my focus. And I do think ultimately integrating the different platforms is important, but focusing on one is the key. That's how I really started with TikTok. And honestly I still to this day shoot just with my phone on a small little tripod, no fancy lighting. And it's because of what you said, which is better done than perfect. And I really, I truly believe that because honestly, if I were to fix the lighting or fix, no one's going to notice, I'm probably the only one that's going to really notice it.

I love it, absolutely love it. Now I want to point this out, right? You keep talking about, you're talking about social media, but you're talking about marketing, you're talking about conversion, you're talking about people walking through the door and all of that stuff. So you're not playing on social media, you're building a brand.

Right.

And you're growing your practice even as an employed physician with social media. So talk to me about the mindset. The mindset, because there are some people who are after virality, like I just, oh, my video went live. I had all these likes and all that, which you have that. But in listening to you, I hear somebody who is clear and strategic about the way they show up on social media. Right. So speak to that a little bit.

Yeah. So I think, you know, obviously going Viral and having a video do well is great. And I think it like fuels this dopamine rush that we all kind of like with social media. But ultimately, if that's all that happens and your goal is to be a social media star, then you fulfill that. But if your goal is to really convert clients, then I think the strategic part comes in first, at least for me, is tracking every client that walks in my door and how they found out about me. So I do, I've done that from the very beginning. How they find out, they get that question asked about three times. So when I started seeing more TikTok as a referral, which again I thought was a joke, I realized that I was answering the same questions that my patients in the office were asking me. And because of that I was then able to share that with millions of more people in a, in a short form. And then the cycle just sort of repeats itself and, and I do notice that when there's an uptick in a viral video, specifically with TikTok, then that drives more patients coming in the door. That helps me get more questions and more inspiration for content creation and then it, it just keeps going from there.

And so if, if someone is like, oh my goodness, I've just been, I've been on social media like a social media star and I want to start that process of using it as a strategic part of my brand building and you know, getting new clients or new patients and stuff like that. What, what is, what is one thing? I mean, there are many things, but what is one thing you can tell that person to start making that shift?

Yeah, I think one, one real important thing is, is finding your niche or finding your voice. And there might be thousands of, there are thousands of dermatologists and plastic surgeons and doctors on social media, but we really all have a specific passion and a specific way of conveying that information. So for me, for example, I like sort of the cheeky, myth busting way of things I see on the Internet and how some of it works and some of it doesn't. And so that really was what drove me to create content in the first place. And so I think when you find what your passion is, whether that's weight loss or sleep habits or skin care, you're going to find then your take on it and how you interact with patients when, just when you're creating that consultation. So I think finding the niche is probably the key because your audience is then going to resonate with, with that and there's a reason why they choose to go to One person over another. And part of it is because that you fulfilled that, you know, their question for them, but not just the question, it's how it came across. So that niche, I think is the most important way to start. Love it.

Okay, so don't go talk to all the peoples. Talk to your people. Find your people and talk to them. All right, so now doing this, because for me, you know, when I see doctors doing what you do, I get so excited because it creates all kinds of opportunities. Some you plan for, some you had no idea about. Right. But it just creates all these opportunities. So how has showing up consistently and building out this really great brand on social media, how has that changed? You know, has it created opportunities for, for your business? You know, brand opportunities and stuff like that?

Yeah, so I'll say that social media and I can't, I really cannot emphasize this enough social media for my practice has absolutely changed both my own life and the lives of everyone in my practice and everyone in my sphere. And I say that because it's allowed for multiple streams of revenue from the very basics of patients coming in my door, for increasing my brand awareness and for creating a six figure influencing career. So I really cannot emphasize how impactful it's been. The first, you know, patients coming in the door is, is great. I mean, that's why I'm here. It's why I create content. I enjoy doing it, but I ultimately, I want, you know, patients to be happy with who they're seeing. The other thing is that I didn't realize that doing these types of content, consistently, making time for it every day, whether it's 15 minutes or 30 minutes at the end of my day, would then allow for me to be, to show up in more people's eyes. I think we all think we're going to make this content and we hope it does well, but just the consistency itself does well for the algorithms. But that's allowed me to have brand spark sponsorships, it's allowed me to have travel that I would, to places I wouldn't have gotten to partner with brands that I, that I truly believe in, that I can attest to and to then also generate revenue for me.

So I like that you just went with multiple streams of income. Like you went, you were all hardcore. You're like, it has changed my life. My slap flight, my sphere, my sphere has changed all our lives and it's created multiple streams of income. I'm like, okay, yeah, that's a reason to go, to go on social media. Now you talked about your marketing Team, Right? Because somebody's going like, I don't have time, I don't have time for this.

Right.

And you talked about marketing team, but you also talked about being consistent, even if it's just, you know, the last 30 minutes or 15 minutes of the day, you know, putting out content and things like that. So where are you finding the time to do this? And so I was thinking, well, good for you. But I don't have a marketing team. Like, what would you say to that person?

Yeah, I would say it doesn't require a marketing team. So even now, while my marketing team helps with answering questions that clients ask, or me editing YouTube videos, which I don't want to spend my time doing, I still make all my own TikTok videos in one minute videos. And I set aside 15 to 30 minutes every single day, which I know we all have, whether it's a lunch break or before we go home. And that's it. I don't, I don't spend two hours editing it. I don't spend the, you know, five hours of whatever. I just spend that time laser focused on creating content at the end of my day. And I shoot it, I edit it within the app, I don't do anything fancy to it. And I do, I think you're right. I mean, so many people tell me the same thing, well, I don't have time for it. But ultimately the time commitment comes from what the motivation is. Right? If your motivation is to have clients come in the door, then you'll make time for it. And I, and I spoke about this at our Facial Plastics meeting last year. I said you could spend time doing procedures that generate revenue and then you take that revenue and put it into an ad, or you can create content which is take some time and is free and have clients coming and making money. So there's a, there's a really. Everything is about perspective and mindset, which I've learned at eps. There's so much mindset. And, and while we don't have time for everything, we have time for the things that we make time for. So I do think there's time and it doesn't need to be fancy. That's my thing. I don't want to spend time editing. It doesn't need to be fancy.

It does not need to be fancy. We could do this in 15 to 30 minutes. And it's all about the motivation. And I think you have us very motivated. Right. Because what you said is it's changed my life, it changed my staff's life, it changed the life of everyone in my sphere is created multiple streams of income. And this is something you're doing in 50, 15 to 30 minutes a day. So that is beyond insane. I, I would say that's a very impressive return on investment.

Right.

So that, so that's good. And thank you for taking the time to demystify that. You don't need all the time in the world, you don't need all the tech in the world, you don't need all the editing skills in the world. Like really, you need to start and you need to put in the reps and you need to be consistent and do it strategically. And, and here we are. So, so this is, this is fantastic. So I talked about EBS earlier. So if you're listening to this and you're like, what's an ebs? EBS is the Entre School. And that is one of the ways we are connected. Because do Dr. Prem is one of the rockstar docs in the Entre MD Business school. And so I wanted to give you a moment to talk to people about what your experience has been. Right. Like, because you came in, you already had some social media stuff going on and all of these things, but you're like, I want to, I want to take things, you know, to a different level and all of that. So what has your experience been? Like, what difference has it made? And you know, the inquiry minds want to know, including me. I have no idea what you're going to say.

So I would say, I think all of us, most of us that are desiring to build a business, build a brand or expand, know that there's something that we are missing, there's something that we want to do that's beyond what we've done so far. So that was my impetus for joining ebs because I felt like it would then hold me accountable for the dream, but also create an environment for me to get to, for me to get there. And so I think both from the mindset and the practical standpoint of the course, it's been life changing. I mean, I did not realize how much of this was mindset. And with anything entrepreneurial, whether it's real estate, whether it's medicine, all of these things are mindset and we know it all, we just don't think about them. So EVS has allowed me to be accountable for building sales meetings within my practice. So now not only do we track where people are coming from, we create sales meetings and then we create sales goals. It's allowed me to have a very streamlined marketing meeting. That I have with my staff. And so we have, again, goals. We see where we're going, and then we make a plan on how to get there. So it's allowed me to integrate so many facets and so many parts to expand not only just my own personal brand, but the brand of my practice, the revenue goals for my practice, and it's allowed me to inspire my staff also. I think that the thing that we always struggle is, well, if the staff member is not doing this, it's a staff member issue. But I take it back with what we learned at ebs. If. If they're not trained properly, that's on me, right? And so it holds me accountable for everything, every step of the way. And then it gives me a structure to schedule it. You know, I schedule. You know, we have our block times, right? We make blocks. I have work from this time point. I make content on this time. I spend time with my family for these other portions of the day, and then there's no thinking involved. You just get it done. And it's so focused on the actionable items that it really does hold you accountable, and it gives you that push that you need to. To fulfill that dream.

Love all of it. The mindset, the practical. All of it. And I think. I don't know, maybe I'll ask you this, right? I used to be. This is way back in the day. I used to be a mindset snob. Like, just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. Like, I didn't realize how. You know what I mean? And, you know, I've been humbled, like, over the years, and I'm like, yeah, there's. There's a lot of mindset stuff that goes in there. Was. Was that you, too?

You. Oh, absolutely.

Your fellow mindset snob. Okay.

I just didn't. I mean, I. You know, we're always waiting for the practical world. You know, how do we. What. What do I. What algorithm do I need to look at? What do I need to read? I just. But it. It doesn't. It can't work that way without the right headspace. It just can't.

Yeah, yeah. That. You and me both, we're the same boat there. So. So now people want to know, right? Where can they. Where can they find you? Where can they, you know, find you on TikTok and things like this so they can follow and be even more inspired? Where do find you?

So my TikTok and Instagram and YouTube are all the same. It's @Doctor Dr. Prem Tropathy. And my. You can find out, you know, basically all my content there. I share content about skin care, about facial surgery, about aesthetics trends, and I think it's a nice way, if you're in any field, to just get inspiration from your fellow creators to see what they do, how they do it, and that's sort of how I started to. So that's where you can find me. Also available by email, phone, text, whatever, however people want to contact me.

Awesome. Okay, these links will be in the show notes. The show notes as well. Okay. So you've given so many gems that I almost think I shouldn't ask this question, but I will. Is like, what final words do you have for someone? So they hear you, they're inspired, they're a little nervous, but they're like, maybe I'll do it. Maybe I'll put in the reps. Right? Like, what. What final words do you have for that person?

Yeah, I'll say. There are so many people in the world that create content. There are people that have no expertise, no understanding of physiology, no understanding of medicine that create medical content. So there's just no reason why, as a physician, we should not have a bigger presence on social media. If it's not for you to generate income, it doesn't need to be. If that's not your goal. But at the very least, we have an obligation as physicians to really give patients proper education to steer them in the right direction. And if it's to build your brand, to build those personal brands, because we have the most knowledge about medicine out there. And if Joe Schmo down the street is talking about what works on his skin and it doesn't, then we have an obligation to talk about what does. So while it may not, you know, while you may not want to spend five hours a day, you don't need to, but we should be doing that, and there should be more physicians giving the correct information on social media.

You're just making me all kinds of happy because that's exactly the way I feel about it. I remember. I don't know if I've said this since you've been in ebs, but I remember as a. As a pediatrician when, you know, pediatricians stopped accepting patients who weren't getting vaccines. I never stopped. And the reason why I did not never. Like, at some point we did, but in the beginning, I couldn't because I was like, we are the problem. The problem is that there are people out there spreading misinformation, and we're hiding in the exam rooms and so the mom is feeding on all this stuff all day, every day and then makes a decision based on the information available. I'm not going to vaccinate my kid.

Right.

But if we were out there putting the right information, at least she can make an informed decision. We didn't give them the privilege of making an informed decision. That's the way I felt about it. And so, so you're absolutely right. Like, yes, that's a part of the brand building. Yes, there's a part of using a strategic tool for building your business, but there's also the part of what we have the most knowledge. Our voices should be out there, you know, and so that is. That is amazing. Thank you so much for coming to share. Thank you for being authentic and just taking us behind it. Like, guys, don't worry about the big tech. Don't worry about any of that.

Right.

Like, so you really did demystify it so somebody else can go. Like, okay, I'm going to do my part to, to build my brand and all that. So thank you for coming to share your story.

I really appreciate it.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor.

Yeah. Okay, so you heard him. Now for those of you who are like, oh, I want to build a business, like, I mean it and I'm committed to building a six, seven, multiple seven figure business. Come check out the on trendy business school is on trendy.com forward/business. And this episode is an episode you want to share with the doctors in your life. Remember, we are the Calvary. The Calvary is not coming. And so Dr. Tripathi here was so kind as to come and take us on a full on masterclass if you will. Right. On all things social media and not just stuff you can put in your head, but things you can start acting on right away. So make sure you share this with the other doctors on your life, in your life. And I'll see you on the next episode of the podcast. Hey, if you love listening to the.

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