How I Serve And Earn On My Own Terms With Dr. Carolyn Moyers

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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. Unna.

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the Entre MD Podcast. Super excited to bring a doc who I've loved working with, loved watching her do all the amazing things she's doing in her business, Dr. Carolyn Moyers. She's an OB gen and she started a DVC practice about seven months ago at this point. And we're going to talk about all the things and whether you are starting or scaling your business, this is for you because the same challenges around starting show up when it's time to scale, right? All the fear, all the is this going to work? And I have to learn new skills and the whole nine yards. So I want you to lean in and enjoy this episode. So welcome to the show, Dr. Moyers.

Thank you. I'm honored to be here. I've been listening to the podcast since its inception and I just loved your energy and your belief in us as entrepreneurs. And so whenever I decided to pull the trigger and go for it, I joined Entre MD Business School.

I'm super glad. But, Hakon, since the inception, you've been listening since then?

Yes.

Oh, wow. Okay, now I know and I'll record it somewhere in my Brain, I love it now. So my first question to you would be, why dpc? And some people are like, what is dpc? So maybe we'll start from there.

Right? So technically, direct primary care is what it's called. I am not technically primary care as an obgyn. I mean, some obgyns consider themselves primary care, many consider themselves specialist. I lean towards specialist. I loved being a full practice OB gyn, but as life has it, you know, priorities shift. And we moved after I finished a rural health commitment and I decided to take some time with my small children and do hospitalist work. And as an OB hospitalist, I got to see all the ins and outs of other practices and was really intrigued by different models, but ultimately fighting with insurance. After I spent a year developing a GYN practice for a hormone replacement therapy clinic. And just in the thick of it with office manager type skills and nursing and doctoring and all of the things, I thought, wow, if I can do this for someone else, I can do this for myself. In a model that is really authentic to how I want to serve patients, but also the care that I wanted to provide to patients. But I will tell you, it was a toss up between am I going to go down the road of dealing with insurance or am I going to do a straight direct primary care? And I just picked one. And that's the thing with entrepreneurship, right? You just have to be okay with the decision you make at the time. You could always pivot, you could always shift. There is not necessarily a right and a wrong answer. So I just picked to try the direct care model and I will adjust the prices over time as the market sees fit. Right. It's a learning process for sure.

I love that you just started with the bang from there, right? I just picked one. Like that is one of the most profound things I've heard all day, maybe all week. Right. Because there are many people who haven't started some things or scaled some things because they're like, I don't know what to pick, I don't know which one is the right, you know, the right one to do. And then you get in all that analysis paralysis and you find out a year later you, you're still in the same spot versus you, you have a fully functioning practice because you're like, you know what, just pick one. I love it.

Okay, full disclosure. I sat in analysis paralysis for a couple of years, you know, as I was having babies and I had small kids at home and I was doing hospitalist work at night and I had all of These ideas running around in my head. And I really thought I would go back to just primary ob GYN practice. And I will tell you, like, the turning point for me was after a couple of different employment opportunities and then reading Sasha Shilcutt's book Between Grit and Grace, and I was like on the floor in the closet in my stretchy pants with her in that moment. And I realized, okay, I'm going to do the work and I'm really going to dive in. And I had a mentor who had an amazing practice, exactly what I envisioned that I was going to do. And she was like, you can franchise this if you want. If you want to do your own thing, I'll help you. And as I really dug into like, what makes me unique as a board certified OB gyn, it came full circle that I was like, hey, I did this fellowship in med school. I spent an extra year getting a master's degree and a fellowship in neuromusculoskeletal medicine because I realized I'm going to graduate from an osteopathic school and really not be able to use these osteopathic skills well. And I don't necessarily understand exactly how that makes me different. So I'm going to do this fellowship and really hone those skills. So bringing that full circle and saying, oh my gosh, like the four times I was pregnant, I didn't have anybody to treat me. I didn't have anybody pointing me in the direction of a specialist. And women want solutions. They're tired of hearing it's just discomforts of pregnancy. So owning my niche was hard because it's different and sometimes it feels like, ah, you know, like just finding that niche doesn't really apply to me, but everybody thinks it doesn't apply to them, right? So I feel like I'm niching down so hard that it hurts because I could serve so many people. I have so vast of experience as an ob gyn, but I'm focusing on this one area of reducing back and pelvic pain in pregnancy and postpartum.

Now, after you picked your niche and you started serving your patients and going out into the world and saying, this is what I do, were you pleasantly surprised that more people than you thought were interested in what you did? Or was it, are you kind of beating against going against the odds? What do you feel at this point?

I have had great reception from other OBGYNs in my community who are delighted to have a resource. And so I'm finding that actually there's great reception for it. I've had patients say, oh, my goodness, why didn't I see you sooner? I thought I was going to have to suffer in pain. I had one this last week who went into labor 36 hours after her treatment, and she was like, my labor was so easy. I feel kind of guilty. Oh, no.

I mean, oh, no, Minnie, that's so good. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, my labor is so easy, I almost feel guilty. Okay. All right, you should post that. That is so amazing.

Okay, so the reception has been great, but it is uncomfortable. I mean, as you learn in Entre MD Business school, you have to be uncomfortable in or comfortable in the discomfort, putting yourself out there. Right? So, I mean, I live in discomfort.

She lives in discomfort. Okay, you're dropping a lot of bombs here. All right, now, living in discomfort is where all the magic happens, and I really love that you've embraced it. So now I'm curious, since you've embraced discomfort, what has been the return on investment for the uncomfortable things that you've done? Right. Like, what are some of those things you've done and what's come out of it?

Yeah, the collaborations have been awesome. The networking, the people that I've met in the community who are doing other or similar things that could really complement each other, the resources. I mean, I had somebody who said, oh, you should meet this person. They are a great resource, would be a great referral source for you. And I just hadn't made the effort yet. Well, they found me through something else that I was doing. I think it was just a comment that I had made in the local mom group. They found me and said, oh, my goodness, you've got to talk to this woman. This is amazing, what she's doing. And now they want to collaborate. So it's really been exciting just to have those connections, to find that people are really receptive when you're wanting to serve their patients. And, you know, when you come at it with the heart service, it just makes such a big difference. So I find myself, as I've listened to all the marketing material, podcasts and read books, et cetera, and I'm like, how does this really apply to me as a physician? How does this really apply to me and making a practice? Right. Well, I find that, okay, some people are going to say no, and that's okay. I didn't know, what do those nos mean? How do I know when I'm making an offer? Right? You're not going to be everybody's physician. You're not going to be everybody's cup of Tea and I finally, ten years into practice. I'm okay with that. Yay. She's not the right fit for me. It's not the right fit for, you know, it's, it's going to be great. It's fine. Whomever is going to, whoever needs to find you is going to find you. When you're putting it out in the.

World, I love all of that. Right. The no is okay because I tell you and nos are all kinds of different things, right. Like when I got my first one star review, oh my goodness, I almost died.

Right?

And it's like, relax, right? Or someone comes in like, oh, I don't want to. I don't like that practice. I don't want to come. I was like, oh, my God. You know, because like your baby and you know, but to get to that point where you're like, the no is okay. It's fine. Someone doesn't want you to be their doctor. It's okay. But it's my job to put myself out there so the people that are my people would find me. So what have you done to promote your practice?

I feel like, what haven't I done?

Well, that is good.

That is keeps pushing me. No, I know what I'm doing next. Should I say it here?

Well, hey, go for it.

I'm going to reach out to TV stations and locally and try to get the word out. I love it. So I'm active on Instagram, not quite as active for my business on Facebook. I need to amp that up and figure out how to run Facebook groups. Thanks, Cedra. I have advertised with local mom groups, a fit for mom group and you know, the several different mom groups. So I think there's three or four now that I'm either a sponsor or involved in or volunteer to speak at. I just started my YouTube channel. Yes, I have a TikTok account. I haven't actually done anything with it yet. And then just all the networking and podcasting. Right. So I started the podcast because it was just something that I really wanted to do to share women's stories. So I started practice in September. In December. I just said, I'm doing it. And then you helped me figure out that it's not all individual projects that I'm working on, but they all feed into the practice. And so with that focus in mind, it makes it so much easier. And I'm bringing content that, you know, is combination of sharing women's real lived experiences and education. So this week is fantastic. It just came out today with one of my entre MD colleagues, actually, Dr. Alile Akavan. And it's just so good. I loved chatting about her practice because everybody cares about skin care. So it is just fantastic. I am actually enjoying everything that I am doing to market this practice because I believe that every woman deserves a joyful pregnancy. And I know as a mom of four how uncomfortable pregnancy is and I know I didn't have solutions and I just suffered and I can offer women solutions.

So did you always enjoy because you're like, I enjoy everything I'm doing to market my practice and someone's going like, I don't like anything about marketing. Right. So were you always this way? Were you always like, yeah, this is Hyrule. Like, you know, talk to me about that.

Yes. And I'm giggling because I hate it all. You know, I hated it all.

So what happened? How did you go from because you didn't just go to hate to I could tolerate the word you use. I love what I do to promote my practice. I'm like, okay, I want to hear all about it.

Well, I just find that people are so much more receptive and the connections that you make are invaluable and you don't know where that is going to take you later in life. So I just find that even though it is truly uncomfortable in the end, I'm always glad that I did it. Even when it's a closed door, even when it's a no. At least I know that those aren't my people or that's not my connection, that's not my collaboration. Let's go another direction.

So you're loving all of it, including the no's. I love this. I'm going to listen to this again. This is so good. So the reason why you move from hate to. Well, yeah, you say you hate it all. That the reason why you move from hate to love is, is because you can see the return on investment on the other side.

Right.

Like, so it's kind of, I'll put up with all this because I know what the end result looks like. Right?

Right.

So that means for everybody listening, it's not just about, oh, I have to post on social media, I have to go speak at this event or I have to go network is now what happens when I do that? What if I do this and it works? What does this look like? And then if you look at that, then you can fall in love with the process. I love it. That is so powerful. So tell me, so you've been in practice for seven months at this point? What are some of the wins that you celebrate? Some of the things you're like, these are the things that happened in my practice.

I am learning to celebrate all the small wins, right? So if I have a low week and I feel like, oh, is this ever going to work? And are the patients. And then I enroll four new patients, and then two people reach out to me to collaborate, and somebody else asked me to be on their podcasts because of all the little things that I'm doing that feel like, oh, my goodness, I have so much on your plate and I'm doing so many little things. Eventually they just snowball.

I love the snowball. That is my favorite word in business. Snowball. I love it, right?

So, I mean, we are celebrating the wins that our patients are having. That's one of the biggest things. And I'm honestly seeing that I don't need an enormous staff with the DPC model. So it is me and my nurse and a virtual assistant. So I'm really celebrating that we are functioning well on a slim staff, because then the patients know who they're going to get when they answer the phone, right? It's either me or Lauren. And there's a comfort level there with their knowing who they're dealing with.

I love that. All of it. What is this journey done for you personally? So I remember this story that Jim Rohn tells. He says that his mentor was like, you know what? You should make a million bucks and you should become a millionaire. And he said, not for the money, but because of the person you become in the process of becoming a millionaire. So in the process of setting up this practice, learning to put yourself out there, taking on all these challenges, building a team, the whole nine yards, how has it changed you? Do you think? I'm asking all the things because you're dropping bombs. This is your fault.

I don't know how many times in the last year, I've really invested a lot in my mind and mentorship. And I've heard multiple times it's not the how. It's who you have to become to lead, to do this next thing, right? It's who you have to become. And so I think somewhere in the last couple of years, I kind of lost my footing and my confidence, right? And I had. I was at the height of that in my first couple of years of practice, and then I was like, is this all? And I found myself in this place of just uncertainty. What am I going to do? What are my colleagues going to think and what's next? And whenever I Just own that. Yeah, this makes me unique. And, yes, I could practice like that. But I'm choosing this right now because I feel like I can serve a population who really needs it. I feel like I'm filling a gap. I feel like I'm stepping into a power that I had, but I wasn't owning. And whenever I even started Instagram, a couple of years now, I think it's been about two years, and I said, you know, I want to educate and empower and inspire women. But in order to do that, I had to level up, right? I had to get out of my own uncertainty. I had to get out of my own own fear of not being enough. And I think for all the moms with young kids out there, and especially Dr. Moms, like, it's hard to be brave when you are so stinking tired and you don't get a good night's sleep with kiddos. Part of me for a while was like, okay, I just have young kids. Like, that's why I'm just so, like, in this space of, like, uncertainty and what's next? But anyways, back to. I feel like that this has just led to a leveling up of something that was always inside of me, but I was having a hard time owning. And so I think that a big piece of that is because I was willing to invest in my mind, because I was willing to get coached, because I was willing to join Andre and D and have a collaboration of other people who were in that entrepreneurial realm, who were thinking outside the box. It's made a huge difference overall. And you. You know, my husband had once said, like, what happened to that strong, powerful woman that I married? And I was, like, lost in diapers and wiping hyenas and all of the things, you know, oh, my goodness.

Okay, has he followed her now? Has he found her now?

Yeah, I haven't heard him say that in a good year.

Well, fist bump to you. Oh, my goodness. Okay, so he has found. And it's so amazing when somebody else can see it, right? Like, you know that you're changing, but somebody else can go. Like, you're different when your colleagues can go. Like, what happened to you? Not in a bad way. Like, when did you become this person? And for you, it's like, I've always been this person, but this person was just on the inside. I love it. I love all of it. Okay, so someone is listening. They have a private practice. It may be dpc, maybe FEE for service. And if you could give them just one strategy to help their business move forward, what would you give them? One thing they could do, I think just take action.

Take a look at what's working and what's not working and be willing to let go to level up and take action. And you can always pivot.

So look at what's working and do more of that. Look at what's not working and have the courage to drop it. Oh, that's good. That's good. I'll take it.

It's simple but profound, right?

It is profound. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so you guys heard her. Now, I usually ask this whenever I have someone from the business school come on. And I have no idea what I'm going to get, but I was like, you know, we'll find out. So what has your experience been like in the business school? What would you say? How has it helped your journey and all of that?

Well, I think, you know, one. It's just fun getting to come on with you every week.

Thank you.

I've been listening to your PODC every week, and I'm like, I just love the energy and the excitement and all of the tidbits and the truth bombs that you drop us and the analogies to basketball, which I am not a sports gal at all, but I can follow your basketball analogies.

Thank you.

Thank you. But I think, you know, just being able to strategize, being able to have actionable steps to take and go run with for the week, having a safe space to come back and list your challenges and or your wins and have someone celebrate with you or to just troubleshoot when you're stuck. You know, like, I was stuck on my lead magnet, and one of my Entre MD colleagues jumped on with me and helped me out and reviewed it and gave me some feedback. And it's just been so fun to have a space to collaborate and a space to say, you can do this. We've got your back. We understand if you know when you fall. It's just been great.

Oh, I'm happy to hear that. That warms my heart. I'll take it. Do you want to shout out who helped you with the lead magnet?

Yeah, it was Michelle Quirk.

Michelle Quirk of Mindful Marathon. All right. Shout out to her. Yeah.

And we've done a little collaboration on podcast as well and YouTube, so it's been fun.

Look at that. I love it. And I love seeing the collaboration. And I keep thinking about. Because I'm like, every month, every quarter, every year, it gets better because we're all getting better. We're all growing Our audiences, we're all growing in our capacities and stuff. And then to have access to what I have, what you have as individuals and then as a collective is just. It's so powerful. I love seeing that. Awesome. So now you launched the podcast. So you're going to tell people where to find you. But before you do that, I want to say, guys, she's. Come on. She's given a lot of value, like a lot of truth bombs. Okay? Falling in love with. No. Putting yourself out there, not worrying if they. If they don't say yes. They're not your people. Just taking action, the whole nine yards, giving lots of stuff. So you are already on a podcast platform. So when she tells you about her podcast, once we're done with this, you're going to go over and you're going to support her. You're going to subscribe, you're going to share. I have listened to her podcast. It's really good for all the moms in your life. There are lots of conversations for moms. Fitness, skin, breastfeeding, fourth trimester, the whole nine yards is all there. I told you, I listened. I wasn't kidding. Right. So I want you to support her by subscribing and listen to an episode or two so you can have listened to it and then share it with the people in your lives. Okay. All right. So where can people find you? Yeah.

So our podcast is called Sky Women, and it's on all platforms. And I'm on Instagram @skywomenshealth and Dr. Carolyn Moyers and also on Facebook.

Awesome. And we'll put links to all of those in the show notes as well. So, guys, go subscribe to her stuff. All right? Support her. That's what we do in the Entre MD world, right? We support each other. So thank you so much for coming on there. You're someone who's listened to the podcast from the beginning, and thank you so much for listening. Thank you for reviewing. I remember you reviewed it for someone who's been listening like you all this time. And what word would you leave them with? What last tidbit would you leave them with before I let you go?

That you can serve and earn on your own terms.

Yes. I love that. I have no idea what you say, but I love. You can serve and earn on your own terms. I love it. I love you. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you for sharing. And not just the wins, but also the challenges, the mindset stuff, and all of that. It will be very valuable to people listening because it's one thing to see the polished image on Instagram of, you know, I'm successful, that I'm sipping my margaritas on the beach. And it's also something else for an entrepreneur to take the veil off and take you behind the scenes to see. So thank you for doing that. That's really amazing. Thank you so much for coming on.

Thank you so much. It's a pleasure.

All right, people, you heard it all. So what I want you to do with this episode is I want you to share it. There is some other doctor who would be starting their private practice coaching service, embracing the know, embracing their journey, finding who they've always been that's been hidden in just because you share this with them. So share it with them and I will see you on the next episode of the ontremd podcast. Hey, if you love listening to the.

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