The Entrepreneurial journey with Dr. Sasha Shillcutt

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 sevenfigurebook 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 practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Una.

Well, hello, hello. Welcome back to the Entree podcast and it's your one stop shop to get all the inspiration and empowerment and tips and hacks that you need to thrive as a physician entrepreneur. And today I am so excited that I have the amazing Dr. Sasha Chilkut here and we are going to have an amazing segment today. So welcome to the show, Dr. Shilcut.

Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited. I've been a big fan of yours for a long time. So I feel like I'm a little fan girl right now, but also feel like I'm chatting with a friend. Oh.

So that's amazing. I feel exactly the same way. This is so good. So I know you, I know how amazing you are. I want you to take a moment and introduce yourself to the audience.

So I live in Omaha, Nebraska, in the middle of the United States, and I'm a cardiac anesthesiologist and I have four children and a busy leadership role at my university. And about five years ago, I found myself in a very lonely place in isolation and burnout. And I realized I needed a tribe. So I started a small group that grew to about 10,000 women called Style MD. And from there, I recognized that I really had a desire to do conferences and retreats and classes, but I did not see myself as an entrepreneur because I was really afraid to embrace that role. And so I studied and kind of threw myself around people who I saw doing things that were in the business sector and in the business world. And I slowly started to embrace the fact that I actually am an entrepreneur. I started a company called Brave Enough, and now I lead conferences and coursework and retreats for women. And I have just recently getting ready.

To publish a book, a book I'm very excited about. And I'm so glad that you embraced your role as an entrepreneur, because it has been amazing for so many women that you've helped. So now, so you have your story of finding yourself isolated and needing a tribe. What made you pivot and then decide, I want to start a business to empower women physicians?

Well, it's funny because I think that I recognized very quickly, similar to research. So I grew up in a research background, and I recognized that I could not do research without doing a grant. Having a grant, having funding, in order to do research, clinical research, or basic research, you have to have funding. And so when I found myself in this position where I wanted to do something to help women, I quickly knew I needed funding. And even though there was part of me that was very scared to embrace being an entrepreneur, because I don't think this is something that we learn as physicians, especially when you are doing something that is seen as helping others. But I knew that in order for me to free up my time and in order for me to actually put on a conference and get resources, I needed funding. So I needed to learn how to fund my mission, which took me a while to embrace this and realize that there is nothing actually wrong with that, that's a really cool thing to do. And the growth that I have learned through starting my business is not much different than the growth, personal growth I learned when I became a physician. I mean, it's a profession, it's a calling. And so that's why I look up to you so much, because you often send me little messages of encouragement when you see that I'm struggling still, like having an identity crisis. Am I a physician? Am I an entrepreneur? But I. I really love how you have shown people that you can be both of those things.

I love what you just said. So you have the mission, but you still need the funding. So no matter how good your plan is or no matter how great you are at Helping people. You have to figure out the business piece of it because that's what actually allows you carry out your mission. That is so powerful. So.

Right, right. So.

So let's dig a little bit into the fear that you talked about. So you were afraid of embracing entrepreneurship.

Why?

I didn't know how to be a business person and I looked up to the word entrepreneur, to me seemed like a hero, like something I always looked up to entrepreneurs. So I always looked at people that own their own businesses as the most brave and courageous thing that they believe in themselves so much. And I think I was waiting for someone to believe in me instead of believing in myself. And I was think I just kept thinking like, I have no idea what even an LLC is or C Corp or an S Corp or anything. And I, I remember when I went to the I know how to run conferences because I have done that in my day job. So when I went to the hotel to, to reserve space or to talk to them about a contract, they were like, well, what's the business entity? Because you have to sign, you know, over hundreds of of dollars to in these contracts. And I recognized that what it did was it forced me to really look at my long term goals in life and really look at why I wanted to do this. And I knew that I was called to do this because I have a strong faith and I knew that God was telling me like, this is your mission. But I also knew that it would never happen if I didn't learn how to run a business and if I didn't embrace being an entrepreneur. So that's why I even called my company Brave Enough, because I was so SC just to launch this company, I knew I had to be brave enough just to even sign the paperwork.

Got it. So your, your company name speaks to you then?

Oh, absolutely.

Every time. Like brave Enough. Like I'm talking to myself first before all of you. So along that way, what, what are some of the specific skill sets that you've had to acquire over the years to pull off this journey of being an entrepreneur?

I definitely think I've had to learn how to do the elevator pitch in one sentence. If you can't say in one sentence, I mean, it's so aligned with research. You know, if you can't say what your research is about in one sentence, you don't know. And it's the same with your business mission. If you don't know what your business mission is in one sentence, you don't have it figured out. And you probably aren't going to be successful. And so I spent a lot of time developing my brand. I probably spent 10 months developing the brand, thinking about the website, thinking about what I wanted to do. And I would say the thing I learned was to just start. Once I had the brand figured out and I had that sentence to just start, you know, in my mind.

I want you to say that again. Please. Just start.

Just start two more times. Yeah, just start. Because I wanted everything to be perfect, so I wanted the website to be perfect, my blog to be perfect, the conference webpage to be perfect. The course is all developed, which. That's insane. That's like saying, I'm not going to start a research study until I have the findings. Right.

Wow, that's a good way to put it.

Yeah, it's so. There's so many allegories between it for me. So I recognized that what was really holding me back was my own fear of failure, and I didn't want to fail at this. And once you put yourself out there, you know, people are like, what's this about? They're interested. So I just learned. I had to just go for it. I had to just start. It didn't have to be perfect. I just had to start.

That's awesome. And one of my favorite quotes ever is, perfection is not required, just progress.

Yes.

Yeah, just start. Just do it. Give your B game and keep it moving. So one of the things that I find keeps especially physicians from going into their role as entrepreneurs is they're scared of criticism.

Oh, yeah?

What is. Have you had that fear and how do you handle it?

I've had the fear and I've had the criticism. So I think it's important to say it because you will get pushback and you will get criticism. It's really, really interesting. People have this perception that if you're going to do something that's in the helping profession, it should be for free.

Yes.

And yet we know that when someone has to pay something, even if it's small, they're more committed to the mission. They're more committed to whatever it is, the service that you're providing. So, you know, I think that physicians, especially, we want to be seen as helpers. We want to be seen. We go into medicine for very altruistic purposes, but we don't work in medicine for free. If we went every day and did what we did for free, we would last a year. Right. So I think sometimes physicians are so afraid of diverging off the path and seeing themselves as an entrepreneur, because, number one, physicians are extremely regimented and the path of a career of a physician is so easily regimented and set. Like, this is what an FTE is. This is what you do. And so when we see people being brave enough to go off the path, we go, wait a minute. What are you doing? What do you think you're doing? That's not what we do as a group. And you get criticism. And so I have felt that criticism. I've been slammed on social media for promoting services or promoting my services. And I'm like, yeah, I'm promoting my services because my services are helping women. So I've had to just realize that I stay true to my mission. I know what my mission is. And, you know, my mission isn't to, like, you know, drive around or in some Porsche and, like, have a yacht and all these things. That's not what drives me. What drives me is helping women. And if I want to help women, I have to have the resources to do that. And if I have to have resources, I have to have funding. It's like anything else in life. So I just stay true to my mission.

So that's the way you overcome that, is stay true to your mission. Your why.

Exactly. Know your why. And if you. If you can lay your head down at night knowing that you're helping people or you're staying, whatever your mission is, that you're staying true to that. I think we all have gifts and talents and unique traits, and I think it requires courage to follow and engage in those every day. And only you know what those are. Only you know what lights your soul on fire. And it takes courage to do that. And that can be in medicine, outside of medicine, part of medicine, or part of any business or any type of career you are. But it really takes courage to live authentically like that, which is part of our. Part of our identity, is our work. So I think for me, I just always ask myself, am I staying true to my mission? Am I not falling into the trap of ego? Am I not thinking about just possessions, but I'm actually thinking about people? Then I can sleep at night.

Awesome. And I may have told you this before. I'm really grateful that you have paid the price of putting up with all the naysayers and the criticism and all that to continue to do what you do. Because it's very important, right, to help women, to live authentically, to help women to be brave. Because like you said, we do all have gifts and we do all have a purpose and something that some help we're supposed to bring in this world, but it takes a lot of courage to chase that down, you know? So I'm happy that you put your armor on and just do what you do.

Well. I couldn't do it without people like yourself who. It's funny because you are really astute because you can kind of see what's happening, and you'll send me little encouraging notes, and it's always just what I need to hear, and it's from a place of a vision that is your own, which is so empowering to me because I'm like, man, she's doing it. She's doing her thing, and she wouldn't just be saying this to me for if it wasn't true. So you have a talent and you have expertise that I don't have, and so when you speak that expertise to me, it affirms my mission, and I think that's so valuable when we do that to one another.

Wow. Absolutely Right. That's the tribe, right? Already in action. Exactly. So close enough to criticism is the infamous imposter syndrome, which I think anytime you think of entrepreneurship, people outside will say, who do you think you are? But then you, on the inside, you tell yourself, who do you think you are? So how have you had to deal with that? Handle that?

I think the first thing I've learned is it's okay to not to be in a space that you feel there are already really successful people in. I think sometimes we have an idea about a business or some type of work that we want to do, and we automatically compare ourselves to someone in that space that's already doing that, and we think, oh, I can't do it because this person's doing it. And then that's when my imposter syndrome really kicks in, is when I start comparing myself to others. So the first thing I've had to do is I've really had to recognize that I. I really had to recognize that I. That I acknowledge that I have it. So I know I call it my little frenemy. When she starts talking in my ear, I'm like, oh, that's my little imposter syndrome. And she's really raging today. I think it's very important that we recognize that imposter syndrome is very directly aligned with success. So the more successful you are, the more you're going to have it. If you never have imposter syndrome, you're probably not doing stretch goals or you're a narcissist. So if you have it, welcome to a club that you want to be in. But it's important to recognize that the biggest limiter is probably your own internal self talk. One of the things I try to do when I'm either pursuing a new idea or a business risk or pitching my idea, I will think, what is the worst thing that can happen out of this meeting or conversation or post or trial? And I'll, I'll put like, if it's a financial cost, I'll put like, what is my lot? What's my, you know, bottom line that I'm gonna. I could lose. The second thing I'll do is what's the worst thing this person could say to me? And most of the time, when I work through it in my mind, I can live through it, you know, so if they say, that's the dumbest idea ever, or no, we won't lend support to this, or no, we won't partner with you, okay? Like, I'll be upset for 10 minutes and get over it. It's not. Doesn't define me. So if I work through the worst case scenario of whatever it is I'm fearing, I typically can go forward with more courage.

That's good. And I'm glad you said that. It goes with success, because I didn't know that. I thought, you know, I feel this way because I haven't accomplished a lot of stuff. And once I get this stuff done and I hit this big goal, then I'll be good.

And I'm like.

Yeah, it's not gone. And because now I have this new stretch goal, I even have, you know, imposter syndrome. That was worse the last time.

Right? I know. And it's crazy because the crazy thing is that if you actually, they've done studies looking at imposter syndrome, specifically in physicians, and you would think they looked at age and they looked at years of experience, and it doesn't matter how long you've been practicing or how long you've been in your career, you actually have imposter syndrome. As you progress at each level the same. So the more successful you are, the more likely you are to have imposter syndrome. And so I think it's really interesting because I'm like, like you, I think, oh, gosh, well, maybe when I reach this thing, then I'll feel like I can do anything or I can share my ideas. But that's not necessarily true. If you look at the data.

Yep.

Well, I guess we'll just work through it. Apparently, it's something that successful people deal with. Like you said, we're a good company.

Exactly.

So tell me Some of the big goals you have for Brave Enough? Because I know you have them. Some stretch goals.

Yeah, yeah. Oh, I love this question. One of the goals that I have is this year is to create something called Brave Groups. So we've had three conferences now, and after each conference we heard feedback that women want more. They want something to keep them connected throughout the year. And I think my mission with Brave Enough is to gather, unite and inspire women. It's very simple. And I've done a really good job of gathering women and inspiring women. But I really am passionate about uniting women and I think that there's power in small groups. So one of the things I'm working on right now is the creation of small groups that will be able to have content throughout the year and get on zoom calls like we're doing now. And we'll probably be. We're going to be revealing this in the next couple months. I have someone who's working with me, Dr. Brittany Terry, who's really passionate about uniting women too. Because what we know is that when there is a. When people are put in a common struggle, when they share a common struggle, they unite. So if you think of prisoners of war or like people that do CrossFit. Yeah.

Yep, yep.

There's unification and pain and struggle. And so we're developing a process by which women can be put in groups. I'm really passionate about that because I think that in our society today, there's so much pressure on us as women to be. To be everything, to be, you know, the best mother, the best wife, the best aunt, the best sister, to be the best friend, the best doctor, lawyer, everything. And then to look perfect after having.

Seven kids just like a 16 year old. Yeah, yeah.

It's just crazy. It's crazy. So there's a lot of isolation. I think our inadequate feelings of being inadequate lead to isolation. So I'm really working on that. The second thing that I'm working on is my book that's coming out. I'm launching this book and I'm so excited about Between Grit and Grace and what that's going to be. And then really working on a collaboration of retreats. Right now I just do one retreat a year. I'd like to do more than one a year, which is small group coaching intensives of about 20 women. Because I think 20 is kind of the magic number for when you can really pour into small groups of people.

That is so phenomenal. And that's going to be a huge game changer for the women who will attend that, that's really good. I love your big goals. And I'll point out something which you know, but maybe everybody listening doesn't is if you think about your big goals, you think about the book, you think about unite, you think about retreat. It's all about helping people. The money piece is a consequence. It's the reward for helping people. We don't start off as entrepreneurs saying, I just want to make money. Who do I get the money from? We start from we want to help people. And then as a consequence, we have all this funding come in, you know, so that's, that's really powerful. Love your bhags. Love them. So we're going to talk a little bit more about the book because I really want to listen to what you have to say about that. But before we do that, I know you have four kids, so how do you do the job, the leadership role? Brave enough husband, four kids. How do you do it all?

Oh, well, I don't do it. Number one, I have a lot of help. One thing that I am really honest about is how many people I have helping me because I couldn't, I can't do this all by myself. I've learned every year of my life that it's okay to ask for help. And so I do that. I, I have very good time management skills. I will say that I've worked really hard on them, but I oftentimes over commit and I can get burned out and I have to step back. I think everyone in my family really knows when I'm starting to over commit, so they'll tell me with that. But I don't have a lot. I don't waste time. I'm just being honest. I don't watch television. I mean, I'm the person that, like in the operating room, when everyone's talking about like this TV show, I just smile and nod. Cause I have no idea what they're talking about. I haven't watched television in like, I don't know, 10 years or something.

Wow, that's impressive.

I don't do that because I don't have time for that. And I'm just this type of person that I'm really driven and ambitious. But I also love connecting with people. So I've learned that in order to connect with people on a meaningful level, I have to retreat and fill my own cup. So I spend time by myself at least once a week, just withdrawing. And during that time, I plan my week. So like today I'm actually going to. My husband's having knee surgery. Today of all things. So I'm taking him to the hospital, and when I'm sitting there, like, I already know what I'm going to do for three hours. Like, I already have it planned out, and I'm going to plan the next, like, three weeks of my time. Because I'm a person who utilizes every time. Like, tomorrow I have to get on an airplane, and I will be utilizing every. Every spare minute. So I don't. I'm not someone. Like, I always laugh when people say they're bored, because honestly, I don't think I've ever been bored in my life. I don't even know what that feels like.

You don't have time to be bored.

How are they bored? Like, I don't even know what I would. I don't. I can't comprehend that. So it's not like I have some superpower. I'm just really very. I'm really conscientious about my time management.

So for me, this is, like, validation for me, because it took me many years to accept, look, this is the way you are, and it's okay. For instance, if I was going to be sitting in the hospital for three hours, I would plan that time. And I'm like, can't you just be spontaneous? Like, what are you doing? If I go on vacation, I can't just go. And then as the day goes, I'm like, my mind doesn't work that way. I have to plan. This is what I'm going to do here. This is what I'm going to have this free block. I'll do whatever I want there, but it has to be planned. So I actually get stressed out by not having a plan.

That is me. 100% me. I'm the same exact way. Like, it's peaceful to have a plan.

Okay, so I'm normal. Yay.

Thank you. You're normal. You're totally. We should vacation together.

We should come with our journalists and say, this is what I'm doing today. We're Belize. But this is what I'm doing today.

We're gonna have fun. Between this hour and this hour, this is when we're gonna dominate the world. Between this hour and this hour, we should do it.

We should absolutely do it. All right, so now I wanna hear about the book. So you have the conference, you have the retreat, you have the podcast, you have the Facebook group. You have all these things going on. What was missing from all of this that made you go like, we need a book?

Well, I have always been an avid reader, and I love to write, and since I was little, I've always written in a journal or diary. And I always had this dream that I would write a book. I mean, it was always. And I kind of always knew I would eventually in my life write a book. I didn't know the topic or what it would be about. And then I. Interestingly, when I burned out for several years, I really stopped writing and I lost that piece of myself. But the book came to me when I realized after going through a period of really low self where I had. I was so isolated and I felt so unworthy of anything good in my life. And I felt so disconnected from my real, true self. I don't know if you've ever been in a space like that. And I felt so in conflict with everyone around me that I was seeing lead because they were men, and all of my mentors and the people I looked up to were men. And I thought, why can't I succeed like that? But then it hit me. It's because I'm not a man and I will never be a man. And I need to find and create my own definition of success. And that starts with Sasha getting back to her authentic self. So once I started stripping down all the expectations of myself, I real and others that had of me, I realized that the two. Two things I really needed were grit and grace. I needed grit for those times when I needed to be boss. Because I am a boss and I am an expert. And I can come out of the dugout and defend a patient, defend a clinical decision, defend a decision that I make for my family or myself. But then at the other side, I also am a grace giver because I need grace myself. And I felt like I was constantly in conflict with those things. But then I realized, no, they complement one another.

Right?

Success is when we allow ourselves to be both gritty and graceful, when we can come and show our expertise and be assertive when we need to be. But that we also see that that doesn't mean that we can't give grace to ourselves and others. So that's what the book is about. It's about embracing your authenticity as a woman.

Well, that is so amazing. You don't have to be a man. You just need to be you.

Yes. Yes.

That's lovely. I love it. So now there is somebody who really needs to read your book, right? Who is that person? What issues are they facing? What makes them cry at night? Who's that person?

So I wrote this book for the woman who feels that she is on A treadmill of life. And she's running as fast as she can, but she's not getting anywhere. And she is actually falling more and more behind with every step. She feels that even though she comes home, she goes to work every day and pours into her work and then comes home and pours into her family. She feels like she's lost herself and she's hiding. But what she doesn't realize is she's really in captivity. Because freedom lies when we can be who we truly are. And that requires stripping down all the expectations that others have placed upon ourselves and all of the things that we've accumulated as we go through life to try to succeed as women. And I wrote it for that broken woman who feels like she's in the pit by herself, and she doesn't feel that she could even share with a friend because no one will understand. That's who I wrote it for.

Wow. Okay. So that's a lot of people, and that's really clear. And my expectation and my hope is that for every professional woman, they would get a copy of your book.

Really?

Because they're either there or they know somebody who's there. So I'm gonna include in the show notes the link to pre order the book, because it doesn't come out till February of 2020. Right. So to pre order the book and I'll put the links to your website, your blog, and all of those things so people can connect with you and really be a part of the movement that is brave enough.

Thank you so much. You are so wonderful.

I'm trying to keep up with you, apparently, but thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much for being a part of the show and giving up yourself today. And for everybody that's listening, pre order your copy and I will see you next week for another wonderful episode of the Entre MV podcast. Thanks again, Dr. Shilteti.

Thank you. You.

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