The Power of Self-Investment: Dr. Brittany Panico's Transition to Entrepreneurship

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. We have Dr. Brittany Panico. She is joining us from Phoenix, Arizona. She is amazing. Hello, how are you?

Thank you. How are you?

I am doing great. Excited you're here.

Thank you. I'm sorry if there's a rumble. I'm sitting in my car. My office is being remodeled so I hide away.

We're not mad at you or your office being remodeled. We just want to see pictures later. How about that?

Yes, I will post them.

Okay. So why don't you introduce yourself to the audience? Let's hear your story is going to be a gift to the people who get to listen. So.

Sure. Thank you. So I'm Brittany Panico. I'm a rheumatologist in Phoenix and I was in a. Basically an academic. I was a clinician. Academic clinician. So I wasn't producing research, but I was seeing patients in an academic center in Phoenix and heard Dr. Una's visibility formula workshop. This would have been a year and a half ago, so I've been in EBS for a full year. My friend who's a dermatologist was pushing me or urging me, when you're ready, start a practice because we need more people like you. Out here, and I'm doing it, and I think you could do it. So he sort of put the bug in my ear. But of course I'm thinking, I don't know a thing about business. I've been employed my entire career. So I came across the Visibility Formula workshop and thought, oh, my gosh, like, this is my ticket to learning all of the things that I need to learn to be able to open up my own practice. And sure enough, so at that point, you were doing, I think, quarterly applications. And it was very similar, like a week to apply. And the night of I sent it, I think I had an hour before the deadline, I submitted my application. I told my husband, I'm doing this, you'll thank me later, but we're going to do this. And he's an electrophysiologist, so he's okay, you know, I believe in you, whatever. So got in. And the way that we paid for it essentially is I get very paranoid about taxes. I'm not a super, very kind of savvy person when it comes to how I save and how we delegate for taxes. So I bank away a little bit extra every paycheck into our tax fund. And so usually we get a refund because there was a year I had to pay a lot of money. And I told myself I would never do that again. So I overpay. And that way we get a refund every year. So we kind of decide how we're going to use that money. And I, we had just decided together that we were going to use my. Our refund essentially to pay for ebs. So that's. That was my little trick. And then, like Dr. Una had mentioned making it a line item in your business. So because of ebs, I started my own. My husband and I, we started our own consulting company to do medical, to talk and do consulting work. So it's a line item for our consulting business now. But then rolling over into my practice, so I was in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and my loans were coming up to be forgiven. So once that happened, then I decided to give my notice and leave my employed practice and start my own practice. So that happened in December. So I'm six months in to my own private practice in rheumatology. And I think one of the biggest ways that I am seeing the return on my investment is not only the consulting. So I'm now a speaker for one of the pharmaceutical companies that I use their product. So that's going to pay for itself. I only have to speak a handful of times, and I essentially paid my tuition back. But it's also in my ability to pivot in my business now. So if something doesn't seem like it's going right or I'm not necessarily getting the types of referrals that I will generate patient revenue, I know how to pivot that much quicker so that I don't waste my time doing stuff that's not actually making money for my business. So that's been really powerful because when we're employed, we don't have that control to say, I don't specifically want to see these patients who aren't bringing in revenue to my practice. Whereas now I can identify what portion of my community not only needs my help, but what portion is actually investing back into my practice so that I can then put more money back into my community by hiring more staff, by servicing in that way. So I think the mindset you mentioned is such a key portion of it, because we learn then what it means to provide that investment back into our community and how we can pivot our role and our service to accommodate for that. So one of the things that's happening just within the last couple weeks is a private practice closed. So there has been a massive change and shift in the patient population. And so a lot of those patients needed to be seen quickly or were without infusion medications. And so we sort of capitalized on that by increasing our social media, increasing our kind of word of mouth around the community about, we're here and opening an infusion center, and if you are somebody on infusions, we're here for you. So, again, I think it's kind of just being able to take something that you're already good at, get better at it, and be more vocal about. I am the person who can do this for you in this community, and it's just been really great because that is the return, right? The patient volume, the filling up your schedule quickly, the being full at six months has been my return because I'm not struggling to see patients, and that's such a big relief. But in the sense putting in the work that we talk about in EBS that Dr. Una talks about, that the success that other people have had and the tools that they're using to then say, okay, I can apply this to my specialty, my practice, and then also just to give, like, a quick aside, because I know some of us have spouses who are in medicine, some of us have spouses who are not in medicine, I also feel like there's a return on the investment within my Marriage because we're communicating much more effectively with each other and what we want out of our future careers. And then also he's picking up things that are working for me and applying that to his career. And he's been getting offered speaking engagements and being able to sit on really big meetings with people who design things for his field product development, and things that wouldn't necessarily. Doors that wouldn't have necessarily been opened had he not put himself out there seeing what I'm doing as well. So I think even though he's not specifically involved in ebs, he's listening and seeing what I'm doing and thinking, okay, if I apply these tools to my job, I can get these things too. And so collectively, our family income has increased because of that as well. So I think that can apply to people getting promotions and other areas too, by seeing the things that we're able to accomplish. So the investment is just the seed. Like Dr. Uno was saying, that's just the tip of the iceberg that starts this big snowball of all these other things that happen. And a lot of it isn't until months or maybe even a year later, but once it starts to come, it starts happening faster and bigger each time. So that's been really rewarding, man.

Okay, so tell your husband to expect an invoice from ebf. I'm kidding.

He's piggybacking off of.

Yeah, just say, okay, we know now, so. But so hear this, right? And Dr. Pinico is not the first person to say this. This is something you hear time and time again of the impact it has in marriages because eps, it's a business school. Today I was thinking about it, I was like, I won't be shocked if, like, in five or seven years we rename this school because it's so much more than business. When we say dream business and dream life, this is what we're talking about where now the marriages are better, now the communication is better. Now your spous is doing. Seeing you do certain things. And. And it's not like they didn't have value for. That's not what I'm trying to say. But they look at you different. Like, my wife has. Was a total boss. Do you see what's going on here? It's so crazy to see that because you. The person. This is about you becoming an entrepreneur. And entrepreneurship is like almost the best personal development program there is out there. Like, that's just what it is now. Dr. Pinico, you. I mean, you just dropped so many nuggets. I don't even know where to start from. So. But I will ask you this because I want people to get this perspective. You were in the business school for almost a year before it was time for you to start your practice. I have that right?

Yes, yes.

Okay. Because I want you to see this. Now, again, this is an example of that mindset that I am my best appreciating asset. She was not deciding to start a practice the next day, but she was like, I'm going to do the business before the business. I'm going to learn the skills, I'm going to learn what I need to do. But that's what put her in a position where you heard her say, at six months, I'm full. In a place where private practices are shutting down. She's at six months, I'm full. I'm not struggling to see. Then think about this. The. We talked about the seven figure sales system, the seven figure marketing system. Now you can see that in operation where she's okay, so that practice closed. So we have all these patients who are displaced. So this is how we're going to create these buckets so they'll know that we're here. So we just put the buckets so they come from there to here. And she's is not, oh, what do I, is I know what to do, right? So I do this with social media, I do this with word of mouth. I do this and I put that presence out there. So people are like, okay, we know this is a place to go. And she was able to turn that around. You guys, this is about becoming an entrepreneur, right? And it's not one business really is two businesses. Because you have the consult, you have the consulting business and you have the private practice. And now your husband is applying the thing, getting his own speaking gigs and all of that. So collectively, family is so much better. Right? So when you think about making the investment at this stage, right, because you're at the beginning stages of the return on investment. Because remember, this is the gift that keeps giving. And as the years go by, what it gives becomes bigger and bigger. Right? So when you think about the initial investment you made compared to that's what I was talking about. Like you can focus on the investment, you can focus on the dream. When you compare the two, what do you think?

I mean, it's so incredible to think all I had to do is make that decision and now it's automatic. I came up for renewal. And yes, like not even a question. I had already budgeted for to renew. So I think it's really that decision of this has. This is what's gotten me this far in a year. So if I do it again, it's unfathomable what can even happen. And I think the biggest thing that really made a difference for me was understanding when you're employed, your employer sets a cap for you. So I had all these restrictions on things I could do. I couldn't speak, I couldn't go out and do moonlighting, I couldn't make any extra money. I was stuck in my salary. And of course I could do, I could uber, I could do some other thing that was not tied to medicine, but I couldn't use my skills to do anything else outside of my employee position. So now if I decide I'm going to start using a supplement company to build a vertical, if I decide I want to do a third party something or other to add an investment into my business, if I want to cut expenses somewhere and use something that's cheaper so that I have more revenue to use that for somewhere else, I can make those decisions. So your ability to pivot money and move money in those buckets, like Dr. Uno was saying, you can do that once you're no longer under the umbrella of employment. But I think it's helpful too, that even if you have the intention of building your personal brand while being employed, there's still other ways, right? You can open that other business and do something different that doesn't conflict with your day job. Whereas that's kind of the mindset of, oh, I can offer all these other things to not just feel stuck in my job.

We don't have to feel stuck. I just like to think that all of this was from one decision. This is what I've been saying since Saturday. It is a decision like all the other things. How will I pay? How will I find the time? How? They don't. It's noise. What matters is the decision. This is the dream. This is the cost from the dream. I'm deciding to do it. That's it. It really is as simple as that. It's not more complicated than that. And for Dr. Pinico, she's now in this place where she's experienced it. So she's not waiting to be. She's just. Yeah, I already budgeted it. Whenever that time comes around, I'm just doing it. That's it. Because she understands it's just that decision is just that decision. There we go. Right? So, Dr. Pinnacle, this is so good. Thank you for sharing this. And I still get blown away every Time, I hear. Because, of course, the story keeps evolving, right? I mean, in a time when practices are shutting down left, right, and center, to say, like, in six months, I'm busy. That. That's crazy. It's crazy. But that's how we roll. In fact, I don't know who said this. I don't know who said this, but some night we were having our live session. Our live sessions are on Wednesdays at 7pm Eastern, and someone's. I started my practice four months ago, and I'm only breaking even. And I just sat. I was just looking. I was just like, y' all are so spoiled in ebs. I'm like, go post that in any other group on Facebook. Oh, that was you, Dr. Palmer. I was like, go post it on any other group in Facebook and say, my problem is that I've been open for four months and I'm breaking even. They will drag you, right? Because I was like, wow. I was like, you guys just. You guys are just rock stars. So you're like, this is a new norm. I'll take it. I'll take the challenge.

I.

But it really is a different place, and it really comes from. It really comes from that. Commit. It's a decision that turns people into this, like, where. This is how we roll. This is what we do. When you join ebs, when you join the Entre MD Business School, I want you to understand that now you're surrounded with people like Dr. Reed, people like Dr. Palmer, to people like Dr. Pinico, the doctors you heard on site. Like, this is now your new community where you have the best kind of peer pressure, is positive peer pressure. And it's not in a bad way. It's in an inspiring, empowering way. Like, you're like, wait a minute. If she could, I can. If she could, huh? Well, that's the way they did it. I can do that, too. You have somebody you can ask questions you can bounce ideas of. Like, this becomes your new environment. And the law of the environment is that you never rise above your environment. You're never unaffected by your environment, right? So you walk into a place full of people like her. It's like being under a vent that's blowing cold air. Like, you're gonna get cold. So here, you're gonna get on fire. You're gonna go, I can do this. Your one decision away, okay? So please turn in your application, entrendi.com forward/apply, and give yourself the gift of a new way of thinking. I don't just go, wait a minute. I don't have the time. I don't have this. I don't have that. You've done this before. You did it for medical school. You didn't stop. You were like, I got this. We'll figure it out. That's what you said. That's what turned you from a pimply teenager into a person who can operate our hearts. That's the power of that decision. So I'm saying decide one more time. Are we going to evolve once and stop evolving once and stopping is what got us where we are. That's what created the loss of autonomy. That's what created the burnout. That's what created all of this. We need to do one more evolution, and there'll be another one after that. Okay, so this is a trick evolution, but one more evolution. Like, I am md. What can I be? An MD plus Entrepreneur. Savvy entrepreneur. Can I be this? Can I be that? We're getting to the stage where we're going to talk. Start talking about as evs, about disrupting industries. Like, I'm in my industry. I'm going to disrupt it. I'm not going to complain about anything anymore. We're going to fix it. Right? That's another evolution. So evolve. All right, so the old you used to say, oh, I don't think I can afford it. I don't think I can do it. What if it doesn't work for me? No, this is a new you. Embrace the new you. Okay. Okay. Dr. Pinico, what would you say to the person on the fence, right? Like, Dr. Unai hear you.

But.

There's a but, right? What would you say? And this is a person who wants the dream, right? This is not someone who's cynical and all this is somebody who wants it, but they're like, still little unsure, right? What would you say to that person? Because we're in ebs, right, every week, so we're on fire. We're like, yeah, we could do it. Like, the more impossible is the more like, yeah, we can do it. Right? But this person hasn't been in EBS yet, okay? They're around naysayers and. And all of that stuff. Okay, so what would you say to that person?

I would tell you to do it scared. Because we all have that gut feeling of, I don't know if I'm ready for this. That's the feeling that moves us forward. We do have it in us. The money will come. The money is just money. It will come. But the decision to move yourself forward, that's. There's no language to express what that means to you. So do it. Scared. Do it when you're not ready. Just do it. That's been my phrase for this year. Just do it. And I'm trying not to let that voice hold me back. And so many amazing things have happened that I would never have even thought. So you can't think of it. You can't necessarily even know what your dream is until you're doing it. And then it evolves and it happens. So even if you think this is a portion of your dream, just do it. And we're here for you, and we're ready. And the more amazing people that join us, the harder we will all push each other and the faster we will all grow together. So I want more really awesome people to join, because then I will do better. So I think it's a win for everyone.

Do you guys hear this mindset? Can you see the mindset on display? There's no competition there. There's collaboration. You're amazing. Come on in. I want more amazing people so I can get even better. Listen to that. How wild is that? Dr. Pinico, thank you. This is. This is so good. And you said something profound. You said. You said many profound things, but you said, even if you're not sure what the whole dream is, right, you just know there's a portion of it. That's where we start from. I could not have imagined that I'll be where I am now. All I knew is there's a next step I need to take. I needed to take, and I took it. There's no way I could have predicted where. I never thought I'd be a podcaster. I never thought I would do that. I never thought I'd be talking to Dr. I never thought any of these things. I. I just knew there's more. I was willing to invest in. There's more. That was my business idea. That was my whole idea. There's more, right? So entreimity.com forward/apply. And the thing is, if you notice, the decision Dr. Pinico made to get in is the decision she used to bring her practice to where she was full at 6 months is the same. I'm scared. I'll do it. Scared I'm unsure. But I'm still doing it. I've made the decision. It's going to happen. It's the same thing. Hey, if you love listening to the ontremity podcast, I want to invite you to join Entre MD On Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entre md.com forward/on demand and I love to have you join us. See you on the inside.