#44: 5 Reasons Why Doctors Should Have a Side Hustle

Foreign. Welcome to the Passive Income MD Podcast, where we talk about creating your ideal life through multiple streams of income. I'm your host, Peter Kim. If you enjoy hearing about this stuff, make sure to hit subscribe so I can bring it to you every week. Now let's get on with the show. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another great week. Hope your last week has been awesome and amazing. I think there are so many really cool things to talk about this week. I'm gonna start out by mentioning an event that's gonna come up that we run here at Passive Income md. It's called the Leverage and Growth Virtual Summit for Physicians. You're part of the 10,000 people who attended it last year. You know what it's all about. It's talking about physicians who are able to leverage their medical degrees, do some amazing ventures and side hustles outside of clinical medicine. And you're going to hear stories from over 30 physicians who have been able to achieve some really amazing things, many who are still working either full time, part time. And you're going to learn about their journeys and how they're able to achieve what they're able to achieve. And if that's something that interests you at all, definitely put that on your calendar. It's going to be March 22nd through through 28th. That's the year 2021. But just so you know, it's going to be completely virtual. And the best part is it's going to be absolutely free. We want to get this out to as many physicians as possible. We want you to know the stories and the different things that are possible. And so look out for that. Put that on your calendars. And I think that is a perfect segue into what we're going to be talking about this week on the podcast. I've titled it 5 Reasons why Doctors should have a Side Hustle. Now, I don't know about you. When I first started on this journey, the pinnacle and the peak for me was to become an attending. And that was going to be it for the rest of my career. There was no need to do anything else. Maybe there were, you know, obviously their thoughts of having a family, perhaps being able to play some golf from time to time and go on some really cool vacations. But that was pretty much in terms of a career. It was all about becoming an attending physician, going graduate from training, and then my life would be set. For the people who know my story, you've obviously heard that things kind of took a little bit of a turn and things changed along the way. And it became evident to me that it was really important to diversify your income. And to me, that gives you true security. In the end, if there's anything as, you know, quote unquote set, you know, to be able to get there, I think it really helps to have these other ventures, and I like calling them side hustles. Some people call side ventures side gigs. But whatever it's called, what it's about is figuring a way to create some income apart from your primary day job as a physician. And let me tell you, especially with what's happened over the last year with COVID I think people have started to realize job security isn't quite what you thought it would be. And I don't know if that's somebody, you know, listening to this and that was you, but it definitely was me when I was told by email that my income would get cut immediately for the next couple months. And that's what happened. Luckily, I had some other sources of income, but, you know, it caused a lot of grief for a lot of people. And I mean, especially for me as well. You know, this is not easy to hear for anybody. And so having these other income, having other sources so that if one stream does dry up, you have these other options. I think it's extremely important. Now, again, so many physicians are jumping into this, and the more I get out there, I found out there are so many awesome people putting their skills to use that they've learned in medicine. The background, the, you know, the hard work, the ability to be resourceful and able to take all those things and really succeed in different areas. And it's so cool to see. And so I want to talk about today why I think it's extremely important. And. And the first one I've already talked about, make more money. I mean, when it comes down to it, I think that everyone likes the idea of having a little extra income. I mean, it provides a safeguard against unforeseen events and experiences. I mean, no one could have predicted the pandemic. But there are different things that happen, especially in the culture of medicine. The, you know, political type stuff, regulatory type stuff. Things change. So having that side hustle or another stream of income really allows you to even out. You know, your finances, allows you to, you know, if more is coming in, then perhaps you upgrade that vacation or travel. It helps you to buy your time back. Right? We can talk about that and maybe even just helps put your kids through college. I mean, you know, if you ever doubt, like, how much a side hustle can actually help you As a physician, I mean, we are high income professionals. So people are wondering, is it even worth it? I know so many physicians that in a short period of time have been able to honestly create a higher income through their side hustles than in medicine. The cool thing is many of those same physicians continue to practice medicine because they absolutely love it. If you want to hear about some of those stories, definitely the leverage and growth summit is for you. We had one the recordings from last time, if you're interested. Also on my website on the passive income md, we do this thing called the true doctor stories that we've done in the past. And there's so many great stories about physicians doing these type of things. So number two, another great reason to have a side hustle is like we mentioned is to hedge against the unknown. I mean, we all know medicine is changing. Whenever I'm in a room speaking to people and I have them raise their hands, who thinks medicine is moving in a better direction for you in terms of financially or in terms of security or in terms of job satisfaction? And you know, unfortunately not many people raise their hands when it comes to that. I don't know about you, but I'm not super optimistic about the direction we're headed in. I mean, I'm typically an optimistic type person, but I'm also very realistic. Realistic. The way medicine's going, we are someone at the mercy of, you know, regulatory, political type stuff and insurance carriers often that really dictate the timing and the amount of reimbursement. And so you may be one of those physicians where you're seeing your reimbursements for certain procedures, for example, get cut somewhere between 10 and 20% in a year. For some people, those procedures that they used to do, they're not getting reimbursed at all anymore. And so it's a scary thing. And one of the other things is that some people actually have to worry that you could lose your job altogether. I hate to say it, we talked about job security in the past. You know, most of us as physicians think we have absolutely full job security. But you can ask any physician who's been part of a big group that's been bought out by private equity or something like that, that it's not the case. And so things can change pretty quickly. So to help, you know, combat that uncertainty, I mean, wouldn't a little bit of income on the side from a side hustle, wouldn't that help put a lot of that, you know, anxiety at ease? I mean, again, not only can it provide Financial security for yourself and your family. It can reduce that stress for you just knowing that if the worst case scenario happens, that you are protected against it. Now. Another great reason to have a side hustle number three is, is that it provides an awesome outlet for your passions. I mean, I think that I can say safely that most of us became physicians because we're passionate about it. We wanted to help people at the core. I don't know about you, but being a physician, it is one aspect of who I am, but it doesn't define all of my passions in full. Right. I mean, that's not the only thing I'm passionate about. Many of us have other hobbies, talents and skills that maybe were a bigger part of your life before medicine, that maybe aren't as big a part of your life now, but you'd like for it to be. Maybe some other people like to use a different part of your brain than just practicing medicine. And I know that there have been even movements behind this where I remember a friend of mine, he started a movement, I'm not just a doc, and I think for exactly this purpose, to talk about this, that he has other outlets and other passions. I know physicians that are very creative and they found outlets through writing, through art, through music. For some, it's starting businesses. I mean, we are multi talented people. We just decided to go into medicine. But had we decided to put that same focus or efforts into other professions, there's no doubt we would have been successful. And I think we all have that core hard, you know, that work ethic and that ability to get things done. I mean, wouldn't it be nice, whatever your passions are, that you have an outlet for that and if it makes money, even better? Number four, I found that having a side hustle actually allows you to have more enjoyment in your day job. I mean, I think that I've talked about variety, diversification. You heard about the whole thing about variety being the spice of life. I mean, sometimes again, it's nice to flex different parts of your brain, different challenges. And I think that's something that we all thrive on whether we want it or not. Challenges are what help keep us alive. That aspect of growth, that feeling that you're overcoming something or trying something new, might be hard in the moment at times, but at the end of it, I think we all feel really fulfilled and proud of ourselves when we try something different and we, you know, find ourselves successful. And I found that when people are able to go into these different side hustles and ventures after kind of Hitting that peak in medicine and maybe even plateauing that having this other outlet gives them that energy back and helps them reconnect to the reason that they became physicians in the first place, which was really that, that passion to help people. And so especially financially, if you find that you can create a side hustle that creates financial security for you in spite of how much time you work in the hospital, I think that also changes the purity of what you're doing in medicine. And I found that to be the case for me, found that to be the case for so many other people that I know that again, even if they have the choice to leave medicine financially, many of them continue to work and do so because they love it, whether it's in a full time or a part time capacity. And number five, it can just give you more freedom and happiness. I say, I mean, I think one of the greatest benefits of having a side hustle is really simply the ability to choose what you want to do with your time. I think happiness, it's this thing we all strive for. I mean, it can be really elusive, right? I mean, at times we have it, or we think we have it, we don't, we don't know how to find that state of happiness. But I think a huge part of happiness for me anyways is having some feeling of control, like feeling like you have choices. So by having some of these other side hustles, especially the ones that produce income, it changed the outlook on my job. And I know that myself, my family, are better off for it. I mean, I can choose to do the things I love with the people I love. And you know, at times that might be working in the hospital, to be honest with you, that might be going on travel vacations, might be pursuing other business pursuits, networking, doing all these type of things. And so I'm able to choose what I do with my time. And having those side hustles really has created that me in my life. It's created that for so many other people that I know as well. And perhaps it could do that for you as well. So I've talked about all these side hustles. I mean, here's the great news. The great news is that as a physician, you've got that stable base for the most part as a physician and that day job. So often with these side hustles, you don't need to give up your career, you don't necessarily need to do these type of things. Especially in the beginning, people think there's a risk in, you know, pursuing some of these Ventures. But I think as a physician, you are uniquely positioned to take these risks because you have somewhat of a stable job or gig at times, right. And it produces a good amount of income, as we know as physicians. Oftentimes, if we do need some extra income, many of us end up picking up extra shifts and we have the option to be able to do that kind of thing, moonlight or just work extra nights or weekends. So we're able to do that. And so financially, trying to pursue some of these other type things, I mean, if you think about it and you're someone out there and this is your sole job and your day job to try to pursue some of these things, and you're. And you feed your family off of it, it's a very different feeling from us as physicians who are just doing it to see, you know, again, pursue some of these other ventures, just, you know, scratch an inch and see if we can make some extra income. So again, I think we have that opportunity, so why not take it? Especially during our prime, you know, our prime income, you know, gaining years. And why not at least try it? I think at the worst case scenario is you've tried it and you don't have any regrets moving forward. The thing is, if this works in your favor, you're going to be able to slowly reduce your clinical time to the place where you feel like it's the right balance. You know, for some people, that's 75% FTE, 50%. Some people still leave medicine altogether. And I hope that's not necessarily the case for everyone, because I still think we need, you know, we need great physicians out there helping and serving people. But, you know, the more important thing is I think happy doctors are the things that are, you know, it's more important because that translates to better patient care, in my opinion. So maybe you come up with a business idea or an invention, you thought of something and you've hesitated to move forward. You're not sure if it was worth it. Well, hopefully this helps put things in perspective. I mean, if you talk to a lot of entrepreneurs and you talk to a lot of people have done this, the number one tip that often comes out is just get started, take that shot. You never know what'll happen. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don't take, and the worst thing is you could possibly end up, you probably could end up in the same place where you're at right now. Maybe you waste a little bit of time or money, but at least you gave it a shot. And the upside, obviously can be absolutely worth it. So best of luck to you. If you want to find out more about some of the physician side hustles that people are involved in, I do have a list of the physician side hustles. You can probably just google that position side hustles and you should find that right there. That might be a starting point for you to get some ideas, maybe get connected to some people. But also on our Facebook group, Passive Income Docs, people talk about it all the time. People talk about different ventures that they have and things that they're trying and so I'd love for you to be a part of that discussion. If you're a physician, please consider joining that group and otherwise have an amazing week. Let us know how we can continue to support you and take care. Bye. Enjoy the show. Let me know by dropping a review in the podcast app you're listening to us in. And if you haven't already, make sure to hit subscribe. Are you part of our community yet? Join thousands of physicians who are also on this journey to creating their ideal lives through multiple streams of income. You can join us on our Facebook group Passive Income Docs and you can always learn more at our website, passiveincomemd.com thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your journey. See you next time.