March 30, 2026 • 31 mins
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Dr. Carolina Sueldo M.D. went from brand new to Fort Lauderdale to $1M in revenue by end of year two — here's exactly how she did it.
You asked for proof that private practice still works. This is it.
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Carolina Sueldo M.D. — double board-certified fertility specialist and founder of Ceibo Fertility Center in Fort Lauderdale — for a conversation that covers the full arc: from deciding to open a solo boutique practice with two toddlers at home and no business background, to hitting seven figures by year two while maintaining a four-day work week.
Dr. Sueldo gets honest about the early days — the difficult landlord, the staffing challenges, the competitor who called just to say they were waiting for her to fail — and what it actually took to bounce back and keep building. She walks through how she established herself as an authority in a brand new market, why she went full court press on visibility from day one, and how she thinks about "thoughtful scaling" as Ceibo grows beyond a single location.
This episode is a masterclass in what's possible when you stop waiting until you have all the answers and start building the plane while you're flying it.
Tune in and get inspired!
Timestamps:
00:00 Dr. Carolina Aldo opens on building a boutique fertility practice from scratch
01:40 A bicultural upbringing and how living abroad shapes who you become
04:30 Why private equity pushed her to bet on herself instead
06:25 The mindset shift that made entrepreneurship possible
08:35 Building the plane while flying: learning the business in real time
09:40 Surprising wins: work-life balance, female founder networks, and consulting doors
12:05 Named Best Doctor in Fort Lauderdale — less than a year into practice
14:25 How she built authority and visibility in a brand new market
16:25 Brand building: social media, website, and the VA who knows her voice
17:35 Resilience as a skill: navigating landlord issues, staffing, vendors, and more
18:15 How EBS community carried her through year one
20:05 Top wins: self-funded, six-figure salary in year one, hit $1M in year two
23:10 Living a version of your dream life now, not someday
25:55 Thoughtful scaling: growing without compromising patients or team
28:55 Biggest lessons from EBS: visibility, systems, and removing emotion from decisions
31:25 What Dr. Aldo wants every listener to take away
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about my 12-month program.
- Interested in 1-on-1 coaching? Apply here.
- Grab a copy of the "The 7-Figure Physician CEO" book.
When you are ready to work with us, here are three ways:
- The Profitable Private Practice Movement - If you want to build a thriving private practice that serves a lot of patients, while creating time and financial freedom for you, come join us here.
- EntreMD Business School Grow - This is our year-long program with a track record of producing physician entrepreneurs who are building 6, 7 and 7+ figure businesses. They do this while building their dream lives!
- EntreMD Business School Scale - This is our high-level mastermind for physicians who have crossed the seven figure milestone and want to build their businesses to be well oiled machines that can run without them.
To get on a call with my team to determine your next best step, go here ...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
You, my friend, are in for a treat of treats with
this episode of the EntreEndeavour Podcast.
I have a very special guest, Dr.
Carlena Squaldo.
She's a double board certifiedphysician in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.
She has a fertility boutique,fertility practice that she set
up, and she walks through herjourney from before she started
the practice to her first yearto where she is now.
(00:21):
She is a total boss, alumni ofthe On Train B business school.
I remember when I first met her,she says, I'm gonna be one of
your best students, and oh mygoodness, what she has done has
been unbelievable.
And what makes it even moremagical is that this interview
was run by my daughter, Cheta,who is 17 years old.
She has her own podcast.
It's called the ProfitablePrivate Practice Podcast, where
(00:44):
she interviews doctors inprivate practice, talking their
journey because she's aphysician ally, too.
This is a family businesspeople.
Okay?
So she interviews Dr.
Squaldo in this fantasticinterview.
So excited to share it with you.
So if you haven't subscribed tothe Profitable Private Practice
Podcast yet, I want to inviteyou to do that.
And I want you to follow Dr.
Squaldo.
(01:04):
If this interview is such a giftto you, I want you to share this
episode.
This is going to change yourlife, whether you're a private
practice or not, whether you'rea cashpayer or not.
I want you to learn the gemsfrom this and change your own
world.
And now for the episode.
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
Hi, dogs.
Welcome to the Entre MD podcast,where it's all about helping
amazing physicians just like youembrace entrepreneurship so you
can have the freedom to livelife and practice medicine on
your terms.
I'm your host, Dr.
Inna.
SPEAKER_03 (01:38):
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the
Profitable Private PracticePodcast.
And today I have with me Dr.
Carolina Sweldo.
Hi, Dr.
Sweldo.
Hi, Cheddar.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Just so that we can get started,could you please give us a
60-second introduction ofyourself?
SPEAKER_02 (01:55):
Oh man, I don't think I've ever timed myself.
Okay, so I am Dr.
Carolina Sweldo.
I'm a double board certifiedfertility specialist, and I'm
also the founder of SaboFertility Center, a boutique
fertility practice in FortLauderdale, Florida.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
I heard a few things.
One, that you were born inCarolina and then you moved to
Argentina, and that you're avery avid soccer fan.
So I was doing some research andI found like a post from like
107 weeks ago.
And it was, I think of like yourson and he had a messy um jersey
on, and you're just talkingabout it.
So could you tell us a littlebit about, you know, your love
for soccer, how you were born inCalifornia, moved to Argentina?
(02:32):
Could you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_02 (02:34):
My parents are originally from Argentina, just
outside of the capital, outsideof Buenos Aires.
And in the early 70s, theyemigrated to the US.
They started first in Chicagoand then ended up in California.
That's where my brothers and Iwere born and raised, but we
were very connected toArgentina, even like before I
can remember.
So we were traveling back onceto twice a year for extended
(02:55):
periods of time.
And then when I was 15, thefamily actually packed up and
moved down there.
So I actually did high schooland I stayed down there for
medical school and then cameback for my post-grad training.
So I did residency inCalifornia, my REI infertility
fellowship in Connecticut, andthen I've now been in practice
for a little over 10 years.
SPEAKER_03 (03:14):
I love that.
That is amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (03:16):
It's a bicultural upbringing, very much from the
very beginning.
But one thing that's from thevery beginning exploded was love
for soccer.
So my dad actually played clubsoccer in Argentina in the under
18s and, you know, had us insoccer all through our childhood
for as long as I can rememberanyway.
We actually had jerseys, myhusband and I, for our dogs.
(03:36):
And then once the kids camealong, we got them their own.
So, in essence, you have prettydeep roots in Argentina, yes.
And in fact, Saiho is thenational flower of Argentina.
So the name of my clinic is tiedto that background.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (03:49):
You mentioned that you moved back when you were 15.
Did that affect anythinglifestyle-wise?
SPEAKER_02 (03:55):
It definitely shaped who I was as a person.
Anyone who can, I encourage themto live abroad during their sort
of formative years.
Living abroad just it completelychanges your view of the world.
It for me really shaped, youknow, my extroverted
personality, how I am in socialcircles.
Starting high school at the ageof 15 in a new country, in a new
(04:16):
language, in a new culture was awhole, you know, because even
though you visit, it's one thingto visit family and be in sort
of a family home environment.
It's very different to actuallylive there and go to school
there, do sports there, etcetera.
SPEAKER_03 (04:27):
Let's go ahead and, you know, get started on the
entrepreneurial side of things.
So could you tell us about thefirst moment when you
entertained the thought ofbecoming an entrepreneur?
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
I actually never had plans to open my own practice.
That was never in the cards.
But when my husband and I madethe decision to move back to
South Florida, this was sometimein 2022.
I had first practiced here rightout of fellowship.
So I knew most of the players.
I didn't know all of thepractices, but I knew many of
the players.
And in the fertility spacespecifically, private equity
(04:58):
firms have actually acquired thelarge portion of the market
share.
So most of the big practices inthe area are backed by or
majority owned by private equityfirms.
Really at the outset, there waslike, which of these is the
least bad for me?
I had already lived the privateequity experience and really was
just didn't fit well with it.
(05:18):
My personality, how I wanted topractice.
There was just so many thingsthat were fundamentally
misaligned.
And so, really, my husband wasthe one who first planted the
seed of like, if you're gonna gointo something already knowing
that you're gonna be unhappy,you should just like do your own
thing, shoot your shot, see whathappens, and if you can make it
work, great.
And if you can't, you can justjoin one of them later.
(05:38):
So he kind of just pushed you tostart your own practice.
Exactly.
And you don't know what youdon't know.
Like I had two small children atthe time when we were
contemplating this, my older sonwas three.
My younger guy was, you know,just barely a year when we were
starting to navigate this.
It was a really big decision forme as a mom to young children to
(06:00):
make this leap.
But it really came down to, youknow, I was on the verge of 40.
I knew I had still many yearsleft to practice, and I knew I
loved what I was doing and couldcreate a lot of impact, but I
did not love the business ofmedicine and sort of my options
that were on the table at thattime.
And so it really was kind ofthat leap of faith: like, hey,
(06:20):
let's do it and we're gonnashoot our shot and let's see
what we can do with this.
SPEAKER_03 (06:25):
What were some mindset shifts, in essence, that
you had to make before startingyour practice?
SPEAKER_02 (06:31):
I think the first thing was I needed to believe
that it was possible.
I needed to find examples.
And there was somebody inCalifornia who was already doing
it, had been doing it.
Now, the conditions andcircumstances were a little bit
different than what I waswalking into, but they were a
great support and mentor in thebeginning.
So finding examples that it waspossible, and then finding
(06:54):
community, right?
Like surrounding myself withboth the people and the tools
that I was going to need.
Because you don't, again, I saidit earlier, you don't know what
you don't know.
And so, what were the tools thatI was gonna need to make that
happen?
We talk a lot about marketingstrategy, knowing your numbers,
et cetera.
But even basic things of likejoining the local medical
(07:15):
society, finding the officespace, where was I gonna get my
supplies from, exam tables, howwas I gonna furnish, like all of
those things I didn't know whatI didn't know.
And then it was really beingokay with the discomfort.
I think that was probably thebiggest mindset shift in
medicine.
There's very much kind of thistrain that you are on, right?
(07:36):
Medical school, then post-gradtraining, whether it's residency
or residency and fellowship.
And then you join either ahospital or a group and you're
on that track and you may or maynot be up for partnership.
And it's very sort of defined,if you will.
And what I was doing, certainlyin the fertility space, it was
very rare to see people doingthat.
And here in South Florida,people thought I was crazy.
(07:57):
Like they were like, You'redoing what?
Like that's never gonna work.
I literally had somebody call meand tell me, you know, they were
just waiting for me to fail sothat they could absorb myself
and my patients.
It was definitely going againstthe grain and having to be okay
with that and like knowing thatit was possible.
SPEAKER_03 (08:16):
And so you mentioned a few times that you don't know
what you don't know.
So when going into practices,I've interviewed some people who
were like, Well, I didn't reallyknow anything about it, so I
joined the business school.
And then after I joined thebusiness school, I started my
practice.
So did you like wait until youhad majority of the information
before you started yourpractice, or you kind of just
went straight in?
SPEAKER_02 (08:37):
There's the saying, build the plane while you're
flying.
That is very much me with Sabo.
Um, because I can take reallygood care of patients, right?
Like patient care is my zone ofgenius.
The business side, wholedifferent ballgame.
And so you have to learn and yougrow with your business.
So at the time that I foundentree MD and Dr.
Una, I knew that we were comingback to Florida, but I didn't
(08:59):
know what that looked like.
So really I stumbled upon itmore from like a brand building,
reputation-building type ofapproach.
And then as I I think I had justjoined the business school, it
was kind of around the timewhere I made the decision I was
gonna open my own practice.
And so I knew I was gonna needthat.
And so it was the businessschool, it was the community.
(09:19):
And then locally on the ground,I actually leaned heavily on the
local society, the medicalsociety, and then, you know,
just colleagues in the area,like, hey, I'm looking for XYZ.
What's your suggestion?
But those were kind of thedifferent, the different tools.
I didn't have any informationactually when I was starting
out.
SPEAKER_03 (09:39):
So, what are some surprising opportunities that
entrepreneurship has opened upfor you?
SPEAKER_02 (09:44):
So I think that there's a few things that you
really don't think about.
One of them, I think, is thework-life balance.
And so one message that Ireceived a lot of was you're
gonna be in solo practice,you're gonna be on call 24-7,
it's gonna be miserable, youknow, 365 days a week.
But having control over myschedule, autonomy over my
(10:07):
schedule, and control over thepatient experience, actually, my
patients were getting so muchcommunication from myself and my
team that I rarely got called.
I can count on one hand thenumber of times that I've been
called in the middle of thenight or called on a weekend or
whatnot, unexpectedly.
So I think the work-life balancewas actually much better than
what I was expecting going intoit.
(10:29):
The second opportunity was thelocal networking with other
female physician founders.
That really was unexpected.
And just getting to see whatother people are doing, I would
say both here on the ground andin the business school, and just
getting the opportunity tonetwork with other female
founders who are doing likereally rock star things.
(10:50):
And there's some rockstar guysin the business school too,
seeing those examples and havingthose vision boards again, both
here on the ground and in thebusiness school across the
country.
That was really unexpected.
And what you find is thatthere's actually people that are
rocking it in medicine.
Like it's not this sort ofnegative gray picture that
everybody paints.
And then the third, it's thiskind of bucket of like
(11:12):
consulting, speaking, device,like this sort of world that
opened up people that areinterested from other other
industries are interested inboth learning from you and
hearing your expertise from amedical standpoint on different
things.
So that's been cool.
SPEAKER_03 (11:27):
I absolutely love that for you.
And that I do believe thatentrepreneurship does open up,
you know, a lot of opportunitiesin the way where you were saying
that you can count on your handhow many times you've been
called in the middle of thenight.
I feel like I can do the samething for my mom, where like the
way she has her work-lifebalance.
So even when she gets calls,they're fast-paced, is you know,
never that big of a deal.
(11:48):
But then she hardly ever getsthem because I believe that she
has trained her patients in away where if you need this, then
you go here rather than callingme to do this.
So she has absolutely masteredthat.
And I love that for both you andher.
And so one of the wins that youmentioned in the little
questionnaire was that you werenamed the best doctor in Fort
Lauderdale in 2024 and in 2025.
(12:09):
So could you expand on that forus a little bit?
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
There is a concept that Dr.
Inna talks about a lot, which issort of establishing yourself as
an authority in your space.
And when I moved to FortLauderdale, I had been away from
the from the South Floridaregion.
I was never in Fort Lauderdale,so I was brand new to the area,
but I'd been away from the SouthFlorida region for five years.
So nobody really knew who I was.
(12:33):
And there was a lot ofreputation and brand building
that has gone into the lastcouple of years for me.
And apparently there's a localmagazine, it's called the Fort
Lauderdale magazine.
Readers can vote to see who isthe best doctor in the area.
And in 2024, I got an email,which I thought was spam at the
time.
And they're like, hey, you won.
(12:53):
And now, mind you, at thispoint, we had been open less
than a year.
Okay.
So we were, yeah, we had beenopen less than a year.
And I get this email, you wonbest doctor for Lauderdale.
I'm like, what is this?
Whatnot?
And I was getting texts from mykids' school, from the parents
and whatnot, like, oh my gosh,you're in the magazine.
And I was like, what ishappening right now?
And it it speaks to two things,right?
(13:14):
It speaks to number one, thegap, right?
And sort of what patients werewanting and what patients were
seeking, and the kind of serviceand the kind of care that we
were giving to our fertilitypatients.
And number two is that I wouldhave never thought that the Fort
Lauderdale magazine was ofsignificance, if you will, for
my brand building.
(13:35):
And yet it was so important andallowed for so many things.
And then that led to otherthings, right?
Because then that's somethingthat's going on your social
media.
That's something that's going onyour pitches when you're
pitching for podcasts, you'repitching for interviews, et
cetera.
It adds a layer of like streetcred that is maybe outside of
the orthodox what we think of asstreet cred, which is, you know,
(13:56):
certifications and titles andwhatnot.
Like nobody cares that I'mdouble board certified.
Nobody cares about mymaintenance of certification.
Nobody cares.
I care, but really they'relooking to this type of
recognition.
It was pretty cool.
I mean, year one of business, wegot it.
Year two of business, we got it.
We're now at the end of March,but we're hoping for a
three-pee, three years in a row.
So we'll see how that goes.
(14:17):
That sounds amazing.
SPEAKER_03 (14:18):
Now, you did mention at the beginning that was
something that Dr.
Una talks about is makingyourself an authority in that
place.
So could you talk a little bitabout how you were able to do
that?
SPEAKER_02 (14:27):
I think one of the things that I focused on very
early on was getting out in mycommunity.
So there's a local medicalsociety that I joined.
And to be a member, you have togive a five-minute talk.
And there's all differentspecialties, right?
And so that's a way for otherproviders in the area to get to
know me.
I also joined a few differentwomen's groups, volunteering and
(14:49):
women's networking.
We then found events where Icould speak at locally.
And so it was really aboutgetting myself out in the
community.
And then once you're out there,you know, you can share your
credentials, you can share theletters behind your name, et
cetera.
That visibility is huge.
SPEAKER_03 (15:05):
So it's essentially when it came to starting out
your practice, you didn't holdback with the visibility thing.
SPEAKER_02 (15:10):
Yeah, I went full court press.
There's nothing like your faceout there in the community.
Yeah, for sure.
And you did talk a little bitabout brand building.
SPEAKER_03 (15:18):
So could you mention some of the things that you were
able to do?
Because I know your social mediais definitely on fire.
I've seen you like all over myfeed.
So could you talk a little bitabout what it is that you do for
that?
SPEAKER_02 (15:28):
We started with a personal account, Dr.
Carolina Sweldo, and I still,you know, have that.
But Sabo was always meant to bebigger than me.
Sabo was always meant to gobeyond one doctor.
And so we created the SaboFertility Center Facebook and
Instagram page, which are linkedtogether.
So it's one post feeding intotwo venues, and really just
being consistent with thecontent and publishing
(15:51):
regularly.
I have a virtual assistant who'sphenomenal.
She's been with me since thevery first days of just building
my own personal brand.
And she knows me and my voice sowell that she's really able to
curate that content.
So we have a strong, consistentpresence on social media.
Our website is also reallyincredible.
(16:13):
You don't want to spend a ton oftime on it.
If you can, you want tooutsource it, but it is
definitely a representation ofyour brand.
And I've gotten many comments onthe ease of navigation, the
aesthetic, the information.
So that's been really importantas well for that digital
footprint.
SPEAKER_03 (16:28):
And so in getting to this point where you are now,
you know, where you've gottenthe best doctorate at Fort
Lauderdale two years in a row,et cetera, what were some of the
challenges that you had to facein getting to where you are now?
SPEAKER_02 (16:39):
Where do I start?
We could do a whole podcastepisode on that.
If I could encapsulate it, Iwould say the biggest thing is
learning resilience.
Anyone who's a doctor isresilient.
You've you've had to go throughyears and years of training and
exams and all kinds ofstressors, critical cases, et
cetera.
I mentioned in the beginning,like patient care is your zone
(16:59):
of genius.
I was a beginner when it came tothe business of medicine.
And there were a lot of thingsthat happened in the beginning
from, you know, a landlord thatwas really difficult to work
with, a difficult patient thatended up with a financial impact
to the practice, a vendor notdelivering on time.
And then that directly impactedpatient care to, you know,
(17:22):
personnel and staffingsituations and having to let
somebody go within their 90-dayprobationary period, et cetera.
There's been so many things thathave happened in this short
amount of time.
And I think the biggest shifthas been my bounce back.
In the beginning, I would notsleep, I would really struggle
through it.
I leaned very, very heavily onthe EBS community in that first
(17:45):
year.
I don't know that there would bea SABO without EBS.
In fact, I say that all the timeto Dr.
Eden.
I always tell her, there's noEBS without Entre MD.
As time has passed, thechallenges are still there in a
different way.
And my ability to respond tothem has also evolved.
And so that's been really nice.
Like that, that valley, thatnegativity, it doesn't last
(18:05):
forever.
SPEAKER_03 (18:06):
And so you mentioned that without EBS, there is no
SABO.
So could you talk a little bitabout, you know, the business
school?
What did the business goalcontribute to the success of
your private practice?
SPEAKER_02 (18:16):
Probably the biggest thing is having the community.
Being a, you know, solo founderin any industry, but especially
in medicine today, is extremelylonely, extremely isolating.
In my particular case, add thatI was a new mother to young
children, aging parents, thesandwich generation.
It was that first year wasbrutal.
(18:38):
And the only way that I gotthrough that was having the
support in the community of theentree MD business school.
100%.
There's no doubt.
Beyond that, I think it's theframeworks.
So the systems that come from,okay, I know I need to brand
build.
What does that actually mean?
So I need to have a socialmedia, I need to have a website,
(18:59):
I need to pitch for podcasts.
What is the actual sequence todoing that?
What's the frequency?
Dr.
Una talks about the revenuegeneration framework that's like
literally ingrained in my brain,and I'm still using that now.
The other thing that's beeninteresting now, which I didn't
think about it at the time, butnow in year three is building
for growth and building for sortof that, you know, starting at
(19:20):
the foundation, but building fora business, you know, two or
three iterations from whereyou're at today makes all the
difference.
And so running meetings, how thestaff operates, the SOPs, the
ROI for each employee, etcetera, like all of that is is
the thinking is okay, SIBO fiveyears from now, SABO 10 years
from now, you know, what is thatlooking like?
(19:41):
That mindset was really helpful.
And then I would say, you know,back to the loneliness and
isolation, you don't really havea lot of spaces where you can go
and share and be vulnerable withthe hard parts of doing this.
And so having the businessschool as a safe container to
navigate not only the wins,which, you know, are what we
typically share with everyone,but also the valleys and the
(20:03):
hard parts of doing this.
That was critical.
SPEAKER_03 (20:05):
So speaking of wins, can we talk a little bit about
them?
Let's do your top three wins.
We can do both tangible andintangible.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
Tangible wins, I would say from a revenue
standpoint.
So I self-funded the business.
I did not take out a loan.
So started very lean and kind ofgrew into it.
That's not right or wrong.
That's just how I chose to doit.
By the end of year one, I hadpaid myself back startup costs
and had paid myself a six-figuresalary.
And then going into year two,yeah, we it was a stretch goal,
(20:34):
but we wanted to double ourrevenue.
And we actually hit that by theend of December 2025.
So year two of business.
What was the revenue goal youhad for that?
My revenue goal was a milliondollars.
And so you hit that.
That's amazing.
We did.
Before December 31st, we brokethat number, which was
incredible.
Wow.
It was a very big stretch for usstarting the year.
(20:54):
So we were very excited aboutit.
I think the second win is reallyfrom a positioning standpoint.
I mentioned being a member ofthe local medical society.
I'm a co-founder for a localfemale physician founders group
in South Florida.
And I helped co-run that basedon my EBS experience.
I'm also a member for the LatinAmerican Reproductive Medicine
(21:17):
Association, which was also onmy vision board for two years in
a row, 2023, 2024.
And that finally came intoeffect.
And I think the third is alittle bit more intangible, but
living with intention andsetting those annual goals in
the nine areas of life.
That's something that wepractice in EBS.
I had heard of this, but neverhad done it in any sort of
(21:37):
intentional way.
And it's something that I'vecarried with me.
Did recently with my team fortheir own personal development,
and then we did a collective onefor the business.
Getting to the end of the yearand seeing 75 to 80% of those
goals met is pretty cool.
I think those would be my toptwo or three wins from EBS for
sure.
Those are amazing wins.
I'll take them.
SPEAKER_03 (21:57):
Now, a little bit earlier, you talked about your
work.
Life balance.
And something that I know Dr.
Una talks a lot about is havingyour dream business and dream
life.
So could you talk a little bitabout how you're experiencing
both areas?
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
Yes, there's gonna be seasons where you may have to
put a little bit more into thebusiness, a little bit less into
the business.
But generally speaking, I have afour-day work week.
I typically work eight to four,eight to five.
I don't work weekends.
I'm closed all major holidays.
And my goal, which I hit lastyear, was to take one week off a
quarter.
This year I'm trying to increaseone of those to two weeks.
(22:31):
So we're seeing if we can makethat happen.
More than anything, it's theautonomy of like, hey, my kid
has a school show at 9.30 on aThursday, so I can move things
around and make that happen.
So I think that work-lifebalance is definitely doable.
It can look different foreveryone.
And I think one of the bigtakeaways from the business
school was live a version ofyour dream life now.
(22:54):
Like you may want to work Xnumber of days, or you may want
to take X amount of time off, orwhatever the ultimate goal is.
So what version of that can youlive now?
And that was really helpful asI'm still technically growing
the business, right?
We're still very much in growthmode.
My word for 2026 is thoughtfulscaling.
How do I scale the business withwithout compromising patient
(23:17):
experience, without compromisingteam experience?
And at the same time, likeliving a version of my dream
life.
I know what I want for myfive-year, my tenure.
How do I incorporate that, youknow, or pieces of that now?
The thoughtful scaling.
Could you talk a little bit moreabout it?
It really was born in my firstyear, year and a half of
business.
I probably had at least four, ifnot more, investor groups reach
(23:40):
out to me and like, you know,we'll build your lab, we'll help
you grow SABO, you know, etcetera, et cetera.
I had my business consultantcome in, review, do an audit of
all the business, the numbers,et cetera.
And he like, he had dollar signsin his eyes.
Like, we could have, you know,35 Sabos across the country and
like let's blow this thing upand whatnot.
But at its core, like my why wasI wanted something different for
(24:03):
myself and I wanted somethingdifferent for the patients.
In the beginning, it was reallyabout carving out my little
corner of the world to see mypatients the way I wanted.
And once we had proof ofconcept, we were like, oh, we
can actually be a serious playerin the space.
Like, what does now what doesthat look like?
(24:23):
Right.
And so as we grow the businessand as we think about scaling,
because because really thevision for Sabo is not to be
Fort Lauderdale, not to be asingle practice.
Like the thought is that Sabo isa different model within the
fertility space, offeringboutique care.
And we want to replicate that inother parts of the country.
(24:44):
How do we scale and how do wegrow the business in a way that
won't compromise patientexperience, what we've been able
to deliver in the last couple ofyears, and also doesn't
compromise the team, whetherit's myself and my work-life
balance or my team and theirwork-life balance and how
they're able to function.
So those are really like keepingthose two at the forefront and
(25:06):
the priority, but still with theintent of growing.
The message that I have from mySABO experience is you can serve
and give a lot of impact.
You can give your team andyourself work-life balance, and
you can still grow the businessand be profitable.
There is a way to do thiswithout the model that's
currently in the space, which islike high volume, working a
(25:28):
million hours, you know, andthat's the fastest way to get,
you know, to whatever your 10xmultiple is.
SPEAKER_03 (25:34):
You know, if you could say something to a private
practice owner, you know, who'sfeeling a little bit challenged
in the area of, okay, maybe theyhave too many work hours, or
maybe patient care is theirthing, but at the same time they
feel like they're not makingenough, that patient care is
kind of going down.
What advice would you give tothat person who's struggling
with something like that?
SPEAKER_02 (25:53):
So I think one of the biggest lessons that I
learned along the way, in partthanks to the business school
and specifically the EBS mathpuzzle, is it's don't make it an
emotional decision.
Like remove the emotion out ofit, remove the burnout, remove
the fatigue, and think aboutlike what it is that you're
trying to achieve.
(26:13):
If it's a revenue goal, if it'sa patient number, if it's a you
know work hour number, etcetera, and then back into the
back into that result.
So first identify what are youtrying to achieve, and then
retrofit your work to matchthat.
I knew I wanted to hit a millionin revenue at the current rate
(26:34):
that I was going, that even if Iworked quote unquote more and
went to five days a week insteadof four, I wasn't gonna hit it.
So how do I then back into thatnumber?
Whether it's increasing patientvolume in the same amount of
hours, whether it's increasingpricing, whether it's increasing
my own hours, which I knew Ididn't want to do.
So I think it's about having thegoal and then working backwards
to solve for that solution.
SPEAKER_03 (26:55):
You mentioned the business goal just a little bit
within that, you know, the EBSmath puzzle.
And so what has been, let's do,your biggest takeaway from the
business school, like thebiggest lesson you learned while
in it?
SPEAKER_02 (27:07):
One is visibility.
You have to be visible.
Number two is systems and beingokay with those systems breaking
with each new level that youkind of get to, the systems that
got you here won't get youthere.
And then three is the strategyand like being clear on what you
want, but but removing theemotion from it and then backing
(27:28):
into the decision.
SPEAKER_03 (27:30):
Those are powerful.
And then so if you could saysomething to someone who is on
the fence about joining thebusiness school, they're one
foot in and one foot out, whatwould you tell them?
SPEAKER_02 (27:39):
What I said earlier, there is no SABO without UBS.
I wholeheartedly mean that.
Having the community, having thespace where people are rocking
it and like really doingincredible things and people
that are gonna support you here,the good, the bad, and the ugly,
all of that, you know, makes itwell worth it.
And then you add sort of cherryon top is what you learn because
(28:01):
people are like, oh, well, I canget that from a book, or I can
get that from, you know, apodcast, or I can get that from
whatever.
But the community and thesupport and the like, hey, I
need to pick your brain aboutthis specific thing, that's
very, very unique to EBS.
SPEAKER_03 (28:15):
And so now to anybody who is listening and you
believe that like you're alittle bit on the fence about
the business school, I wouldlike to invite you to book a
call.
So in that you'd have theopportunity to talk with one of
our team members, you'd be ableto lay out your concerns, you
know, talk about why you're onthe fence.
And what our team will do isthat they will help you figure
out your next best step.
So if you're interested inbooking a call, you can go to
(28:36):
onchimd.com forward slashsuccess.
But like what Dr.
Swellbill said, if you'relooking for that type of
community, because thatcommunity really isn't something
that you can get from a podcastand it's not something that you
can get from a book, you know,that community of where you have
doctors who are uplifting youand, you know, they're not
trying to tear you down so thatthey can get on top.
I really do believe that bookinga call will really help just so
(28:58):
that you're able to talk tosomebody about any questions
that you may have.
Because, like my mother likes tosay, Dr.
Una, she says that EBS is hereto serve you.
And so that's what we're allabout.
We're all here to serve you, tohelp you with whatever it is
that you may need.
So I'll be on shmd.com forwardslash success because so that
you can book a call today.
And now, Dr.
Svelda, I know you mentioned thecommunity, and I feel like that
(29:22):
may be your answer.
But when you were in thebusiness school, what was your
favorite thing about it?
SPEAKER_02 (29:26):
The live events were magic, and you know, having the
accountability of the Wednesdaycalls was great.
The accountability is soimportant when you're navigating
this, but the live events of EBSwere magic.
I still miss them.
SPEAKER_03 (29:39):
I love the live events as well.
And so, Dr.
Sweld, I just want to say thankyou so much.
This has been a very awesomeinterview, and I've had a lot of
fun and I've learned a lot ofthings.
But now for our last question,where can people find you?
They want to get to know moreabout you, where should they go
to look for you?
SPEAKER_02 (29:55):
So I am on all the major social media platforms.
The best thing to do would be tojust send me a DM on my
Instagram, DR Carolina Sweldo orDr.
Carolina Sweldo.
If not, they can always submit aweb inquiry on our website,
sabofertilitycenter.com.
Happy to help.
If anybody has questions, alwaysreach out and happy to help you
(30:15):
navigate and answer.
SPEAKER_03 (30:16):
I do have one more question now, actually.
So if there's anything from thisepisode that you want someone
to, you know, take away and tokeep with them, what would that
be?
SPEAKER_02 (30:27):
It's possible.
I think the the messaging inmedicine right now is very
negative.
Like private practice is dead.
If you're not working for ahospital or a group, you're not
gonna make any money, you're notgonna have that doctor
lifestyle, or you're gonna justbe working yourself to the bone.
I think the message is one ofhope and positivity and just
knowing that it is possible andthat there are physicians, a lot
(30:51):
of them, who are doing amazingin this space and that medicine
is still thriving if you let it.
SPEAKER_03 (30:57):
So if there's anything, anything that you take
away from this podcast episodeis that it is possible and that
you can do it.
And there are whole that thereare an amazing amount of living
examples of people who are doingthis.
Dr.
Carolina Sweldo is one of them.
So, Dr.
Sweldo, thank you so much forcoming on.
This has been amazing.
I've learned so much, and Ibelieve that I'll be taking, you
(31:19):
know, a lot away from thispodcast episode.
So I just want to say a reallybig thank you for coming on
today.
SPEAKER_02 (31:24):
Thank you for saying that.
I'm so happy that it was helpfulto you.
SPEAKER_03 (31:28):
And so, to everyone who is watching, remember not to
allow this episode to be yourbest kept secret.
So, if there's something thatyou learned that you believe
will benefit another doctor,then I do want to invite you to
share this with them.
And I believe that it'll make animpact in their life.
And so, a very big thank you toyou for watching, and we will
see you next time.
You, my friend, are in for a treat of treats with
this episode of the EntreEndeavour Podcast.
I have a very special guest, Dr.
Carlena Squaldo.
She's a double board certifiedphysician in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida.
She has a fertility boutique,fertility practice that she set
up, and she walks through herjourney from before she started
the practice to her first yearto where she is now.
(00:21):
She is a total boss, alumni ofthe On Train B business school.
I remember when I first met her,she says, I'm gonna be one of
your best students, and oh mygoodness, what she has done has
been unbelievable.
And what makes it even moremagical is that this interview
was run by my daughter, Cheta,who is 17 years old.
She has her own podcast.
It's called the ProfitablePrivate Practice Podcast, where
(00:44):
she interviews doctors inprivate practice, talking their
journey because she's aphysician ally, too.
This is a family businesspeople.
Okay?
So she interviews Dr.
Squaldo in this fantasticinterview.
So excited to share it with you.
So if you haven't subscribed tothe Profitable Private Practice
Podcast yet, I want to inviteyou to do that.
And I want you to follow Dr.
Squaldo.
(01:04):
If this interview is such a giftto you, I want you to share this
episode.
This is going to change yourlife, whether you're a private
practice or not, whether you'rea cashpayer or not.
I want you to learn the gemsfrom this and change your own
world.
And now for the episode.
SPEAKER_00 (01:19):
Hi, dogs.
Welcome to the Entre MD podcast,where it's all about helping
amazing physicians just like youembrace entrepreneurship so you
can have the freedom to livelife and practice medicine on
your terms.
I'm your host, Dr.
Inna.
SPEAKER_03 (01:38):
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the
Profitable Private PracticePodcast.
And today I have with me Dr.
Carolina Sweldo.
Hi, Dr.
Sweldo.
Hi, Cheddar.
Thank you so much for having meon.
Just so that we can get started,could you please give us a
60-second introduction ofyourself?
SPEAKER_02 (01:55):
Oh man, I don't think I've ever timed myself.
Okay, so I am Dr.
Carolina Sweldo.
I'm a double board certifiedfertility specialist, and I'm
also the founder of SaboFertility Center, a boutique
fertility practice in FortLauderdale, Florida.
SPEAKER_03 (02:10):
I heard a few things.
One, that you were born inCarolina and then you moved to
Argentina, and that you're avery avid soccer fan.
So I was doing some research andI found like a post from like
107 weeks ago.
And it was, I think of like yourson and he had a messy um jersey
on, and you're just talkingabout it.
So could you tell us a littlebit about, you know, your love
for soccer, how you were born inCalifornia, moved to Argentina?
(02:32):
Could you tell us a little bitabout that?
SPEAKER_02 (02:34):
My parents are originally from Argentina, just
outside of the capital, outsideof Buenos Aires.
And in the early 70s, theyemigrated to the US.
They started first in Chicagoand then ended up in California.
That's where my brothers and Iwere born and raised, but we
were very connected toArgentina, even like before I
can remember.
So we were traveling back onceto twice a year for extended
(02:55):
periods of time.
And then when I was 15, thefamily actually packed up and
moved down there.
So I actually did high schooland I stayed down there for
medical school and then cameback for my post-grad training.
So I did residency inCalifornia, my REI infertility
fellowship in Connecticut, andthen I've now been in practice
for a little over 10 years.
SPEAKER_03 (03:14):
I love that.
That is amazing.
SPEAKER_02 (03:16):
It's a bicultural upbringing, very much from the
very beginning.
But one thing that's from thevery beginning exploded was love
for soccer.
So my dad actually played clubsoccer in Argentina in the under
18s and, you know, had us insoccer all through our childhood
for as long as I can rememberanyway.
We actually had jerseys, myhusband and I, for our dogs.
(03:36):
And then once the kids camealong, we got them their own.
So, in essence, you have prettydeep roots in Argentina, yes.
And in fact, Saiho is thenational flower of Argentina.
So the name of my clinic is tiedto that background.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (03:49):
You mentioned that you moved back when you were 15.
Did that affect anythinglifestyle-wise?
SPEAKER_02 (03:55):
It definitely shaped who I was as a person.
Anyone who can, I encourage themto live abroad during their sort
of formative years.
Living abroad just it completelychanges your view of the world.
It for me really shaped, youknow, my extroverted
personality, how I am in socialcircles.
Starting high school at the ageof 15 in a new country, in a new
(04:16):
language, in a new culture was awhole, you know, because even
though you visit, it's one thingto visit family and be in sort
of a family home environment.
It's very different to actuallylive there and go to school
there, do sports there, etcetera.
SPEAKER_03 (04:27):
Let's go ahead and, you know, get started on the
entrepreneurial side of things.
So could you tell us about thefirst moment when you
entertained the thought ofbecoming an entrepreneur?
SPEAKER_02 (04:36):
I actually never had plans to open my own practice.
That was never in the cards.
But when my husband and I madethe decision to move back to
South Florida, this was sometimein 2022.
I had first practiced here rightout of fellowship.
So I knew most of the players.
I didn't know all of thepractices, but I knew many of
the players.
And in the fertility spacespecifically, private equity
(04:58):
firms have actually acquired thelarge portion of the market
share.
So most of the big practices inthe area are backed by or
majority owned by private equityfirms.
Really at the outset, there waslike, which of these is the
least bad for me?
I had already lived the privateequity experience and really was
just didn't fit well with it.
(05:18):
My personality, how I wanted topractice.
There was just so many thingsthat were fundamentally
misaligned.
And so, really, my husband wasthe one who first planted the
seed of like, if you're gonna gointo something already knowing
that you're gonna be unhappy,you should just like do your own
thing, shoot your shot, see whathappens, and if you can make it
work, great.
And if you can't, you can justjoin one of them later.
(05:38):
So he kind of just pushed you tostart your own practice.
Exactly.
And you don't know what youdon't know.
Like I had two small children atthe time when we were
contemplating this, my older sonwas three.
My younger guy was, you know,just barely a year when we were
starting to navigate this.
It was a really big decision forme as a mom to young children to
(06:00):
make this leap.
But it really came down to, youknow, I was on the verge of 40.
I knew I had still many yearsleft to practice, and I knew I
loved what I was doing and couldcreate a lot of impact, but I
did not love the business ofmedicine and sort of my options
that were on the table at thattime.
And so it really was kind ofthat leap of faith: like, hey,
(06:20):
let's do it and we're gonnashoot our shot and let's see
what we can do with this.
SPEAKER_03 (06:25):
What were some mindset shifts, in essence, that
you had to make before startingyour practice?
SPEAKER_02 (06:31):
I think the first thing was I needed to believe
that it was possible.
I needed to find examples.
And there was somebody inCalifornia who was already doing
it, had been doing it.
Now, the conditions andcircumstances were a little bit
different than what I waswalking into, but they were a
great support and mentor in thebeginning.
So finding examples that it waspossible, and then finding
(06:54):
community, right?
Like surrounding myself withboth the people and the tools
that I was going to need.
Because you don't, again, I saidit earlier, you don't know what
you don't know.
And so, what were the tools thatI was gonna need to make that
happen?
We talk a lot about marketingstrategy, knowing your numbers,
et cetera.
But even basic things of likejoining the local medical
(07:15):
society, finding the officespace, where was I gonna get my
supplies from, exam tables, howwas I gonna furnish, like all of
those things I didn't know whatI didn't know.
And then it was really beingokay with the discomfort.
I think that was probably thebiggest mindset shift in
medicine.
There's very much kind of thistrain that you are on, right?
(07:36):
Medical school, then post-gradtraining, whether it's residency
or residency and fellowship.
And then you join either ahospital or a group and you're
on that track and you may or maynot be up for partnership.
And it's very sort of defined,if you will.
And what I was doing, certainlyin the fertility space, it was
very rare to see people doingthat.
And here in South Florida,people thought I was crazy.
(07:57):
Like they were like, You'redoing what?
Like that's never gonna work.
I literally had somebody call meand tell me, you know, they were
just waiting for me to fail sothat they could absorb myself
and my patients.
It was definitely going againstthe grain and having to be okay
with that and like knowing thatit was possible.
SPEAKER_03 (08:16):
And so you mentioned a few times that you don't know
what you don't know.
So when going into practices,I've interviewed some people who
were like, Well, I didn't reallyknow anything about it, so I
joined the business school.
And then after I joined thebusiness school, I started my
practice.
So did you like wait until youhad majority of the information
before you started yourpractice, or you kind of just
went straight in?
SPEAKER_02 (08:37):
There's the saying, build the plane while you're
flying.
That is very much me with Sabo.
Um, because I can take reallygood care of patients, right?
Like patient care is my zone ofgenius.
The business side, wholedifferent ballgame.
And so you have to learn and yougrow with your business.
So at the time that I foundentree MD and Dr.
Una, I knew that we were comingback to Florida, but I didn't
(08:59):
know what that looked like.
So really I stumbled upon itmore from like a brand building,
reputation-building type ofapproach.
And then as I I think I had justjoined the business school, it
was kind of around the timewhere I made the decision I was
gonna open my own practice.
And so I knew I was gonna needthat.
And so it was the businessschool, it was the community.
(09:19):
And then locally on the ground,I actually leaned heavily on the
local society, the medicalsociety, and then, you know,
just colleagues in the area,like, hey, I'm looking for XYZ.
What's your suggestion?
But those were kind of thedifferent, the different tools.
I didn't have any informationactually when I was starting
out.
SPEAKER_03 (09:39):
So, what are some surprising opportunities that
entrepreneurship has opened upfor you?
SPEAKER_02 (09:44):
So I think that there's a few things that you
really don't think about.
One of them, I think, is thework-life balance.
And so one message that Ireceived a lot of was you're
gonna be in solo practice,you're gonna be on call 24-7,
it's gonna be miserable, youknow, 365 days a week.
But having control over myschedule, autonomy over my
(10:07):
schedule, and control over thepatient experience, actually, my
patients were getting so muchcommunication from myself and my
team that I rarely got called.
I can count on one hand thenumber of times that I've been
called in the middle of thenight or called on a weekend or
whatnot, unexpectedly.
So I think the work-life balancewas actually much better than
what I was expecting going intoit.
(10:29):
The second opportunity was thelocal networking with other
female physician founders.
That really was unexpected.
And just getting to see whatother people are doing, I would
say both here on the ground andin the business school, and just
getting the opportunity tonetwork with other female
founders who are doing likereally rock star things.
(10:50):
And there's some rockstar guysin the business school too,
seeing those examples and havingthose vision boards again, both
here on the ground and in thebusiness school across the
country.
That was really unexpected.
And what you find is thatthere's actually people that are
rocking it in medicine.
Like it's not this sort ofnegative gray picture that
everybody paints.
And then the third, it's thiskind of bucket of like
(11:12):
consulting, speaking, device,like this sort of world that
opened up people that areinterested from other other
industries are interested inboth learning from you and
hearing your expertise from amedical standpoint on different
things.
So that's been cool.
SPEAKER_03 (11:27):
I absolutely love that for you.
And that I do believe thatentrepreneurship does open up,
you know, a lot of opportunitiesin the way where you were saying
that you can count on your handhow many times you've been
called in the middle of thenight.
I feel like I can do the samething for my mom, where like the
way she has her work-lifebalance.
So even when she gets calls,they're fast-paced, is you know,
never that big of a deal.
(11:48):
But then she hardly ever getsthem because I believe that she
has trained her patients in away where if you need this, then
you go here rather than callingme to do this.
So she has absolutely masteredthat.
And I love that for both you andher.
And so one of the wins that youmentioned in the little
questionnaire was that you werenamed the best doctor in Fort
Lauderdale in 2024 and in 2025.
(12:09):
So could you expand on that forus a little bit?
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
There is a concept that Dr.
Inna talks about a lot, which issort of establishing yourself as
an authority in your space.
And when I moved to FortLauderdale, I had been away from
the from the South Floridaregion.
I was never in Fort Lauderdale,so I was brand new to the area,
but I'd been away from the SouthFlorida region for five years.
So nobody really knew who I was.
(12:33):
And there was a lot ofreputation and brand building
that has gone into the lastcouple of years for me.
And apparently there's a localmagazine, it's called the Fort
Lauderdale magazine.
Readers can vote to see who isthe best doctor in the area.
And in 2024, I got an email,which I thought was spam at the
time.
And they're like, hey, you won.
(12:53):
And now, mind you, at thispoint, we had been open less
than a year.
Okay.
So we were, yeah, we had beenopen less than a year.
And I get this email, you wonbest doctor for Lauderdale.
I'm like, what is this?
Whatnot?
And I was getting texts from mykids' school, from the parents
and whatnot, like, oh my gosh,you're in the magazine.
And I was like, what ishappening right now?
And it it speaks to two things,right?
(13:14):
It speaks to number one, thegap, right?
And sort of what patients werewanting and what patients were
seeking, and the kind of serviceand the kind of care that we
were giving to our fertilitypatients.
And number two is that I wouldhave never thought that the Fort
Lauderdale magazine was ofsignificance, if you will, for
my brand building.
(13:35):
And yet it was so important andallowed for so many things.
And then that led to otherthings, right?
Because then that's somethingthat's going on your social
media.
That's something that's going onyour pitches when you're
pitching for podcasts, you'repitching for interviews, et
cetera.
It adds a layer of like streetcred that is maybe outside of
the orthodox what we think of asstreet cred, which is, you know,
(13:56):
certifications and titles andwhatnot.
Like nobody cares that I'mdouble board certified.
Nobody cares about mymaintenance of certification.
Nobody cares.
I care, but really they'relooking to this type of
recognition.
It was pretty cool.
I mean, year one of business, wegot it.
Year two of business, we got it.
We're now at the end of March,but we're hoping for a
three-pee, three years in a row.
So we'll see how that goes.
(14:17):
That sounds amazing.
SPEAKER_03 (14:18):
Now, you did mention at the beginning that was
something that Dr.
Una talks about is makingyourself an authority in that
place.
So could you talk a little bitabout how you were able to do
that?
SPEAKER_02 (14:27):
I think one of the things that I focused on very
early on was getting out in mycommunity.
So there's a local medicalsociety that I joined.
And to be a member, you have togive a five-minute talk.
And there's all differentspecialties, right?
And so that's a way for otherproviders in the area to get to
know me.
I also joined a few differentwomen's groups, volunteering and
(14:49):
women's networking.
We then found events where Icould speak at locally.
And so it was really aboutgetting myself out in the
community.
And then once you're out there,you know, you can share your
credentials, you can share theletters behind your name, et
cetera.
That visibility is huge.
SPEAKER_03 (15:05):
So it's essentially when it came to starting out
your practice, you didn't holdback with the visibility thing.
SPEAKER_02 (15:10):
Yeah, I went full court press.
There's nothing like your faceout there in the community.
Yeah, for sure.
And you did talk a little bitabout brand building.
SPEAKER_03 (15:18):
So could you mention some of the things that you were
able to do?
Because I know your social mediais definitely on fire.
I've seen you like all over myfeed.
So could you talk a little bitabout what it is that you do for
that?
SPEAKER_02 (15:28):
We started with a personal account, Dr.
Carolina Sweldo, and I still,you know, have that.
But Sabo was always meant to bebigger than me.
Sabo was always meant to gobeyond one doctor.
And so we created the SaboFertility Center Facebook and
Instagram page, which are linkedtogether.
So it's one post feeding intotwo venues, and really just
being consistent with thecontent and publishing
(15:51):
regularly.
I have a virtual assistant who'sphenomenal.
She's been with me since thevery first days of just building
my own personal brand.
And she knows me and my voice sowell that she's really able to
curate that content.
So we have a strong, consistentpresence on social media.
Our website is also reallyincredible.
(16:13):
You don't want to spend a ton oftime on it.
If you can, you want tooutsource it, but it is
definitely a representation ofyour brand.
And I've gotten many comments onthe ease of navigation, the
aesthetic, the information.
So that's been really importantas well for that digital
footprint.
SPEAKER_03 (16:28):
And so in getting to this point where you are now,
you know, where you've gottenthe best doctorate at Fort
Lauderdale two years in a row,et cetera, what were some of the
challenges that you had to facein getting to where you are now?
SPEAKER_02 (16:39):
Where do I start?
We could do a whole podcastepisode on that.
If I could encapsulate it, Iwould say the biggest thing is
learning resilience.
Anyone who's a doctor isresilient.
You've you've had to go throughyears and years of training and
exams and all kinds ofstressors, critical cases, et
cetera.
I mentioned in the beginning,like patient care is your zone
(16:59):
of genius.
I was a beginner when it came tothe business of medicine.
And there were a lot of thingsthat happened in the beginning
from, you know, a landlord thatwas really difficult to work
with, a difficult patient thatended up with a financial impact
to the practice, a vendor notdelivering on time.
And then that directly impactedpatient care to, you know,
(17:22):
personnel and staffingsituations and having to let
somebody go within their 90-dayprobationary period, et cetera.
There's been so many things thathave happened in this short
amount of time.
And I think the biggest shifthas been my bounce back.
In the beginning, I would notsleep, I would really struggle
through it.
I leaned very, very heavily onthe EBS community in that first
(17:45):
year.
I don't know that there would bea SABO without EBS.
In fact, I say that all the timeto Dr.
Eden.
I always tell her, there's noEBS without Entre MD.
As time has passed, thechallenges are still there in a
different way.
And my ability to respond tothem has also evolved.
And so that's been really nice.
Like that, that valley, thatnegativity, it doesn't last
(18:05):
forever.
SPEAKER_03 (18:06):
And so you mentioned that without EBS, there is no
SABO.
So could you talk a little bitabout, you know, the business
school?
What did the business goalcontribute to the success of
your private practice?
SPEAKER_02 (18:16):
Probably the biggest thing is having the community.
Being a, you know, solo founderin any industry, but especially
in medicine today, is extremelylonely, extremely isolating.
In my particular case, add thatI was a new mother to young
children, aging parents, thesandwich generation.
It was that first year wasbrutal.
(18:38):
And the only way that I gotthrough that was having the
support in the community of theentree MD business school.
100%.
There's no doubt.
Beyond that, I think it's theframeworks.
So the systems that come from,okay, I know I need to brand
build.
What does that actually mean?
So I need to have a socialmedia, I need to have a website,
(18:59):
I need to pitch for podcasts.
What is the actual sequence todoing that?
What's the frequency?
Dr.
Una talks about the revenuegeneration framework that's like
literally ingrained in my brain,and I'm still using that now.
The other thing that's beeninteresting now, which I didn't
think about it at the time, butnow in year three is building
for growth and building for sortof that, you know, starting at
(19:20):
the foundation, but building fora business, you know, two or
three iterations from whereyou're at today makes all the
difference.
And so running meetings, how thestaff operates, the SOPs, the
ROI for each employee, etcetera, like all of that is is
the thinking is okay, SIBO fiveyears from now, SABO 10 years
from now, you know, what is thatlooking like?
(19:41):
That mindset was really helpful.
And then I would say, you know,back to the loneliness and
isolation, you don't really havea lot of spaces where you can go
and share and be vulnerable withthe hard parts of doing this.
And so having the businessschool as a safe container to
navigate not only the wins,which, you know, are what we
typically share with everyone,but also the valleys and the
(20:03):
hard parts of doing this.
That was critical.
SPEAKER_03 (20:05):
So speaking of wins, can we talk a little bit about
them?
Let's do your top three wins.
We can do both tangible andintangible.
SPEAKER_02 (20:12):
Tangible wins, I would say from a revenue
standpoint.
So I self-funded the business.
I did not take out a loan.
So started very lean and kind ofgrew into it.
That's not right or wrong.
That's just how I chose to doit.
By the end of year one, I hadpaid myself back startup costs
and had paid myself a six-figuresalary.
And then going into year two,yeah, we it was a stretch goal,
(20:34):
but we wanted to double ourrevenue.
And we actually hit that by theend of December 2025.
So year two of business.
What was the revenue goal youhad for that?
My revenue goal was a milliondollars.
And so you hit that.
That's amazing.
We did.
Before December 31st, we brokethat number, which was
incredible.
Wow.
It was a very big stretch for usstarting the year.
(20:54):
So we were very excited aboutit.
I think the second win is reallyfrom a positioning standpoint.
I mentioned being a member ofthe local medical society.
I'm a co-founder for a localfemale physician founders group
in South Florida.
And I helped co-run that basedon my EBS experience.
I'm also a member for the LatinAmerican Reproductive Medicine
(21:17):
Association, which was also onmy vision board for two years in
a row, 2023, 2024.
And that finally came intoeffect.
And I think the third is alittle bit more intangible, but
living with intention andsetting those annual goals in
the nine areas of life.
That's something that wepractice in EBS.
I had heard of this, but neverhad done it in any sort of
(21:37):
intentional way.
And it's something that I'vecarried with me.
Did recently with my team fortheir own personal development,
and then we did a collective onefor the business.
Getting to the end of the yearand seeing 75 to 80% of those
goals met is pretty cool.
I think those would be my toptwo or three wins from EBS for
sure.
Those are amazing wins.
I'll take them.
SPEAKER_03 (21:57):
Now, a little bit earlier, you talked about your
work.
Life balance.
And something that I know Dr.
Una talks a lot about is havingyour dream business and dream
life.
So could you talk a little bitabout how you're experiencing
both areas?
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
Yes, there's gonna be seasons where you may have to
put a little bit more into thebusiness, a little bit less into
the business.
But generally speaking, I have afour-day work week.
I typically work eight to four,eight to five.
I don't work weekends.
I'm closed all major holidays.
And my goal, which I hit lastyear, was to take one week off a
quarter.
This year I'm trying to increaseone of those to two weeks.
(22:31):
So we're seeing if we can makethat happen.
More than anything, it's theautonomy of like, hey, my kid
has a school show at 9.30 on aThursday, so I can move things
around and make that happen.
So I think that work-lifebalance is definitely doable.
It can look different foreveryone.
And I think one of the bigtakeaways from the business
school was live a version ofyour dream life now.
(22:54):
Like you may want to work Xnumber of days, or you may want
to take X amount of time off, orwhatever the ultimate goal is.
So what version of that can youlive now?
And that was really helpful asI'm still technically growing
the business, right?
We're still very much in growthmode.
My word for 2026 is thoughtfulscaling.
How do I scale the business withwithout compromising patient
(23:17):
experience, without compromisingteam experience?
And at the same time, likeliving a version of my dream
life.
I know what I want for myfive-year, my tenure.
How do I incorporate that, youknow, or pieces of that now?
The thoughtful scaling.
Could you talk a little bit moreabout it?
It really was born in my firstyear, year and a half of
business.
I probably had at least four, ifnot more, investor groups reach
(23:40):
out to me and like, you know,we'll build your lab, we'll help
you grow SABO, you know, etcetera, et cetera.
I had my business consultantcome in, review, do an audit of
all the business, the numbers,et cetera.
And he like, he had dollar signsin his eyes.
Like, we could have, you know,35 Sabos across the country and
like let's blow this thing upand whatnot.
But at its core, like my why wasI wanted something different for
(24:03):
myself and I wanted somethingdifferent for the patients.
In the beginning, it was reallyabout carving out my little
corner of the world to see mypatients the way I wanted.
And once we had proof ofconcept, we were like, oh, we
can actually be a serious playerin the space.
Like, what does now what doesthat look like?
(24:23):
Right.
And so as we grow the businessand as we think about scaling,
because because really thevision for Sabo is not to be
Fort Lauderdale, not to be asingle practice.
Like the thought is that Sabo isa different model within the
fertility space, offeringboutique care.
And we want to replicate that inother parts of the country.
(24:44):
How do we scale and how do wegrow the business in a way that
won't compromise patientexperience, what we've been able
to deliver in the last couple ofyears, and also doesn't
compromise the team, whetherit's myself and my work-life
balance or my team and theirwork-life balance and how
they're able to function.
So those are really like keepingthose two at the forefront and
(25:06):
the priority, but still with theintent of growing.
The message that I have from mySABO experience is you can serve
and give a lot of impact.
You can give your team andyourself work-life balance, and
you can still grow the businessand be profitable.
There is a way to do thiswithout the model that's
currently in the space, which islike high volume, working a
(25:28):
million hours, you know, andthat's the fastest way to get,
you know, to whatever your 10xmultiple is.
SPEAKER_03 (25:34):
You know, if you could say something to a private
practice owner, you know, who'sfeeling a little bit challenged
in the area of, okay, maybe theyhave too many work hours, or
maybe patient care is theirthing, but at the same time they
feel like they're not makingenough, that patient care is
kind of going down.
What advice would you give tothat person who's struggling
with something like that?
SPEAKER_02 (25:53):
So I think one of the biggest lessons that I
learned along the way, in partthanks to the business school
and specifically the EBS mathpuzzle, is it's don't make it an
emotional decision.
Like remove the emotion out ofit, remove the burnout, remove
the fatigue, and think aboutlike what it is that you're
trying to achieve.
(26:13):
If it's a revenue goal, if it'sa patient number, if it's a you
know work hour number, etcetera, and then back into the
back into that result.
So first identify what are youtrying to achieve, and then
retrofit your work to matchthat.
I knew I wanted to hit a millionin revenue at the current rate
(26:34):
that I was going, that even if Iworked quote unquote more and
went to five days a week insteadof four, I wasn't gonna hit it.
So how do I then back into thatnumber?
Whether it's increasing patientvolume in the same amount of
hours, whether it's increasingpricing, whether it's increasing
my own hours, which I knew Ididn't want to do.
So I think it's about having thegoal and then working backwards
to solve for that solution.
SPEAKER_03 (26:55):
You mentioned the business goal just a little bit
within that, you know, the EBSmath puzzle.
And so what has been, let's do,your biggest takeaway from the
business school, like thebiggest lesson you learned while
in it?
SPEAKER_02 (27:07):
One is visibility.
You have to be visible.
Number two is systems and beingokay with those systems breaking
with each new level that youkind of get to, the systems that
got you here won't get youthere.
And then three is the strategyand like being clear on what you
want, but but removing theemotion from it and then backing
(27:28):
into the decision.
SPEAKER_03 (27:30):
Those are powerful.
And then so if you could saysomething to someone who is on
the fence about joining thebusiness school, they're one
foot in and one foot out, whatwould you tell them?
SPEAKER_02 (27:39):
What I said earlier, there is no SABO without UBS.
I wholeheartedly mean that.
Having the community, having thespace where people are rocking
it and like really doingincredible things and people
that are gonna support you here,the good, the bad, and the ugly,
all of that, you know, makes itwell worth it.
And then you add sort of cherryon top is what you learn because
(28:01):
people are like, oh, well, I canget that from a book, or I can
get that from, you know, apodcast, or I can get that from
whatever.
But the community and thesupport and the like, hey, I
need to pick your brain aboutthis specific thing, that's
very, very unique to EBS.
SPEAKER_03 (28:15):
And so now to anybody who is listening and you
believe that like you're alittle bit on the fence about
the business school, I wouldlike to invite you to book a
call.
So in that you'd have theopportunity to talk with one of
our team members, you'd be ableto lay out your concerns, you
know, talk about why you're onthe fence.
And what our team will do isthat they will help you figure
out your next best step.
So if you're interested inbooking a call, you can go to
(28:36):
onchimd.com forward slashsuccess.
But like what Dr.
Swellbill said, if you'relooking for that type of
community, because thatcommunity really isn't something
that you can get from a podcastand it's not something that you
can get from a book, you know,that community of where you have
doctors who are uplifting youand, you know, they're not
trying to tear you down so thatthey can get on top.
I really do believe that bookinga call will really help just so
(28:58):
that you're able to talk tosomebody about any questions
that you may have.
Because, like my mother likes tosay, Dr.
Una, she says that EBS is hereto serve you.
And so that's what we're allabout.
We're all here to serve you, tohelp you with whatever it is
that you may need.
So I'll be on shmd.com forwardslash success because so that
you can book a call today.
And now, Dr.
Svelda, I know you mentioned thecommunity, and I feel like that
(29:22):
may be your answer.
But when you were in thebusiness school, what was your
favorite thing about it?
SPEAKER_02 (29:26):
The live events were magic, and you know, having the
accountability of the Wednesdaycalls was great.
The accountability is soimportant when you're navigating
this, but the live events of EBSwere magic.
I still miss them.
SPEAKER_03 (29:39):
I love the live events as well.
And so, Dr.
Sweld, I just want to say thankyou so much.
This has been a very awesomeinterview, and I've had a lot of
fun and I've learned a lot ofthings.
But now for our last question,where can people find you?
They want to get to know moreabout you, where should they go
to look for you?
SPEAKER_02 (29:55):
So I am on all the major social media platforms.
The best thing to do would be tojust send me a DM on my
Instagram, DR Carolina Sweldo orDr.
Carolina Sweldo.
If not, they can always submit aweb inquiry on our website,
sabofertilitycenter.com.
Happy to help.
If anybody has questions, alwaysreach out and happy to help you
(30:15):
navigate and answer.
SPEAKER_03 (30:16):
I do have one more question now, actually.
So if there's anything from thisepisode that you want someone
to, you know, take away and tokeep with them, what would that
be?
SPEAKER_02 (30:27):
It's possible.
I think the the messaging inmedicine right now is very
negative.
Like private practice is dead.
If you're not working for ahospital or a group, you're not
gonna make any money, you're notgonna have that doctor
lifestyle, or you're gonna justbe working yourself to the bone.
I think the message is one ofhope and positivity and just
knowing that it is possible andthat there are physicians, a lot
(30:51):
of them, who are doing amazingin this space and that medicine
is still thriving if you let it.
SPEAKER_03 (30:57):
So if there's anything, anything that you take
away from this podcast episodeis that it is possible and that
you can do it.
And there are whole that thereare an amazing amount of living
examples of people who are doingthis.
Dr.
Carolina Sweldo is one of them.
So, Dr.
Sweldo, thank you so much forcoming on.
This has been amazing.
I've learned so much, and Ibelieve that I'll be taking, you
(31:19):
know, a lot away from thispodcast episode.
So I just want to say a reallybig thank you for coming on
today.
SPEAKER_02 (31:24):
Thank you for saying that.
I'm so happy that it was helpfulto you.
SPEAKER_03 (31:28):
And so, to everyone who is watching, remember not to
allow this episode to be yourbest kept secret.
So, if there's something thatyou learned that you believe
will benefit another doctor,then I do want to invite you to
share this with them.
And I believe that it'll make animpact in their life.
And so, a very big thank you toyou for watching, and we will
see you next time.
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