January 27, 2025 • 19 mins
👉 Ready for the next step? Book a call: https://program.www.entremd.com/callÂ
Feel like your business is struggling?
You’re not alone. No matter how great an entrepreneur you are, there will be seasons when it feels like you’re failing. It’s inevitable. But your ability to continue in the face of these challenges is what will set you apart and make you succeed as an entrepreneur!
That’s why today, I’m sharing 5 powerful moves to make when your business feels like it’s falling apart. These moves will help you navigate challenges and transform struggle into strength, so don’t miss out!
Let’s jump right in.Â
—
Key Takeaways:Â
- 00:00 IntroÂ
- 00:47 Understanding the entrepreneurial journeyÂ
- 03:16 Lean into your whyÂ
- 08:36 Galvanize your teamÂ
- 11:47 Identify what needs to happen and do itÂ
- 14:01 Build accountability
- 15:26 Active patienceÂ
- 16:11 The importance of struggleÂ
- 17:33 OutroÂ
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about my 12-month program.
- Interested in 1-on-1 coaching? Apply here.
- Grab a copy of the "The EntreMD Method" book.
When you are ready to work with us, here are three ways:
- EntreMD Business School Accelerator - If you are looking to make a 180 turnaround in your business in 90 days, this is the program for you.
- 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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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Your ability to continue in the face of
challenges is what will make youwin as an entrepreneur.
Businesses go out of businesslike hotcakes all the time, but
your ability to navigatechallenges is what will ensure
that you continue to stay.
You continue to thrive, youcontinue to grow.
You may have a time where itlooks like you're struggling and
it looks like there's a dip,but when you look over the
(00:20):
course of your journey as anentrepreneur, you'll see that
you can trace your trajectoryand it was just better and
better and better.
Hi docs, welcome to the EntreMDpodcast, where it's all about
helping amazing physicians justlike you embrace
entrepreneurship so you can havethe freedom to live life and
practice medicine on your terms.
(00:41):
I'm your host, dr Imna.
People who are new in businessthink that you know business is
from one mountain peak toanother mountain peak to another
mountain peak, but the peoplewho have been entrepreneurs for
any amount of time understandthat it's more like mountain
valley, mountain valley,mountain valley.
So, no matter how great of anentrepreneur you are, there are
(01:03):
going to be seasons where itseems like you're struggling and
that is not abnormal, like whenyou come to terms with it.
You actually enjoy your journeyas an entrepreneur, even better
.
So the question becomes what doI do when it seems like my
business is struggling and thatcould be, you know, like you're
a startup and you're trying toget it off the ground.
It could be like you're tryingto scale.
And when you try to scale, alot of times your businesses,
(01:26):
your business systems fall apartand your team is not quite the
team you need.
And all these changes need tohappen.
What do you do in those seasons?
So one you can take care ofyourself and still enjoy the
journey of being an entrepreneur, but at the same time, your
business remains profitable.
Your business continues to moveforward.
You're continuing to hit yourgoals.
What do you do?
That's what we're going to talkabout on this episode of the
(01:46):
Untrammed Podcast.
Now, the reason why you know Ilove talking about these things
is, especially in our times,there is this conception that if
I have a business and I'm doingit right, it will always work,
and so people are thrown offwhen it seems like a month is
not going according to plan.
People are thrown off whenthey're like oh you know, this
is the goal I set for the yearand I'm not quite hitting it.
People are thrown off where,when maybe things that used to
(02:07):
work in their business didn'twork before.
People are thrown off whenmaybe they hire a new physician
and they're not able to fill theschedule Completely thrown off
and they think something iswrong.
Sometimes, you know, one of themost pathetic things is you
know like people then just quitand throw it away and assume
it's not working right.
But it's like a human.
You get to the age of two andthen there's temper tantrums
(02:27):
that some kids will have and youget to teenage years and
there's other challenges thereand you get to like there's so
many seasons and so manychallenges with them.
If you can just understand thisis part of the journey, nothing
is wrong.
And lean into what do I need todo here to still win?
You need to do here to stillwin.
You can win.
At this point in my career I'vebeen an entrepreneur at the time
(02:47):
of this recording for almost 15years.
That's almost a decade and ahalf and we have had challenge
after challenge after challenge.
Because I understand thisconcept, I don't get as thrown
off by it and sometimes in themiddle of the challenge, like
early in the challenge, I'm likehuh, I wonder what lesson I'm
going to learn from thischallenge.
I wonder how it's going to be agift for my community, because
I can come share it with themand teach it.
You know the strategies I useto thrive to them, and all of
(03:09):
that because I understand it'spart of the journey, like I'd
rather not have it, like anybodyelse, but I realized that you
can't escape it, right?
Okay, so let's talk about youknow, like what?
What are the things we're goingto do?
And we're going to do this from, like, a broad view.
Okay, now, the very first thing, the very first thing and you
don't have to wait to have achallenge or a problem or
struggle in business to get herethe very first thing is leaning
(03:31):
all the way back into your whyand I talk about this a lot.
I'm going to continue to talkabout this because more
entrepreneurs have quit becauseof things that have to do with
this.
I have to do it.
Mindset that I quit becausethey didn't have the right
strategy.
Okay, all right.
So lean into your why.
No problem is worth it just foryou to continue to do the thing
(03:55):
of running the business, but ifyou can tap into why the
business exists in the firstplace, it's easier to navigate
the challenges, okay.
So think about when we were inmedical school, right, I mean,
like, medical school was tough,medical school was challenging,
our residency was challenging.
But you know, if you look intowhy you didn't quit, why you
(04:16):
still went through with it, isbecause of a certain why that
you had a certain kind of youknow patient population you
wanted to take care of.
You knew it was a means to anend.
Right, it's the end that keptyou in, not just the thing we
didn't go through all of thatjust to pass the test.
Like, just passing a test isnot enough to keep you in
(04:36):
medical school.
Right, there's a kind of doctoryou wanted to be.
There's a kind of patient youwanted to take care of.
For some people it was research.
That is not me.
It was not me.
Research was not me.
Okay, there's certain researchthat they wanted to be able to
do.
There's some certaincommunities they wanted to be a
part of.
Secondary could even be acertain lifestyle I wanted to be
able to live and all of thatstuff.
(04:58):
There is a why that drove you.
In the same way, in yourbusiness, what is the driver?
What is the why?
Why did you start that in thefirst place?
Why did you take the risk ofbecoming an entrepreneur?
Why did you do that?
If you can lean into that andremind yourself of that, it will
make every challenge worth it.
Okay, I have faced challengesalong the way in, you know, in
(05:21):
in running EntreeMD and all ofthose things but what is the
reason why I haven't quit?
What is the reason why I keepgoing?
What is the reason why Icontinue to innovate and I
continue to write the books andI continue to look for ways to
serve my people physicians, likeyou know faster and better.
Why do I continue to thinkabout how can I help them get
(05:42):
results that are bigger and howcan I help them to get those
results better?
Why Is because I'm so in tunewith my why, and my why is not
just to own a business, my whyand the business is not just
right.
I'm not despising what I own,but it's not just to own a
business.
It's not just to make the Inc5000 list of fastest growing
companies.
It's not just for the revenue5,000 lists of fastest growing
(06:04):
companies, not just for therevenue and all of these things
are great and I'm not sayingthey're not great at all.
I'm just saying they're notstrong enough to let help you go
through the challenges.
My why is that?
I know, like I know my name,that, as physicians, the
experience we're having now, wedo not need to have it like it's
completely optional, right, wecan have lives where we have
autonomy.
(06:24):
We can have lives where we haveautonomy.
We can have lives where we haveour dream life and our dream
business, so we don't have tosacrifice our lives in order to
have a career or to have abusiness.
I know that we can understandmoney.
We can understand how to createrevenue.
I know that we can createfinancial freedom.
We can create time freedom.
(06:45):
Most doctors I talk to they aremission-minded, right.
Like you don't go in likethere's so many easier ways of
making money.
Like you know, like peopledon't go into medicine primarily
to make money.
They're just easier ways.
But there's a mission, there'sa kind of person we want to help
, there's a gift we want to giveto the world and stuff like
that.
And being in a position wheredoctors are unleashed to live
(07:08):
that out, I mean that is justcrazy, right.
And so I know that my job is tohelp doctors step into that.
My job is to help doctors takeback control, to have private
practices that thrive, thatsolve problems.
That the vehicle may be, it maybe as a physician, you know.
Clinically it may be, you know,as a coach, a consultant, a
(07:30):
speaker, as you know.
Like whatever that is like, ouroptions are unlimited,
unlimited.
And so I lean into that.
And because I lean into that, Imay have challenges, but I
can't quit, because theopportunity cost is what's
happening now continues and wehave private practices shutting
down every single day.
We have doctors not havingfinancial freedom after
(07:51):
investing multiple, six figuresin a medical education.
We have doctors who do not haveany time freedom even though
they gave up over a decade oftheir lives for the privilege to
be able to take care of people.
We have all of these thingsgoing on and it's too expensive,
and so for them, I can't quit,I just can't Right.
And so now I've been you know,I've been an entree MD for six
years the company is six yearsold at the time of this
(08:12):
recording, and so you're notgoing to start off with maybe
being able to articulate yourwhy if this is your first time
of doing it as well, but this iswhere you start right.
You're going to.
You're going to start like whyam I doing this?
That's what gets you throughthe tough times, okay, okay.
So now that you're kind of likefrom a, from a mindset
perspective, you kind of canhave it together.
(08:34):
Let's look at the second thingthat you do.
The second thing you do whenyou are navigating challenging
times is that you galvanize yourteam.
A lot of times, asentrepreneurs, we try to bear
the weight and the risk and theresponsibility and everything by
ourselves, but this is a deal.
As an entrepreneur, you want toserve and earn, and when you
(08:54):
bring on a team, the team helpsyou to serve and earn.
And if you have to troubleshootstuff so you can serve and earn
better, you want to do thatwith your team as well.
And so when the pandemic hit in2020, you know, if you remember
the time, it was all scary,practices were shutting down and
all kinds of things werehappening and people weren't
coming out and it was justinsane.
And I remember having a meetingwith my team and you know this
(09:25):
is what I said.
To get their attention, I saidokay, as of right now, I do not
need any position in thiscompany, like every position
here, I do not need any of thepositions anymore, and I kept
quiet.
And I kept quiet because Iwanted it to sink.
My people started wondering,like, what does that mean?
We don't have jobs anymore, andstuff like that.
Now, the ones who really knowme no, not, because I always
tell them, like, one of mygreatest responsibilities is to
keep this private practiceprofitable, because I never want
to come back to you and tellyou we couldn't make payroll.
I have to let you go.
So of course, I was not goingto let them go.
(09:47):
We were going to figure out away to, you know, keep everybody
on board.
And so I let it sink.
And then, when I knew that I hadtheir attention, I was like but
I am looking for a team ofpeople, and I'm looking for a
team of people who are not goingto say, well, this is my role
and this is my job description,and I don't do that.
I'm looking for people whosejob description is whatever it
takes, because that's where weare now.
(10:08):
We are in.
Whatever it takes.
I have no idea what tomorrowwill bring.
I don't even know what thiscoronavirus thing is Right Like,
and so we are going to have todo what we need to do to thrive,
you know.
So I don't want anybody tellingme I'm an MA.
I don't do that, that's for thefront desk, but front desk, I
don't do that, that's for thebillet.
Like I don't.
I don't want to hear any ofthat.
So, if you are game and youwant us to go on this ride and
(10:32):
survive and thrive in the midstof this pandemic, then let's do
it.
But the problem as big as that Igalvanized the team, so I got
them.
I got their innovation, I gottheir expertise, I got their
experience, I got all of them.
And then we went and weattacked the challenge and in
2020, as a practice we didbetter than in 2019 in the
middle of a pandemic year.
(10:52):
Right, and it's the same thingin EntreeMD.
Like you know, we have certainthings that we want to
accomplish.
Right, we want to pull off andwe're like man, we've tried and
we haven't been able to pullthis off.
I galvanize the team and I'mlike let's go.
This is the mission, this iswhat we're trying to accomplish.
We've never been able to dothis before.
We've tried it so many times.
We didn't hit it right and wejust go on and hit it and win.
(11:14):
So galvanize your team.
Don't try to do it alone.
They have experience, they haveexpertise, they have such
innovative ideas that will bringtotal transformation, that will
help you navigate that season.
It could be as simple.
As you know we have a new doc.
You haven't been able to fillup the schedule.
Meet with the team.
What can we do?
This is the deal, this is thechallenge we're facing.
This is what is at stake.
(11:35):
How can we fix this?
How can we make this happen?
And you'll be surprised,because once you can enroll them
, once you can get their buy-in,like it's almost magical what
happens?
Okay.
So that's the second thinggalvanize the team.
Okay, the third thing isidentify what needs to happen
and do it.
What is the thing that willsolve this problem?
So you know, I've used thisexample of you know someone
hired a doctor and they haven'tbeen able to fill up their
(11:56):
schedule.
Okay, so what fixes thatproblem?
And your team may come up.
You and your team may come upwith five core things that you
can do.
You can say, okay, the patientswe have, we're going to ask
them for referrals, the referralsources, we're going to tell
them there's a new doctor, theyshould send us more patients.
We are going to have the doctornewsletter and we're going to
(12:23):
do that every week to let themknow his schedule is open, you
know, for appointments, andwe're going to run ads.
Let's say that's what it is andyou're like, based on the
history of this practice, basedon what has worked, this is
really going to work.
So what do you do?
You decide on it and then youdo it.
You decide on it and then youdo it.
You may be a coach and you'relike, you know, man, we've been
trying to crack this.
You know $500,000 mark and wehaven't been able to do it.
(12:44):
And you're like, okay, whatneeds to happen?
And then you look and realizethat I am doing some you know,
consult calls and things likethat.
But the truth of the matter isthe people who know about me
they're not growing and so I'mnot getting people to come on
these masterclasses that I'mdoing.
I'm not getting people to bookcalls and all those things
because of the level ofobscurity I have.
(13:04):
Okay, so what am I going to doabout that?
Well, I'm going to go be aguest on a podcast four times a
month.
So technically, every week I'msomewhere on somebody else's
podcast showing up in front ofnew people.
I'm going to speak at events.
I'm going to do that everymonth, either offline or online.
I'm going to speak at an event,not my event, but somebody
else's event, so that new peoplecan find me.
(13:25):
So that's something else thatI'm going to do.
Number three I've had peoplelike I have all these people who
would invite me to guest coachin their programs, and I've been
saying no because I felt theywere not paying me what I was
worth.
But the thing is is thosegroups are full of my ideal
people, and if they see me in myelements, maybe they'll come
want to work with me.
So I'm going to do that too.
These are the three things I'mgoing to do Boom, boom, boom,
(13:46):
okay, great.
So now I've decided what needsto happen and what's.
You know what I need to do andI'm going to do it Right.
So that's the third thing.
So the first is lean into yourwhy.
The second is galvanize yourteam, and the third is identify
what needs to be done and do it.
The fourth thing is, you know,build accountability.
Okay, because when we firstmake the plan, we're like, yes,
(14:07):
we're going to do it.
When we start doing it, we'relike this is amazing, we're
going to keep doing it.
But the but.
This is the deal.
Like nobody does what youexpect, they do what you inspect
, right.
And so again for the privatepractice, they have the new doc
coming on and they said theseare the things they need to do.
Well, that might be a good timeto introduce a daily huddle
where at the end of every day,there's a huddle Okay, did we
(14:27):
talk to the?
How many patients did you talkto to tell them you know that
this doctor is accepting newpatients?
Did the email go out?
Did the social media posts goout?
Did we talk to the referralsources?
How many did we talk today?
Did we hit the recall?
These five things did they getdone?
Or our ads, how are theyperforming?
Did they get done?
You have a system in place tomonitor.
Did they get done?
What was the effectiveness?
Can we do more of what works?
(14:48):
Can we optimize what didn'tright?
Okay, so that would be for thedoc.
For the coach, it's like Okay,so that would be for the doc.
For the coach, it's like, okay,how many podcasts you know like
guests.
How many podcasts hosts did Ipitch?
So I make sure that I get onfor a month, right?
How many events did I pitch?
How many get like?
I had these three people whohad already reached out to me.
Did I respond to them Right?
Am I making offers?
(15:08):
Am I asking people to work withme every day?
You have to build accountabilityaround what needs to be done,
and so, for the person who isthe coach maybe you again you
have a team huddle it could beyou and your VA or whatever and
every day, you're looking at themetrics Is this getting done?
Is this getting done?
Because if you do it, it willcreate transformation that will
blow your mind.
And then the fifth thing.
The fifth thing is activepatience.
(15:30):
Okay, and I'll explain what Imean by that.
Patience is oh, you know, oneday, in the sweet by and by,
this will work out.
Active patience means you'redoing everything within your
power to create the results andyou're patiently waiting for the
results.
So you're quote unquoteimpatient with the actions that
(15:50):
need to happen.
So you're making sure those aregetting done.
Then make sure they're gettingdone in the right volume, with
the right cadence.
So you're doing that, but then,as long as you're doing that
and you're checking it, you'reoptimizing, you're looking at
what worked, you're looking atwhat didn't work, you're looking
at what you can tweak and makebetter, You're doing that and
you can be patient with theresults right, and so if you do
(16:12):
that, you will be able to gothrough a time where it seems
like your business is strugglingand you'll come out on the
other side stronger than whenthe struggle started.
The struggle is not designed totake you down.
The struggle is designed ifit's gone through properly, the
struggle is designed to make youstronger on the other side.
So what do I do when I feellike my business is struggling?
(16:33):
I lean into my why.
I galvanize my team, identifywhat needs to be done, and I do
it.
I build an accountabilitysystem.
So I'm constantly looking atthe numbers to make sure that
we're doing what we need to do,and then I practice active
patience.
Okay, so I want you to lean intothis, right?
I think this is a good episode.
To grab a friend who's also anentrepreneur, tell him you know,
(16:53):
let's listen to this and let'skind of troubleshoot.
Like, let me workshop this formy business, you workshop this
for your business and then we'llcome and discuss it, because
your ability to continue in theface of challenges is what will
make you win as an entrepreneurEntrepreneurs I mean businesses
go out of business like hotcakesall the time, right.
But your ability to navigatechallenges they're inevitable,
(17:15):
but your ability to navigatethem is what will ensure that
you continue to stay, youcontinue to thrive, you continue
to grow.
You may have a time where itlooks like you're struggling and
it looks like there's a dip,but when you look over the
course of your journey as anentrepreneur, you'll see that
you can trace your trajectoryand it was just better and
better and better.
Okay, I want to challenge younot to quit.
(17:36):
I want to challenge you to giveyour business's best shot.
I want to challenge you to leaninto your why, and the people
on the other side of your whydeserve, deserve a leader,
deserve an entrepreneur thatwon't quit, because they need
what you have.
I am so clear on this.
That is why I've not quit.
That's why, even when it seemslike things are challenging, I
(18:02):
keep going, and I want you to dothe same.
Okay, so I'm rooting for you.
I really look forward tocelebrating you, and you know
the big strides you make in yourbusiness, because you got
better in the midst of achallenge.
You didn't let it.
You didn't let it stop youRooting for you always, and I'll
see you on the next episode ofthe Entree MD Podcast.
Your ability to continue in the face of
challenges is what will make youwin as an entrepreneur.
Businesses go out of businesslike hotcakes all the time, but
your ability to navigatechallenges is what will ensure
that you continue to stay.
You continue to thrive, youcontinue to grow.
You may have a time where itlooks like you're struggling and
it looks like there's a dip,but when you look over the
(00:20):
course of your journey as anentrepreneur, you'll see that
you can trace your trajectoryand it was just better and
better and better.
Hi docs, welcome to the EntreMDpodcast, where it's all about
helping amazing physicians justlike you embrace
entrepreneurship so you can havethe freedom to live life and
practice medicine on your terms.
(00:41):
I'm your host, dr Imna.
People who are new in businessthink that you know business is
from one mountain peak toanother mountain peak to another
mountain peak, but the peoplewho have been entrepreneurs for
any amount of time understandthat it's more like mountain
valley, mountain valley,mountain valley.
So, no matter how great of anentrepreneur you are, there are
(01:03):
going to be seasons where itseems like you're struggling and
that is not abnormal, like whenyou come to terms with it.
You actually enjoy your journeyas an entrepreneur, even better
.
So the question becomes what doI do when it seems like my
business is struggling and thatcould be, you know, like you're
a startup and you're trying toget it off the ground.
It could be like you're tryingto scale.
And when you try to scale, alot of times your businesses,
(01:26):
your business systems fall apartand your team is not quite the
team you need.
And all these changes need tohappen.
What do you do in those seasons?
So one you can take care ofyourself and still enjoy the
journey of being an entrepreneur, but at the same time, your
business remains profitable.
Your business continues to moveforward.
You're continuing to hit yourgoals.
What do you do?
That's what we're going to talkabout on this episode of the
(01:46):
Untrammed Podcast.
Now, the reason why you know Ilove talking about these things
is, especially in our times,there is this conception that if
I have a business and I'm doingit right, it will always work,
and so people are thrown offwhen it seems like a month is
not going according to plan.
People are thrown off whenthey're like oh you know, this
is the goal I set for the yearand I'm not quite hitting it.
People are thrown off where,when maybe things that used to
(02:07):
work in their business didn'twork before.
People are thrown off whenmaybe they hire a new physician
and they're not able to fill theschedule Completely thrown off
and they think something iswrong.
Sometimes, you know, one of themost pathetic things is you
know like people then just quitand throw it away and assume
it's not working right.
But it's like a human.
You get to the age of two andthen there's temper tantrums
(02:27):
that some kids will have and youget to teenage years and
there's other challenges thereand you get to like there's so
many seasons and so manychallenges with them.
If you can just understand thisis part of the journey, nothing
is wrong.
And lean into what do I need todo here to still win?
You need to do here to stillwin.
You can win.
At this point in my career I'vebeen an entrepreneur at the time
(02:47):
of this recording for almost 15years.
That's almost a decade and ahalf and we have had challenge
after challenge after challenge.
Because I understand thisconcept, I don't get as thrown
off by it and sometimes in themiddle of the challenge, like
early in the challenge, I'm likehuh, I wonder what lesson I'm
going to learn from thischallenge.
I wonder how it's going to be agift for my community, because
I can come share it with themand teach it.
You know the strategies I useto thrive to them, and all of
(03:09):
that because I understand it'spart of the journey, like I'd
rather not have it, like anybodyelse, but I realized that you
can't escape it, right?
Okay, so let's talk about youknow, like what?
What are the things we're goingto do?
And we're going to do this from, like, a broad view.
Okay, now, the very first thing, the very first thing and you
don't have to wait to have achallenge or a problem or
struggle in business to get herethe very first thing is leaning
(03:31):
all the way back into your whyand I talk about this a lot.
I'm going to continue to talkabout this because more
entrepreneurs have quit becauseof things that have to do with
this.
I have to do it.
Mindset that I quit becausethey didn't have the right
strategy.
Okay, all right.
So lean into your why.
No problem is worth it just foryou to continue to do the thing
(03:55):
of running the business, but ifyou can tap into why the
business exists in the firstplace, it's easier to navigate
the challenges, okay.
So think about when we were inmedical school, right, I mean,
like, medical school was tough,medical school was challenging,
our residency was challenging.
But you know, if you look intowhy you didn't quit, why you
(04:16):
still went through with it, isbecause of a certain why that
you had a certain kind of youknow patient population you
wanted to take care of.
You knew it was a means to anend.
Right, it's the end that keptyou in, not just the thing we
didn't go through all of thatjust to pass the test.
Like, just passing a test isnot enough to keep you in
(04:36):
medical school.
Right, there's a kind of doctoryou wanted to be.
There's a kind of patient youwanted to take care of.
For some people it was research.
That is not me.
It was not me.
Research was not me.
Okay, there's certain researchthat they wanted to be able to
do.
There's some certaincommunities they wanted to be a
part of.
Secondary could even be acertain lifestyle I wanted to be
able to live and all of thatstuff.
(04:58):
There is a why that drove you.
In the same way, in yourbusiness, what is the driver?
What is the why?
Why did you start that in thefirst place?
Why did you take the risk ofbecoming an entrepreneur?
Why did you do that?
If you can lean into that andremind yourself of that, it will
make every challenge worth it.
Okay, I have faced challengesalong the way in, you know, in
(05:21):
in running EntreeMD and all ofthose things but what is the
reason why I haven't quit?
What is the reason why I keepgoing?
What is the reason why Icontinue to innovate and I
continue to write the books andI continue to look for ways to
serve my people physicians, likeyou know faster and better.
Why do I continue to thinkabout how can I help them get
(05:42):
results that are bigger and howcan I help them to get those
results better?
Why Is because I'm so in tunewith my why, and my why is not
just to own a business, my whyand the business is not just
right.
I'm not despising what I own,but it's not just to own a
business.
It's not just to make the Inc5000 list of fastest growing
companies.
It's not just for the revenue5,000 lists of fastest growing
(06:04):
companies, not just for therevenue and all of these things
are great and I'm not sayingthey're not great at all.
I'm just saying they're notstrong enough to let help you go
through the challenges.
My why is that?
I know, like I know my name,that, as physicians, the
experience we're having now, wedo not need to have it like it's
completely optional, right, wecan have lives where we have
autonomy.
(06:24):
We can have lives where we haveautonomy.
We can have lives where we haveour dream life and our dream
business, so we don't have tosacrifice our lives in order to
have a career or to have abusiness.
I know that we can understandmoney.
We can understand how to createrevenue.
I know that we can createfinancial freedom.
We can create time freedom.
(06:45):
Most doctors I talk to they aremission-minded, right.
Like you don't go in likethere's so many easier ways of
making money.
Like you know, like peopledon't go into medicine primarily
to make money.
They're just easier ways.
But there's a mission, there'sa kind of person we want to help
, there's a gift we want to giveto the world and stuff like
that.
And being in a position wheredoctors are unleashed to live
(07:08):
that out, I mean that is justcrazy, right.
And so I know that my job is tohelp doctors step into that.
My job is to help doctors takeback control, to have private
practices that thrive, thatsolve problems.
That the vehicle may be, it maybe as a physician, you know.
Clinically it may be, you know,as a coach, a consultant, a
(07:30):
speaker, as you know.
Like whatever that is like, ouroptions are unlimited,
unlimited.
And so I lean into that.
And because I lean into that, Imay have challenges, but I
can't quit, because theopportunity cost is what's
happening now continues and wehave private practices shutting
down every single day.
We have doctors not havingfinancial freedom after
(07:51):
investing multiple, six figuresin a medical education.
We have doctors who do not haveany time freedom even though
they gave up over a decade oftheir lives for the privilege to
be able to take care of people.
We have all of these thingsgoing on and it's too expensive,
and so for them, I can't quit,I just can't Right.
And so now I've been you know,I've been an entree MD for six
years the company is six yearsold at the time of this
(08:12):
recording, and so you're notgoing to start off with maybe
being able to articulate yourwhy if this is your first time
of doing it as well, but this iswhere you start right.
You're going to.
You're going to start like whyam I doing this?
That's what gets you throughthe tough times, okay, okay.
So now that you're kind of likefrom a, from a mindset
perspective, you kind of canhave it together.
(08:34):
Let's look at the second thingthat you do.
The second thing you do whenyou are navigating challenging
times is that you galvanize yourteam.
A lot of times, asentrepreneurs, we try to bear
the weight and the risk and theresponsibility and everything by
ourselves, but this is a deal.
As an entrepreneur, you want toserve and earn, and when you
(08:54):
bring on a team, the team helpsyou to serve and earn.
And if you have to troubleshootstuff so you can serve and earn
better, you want to do thatwith your team as well.
And so when the pandemic hit in2020, you know, if you remember
the time, it was all scary,practices were shutting down and
all kinds of things werehappening and people weren't
coming out and it was justinsane.
And I remember having a meetingwith my team and you know this
(09:25):
is what I said.
To get their attention, I saidokay, as of right now, I do not
need any position in thiscompany, like every position
here, I do not need any of thepositions anymore, and I kept
quiet.
And I kept quiet because Iwanted it to sink.
My people started wondering,like, what does that mean?
We don't have jobs anymore, andstuff like that.
Now, the ones who really knowme no, not, because I always
tell them, like, one of mygreatest responsibilities is to
keep this private practiceprofitable, because I never want
to come back to you and tellyou we couldn't make payroll.
I have to let you go.
So of course, I was not goingto let them go.
(09:47):
We were going to figure out away to, you know, keep everybody
on board.
And so I let it sink.
And then, when I knew that I hadtheir attention, I was like but
I am looking for a team ofpeople, and I'm looking for a
team of people who are not goingto say, well, this is my role
and this is my job description,and I don't do that.
I'm looking for people whosejob description is whatever it
takes, because that's where weare now.
(10:08):
We are in.
Whatever it takes.
I have no idea what tomorrowwill bring.
I don't even know what thiscoronavirus thing is Right Like,
and so we are going to have todo what we need to do to thrive,
you know.
So I don't want anybody tellingme I'm an MA.
I don't do that, that's for thefront desk, but front desk, I
don't do that, that's for thebillet.
Like I don't.
I don't want to hear any ofthat.
So, if you are game and youwant us to go on this ride and
(10:32):
survive and thrive in the midstof this pandemic, then let's do
it.
But the problem as big as that Igalvanized the team, so I got
them.
I got their innovation, I gottheir expertise, I got their
experience, I got all of them.
And then we went and weattacked the challenge and in
2020, as a practice we didbetter than in 2019 in the
middle of a pandemic year.
(10:52):
Right, and it's the same thingin EntreeMD.
Like you know, we have certainthings that we want to
accomplish.
Right, we want to pull off andwe're like man, we've tried and
we haven't been able to pullthis off.
I galvanize the team and I'mlike let's go.
This is the mission, this iswhat we're trying to accomplish.
We've never been able to dothis before.
We've tried it so many times.
We didn't hit it right and wejust go on and hit it and win.
(11:14):
So galvanize your team.
Don't try to do it alone.
They have experience, they haveexpertise, they have such
innovative ideas that will bringtotal transformation, that will
help you navigate that season.
It could be as simple.
As you know we have a new doc.
You haven't been able to fillup the schedule.
Meet with the team.
What can we do?
This is the deal, this is thechallenge we're facing.
This is what is at stake.
(11:35):
How can we fix this?
How can we make this happen?
And you'll be surprised,because once you can enroll them
, once you can get their buy-in,like it's almost magical what
happens?
Okay.
So that's the second thinggalvanize the team.
Okay, the third thing isidentify what needs to happen
and do it.
What is the thing that willsolve this problem?
So you know, I've used thisexample of you know someone
hired a doctor and they haven'tbeen able to fill up their
(11:56):
schedule.
Okay, so what fixes thatproblem?
And your team may come up.
You and your team may come upwith five core things that you
can do.
You can say, okay, the patientswe have, we're going to ask
them for referrals, the referralsources, we're going to tell
them there's a new doctor, theyshould send us more patients.
We are going to have the doctornewsletter and we're going to
(12:23):
do that every week to let themknow his schedule is open, you
know, for appointments, andwe're going to run ads.
Let's say that's what it is andyou're like, based on the
history of this practice, basedon what has worked, this is
really going to work.
So what do you do?
You decide on it and then youdo it.
You decide on it and then youdo it.
You may be a coach and you'relike, you know, man, we've been
trying to crack this.
You know $500,000 mark and wehaven't been able to do it.
(12:44):
And you're like, okay, whatneeds to happen?
And then you look and realizethat I am doing some you know,
consult calls and things likethat.
But the truth of the matter isthe people who know about me
they're not growing and so I'mnot getting people to come on
these masterclasses that I'mdoing.
I'm not getting people to bookcalls and all those things
because of the level ofobscurity I have.
(13:04):
Okay, so what am I going to doabout that?
Well, I'm going to go be aguest on a podcast four times a
month.
So technically, every week I'msomewhere on somebody else's
podcast showing up in front ofnew people.
I'm going to speak at events.
I'm going to do that everymonth, either offline or online.
I'm going to speak at an event,not my event, but somebody
else's event, so that new peoplecan find me.
(13:25):
So that's something else thatI'm going to do.
Number three I've had peoplelike I have all these people who
would invite me to guest coachin their programs, and I've been
saying no because I felt theywere not paying me what I was
worth.
But the thing is is thosegroups are full of my ideal
people, and if they see me in myelements, maybe they'll come
want to work with me.
So I'm going to do that too.
These are the three things I'mgoing to do Boom, boom, boom,
(13:46):
okay, great.
So now I've decided what needsto happen and what's.
You know what I need to do andI'm going to do it Right.
So that's the third thing.
So the first is lean into yourwhy.
The second is galvanize yourteam, and the third is identify
what needs to be done and do it.
The fourth thing is, you know,build accountability.
Okay, because when we firstmake the plan, we're like, yes,
(14:07):
we're going to do it.
When we start doing it, we'relike this is amazing, we're
going to keep doing it.
But the but.
This is the deal.
Like nobody does what youexpect, they do what you inspect
, right.
And so again for the privatepractice, they have the new doc
coming on and they said theseare the things they need to do.
Well, that might be a good timeto introduce a daily huddle
where at the end of every day,there's a huddle Okay, did we
(14:27):
talk to the?
How many patients did you talkto to tell them you know that
this doctor is accepting newpatients?
Did the email go out?
Did the social media posts goout?
Did we talk to the referralsources?
How many did we talk today?
Did we hit the recall?
These five things did they getdone?
Or our ads, how are theyperforming?
Did they get done?
You have a system in place tomonitor.
Did they get done?
What was the effectiveness?
Can we do more of what works?
(14:48):
Can we optimize what didn'tright?
Okay, so that would be for thedoc.
For the coach, it's like Okay,so that would be for the doc.
For the coach, it's like, okay,how many podcasts you know like
guests.
How many podcasts hosts did Ipitch?
So I make sure that I get onfor a month, right?
How many events did I pitch?
How many get like?
I had these three people whohad already reached out to me.
Did I respond to them Right?
Am I making offers?
(15:08):
Am I asking people to work withme every day?
You have to build accountabilityaround what needs to be done,
and so, for the person who isthe coach maybe you again you
have a team huddle it could beyou and your VA or whatever and
every day, you're looking at themetrics Is this getting done?
Is this getting done?
Because if you do it, it willcreate transformation that will
blow your mind.
And then the fifth thing.
The fifth thing is activepatience.
(15:30):
Okay, and I'll explain what Imean by that.
Patience is oh, you know, oneday, in the sweet by and by,
this will work out.
Active patience means you'redoing everything within your
power to create the results andyou're patiently waiting for the
results.
So you're quote unquoteimpatient with the actions that
(15:50):
need to happen.
So you're making sure those aregetting done.
Then make sure they're gettingdone in the right volume, with
the right cadence.
So you're doing that, but then,as long as you're doing that
and you're checking it, you'reoptimizing, you're looking at
what worked, you're looking atwhat didn't work, you're looking
at what you can tweak and makebetter, You're doing that and
you can be patient with theresults right, and so if you do
(16:12):
that, you will be able to gothrough a time where it seems
like your business is strugglingand you'll come out on the
other side stronger than whenthe struggle started.
The struggle is not designed totake you down.
The struggle is designed ifit's gone through properly, the
struggle is designed to make youstronger on the other side.
So what do I do when I feellike my business is struggling?
(16:33):
I lean into my why.
I galvanize my team, identifywhat needs to be done, and I do
it.
I build an accountabilitysystem.
So I'm constantly looking atthe numbers to make sure that
we're doing what we need to do,and then I practice active
patience.
Okay, so I want you to lean intothis, right?
I think this is a good episode.
To grab a friend who's also anentrepreneur, tell him you know,
(16:53):
let's listen to this and let'skind of troubleshoot.
Like, let me workshop this formy business, you workshop this
for your business and then we'llcome and discuss it, because
your ability to continue in theface of challenges is what will
make you win as an entrepreneurEntrepreneurs I mean businesses
go out of business like hotcakesall the time, right.
But your ability to navigatechallenges they're inevitable,
(17:15):
but your ability to navigatethem is what will ensure that
you continue to stay, youcontinue to thrive, you continue
to grow.
You may have a time where itlooks like you're struggling and
it looks like there's a dip,but when you look over the
course of your journey as anentrepreneur, you'll see that
you can trace your trajectoryand it was just better and
better and better.
Okay, I want to challenge younot to quit.
(17:36):
I want to challenge you to giveyour business's best shot.
I want to challenge you to leaninto your why, and the people
on the other side of your whydeserve, deserve a leader,
deserve an entrepreneur thatwon't quit, because they need
what you have.
I am so clear on this.
That is why I've not quit.
That's why, even when it seemslike things are challenging, I
(18:02):
keep going, and I want you to dothe same.
Okay, so I'm rooting for you.
I really look forward tocelebrating you, and you know
the big strides you make in yourbusiness, because you got
better in the midst of achallenge.
You didn't let it.
You didn't let it stop youRooting for you always, and I'll
see you on the next episode ofthe Entree MD Podcast.
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