TheDoctrepreneur

I post about:
-Bootstrapping a small business while maintaining a part-time career as a physician
-Balancing the above with whats most important to me

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

Want to back away from a high paying career to pursue SMB ownership?

Here's what my pathway has looked like doing just that:

I'm a surgeon in a high demand subspecialty. My peak income was >$500k/year.

I dreamed of starting a business. A dream I had since I was a pre-teen when my brother and I tried to start a business. $200 in trading cards down the drain! We said we'd be back.

25 years later, I was exiting the terrifying first 4 years of medical practice, making great money, and still wishing I could pursue that dream.

I liked the idea that the work I was doing was helping my community, but also felt like something was missing. Given my deep desire to work, I wanted to like the work I was doing more than I what I was experiencing.

I cut down my hours as a surgeon. First, I took Fridays off. Then a few months later, started taking Tuesday afternoons off. Then every Wednesday. Now, I'm in my final 2 months of working 3 days a week. Starting in July I'll be down to 2 days of W2 work in medicine.

During that period of opening up time away from W2 income, I was increasing my workload in starting and growing a business.

Time spent working on the business looked like this: I worked after coming home from the hospital. I worked 5-6am on weekdays, Saturday mornings from 6-9a, many Sundays at varying hours. No pay.

At the same time, my W2 income was decreasing. I have yet to take any money out of the business. All profit has been returned to the business to support growth.

Our team of 4 (2 brothers and their respective spouses) have done almost all the work in the first 2 years. Thats sales, warehouse work, logistics, driving forklift, developing operating procedures. We have had help from a bookkeeper and this past month was our first hire for help in the warehouse.

How did keeping my W2 help? We maintained our health insurance, I had saved enough to fund our business, our lifestyle hasn't really changed.

What has it cost? I have 6-figures invested into my business with no return yet. I have spent hundreds of hours building something that I could have spent doing something else. There have been days when I should have been playing catch with my kids, instead I was building the business. I make less money now. Less cash coming in really just removes a minor element of security and luxury (I had already planned to limit the risk on our financial security).

What did we gain? Financially, it's yet to be seen. But given our current growth, I'm highly optimistic. We are profitable (not that it can replace my income as a surgeon) but we are making strides in the right direction. When you love work, and you find work you love to do, you understand what this brings to your well being. My kids have worked in our business and seen me purse something. There is tremendous value there. I'm currently turning a corner to opening up more time in my schedule which provides an opportunity to shift some of those hours back to family.

TL;DR-
-Life is short, try to find doing things that don't drag you down
-Leverage your expertise and cut down on W2 income if you can and use that space to create the things you want
-"If you you want to bring happiness to the world, go home and move your family"

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@zachary_ashburn Yikes!
I got term insurance just before I had kids. Definitely an important part of the disaster plan.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

Good advice. (Except IPAs are delicious)

I have a “disaster plan” document and a document where I list our assets. The disaster plan outlines the steps to take if I die.

I update this 1-2x/year and review it with my wife. I hope those are the only times she ever reads the documents.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

Travel(ed)(ing) this road. To repeat words of one of my mentors when I was starting my career: "You can't have it all".

For me, I love being a dad, so I've prioritized being available for field trips, little league games, taking kids birthdays off, etc. But, I've also sacrificed time away from my family for work related reasons/requirements.

I'm a work-a-holic, not by deliberate choice but by innate drive to do well in my work related activity. As a physician, I've been successful (defined as patient satisfaction) and as an entrepreneur, my business has grown significantly yoy since starting in 2022. But I also take time away at the expense of growth.

I'm morbid, so I like to think about dying and how I might feel about my life on my death bed. If I'm in a position that feels less than ideal for longer than 3 years, I change my position. I can do hard things for extended periods, but if I'm not writing the life story I want for 3 straight years, I have to make changes.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@sweatystartup Genuinely curious: Do you always respond to emails requiring a response within <24 hours?

If so, is that your long term plan, to always be available to people that need your input?

If not, do people that need input from you just accept variable response times?

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@MatznerJon Lived in Chamonix for 10 weeks with wife and kids (age 7 and 9 at the time). Had to quit my w2 to do it, but will go down as one of my favorite decisions in life.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@CanesDavid Will need to look at your prior posts, need to know how to use this in a way that’s helpful.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@MatznerJon Yes

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@sweatystartup Yes

No (5 hour flight)

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

It’s not only possible, it’s the reality. We will always know more next year compared to this year. Thats what science/progress is supposed to do.

Oh, and it’s also required. Check out CME requirements. One of the few professions where there is government mandated requirement for proof of continued education.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

Freight is the most painful part of distributing. Always an LTL mishap or something. I stopped working directly with some of the big box freight companies due to painful lack to responsiveness

Thankful I found a broker who is amazing. Super responsive, good pricing, vetted trucks. Totally worth the extra $50 if it comes to that.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@MatznerJon Cool. Like the Amazon dash button but personal and customized.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@MatznerJon Agree, not unrelated. But I’m just a part time doctor so what do I know. 🤷‍♂️

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@kayvonbina @MatznerJon Mail order blood work. Another great business.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@SahilBloom @zachflipspages Grapes of wrath. Also a gem.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

“Enough for us right now”.

Can’t emphasize enough how important this is and congrats on being there. I think it takes (at least) 2 things that require effort.
1. Clearly Define what enough looks like
2. Have the ability/discipline to get there and stay there

Well done blueprint.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@tlwill87 @sweatystartup This is the science answer. Thanks.

[TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury]

@SahilBloom A spouse that cares about my health.

Monetary investment: weights in my home. (Reducing barriers to weight training)