TheDoctrepreneur @Doctrepreneury

“You just can’t do that!” That was my feedback. Surgical residency is intense. People die, you work long hours, you’re sleep deprived. In that environment, it’s not uncommon for your mentors to be intense. They are trained surgeons, not trained teachers. They still need…

If you’re in a high income W2 job, early in your career, and dream of starting a business, start saving now. For security and tax savings: -Put money in an HSA. Take advantage of your employee benefits: -if your company offers a 401k match, take that money. It’s a bonus.…

How I got better at saying no: 1. Reframed from thinking I was letting someone down, to understanding I’m not the only person who can help. 2. Recognized I’m a people pleaser by nature. The dark side of that is feeling like you have to say yes. Just naming the trait helped me…

Twitter/X can take you away from your family. It can also bring them in. what we do as a family: go through some of my favorite tweets about business, life, health and we talk about it. I share what I post as well so my kids know how I think about things. This isn’t…

Are you 0-3 years into a W2 job but you still dream of starting a business someday? When I was in that position I had no clue what business I wanted to start but I knew what my responsibilities were (2 kids, school loans, mortgage) How did I reduce financial risk for my family…

I stopped working on Fridays. That was my first step towards starting a business. Creating space early was essential for growth and keeping me engaged with my family. The alternative is either no time to promote growth or no time in the evenings to spend with my family.…

Conclusion to the story (part 3 from yesterdays post): “I just want to thank you for what you did for me. It didn’t go perfectly, but I know you care”. She had been in the hospital for 3 days longer than typical but she made a full recovery. I visited her twice a day,…

Knowing when to "fire fast" is hard sometimes. You may like someone as a person, but that doesn't make them a good employee. A lesson I learned after spending $5000 on contract work: If someone tells you they have done their best work and it's not very good, you can't fix…

Blood was filling my visual field, I couldn't see where it was coming from. I was on the final few moments of a robotic laparoscopic surgery. "Almost done" I thought. I swept the bowel aside to take one last look at the "repair" I had done. This was when the bleeding started.…

"How could you let this happen". If you read my post yesterday about blood filling my visual field, consider this a "part 2". After a grueling, frightening surgery the patient was finally stabilized, the operation complete, and the patient safely in the recovery room. The…

Longing for retirement wasn’t something I wanted to do. I want to be in a position where it’s hard for me to quit.

Steps to starting a distribution business: 1. Choose your product: recommend finding an insider within your network. If you don’t have any manufacturers in your network, you can find product manufacturers and directly reach out to them about being a distributor. I have done…

Talking to 1500 people a year with health problems is a masterclass in observing human nature. Being a physician gives you a unique insight into human experience. Listen for understanding and you’ll not only be a better doctor, but you’ll develop emotional intelligence skills…

I suggested to a potential new customer to buy from a competitor. Why? Because they would pay a lot less in shipping buying from someone closer that sells the same product. Risks/Benefits/Alternatives are key elements of an informed consent prior to surgery. Giving a good…

Why walk away from a high paying job? As a W2 employee, the capacity to make $500k/year is extremely hard to give up. Here is my list of reasons: 1. Philosophy of life- Feeling compelled to chase a dream is real. If I don't do it now (early 40's), it only gets harder as the…

Making something hard look easy is a sign of expertise. Seeing something that’s hard and thinking it’s easy is a sign of ignorance. If something complex looks easy, I question my depth of understanding.

Recognizing how quickly anger fades has helped anger fade quicker.

Looking for tax savings? Consider a High deductible health plan so you are eligible to contribute to an HSA. No tax on contributions (needs to be made from payroll deduction), no tax on capital gains if you use the money for health related expenses.

How did Nike almost fail? (according the Phil Knight in his book Shoe Dog). It ran out of cash. Growing a distribution business requires quick access to increasing volumes of cash because you have to keep pace with inventory demands before you have the money from sales. How…