When an entrepreneurial doc doesn't have time for a start-up...

... but lots of ideas and gusto, what is a guy or gal to do?

One depressing option is to shelve the ideas.

Another (bolder one) is to take the plunge anyway!

In the face of a looming recession (BTW - when are we going to decide if the recession has arrived?), it seems foolhardy to walk away from a good, steady paycheck, no matter how unhappy the genesis of that paycheck makes you.

If you're working harder than ever to generate that paycheck, how will you find the time to devote to starting and then running a business, nurturing it to the point that you can step away from your imprisoning clinical job and gleefully jump into the new business full-time?

And yet we keep hearing that now is the time to take advantage of the business opportunities that arise.

So how does one resolve this dilemma?

Well, what if you could keep working and producing your steady paycheck while someone else helps create your business? Not your idea (you start with that), but the execution of your idea! 

One of the growing trends in service businesses is to provide not just the knowledge and training for achieving a goal (we teach you and you do it), but the actual "we-do-it-for-you" support that flattens the learning curve and shortens time to start-up dramatically.

At The Entrepreneurial MD, I've been scratching my head as to how to be helpful with these challenges. And here's how I think we have done just that, with a new comprehensive Business Start-Up Program.

I spent the summer doing lots of planning and writing with Jeff Williams of BizStarters (a business coaching venture that comprehensively supports the start-ups for boomers who are retiring early or being laid off in big numbers) to create a first:

An all-inclusive program for physicians that not only provides business coaching but that also does all the grunt work needed to launch a business.

There isn't another program like it, at least for now (remember what I teach about "first mover's advantage"?). 

The program isn't for anyone who is vague about wanting to quit practice someday and doesn't know what else to do. Or for doctors who are way to busy to make the crucial decisions that need to be made to get a business launched.

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know the emphasis I place on defining your "ideal client or patient". Well, our ideal client is rearing to go, despite some reservations or fears (we all have those!) and willing to commit to meeting for a couple of hours a month to:

a. get clear on the business model

b. work on a business and marketing plan

c. make the 28 key decisions that constitute the heart of the program and that guide to our team to produce the goods.

Read more about The Entrepreneurial MD Business Start-Up program here to see if this is the answer to your start-up prayer !

Anyone ready yet? 

The Entrepreneurial MD has a new look!

In case you didn't notice it, The Entrepreneurial MD has just undergone its first renovation.

We added a third column, and more content including a section on Recommended Books and Programs (scroll down and check it out on the left). I was inspired to do this at a recent conference in Las Vegas when I was asked for my reading recommendations to boost one's business knowledge. These books are some of my favorites with the most number of highlighted pages, yellow sticky notes and scribbles in the margins!!

Most importantly, on the upper right, we have added the banner promoting our new signature program - The Entrepreneurial MD Business Start-Up Program -- our comprehensive "we hold your hand and do all the dirty work for you" coaching and business start-up program.

In a nutshell, I have teamed up with a truly esteemed successful entrepreneur colleague, Jeff Williams MBA, of Biz Starters, to bring you all the help you need to get beyond the dreaming stage and into reality.

Be on the look out for more details in the next week!

And ... please tell me what you think of the new look.

Marketing on the topic of "Marketing" to Immediate Care physician business owners

I leave shortly for Las Vegas to give two presentations to the attendees at the today's Surgicenter conference in their Urgent Care Center track.

The favorite of my two topics is Magnificent Marketing: A Five-Step Guide for Your Urgent Care Center. The reason -- because this topic is where I have the most fun in my work and where I feel the most sense of victory.

What used to be a puzzling, squirmy, challenging part of my business has become the most creative and expressive part of what I do for The Entrepreneurial MD. And I am continually struck by the notion that if I was able to overcome my deep discomfort at "self-promotion", then my clients can too.

There are some aha's that made all the difference to me, and they bear re-mentioning here (you can learn about this in much more depth in my step-by-step Marketing Mastery Program upon which my presentation is based)

• You are always in TWO businesses - first and foremost the business of marketing. If you aren't in that business, then your other "real" business will not thrive.
• Marketing is NOT about you! It is about the desires, wishes, and relief of pain or discomfort of your clients or patients.
• There are only 7 "marketing assets" your practice or business needs:
• 1. A distinct target market
  2. A Compelling Unique Benefit (that announces what makes you different, special, unique)
  3. An Attractive Audio Message (or "elevator speech that focuses on the benefits your target market gets from your products or services)
  4. An Attention-Getting Message (that tells your story in a way that has the listener or reader in your target market say "that's ME!")
  5. Validators that substantiate any claims you are making (proven outcomes, testimonials)
  6. One or more Client Attractor Tools (free or low-priced offers that draw your target market into beginning a relationship with your business)
  7. Marketing Implementation Plans (to create the systems that your consistent and regular marketing depends on.
• Effective marketing for the kind of businesses and practices my clients are busy starting or growing is all about building relationships
• Physicians are naturally good at the most effective kind of marketing -- Education-based marketing rather than Selling. Be generous - give away tasting samples of your knowledge or expertise and watch your target market folks come back for the full meal!

The Entrepreneurial MD pauses to rest

You may notice The Entrepreneurial MD Blog grow silent for two weeks. I shall be vacationing in France with my family, in Paris for a few days and then at my brother’s home in the countryside near the Swiss border.

This trip comes with a large price tag – my 5-year old daughter is devastated at missing the opening of Wall-E and her beloved July 4th fireworks. “Pooh Paris” is how she describes it.

However, this mommy did some homework and discovered that the largest July 4th celebration outside of the US is held annually in nearby Geneva – so that will be her surprise, if we can handle a crowd of 35,000 in a foreign city.

I shall not be thinking much about my work, or the US healthcare system, or politics, or anything that reminds me of home. I plan a full-blown escape!

But I know I shall enjoy getting back into the swing of things when it is all over. I have discovered what it’s like to really love a job and to look forward to the excitement and challenges of making The Entrepreneurial MD a resource worthy of your attention.

Have a great couple of weeks, and for my US readers may you enjoy a festive Independence Day.

Big Business Contest update for The Entrepreneurial MD

Now is the time to vote in the Big Business Contest - I mentioned in an earlier blog post that The Entrepreneurial MD is one of 14 fianlists selcted from several thousand entrants.

If we win, I shall be provided with some intensive business building advice, strategies and tools. And I promise to share what I am learning right here on this blog.

Go here to vote, if you think we deserve it and you didn't already get a request in my newsletter (sadly, you can only vote once <smile>).

Look for the Vote Now button, and you can also check out the video I made by scrolling down a little to find the 14 contestants and then clicking on my headshot or clicking on the link just above.

I appreciate it very much!