Time Management Strategies for 7-Figure Entrepreneurs

Busy physician entrepreneurs have to make the most of the time they have, and that starts with reframing how they talk about their time.

When you tell yourself you can't do this or that because you don't have time, your brain takes that as gospel.

So instead, ask yourself HOW you can make it happen.

Think of all the time you spend waiting in the car to pick up the kids from school or activities. How can you use that time to work on your business?

I bet you could reach out to 5 podcasters in that time to see if you could be on their show. Imagine how that could grow your business!

When you say "How can I?," you open this whole new level of possibility, creativity, innovation.

That's the first of three time management concepts I go though in this EntreMD Podcast episode. Tune in for the other two!

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hi dogs. Welcome to the Ontree MD Podcast, where it's all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, Dr. Umna. Well, hello, hello. Welcome to another episode of the Ontree MD Podcast. Listen, I went on a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So I live in Atlanta, Georgia, and you know, I'm getting ready to get into a mastermind. And I'm really looking forward to the you know three days I'm gonna be here. And on my way, I was working on, you know, the Million Dollar Entrepreneur series, which is a series that I am doing on Trinity Business School for about 10 weeks to kind of walk people through end-to-end the things you need to know if you're gonna build a million-dollar business. And that could be first million, next million, you know, whichever. And as I started working on it, I was like, wow, you know, I wanted to come share a few of the things that I had been thinking about. I mean, of course, we're going to go into depth with this, you know, when I get to teach teach the class, but I want to share some of the things that I think are so powerful that people miss. And it's some of the reasons why people are not really successful as entrepreneurs. So, you know, one of the things that we're doing in this series is time management, right? Because, you know, a lot of types of people are like, I don't have enough time, I'm a doctor, um, I already have, you know, business that's working, or, you know, I'm working so much, I just don't have time to work on my business. And I want to kind of walk you through some of the ways I think about this, right? Because no matter your situation, right, there is a way to work it out where you can create the time that you need to build a successful business, right? And so I want to talk about some of those. And one of the most powerful questions you can ask is instead of making a statement like, this can't work, I don't have enough time, I can't do it. It's not for someone like me. You start asking, how can I? How can I create enough time so that I can work on my business? How can I create enough time so I can get my business to six figures? How can I do that, right? As opposed to I cannot. Because when you say I cannot, that's it. It's a final thing, it's a it's a commandment, if you will, to your brain. And your brain's like, oh, the boss said we can't. When you say, how can I, you open this whole level of you know, possibility, creativity, innovation, right? So how can I? Powerful question. So I want to share a few concepts with you, right? The first concept when it comes to time management, is that there isn't a one size fits all, right? You're gonna read a lot of books, you're gonna hear a lot of concepts, you're gonna listen to a lot of people in different stages in their business, but there really isn't the way. There are a number of ways. Uh, there are ways that can be edited, and it depends, right? Like, think about like a radiologist. Like when they're done reading it, they're like, well, you know, clinical correlation is required is required. Like you have to take all of it in context. Okay, so there isn't a one-size-fits-all. So the other day, someone reached out to my husband and it's like, you know, I'm trying to run a nonprofit, the way you're running a nonprofit, and I see the results you've gotten. I've seen how consistent you've been over the years, how you've grown, and things like that. Like, what is the way? And as my husband was talking about that, I was like, you know, that is a very interesting question because there isn't a way. Like sometimes we feel there's this one book that I read that'll make everything better, or this one conversation I have. All of those things give you information you can use to make your best decisions, but there is a certain messiness to it, right? Because you're gonna figure out what works with you. You're gonna try a lot of things. And this is part of the reason why I'm like, you really want to have a bias towards action. You wanna be this person who takes action so you can figure out quickly what does work for you, right? And so don't be frustrated when you have to try different things, right? So we're gonna talk about, you know, some time management things. You need to try different things, you need to experiment with different things. Don't be upset by it. Don't look for an algorithm like you would have on your PAL's card or your ACLS card, where it's like, if this happens, then do this, if this happens, then do that. And expect that, you know, like it will just be non-messy. Like if you think about running a code, there, I mean, there is an algorithm, but there is some messiness to it, right? Like, so just I guess my point is embrace the mess, right? Embrace the fact that you're gonna try things. Some of them will work really well, some of them will work, but they'll require some tweaks. Like, embrace it all. Okay, so there's no one size fits all, which means you know, learn and apply, learn and apply, learn and tweak, learn and try, learn and test. And so you can get to what works for you, what variation, what method, what combination works for you, right? So that's so that's the first thing. And if you can get this, it's not just with time management, but it's with marketing, it's with building your team, it's with, you know, your style as a leader and all of those things. You're gonna try things. Some of them will work really well, some of them won't work, some of them work really well once you put a little tweak. But if you are looking for something that is a perfect, guaranteed, straight line kind of method, you're gonna be really frustrated as an entrepreneur because entrepreneurship is like the ultimate experiment. Okay. It works out really well, but there's a lot of testing. So you gotta be willing to test. Okay, so the second concept I want to share with you is when you're thinking about time management strategies, you do want to be crystal clear on the stage your business is in. Right? If I, you know, I'm at a stage where I'm running multiple businesses and I'm running, you know, some are seven figures, some are multiple seven figures, and things like that. What I'm going to do from time management is going to be very different from somebody who is trying to get to their first hundred thousand, or somebody who is trying to get to their first million, or somebody who's trying to get to their first multiple million in one business, right? Like you have to be clear where you are, because where you are determines what is the best use of your time. So let me give you an example. If you are building a business and you're not at $100,000, like you've started, you want to hit your first six figures, your first multiple, seven figures, multiple six figures, you are going to lean very heavily on marketing, very heavily on sales, like very heavily. You are at that point where your obscurity is at a all-time high. Like people do not know you exist. One of the things you'll be doing the most is making people aware that you exist. It one of the things you will do a lot of is making offers, like telling people, come work with me, come work with me. One of the things you'll be doing a lot is dealing with the mind drama because it's almost like it's the loudest at that stage. You may be at a point where you're still, you still feel uncomfortable talking about money. You're uncomfortable selling. You fall out, you like you're totally bent out of shape when somebody leaves you a one-star review or someone tells you what you do is not good enough. So there's this, you know, this transition you make, right from a physician to a physician entrepreneur, that is an internal journey. And that is part of the thing that you're really going to be focusing on in that stage of your business, right? And for somebody who is approaching seven figures or approaching multiple seven figures and they're trying to scale and all of that stuff. At that stage, you know, you should have revenue confidence at this point, right? You know how to generate revenue, you know how to end obscurity, you have much thicker skin, right? You can take what comes with entrepreneurship. But then you have this whole team thing you have to figure out, right? Like before the 100, will you figure out, yeah, you can, but there's a limit to the size of team you'll need. But on this other side, you need a team. You need to start getting results through teams, you need to start getting producers and all of those things. So the way you manage your time will be very different because it's not all about you getting results, it's about you getting results through people, right? If you're at that point where you're like, okay, you know, I want to hit multiple six figures, seven figures, I want to, I'm I want to make the journey to eight figures, then you're talking team on a whole new level because you're not looking at producers anymore. You're looking at people who are leaders, you're looking at leading leaders, right? And, you know, so the way, again, the way you manage your time will be different. But if you are going for $100,000 and you're managing your time like somebody who is, you know, wanting to hit multiple seven figures and they're focusing on team, focusing on their structure, reinvesting massively in the company and all that, you try to do that 100K, you're not gonna hit 100K. So you wanna be clear, like where am I? Right? Am I at a point where marketing, selling, making that transition, that's the biggest thing? Am I at this other stage where, you know, leading my team, training my team, and all of those things, hiring, firing, that's you know, that's that's where I'm you know spending a lot of time because I'm trying to build this team that can take my company to the next level. You know, when I first started out as an entrepreneur, I didn't even know what CEOs did. So I did uh I started searching Google, right? Like, what is the what is the job description of a CEO? And I remember reading an article, and the person who wrote the article said that the job of the CEO is to hire and fire. That's it. And I was like, what in the world? What is this person talking about? Like, how can that be the job of the CEO? The CEO is, you know, is supposed to in charge of you know, those who will market, those who will sell, he understands profit and loss, he makes financial projections and all of those things. I'm like, that's what a CEO does. Not until I got to the stage where I needed to get results through team. And I was like, you know what? The job of a CEO is to hire and fire, right? But when you're starting out and you're trying to go for your first six figures and first, your job is not, your number one job is not to hire and fire, right? Like you have other things to do. So that's the point. You need to be clear, like what is your stage of business? Because that determines what you are spending your time on. And the the third thing, you know, and I think I'll leave it here, is you want to be really aware of what is fluff and what actually creates results in your business, right? Because the thing is, as entrepreneurs, we are really good at filling up our time and filling up our schedule with things that make us busy, but don't move the needle at all. Right? You need to be very clear like these are the key things that bring me new patients, that bring me new clients. These are the key things that make patients and clients keep coming back. These are the key things that make people continue to refer to me. You need to be very clear on the vital few, the few things that bring the big results. And so, like in entre-tremday business school, we have what we call the revenue generation framework where we're like, this is what you do to create revenue, right? Like when you're wondering, what do I do with my time? These are the things you do to create revenue, right? Like, because you, these are things that you must know, right? Because somebody can have three hours to work on a business, five hours, seven hours to work on a business a week. And if they use that time strategically, they can get more results than someone who's a full-time entrepreneur. Because sometimes it's not so much the time that's available, but how the time that is available is being used. So especially if you don't have enough time, right? Like you're still working, you're you're working a job, maybe full-time, part-time. You have the kids at home. You have, you know, you have little kids at home, you have all these other things going on. And you're like, I have seven hours a week to work on my business, I have 10 hours a week to work on my business. Now, we don't need to fill that with fluff. Like your one of your favorite words would be no. Can you? No. Should you? No. Should I do this other thing? No. Because it's not doing anything for the bottom line. You've got to be crystal clear. Like these are the things that move the needle forward in my business. So I want to think about it. If you understand that, you know, time management strategy is not a one size fits all. So I'm okay working it out and tweaking it till I get what works for me. And remember, you're evolving. So as you evolve, what you what worked for you before wouldn't work anymore. Like you'd have to keep changing what your strategy is, right? So it's not one size fits all. You must be clear on the stage of your business. You must be clear on what creates results in your business. If you do this, then you become really strategic at using your time where you have a little time, but you're getting much bigger results. Okay, when I started my first business, which was my private practice, I was working 20-hour weeks in the urgent care. And so I didn't have all the time in the world. And I did that because I didn't want to take out a huge loan. I wanted to keep my overhead low and things like that. But I mean, I had to manage my time, right? So the time that I did have, I didn't have the time to waste on things that didn't matter, right? I understood the stage of business I was in. My husband put it this way: he said, until you have all the patience you want, your job is to get all the patience you want. I was very clear on what I was supposed to be doing. I was scared spitless though, right? As an introvert or introvert, because you know, all of that marketing and getting referrals and all that requires talking to people, which you know I didn't want to do. But anyway, I was very clear on what needed to be done at that stage. And, you know, so grateful for the successes over the years. But I would love for you to understand these principles as well, okay? Because if you do this, it will make a huge difference. So I want you to take some time to think about it, right? First of all, embrace the fact that, okay, this time management thing, I'm probably going to be studying for the rest of my life and experimenting. And, you know, entrepreneurship is a great experiment, so I'm up for it, right? So that's one. I want you to think about it. What stage of business are you in? Trying to crack my first six figures, trying to crack my first multiple six figures, seven figures, multiple seven. I'm trying to get to eight, right? Because that will determine how you're spending your time. The lower your revenue is, the more you're focusing on marketing sales. The higher it is, or the more you're focusing on producing, right? Producing. And, you know, the higher you go up, the more you focus on producing through producers, right? And then you go higher, then you're leading, you know, through leaders. Do you see what I mean? Like, so you you want to identify like, where am I, right? And then I just want you to think like, what are the things that bring the results in my business? What are they? Write them out. What are the things I do that are just procrastination that look like work? You know, like tweaking my website for the 7,000th time when I haven't spoken to anybody about signing up for my services, right? It's things like that. But this is so critical because, yes, as a community, we're busy. And I think as a world, we're we're busy, right? And you may not have the time for everything, but you have the time for the things you need to move to the next level. And I want us to become really great at leveraging the time that we have to go to the next level. Okay. So I figure, you know, hey, you know, let me come share this with you. I have a fun series that's coming up, the fun class that's coming up with the on-trained business school. And I will say, you know, again, the on-trained business school is really not for every physician, right? But if you're a physician who is, you know, like you're you're an athlete or you're an Olympian, I talk about basketball a lot. You're like, I want to go for the championship, I want to, I want to build that business, I want to thrive. You know, like yes, they're saying a lot of, you know, businesses are not doing well, the stats don't look good, but I'm like, I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna thrive at it. I just need, I need accountability, I need some education, training, coaching around this, right? I need a community I can do this with. If you're that person, then the on-tramd business school is for you. And I want to invite you to come join us, okay? So it's ontramd.com forward slash business. It is the number one business school for physicians who want to build six, seven, and multiple seven-figure businesses. Okay, that is what is happening. That's what we celebrate in the school, that's where we're going. And um, you know, it's it's a lot of fun. It's work, but it's a lot of fun. Okay, so if that is you, if that is you, you know who you are. Turn in application. We'll be happy to talk with you. And if it's a great fit for both of us, we'll be happy to invite you in. So this is what I have for you guys. What I would love for you to do is share this episode with another doc in your life who really needs to hear this. Because remember, this is our time as physicians. We are the ones building the most innovative, most impactful, most profitable businesses, and we can compete on any stage with entrepreneurs. We are the one percenters and we are examples, shining examples of what is possible. Okay, so thank you so much for listening. Don't forget to share the episode, and I'll see you on the next episode of the EntreMD Podcast. Hey, if you love listening to the EntreMD podcast, I want to invite you to join EntreMD On Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entreamd.com forward slash on demand, and I'd love to have you join us. See you on the inside.