The EntreMD Podcast

How to Change Your Business One Decision at a Time with Dr. Hokehe Eko

November 09, 2023 • Dr. Una • Episode 376

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What does it feel like to leave a medical career behind and step into the shoes of an entrepreneur? This is the bold move Dr. Hokehe Eko, a pediatrician from Oklahoma, took when she decided to prioritize her mental health and her children over her conventional job. She turned her attention towards solving a pressing problem within her state - the long waitlist for autism evaluations and the need for specialized pediatric care postpartum. Dr. Eko didn't just identify the problem, she became the solution by creating her own training program.

Can you imagine the transformation that comes with swapping your doctor's coat for the hat of a business owner and CEO? Dr. Eko takes us through her journey of self-discovery and growth at the Entremd Business School. She bares her struggles, the discomfort of uncertainty, and the triumph found in deciding and taking action. We delve into intriguing discussions about 'eating the frogs' - a metaphor for tackling the hard and necessary tasks, and the invaluable role of mentorship and asking for help. 

Witnessing Dr. Eko's journey will make you understand the ripple effects of actions such as hers. Not only did she make a massive impact in her business, Glow Pediatrics, but also experienced profound changes in her personal life. She's using her journey to teach her children invaluable lessons, and utilizing her unique gifts to aid parents struggling with their children's ADHD and autism. Join us in exploring the power of massive action, and the irreplaceable role of community and accountability in tasting success. Follow Dr. Eko's inspiring journey on her website, Glow Pediatrics, Instagram, and Facebook.

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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 ...

Speaker 1:

Hi docs, Welcome to the EntryMD 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. I'm not Well. Hello, hello everybody. Welcome back to the EntryMD podcast. I have a rock star EBS student. She's been in the EntryMD business school for about 90 days at the time of this recording. Her name is Dr Hokkei. We're going to have a very interesting conversation. I'm really glad that she could make out the time to come here and I'm grateful for her and all the students in the school who come and really take you behind the scenes, Because a lot of times on Instagram you see the highlight reel of entrepreneurship and here you get to hear real stories of real doctors who are doing real things, and it's always a joy. So, Dr Hokkei, welcome to the show.

Speaker 2:

Yay, thank you so much for having me Such a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

The pleasure is all mine and the listener. Okay, so now I want to give you a moment to introduce yourself. People can see why I'm so excited that you're on here, so you can go ahead, do that.

Speaker 2:

Okay, hi everyone. I'm Hokkei Eko. I'm a pediatrician in Oklahoma. I specialize in helping children with ADHD and autism like really boost their brain health and thrive in every area of their lives. So that's my mission.

Speaker 1:

And I'm grateful you do that. That is something that, as a pediatrician, that is something that we're always looking for resources, we're always looking for people who are compassionate like, who are passionate about doing that. So I'm really grateful for what you do, and I'm sure all the families who serve are as well. So let's kind of talk about how your journey as far as entrepreneurship goes right. So are you one of those who came from a family of 72,000 entrepreneurs and you're always going to be an entrepreneur. The drama we deal with as physicians when it comes to entrepreneurship you had none of those right. That was what happened.

Speaker 2:

Nope, not at all, I wish. My parents are both college professors and they're like go to school, go to school. So no talk of business here. So of course I did that and I went to med school and entrepreneurship. I fell into it because I was being harassed at work and I was like I can't do this anymore. So I decided to choose between. I decided to choose my life being alive in every sense of the word, mentally especially, and so I could take care of my kids. And I walked out of my job with no job and I said, wow, what just happened? So that's my introduction to entrepreneurship.

Speaker 1:

Oh, wow, okay, and I just want to stop and really reflect on this whole concept, because I've interviewed a lot of doctors, and it's amazing how many times the issue of mental health right. Either I was so stressed out, I was so burned out, I was so devalued. The doctor was like I was so devalued that I didn't see any value in what I was doing. I walked away from medicine. My power of contribution is not there, and it's beautiful to see that a lot of times, entrepreneurship is the answer. I'm very biased, right, of course. I think entrepreneurship is the fix for many, many, many things, but yes, it is, because it gives you that, it makes you aware of your power of contribution, it puts you back in the driver's seat. You're free to do what you really want to do, right, because you've learned to build a business system around it, and so what you essentially said is entrepreneurship is the answer, and yeah, that rocks my world. So you quit, though. So you quit, and then what happened? Business fell in your lap, or no?

Speaker 2:

I quit and I I definitely felt like I fell off a cliff that's how I used to describe that time and that was last year, actually in October of last year, and I was like, what did I just do? Who walks off a job with three kids and has no job? Who does that? Well, I did it. So, no, what I did was I started applying for Locums positions and I started doing Locums and I already had the idea that I wanted to open a pediatric practice, but not like a typical one. So I was like, okay, what do I do? So I was like, okay, so nobody goes into the homes and see babies, and we all know how important the postpartum period is. So I was like, okay, that's my practice. Because I had in my head that I wanted to keep things really low, because I really didn't have that much backup financially. And I was like, okay, well, this is low, I can drive, go to their home, see the babies and leave, right, but you know, I had no clients like zero. Oh my God, this is not working. So I continued to do low-coms. But then I found myself like, because before this, while I was employed, I had started talking, learning more about ADHD and how to treat kids as in a holistic way, not just here, fill out the form and here's some medication. Like how do we really look at all the areas in the kids' life? Right, and I did this whole TEDx talk on it and all of that. So I was like why don't I just start helping kids with ADHD? And then I was like, wait, there is a huge problem in our state, our autism evaluations. There's a waitlist of two and a half years. Like how is that even possible? Right, because knowing it's so important first five years of life with brain health, like if you're going to do anything with your child, you need to do it in that time. Right, because it's easier, not that it can't happen after, but we need therapies or changes made. That's the best time. So I decided to create training for myself instead of going to three years of fellowship to be a developmental pediatrician. So I contacted one and I shadowed him for about seven months while I was still doing low-coms, and he trained me on how to do the evils, which really, as a pediatrician of like more than 10 years, I already have the clinical background to do it, because it really is a clinical diagnosis, and so that's how I decided I found the need and found my training and started and then started trying to figure things out like how does this whole insurance, the whole thing, how does that work?

Speaker 1:

And yeah, yeah, and what you describe is and this is the reason why I love these conversations it really is the journey of an entrepreneur, right? People are like the reason why I haven't started anything is because I'm not very sure of my idea. I'm like, oh, my goodness, just get to 70%, let's keep it moving. Right, because it's in the process of doing that. You're like, hmm, I want to do this, or I want to like we're thinking the newborns, and you're like, wait a minute, adhd. They are like wait a minute, my state has this whole problem and businesses that solve problems that a lot of people have, and it's your zone of genius. That's like a match made in heaven, right, because they're happy. You're happy, everybody's happy, right? So you're doing all of this. And then so at some point, about 90 days ago, you decided to join the Entremd Business School. So what was that turning point for you? What made you make that decision? What made you decide to join? A bunch of unicorns doing unicorny things, like we like to say.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, because over the last year I've had an identity shift, right, I actually left my job and had no job. That made me face my identity as a physician, because now I'm like I actually don't have a job, so what happens to the physician who doesn't have a job? What was that person called? Right? And also, and then I've had some changes in my family life as well, so it made me question who I really was. So at this point I was like I am a child of God and I'm going to learn as much as I can about being a business owner. And I decided that was the identity I was going to take on and not and even though I was afraid and didn't know how to run a business really honestly. But I found you and I've been listening to you for over a year, actually more than that and then I was like, well, why not? We're just going to jump off another cliff. Since I'm the cliff jumper lady, I just keep jumping off, Literally in the last few years. That's all I've done. It's like really scary things. So I was like, yeah, I'm just going to join them, I'll figure it out as I go. So yeah, here I am.

Speaker 1:

Wow, okay. So Inquiring Minds want to know right. So when I talk to, when I talk to people, when I listen to people as they make this decision, there are a number of things that come up right. This is not the right time, I don't have the time, I can't afford it, and all of those things. So did any of that come up for you? If those things did, how did you, how did you navigate that?

Speaker 2:

So, yes, the big one for me was can I afford it? Right, because I just said I just started a practice, right, and then my locooms had slowed down. But I decided that I would find a way, and so I trusted that every month I would be able to make my payment and I will do it. And so I decided, if I keep waiting, I won't learn what I need to learn. And I know there's power in community. I know there's power in learning from people who have gone before you and actually know what they're doing. So I just took the leap and I was like, well, I'll figure it out the same way I got here all of this time.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, and so it sounds like for you it was a decision right. So we say this will make the decision. Then make the decision right, and it sounds like that's what you did, like those reasons were still there, but you decided I'm gonna, this is what we're gonna do, and I'll figure it out right, which is really I like that, because that's what I do. It's super powerful. Okay, so then you joined, and then what makes me so excited about your story is as things started shifting. So talk to me about some of the transformations in your business. We can even take it further and go to in your life since you started. And for the one listener, I really want you to see the power of 90 days. So, for instance, at the alternative business school, we live 90 days at a time, right, so we live by the quarters, and it's mind boggling, when you put your mind to it, how much of a change you can experience in 90 days. You can experience more than most people experience in a whole year. So talk to us about your 90 days.

Speaker 2:

Yes, so my first 90 days in EBS. I joined and I was like, first of all I had to confront the thoughts about, oh my goodness, they're so far ahead of you and you're just here. But then I decided that I was going to keep telling myself that I'm only competing with myself as long as I'm better the next day than I was yesterday. That's what I was going to go with. So I crossed that hurdle and then I decided to take on the identity which Dr Ouna teaches about all the time of a business owner. Right, I'm not just in here like working the way I have to think of my business as a big business, even though it's not necessarily a big business. But if I make those kinds of decisions for my little business, then, as it's growing because it will grow then I would already have set the foundation, and so that's really what that was. One of the biggest transformations was for me to accept the identity as a CEO and a business owner, not just oh yeah, I'm just the pediatrician who does the EBS.

Speaker 1:

Oh, my goodness me and just the pediatrician. I'm like there's nothing just about a pediatrician. Stop saying it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and so, yeah, that was one big thing. And then I decided to go on the retreat, right, and I was like, oh my goodness, and I met all these amazing doctors in person and I learned to not be afraid to ask, right, I don't, I mean, I don't know how to run a practice. So I asked, I asked, I asked for mentorship, I asked questions, I asked, I listened to the answers and I took action. I think that's the biggest thing. Dr Ouna always says we have to take action. Right, we can get all the ideas and the strategies, but if we don't take action, then nothing will happen, right? So, yes, I am still getting better, but I have definitely become a frog eater. So, for those listening who don't know what frogs are, they are the types that are pleasant, but we have to do it right. And so, as business owners, and not just physicians, we embrace the task of eating the big frogs Like the important things we need to do for our businesses that we may not necessarily like. So, for example, I did a summit in my first three months in EBS, right, I am a recovering introvert, in fact, but I decided I was gonna do it, so I did it. And so those are the kinds of things I'm just recognizing the things, the areas I need to focus on in the practice and implementing those ideas and not being afraid of them.

Speaker 1:

So I hear you use this word a lot I decided, I decided, I decided and I want to make sure nobody misses that because that is so powerful. Our lives really are at the mercy of our decisions. Sometimes not, we may have the setbacks, or we may have the deficiencies, or we may not have all the connections, we may not have all the capital, but what we do always have is the opportunity to decide, and when we do that, wild things start happening. You know what I mean. I just like how many even in just this last question, the number of times you said that that's powerful. So you did this whole identity shift like I'm a business owner, I'm a CEO, I'm the owner of a big business, I'm the CEO of a big company. And then you started taking massive action. You started eating frogs, as we like to talk about. So what are the kind of ripple effects that has created, the kind of results that's created in your business and I would say so far, because you know how it is the gift that keeps giving.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely. So I went from hiding from social media for a while and being back on it, but not just randomly. Right I was, I started. I decided to just use the gifts that have been given right and to share with the parents who are really struggling with their kids who have ADHD and autism. Ripple effects I started seeing more patients. I remember the first patients. I saw two pictures and I was like, yay, in my office, oh my God, I just saw a patient, but definitely. And then I started finding multiple streams of income to keep me going while I was figuring out the whole insurance thing, like seeing people for immigration services, like immigration health that I didn't think I could do as a pediatrician, but it turns out I can and I'm meeting all these interesting people. So the more I opened myself up to learn and to ask and to meet people, I started finding out ways to grow my business. So, yes, and trickle effects I mean even to my children, right, they see mommy starting a business from scratch and I call them my partners. I have three kids and so I get them to help me with different tasks, like the teenagers are good with social media. So I'm like, okay, can you create this for me. So it's like teaching them, as I'm learning right, and they attend EBS classes with me, especially my son. He's sitting there. Okay, mommy, I'm a businessman, I need to learn. So it's so amazing, and I mean the peace I have, even though, yes, I mean I have not gotten to where I'd like to, but I have accepted where I am and I have peace and I'm growing daily. And I think that's the most important thing is that we're in competition with ourselves and as we keep opening ourselves up to what's possible and stretching our minds and the books we're reading and all of that, it's really helps us. It helps us get to a place where we didn't even dream was possible, at least for me, yeah that's great.

Speaker 1:

She's being so humble. Yeah, she had her biggest revenue month too. I just go ahead, put her all the way out there. I'll put her all the way out there. But you know, I mean like you're doing so amazing and I think I'm going to. Okay, so I say this to be funny, but I think that for every parent in EBS, I need to start charging a fee for what we call EBS Junior. Right, we call it Entry Empty Business School Junior, because it's amazing the number of transformations that are happening in the kids. You talk about your kids sitting there. I didn't start learning these things till my 30s, right, and now you have a teenager who's learning these things. And a lot of people have kids even younger and they're part of the family business. They're helping you with. It's wild, because that's the true legacy. Like money you give your kids I mean it's money, but giving them the thing that created the money, the thing that created the impact, now, that's true legacy, right, because then they can transfer that to their kids and their kids and all of those things live on. So this has been so good. If you're talking to somebody, this could be at any level, right? So some people listening to this. Their goal is I want to cross my first six figures. Somebody else listening to this is on my way to eight. Right, and really is this concept of taking the opportunity that is right in front of you, taking the blocks of time that you do have and making it work, right? So we have, we're in the middle of a quarter now, but there's another 90 day mark coming, so I was listening to this. If you could tell them, whatever you do, do this over the next 90 days, what would that be?

Speaker 2:

Be consistent, like I said, goals and be consistent with taking action on them every day, even if it's just a little bit. I mean every little thing adds up and it's not. I mean I've stopped the habit of let's do it further away. I mean let's start now. Let's start now and just taking that small step one day at a time, not beating yourself off. If you fall down, get up and take the step again and then move on. So that's what I would say.

Speaker 1:

I love it. I said the goal take the action. I said the goal take the action. If you fall down, get up. That's what a one year old would do get up right, and that's really powerful. Thank you for sharing that. Okay, now, the gifts we give to the people who come on the show to tell all their business, like you did, is that the on-trend community comes out to support you and things like that. So where can people find you? Where can they find you? And you have a whole book, so tell them where they can get the book as well, and things like that.

Speaker 2:

Okay, yes, thank you for that. My book is called Children's Love Letters Pediatrician's Guide to how your Child Spells Love. It's on Amazon. It's also on my website, which is glowpediatricscom. So my name means light of God, so glow is a play on that, and so, because I want children to glow with health from the inside out, and so, yes, I'm on my website, glowpediatricscom, on Instagram At the Happy Brain Pediatrician, and on Facebook I'm at glowpediatrics yeah, there you go.

Speaker 1:

So, guys, go follow her. If you're a parent, get a copy of the book. If you are not a parent's parent, get a copy of the book, give it to them. But, dr Hokay, thank you for coming to share this Again. It's really important that we have these real stories out there, and I think we were talking about this before we hit record and I'm like, I'm so excited about what you've been able to do in 90 days, because you're building a muscle and the more you do it, the bigger that muscle gets. The bigger that muscle gets, the bigger the results are. The longer you do it, the more you run into a snowball than an avalanche, and this is how this is how it happens. So get ready. I'm already celebrating in advance, but you know you get ready. So thank you so much for coming on the show.

Speaker 2:

My pleasure and my honor. Thank you so much for being an amazing leader, teacher and showing us by example what's possible.

Speaker 1:

You're trying to make the doctor cry. Don't do it. Let's cry together, okay, all right, so you know for everyone here. I hope you heard what she said. I hope this was an inspiration to you. I hope you would look at the next 90 days and say, okay, this is a picture of where I'm going. This is what I need to do to go there. Dr Hokay is in my head. She's like rooting me on, rooting for me. Let's do this. I hope that's the way you would treat your next 90 days. Doing that will absolutely change your life. And take this episode, take a screenshot of it. Share on social media your biggest takeaway from it. Tag us in it. Then tell your friends hey, go listen to this podcast, go subscribe to it. Go listen, because this is what we do to change the narrative in the physician community. There is some person who is like going through so much mentally because they think they're stuck. This episode is what they need. There's somebody in business who's in cruise control and can't figure out what to do. This is the episode that they need, and so share it with them. This is how we change medicine. We don't do it by complaining. We do it by spreading the light. I will use Dr Hokay, whose name means light, right Light of God, and we spread the light and show physicians there's an alternate reality. It doesn't have to be the way it's always been. So share it and I'll see you on the next episode of the Entremdee Podcast. If you enjoy listening to the Entremdee podcast, you have to check out the Entremdee Business School. It's the number one business school for physicians who want to build six, seven and multiple seven figure businesses. You get the coaching, the accountability and the community. You need to do the work so you can thrive. To find out if this is your best, next step, book a call with my team. Entremdeecom forward slash call. That's Entremdeecom forward slash call. I can't wait to celebrate all the wins we can create together.