How Physician Entrepreneurs Burn Themselves Out (And How to Stop)

👉 Ready for the next step? Book a call: https://program.www.entremd.com/call 

Burnout doesn’t just come from toxic workplaces, it can also come from the business you built to escape them.

In this episode, I discuss a pattern I see far too often: physicians leave medicine to reclaim their time and sanity and then accidentally build a business that takes over their life and runs them into the ground.

If this sounds like you, then you don't want to miss this episode!

In it, I break down the three biggest mistakes that cause entrepreneurs to burn out. I also share stories and lessons from my own journey as well as powerful mindset shifts that will help you build a business that doesn’t own you.

If you’re growing fast but feeling more overwhelmed than ever, this is your sign: tune in now!

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Key Takeaways: 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 00:44 Are you experiencing burnout?
• 04:34 Don’t be the only revenue generator!
• 12:07 Stop being the only problem-solver
• 15:54 Don’t let work time bleed into life time

Additional Resources:

• Learn more about my 12-month program. 
• Interested in 1-on-1 coaching? Apply here.
• Grab a copy of the "The 7-Figure Physician CEO" book. 

When you are ready to work with us, here are three ways:

•  The Profitable Private Practice Movement - If you want to build a thriving private practice that serves a lot of patients, while creating time and financial freedom for you, come join us here. 
• 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 ...

Transcript

Avoiding Self-Created Burnout

Speaker 1 0:00

You can't be the only person creating revenue . You want to create other revenue creators . That way , you can expand their roles and stuff like that . If you needed to walk away , you could walk away . If you needed a breather , you could leave the breather . If you needed to take a long nap and you needed a day off , you could do it .

Speaker 2 0:15

Hi docs , Welcome to the EntreMD 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 Una .

Speaker 1 0:34

Burnout is terrible , but burnout that you create by yourself as an entrepreneur has to be the absolute worst . Okay , One of the things that I see as physician entrepreneurs that happens is you know , maybe we work a job or we're partners in a practice or you know whatever that is , and you know , the demands become so much , the administrative burden becomes so much , then we get burned out and then our solution is I cannot work in this system . This system is toxic , this system is not supportive , this system does not allow me to live life on my terms and all of these things . So I'm going to become an entrepreneur and usually , when you start playing the entrepreneurial cards right , things start to fall in place . Where you're in control of your time , you're in control of your calendar . You're in control of your calendar . You determine how much or how little you want to work , the revenue starts coming in , you start getting in team members and we're like , oh my goodness , this is amazing . And then your business starts to really grow and then what I have found that people find is that they're like I feel a certain way and I don't like the way I feel , and it feels exactly the way I felt when I was burned out and left where I was to start my business . Anyway . They go from burnout to honeymoon , back to burnout .

Speaker 1 1:56

Okay , and today , what I want to do is I want to show you how to stop building a business , stop building a practice that owns you , because when you build a business that owns you , burnout is inevitable . I'm going to make this super practical . I'm going to give you three things . I could give you five , I could give you seven , but I'm going to give you my best three . And what I really want you to do is I want you to treat this like a workshop . I want you to take these three things . I want you to audit your business , get them out of your business so you find yourself building a business that is sustainable , where , whether you're growing , whether you're scaling , you have a life .

Speaker 1 2:40

You're not living in burnout , you're not wishing you could throw your business away , because this is the deal . I have seen many people throw their businesses away . Right , it started working , all that stuff . They're like I can't take it because I don't have my time , I'm not able to work out , I'm not able to spend time with my children , I'm not able to spend time with my family . This is no fun , I don't want it , right , and then they throw it all away . But when I look at it , I'm like , man , this had so much potential and not potential , like maybe somewhere in the sweet by and by . I do the math , I run the equation . I'm like this has so much potential but the owner didn't know

Mistake #1: Being the Only Revenue Generator

Speaker 1 3:15

to protect himself or protect herself from the things that will turn this into a nightmare . So I'm giving you this . So , as you take your business to seven figures , multiple seven figures , eight figures , all that , you're putting yourself in a position where you can enjoy the journey and the bigger your business grows , the happier you are .

Speaker 1 3:36

Okay , let's look at three things that now . There are three things . When I see them in a business , I know this person is like full speed ahead , heading to a business that's going to burn out . They're building a business that cannot survive without them , right , which means burnouts , which means they can never exit it , and stuff like that . You know I train my people , for instance , in the on-train business school , the frameworks I give the students . These frameworks are designed to help them build businesses they can exit from , and many people in the beginning I'm talking about exit they're like I haven't even , like I'm only a year in . I don't think I'm going to want to exit . I'm not exiting now or whatever . But as they go on their journey and they find that they're needing time and they find that , oh my God , I need to take this time off , life happened , I need to take that time off , or whatever . It then dawns on them the beauty of what they've built . They built a business that does not own them . They built a business that doesn't depend on only them . All right , so let me give you those three things and I'll give you the solution for all three .

Speaker 1 4:34

The first thing that sets you up to have a business that owns you . The first thing is you're the only revenue generator . Okay , you are the only revenue generator . The day you don't show up , there's no revenue to be had , and many people build their businesses this way . Many people build their businesses where the only person bringing in money , the only person doing the heavy lifting , is the owner . Everybody else is kind of just there , right , either they're doing random , unrelated tasks or they're doing important tasks , but they're serving the patients and clients . They're not necessarily creating revenue and stuff like that , and you're not intentional about this . You can build a business doing 500 in revenue . You're strong enough . You can build a business doing seven figures and you are the only revenue generator .

Speaker 1 5:19

This is called the beginning of a nightmare . It's not one of those things that are urgent and important . This is not urgent and important , but if you don't address it , it becomes urgent and important , okay , okay . What is the solution for this ? If you're the only revenue generator and I want you to think about this and they'll say , oh yeah , there are many of us . No , if I was gone from my business for a week , if I was gone for two weeks , would everything come to a halt or would things be able to still go on Right , okay , so what do you want to do with this ? What is the solution ? You want to start thinking about replacement from day one , and when I say day one , I mean from the beginning of your business . But if you didn't think about it in the beginning of your business and you're 10 years in and you're 15 years in , you're 20 years in today's day one for you , okay , you start thinking about it . What is my replacement ? And it may not necessarily be for your role . It could be for your role , but it's it's . It's also like how can every person in my company be a revenue generator ? So I will give you two examples . Okay , so one .

Speaker 1 6:25

This was a doctor in the entreme business school who was like okay , so I need to make up for the fact that we're not going to have any revenue because I'm going to go on vacation . I'm like what ? Like no , you have a whole team and they're still going to be earning money and they're going to be coming to the office . And so I said to her I said okay , you have team members . What revenue generating activities can they be engaged in while you're not there ? What could they be engaged in so that they are creating revenue , even though , in this circumstance is probably going to be like revenue , you will still have to do the delivery , but they can drum up the business , right ? I said what could they do ? And initially she was like you know , I don't know . You know , usually I just you know , I have them , you know , attend some trainings , I have them clean . I was like there is no revenue to be had from training or cleaning , right , so they should train , they should clean and create revenue . What could they do ?

Speaker 1 7:12

And then so she started thinking about it . She's like , well , I have a number of referral sources . They could go deep in those relationships with those referral sources and there's some people who don't refer to us yet . They can go meet with them . I'm like perfect . Then she says there are some people who have outstanding balances . They can call to collect on those outstanding balances . I'm like wonderful . And she says , oh , we have people who are overdue for appointment . They can call all those people so that by the time I get back my schedule will be full . I'm like fantastic , right . And she says , oh , we have this vertical that does not require a physician . They can execute on it so they can fill their schedule and do that . Then I'm like , there we go , there we go . And so here she is . She goes on vacation for two weeks and for those two weeks her team members are there generating revenue every single day . So she can have her two weeks in peace , so she's not setting herself up for burnout . So in a way , her practice can work without her herself up for burnout . So in a way , her practice can work without her . And then she comes back and the people that were there created revenue . It's a way of thinking .

Speaker 1 8:10

Now for my private practice . I've had a private practice for the last 15 years and when I started , I started with the intent that I was going to give this 10 years and after 10 years I was going to retire . Okay , and it's not a recommendation , it's just that for me , I knew that I had , there were so many things that I needed to do with my life that I was not going to be in an exam room nine to five till I was 60 or 70 . I just knew that was not

Creating Multiple Revenue Sources

Speaker 1 8:37

a thing . How did I know ? I knew All right . So I'm not recommending it , I'm just sharing my story .

Speaker 1 8:40

What I did was , you know , from the beginning I started thinking and I think part of it was you know , I read E-Myth Physician and just got this whole concept of you know . There's you the technician , which is what I do as a clinician , seeing patients , and then you the manager right , managing the team , all of those kinds of things , and then there's you the entrepreneur , the owner , right , and there are three different roles and your job is to kind of build a business assets , not to build a job , okay , so I think I learned that pretty early on . I started thinking about that early . But , mind you , at this time , when I started thinking about this number one , I didn't even think I could build a seven figure practice . I had been an employed physician . I was this person who was like I'm going to be really smart , I'm going to be a great doctor and I'll have a great salary .

Speaker 1 9:22

Entrepreneurship was not something I thought about . At this point I didn't think I could build a seven figure practice and at this point I did not think I could pay another physician . The reason I'm telling you this is I'm telling you this so you can start from where you are . So , even though I had those limitations in my mind , I had those limiting beliefs . What I then said was like , okay , regardless , I set a date .

Speaker 1 9:42

I was like I'm not 10 years , I'm done 10 years , I retired and I'm so grateful . I mean , we hit that at year nine . But I was like I'm retired , okay , and I also want to point this out right , like I hear people say to me , this is a total sidebar . I hear people say to me oh , my practice is driving me nuts , I want to , I want to retire yesterday , okay , and I always say this and you give it the runway that it requires . This is a multi-year process . It will not take 10 years . Okay , I told you where I started from , but this is different . Like on Trendy , we have so many resources to help you and stuff . It does not need to take 10 years , but you do need to give it some runway . It could be three years , it could be five years , depending on how strategic , intentional you choose to be and how willing you are to eat really big frogs , okay . So , cause they're frogs involved , okay , the first thing I did was I was like , okay , I can't pay a whole physician , so I could not even conceptualize having a six figure , multiple six figure salary on my payroll .

Speaker 1 10:42

I was just like , forget it . But what I did do was I knew I could pay a doctor for a day right , I knew I could pay a doctor for a day . So I found a doctor who didn't really want to do all this stuff . She wanted to work a day a week , right , and so she wanted to work a day a week . I was like that is fantastic , and so I hired her really early on this must have been the first 12 to 18 months of my practice . I hired her and she came and she worked every Friday , but guess what that did for me ? It meant every Friday , every week , I had a long weekend .

Speaker 1 11:12

My practice didn't own me . I could travel , for you know , for three days . I could travel , for four days , I could , you know . I could spend time with my kids . I could do all of these things . And I started training myself to bring other people on right , and so I did that . I brought somebody on one day a week , then I brought a nurse practitioner I think it was on three days a week before I then hired my first physician and all of those things , and I just started creating multiple revenue generators . So I was not the only person creating revenue . Okay , so you can't be the only person creating revenue . You want to create other revenue creators so that that way you can expand their role , their roles and stuff like that . If you needed to walk away , you could walk away . If you needed a breather , you could be in a breather . If you needed to take a not long nap and you needed the day off , you could do it . So that's really important .

Speaker 1 11:59

The mistake here is being the only revenue generator , and the fix is start thinking replacement from day one . Okay , all right . Number two is this is subtle and many people miss this . Oh , but it's such a drain . It's almost like every time you move away , your business will come to a standstill , right , if you don't understand this concept , and it will be so mentally draining . I cannot explain how mentally draining this is . And that mistake is being the only problem solver Okay , being the only problem solver . So , whenever anything breaks , dr Una , how do we do this ? Somebody else saw a patient and a patient's parent is upset and the only person who can do the conflict resolution is you , dr Una . This mom is mad . You have to call her .

Speaker 1 12:43

There was a shipment of vaccines that needed to come in and the shipment didn't come in . Dr Una , the shipment didn't come in . What do we do ? Even thinking about it is so draining , it's so tiring , right . The way you fix this this is a problem . Okay . The way you fix this is you train your people to think . You train your people to be problem solvers . You don't make all their problems

Mistake #2: Being the Only Problem Solver

Speaker 1 13:09

go away . Okay , so I learned this from Brian Tracing . Okay , if you have not read the book , eat that Frog 21 Ways to Overcome Procrastination excellent book . I recommend it everywhere . In fact , it's a bestseller on Amazon and I think I'm the reason because I've always recommended it to hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people .

Speaker 1 13:26

Okay , he talked about like when somebody comes in with a problem that see them as if they had a monkey . Right , they had a monkey on their shoulder and they came to you and told you about it and they took their monkey and left their monkey on your table . So imagine people keep doing that and doing that and doing that . At the end of the day , you have 25 monkeys on your table driving you nuts . My approach then became when somebody comes and says the vaccine shipment didn't come , what do we do ? I'm like what would you like to do ? And so when I started doing that with my team , they're like I don't know . That's why I'm asking you . I'm like perfect , so why don't you go think about it ? Come up with three solutions , okay , and come tell me and I'll tell you which one and why . Now , it takes more time .

Speaker 1 14:19

Quote I don't do that , and the more you do it , the more stressful your life will become . I don't do that . Now , what does that do ? Number one it makes them think . And if you can have people who have hands that work and brains that think you are a blessed employer . Okay , number one is it helps them think . Number two if you are disciplined enough to tell them what you would do and why , then everyone becomes a masterclass you're giving them in problem solving . You are transferring the way you think and the way you problem solve to your team , which is a magical thing because it gets to the point where they're like I know what Dr Una will say , I know what Dr George will say , I know what they'll say because they've done this with you time and time again .

Speaker 1 14:51

So when they come in and say , oh , I don't know this , blah , blah , blah , blah , blah , I see it as a monkey . I'm like you stay right there , you hold your monkey . Okay , you hold your monkey , I'm not taking your monkey , I don't want your monkey on my table , okay . And then I'm like you go figure it out . You come back , you tell , execute . And so I did this in my practice and did it and did it . I did it with my team and EntreeMD and did it and did it . I do it with PMT , all my companies , so much so that I'm surrounded by problem solvers , I'm surrounded with people with high quality thinking . I'm surrounded with that .

Speaker 1 15:26

Okay , so being the only problem solver is a nightmare . And so the bigger your team gets , the more stressed out you are , the more mental clutter you have , the more you want to throw your entire business away . The problem is not the business , the problem is you're the only problem solver . Okay . So the builder has a problem , it's you . Okay . The coach has a problem , it's you . The VA has a problem , it's you . Like , no , have them think , have them think , okay .

Speaker 1 15:54

Number three , third problem , is that we create a culture . So this is a personal culture for the owner . We create a culture where work time bleeds into lifetime . Okay , work time bleeds into lifetime . So what does that mean ? What does that look like ? Okay , you're at work in your practice or in your , in your , in your , whichever type of business you have , and you see the patients all day .

Speaker 1 16:18

This happened to me . It was a turning point for me , right ? I see the patients all day . I was gone in the morning before my kids came , you know , got up . I hadn't seen them all day . I got home and my kids came to hang out with me and you , you know these . Hi , mom . I'm like okay , hang on , let me go take a shower . So I do all of that stuff and I come out and I settle in because I still have 20 undone notes and I start charting . And they come back in , they want to come hang with mommy and all that stuff , and I'm like shoo , shoo , go away , I'm working .

Speaker 1 16:49

In that moment I thought I said , okay , they woke up in the morning , I wasn't there , they went through their day , I wasn't there . I got back home and I'm also not there and I'm like there is

Mistake #3: Work Bleeding Into Life

Speaker 1 17:03

something terribly wrong with this . And he said that if you don't focus I'm really paraphrasing here If you don't focus , if you're not diligent , if you're not a good steward of your hard time , which is when you're at work , then you're going to have to give up your soft time , which is your lifetime when you're at home . Now I'm going to tell you the solution . I'll tell you what I did , but I'm going to break it down in a way that you can get it , because it's again , it's a way of thinking .

Speaker 1 17:35

So for me , I had to start asking myself the question , and you know I'm a big fan of asking better questions . The question then became how can I do all my work at work so that when I come home I can be at home . And usually the answer to that is you can't , because there's so many patients , you can't finish all your notes . Blah , blah , blah , da , da , da , da . Okay , but the truth of the matter is , when there's a will , there's a way , okay .

Speaker 1 17:58

So for me , my solution then became I would get to the office and , as I saw the patients , I would chart , and I had an hour for lunch and I would use 30 minutes of that hour and 30 minutes of that hour and if there are any outstanding notes , any administrative stuff I needed to do , whatever , I would do it in that time . I would document as I went , document as I went , and the goal would be when I'm done , I'm done , and if , for any reason , I'm not done , my office opens at 9.30 . That's a conversation for a very different day . I would rather go into the office 30 minutes earlier and finish thin than chart at home , and that became the end of me charting at home . I think after that I probably charted at home three or four times . I would not chart at home . And when doctors would come work with me , I'm like let me show you how not to chart at home . In fact , they would fight me for access to the EHR , like for remote access , so they can chart at home . I'm like guy , it's better for you to learn how to not need the access . They're asking me for the access , right , and to be fair , you may say but , dr Una , I need time for whatever . Fine , you may say I need an extra hour after work to finish everything I'm doing , that I'm going home , that's fine . But you've made the decision . You've made the decision that this is when I'm going to end my workday and this is when I'm going to start my lifetime . Whatever that is , then just don't allow the work time to bleed into the lifetime . It's not about stopping at five , it's about stopping when you determined you're going to stop Now .

Speaker 1 19:25

Another way this shows up , especially for my cash pay people , is when they start their business . They say call me anytime . I'm like what do you mean ? Call me anytime ? You don't want people to call you anytime . What are you talking about ? Right , call me anytime . So people are calling them for non-urgent things , you know , late at night and all these things , and they feel obliged that they have to do all this stuff and so they're working all the time , all the time .

Speaker 1 19:50

So when you do that , you're not giving yourself time to be separate from your business . You're not giving yourself time to lean into family and truly be present . You're not giving yourself time to be on vacation it's truly a vacation . You're not giving yourself the time , the space to do any of that . You start feeling like you're handcuffed to your business . That's the way it will start feeling and I don't want that for you . That's what makes people throw away their businesses .

Speaker 1 20:17

Same thing with a coach , and people may tell you the only time I'm available to be coached is at night . Now , in the beginning , you may be available at night and maybe that's what you want to do , but hello , you got to choose . If it's not working for you , it's not working Right , okay . So what is the solution to this ? It's boundaries , it's boundaries , it's boundaries . Tell people when you're available for what and hold to it for you .

Speaker 1 20:39

Okay , entremdcom , forward slash movement , you need to be in it because this is where we focus on the three things that will make any practice profitable . We focus on filling your schedule , helping you get paid for the work you do and building a profitable team . Okay , so three major things , major , major . But anyway , the meeting we have every week is at 12 noon and people are like why isn't it in the evening ? Because I'm like , because I want you to be trained to do your work at work . I don't want you coming to learn about your business in the evening , I don't want you to do that , I want you to do it in the middle of the day . It's a discipline , it's a new way of thinking , right ?

Speaker 1 21:30

Okay , so when we talk about efficiency , so in this time block , how do I use this time block For you ? That may mean you leverage a scribe For you , that may mean you leverage your team and you're really only doing what you do , what you can do , and the other stuff your team is taking care of it . So you can get more done in less time . Right , you want to start thinking efficiency . How can I do this in less time ? How can I do this in less time ? How can I do this in less time , so that my work time

Building a Business That Works Without You

Speaker 1 21:59

is my work time and I'm able to spend my lifetime doing life stuff ? Right , and yes , of course there'll be the exception to the rule someday when this happened , but it should be the exception . It should not be happening often and it should not be routine .

Speaker 1 22:13

So I want you to think about your practice , your business , your coaching business , whatever that is right when you're not the only revenue generator . Multiple people have generated revenue . For most people , this feels like huh , I can breathe , right , because now you're not the only person doing it , and that's what we teach you . Like in the profitable private practice movement is building a profitable team , like building a team that is generating revenue with you , okay . So imagine a team where you're not the only revenue generator . You have multiple revenue generators , so if you decide to stop and breathe , the business did not stop . Imagine where you have multiple problem solvers , where 80% , 90% , 100% of your team members are problem solvers , so you don't have to bear the weight of troubleshooting everything . And then where you work hard when you're at work and you're life hard when you're at life . You know what I mean . Like you get to do all that .

Speaker 1 23:02

Think about how more your practice , your business , will be more peaceful . Your business most likely will be more profitable because you have more revenue generators and you have more problem solvers . Okay , you'll be able to disconnect , which most entrepreneurs cannot disconnect from their . Okay , you'll be able to disconnect which most entrepreneurs cannot disconnect from their businesses . You'll be able to disconnect from your businesses your business to recharge and all of that stuff . Just imagine what that will be like . That is fantastic and it can be yours . It can be yours . I've done this with multiple companies . It can be yours , okay .

Speaker 1 23:30

So I want to invite you to do an audit . Who are the revenue generators , or am I the only revenue generator ? Who are the problem solvers , or am I the only problem solver ? Like , do I have any boundaries ? Do I have a work time or am I always working Right ? I want you to do that and I want you to make the necessary changes and I want you to start that journey , okay , of building a practice , of building a business that can work without you . Where you own the business the business doesn't own you . Where you don't create burnout , where you don't create a toxic work environment , because you deserve it . Okay . So I'm rooting for you . Go implement these . I can't wait to hear what you do in your business with these principles . Rooting for you always . See you on the next episode .