The Fear That Keeps Doctors From Their Real Dream (And How She Beat It) with Dr. Cheruba Prabakar

What if the thing standing between you and the business you really want isn’t your circumstances?

What if it’s the conclusion you’ve drawn from them?

In this episode of the EntreMD Podcast, I’m joined for the third time by Dr. Cheruba Prabakar, board-certified OB/GYN, fellowship-trained minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, private practice owner, author, and “The Fibroid Doc.”

And this conversation is not theory.

Dr. Prabakar shares the story behind her work with women suffering from fibroids, including the deeply personal connection she discovered between the patients she serves today and watching her own mother suffer from fibroids decades ago.

But we also talk about something every physician entrepreneur needs to hear:

The moment when the dream feels impossible.

In this conversation, we talk about fear, entrepreneurship, building a profitable business around meaningful work, creating impact through medicine, and refusing to put a lid on what you can build simply because you haven’t seen it done before.

You don’t need to eliminate fear before you move.

You need to stop allowing fear to make your decisions.

Listen to this episode, identify the dream you may have talked yourself out of, and ask yourself one powerful question:

What if I could?

Then take the next step.

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

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

From in 2021, when I thought about starting this practice, I was like, yeah, that's a great thought, but you know, that's not gonna happen. And I think we're very quick to look at our circumstances, we're very quick to look at what's around us, we're very quick to kind of put a limit on what we can accomplish based on what we see, right? And a lot of times it's negative because we're like, well, no one's doing that around me. Everyone does that so hard. Well, I guess I can do it, you know? So that was my thought process year one. And then year two, I was like, well, who cares? Like, what if I do it?

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Hi dogs. Welcome to the OnThamD 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. Imna.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Well, hello, hello everyone. Welcome back to the podcast. And I have someone who is this your third time on the podcast?

SPEAKER_02 1:06

I have someone who I'm bringing back for the third time. So you have to know that this is good, okay? So I have Dr. Prabaka here. She is unbelievably amazing. She has done things that very few physicians have done. She's always so generous with her story. And no matter how um mind-boggling what she has done is, she's always going for more and breaking through no new frontiers and all of that. And so I'm so excited to bring her back on the podcast. Um, we're not talking theory, we are talking about things that have been done and results that have been created. So, this is an episode that I really want you to treat as a gift because that is what it is. And I want you to really pay attention. There's gonna be, you know, three or four or five nuggets that you're gonna get from this that if you take them or run with them, they literally will change your business and your life. So, um, Dr. Prabaka, no pressure there, but welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Thank you so much for having me, Dr. Una. I'm really excited to be here and um share.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Yeah, of course. Okay, so I'm gonna give you a moment to introduce yourself. I mean, your introduction changes every time because you change. So give you a moment to introduce yourself uh to the lovely listeners here.

SPEAKER_00 2:18

All right. So hi everyone, I'm Dr. Chirubah Prabhakar. I'm a board-certified OBGYN and a fellowship-trained minimally invasive surgeon, and I um am also known as the fibroid doc. So I have spent the last decade um really learning about complex gynecologic problems, including fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic pain, and um, there's a little story about how I got into fibroids, which I can share later, but this is um sort of my passion and my calling in life. And so I run a private practice in the Bay Area in California that is really dedicated to um GYN, uh complex GYN conditions, and I focus on fibroids. And um, I recently also published a book on surprise fibroids, and um, so I'm really excited for all of those things and um looking forward to talking more.

SPEAKER_02 3:12

Yeah, so I I was when you said this story about how you got into fibroids, I was like, I don't do I know that story? Why fibroids? How did you niche down to that?

SPEAKER_00 3:21

Yeah, I don't even know the story. And you know, it was kind of all like a full circle when I was thinking about well, what do I really kind of specialize in? When I did my fellowship, we all automatically niche down into GYN versus OB and delivering babies, which I just gave up recently. And then as far as fibroids, when I was training in New York, I just saw a lot of women with fibroids and saw how much it impacted their lives, their fertility. But then my own mom had fibroids. So when I moved to this country um when I was 12, I was uh an immigrant and she was suffering from fibroids and heavy bleeding and anemia. And I remember as just a young girl watching her suffer through this, and she ended up with a hysterectomy, um, with like a big vertical incision, and was in the hospital for a week and and all of that. Um, and so it's kind of interesting that in in all of this work, that story has sort of resurfaced, and maybe I've had like repressed it, you know, before, I don't know. But um, and even though there was not the technology at that time to, you know, do minimally invasive uh surgeries and things like that um for my mom, I now take care of so many women um like her. Like it's just it's a very surreal feeling. And um I'm I'm just so proud to be able to give them back a life, you know, in a different way that my mom did have the opportunity to experience. But um I know what an impact it has on the lives of so many. So yeah, so that's the story. I don't know if I ever told you that.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

I I don't remember that, and I'm getting chills just thinking about it. So it sounds like you didn't consciously make the decision based on the story, but now you look back, you're like, that's probably why I made the choice I made. Is is am I getting that right?

SPEAKER_00 5:16

You know, I I think so, because I I don't know why I didn't think about that story for all that time. It, you know, and I think because I was so young, it it didn't, you know, I wasn't really, I mean, I was barely like trying to survive, you know. So, but now like looking back at it, I'm like, wow, I see so many women in my exam room. I'm like, wow, you are my mom from 30 years ago. And so it's really kind of a cool um cycle and in how all that worked out. And so the book that I wrote, I actually dedicated to my mom. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Oh, what a beautiful, beautiful. Okay, so let's talk about this book. This is and this what makes me happy about this is you know, sometimes when we think about business based on the movies or based on what people say about it, we think of it in terms of people who build these entities to make a lot of money, right? And you know, I am not the person who will tell somebody to build a business that's not profitable. Like I almost never talk about business without putting profitable in front of it, right? But that's not the driver. The driver is the impact we can have. So imagine how, you know, like how deeply what your mother went through affected you. And here you are, and you built a business that yes, it's profitable, but it solves that problem, a problem you solve for years and years and years, over and over and over again. Like, how wild is it that you can solve that problem in a profitable way? So your hobby or something that is so meaningful for you is now your business. Like, how wild is that?

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Totally wild, totally wild. And and you know, the stories that really come with it are so impactful and powerful. I mean, recently I did a hysterectomy on somebody who um, you know, looked like my mom was around the same age as my mom when she, you know, underwent a hysterectomy, and somebody had told her, Oh, yeah, you need a big vertical incision and you need this surgery and that surgery. And I was like, wait a minute, we're we're not we're not in the mid-90s. Like, you know, why do you need that? And of course it was it was a challenging case, but I was able to do it with three tiny little holes, and she was so, so grateful. She cried out of, you know, just so much relief. And and I mean, I got really emotional at that post-op visit because I was like, wow, this is like I couldn't do anything then for my mom, but I you know, this patient is is in that exact same scenario. So um, yeah, and then just seeing how how I could impact the lives of so many is is is pretty remarkable.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

That that is so wild that you get to do that, and that is your life, and you call it a business. Like that that is that is so nuts, so nuts. Okay, this is this is already so good. Okay, so now you've been doing this, you've been doing these surgeries, you've been helping people, and to think that narratives from the 90s still ring true, where people maybe are even afraid to get surgery because they don't want that big vertical incision, all of those things. And so you've been doing all of this, and then you decide I'm gonna write a book. Why why the book? What why did we decide to do that?

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Yeah, so interestingly, this book was not in my 2026 goal, was 2026 goals. You know, I thought eventually I'll write a book, but you know how we roll in the entree MD business school, you know, we make a decision and bam, it's done. And I remember telling you in February that by July I'm gonna write this book and, you know, hey, I got it done. And I was, I think part of the driver and motivation to just get it done quickly is because of the stories I kept hearing in my office. Um, women who were told various things about their fibroids, um, given kind of incomplete treatment plans or or just given either a pill or hysterectomy and nothing in between. And a lot of women kept saying to me, yeah, like I looked on Instagram at so-and-so, and I looked on TikTok at so-and-so, and I and I think this could be the plan for me. And I was thinking, since when did we start, you know, looking at social media as our our physicians? I mean, I know we get a lot of information, but this can't be. And then I started looking around for resources um on this topic, and there wasn't really uh a good guide for patients. You know, here you are, here's your diagnosis. Well, what does this mean? What do you do next? Um, where do you get help? Uh, what kind of doctor do you need to see? What are the options? Um, and you know, women are busy and we do, we're working, we're taking care of our family, and we don't necessarily have time to run to 10 different doctors. So I wanted something which was a one-stop shop for women where they can pick it up and they can, within two hours, they can really understand in very simple plain language what is going on so that they know, okay, what is the next strategic step I'm gonna take, rather than just, you know, making a bunch of appointments for which, you know, we don't have time for. So so that was really the the driver. And um, I really wanted to educate more women and have them take more um just control over their bodies and know that there are options um and at least find those doctors who are going to really listen to them. So that was that was all motivation, and um, that's how I wrote it. It's really meant to be a guide for patients um who have fibroids bleeding or a family member who's suffering from these problems.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

And that must be like a breath of fresh air, right? Like there's nothing like being able to make an informed decision, right? Like, and and it's it's very empowering because all of a sudden it's like I don't have options. It's like, where do I go? This is also confusing. You know, they can say, and I like that you said two hours, right? Because sometimes books like that can be 650 pages. I look at it like, who's gonna read all of this? And I'm a doctor, I don't want to read 650 pages, right? When I look at it on Amazon, I'm like, that's gonna be a hard note for me, you know? And so, so now you've published the book, right? And and people have gotten it, people are reading it. What are some of the stories you're hearing from people who've who've read the book?

SPEAKER_00 11:18

Yeah, so I had two people that see me in the office just two days ago, and I'm sorry, two weeks ago, and one was a brand new patient who came to me um having read the book, and she was like, Okay, this person, you know, is gonna at least listen to me and give me all the options. So that was that was great. And that's really that was the goal of the book to get to that place where you felt like, okay, I can I need all the options. And another patient of mine, who is a long-term patient of mine, who is now been suffering from fibroids for a long time, and I've done several procedures on her, and now she's like, okay, I think I'm ready for the hysterectomy. But before that, she went through the book and she really knew what questions to ask me, and her thinking was much more clear. So even this time she spent with me, you know, she felt like she was getting a lot more out of that visit. So those were just two recent, you know, examples. And then my sister-in-law actually read the book and she has no, she doesn't have fibroids or anything, but she was like, wow, I learned a lot like about bleeding and about, you know, fibroids, and this is super uh, you know, she's in the medical field, but um not a gynecologist or anything. So she she just picked it up and to, you know, to support me, and she kept sending me these messages like, wow, this is so cool. Like I didn't really know about this, and this option and that option. And so it it I was so happy to see that there were um the various ways it was influencing people. And there was another physician actually um who reached out and said, Oh, I've been having heavy periods, I had no idea, like this this could fit these things. And wow, like this book, I picked it up just to learn more, but now I think I may have a fiber and I'm gonna go get get it checked out. And so um, you know, the more we know and the more in tune we are with our bodies, the better. And so it's it's been kind of cool to see how it's uh how it's circulating out there.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

That is so good. So is it is this shocking in a way to you? Like, I knew I was gonna write the book, I know it's gonna help a lot of people. I didn't quite see it this way. Like, is it is it shocking to you? Because it sounds like you now have a full-time employee in your business who goes around, you know, talking to people, like spending two hours with people, two hours you can't spend with them, spending two hours like explaining everything in detail, and then they come to you ready, or they come to you with the right questions, or they come to you with so much more understanding. It sounds like you you've got an employee.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Yeah, I mean, I was definitely surprised. And as we always talk about, we we never there's always the unknown, right? We do these things and we don't really know who's reading it, you know, um, like when they're reading it, um, what hands it's circulating through, right? You just you just don't know. So it's been kind of cool to see that. So yeah, I was definitely surprised. Um, I had a different vision of who might read it, um, but I've I've seen people give it as gifts, you know, to to their friends and uh people who could use it. And so yeah, it's been really cool to see. So good.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

So good. Okay. Now there is probably somebody watching or listening who um has thought about writing a book, um, or maybe who has written a book, maybe hasn't promoted it as much and things like that. But you're you've written it and you're seeing the outcome of it, and you're a very focused person, right? Like so fibroid is your thing, your your primary thing, your practice is fibroid, your book is on fibroid, like you're not a random person at all, like you're very focused. What kind of advice would you give somebody who who wants to write or you know, like who's in the process of writing, to help them build a book that is an employee in their business, like it supports what they're doing as opposed to it just being a different um random thing. So it's profitable for them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yeah, I think the biggest piece of advice is really to find out um how it's gonna complement what you're doing. I think a lot of people, when they think about writing a book, they're like, oh, that's so cool. You know, I'll have a book. And sometimes the different topics that come out are okay, maybe cool, but you put in all this work, but how is it actually complementing what you're doing? How is it actually being that employee for you? So I think that's where um a lot of um people can get kind of sidetracked. Um, and even for me, I was thinking, well, I can write about fibroids, but that's kind of like an unsexy topic. I mean, it's it's fibroids, it's very specific. It's, you know, but then I was like, well, that's exactly the type of person I help. You know, that's a problem I'm trying to solve. So it makes sense that I write about that. And so I think that's probably my biggest piece of advice. And then secondly, I would say it's not as hard as you may think. Um, it's a lot of work, don't get me wrong. It's it's a lot of discipline and sitting down and putting together thoughts and all of that, but it's not as daunting as it may have, you know, once been. And so I would, yeah, those are the two things I would say.

SPEAKER_01 16:17

Love it.

unknown 16:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

So, and and this is what I wish for. I I love the way you talked about it, like what complements what I'm already doing. Uh, because we have one precious life and we don't have time to go in 72,000 directions, right? And it's like, how can I really build this really big snowball? And it's about everything you do is kind of taking you towards where you want to go anyway, which is which is what you did, which is so, so, so powerful. And somebody like you, you were saying, maybe thinking like, well, this is not a really cool topic, it's not super exciting, and you know, there's a there's a limit to how many people can buy it, but that's the whole point. Like, there are 8 billion people on planet earth. We don't need to reach all 8 billion, but we need to reach our people, right? Like, because the way you're going, when you look at what you do on social media as the fibroid doc, when you look at your practice, you look at the book and everything that's gonna follow this and the growth that's gonna come on these three engines, chances are as you approach your 70s and 80s, you would look back and see the big dent you made in all things fibroid, right? Like it would almost be impossible to write the history of, you know, the the timeline on fibroids and the treatments and how it was perceived and the suffering women experienced without including your story, because that's what you're that's what you're doing. You know what I mean? But it takes an incredible amount of focus to do that. If we are all over the place, we we don't have enough power focused on one thing to make a big dent in one thing, right? So, so this is this is so good. Um, okay, so I would ask this because you know I'm all about the win-win. Okay, so your story is already helping so many people. So before we go any further, how can somebody support you as far as getting this book out there? How how do we support? I got my copy. I yeah, I got my copy, of course I did.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

So, yes, you can get it on Amazon, it's um in uh paperback, hard copy, um, hardcover, sorry, as well as Kindle. And then if you are somebody who is um supporting women in any capacity, um, maybe somebody in HR, maybe um you are somebody who runs an organization uh for you know healthcare, um, maybe the residency, you know, program director. Um, this could be required reading for for your OBJY in residence. Um, and so I would love for you to get a copy of the book. And if you're somebody who, you know, also puts together conferences and women's health events, I would love to speak about this topic because my goal, as I say in the book, is I want fibroids to be a household name. And we're slowly getting there with things in women's health, like menopause is just, you know, has just come up as that, as that thing. But I want fibroids to also um have that position because it affects 80 to 90 percent of all women. So even if you're not a woman, you're not personally affected, somebody in your family, somebody you know and love is affected.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

I love it. Okay, so everyone at as a bare minimum, get a copy. But there's also this thing, we talk a lot about it in the entree MD business school about opening doors for other people, right? Because there's a door you can open for Dr. Prabaka that will cost you absolutely nothing. It could be a text, right? And the text could be, hey, why don't we get this book for all the people who are gonna attend our event? Or, hey, I know you're looking for speakers for your events. Can we get Dr. Prabaka in there? Or, you know, like we have this um uh uh girls' trip that we're going to do. Can we get like whatever it is? We have holidays coming up, right? Can we get bulk copies for something? Like whatever it is that is within your power to do, do, but at baseline, everybody get a copy. And you might be a man going like Dr. Una, what would I do with the copy? Well, you know, women, and she's at 80 to 90 percent. So just go like, I was listening to some women on a podcast, and they say I should buy this for the women, but I've yeah, let me know how it helps you. Okay, so you guys do that, okay? All right, so let's switch gears here a little bit because you know I talked about this in the beginning that you have done things that very few people have done. So you have a surgical GYM practice in the Bay Area that's a cash practice, and you've done phenomenal things with it, like results that just flat out don't make sense. I think maybe I start from there and let you set the stage of what your practice looks like, what your practice results are, what life looks like. Um, because I have a number of questions that people are going to ask and I'm gonna ask on their behalf. So, so why don't you set this stage and paint this vision board that I keep talking about?

SPEAKER_00 20:56

Yes. Yes. So I started this practice in 2022 after being employed in a different practice uh for about eight years. And um private practice was always my dream, but here in the Bay Area, it just wasn't like a thing that was happening. And I actually joined the entre MD business school the year before, just knowing that, you know, what's out there. Like I'm the type of person that wanted to take charge and do something big and beautiful with my life. And I was like, I don't just see myself sitting in this employed position for the rest of my life. I don't know what's out there, but this entre MD business school community, I don't know, seems like they they could know something. So that's kind of how I joined and um started to think about what my options were. So um I had really repressed, I think, that whole idea of a private practice because everybody around me was so negative about it and they were like, Yeah, that's not gonna work. And so um being part of this group really made me think and dream again and got me bold to just start it. And so it's been a four Year journey. I'm about to celebrate my fourth year anniversary on October 1st. We're having a big party at the practice. And I do one every year, um, just just because we celebrate things as we go along, um, no matter how small or how big. And so I'm really excited for that. And I reflect on how far I've come. And it's been absolutely mind-boggling. And I was just telling my husband yesterday, I said, wow, we're just such kind of overachievers. Like maybe we should just like calm down and like take it, like just live day to day. And he's like, Yeah, but that would be so boring. I was like, Yeah, I guess we just can't be like, you know, we're always looking, looking for the next thing as long as it's fun and it makes sense for us, right? But it um it's I'm a completely different person uh because of it, because of all the skills I've learned, because of who I've become as a business owner, as an entrepreneur, as a physician, as a CEO, as a mom, um, as like the manager of my home, right? So many, it's traversed all areas of my life. And so it's um, you know, I've made more money in the in the last uh I've brought in more money, I would say, than I ever dreamed about. You know, there's a whole podcast episode that we did on that. And I've now started employing other physicians who want this dream life, dream business type of life where they don't want to just be an employee practice and see 30 patients a day. And so I'm not only building a life for myself, but also um a really cool place to work at. And medical assistants who come and work with us are like, wow, this this job is so different. Like, I've no nowhere else that I've interviewed like does this. And so we talk a lot about legacy, legacy in the business school. And so I'm thinking about like, wow, I want to make this such an amazing experience for these pre-med students that they're gonna be, they're gonna remember this forever and learn such cool things that you know nobody else would have taught them. And so it's um, yeah, I'm just so grateful um about what I've been able to build and and all the areas that it's um it's uh influenced.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

So fun. So fun. Okay. I love and now you guys can see, right? Like this is a whole this is just a vision board. And it's not like she's plateaued, it's not like she's arrived. Like if I were to interview her 90 days from now, she'll have a different version to this story. And you know, we just keep going. And it's not going just because you heard her say that, like if it's fun, if it makes sense. So this is all in alignment. Well, there's there's more, you know? So so beautiful. Okay. So first question I want to ask you. There's a thing that comes up a lot where people are afraid, whether they're starting their business or they're a million dollars in, where they don't believe they're the person, they're the kind of person could who could have what they would dream for if they could. You you've been in this game long enough, so I know you understand exactly what I mean. But like, so like, okay, I want to take my practice to one million, but I'm not the kind of person who can do that. Almost like I'm an imposter. Who am I to think that I could do something like that? And so many people don't dream, or they dream, but they don't rise to the occasion because of that thought process. Like, I'm not, I'm not worthy in a way, right? Okay, has that shown up for you? How did you handle that?

SPEAKER_00 25:35

Yeah, that's a really good point. Um, I mean, yes, from from in 2021, when I thought about starting this practice, I was like, yeah, that's a great thought, but you know, that's not gonna happen. And I think we're very quick to look at our circumstances, we're very quick to look at what's around us, we're very quick to kind of put a lid on what we can accomplish based on what we see, right? And a lot of times it's negative because we're like, well, no one's doing that around me. Everyone says that's so hard. Well, I guess I can't do it, you know. So that was my thought process, year one. And then year two, I was like, well, who cares? Like, what if I could, right? And what's the worst thing that can happen? I go find a job, it doesn't work out, and I go find a job elsewhere and back to back to where I was, where I was, you know, making a salary and life was good. So I think it's it's being able to rise above what's around you. And that's really hard. That's really hard. But that is the first thing that's really required. One of the things that helped me get there was being in a room full of other people who were also rising. And so I was like, well, if they can do it, why can't I? You know, we all went to med school, we're all fellow, we don't need to fellowship, like, you know, if they could do it, maybe I can also. And despite the fact that yes, I live in an area where this is not a thing and all of that, you gotta put that aside and just say, Well, why can't I be the trailblazer? Right. And you won't believe it. After I started my practice, four years later, there's probably four other doctors who started a cash GYN practice. Yes. Because they said they saw me do it. And I just went went on a walk with one of them. And she was she was high up in some health system, like all this stuff. And she's like, I've just been watching you. Um, you know, I like I wanted to reach out to her before, and I would even like send her texts, and I she's probably too busy to even respond to me. But then she reached out to me and said, Hey, can I go on a walk with you? And she was like, you know, I've been watching you, I've been talking to people, and they've all said they they've started their, they've even thought about it because they've seen you do it. And so I thought, wow, I'm like essentially rewriting that story for the Bay Area, you know? Like, and what if I had not taken that first step? What if I had said, Well, here's the dream, but yeah, like I'm that's not for me, right? And I come from a family of no entrepreneurs, nobody runs a business, you know, I didn't really know the first thing about finances or like anything. Um so I think it's that thought of not making excuses, um, and just saying, okay, if that's what I want, I'm gonna give it my darn best to do it. And and putting yourself in the rooms where people are doing it so you can, you know, uh be inspired and have those vision boards. And it's just so cool because in just four years now I've become the vision board for all these this next set of doctors who've all started cash practices.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

So amongst other things, and brands and living their lives on their terms, all kinds of things, right? Okay, so I cannot tell you how happy this is making me. Okay, I usually say I would do cartwheels if I, you know, I'm 47, I don't do those anymore. Okay, but this is so powerful. Now, one of the things I say at the end of every call we have in the entrepreneurial business school is that every doctor in the entrepreneurial business school is a real life vision board for physicians out there, and you now have experienced it in the sense that you've gotten the feedback. Like in the Bay Area, no, we don't do cash-based surgical practice, G O I N surgical practices, but now it's a thing because someone's like, well, clearly that's not true. There's evidence over here that I can do that, right? Like this is this is so beautiful. And and you talked about letting go of the circumstances, letting go of what is happening around you, and putting yourself in rooms where people are already doing this stuff, which for which for you is the entree MD business school, and and then doing the work, right? Doing the work. But this is this is beautiful and asking powerful questions like what if I could? What is the worst that would happen? Well, what what if I could do that, right? And I I keep talking about this book I'm gonna write called Million Dollar Questions, but that's a million-dollar question. Like, what if I could? What would need to happen? What would need to be true for me to pull this off? So that is so good. And for everyone listening to this or watching this, the reason I asked that question because this is one of the things that stops people the most. Like, I cannot look around me, look at what's happening with me, look at what happened in that job. Okay, I have all these kids, all this stuff. Like, there will always be something, but you need to know that you can rise above that. You need to know you actually need to put yourself in a room where people are doing for fun. What, like, literally, we have somebody in the business school right now who just had a baby and is rocking her business. And she's not, she's not burning herself out and ignoring her family. No, like she's doing it on her terms the way she wants to do it. Like, there's a way, but you you you have to let go of what is around. You have to let go of the circumstance because you're trying to rise above it. So it can't control. This is so good. Okay. So that's the first thing because that comes up a lot. The second thing that comes up a lot, and I see this get in the way, no, again, regardless of stage of business, right? Um, and that is challenges, challenges around asking. So, you know, when you worked your employed position, there are so many asks you didn't have to make. You didn't have to put a price on your services and tell people this is how much how much you'd have to pay me and all. You didn't have to ask. Maybe you needed to ask referral sources, you know, to send people to you, but maybe not as much as you're doing now. You didn't need to ask for stages, you didn't need to do a lot of these things. So, were you always comfortable asking? How big of a place is asking in your business? And how did you, how did you get comfortable with it? Because there's no way you got to where you are now without doing it a whole lot.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

Yeah, that is very true. So I will say that at a baseline, I'm sort of an outgoing person, and I and like just talking to strangers and kind of networking comes easily to me. But this is a whole different level that I had to do it at this practice, and I have to continue to do it every single day. Um every single day. And um, you know, I you just for me, it's it's it's a baseline. I I have to do it for so many things in my practice because I'm just trying to put one foot in front of the other to figure out how to get a little bit better in patient care, get a little bit better in delivering care, get a little bit better in our margins, right? Um, because there's no path. And and that's kind of the the good and the bad thing about running a practice. There's no straight and narrow path like we're all used to in medicine. You do this and then you do that and you do this. Like, no, it could be anything. Um, for example, I patients bring me CDs all the time for their you know images. And I'm like, well, if you did it at, you know, nobody uses CDs anymore. Like we have laptops that don't have drives. And for the longest time, I wasn't able to see those images, or I have to do all these workarounds. And then I just texted the radiologist yesterday and I said, Is there a way to do this? And like by the end of the day, like I had a plan. And had I not asked him, um, I would have just continued doing what I've been doing for four years, right? Like it was such a simple thing. And so I look at it like there are solutions, there are people doing these things. I'm not aware, but the more I ask and the more I get out there, the more these opportunities will be available to me. One thing that I find fascinating is every year as I, you know, continue my practice, new circles are opened up to me. Like new um levels of the game, if you will. Right. I find that so fascinating. I'm like, wow, I didn't know any of this stuff when I started. You know, and now, wow, I'm so savvy at this particular thing. And I know next year I'm gonna say, what? Like, how do I not know that this thing existed? Right. So, um, so the more you're at it, the more you're out there, the more you're putting yourself out there, the more you're asking people. Um it's just, it's just so exciting. You never know what's gonna happen. So, yes, I this was just a simple example I used about yesterday, but um, yeah, I'm always asking, like, how can how can things get better? Asking for referral sources. I mean, you know, my first year was so slow. And so I'm still continuing to ask now to fill up my other doctor's schedule. Um, you know, uh, so it's asking patients, even when they leave, I'm like, hey, if you have any other friends who want to, you know, see a gynecologist like myself, please send them our way. Um, so it just has to become part of it. And yes, like I have gotten much more um disciplined about doing that.

SPEAKER_02 35:00

I love it. Now, have you this comes up? I find this comes up for a lot of people where they feel like if I ask, like if I'm asking every patient who comes in to send me a referral or asking for this, I think it makes me look desperate. So I don't ask. Like I shouldn't, at this stage of my business, I shouldn't still need to be asking. Was that ever a thing for you? How did you overcome it? Or what would you say for the to the person who's thinking that?

SPEAKER_00 35:25

Yeah, I mean, first of all, like don't worry about what anybody thinks, right? Like you gotta just do what you have to do. And so I got over that real fast about what anybody thought of me or whatever, right? Like, because you cannot run a business if you're trying to worry about what everyone's thinking of you. Um, but I will say I asked a patient, oh yeah, can you send me your friends? And she said, Oh, you're still taking new patients? And I said, Yes, I am actually not even full. So people have this assumption that, oh, all these doctors' offices are really busy. I'm so glad I got in here, but you know, she must be really full. Because in my previous practice, yes, I was really full. And I was like, oh, please don't send me any more patients, but that's not true anymore. And so if I hadn't told her that, she wouldn't have known to send me patients. And so um, again, I just I just remove myself from what everybody may be assuming or what they think. I just do what I need to do. And then it just takes away the drama from my brain, you know.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

I love it. And that is a very powerful thing. I hope nobody missed it. There are people who know people and will send you people, but they think you're busy, and they will send those people somewhere else. So make sure you let them know. Like send them to me. Okay. All right. Now, the other thing I want to ask uh again, this comes up all the time. Is this whole concept of letting go? Whether that is letting go of an old version of yourself, letting go of tasks that you used to do and it was important that you did them, but now at this stage in your business, you can't do them. It's like it needs to go on somebody else's plate, or it could be a letting go of a poor, you know, an underperforming team member. They're all difficult conversations, okay? Okay, so is your business so blessed that you've never had to have difficult conversations? And if you have had them, what has given you the courage to have them? What is giving you the mindset that even though this is uncomfortable, it must be done? Like, how did you get there?

SPEAKER_00 37:21

Yeah, my goodness, so many difficult conversations, especially with team, um, which continues to be a struggle. I just said in one of the calls like last month, oh yay, I finally have a team that's all set. Well, guess what? Somebody's leaving now. And so again, I have to, you know, hire more people. But um, yes, difficult conversations. You know, I must have difficult conversations, but um, it I got to a point where I was like, wow, my practice is too precious to um just let these things slide by. So I would say that I definitely let things slide by. I did not have difficult conversations like I should have in the beginning. I did not let people go as quickly as I needed them to have been gone. Um, and that's uh totally on me. I kept giving myself excuses as to why they should still stay and things like that. And then I'm now getting to a point where I'm like, no, if I want to grow this practice, I need to be laser focused on the type of people that I need. And if you don't fit that type of person, you're out. And so I just make it not an emotional thing. I make my expectations very clear and I'm not afraid of, you know, upsetting somebody or hurting anybody. And even when I hire, I say, you know, I'm a very straightforward person and I'm gonna give you feedback like for right from day one. And if that doesn't suit you, this is not the right job for you. Like I would never say that. Like when I first, you know, I was like, oh, do you smile? Are you nice? You got a job. Like, right? Those are my human.

SPEAKER_02 38:47

Are you a warm body? Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Those are my first set of hires, right? And I lucked out with some and I didn't lock out with others. Now I am much more savvy. And yeah, I don't really care if they take offense to that. They don't come. And that's just not it's not a good fit for me. I'm less worried about pleasing others, and I'm more worried about finding people who are going to fit what I want because this is my practice. And so that's kind of where I'm at now.

SPEAKER_02 39:18

I love it. And guys, you'll see that focus again. We have a practice, the practice has a mission, so we're looking for people who fit that mold. I'm not in I am not in business to please people. Now, that doesn't mean she's not running around like a tyrant. Like, you know, she has a really great team and she's leading them in all of that stuff. But my loyalty is not to you being pleased, my loyalty is to the mission of the practice. That's that focus again, right? So beautiful. And once you come to terms with that, doing what is required, even if it's difficult, becomes easier. That's so powerful. Good stuff. Okay, I'm gonna have a very odd question for you. This is a this is a question that comes up for Mikita all the time. So I'm gonna ask on her behalf. She's gonna love this podcast episode. So people listen to the podcast, and maybe they're talking to her about the entream business school. And this is what they say. I listen to the podcast, I get so much from it, I've been using it to change my business and all of these things. I've gotten so many wins. What else could Dr. Una possibly be offering in the entree MD business school? Like, it's gonna be the same thing. So you're in the business school and you listen to the podcast. So I figured, you know, you'll be the woman for the job. You could answer the question.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

Well, I mean, if you're getting wins from listening to the podcast, um, that's great. But, you know, your mind will only be blown if you're actually in the entre MD business school. Because um this is, you know, we're very focused in what we're trying to do in the entre MD business school. This is not just uh, as you as you say, it's not fluff. Like we we have a mission, we are there to make profitable businesses. Um and so everything that we do is tied to that. And so, and there's so many aspects of that. There's practical skills, there's mindset skills, there are things you learn from others in the room where people are opening up about their numbers and you know, getting all vulnerable. These are not things that you necessarily will, you know, listen to at the podcast, but um there are so many aspects of being a CEO that are honed inside the business school. So I think um, yeah, there's no there's no way around that. So if you're really, if you're really getting wins from the podcast, yeah, you just you just have to join because you just need to be in the room. Because um, again, it goes back to my what I said first about rising above those around you. Uh, you may think, oh, well, that's kind of a big investment. No one around me is doing it. Well, no one around you is having an awesome practice, like you could be. So, you know, if you you you pay to play, like right. That's that's kind of like my thing in business too. Like you want to be in big rooms, do big things, you invest. And what you get out of that is going to be so much more if you actually do the work. So it's I don't see those, that as a uh a problem at all. So I would highly encourage everyone to consider that. And I mean, I'm going on, I'm like year five already, you know. So uh I mean you could say, well, why are you like why are you in the business school for five years? Like, didn't you get everything you wanted in year one? Well, yes, and no, not really. I know I'm gonna get more next year, so sign me up, right? Like, so it's again your your attitude and your growth mindset. Um, and this is a very unique room, I would say. And I've been a part of a lot of different coaching cohorts and groups and not just the coach that we have in you, um, but the community, the way it's run. It's just, you know, fabulous. So um, yeah, I would highly encourage everyone to strongly consider it.

SPEAKER_02 42:57

To strongly consider it. Come join her, let her year five be your year one. Come join Dr. Prabaka. Okay. So I've answered a question that you would ask Makita. So now you can book a call with her on tramd.com forward slash call. She'll be happy to talk with you. But again, we have so much opportunity as physicians, but really um we need to change. We can't do things the way we've always done them, but we can evolve into these people who can have dream businesses and dream lives. Um, Dr. Prabaka's is one story. She talks about the docs in the business school and how they inspired her. Like it's just a great community of people who are committed to going further, right? And we have people, we started the business school in 2020. So we have people in year six and they've never left and they're not going anywhere, right? So so awesome. So awesome. Dr. Prabaka, how fun! Thank you for coming and sharing because these are real conversations that are gonna be such a gift to people. So I'm gonna have people find you. So you're gonna pick one platform, maybe Instagram or something. I'm gonna have people go there, follow you, probably send you a DM, say thank you. Your episode really helped me, guys. She she did this for free. And you're gonna tell her, I got a copy of your book, or I can get you on this stage, or whatever. So you're gonna send her a DM and say that. And the reason we do that is because we believe in get I know I've said it before, but we believe in the win-win. So she's gonna come here and be so generous. We could have put this behind a paywall, we did not. And then we're gonna make it such that she's like, oh my goodness, I went there to just be a gift to the physician community. I never knew this will come out of it. So don't make me look bad. Okay. So she's gonna tell us where to go find her on Instagram. We're gonna do all these things. We're gonna go follow her and then we'll send her a DM. Okay. Tell them where to find you on Instagram.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram, the Fibroid Doc. So that's my social media handle across all the platforms, thefibroid doc. Um, would love to hear from you. And if this episode has helped you in any way, would love to just hear that as well. And um, yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Awesome. Okay, so thank you, everyone, for listening. Thank you, Dr. Pabaca, for coming to share. You are so awesome. And guys, go do this, and I will see you on the next episode of the entrepreneur.