If you’re looking to start your own business on the side, there are certain considerations to best prepare you for this monumental taking. Here are some steps to get you started.

1. Ask Yourself Why. Before you begin, you want to think of important reasons to pursue this goal. Are you looking to increase revenue, or are you looking to pay off debt? Are you trying to transition out of a job you don’t like? Maybe you feel like in your current job you’re feeling stagnant and you want more challenges. Perhaps you just want to pursue some new goals.
Whatever is the reason for you to want to start a side business, you need to have a good frame of mind on why exactly that you want to do this.

2. Carving Out More Time. Do you have sufficient time to start your side business? I recommend setting a schedule for about the same time for the week. For myself that was 5 am to 7 am most weekdays, and Sunday mornings because that’s the only time I really had available working a full-time job as a doctor.
You want to make sure that the time you’re carving out is free of any distractions; turning off your cell phone, focus specifically on working on your side business. I encourage you to set milestones and have a regular schedule. You’re going to be much more successful if you block out a specific amount of time exclusively for your side business.

3. Carving Out More Cash. How much money do you want to devote to your project? And often times, it’s more than you actually anticipate. At minimum, allocating just $1,000 just to get is sufficient to get started on a low overhead online business. Of course, if you’re involved in a business that involves buying products, inventory, your financial commitment can be much, much more.

4. Keep Your Loved Ones in the Loop. You will want to alert your significant others on any under taking on why you want to start your own business. .. I’ve seen a few entrepreneurs who got caught up doing this secretly, not letting their spouse know that they’re actually running a side business and it often ends up in frustration. Have them involved. Say why you’re doing this, is it’s for financial reasons, how it’ll bring some income and how you will both benefit. Have them on board at the beginning rather than finding out later.

5. Be Mentally and Financially Prepared. Starting a side business can be very stressful. If you’re a fan of immediate gratification, this might not be the type of task you want to take on. But with stress comes rewards. Building a successful business and give you continuing dividends, that in the future can be very attractive. But you’re probably not going to have income for several weeks, or perhaps, several months and if you need to make any changes in your job because of it, then make sure you prepare for this.

6. Determine Your Proper Legal Entity. Starting a side business is not just simply just having a PayPal account or posting a shopping cart online. You need to do this the right way, have a business entity. At the very least you should open a sole proprietorship. But with a sole proprietorship also comes the risk of liability and if you’re a professional you definitely need to separate your business from, your personal assets. I recommend a corporation or an LLC.

There are websites such as Legalzoom that can help with the business and corporation of this as well for a pretty cheap cost. Now, I’m not an attorney and you want to consult an attorney with this if you have no experience with this.

7. Forage Relationships. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business and it’s much helpful if there are people who have done this in the past or maybe wanting to start their own businesses. unfortunately, your own physician colleagues might not be the best avenue for you to pursue in this. A few years ago, we started a physician mastermind and it was very helpful bouncing and sharing ideas with fellow colleagues who understood the rigors of medicine and running a business.
If this is not an option, there are many local business groups such as on Meetup where you can find like-minded individuals. Networking and connecting with the right people can be a key component to a successful business.

Historically, there have been a handful of doctors who have become legendary writers. From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes to Michael Crichton, famous for Jurassic Park, Coma and Westworld, physicians seem to have a knack for the art of storytelling.

With the internet these days, becoming a medical writer is easier than ever. Gone are the days of the necessity of tirelessly submitting manuscripts to big publishing companies. Anyone with a laptop, an idea and imagination, can inexpensively self-publish using Amazon’s Kindle Publishing and get their ideas out to potentially millions of people.

Physicians as writers have an advantage that most writers don’t have – built-in credibility. Although some would argue that having a medical degree name isn’t as prestigious as it used to be, in terms of health content, it still goes a long way.

So where should you begin?

You are most likely reading this, because you are looking for supplemental income, so it makes sense to go to where the jobs are. What’s great is that most of these type of jobs are remote, allowing you to work from home or on the road.

Here are the areas, where doctors seem to be most in demand:

Consumer Writing – As doctors, we are used to taking complex information and making it easily digestible for the general public. Due to the plethora of health sites on the web, there is a constant need for quality of content. If you have the skill to analyze the latest research and how best it can be applied for consumers, this is a great avenue to venture.

Technical Writing – Per the American Medical Writers Association website, the average salary of medical writer is around $90,000 but can increase to $125,000 if writing for technical disciplines such as biotech or Big Pharma. Being able to research and interpret data are skills that we should have acquired as doctors, and what the companies are seeking. Grant proposal writing is another in demand area. It is important that you familiarize yourself with the correct format to have a steady career in these disciplines.

CME Courses – With maintenance of certification requirements always needed, doctors will need to rely on quality content, and will look to their colleagues to provide them with the quality content they need. Many of us enjoy teaching, so this can be a natural fit for doctors.

.A common theme we’re seeing for medical writing job requirements is previous experience. If you feel you might be lacking in this, there’s no better time than the present to start gaining some. Having a blog is the simplest and easiest way to started. If the growth of social media is an indication, it’s that anyone can be a writer.

PHYSICIAN WRITER LINKS:

 

 

 

 

Doctors often have the skills for being great entrepreneurs and they often don’t know it.  For example, most physicians have excellent abilities to research at making sure their patients are getting the most current medical information.  Docs often are great managers, overseeing an individual patient’s treatment as well as a busy practice.  They are often great managers and are a virtual Houdini at finding a few minutes to do “everything” – How else could one explain how we fit so many patients in a day?

Let’s look at typical physician qualities that can make for successful business owners:

1. Management Skills

You’ve learned how to manage both people, staff, and your own  time (and sanity, hopefully)

2. Persuasion Skills

In many different businesses, the ability to persuade is a crucial quality for business success. We’ve persuaded people all our lives in determining the correct medical regimen – a great skill to have when selling stuff.

3. Ability to think on-your-feet

As a physician, you’ve had to be able to make quick decisions at a moment’s notice, at often life and death situations. Responsibility and being able to compromise to lead to the best outcome can’t be minimized.

4. Research Skills

You’ve spent a lot of time going to conferences, attending continuing medical education courses, and then synthesizing and interpreting that for patients. This trait goes along way in explaining complex products, evaluating your competitors and understanding systems.

5. Problem solving Skills

Probably one of the most important skills.  No one needs someone to make excuses – entrepreneurs make the tough decisions, and find the quickest answer in determining a solution.

I’ve always said my skills as a marketer and entrepreneur stemmed from my understanding in medical school.  Often times its recognition of these skills, often lead to the foundations of  business success.