I love receiving emails from the physicians who have visited The Entrepreneurial MD and downloaded the free report. One of the ways I always hope to stimulate a conversation with my intended audience is to ask, in the report: What is the biggest question facing you regarding your business right now?".

I get great replies.

A recent subscriber asked "Is there another business I could go into which would allow me the same income as I get now as a physician?"

This is a great question, and one that causes many physicians to pause as they consider the ramifications of a transition and career change. The unsatisfying answer is "It depends!" 
 
If I may take a moment to get personal here and share a bit about my situation, it took me about 5 years to reach an income level that matched mine as a Family Practitioner in private practice and later as a hospital administrator. I got there because I was so determined to pull it off, I paid my dues in terms of obtaining training, taking courses and paying for other people's expertise, AND I had the luxury of a supportive spouse. Bless him!
 
It depends mostly on whether you choose to start the business that most deeply stirs your interest and passion. Are you willing to be a craftsman or -woman, patiently shaping what lives only in your imagination into a real-life entity?

It makes a huge difference if you really care about what you are doing, as it gives you the "legs" and persistence to learn all that you need to, and to hang in there when things don't go quite as planned.

And if your idea is good and you truly focus on implementing terrific business and marketing plans, you'll get there a lot faster.

Here's another question I offered the physician to explore: Do you really need to quit being a practicing clinician? Perhaps you don't need to leave your practice or job as a physician. Instead, can you find a way to redesign it to be much more creative and entrepreneurial?
 
A lot of people ask me how I learned all of this "business stuff" to be able to have a thriving coaching business.  

Well, the honest answer is I learned it the hard way. From being in practice when I didn't have a clue I was in a business. From runing the big bureaucratic institution that a hospital is. And mostly from running my two small businesses over the past 6 years.

My first coaching business, or practice as I thought of it back then, (Oya Consulting) grew very slowly because I used very traditional marketing methods -- speaking, networking, some writing, and sitting around waiting for word-of-mouth referrals. I wish I had figured out then what I know now.

Using "the new marketing" with blogging, commenting on blog posts written by others for physicians, creating podcasts, and attracting the attention online of the media who write for offline publications, I have crafted and moulded The Entrepreneurial MD far quicker -- I have way better results in 15 months than I had in almost four years with my first coaching business.

So my answer to the physician who took the time to ask the question, and for those of you who may be pondering it, is YES ... it is possible to have a business that brings in more than you earned as a physician, but it is not guaranteed!

To be successful, the new business is going to demand your persistence, tenacity, courage, patience and the willingness to DO THE WORK. And in return, it will offer you joy, independence, creative expression, excitement, aliveness and a satisfying lifestyle that no big salary as an unhappy doctor could ever match!