When you start thinking about opening or expanding a practice, there’s a moment when someone says: “Just find some office space.” Then you start looking at leases. Suddenly you are staring at words like CAM, triple net, tenant improvement allowances, and SNDA agreements. At that…

Recently  inside the Mastermind, we had a powerful conversation with psychologist Breese Annable, PsyD about something we don’t talk about enough: The psychological shift of private practice. Many physicians move into entrepreneurship for good reasons. They’re seeking autonomy, flexibility, impact, and relief from burnout. But…

One of the things we circled back to recently in the mastermind was something deceptively simple: how patients actually find you, decide to trust you, and experience your practice. It’s easy to think about marketing, systems, and workflows as separate projects. But from a patient’s…

There is no perfect EMR. I wish someone had said that to me early on. Every system will have something you love and something that drives you crazy. Even your smartest friends in the same specialty will swear theirs is “the best,” and it still…

Last night in the Mastermind, we welcomed back one of our original members. She was a full-time ER physician during COVID when, in a casual conversation with friends around a campfire, the topic of aesthetics came up. Someone joked that all the football coaches in…

As we wrapped up the first month of the Micropractice Mastermind, I noticed something important coming up again and again. I want to share it with you. Because it’s not just relevant for doctors building a practice from scratch. It’s relevant for any physician who’s…

One of the hardest things to watch is when a physician leaves an employed role, does something brave and values aligned, and still feels exhausted. I care deeply about systems, values, and business structure. And I’ve learned that even the best systems don’t work well…

As we begin a new year, I want to propose a different way to think about where you are heading. Instead of setting goals or trying to map out a full vision for the year, I want to talk about orientation. Many of us were…

Before we talk about recovery, one thing needs to be clear: Stress is not the stressor. Stress is the physiological response in your body. You can remove the stressor.  You can change jobs, start a private practice, take a vacation and still feel exhausted if…

Most physicians believe they need confidence before they take the next step in building their practice. Confidence to leave the system. Confidence to charge appropriately. Confidence to call themselves a business owner. But confidence is not the starting point. Confidence is a byproduct of doing…

Most physicians wait far too long to hire help. We tell ourselves we should be able to do everything. That we should learn everything. That if we’re disciplined enough, organized enough, tough enough, we can build a medical practice on grit alone. But hiring is…

Most physicians beginning a private practice start with the wrong question. They jump straight to “How much should I charge?” or “Should I do fee for service, membership, packages, or insurance?” Those are not the first questions. Those come later. The real first question is:…

Many of you know I recently welcomed Dr. Swetha Suresh into my practice. Hiring her has been a gift and a crash course in systems, onboarding, and leadership. I’ve been sharing the process and the question I’ve been getting most often is “How did she…

When it comes to growing your practice, it’s easy to get caught up in social media, fancy websites, and marketing campaigns. But here’s the truth: one of the simplest, most effective (and free) tools you can use is your Google Business Profile. If you’ve ever…

This past week stretched me thin in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. Family, work, schedules, emotions — all the things I love and willingly carry — converged at once. There was no crisis, no catastrophe. Just the slow accumulation of too…

In the Micropractice Mastermind this week, we did a thought exercise that hit home for many of us. If you’ve ever felt resentful toward your work, procrastinated on progress, or hidden from opportunities, you’re not alone. Before reading on, take a deep breath and settle…

Three years ago, I never would’ve imagined adding another physician to my practice. When I left my employed job to start my micropractice, I was profoundly burned out.  Not just tired. Depleted to my core. I knew I still wanted to practice medicine, but I needed to rewrite the equation that had made work synonymous with…

Diastole is not optional. It is a necessary part of systole.   Similarly, rest is not optional.  To do our best work, recovery time is not optional.  There are many types of rest (mental, emotional, physical etc) but my current favorite type of rest is “permission…

There’s a rule in air navigation called the 1 in 60 rule. For every one degree a plane veers off course, it ends up one mile away from its target for every 60 miles flown. That may not sound like much—until you realize that a…

After I turned in my letter of resignation to my medical practice in 2021, I did a lot of work with my therapist and coach to envision what I wanted my new life to look like. I asked myself: Like most of my colleagues, I…

I have a coaching client right now who came to me because, of course, she’s starting to burn out and is really struggling with her workload and work-life balance. When we started to dissect the problem, we found that she’s an employed physician with a…

Think back for a minute. How did you learn how to do a crash C-section, manage a ventilator, understand complex multi-organ disease, or sit in silence with a patient who was suffering? You didn’t wake up one day with those skills.You started by filling out…

When I started my solo practice, I had no idea what I was doing.  I literally googled things like “what is a business plan?” and “domain name vs. website?” to the shock and dismay of my MBA husband, who could not believe I was winging…

Most of us didn’t go into medicine thinking about branding or strategy. We went into it to care for people. That was always the goal. If we want to reach more of the patients who need us, we have to look at how we’re showing…

The Compulsive Yes and the Power of Saying No If you’ve ever spent time with a toddler, you know that their favorite word isn’t “please” or “thanks”. It’s a firm, unshakeable NO. Toddlers wield “no” with complete confidence. They don’t worry about disappointing anyone, damaging…

The Stages of Change That Will Set You Free Not long ago, my husband and I had a sobering realization: if we did not make major changes, we would regret spending our best years using every ounce of our energy on work. We accepted that…

Deciding to leave your medical practice is not just a career transition—it’s an emotional, logistical, and deeply personal journey. For many physicians, this process is filled with uncertainty, self-doubt, and fear of the unknown. But it can also be a transformative step toward freedom, autonomy,…

If it feels like you are answering more patient messages than ever, you are.  You start your day with a good intention: maybe today’s the day you finally catch up. But the messages keep pouring in. Ping. Ping. Ping. It’s like inbox Whack-a-Mole. You respond…

“You are so brave. I could never do that.”  When leaving my wildly successful mid-career to step out on my own, colleagues  would frequently comment about my so-called courageous decision to leave my predictable, financially rewarding practice to build a solo practice. I assure you,…

The Opposite of Uncertainty Isn’t Certainty.  Uncertainty is part of every transition. Whether it’s career changes, new relationships, stepping into leadership, or simply choosing to live in a way that feels more authentic, uncertainty is everywhere. We are trained as physicians to feel certain when…

Have you ever tried to meditate and thought, “This sucks. I’m uncomfortable, my mind won’t settle, and I actually feel more anxious than when I started”? Just me? 🙂 Many of us live in a near-constant state of hyperarousal. There’s too much to do and…