#140 How To Build A Brand As A Physician, ft. Dr. Will Kirby
In this episode, Dr. Peter Kim shares one of his favorite interviews that was featured at our Leverage & Growth Summit. Dr. Will Kirby will inspire you to take action on becoming the voice and brand of your medical specialty, side hustle, or passion project.
Dr. Will Kirby is an expert in aesthetic dermatology education, board-certified dermatologist, he is the Chief Medical Officer for the nation’s leader in aesthetic dermatology, LaserAway. Dr.Kirby is the lone health and beauty reporter for Life & Style Magazine.
Dr. Kirby is an expert in building a brand as a physician. He has worked with some of the biggest brands in beauty. He is no stranger to pop culture and public relations, Dr. Kirby is the winner of CBS’s prime time hit reality series, Big Brother, The Price is Right, and has appeared on over 40 major television shows.
During the Leverage & Growth Virtual Summit, we interview 30 plus physicians who are doing amazing things outside of medicine. They often leverage their medical careers to create multiple income streams outside of medicine, doing things they are passionate about.
To learn more about our Leverage & Growth Summit which is happening this spring, CLICK HERE.
Episode Highlights
Now, let’s look at what we discussed in this episode:
- Learn from failure
- 8 types of wealth
- Dr. Will Kirby’s personal entrepreneurial journey
- How to brand yourself
- Physicians need to be educators
- How to purposefully practice to become an expert
Episode Breakdown
Dr. Will Kirby explains that the most interesting facts about his life are not his credentials, but where he failed, he grew and became indestructible to try new things, take risks, and get things done.
Dr. Will Kirby talks about his journey into a non-traditional career in medicine… medical school to reality T.V.
Dr. Will Kirby describes the 8 types of wealth that one can accumulate: love wealth, family wealth, money wealth, career wealth, success wealth, fun wealth, fame wealth, self-being wealth. There is importance in learning how to compartmentalize your time, energy, or emotions to what type of wealth you will grow. Early on, Will focused on career well, which led him to reality t.v. show Big Brother in 2001. This was the jump-start to his career.
Peter asks Will to describe how fame led him through business ventures and eventually back into medicine. He had developed an interest in aesthetics, so he applied to residency in an unfunded dermatology position for three years.
As a resident, he opened a clinic for laser tattoo removal which led to several clinics after residency. What he learned was that he grew too quickly and did not have the business structure to support the growth. He then resigned from his own company and joined his competitor, LaserAway.
Will is now the chief medical officer at LaserAway. He describes this process by creating his own story of becoming the chief medical officer through investing in his self-being wealth through education. Over the years he wielded himself into that position.
Now his focus is on education and research, writing procedures and protocols, vetting new devices and equipment, teaching their allied professionals, how to improve existing services and products, and has become the face of the company to educate the public on what LaserAway offers.
Dr. Will Kirby, describes that the role of doctors is ultimately education, and through that process you become an authority in your specialization.
Will describes the process for doctors to brand themselves in their given specialty. You can take nothing and build a legacy. HARO.com is a free service
reporters go to and look for an expert to make a comment and daily work on submitting articles. Eventually, editors were referring to him for articles, interviews, and insider tips. Through this process, Dr. Will Kirby established himself as a brand by becoming a reporter in the beauty and aesthetic dermatology space.
Anders Ericcson refers to the 10,000 hour rule. Malcolm Gladwell quotes Anders and says that if you do something for 10,000 hours that makes you an expert. Actually, it is over that 10,000 hour period that Anders says to become an expert it requires purposeful practice, effort, and feedback from experts.
Having purposeful practice is required to become the spokesperson of your specialty, your brand. It takes one being open and honest for feedback to hone the skills and voice you need to establish your brand.
Anders Eriksson, in the book PEAK, refers to the mindset that there is no such thing as a protégé. The best in the world became who they are because of purposeful practice. You can become an expert by putting in the hard work and educating yourself.
Dr. Will Kirby expresses this sentiment to the listeners… “You have to be your own hero in your story,” Don’t allow preconceived ideas or notions from your spouse, friends, experts determine what or who you are. Choose to be the hero in your own story and manifest what you want to happen.
Dr. Will Kirby leaves the listener with this inspirational tip… “I can do it, you can do it. Decide first where you…. Listen to the podcast to hear the tip in full...
