#217 How Building a Personal Brand Can Amplify Your Impact as a Physician ft. Amy Shah, MD
In this episode, Dr. Peter Kim interviews Dr. Amy Shah, a double board-certified physician, as she shares her journey from medicine to building an impactful personal brand in the wellness industry. She highlights the importance of utilizing medical expertise beyond traditional settings, establishing a personal brand, and utilizing social media for greater influence. Tune in to learn how physicians can diversify their careers while positively impacting health and wellness.
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Episode Highlights
Now, let’s look at what we discussed in this episode:
- Finding Passion Outside of Medicine
- Dr. Amy’s Guide to Building Your Personal Brand
- Overcoming Challenges When Starting Out
- Leveraging Physician Skills for Business
- The Importance of Building Your Personal Brand
- Dr. Amy’s Biggest Advice as a Physician Entrepreneur
Here’s a breakdown of how this episode unfolds.
Episode Breakdown
Finding Passion Outside of Medicine
After being briefly introduced by Peter, Dr. Amy talks more about her journey to finding passion outside of medicine.
She shares about her recent shift to a smaller clinical role after a successful 12-year career in traditional medicine. Driven by a desire for long-term fulfillment, she sought a more engaging path beyond just financial goals.
This led her to integrate her medical expertise with new ventures like writing a book and offering consultations, all while building a personal brand focused on areas outside traditional medicine.
Dr. Amy highlights the importance of continuous exploration and finding ways to leverage one’s knowledge for lasting satisfaction.
Dr. Amy’s Guide to Building Your Personal Brand
When asked about how she got everything started, Dr. Amy shares valuable insights for like-minded physicians looking to explore creative ventures outside of traditional medicine.
She tackles common challenges, emphasizes taking initiative, and details her journey from initial ideas to building a comprehensive wellness brand.
Understanding the Challenges
Dr. Amy acknowledges the hesitation many healthcare professionals face when considering ventures outside medicine. Fear of judgment and lack of business knowledge can be significant hurdles. However, she encourages them to overcome these obstacles and explore their passions.
Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
Dr. Amy shares the value of offering educational courses, consultations, and wellness guidance that leverage your medical expertise in new ways. She advocates for embracing experimentation and exploring unconventional opportunities. By venturing beyond traditional practices early on, she shares that it can create a significant impact that extends beyond the boundaries of traditional medicine.
Finding Inspiration
Dr. Amy’s journey began at an Arizona conference where she witnessed the success of non-medical professionals in the wellness industry. Inspired by this untapped potential, she recognized the vast opportunities that lie beyond traditional medicine. This experience ignited her own entrepreneurial spirit.
Taking Initiative
Don’t wait for the perfect idea – take initiative! Dr. Amy exemplifies this by launching a book, a health-conscious product, and a social media platform simultaneously. This multi-faceted approach allowed her to experiment and build momentum.
Strategic Marketing
Dr. Amy highlights the importance of strategic marketing. Her publisher’s advice to leverage social media for outreach proved invaluable. The interplay between her book’s themes and her product offerings created a cohesive marketing message.
Building on Success
Dr. Amy’s initial creative projects evolved into comprehensive wellness concepts. Her experiences formed the foundation for her wellness courses, demonstrating how a personal brand can flourish from initial ideas.
Time Management and Partnerships
Dr. Amy effectively managed both her clinic and entrepreneurial endeavors. Optimizing downtime, particularly during the pandemic, allowed her to focus on her brand. She also embraced sponsorships strategically, enabling her to delegate tasks, build partnerships, and sustain her initiatives.
Overcoming Challenges When Starting Out
Dr. Amy tackles the initial hurdles of building a social media presence, comparing it to scaling a “cringe mountain.” She acknowledges the discomfort of low follower counts and potential judgment from colleagues.
However, Dr. Amy emphasizes perseverance. As her platform grows, the initial awkwardness fades, replaced by colleagues seeking her advice. This story highlights the importance of pushing past fear and self-doubt to achieve success and, ultimately, inspire and guide others on a similar journey.
Leveraging Physician Skills for Business
When asked about what skills set physicians apart when starting a business, she highlighted a unique advantage: a deep understanding of science and health. Dr. Amy, with her background in nutrition, internal medicine, and allergy immunology, is an example of this. She discusses how physicians can leverage their expertise to create innovative products, design consulting programs, or develop health-focused solutions. Their specialized knowledge allows them to offer “Doctor-formulated” solutions that prioritize well-being.
Dr. Amy also emphasized the ease of turning ideas into reality today. She used the example of creating an electrolyte drink, highlighting the straightforward process of collaborating with manufacturers. Gone are the days of gatekeepers – physicians can now directly connect with manufacturers to produce prototypes and scale their products efficiently. This accessibility empowers those who want to start a business with the flexibility to innovate and bring their ideas to life.
Finally, Dr. Amy addressed the challenge of balancing a multifaceted career. She shared her time management strategy, dedicating 15 hours to her clinical practice while utilizing the rest for content creation, brand partnerships, coaching, and product development. A supportive team of full-time, part-time, and virtual staff allows Dr. Amy to maintain this dynamic schedule, showcasing the successful blend of clinical work and entrepreneurial life.
The Importance of Building Your Personal Brand
During their discussion, Peter asked about why personal branding is important for physicians. Dr. Amy shares how it is the key to opening doors to various opportunities like consulting gigs, speaking engagements, and exciting collaborations.
She also emphasized the power of social media as a tool to showcase expertise and attract these opportunities. Consistency, she stressed, is key to leveraging these platforms effectively. Building a strong personal brand not only increases a physician entrepreneur’s visibility and credibility but also unlocks avenues for growth – from securing speaking slots at corporate events to expanding their patient base.
Dr. Amy also shares how it connected to her evolving approach to work-life balance, revealing a gradual shift from direct patient care towards a more diversified path. She highlighted the importance of maintaining a connection to clinical practice, particularly in areas like advanced nutritional therapies and basic dietary education. Dr. Amy finds this blend of medical expertise and nutritional knowledge highly valuable in her current work setup.
Dr. Amy’s Biggest Advice as a Physician Entrepreneur
Peter concludes by asking Dr. Amy what’s her biggest advice to those who want to follow in her footsteps.
She emphasized the importance of staying true to one’s core purpose. Don’t get bogged down by follower counts or immediate financial returns, Dr. Amy advised. Focus on your passion and pursue your goals with genuine intention. Authenticity and dedication to your purpose, she believes, will naturally attract the right audience and contribute to your overall brand success.
Dr. Amy also welcomes those who want to connect with her by visiting her website, amymdwellness.com.
