Today, I’m going to share with you seven secrets that will put you ahead of 99% of other physician entrepreneurs and private practice owners. These lessons come from years of running my own practice and consulting with dozens of doctors who are trying to level up their businesses. If you can start applying even a few of these tips, I promise you’ll start seeing big changes.
Let’s jump in.
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1. Learn the Business of Medicine as a Physician Entrepreneur
Here’s the truth no one tells you in med school: medicine is a business.
I’m not here to debate whether healthcare is a right or not. That’s a political discussion for another day. But what I am saying is this: if you run a private practice, you are running a business. That means you need to understand what it takes to keep the lights on, pay your team, and—yes—put money in your bank account.
Starting a business in most states is cheap. Here in Texas, it’s only a couple hundred bucks. That’s it. That small step separates you from all the people still sitting on the sidelines. But filing the paperwork is just the beginning.
Most doctors I consult with still treat their practices like extended residencies. They focus entirely on patient care and ignore cash flow. But if you don’t learn marketing, accounting, HR, and systems, your practice will suffer.
Of those, marketing is king. You have to market your practice intentionally—because no one is walking around the grocery store telling people, “Hey, I love my urologist!” Even if they love your care, they’re not going to promote you unless you prompt them.
You must control your narrative as a physician entrepreneur. That starts with good patient care, yes, but it also means building referral systems, getting reviews, optimizing your online presence, and showing up in the right places.
2. Build Scalable Systems
If your front desk keeps messing up referrals or insurance verifications, if you’re drowning in denials or angry about unpaid visits—it’s your fault. You don’t have the right systems.
Your business is just a machine made up of systems. If something isn’t working, it needs to be fixed—not by working harder, but by building better systems.
Let me be clear: every headache in your clinic has a root cause. And that root cause can usually be solved by either automation, delegation, or a change in process.
Whether it’s prior authorizations, HMO referrals, or no-show appointments, stop reacting and start diagnosing the issue like you would a patient. Create a plan, build a system, and test whether it works.
The best business owners in medicine are those who turn chaos into order by systematizing the parts that stress them out.
3. Master the Patient Funnel
This one is huge: you need to understand and optimize your sales funnel.
Think like a business owner: how does someone go from Googling a symptom to booking an appointment with you?
Does your website look modern? Does it load fast? Is it SEO-optimized? Can people book online without friction? Can they text or email you? Are prices listed clearly for elective procedures?
Here’s what I’ve found: 70–75% of our bookings happen asynchronously—that means not over the phone. People prefer to schedule through online forms, emails, text messages, or AI bots. If you’re relying on people to call your office between 9–5, you’re losing money.
Your website and booking system should be working for you 24/7. Make it easy, make it clear, and make it fast.
If your funnel is clunky, slow, or confusing, you’re leaking money.
4. Delegate Like a CEO, Not a Micromanager
In residency, we’re taught extreme ownership. We’re taught to triple-check every lab, follow up on every order, and do everything ourselves.
That mindset will crush your business as a physician entrepreneur.
You cannot micromanage your way to success. If you’re breathing down your employee’s necks, correcting how they answer the phone, or rewriting every email they send, you’re doing it wrong.
Instead, hire people you trust—and let them work.
Good employees should either (1) make you money or (2) make your life easier. And the best way to do that is to give them autonomy.
Micromanaging drives away top talent. Delegating like a CEO gives your team ownership and empowers them to shine.
If someone isn’t doing their job right, that’s a training issue or a hiring mistake. Fix the problem, but don’t hover.
5. Know Your Numbers Cold
If you’ve ever watched Shark Tank, you know what happens when someone doesn’t know their numbers: they get eaten alive.
Your practice as a physician entrepreneur is no different.
Do you know your:
- Customer acquisition cost?
- Average revenue per patient?
- No-show rate?
- Profit margins by service line?
- Revenue by marketing source (Google, Meta, referrals, etc.)?
You should. If you don’t, how can you improve?
The numbers are the vital signs of your business. Just like you wouldn’t treat a patient without knowing their labs, don’t run a business without understanding your metrics.
And here’s another hard truth: you’re probably underpaying or overpaying people. If you’ve got a biller who is absolutely killing it, don’t let her go. Pay her $5/hour more than market. Give her an extra week of PTO. Lock her down.
On the flip side, if you’ve got someone average but you’re paying them like a star, you’re bleeding money.
The best-run companies in the world overpay key players and cut unnecessary fat. Do the same.
6. Divorce Bad Insurance Payers (and Consider Going Cash-Based)
This one takes courage, but it can transform your business into being an amazing physician entrepreneurs.
If United Healthcare is your lowest payer, you don’t have to prioritize them. You can prioritize better-paying procedures or patients from Blue Cross. Or…you can walk away completely.
For some of you, especially those in aesthetic medicine, men’s health, or executive wellness, it might make more sense to go cash-based.
Now, I’m not saying sell snake oil or give banana bags to hungover college kids. But if you can provide real, evidence-based, cash-pay services, you can escape the hamster wheel of insurance.
In our practice, we introduced executive wellness visits. One of my patients—a billionaire—asked to spend more time with me. I nervously told him it would be $1,000/hour. He didn’t blink. He paid it and scheduled sessions for his exec team.
That program brought in over $100,000 last year.
And guess what? I never wrote a single controlled substance for those visits. My assumptions were wrong. These clients weren’t shady—they were thoughtful, respectful, and eager to optimize their health.
If people are asking you for premium services, listen. And if you can provide them ethically and legally—go for it.
7. Think Like an Investor & Physician Entrepreneur
This final point is the most important.
Stop thinking like an employee. Start thinking like an investor.
Would you buy your own practice if it were for sale?
If not, why not?
Too often, I look at a practice’s financials and see bloated payrolls, underperforming staff, no strategy, no systems, and no long-term value.
If you want to exit your practice one day—whether by selling to another physician, a hospital, or private equity—you need to build something worth buying.
That means thinking beyond one location.
- Can you buy your own building and rent it out?
- Can you launch an MSO or ASC?
- Can you bundle procedures, services, or tech?
- Can you replace staff with automation or overseas support?
You can’t have six “key people” in a one-location clinic. You can’t afford it. And you can’t scale with that model.
Create leverage. Streamline your operations. Build an asset—not just a job.
Final Thoughts: Take Bite-Sized Steps
This might feel like a lot. That’s because it is.
But don’t panic. Start small.
Just like you wouldn’t tell an out-of-shape patient to hit the gym five days a week for two hours, don’t overwhelm yourself.
Start by picking one thing to fix.
- Don’t know your no-show rate? Find out.
- Don’t know your CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)? Calculate it.
- Don’t know how many people book online vs call? Track it.
You don’t need to do all seven things tomorrow. But if you do one per month over the next year? You’ll be miles ahead of 99% of other physicians.
And if you do nothing else, remember this: treat your practice like a business and treat yourself like the CEO.
Thanks for reading. If you found this helpful, consider sharing it with another physician who needs to hear this. And if you’ve already started implementing one of these steps—drop a comment or email me. I’d love to hear how it’s going.
Until next time, keep building. Your future self will thank you.
