business ideas for doctors

Uncomplicated business inspiration for ambitious doctors

As a doctor, knowledge is a critical component of your life. If you wanted to grow beyond the boundaries of your practice, let’s look at some of the essential failproof business ideas for doctors with a solid dose of ambition.

business ideas for doctors

Uncomplicated business inspiration for ambitious doctors

Run telehealth consultations from home

side hustles for doctors

It’s easy to get a little bit lost as you consider the potential ‘side hustles for doctors’. Your ethics, your time management, applicable regulations and the general healthcare landscape are all part of the equation.

In the current healthcare industry, telemedicine and telehealth consulting are here to stay. It means that patients are now well aware of the use of video calls for certain types of consultations.

So why not integrate telehealth consultations into your weekly calendar? You can create these additional slots and make them available via telehealth and booking platforms, generating additional business.

Many leading doctors have managed to add an additional clinic session, making use of the time they would normally not spend at their practice or in their rooms. When you take a closer look at your weekly calendar, is there a time slot that could be filled with additional telehealth consultations, initiated from the comfort of your own home?

Additional consultations could be focused on the main services offered at your practice, or you could focus them on prevention, general education, aftercare or recovery.

If your specialty allows for it, think ‘lifestyle’. Beyond offering the core services, your specialised knowledge puts you in the best possible position to add value with lifestyle advice. Obstetrics, women’s health, fertility, gut health, obesity surgery, orthopaedic surgery or psychology…all areas offer room for additional consultations that create value, turning those spare afternoons into a side hustle that feeds into the general sales pipeline of your practice.

Run educational clinics and workshops

business tip for doctors

Magic happens when you position yourself as an educator. Being a doctor, whether your area is family medicine or a medical specialty, automatically gives you the credibility you need.

But do you use it?

Many leading doctors I know have embraced platforms such as Eventbrite to run small educational sessions. You can call it an educational clinic, a workshop or a seminar.

The most successful events are the ones where you transpose your expertise, step away from boring presentation slides and step right into the universe of the patient’s everyday life.

I have once attended a workshop by a local chiropractor about gut health and have ever since remembered this particular clinic, because of the information, the welcoming energy in the room and the educational character of the session.

Weight loss surgeons I work with, often provide info sessions that don’t just focus on ‘what if you had surgery?’.

Once you start building a routine, giving these workshops, you will notice two amazing side-effects:

Your list is growing: When in marketing terms we refer to your list, we are not referring to your theatre list. Your marketing email list, containing names and emails of people who willingly said yes to receiving your updates, is a valuable digital asset.
Your partnership opportunities will expand: Because you are now Doctor X of the famous workshop series Y or Z, you will see opportunities coming your way to partner up with other speakers in adjacent areas.

Publish a b2b newsletter

communication skills for doctors

The value you can offer to other specialist doctors or general practitioners is endless. It’s a matter of choosing the right topics, packaging the information in a palatable and compelling way and communicating with them on a regular basis.

Publishing a professional business-to-business newsletter towards potential referrers is an amazing marketing tactic, and has been a radical game-changer for multiple customers I work with.

As medical journalists, we have a particular interest in helping our customers find their editorial voice, as well as establishing a topics calendar. It means that you always start with a strategic overview, knowing what your audience wants and what value you bring to the table.

We can help you make your newsletter to GPs more compelling by:

Converting it into an official LinkedIn newsletter, going to all local GPs who are on the platform, beyond the traditional delivery methods via email.
Adding short interview-style videos to your newsletter so you get higher open and clickthrough rates, more traffic and more conversations.
Linking your newsletter to your other digital assets, your social media channels and your existing marketing system.

Partner with a health brand

healthcare partnerships

Healthcare partnerships can often put you back on the map in your local community. If you are looking to grow your practice in specific areas, partnerships with other healthcare providers are a powerful tactic.

As an obstetrician, check out the most successful wellness provider in your area, one that stands out because of their quality offering, amazing reviews on Google Business, their setting and the energy of the team. Associate your practice with them through special info sessions for pregnant women, for example. Both brands will benefit from the increased credibility and relevance for your patients/customers.

The other evident associations our customers have discovered are:

Orthopaedics/ Gyms: Info sessions about the mechanics of the musculoskeletal system are powerful marketing moments to build your brand in the local community.
Gastroenterologists / Vegan restaurants: Info sessions about gut health are well-positioned in places that attract people who are looking for a healthier lifestyle.
Psychologists / Self-help workshops: Info sessions about the accessibility of professional help by a psychologist can be very useful when presented at events that attract people who are looking into self-help.

Become a leading keynote speaker

build authority as a doctor

Becoming a keynote speaker doesn’t have to be about filling a sports stadium.
Small events, with 10-20 participants, are worth the effort if your key message is well aligned with the audience’s current information needs.

What we see and what we love creating with our customers is a systemised approach for these leadership ambitions.

With a strong online profile, you would use short videos to introduce your key messages (and more importantly to introduce yourself) to anyone who lands on your website through a Google search for your services.

With a strong social media profile, you would keep remembering your community about the value you bring, the expertise you offer and the commitment and passion you have to help people understand your specialty area.

With strong local partnerships, you start showing up in somebody else’s ‘feed’: their LinkedIn profile, their Facebook Event, their Eventbrite workshop. This drives new people to your own list and that is how you catapult yourself into your new status of leading keynote speaker. This is how you build authority as a doctor and the starting point is always strategic clarity about where you want to be 2 and 5 years down the track.

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business roadmap for doctors

Our roadmap of business ideas for ambitious doctors does not stop here. Every day, we ask new questions and our customers ask us new questions too. Every day, we dive into this exciting universe of healthcare communication, helping doctors like yourself grow a successful private practice and leverage your skills and expertise.