Are you questioning if you’ve got what it takes to start your own business? I used to too... 

But I really shouldn’t have ever doubted myself.

As a doctor-turned-entrepreneur, I’ve discovered that we have lots of transferable skills. 

Let me outline some of the ones I’ve found most valuable on my journey and explain the some of the qualities we have as doctors, which can make our journey a bit more testing. 

We’ve been taught how to diagnose & solve complex problems on a daily basis, including life-threatening problems. Our ability critically evaluate, recognise problems & systematically overcome them can be applied to any problem you’ll face during your life as an entrepreneur. Most importantly, this skill set needs to be applied very early on in our journey when it comes to creating a product or service. At the end of the day, every business provides a solution to a problem. We are good at solving problems by coming up with solutions.... just make sure the problem your business solves is a problem your customers actually want solving (not everyone cares about problems as much as we do as doctors)! 

As doctors, effective communication is essential for us to carry out our job. We often have to explain complex concepts to patients & relay information clearly to team members. This skill is invaluable as an entrepreneur when it comes to communicating with customers, investors or employees. As a business owner you need to tell people about your product in order for your business to grow... this applies to creating marketing material to drive sales to pitching your business to potential investors. We’ve all seen Dragons Den. Similarly, as an entrepreneur you will very likely need to instruct other people to do things for you & your business. It’s essential that you can communicate this clearly just as you would explaining a patient’s complex management plans to a team taking over. 

You have to be determined to be a Doctor. We’re used to studying hard, working long hours, multi-tasking & dealing with high pressured situations. This really isn’t too dissimilar to the life of an entrepreneur. This work ethic will really help you as an entrepreneur, particularly during the early stages of your journey when you have a lot to learn and (what can at times feel like) a never-ending to-do list. At the same time, our resilience will help you to handle the challenges you’ll face as an entrepreneur. There will be times when things don’t work the way you anticipated & you will be forced to return to the drawing board.... our determined mindsets & resilience will really help you on these days. 

We know how to focus on our patients. This approach (that’s been ingrained in us) can be translated into business. We’ll know what it takes to prioritise customer needs, enhance a customer’s journey & most importantly build strong customer-relationships. You really shouldn’t over look this skill. We understand the importance of empathy & delivering value arguably more than any other profession… This is going to really help you (& your business) as an entrepreneur. A business needs to deliver a good product or service in order to maximise its chance of success. It costs money to market a product/service to acquire customers & if you don’t deliver them with a good product, you will lose those customers as fast as you gained them... You will be playing a game of constantly trying to find new customers which isn’t a fun game to play. Your customer-centred approach can help you avoid this!

As doctors, we have a few key mindset traits which really help us as we embrace life as an entrepreneur. We are determined, with an ability to adapt & handle uncertainty. It’s unpredictable looking after patients & there will be times when you need to adapt your approach to overcome problems. This ability to pivot will be crucial as an entrepreneur when you are inevitably faced with challenges, learnings or changes which you will need to adapt to & overcome to survive. Similarly, this determined mindset means we are prepared to challenge our limits & continue even when we feel like quitting. We’ve been doing this ever since we started our journey in medicine, from overcoming doubts applying to university to facing the challenges of medical school & our working careers.... there’s no reason why you won’t continue with this mindset with your business ventures. 

You don't need to question if you can start your own business. There is no doubt that as doctors we have enough transferable skills to do what it takes and make good entrepreneurs.

However....

There are a few reasons why as doctors we can struggle more than other entrepreneurs.

We are results driven. 

We are people pleasers. 

We are accustomed to following a clear path.

These are all qualities which can make our journey more testing. There is a lot of uncertainty following the path of entrepreneurship and it arguably is completely the opposite of the predictable career path & day-to-day working life we've become so accustomed to following.

These qualities don't have to stop you though! 

Are you feeling ready to start your own business? Please send me an email (elle@gabrielletodd.com) if you would like any more 1:1 help trying to start your own business. Alternatively, you can download my free business idea incubator guide here to help you create your own business idea.