Transcript

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Hey everybody, welcome to another edition of Bootstrap MD, the podcast for physician and healthc care entrepreneurs. My name is Dr. Mike Puming. I'm a 20 plus year physician entrepreneur and today I think it's going to be a fun episode if I do say so myself.

 

It's going to be just kind of my fast thoughts on different side businesses that you could start. Just kind of my thoughts on having worked with doctors and helping them start up their own side hustles for the last 10 plus years on here. So, I want to give you not five, not 10, but 20 concrete side hustle ideas that you can launch quickly with practical first steps for each of them. So, what if I told you that you could add an extra $5,000 to $10,000 per month to your income without taking more clinical shifts?

 

And what if you could do so by leveraging the expertise that you already have starting this month? You know, when I started my first side hustle back in 2003, I had no idea that would become a healthy six-figure business for me. But it just started by having an idea and taking some small steps. So that's why I want to give to you 20 viable side ideas specifically for physicians.

 

This is important for financial independence, helping you prevent burnout, help you with income diversification. I want to stress you can start these this month with really little or no upfront investment. So, I've kind of organized these into four categories based upon your skills and your interests. I do want to set some expectations though that these aren't get-rich quick schemes.

 

They are going to require work, but they do leverage what you already know and that can be started part-time when you're still working at your full-time position. And it doesn't have to be perfect, but you just need to start. So what I encourage you guys to do is just pick two to three out of the 20 that kind of resonate with you and then explode further. All right, so let's dive in.

 

Let's talk my first category. I'm calling this clinical adjacent side hustles. This is where you can leverage your medical expertise or your medical license and your clinical expertise. Number one, tele medicine.

 

Been talking about this for a while. Tele medicine and consulting. What is it? You're providing virtual consultations through platforms or you could be doing this independently.

 

Why does it work? It's flexible. There's no overhead and it's in high demand. How do you get started?

 

Sign up for some tele medicine companies. Search for Google. Search on Indeed for tele medicine jobs. Thousands are out there.

 

MD live wheel row. Different types of platforms. See what ones resonate with you. I want you to do that.

 

That's your first step within the first week. What's your income potential? Again, it varies. I've seen is$100 to $300 an hour.

 

And what's great about tele medicine, you can do so in your own flexible time. So, quick tip. I want you to start with like 5 to 10 hours per month just to test the water. All right.

 

Number two, you've heard of it. Local tenants. Locom tenants is short-term contract work in your specialty. Why does it work?

 

You're going to have highly early rates. You can travel wherever you want. Opportunities. There's also no long-term commitment.

 

What is your first step? Just rather register with two to three local agencies this week. Great thing about income potential, you actually can get paid higher than you would a permanent position. Some say about 20 to 50% higher.

 

One quick tip. You can use your locom work and I've counseled many doctors to do this. You can use your locom work to fund your other entrepreneur ventures. All right.

 

Number three. Number three is medical expert witness or legal consulting. What is it? You're reviewing cases.

 

You're providing expert testimony. You're working with attorneys. Why does it work? They command a nice high hourly rate.

 

$300 to $500 plus per hour. It's often intellectually stimulating. The first step, you need to register with expert witness directories or contact legal nurse legal consultants. Income potential, you can make $5 to $15,000 per case.

 

So, quick tip, start with medical record reviews before committing to testimonial. Idea number four, insurance medical reviews. What is it? You're reviewing claims for insurance companies or independent review organizations.

 

Why does it work? You got remote work, flexible hours, straightforward process. First step, start applying for jobs. Abby Core, Med Solutions, Caroline.

 

Income potential doesn't pay as well. About $75, $150 an hour, but you can be doing this in your evenings, on your weekends, can be done on your own schedule, in your own time. Idea number five, this is the last one for the adjacent clinical side gigs. It is occupational medicine workman's compulations.

 

What is it? You're performing independent medical exams for workplace injuries. Why is it work? Because people need to do this work.

 

It's high demand. It's predictable income. And if you don't want to have patients for a long time, perfect. You have limited ongoing patient relationships.

 

First step, contact local worker comps attorneys or insurance companies. Income potential $500 to $1,500 per evaluation. And you can often schedule these on your days off. All right, so those are my five adjacent clinical opportunities.

 

Any of them resonate with you, start exploring. All righty, let's move to my next one. This is one of my favorites. Knowledgebased side hustles.

 

What is it? I've been talking about this forever. If you've been a listener to the podcast, it's all about monetizing, leveraging your expertise by providing content and education. All right, idea number six is one of the big reasons I got started.

 

Oh, the medical writer wrote for some of the biggest physician publications that are out there and you're creating medical writing. You're creating content. What is it? Writing for medical publications, websites, healthcare companies, or patient education.

 

Why is it work? It's high demand for quality medical content. Physician is writing that. You can do this remotely.

 

First step, go create a profile on Upwork, popular freelance site, or Contently, and then pitch it to three healthcare blogs. income potential. You get paid per word could be as low as a 10 cents to a dollar per word. 500, you know, could be $2,000, $3,000 per article depending on the article.

 

Quick tip, if you want to start with topics you already know well from your own practice if you go outside of the realm, it might be a little bit more awkward. Write about what you know. All right, next one. Number seven, creating online courses.

 

What is it? You're teaching patients. You're teaching students. You won't be teaching other clients, other physicians through online courses, online video courses most likely.

 

Why does it work? Because you can create it once and you can sell it repeatedly. Great opportunity, great potential for passive income. First step, you can outline one course.

 

You can use Kajjabi, which is the most popular. That's K AJ ABI, Teachable, Thinkific. These are popular course platforms that you can do. Income potential.

 

Okay. 5,000 if I've seen as high as $50,000 per course annually. Quick tip, you can start with a mini course. Maybe not don't have a big commitment.

 

Do something small. Could be 27 to $97. Few videos just to test your idea. If it works, then you can grow, scale, and grow from there.

 

Idea number eight, it's what you're listening to. Medical podcasting. We just finished a doctor podcastfest where we had a number of amazing physician podcasters out there. We had a good time.

 

Look forward to the next one we're going to have in Orlando next January. What is it? You're creating audio content for patients or health care professionals or for potential patients as well, the general public. Why is it work?

 

Podcasting is still a growing medium. You're building authority without having to pay a lot of money to do that. And you have multiple monetization paths. You can create courses.

 

You can create one-on-one coaching. You can create masterminds. You can create events based upon that. First step, just do what I'm doing.

 

Recording and publish your first episode. You can do that within the two weeks. Income potential $500 to $10,000 a month with sponsorships like what I have products, survey, affiliate offers on here. Quick tip, search out Dr.

 

Podcast Network. I am a co-owner of them. We help physician podcasters get started, but we'd love to hear what you have to say. We want to hear your voice.

 

Consistency matters everything in podcasting more than perfection. But commit to something weekly or at least bi-weekly. All right, idea number nine. Another thing that I love, coaching, wellness consulting on here.

 

What is it? You're doing one-on-one group coaching for medicine, lifestyle medicine, weight loss, stress management. It's a growing area. That's why it works.

 

Growing demand for preventive health, and you have a higher patient engagement because people want to get better. Nothing better than that and having a motivated patient or I'm sorry a client on here because you are not getting into a fish physician patient relationship on there. The first step is just get started on here. You can go and sign up for our doctor's online success which is our free school group s group doctor's online success and you'll find courses on how to get started with coaching and consulting on here.

 

Income potential could be really good.$100 to $300 per session or more. $1,500 to $5,000 for a group program. I've helped one doctor. She's developing a six-figure income just on health coaching.

 

Quick tip, you can start with five clients. She charging for free or even a discounted rate just so you can build those testimonials. All right. Idea number 10, speaking engagements.

 

What is it? You're getting paid to present. You're present at conferences, corporate wellness events, community organizations. Why does it work?

 

You're leveraging your expertise. You're building credibility. You're developing networking opportunities. First step, create what's known as a one sheet, a speaker one sheet.

 

If you don't know what it is, go into doctor's online success, search one sheet. We'll show you how to get that done or ask about it. Create that one sheet and then start reaching out to five organizations that might want to have you speak. Income potential, I've seen as low as a,000 or up to $10,000 or more per engagement.

 

But the quick tip, start by talking for free just to build your reputation, gain your confidence, and then you can raise your rates again. All right, we're halfway through. I gave you 10 side hustles that you could get started this month. Let's finish with the last 10.

 

So, we just finished with knowledgebased hustles that let you teach and share what you know. Let's get into some nerdy stuff here. That is tech, digital, and tech enabled side hustles in here. Idea number 11, come up with your own app.

 

Medical app consulting. What is it? You're advising healthcare startups on clinical workflows, user experiences, or regulatory compliance. Why does it work?

 

Health tech companies, they need physician input. You can then charge a high hourly rate. How do you get started? They often start by looking at your LinkedIn profile.

 

What is your LinkedIn profile? Highlight your clinical expertise and your willingness to join healthcare startup communities. Income potential, but starting at 150, depending on the startup, could be as high as $400, $500 an hour. How do you get started right away?

 

Just doing some quick consulting projects, maybe 5 to 10 hours of your time before committing to a full-time advisory role. Idea number 12, being a social media medical influencer. You've seen that you can build an audience on Instagram, Tik Tok, or YouTube with health content. Why does it work?

 

You're going to get a massive reach. My business partner, Dr. Antron, reaches over six figures of followers per month that follow her on YouTube. And there are multiple monetization options.

 

I think she's up to 17, but you can get money through ads, through sponsorship, by creating your products or being an affiliate for their products. First step, put yourself on a challenge. That's what my friend Greg did. He posted daily for 30 days, and I think he's continuing to still do it.

 

Choose one platform so you can test engagement. Just do it consistently for the next 30 days. Your income potential, sky's the limit. I've seen 500 to even $50,000 or more per month, depending on the following.

 

Again, a quick tip for you is start with one thing. Focus on one platform and one niche. So like myths of dermatology or stories of from the ER. Just do that.

 

The niches are in the riches as they like to say. All right. Idea unlucky number 13. Medical survey participation.

 

What is it? You're completing paid surveys for drug companies and market research firm. Why it works? It's easy.

 

There's no commitment. You can do it during your downtime. First up, you can sign up with Sermo, SMO, Incrrowd, M3 Global Research. They're always looking for doctors.

 

Income, I'm not going to lie to you, it's not the best paying, maybe 500, maybe $50. Sometimes I've seen as high as 100, even $200, $300, but again, I think a good $500 a month is not too bad or more. It's not a primary income source, but it is great supplemental income for you with really be honest, very minimal effort. All right, idea number 14.

 

Another one of those side gigs that is special to my heart. That's affiliate marketing. You can do affiliate marketing for products. What is it?

 

You're recommending products and services that you use and earn commissions. Why does it work? You don't have to create your own product. It truly is passive income and you can leverage your existing audience.

 

First step, join up to become an affiliate. You can join sites like Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, or perhaps they mean find a product and ask them if they have an affiliate program. income potential. You can make as little as $500 to $10,000 a month with an established audience.

 

Quick tip, you only need to promote products that you generally use and believe in. Again, you need to be authentic. Don't just do it because it has the highest payout on here. The best things you can promote are things that you already are using and that you tell your family and friends are you're doing that already.

 

Why not get paid for that? Then finally, idea number 15, creating medical templates or tools. So, these could be software, node templates, patient handouts, clinical tools. I've seen it used on Etsy or Gumroads.

 

Do some searches. You'll find it. Why is it worked? You're creating something once and then you're repeating it separately.

 

And you can help other physicians on here if you choose to go to that route. What you want to do for your first step is identify your three most used templates. Most used templates and then packing them for sale. Income potential $500 to $3,000 a month.

 

You can start with free versions just to build an audience and then create premium versions. All right, so we just finished up with these digital opportunities that can scale beyond your time. Now, let's talk about nitty-gritty entrepreneurship. These are business and investment side hustles.

 

This is where you're building assets and you're building passive income streams. Idea number 16, doctor's favorites, real estate investing. What is it? Getting involved in rental properties, REITs, real estate syndications.

 

Why does it work? You're building tangible assets. Most bu millionaires and billionaires have used real estate in one form or fashion to build their wealth. So, it's proven.

 

Tax benefits. There's passive income potential. First step is just educate yourself. Go to your local real estate meetup.

 

They're generally for free. Start to network. See if it's something that you like. Income potential 8 to 10 15% annual returns.

 

$500 to $5,000, $10,000 a month monthly cash referral property. You could be like my friend Peter Kimp who's completely out of medicine and has used real estate as one of his main income earners. Quick tip, you can start with turnkey rental properties or syndications if you don't want to manage your properties themselves. All right, idea number 17.

 

It's one of my favorites. I consult and help other medical practices. I'm helping other physicians optimize their practices through marketing, through billing, through operations, through getting it started. Why does it work?

 

It works if you're a practice owner that you understand what it is to be a practice owner. You understand our pain points and it's a high value service. First step, you can offer free consultation at two to three practices to start building your case studies. Income potential, the sky's is the limit.

 

$2,000, $10,000, $25,000 more per project on here. Quick tip, just specialize in one area. Know your lane. Don't get out of it.

 

It could be DPC, direct primary care, start with that. If you know medical billing and you know how to optimize it, start with that. All righty. Number 18, something that most physicians don't think about, and that's medical equipment sales or distribution.

 

What is it? You're representing medical devices or equipment companies. This is where you're leveraging your clinical credibility, and it's a commission-based income. First step, research companies in your specialty.

 

Find products that you like already and see if you can work with them. Reach out about these potential partnership opportunities. Income potential. Hey, we all know that some of these machines can be pretty expensive.

 

You can make five, even 20% or higher commissions on sales. Again, focus on products, tools, machines that you use, you love them already, so you can feel that you can authentically recommend them. Idea number 19, starting up urgent care or med spa or an ancillary practice on here. Ideally, a cashbased practice in a high demand specialty.

 

Why does it work? If you control your schedule, you have higher profit margins, you can grow your markets. First step is to research opportunities. Reach out to me if you're interested in cash practice.

 

This is what I do. Franchise opportunities, different type of niches. Ask any of your colleagues who are in your specialty if they have their own practice. See, and if it's cash, listen to them more intently on here.

 

So, start researching different opportunities out there. Income potential, six figures, and minimum $100,000 or more after expenses. Quick tip, one want to get started quickly. Maybe offer mobile services, IV hydration, something like that before opening up a physical location.

 

All right, last one. Hope you guys are liking this. Go. On day number 20 is investing in healthcare startups.

 

What is it? becoming an angel investor or join as an advisor with equity. Why does it work? You have high return potential, strategic involvement, portfolio diversification.

 

First step, you can join groups like Angelist or other healthcare specific investment groups. Income potential, it varies. Again, you sign up to something that goes off like a rocket. High rewards though often carry high risk.

 

However, just only invest in monies that you can afford to lose. If you have clinical knowledge that can help them, marketing knowledge that can help them, you got networking opportunities that can help them, you can provide much more value than just beyond capital. Those are your 20 side hustles. Okay?

 

Find something that resonates with you. You know, I would then ask like four quant questions. How much time do you have involved? If you have like how many hours per week can you realistically commit something that you don't have any time you might start with affiliate marketing or invest in real estate syndication or medical surveys something a little bit more time maybe do tele medicine or medical brightening or expert witness.

 

If you got all the time in the world or at least more time maybe committing to podcasting or creating coder course creation or starting up your own practice on here. The next factor you need to consider is how much capital do you want to invest in it? If you don't have any or very little, do surveys. Do sign up to join up to make money through tele medicine platforms.

 

Do writing coaching. Maybe you got a little bit more. Maybe you can invest in creating a course or starting up your podcast with podcasting equipment or becoming certified as a coach. If you got more capital, invest in real estate to start up your own practice to get involved in equipment sales.

 

The question you want to ask yourself is, what can you invest in without a lot of financial stress? All right, the number three thing that you need to look at is what is your income timeline. If you want to get started right away, you need to get money right away. Become a network expert witness.

 

Do locoms, do surveys, tele medicine might take a little bit longer devoted writing, starting a coaching program, speaking if you need something a little midterm course, podcasting, social media. If you're in for a long-term income, you know, you can wait. It really is real estate practice ownership, investing in startups. The question is when do you need to see returns and then number four passion and what is your interest alignment?

 

What energies genises you outside of clinical medicine? If it is clinical medicine itself, that might be when you want to do locoms or become a medical examiner or tele medicine. If you love to teach, create courses, speak, become a coach. If you want to be more creative, maybe develop podcast, get involved in social media, write.

 

If you love business like I do, invest own your own practice doing consulting on here. So, I hope you like that. Find out what works for you. Here's the thing is you have to get started.

 

I hope those spurred you on, got you start thinking again. You might want to listen to it again. I know I was kind of giving to you like a fire hose on here. I'm just so passionate about it.

 

I remember what I felt, you know, starting up my own side income, but then I made my first dollar, it validated and it changed everything on my life. If I can do it and I was working 50 to 60 hours a week, you can do it, too. The best time to start was yesterday, as they say, then the second best time is today. So, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

I hope this podcast resonated with you. If it did, share with others, like us, and subscribe on YouTube on here. If you want to give us a rating, that was great. amazing.

 

Give us a strong review that lets people know I don't spend a lot of time in marketing. My podcast, it often is just word of mouth on here and I really appreciate it. You know, as a physician entrepreneurs, you're going to have your ups and your downs. Do something a little each day to get you closer to your goals and keep moving forward.