Ep #237: How to Become Known for What You Do

Hi docs, welcome to The EntreMD Podcast, where it’s all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I’m your host, Dr. Una.

Hello, hello, my friends, welcome back to another episode of The EntreMD Podcast. As always, I am super pumped to be in your ears. Thank you so much for being a listener, thank you for sharing, thank you for reviewing, and all of that. Together we are the cavalry and we are changing medicine.

Today we’re going to be talking about one of my favorite things to talk about, and that is how to become known for what you do. You may have experienced this where maybe you’re in a Facebook group and somebody asks, well, I need this kind of doctor, right? And in 20 minutes, 30 people tag the same person, right? Or I am having this kind of problem and you get tagged and tagged and tagged and tagged.

And this is what you want to see. This is how you want to be known. This is how you want people referring to you. You want people to think about the problem you solve, and your name comes up. So the question is, how do you do that? How do you become that person?

I’ll tell you something funny, I’ve talked about this on the podcast before, and the reason why I want to say this is because you may already be running a successful business and you’re like, “Oh, this episode is not for me.” This episode is 1,000% for you, okay?

Now this happened, I want to say almost two years ago, and I was part of this Facebook group and somebody came on and said, what podcasts are you guys listening to? So when I saw that post, I was like, oh, yeah, of course, The EntreMD Podcast is going to come up many times because this was a group of doctors, I had spoken at their virtual event once or twice, and I would sometimes contribute in the group.

And so I went to the comments. And this was my attitude, I was going to the comments so I could go say thank you to the people who tagged or who mentioned The EntreMD Podcast. And after an hour I went there and there was not one single mention of The EntreMD Podcast, and at this point there were over 60 comments. And I was like, what in the world? And then I checked and 23 hours later there was over 100 comments, not one mention of The EntreMD Podcast.

Now, at this point, the podcast had had over 120,000 downloads in many, many countries and all over the US. And many doctors knew about it and there are some groups where many doctors would have mentioned The EntreMD Podcast, but not this group.

And it made me realize that at the end of the day the biggest problem every business has, which I knew, I knew, but I just re-knew it, I’m making that up, but and it’s that obscurity is the biggest problem. You want to help more people, and more people would love to work with you if they knew about you. And so that was the lesson for me. And so I think eventually, after a day, we probably came up once, but you see my point.

And so whether you’re a startup or whether you’re building a multiple seven figure business. If you are trying to get your message out there. If you’re trying to be known for the problem that you solve. If you’re trying to be the go-to expert, the thought leader. If you’re trying to disrupt an industry, if you’re trying to do any of those, if you’re trying to build a private practice, whichever, this right here, what we’re going to be talking about today is so profoundly simple, but so profoundly powerful.

So I want you to lean into it, and we’re going to talk about it, and you’re going to act on it. And you are going to send me emails a few months from now going like, Dr. Una, you will not believe what happened. And I will tell you, of course I will. Okay?

All right, so what do you need to do if you want to be known for what you do? Now, I want you to think about it, what if, what if in your business, you could be on a TV show and you could be on a TV show every week? What do you think it will do for your business?

And I really, you know, like if you’re walking and stuff, if you’re driving, don’t touch your phone. But if you’re walking or something I want you to pause this and I want you to really think about it, what would it do?

So it would probably give you unbelievable credibility, you’re on TV. It would probably put you at this point where influential people who can open doors for you know about you. It puts you in a place where so many people, you know, your reach has been expanded so so many more people can find you. And it creates all these other opportunities that you didn’t even think would be an option for you.

So I want you to think about what it can do, right? So it would increase your revenue, increase your credibility, increase your authority, maybe even get you paid speaking gigs. It would do all kinds of things for you. And when you think about it you’re like, yeah, that would have been great. I mean, it may be a little nerve wracking, but it will be great to be on TV.

Now, this is the thing, okay? This is the thing, we can create that. When the internet showed up and Facebook showed up, and podcasting showed up, and YouTube showed up, it is literally like all the gatekeepers were taken away and you can do your own thing. So please hear me and don’t go like, “That’s simple, I’m done.” No, I need you to pay attention to this.

Okay, so I want to be known for what I do. Number one, you want to own a message. You want to own a message. The more vague you are, the more random you are, the more you touch every subject ever, the less you’re known for what you do, right? So you want to own a message. What is that message?

And I’m not going to say go to psychographics, demographics, I’m not even talking about that today. I am talking about the message of these are the kinds of people I help, this is the kind of problem they have, this is the kind of solution I offer them, right? Because you can take just that and you can unpack it into things you can talk about for five years straight without really repeating yourself.

But they all follow a theme, right? And so what is that? And I know people sometimes we get bent out of shape about this, you can change it. It’s not it is written, you can change it, you can adapt it, you’re always going to be working on it. It’s not going to be perfect, but you have to pick something.

So for instance, EntreMD, who do we talk to? Physicians. What is their pain point? They’re not building profitable businesses, right? And what do they want? Profitable businesses. And I can talk about everything under that. I can talk about the mindset around that, the strategy around that, case studies of it, the conviction piece of it, helping the whole physician community with that.

There’s so many things to talk about, but when you come and you encounter our podcast, or you encounter our emails, our social media and all that, you know what you’re going to get. Do you see what I’m saying? So you want to own that Who do I help? What pain do they have? What solution?

And you’re going to go like, “But that’s just simple,” or, “That’s not really cute.” We don’t want it cute, we want it clear, right? But if you’re going to be known for something, you have to represent that thing, you have to embody that thing, you need to be talking about that thing. So what is that thing?

If you’re in primary care you’re like, “But that’s so simple, is not a niche.” Of course it is. It’s not mechanics, it’s not construction, it’s not building a business. There’s so many things it’s not, of course it’s a niche, right? The fact that it’s general in the medical world doesn’t mean it’s general period. Okay, so own a message, that’s number one.

Number two, own a platform. So like I said, imagine if you could have a TV show, now you can. So own a platform. When I talk about that, I’m talking about YouTube, podcast, blog. YouTube, podcast, blog, own something. Own some place where you’re going to publish your thoughts, okay? If you’re a thought leader, you lead with your thoughts, right? You need a place to publish your thoughts.

And you can pick anyone. You want to have an intersection between what you like and what your people like, okay? I hope my people are not people who like blogs because that is not going to happen in the EntreMD world. But I did do a survey and a lot of people, I used to do a lot of YouTube back in the day, but a lot of people are like, no, not no. I did a survey, I’m like, how do you like to consume information? And the vast majority of them were like, podcast. And I was like, well, even better for me, right? So then I started doing the podcast.

So you want to pick something that you will do. Like if it was blog, I would be like, well, you know, because I’m not going to do a blog. Writing is not something that I would say that is my strong suit. Podcasts and YouTube, I’ll do that much better. And so pick one. Oh my goodness, pick one. Pick the one you’ll be consistent with. Pick one.

You might be like, what if it’s the wrong one? I just told you I started from YouTube and went to podcasts. You can change this, but you have to pick something. So pick something, pick something.

All right, so own your message is number one. Number two, own your platform. Number three, show up consistently with relevant content, okay? Show up consistently. My preference, in my mind the minimum is once a week. This is my mind, okay? But it’s not a rule. There are people who show up every day. There are people who show up three times a week. There are people who show up twice a month.

But if you are going to be known for what you do, especially in the beginning, I would go your minimum you kind of want to keep it at once a week, okay? And you might go like, that’s a lot, I don’t know if I can commit to it and all of that stuff. So I want you to hear me out, okay? Your platform, what you put on it has nothing to do with you. The easiest way to run out of content ideas is to try to come up with content ideas from you. It’s not from you, it’s from your people, okay?

And so I want you to think about your platform as a place where you go to answer questions. Where do you go to, like I’m asking a question now because you want to know what to do so you can be known for what you do. And I’m here telling you these are the things you do.

I want to build a million dollar business, I talk about millionaire habits. I am so scared of putting myself out there, how to show up confidently even if you’re an introvert. I don’t know how to dominate on stage, how I prepare to deliver a great talk. Every podcast episode is not me going like, “What should I talk about today? What do I really feel I should talk about?”

No, I look for the problems my people are having, the questions they’re answering, the issues they’re dealing with, and I create content to serve. That’s what makes it relevant, okay? It’s not that it’s nice, it’s not as cute, it’s not like it’s the most researched things. No, it’s that you are solving problems, right? That you’re solving problems, that’s what makes it relevant.

It is relevant if you are going into the conversations your ideal clients are already having in their heads. So what are they thinking about? What is keeping them up at night? What are the questions that are holding them back? What are the limiting beliefs that are keeping them stuck? You address those.

The more you think in those terms, the more you realize you can never ever run out of content because people always have questions, they always have limiting beliefs, they always have things that are getting them stuck. Always, always, okay? So on your platform solve problems.

Solve problems. And the more you do this, the more people follow, the more people will share, the more people will do all of that, okay? Solve problems. For me, some of it will be mindset, some will be strategy, some will be case studies, all that. You don’t run out of content, okay?

Number four, now number four is as important as number 1, 2, 3 put together. So I want you to lean in, okay? Number four is you must promote it. Promote it. Don’t create content if you’re not going to promote it.

If you’re not going to push it out there, get it into the hands of the people, don’t do it. There’s no need to do it. I mean, you can have a podcast with one download or you can have a podcast with 1,000 downloads per week, right? Will you push it or not? Okay, so if you’re not going to promote it, then don’t do it.

All right, so let’s talk about promotion a little bit. Now, I’ve done a lot of research, a lot of research on how to promote a platform. And at the end of the day, what most of the people who have wildly successful platforms do is that they serve as guests on other platforms because I want you to think about this, your ideal audience already exists.

Even if the people you serve are like babies in the NICU, that little just born, even those your real client is not the baby. Your real client is the mother who brings the baby, right? So she’s already born, she’s already an adult. Okay?

All right. So all your clients are already adults and they already exist somewhere. They’re not about to be born, they’re not in outer space, they already exist and they’re already in community somewhere. So your job is to go to these communities with your message.

Now, when you’re picking the community, let me describe how that works. So you are looking for places where your ideal audience is, but the leader of that audience does not serve them in the way you serve them.

For instance, if you have an OBGYN, if there’s an OBGYN and you’re a pediatrician you serve the same audience, mothers, okay? But you don’t do the same things for them. So the OBGYN takes care of the mother to deliver the baby, the pediatrician takes care of the mother to take care of the baby, right? So it’s a perfect match because you guys are coming into the same space but not to compete, but to truly collaborate. You see what I’m saying? And so, you want to go to those audiences.

So for instance, I do business strategy for physicians and some other person may do life coaching for physicians. We both serve physicians, but we do different things, right? So I can go to those audiences and I’m talking about what I do, and vice versa. So this is a match made in heaven, okay?

So the more you put yourself in those communities, the more people come back. So let’s say you’re a podcaster, for instance, then you’re a guest on podcasts that serve your audience. And they find you, they listen to you there, and they come to your podcast and then they’re listening as well. And that’s how your show grows, okay?

So the best way is guesting. And not just guessing on platforms, but also speaking at events or being at networking events where those people are and stuff like that. It’s going where the people are, extroverting into the marketplace, being all the way out there. That’s where the people are and that’s how you grow your show.

So will you post it on social media? Absolutely. But that’s not the number one way to grow your show. The number one way to grow your show is to be out there where the people are already gathered. Facebook groups where they’re gathered. Now, when I talk about that, please do not go and spam people’s Facebook groups, okay?

I have an episode that I did how to show up in Facebook groups, it’s going to be linked in the show notes so please listen to that. How to show up authentically, ethically, all of that stuff in a serving way in other people’s Facebook groups. Please do not go to take advantage of people’s groups, okay?

All right, so putting yourself out there, that is the fastest way to grow your show, okay? And I just want you to think about this, okay? This is really important, you can create your own show. You can create the ability to be known for what you do, you can become the industry expert, you can become a thought leader. And it’s tied to four simple things, own a message, own a platform, show up consistently with relevant content, and promote it. Literally, you can do that and everything will change for you.

So what do I want you to do? It’s four steps, the problem with them is that they’re simple. Not easy, they’re simple. And the problem with things that are simple, they’re easy to do and they’re easy not to do, okay? So I want to invite you to schedule a time and sit, and you might be saying I already do these things.

If you’re saying I already do these things I want you to run an audit, okay? Have I owned a message or am I saying everything in the universe on my platforms? Do I own one platform or do I change every two months which platform I use? Am I showing up consistently? Am I given relevant content? And am I promoting it?

When was the last time I was a guest on someone else’s podcast? When was the last time I was a guest at an event? When was the last time I went to a networking event? When was the last time I served in somebody’s Facebook group? When was the last time? Because saying I’m doing it is one thing, but this is a great time to run an audit.

If you’re not doing this at all, I want to invite you to start doing it. If you’re like, “I want to do it and I need help,” well, as always, for everything we talk about on The EntreMD Podcast, if you’re like, I love this, I’ve started, I need help with implementation, then The EntreMD Business School has your name written all over it. Okay?

So you can apply, entremd.com/business and join over 100 physicians who have decided we’re going to get this stuff done, right? And be in that community where you have the coaching, the accountability, the community that you need to pull this off.

But whichever category you fall into, I want you to take action on this. This will absolutely 100% change your business, change your life, put you as a thought leader. And you know what I think, I think physicians should be thought leaders because we have great thoughts.

All right, so go take this action and I cannot wait to celebrate what you create. I want to leave you with this, this may seem like yeah, cool, but I don’t teach things just to teach them and I don’t make up things to teach either. I am showing you exactly what I did.

I went from socially shy, super awkward, introverted introvert to somebody who has a message. The message that physicians can build profitable businesses, they can live life and they can practice medicine on their terms. And I have taken that message and I put it on a podcast and over the last two and a half years, we’re now at 270,000 downloads all over the country and in 115 other countries.

And because of that I’ve been able to build the EntreMD Business School, I’ve been able to serve doctors at the highest level. And now we have doctors who are crossing six figures, crossing multiple six figures, crossing seven figures in the business school and it’s exactly what I’ve been talking about. I am doing what I’m telling you to do. And I am inviting you to go on this journey because you can, you have everything it takes.

So this is not a cute thing to talk about, this is something that you can sit on and make it your reality. I still remember when I had five downloads. I still remember when I had a hundred downloads. I still remember when I had a thousand.

But now I’ve come to a place where there are people who are like, I started this business because of you. I started this blog. And they’re not even in the business school, this is just based on the podcast. And I am getting the job done. I am positioning myself as a thought leader. I am leading the cavalry. I am the mother of a movement. I am telling you this is how and I’m inviting you to do it too, okay?

So I want you to go do your homework that I just gave you. I want you to share this episode with another doctor because our voices matter. And I will see you on the next episode of The EntreMD Podcast.

Hey, if you love listening to The EntreMD Podcast I want to invite you to join EntreMD On Demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to entremd.com/ondemand and I’d love to have you join us. See you on the inside.