It wasn’t that long ago, that the word ‘entrepreneur’ had very little relevance to me. It was a title given to people who built vast empires, made a lot of money and turned everything to gold wherever they went.

I often think of an entrepreneur as someone with a lot of vision and the drive to get a business moving and off the ground. Someone who looks for how an industry works and then disrupts it by doing the complete opposite (think about the founders of Uber and Airbnb, for example).

We consider these people to be brave, passionate, community-minded and possessing a strong tolerance to risk and adversity. Which sounds completely ludicrous when you try and apply this thinking to clinicians running private practices right! We are health professionals by training, and because of the incredible importance of the work we do with people, we are by nature risk averse and process oriented. We have many checks, balances and compliance’s to ensure we maintain standards of patient care.

Make a mistake as an entrepreneur and you may end up changing the world for good. However, make a mistake as a clinician and people can be harmed, we could lose our job, or worse, end up with a malpractice suit.

However, it is 2019 and the old school way of working no longer works for us. Our clients demand MORE from us, our system is failing them as a result, we are struggling, burned out and unhappy. We cannot sit around on our hands and just wait for answers or solutions to magically appear. We must adopt a new way of working, which means being willing to flip our thinking on how we add VALUE to the lives of others, as well as our own.

You see as health professionals we have a way of communicating.  How we are taught is handed down in words but also in attitude.  How we are supervised also reinforces a way of thinking.  This old school thinking while it’s still relevant and needed and necessary it is not enough on its own.  We need to add to this type of thinking.  We need to add entrepreneurial thinking. 

So, what are some difference between the two?

Below I show you some differences between clinical thinking and entrepreneurial thinking.

Entrepreneurial Thinking

 Where can I add value?

How can I help?

Be real, be authentic.

Take risks.

Practice creativity.

Money is  tool, a resource.

Work is an opportunity.

I know how to learn.

Learn while doing.

Failure is information.

There is nothing unethical or unprofessional in this.  Being a clinician is not being replaced by being an entrepreneur.

This is not an Either/OR game.

 This is an AND game.

 The entrepreneurial clinician gets to be both entrepreneur and clinician.

 We are unique.

We are skilled.

 We add incredible value.

 And we are very much needed.

 Can you identify where you have adopted some entrepreneurial
thinking into your work life?

Who Is Jo Muirhead?

Jo is all about connecting people to purpose through inspiration and innovation.  Author of The Entrepreneurial Clinician, she is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of PurpleCo a team of specialist allied health consultants dedicated to helping people who experience injury illness and trauma reclaim their lives through work. Jo is passionate about the health benefits of work and truly believes that everyone has the right to meaningful and rewarding employment. Purple Co grew out of this belief as a truncated form of PURpose for peoPLE. Jo is also an advocate coach and mentor for health professionals who want to create a fulfilling work life.