Does anyone own their own business?

[Str8clockin]

I have to interview someone and ask them a few questions (10 questions at the most). Anyone interested?

[birdgirl73]

Can you do it right here? I don't have any sort of IM software installed at the moment, but my husband would probably be willing to be interviewed. He owns his own medical practice, and it's a good-sized operation.

[Tiggernutts]

i also own my own business and would be willing to help.

[Str8clockin]

Yes, that's fine. Give me a second to get the questions ready.

[birdgirl73]

Give me a second to get my husband out of the shower (once he's finished) and get him in here at my desk. . . .

[Str8clockin]

1. How did you decide to get into this field of work?


2. Do you have employees working for you, and do you deal with the salary's?


3. What makes your company stand out from others?


4. How many hours do you work a week to get the job done?


5. How did you start your business?


5 more are coming right up.

[Str8clockin]

6. Do you work at home, office, etc?


7. What are some of the problems you face everyday when your at work?


8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of having your own business?


9. Do you have any goals for your business, if you do, please name a few.


10. What makes you want to work hard?



If you can, please be detailed in your answers. If any questions are too personal you don't have to answer them. And if your wondering why I'm asking these questions, it's because I want to start my own business one day.

[birdgirl73]

OK, I'm going to hand the keyboard over to my other half now. Watch out. He's not much of a typist.

1. How did you decide to get into this field of work?
i practice cardiology (heart medicine).It's what I became interested in early in medical training since heart disease affects so many people adn i knew there would always be aneed for practitioners in this area, specifically those who do interventional cardiology. I was interested in medicine itself from the time I was a teenager.

2. Do you have employees working for you, and do you deal with the salary's?
Yes. My practice employs 48 people, including 5 other physicians and a variety of nurses, technicians and office staff. I approve the doctors', nurses and medical/echocardiogram tech salaries, but my office manager deals with the the office staff salaries and handles the actual payroll.

3. What makes your company stand out from others?
we like to think patients receive better care at this practice than they might find elsewhere. that's our goal. Cardiology involves caring for many elderly patients. In other places where I worked, physicians didn't take enough time to fully talk to them or explain things or just spend time reassuring them. I wanted to make sure we weren't rushing patietns through even if it meant less money coming in.

4. How many hours do you work a week to get the job done?
nowadays i usually work about 35 - 40 hours per week. that number is higher if there's a heavy load of patients in the hospital or undergoing procedures. It's often higher during the coldest winter months. In the past, I've worked much longer hours. The good thing about having my own practice is the operation still functions even when I'm not in the offce.

5. How did you start your business?
For the first six years after residency, I worked in other people's practices. Cardiologists tend to cluster in groups rather than working independently. i originally bought into a new practice as a partner with two other partner-doctors and we built the practice together. Then one of the partners left to move to the west coast and the remaining two of us bought him out. Then the second partner retired about 11 years ago, and I bought him out. The other physicians who work in my practice aren't partners/owners.

[poorman3]

I commend your other half birdgirl73.
Sounds like he is very devoted to his patients. Not many around here are.
Sorry for jumping in. I had to. :D

[birdgirl73]

6. Do you work at home, office, etc?
i work both in a hospital (50%) and in an office (50%). And when i'm on call, i work at home, too, taking phone calls and reviewing info by computer.

7. What are some of the problems you face everyday when your at work?
Dealing with critically ill patients is always hard, and in cardiology there are lots of them. Having patients die of sudden heart attacks or die while undergoing interventional procedures is heartbreaking. Getting uncooperative patients to take better care of themselves is hard. And getting insurance companies to pay for necessary patient care is a constant struggle. getting insurance approval to do procedures is the same way. Next to mortality issues, insurance companies are the worst part of the job.

8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of having your own business?
When you have your own business, you call the shots. So you can do things the way you thinkthey should be done. You can work when you want to work and how you want to work.Those are the strengths. But on the downside, when it's your own business, the buck stops at you. If something goes wrong, it's your fault or that of someone you're responsible for. Dealing with accounting and insurance and taxes is also a hassle.

9. Do you have any goals for your business, if you do, please name a few.
Goal #1: To begin getting patient feedback on suggestions for improvements. This was my wife's idea. Good hospitals already do that. We'll probably use some sort of survey/feedback card or Web site. Then we'll make changes accordingly to improve care.
#2: To begin learning about holistic heart health (besides exercise, vitamin supplementation and guided relaxation, which I already advocate) and possibly incorporating new aspects of alternative care is another goal i'm also leaning toward. This is also being pushed by my wife the idealist.
#3: To successfully physically move our office practice to another larger office sometime next spring and to begin working out of a brand new cardiology hospital that's opening early next year,

10. What makes you want to work hard?
Seeing patients get better and experience improvements is a wonderful reward. Adding years to their lives is a great thing to be able to accomplish. I also work hard because I love what I do--and because it allows me to keep a son in college and a wife in medical school. Once we get them through with their various educational plans, I may retire and let them support me.

[Str8clockin]

Thnanks for taking the time to answer my questions. You answered alot of them and I appreciate it. Hopefully someday I hope to be sucessful like you and be happy. I know it's not easy to start your own business, but believe it or not this interview gave me motivation to go thru with this college course (Intro to Business). Thanks again.

[birdgirl73]

OK, back to me again. I just took my keyboard back and handed him the Chihuahua I was holding while he was sitting here. He actually typed pretty well. I'm impressed.

Thanks for the kind words, PoorMan. He does work hard at being a good physician and taking plenty of time with his patients. And he cares a lot. He makes me want to be a good physician when I get through with school, too, but I'm not going into cardiology. Too much engineering!

By the way, he may support me at home but I want to go on the record by explaining that we saved my salary for many years while I was working so I could return to school. So those savings are pretty much paying for my medical school. He is very generous to pay for the house and the other bills, however, and I appreciate that. I'll think about letting him retire when I get out and begin practicing medicine myself. . . .

[birdgirl73]

You're welcome, Str8, and my husband says "You're more than welcome. Always happy to help a future businessman." Good luck with your course! Definitely stick with school. It pays off in the long run. It's not always easy, but it is worth it.