Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

How COVID-19 forced me to pivot and accelerated my business growth  

Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD
Finance
June 9, 2020
38 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Since 2008, after embarking as a full-time entrepreneur, my career has been a series of peaks and valleys. By 2016, I had achieved FIRE status in my mid-thirties by investing in residual income-producing investments, including real estate and equities.

As a result, I was able to take a year-off sabbatical to contemplate my next career move. In 2017, I then started my consulting company to reach more people and make a larger impact. I saw the impact that technological innovation was creating in the health care field. For the next three years, my company was growing and expanding. It was doing well, but I knew going into 2020, I would have to develop and expand into different skillsets and areas to take my company to the next level.

Right when everything was in place for 2020 expansion, COVID-19 hit. All of my business plans for scaling and implementation were sidetracked. I had to adjust and pivot quickly. COVID-19 forced me to amplify my reach by building out my social media channels, and figure out how to create new business opportunities and revenue streams through purely online channels. As a result of greater technological adoption, I secured multiple online speaking and business opportunities and pivoted more into the digital world during a time when human-human contact wasn’t allowed. This alone mitigated over 90% of the sudden business disruptions.

COVID-19 has forced all of us to use technology to a greater extent to adapt to the sudden disruption. Without a doubt, COVID-19 has spurned a huge wave of innovation introducing new business models and transforming existing business models in every sector, including health care. Moving forward, technologies such as telemedicine, VR-AR-MR, and the blockchain will play a huge role in bringing about new ways of educating, interacting, and communicating with each other, whether it be in the office, social, business events, and other ways currently unimaginable.

Moreover, social media will play an even larger role in our profession because now each individual physician has a plethora of media distribution channels to amplify their voice and spread their message in creative and innovative ways, something that was not present in 2008. Not only will physician burnout, finances, and well being be continually addressed but other emerging issues including alternative careers, income streams from non-clinical means, and a whole host of other topics will be brought to the forefront as a result of the COVID-19 technology acceleration.

As a result of the last four months, I’ve seen that we live in a time where there are infinite resources, abundance, and opportunity. It all depends on who accepts and embrace that idea. I’ve trained in times when there was no social media, to the rise of the first physician blogs such as the White Coat Investor and KevinMD, to today where every physician can have a voice through so many different social media channels, and they can use the various mediums to address the complex issues plaguing the profession today.

COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise, working in a pressure incubator akin to the “startup” culture. From our lowest and most uncertain points, COVID-19 has given us the strength and resolve to recreate, reestablish, and define our lives based on our own individual values, and not those that have been conditioned or assigned to us. Having grown and learned so much over the last four months, this experience has given us the tools, resources, experience, knowledge, skillset, and confidence to go out, expand, and make more of a positive difference in our profession using the technological acceleration brought about by COVID-19.

Christopher H. Loo is a physician and author of How I Quit My Lucrative Medical Career and Achieved Financial Freedom Using Real Estate.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Providing clinician support in times of calm and chaos

June 9, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

June 9, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease, Practice Management

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Providing clinician support in times of calm and chaos
Next Post >
The racial disparities of COVID-19 [PODCAST]

More by Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD

  • The most valuable health care companies of tomorrow will be technology companies

    Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD
  • Economic uncertainty is the new norm, but financial insecurity doesn’t have to be

    Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD
  • The recent closing of Amazon Care shows the magnitude of the challenge in changing health care

    Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD

Related Posts

  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • State sanctioned executions in the age of COVID-19

    Kasey Johnson, DO
  • A patient’s COVID-19 reflections

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Starting medical school in the midst of COVID-19

    Horacio Romero Castillo
  • COVID-19 shows why we need health insurance

    Jingyi Liu, MD

More in Finance

  • From pennies to attending salaries: Why physicians should teach their kids financial literacy

    Michele Cho-Dorado, MD
  • Retirement planning: Understanding sequence of returns risk

    Jordan Bilodeau, CFP
  • The short-term rental tax loophole: a game-changer for physicians

    Jeff Anzalone, DDS
  • Why every doctor should have a side gig

    Anonymous
  • Maximize your practice’s revenue: Follow these 5 billing metrics

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Heather Signorelli, MD
  • Character, not cash: the ingredients of a happy and meaningful life

    Miguel Villagra, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of misery in medicine: a practical guide

      Paul R. Ehrmann, DO | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlock the power of physician compensation data in contract negotiations [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From pennies to attending salaries: Why physicians should teach their kids financial literacy

      Michele Cho-Dorado, MD | Finance
    • From solidarity to co-liberation: Understanding the journey towards ending oppression

      Maiysha Clairborne, MD | Physician
    • Changing the pediatric care landscape: Integrating behavioral and mental health care

      Hilary M. Bowers, MD | Conditions
    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 4 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Pregnant, Black? Here's Your Drug Test
  • Progestin-Only Birth Control Linked to Small Increase in Breast Cancer Risk
  • Fatty Acid Tube Feeding May Backfire for Preemie Breathing Disorder
  • Case Reports Detail Vision Loss Linked to Recalled Artificial Tears
  • Admin Trumps Med Students: Anti-Abortion Group Allowed on Campus

Meeting Coverage

  • Outlook for Itchy Prurigo Nodularis Continues to Improve With IL-31 Antagonist
  • AAAAI President Shares Highlights From the 2023 Meeting
  • Second-Line Sacituzumab Govitecan Promising in Platinum-Ineligible UC
  • Trial of Novel TYK2 Inhibitor Hits Its Endpoint in Plaque Psoriasis
  • Durable Vitiligo Responses With Topical Ruxolitinib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • From physician to patient: one doctor’s journey to finding purpose after a devastating injury

      Stephanie Pearson, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the stigma: Addressing the struggles of physicians

      Jean Antonucci, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of misery in medicine: a practical guide

      Paul R. Ehrmann, DO | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Why are doctors sued and politicians aren’t?

      Kellie Lease Stecher, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Unlock the power of physician compensation data in contract negotiations [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • From pennies to attending salaries: Why physicians should teach their kids financial literacy

      Michele Cho-Dorado, MD | Finance
    • From solidarity to co-liberation: Understanding the journey towards ending oppression

      Maiysha Clairborne, MD | Physician
    • Changing the pediatric care landscape: Integrating behavioral and mental health care

      Hilary M. Bowers, MD | Conditions
    • Contract Diagnostics is the only firm 100 percent dedicated to physician contract reviews

      Contract Diagnostics | Sponsored
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

How COVID-19 forced me to pivot and accelerated my business growth  
4 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...