There Is No Secret

When it comes to Chinese medicine school one of the biggest complaints people have is the lack of business training they received. They graduate school feeling completely unprepared on how to open a practice and keep it running. They feel duped and resentful that their school let them out into the wild to flail and put blame on them for their business struggles. 

While I agree that the business education at most Chinese medicine schools is far from comprehensive, I tend to give schools more than a little slack. Here’s why:

First and foremost, Chinese medicine schools are MEDICAL schools. Their priority is to teach students medical theory and train them on how to practice medicine. If they were to have a fully comprehensive, graduate-level business training included they would likely have to tack on at least another 2 years of curriculum (and tuition). Besides, business degrees and entrepreneurship are not necessarily connected. In fact, only 44% of entrepreneurs in America have a college degree (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/19/survey-shows-majority-of-business-owners-lack-college-degree.html)

There is no shortage of resources and content teaching you the nuts and bolts of business. And a ton of it is free. There are entire sections at bookstores, trainings, and workshops dedicated to this one subject. And, of course, there’s the Internet. I built half my practice with the help of YouTube 🤣 Yet people still think there’s some secret to business that they haven’t tapped into yet. The thing that will turn the corner for them and all of sudden they have the clinic of their dreams. 

I’m here to tell you THERE IS NO SECRET. There is no magic button. All there is to business is trying shit, then seeing if it works. If it doesn’t, try something else, then see if it works. Try, fail, try, fail, try, fail… until something works. Then you add that thing that works. Rinse & repeat. The “how” is all out there. The key is picking one of those hows, commit to doing it, and having a willingness to fail. That’s it. 

You can say that your CM school didn’t prepare you for business and you would be right. But continuing to think that is the reason why you can’t get your business off the ground doesn’t get your business off the ground. Holding on to that story only blocks you from accessing your own resourcefulness, wisdom, and courage. 

So you’re not lacking the nuts and bolts. Tons of teachers and mentors are out there touting that their way is THE way. And it may be for them. And it may be for you. But you’ll never know until you take that first leap.