I suppose I could claim that I have been traveling through the remarkably lush desert landscape of Zion in search of answers. And I did, if you can count a brief, breezy national park shuttle ride during a quick family sidetrip to Utah. Incredible landscape, with amazing hikes (the shuttle driver/tour guide Bob mentioned a 900 foot vertical drop on one side of the trail and 1200 on the other, with only a chain to hang on to on the way to Angels Landing). Sounded great, but best saved for a day when I wasn't in kitten-heeled sandals and escorted by slightly less adventure-minded aunties.
But that is a fairly poor explanation for a lack of attention to this blog thing. Apology accepted?
Back to the regular world. . .
With the last several months relentlessly insisting that this just might be the absolute worst time in history to go into private practice in plastic surgery, I remain confident in Duet. That pigheadedness surely is a prerequisite for a small business owner (who ventures into entrepreneurship without believing that their idea is amazing and wild success forthcoming?).
But I really do believe in the concept and philosophy we have at Duet Plastic Surgery: two women plastic surgeons who work together for our patients. The statistics out there are pretty stark; over 90% of cosmetic surgery patients are women, but less than 10% of plastic surgeons are women. There is definitely a latent desire for female plastic surgeons. People, especially women, get so excited when I explain what I do.
It happened again today, at my first counseling session at SCORE. Jennifer and I divided and conquered today; she went to an eWomenNetwork lunch, and I sought advice from Wes and Dick at SCORE in downtown San Jose.
I found SCORE through the Small Business Administration website - free counseling with experienced executive volunteers - just what we needed. Wes and Dick - two distinguished gentlemen with extensive business and financial backgrounds, but not so much plastic surgery knowledge - were captivated by the idea of Duet. We spent an hour brainstorming about how to increase our visibility and grow our business. It was reassuring to hear that Jennifer and I have intuitively been making a lot of good business decisions (reaching out to groups with whom we have personal connections, developing strong partnerships) and identifying the areas that need more work (putting our financials into black and white).
Wes and Dick were incredibly helpful and came up with some ideas we would have never discovered on our own. I only wish I had found them sooner. There is a SCORE workshop next week that they recommended, and I've already scheduled a follow up session the week after.
In the meantime, I have homework to do.
