A Telemedicine Question Provides Business Insights

This Week’s Real Life Lesson

A PEA Client Question I Could Not Ignore

I was sitting at my desk early in the morning, coffee in hand, scanning through emails before shifting into clinical work, when one message stopped me cold.

It was from a Physician Entrepreneur Academy subscriber. I will call her Dr. Patel.

Dr. Patel had purchased one of my courses, Creating a Practice Without Walls, with a very specific expectation. She was not angry. She was not demanding. She was clear, professional, and honest.

Her question was simple.

“As a regular reader of your blog, your course covered many of the things you talk about. I was hoping for more practical guidance, or a playbook, on starting a virtual or telemedicine practice. Is that something you offer?”

That question matters more than it might appear at first glance.

Because it was not really about the course.

It was about trust.

Where I Was When It Hit Me

I have been building physician facing content for years. Blogs. Courses. Consultations. Coaching programs. Free resources. Paid resources. Memberships.

From my side of the table, it all made sense.

From Dr. Patel’s side, something was misaligned.

She had read my writing. She had followed my work. She had invested her money and her time. And despite all of that, she felt unsure whether the system had delivered exactly what she thought she was buying.

That moment matters in micro business ownership.

Not because you did something wrong, but because that is precisely where weak systems reveal themselves.

What Happened Next

I could have done what many businesses do.

I could have defended the product. I could have cited the curriculum. I could have redirected her to the fine print. I could have upselled her to another business product or service.

Instead, I sent her the resources she was actually looking for, even though they normally sit behind a paywall.

That decision cost me a small amount of revenue.

It earned something far more valuable.

Credibility and trust.

The Lesson Most Physicians Miss About Entrepreneurship

Most physicians enter business ownership believing the hard part is knowledge.

Licensing. Technology. Compliance. Tax strategy. Entity formation.

Those things matter.

But the real friction point is expectation management.

When you sell expertise, you are not selling information. You are selling clarity.

If your customer cannot immediately tell whether your product is right for them, the system is not finished.

This is one of the most common problems I see when physicians step into entrepreneurship.

You build something useful. You price it fairly. You assume people will understand what it is.

They do not.

And that is not their fault.

The Surprising Micro Business Insight

Here is the part that surprises most doctors.

Refunds are not failures.

Refunds are feedback.

Every refund exposes a gap between what you thought you communicated and what your customer actually heard.

Dr. Patel did not just ask about telemedicine.

She revealed that I needed to be clearer about what each PEA resource does and does not do.

That clarity protects your time, your reputation, and your energy.

It also prevents resentment on both sides.

Case Study

Dr. Patel, Internal Medicine, Early Stage Entrepreneur

Dr. Patel works full-time clinically. She is curious about virtual care, location-independent income, and flexibility. She does not want-theory. She wants operational direction.

Her mistake was not buying the wrong course.

Her mistake was assuming every educational product labeled entrepreneurship automatically includes tactical telemedicine training.

That assumption is common.

The fix is not better customers.

The fix is better systems.

How This Applies to Your Own Micro Business

If you are building any of the following, this applies directly to you.

A cash based clinic. A telemedicine service. A consulting offer. An online course. A coaching program. A membership community.

Ask yourself one hard question.

Would a smart, motivated peer know exactly what this product does after reading the sales page once?

If the answer is no, the problem is not marketing.

The problem is definition.

A Note on Telemedicine Expectations

Telemedicine is one of the most misunderstood areas of physician entrepreneurship.

Many doctors assume it is plug and play.

It is not.

It is a clinical model, a business model, a complimentary model, and a lifestyle choice.

That is why I often point physicians back to foundational thinking before jumping into tools. If you want a deeper framing around location independent practice and autonomy, revisit prior essays of location-independent practice and autonomy, revisit prior essays on The Independent Physician blog, such as Location Independence For Working Doctors.

If you want to know more about telemedicine, you can start here in my eBook: A Physician’s Guide To Telemedicine

Is This Deductible?

Is refilling the rental car gas on a business trip deductible?

Short answer. Yes, in most cases.

If you rented a car for a legitimate business trip, refueling the vehicle before return is considered part of the ordinary and necessary expense of that rental. The cost of gas is deductible as a business travel expense.

The key is documentation.

Business purpose. Receipts. Consistency.

If you want a physician-specific breakdown of travel deductions and how to document them correctly without crossing IRS lines, this is covered in one of my PEA guides designed specifically for doctors who operate micro businesses.

Why I Built the Physician Entrepreneur Academy Differently

PEA exists because physicians deserve business education that respects their intelligence and their time.

Not hype. Not promises. Not shortcuts.

Clear expectations. Clear systems. Clear outcomes.

That is why we offer free resources, low-cost entry points, and optional deeper coaching.

It allows you to explore without pressure.

Join the Movement

“Physicians were never meant to be employees for life. We were meant to be stewards of our skills, our time, and our judgment.”

If you are ready to build your career around your life instead of fitting your life around a job, you are not alone.

📬 Join the PEA Explorer Membership Get access to foundational education, curated tools, and a growing community of clinicians building sustainable micro businesses.

Join here https://www.simplimd.com/PEAMembership

You can also start with a 1:1 Business Strategy Consultation with me that is designed to help you rethink autonomy, income, and professional control as a physician. Let’s talk and find out how you can move towards independence in the marketplace.

Final Thought

Dr. Patel did not challenge my expertise.

She challenged my system.

And that made it better.

If you want to think like an owner, learn to listen when smart people ask good questions.

Those questions are not obstacles.

They are upgrades.