The Three Types Of People Who Open Up A Ketamine Infusion Clinic [2022 Update]

Editor’s Note: This blog was originally published on 01-11-2021 and has been updated on 09-25-2022 to ensure accuracy, relevance, and the inclusion of the latest information.

Successfully opening, operating, and owning a medical clinic requires some self knowledge. You need to understand who you are for many reasons. One reason is so that the areas you are weak in, disinterested, or unnatural for you can be outsourced to a partner or employee. In this post, we will explore why it is important to know WHO you are, what the three archetypes needed for opening up a ketamine clinic are, and which one you might be.

Have you ever asked yourself what makes you truly happy and what makes you tick?

The Problem: Do You Remember Who You Are?

If you are a burned out physician, you are probably very much aware of things you don’t like or what doesn’t make you happy. All the years of training and personal sacrifice that allowed you to become the physician you are today can lead to disconnecting from the true you. What are we getting at? To answer that, take a moment and ask yourself a few of these questions:

• What is my life’s purpose?

• What are the most important things in my life?

• What are my values?

• What am I good at?

• What brings me joy?

Was it easy for you to answer these questions? Probably not, and we’ll tell you that when we first started our clinic, we couldn’t easily answer those questions too. Like you, we had been so focused on becoming a doctor, getting a good job, and doing well that often we would overlook what would make us happy. Both of us enjoy social connection and are naturally curious about the lives of our patients and about what makes them tick! However after years and years of “moving the meat” and having 10 minute appointment slots, the joy of interacting with patients was lost. Plus, we get so caught up in the day-to-day of our work as physicians, that it just becomes something we do automatically. So it is easy to forget what we appreciate.

To run a sustainable business means to know why you want to do it in the first place in order to keep yourself going during the hard times.

The Solution: Why It Is Important To Know Who You Are 

There are two main reasons why it is important to know who you are:

Reason #1: Successful and sustainable businesses are clear on who they are, what they value, and what their mission is, i.e. they know they’re why. Clarity on their purpose provides guidance and proactivity, instead of taking reactive business decisions. Learn more on this topic at our Why You Need A Strong Why To Start A Clinic  post. 

Reason #2: Owning and running a ketamine clinic is stressful. What’s even more stressful is pretending or kidding yourself that you are something you aren’t while running it!  A successful clinic needs all types of people, however, you typically won’t find all the traits in ONE person. The key is identifying what you are, then allying yourself with others who can support the roles you are not natural in.  You would be wasting your time and money pretending or trying to strengthen an area you are weak in. We’re all for personal growth and expanding yourself, but you'll get plenty of that in opening a clinic.

The 3 Archetypes: The Artist, The Leader, & The Entrepreneur

There are three archetypes of people who open a ketamine clinic or any business in general. Read them over to see which one resembles you the most:

Artist aka "the Talent."  The artist can imagine, create, and make the “art” needed in the business. You love the art of medicine! You are intrigued by using ketamine in a transformational way and you love using it in your regular clinical job. You’re super excited about the ketamine research and the mechanism of actions in its effectiveness. You have the vision of how you want your ketamine infusion experience to go for the patient. The act and process of creating what is needed for the clinic and honing the skills needed for delivering care is more important to you than growing the business or managing the office which runs the clinic.  

Manager aka "the Leader." You naturally motivate others and actually enjoy leading the team which will make the ketamine clinic run and thrive. Running the business, managing the staff, and making the clinic run smoother is more important than growing the business or even the actual infusion for the patient. Sure, you’re on board with ketamine, but honestly what gets you going is the idea of managing a clinic that runs well, efficiently, and effectively. You’re a go-getter. You like to make things happen and happen well.

Entrepreneur aka "the Risk Taker." You see where ketamine and even see the direction of how novel treatments can impact mental health and chronic pain. You are intrigued by how to innovate the ketamine clinic, willing to think outside of the box, take on risk, not bothered by being told “no,” and can easily raise funds to start your clinic. You actually enjoy the game of creating the business itself and how to leverage it to grow even larger.

Knowing what you're good at allows you to partner with people whose strengths are you weakness. Learn about your business owner archetype and what that means.

Who do you think you are? Here's some exercises to help figure it out!

Which archetype do you feel you are naturally?  For some it’s obvious, others not so much. Here are two exercises you can try to help figure out which one you are:

Exercise #1:  Reflect upon your past. What were the jobs or positions in high school that you enjoyed? How about college? What summer jobs did you have as a kid? For example, let’s say you were involved in the yearbook of your high school...were you the editor? Did you create the layouts? Did you go out and find business to sponsor the yearbook? What did you enjoy doing? What came to you naturally?

Exercise #2: Imagine you lost your job today, and you had to get a job tomorrow or your family would be without a home. What would you do?

A) Find a job you could apply your unique skills & trade (Artist)

B) Get a managerial position (Manager)

C) Not sweat the lost job, apply for a loan, raise capital from your friends and family, and start your life all over again (Entrepreneur)? 

Understanding Your Archetype(s) 

So, are you the risk-taking entrepreneur or perhaps the leading manager? In reality, we have aspects of each in us, but you’ll see that there is one archetype you naturally gravitate towards.  You take on a role of an archetype due to past training or out of necessity. For example, let’s say you are a natural manager, you may begin to appreciate refining the patient experience in your clinic (artist) and become more bold in securing finances for an expansion in the future (entrepreneur). 

When you are starting your business, you really want to go all-in on the role that fits you best.  With time and experience, you will develop the other two archetypes within yourself. So which one are you, and what does knowing this reveal to you?

Ready to open your own ketamine clinic and want to learn how to efficiently and effectively do so? Join our email list and be notified about the next free webinar and open registration for Ketamine StartUp.

Prefer listening to reading? We have a podcast version!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the discussion on YouTube here.

If you enjoyed this blog, check out these other blogs:

Why You Need A Strong Why To Start A Ketamine Clinic

We all have our own reasons why we want to start a ketamine clinic. However, some are stronger than others. Does it even matter if one is strong or weak? It does, actually. In this blog, we talk about the importance of a strong why.

How Limiting Beliefs Are Holding You Back from Starting Your Ketamine Clinic

In the first part of this 2-part series, we explain what limiting beliefs are and why they’re stopping you from building the ketamine clinic of your dreams.

How To Overcome Your Limiting Beliefs When Starting A Ketamine Clinic

In continuation to the first part of this 2-part series, we talk about some practical steps for you to take to rid yourself of any limiting beliefs that are stopping you from taking action and starting your ketamine clinic.

Power Of Letting Go When Starting A Ketamine Clinic

When we made the shift from working in the hospital to becoming ketamine clinic owners, we had to let go of some tools that no longer served us. In this blog, we talk about our learnings from letting go and why you should even let go in the first place. 

Knowing what you're good at allows you to partner with people whose strengths are you weakness. Learn about your business owner archetype and what that means in this blog.

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