From ACPE:
Becoming an entrepreneur is about changing a mindset, not having a big idea.
“Ninety percent of the people who try to start a new business do it because they have a great idea,” said Thomas O’Malia, who is teaching
Entrepreneurial Thinking at
ACPE’s 2012 Fall Institute. “But they’re the only ones who think it’s a great idea. They hold onto it for the bragging rights and talk about it at the bar. But that’s not what’s involved.”
As an instructor and a self-described “recovering entrepreneur,” O’Malia enjoys helping physicians embrace their entrepreneurial sides. But that means letting go of some preconceived ideas and being open to change.
The first lesson: The key to success is not having a big idea, it’s about finding something that causes pain or annoyance and coming up with a means for correcting it.
“If I identify a pain and I fix it, I will have people loving me for life,” O’Malia said.
To illustrate, O’Malia enjoys telling his students the story of Frederick W. Smith, a student at Yale University. Before his exams, Smith’s mother in San Francisco sent him a care package filled with all of his favorite things: cookies, T-shirts and lots of fresh fruit. But by the time it reached Smith, the fruit had spoiled and ruined the rest of the package