We were lucky to catch up with Dhivya Srinivasa recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dhivya, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I have never once regretted being a business owner, because I started out in the “regular job”. I was fresh out of fellowship and the academic system makes you feel grateful for any job at all, undermining the value and expertise in your training. I joined a prestigious institution in Los Angeles, and the red flags were abundant from Day 1. I was the only female in the division, I was not offered equal pay to a male colleague despite my overwhelming contributions to productivity (we have numeric metrics for this, it is not up for interpretation), and I had no real control over my time and schedule. I decided to leave and launch my own private practice and I am so excited to see more and more physicians doing the same. Here’s the thing, when you work for these big hospital systems, you have no control over your staff and very little control over your own time. You are told how much clinic to have, when you can do surgery, and your other hours are spent on committee and research meetings. Having my own private practice has its challenges, but there is not one day where I am not directly compensated for my work, where my staff does not reflect who I am and the ethos of my practice, and never do I spend time doing anything that doesn’t fill my bank account or my soul.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a double board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction. Specifically, I am known for advanced all natural reconstruction (using microsurgery) and direct to implant reconstruction. I am proud to say I own my own practice, and busier than ever! I took a leap of faith, and bet on myself. I knew my work ethic, skillset, and what the market needed. I chased that with intention, and now have a successful practice that represents what physicians can do if we reclaim our power. We are beholden to big institutions, universities, and insurance companies. Administrators tell us how to practice medicine when we are the ones with the degrees and training. Private practice has been freeing for me, allowing me to give patients the time they need. I have also started other businesses including commercial real estate and my own health inclusive skin care line. I felt free when I left the hospital system I worked for. I now spend my time working on projects that fill my cup, and it sure allows for a more lucrative return as well.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social Media requires authenticity. In order to be authentic, you have to be willing to be controversial, because not everyone will agree with you. However, the people that do, they find you so much easier and they stick around because you are compelling. My biggest advice with social media is not to worry about production value, but rather, authenticity in content. I had less than 10 k followers last June. In less than a year I am exceeding 160k followers. I can promise you there is nothing over produced about my content. It is as diverse as I am, spanning politics, women’s health, fashion and so much more.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn pattern recognition. In medicine, it’s a lot of how we practice medicine and learn to quickly diagnose and treat. In business, although it can be useful, you have to throw out the rulebook and “patterns” to really succeed. Doing what others have already done did not serve me well. I had to take a fresh lens and evaluate my goals to figure out the best path to get there. Chances are, that path for you is not what someone else has already done.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://avarwell.com
- Instagram: drdhivyasrinivasa
