#227: Dr. Vonda Wright: Getting People to Believe in your Vision & Leveraging Networking Opportunities

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner, and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast talks with Dr. Vonda Wright, MD, MS, orthopedic surgeon and internationally recognized authority on active aging and mobility. Vonda shares several gold nuggets based on her experiences as an entrepreneur, speaker, and author. She also talks about her passion for healthy aging and the importance of networking for women. 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Vonda grew up on a farm in Kansas, and she got her work ethic and entrepreneurial drive from her family.
• The #1 job of an entrepreneur is to get people to believe in your vision. 
• In the field of orthopedics, less than 6% are women. On corporate membership boards, it’s 4% and far less in leadership roles within orthopedics. Vonda was able to rise to an executive-level by starting businesses within her expertise.
• The greatest challenge Vonda faced as a woman in orthopedics was the lack of networking that most men have. 
• In 2015, Vonda began exploring aging and longevity. Through her academic research and studies, she discovered another way to age and began speaking at unpaid gigs and writing consumer-facing books.
• She built her thought leadership while she worked on product development as well. 
• Her books are a tool to get her word out. If you’re interested in writing a book to create a new revenue stream, have a marketing plan within your book proposal to attract a publishing house.
• Vonda hired a PR company to launch her first two books. It was expensive yet worth it. She has three other books in various stages, and because of her increased following, she can now worry less about PR and spend more time engaging with her community.
• Vondra’s overarching life mantra is to change the way people age. Her support verticals include books, products, her orthopedic surgeon expertise, and her nonprofit.  
• Her nonprofit is called Women’s Health Conversations, which she launched in 2012 to gather women together for networking. 
• Vonda's advice? It’s not a zero-sum game; embrace an abundance mindset. 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. Entrepreneurs, especially founders and solopreneurs, need to wear many hats and get people to believe in their vision. Develop your product, your message, and yourself as a thought leader early on. 
2. Vonda’s book-writing process starts with spilling your brain. Find the main idea and the promise of that idea. Then, develop a cogent table of contents. Your first couple of sentences should draw readers in and should also connect to the last chapter.
3. People find time for what’s important for them. It’s all about work-life integration and choosing to do the right things.

TWEETABLE QUOTES:

“The number one job of an entrepreneur is—sometimes—to do everything.” - Dr. Vonda Wright

“I can trace a lot of my success back to one introduction, one meeting I was allowed to go to.” - Dr. Vonda Wright

“Sometimes you have to pivot your business to meet what customers are telling you.” - Dr. Vonda Wright

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