Bonnie Koo is a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Wealthy Mom MD. As a financial coach, she empowers women physicians to take control of their finances and plan for the lives they want without stress and anxiety.
“Everyone has the same 24 hours, and I think that’s kind of a great thing for everyone to remind themselves. It’s so easy to get stuck in the weeds. A lot of people have the notion that you make money from time, and that’s one thing I’m trying to dismantle in terms of a belief among people because we all have the same amount of time. Oprah. Mark Zuckerberg. They have the same 24 hours we do, and it’s all, what do we do with that time?”
Bonnie grew up and has spent most of her adult life in New York City. Until recently, she was practicing full-time as a dermatologist. Now, she continues to practice while parenting and running her business.
KEY RESOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE
- Find Wealthy Mom MD’s eight-week online course and financial coaching offerings here:
- Find and join Bonnie’s Facebook group open to all women physician graduates who want to discuss money topics.
ABOUT THE GUEST!
Bonnie Koo, MD is a board-certified dermatologist, as well as a business owner, wife, mother and stepmother. She works as a physician on a locum tenens basis. With Wealthy Mom MD, Bonnie writes about how women physicians can manage money in addition to addressing childcare, elder care, divorce, and other unique concerns faced by breadwinning women. She offers an eight-week online course, Money for Women Physicians, as well as one-on-one financial coaching.
Website:
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
- Early in her career, Bonnie joined a Facebook group where women physicians talked about money. She was in credit card and student loan debt, but would hear her fellow residents talk about their investments. They recommended The White Coat Investor.
- Later, at a friend’s recommendation, she started a blog.
- Bonnie met Peter Kim of Passive Income MD (a former Money Checkup guest) at a financial planning conference and he encouraged her to “go big or go home.” In late 2018, she began transforming her blog into a business.
- As the business grew and her family life evolved, Bonnie switched from working full-time to locum tenens assignments.
- About a year into running her business, Bonnie has not yet taken a salary. Her backup plan is to return to a full-time schedule as a dermatologist, which would require four days of 9-to-5 work per week.
- Bonnie works with a life coach and would recommend the experience to anyone feeling burnt out or stuck.
- Bonnie recently hired a project manager and a virtual personal assistant so she can delegate some of her business tasks. That helps her free up time to focus on the things that only she can do.
- Many women physicians are the breadwinners in their families, and for now, Bonnie is the primary breadwinner in hers. She and her partner try to evaluate their situation regularly to see whether they are both happy.
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If you loved this episode, try Episode 24: Understanding Physician Burnout with Nisha Mehta, MD.
