36 Side Business Ideas For Doctors and Medical Practitioners [2024]
Interested in starting a doctor business in 2024?
If managed well, side business ideas for doctors can be more lucrative than employment is. So, which are the best business ideas for doctors?
We put together 37 of the best doctor businesses you can start in today.
For each business idea, we'll show you real-world examples of other doctor businesses to help you see what it takes.
Here's the full list:
1. Build a medical app
Medical apps are an integral part of any physician’s practice. Doctors need access to the latest reference materials and advances in healthcare technology. You might have a lot of medical experience, but creating a medical app can be daunting if you don’t know about coding and app building.
The medical apps market is expected to reach $314.60B in 2028. The healthcare industry is sacrificing billions of dollars annually on paperwork, filing, and an inefficient system for sharing patient information. With today’s technology, healthcare professionals can streamline this process and will be able to keep track of their patient’s records through a secure information system.
How much you can make: $100,000/month
How long does it take to build: 282 days (?)
Conduct Science founder Shuhan He co-founded Qolty, a digital health software that tracks health and patient symptoms and provides electronic surveys for patients with geofencing capabilities installed on a patient's phone, used by practitioners at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and shows promise with a 50% year-on-year growth target.
2. Start a natural health product business
A natural health products business covers many products, including foods, supplements, drinks, and weight management products. Typically, natural health products go into the production of drugs.
It is easy to imagine why you would want to start your own natural health products business. First, health and wellness are hot topics right now. Everyone wants to be happy and healthy regardless of background, culture, or economic status. Second, the natural health products industry will exhibit a CAGR of 5.3% and reach over 32 billion in the next few years.
Therefore, the natural health products business can be a profitable venture. To maximize profitability, focus on providing health products that solve the problems experienced by your target customers.
How much you can make: $35,000 — $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
SuperGreen TONIK's founder developed a greens powder supplement with 38 superfood nutrients, adaptogenic herbs, vitamins, and minerals that achieved $250k in sales in its first year and is looking to hit 7-figures in its second year, thanks to transparency, repeat customers, and focusing on fewer, properly dosed ingredients.
3. Start a dermatology business
The beauty and wellness industry is booming all across the globe. Not only has the demand for skin care, nail care, hair care, and face care products increased, but also people are conscious of the benefits of consulting experts.
If you are enthusiastic about beauty and wellness and want to start a business, you may consider starting a dermatology business. Dermatologists specialize in skin, hair, and nails. They help patients who suffer cosmetic disorders like hair loss and scars.
Cases of skin disorders among the elderly and the need for skin care and beauty solutions among younger and middle-aged people are reasons services of dermatologists are in high demand. To start the dermatologist business, research the market and choose a niche that you may specialize in.
How much you can make: $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
ProMD Health is a rapidly expanding aesthetic dermatology business, boasting a CAGR of over 40%, with four offices, a franchise, a philanthropic initiative, a tattoo removal business, a telemedicine company, and more, all while giving power to their physicians through ProMD Development Group.
4. Start a wellness and natural health business
Have you been toying with the idea of starting a business in the medical sector? How about the wellness and natural health business?
With an approximately 6.4% YoY growth rate, the health and wellness industry is one of the best business ideas you will think of starting today. Health and wellness professionals include health coaches, personal trainers, and even yoga teachers.
If you plan to start a health and wellness business in 2024, find your area of focus, and determine the kind of service or product you will provide. Research the market and find an ideal location.
You may choose the eCommerce or hybrid model, where you have a physical office and online consultation.
How much you can make: $25,500 — $200,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
Founder and CEO of SelfDecode, Joe Cohen, explains how his company helps people discover personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA and lab tests; generating about $2.7 million in revenue over the past year and raising $8 million in a crowdfunding campaign, SelfDecode provides personalized health recommendations prioritized on unique genetic variants, marking the future of healthcare.
5. Start an AI based medical equipment business
Artificial intelligence is transforming patient experience, how clinicians practice medicine, and how the pharmaceutical industry operates. Application of AI in medicine includes but is not limited to using machine learning models to search medical data and uncover insights that will help improve health outcomes and patient experiences.
AI has enabled patient self-service to chatbots, computer-aided detection systems for diagnosis, and image data analysis, which helps identify candidate molecules in drug discovery. If you are enthusiastic about applying modern technology to improve healthcare, consider starting an AI-based medical equipment business.
How much you can make: $200,000/month
AdviNOW Medical uses artificial intelligence to automate clerical work, resulting in doctors being able to focus solely on patients and patients seeing more doctors every day, leading to increased profitability while solving healthcare issues.
6. Build a health information website
According to CDC report, 74% of all U.S. adults use the internet, and 61% have looked for health or medical information online. Besides, 49% access the internet for information about particular medical conditions or problems.
So, starting a health information website is a brilliant idea!
Maybe you want to cover a specific health topic and provide readers with essential information on finding an ideal clinic, or perhaps you are starting as a health blogger. Whichever the route, you can earn commissions for referring your readers to clinics or healthcare consultants.
To get started, find a niche and consider how to grow traffic, consider email marketing and focus on increasing an emailing list. Publish credible and reliable health information and remember that consistency will help.
How much you can make: $20,000 — $200,000/month
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
Founder and CEO of SelfDecode, Joe Cohen, explains how his company helps people discover personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA and lab tests; generating about $2.7 million in revenue over the past year and raising $8 million in a crowdfunding campaign, SelfDecode provides personalized health recommendations prioritized on unique genetic variants, marking the future of healthcare.
7. Build a healthcare business process automation software
Healthcare business process management covers a sequence of executions/steps within the sector.
Unfortunately, the healthcare sector has not been among the fastest to embrace technological innovations. However, great strides have been made, and practitioners realize that manual procedures to fulfill clinical and administrative duties hampers business growth.
Thus, there is a demand for business process management software within the healthcare industry.
Starting a BPM in healthcare can be a great business if you understand healthcare process management. To start, model a prototype and pilot it before selling it to target healthcare practitioners.
How much you can make: $66,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Illumisoft, a software development company specializing in cloud migration, web applications, business solutions, and data management, has experienced consistent growth and success with 42 completed projects worth over $10M, 30 different clients, and 100% 5-star reviews, while focusing on providing services solely to the healthcare industry and changing lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
8. Start a fitness center
Are you interested in starting a business that revolves around health and body fitness? How about setting up a fitness center?
A fitness center business is a health, recreational, and social facility geared towards exercise and other physical activities. These centers serve people who may want to do workouts to get into shape and improve their overall health.
The health and fitness industry is one of the fastest-growing industries today. Some factors behind the sector’s popularity include a health-conscious population who want to avoid lifestyle-related illnesses, social media influence, and a shift towards better healthcare.
Starting a fitness center business can be a fun and profitable venture. If you plan to start the business, secure a good location, and equip your fitness center adequately. You may choose to operate entirely online or a hybrid model where you have the physical fitness center and the online one.
How much you can make: $20,000 — $39,875,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
BioFit is a fitness studio that offers safe and effective exercise through high-intensity training (HIT) methodology, using adaptive resistance exercise (ARX) machines that can achieve results in as little as 20 minutes a week, with an 80% closing ratio, over 70% client retention, 125 clients, and an average monthly revenue of $20k.
9. Become a healthcare practitioner
A healthcare practitioner is a licensed individual authorized by the state and performs within the scope of their practice as defined by state law.
Under federal regulations, such an individual can be a doctor of medicine or osteopathy, podiatrist, dentist, chiropractor, clinical psychologist, optometrist, nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, or clinical social worker.
A healthcare practitioner business runs as a private practice and, if run properly, has the potential to generate huge profits.
If you are a certified medical practitioner, starting your private practice lets you be your “own boss” and gives you the freedom to choose who to serve and where to operate. Therefore, the health practitioner business can be very lucrative.
How much you can make: $100,000 — $200,000/month
How long does it take to build: 242 days (?)
Founder and CEO of SelfDecode, Joe Cohen, explains how his company helps people discover personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA and lab tests; generating about $2.7 million in revenue over the past year and raising $8 million in a crowdfunding campaign, SelfDecode provides personalized health recommendations prioritized on unique genetic variants, marking the future of healthcare.
10. Start a health and safety training business
The health and safety business focuses on creating a safe workplace by instituting measures to prevent accidents and ensure employees' general wellness.
Health and safety professionals work with businesses to implement an employee health and safety program, ensuring compliance with the regulatory laws.
The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the demand for safety professionals will grow by over 11% in the coming decade. The statistics show a mushrooming demand for health and safety experts. In that regard, starting a health and safety business can be profitable.
How much you can make: $650,000/month
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
This case study follows the story of Brendan Torazzi, the CEO of AlertForce, a health and safety compliance training business that reached a peak turnover of almost $5 million per annum but currently remains highly profitable, and how he prioritized his lifestyle and leveraged technology to build a successful business, as well as lessons on the power of being the first and being agile.
11. Start a laboratory test business
One of the most profitable niches in the healthcare sector is the laboratory test business. Lab tests are critical to medical care as they give patients and doctors detailed, objective health data. Doctors may request patients' bloodwork, urine tests, and specialized tests to diagnose rare conditions.
Medical labs provide clinical laboratory tests for hospitals, private outpatients, and ambulatory care center patients.
Given the critical role laboratory tests play in healthcare and the demand these services attract, starting a laboratory test business can be profitable. If you plan to start a medical lab business may specialize in a particular niche or offer a wide range of laboratory tests. Understand the regulations in your region and acquire the necessary certifications.
How much you can make: $20,000/month
How long does it take to build: 1700 days (?)
Bloom Diagnostics is a healthcare startup that developed a system allowing people to measure and track blood markers from home, and within the first month it won 8 pharmacies in and around Vienna, having raised $21 million to develop the product.
12. Start a home healthcare service business
Today’s lifestyle patterns have introduced new diseases, and the demand for healthcare services is rising. As we age, we develop different health problems resulting in medical services. Thus, starting a health service business can be a lucrative opportunity with the rising demand for healthcare.
Niche markets within the healthcare industry include:
- Ambulatory surgery centers
- Medical labs
- Kidney dialysis facilities
- Outpatient clinics
- Mental health facilities etc.
To start a health service business, research the market and acquire all necessary medical equipment. You can choose a franchise or partnership or start your own health center from scratch.
How much you can make: $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 135 days (?)
Healthsols Facilitators Pvt Ltd is a medical equipment and surgical items supplier to B2B entities such as hospitals and clinics that started around 6 months ago with an investment of INR 3000 and have now recruited 18 employees in 11 cities, while planning to establish their own manufacturing unit.
13. Start an alternative health-care center
Alternative healthcare services are the health treatments not typically provided in traditional western medicine that depend on manufactured chemicals and pills to control the disease.
As an alternative healthcare consultant, your role will be to offer clients a path of health and wellness through natural means. Alternative healthcare centers also provide various services and treatments to help customers achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle through nutrition, exercise, and treatments.
If starting an alternative healthcare service, you can enter into a franchise arrangement or start your alternative healthcare center from scratch. Choose a niche you understand well, and advertise your business.
How much you can make: $20,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $4,000 (?)
Learn how one entrepreneur built a successful CBD business (with over $100,000 in inventory and 60 brands) from scratch, including what worked for them to attract and retain customers, the challenges they faced (including advertising) and advice for getting started in the industry.
14. Start a skincare products business
Skincare is a widely expanding industry estimated to exceed $189 billion by 2025. The statistics show that the skincare business is an incredible opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs in skincare.
If you have a passion for helping people look their best and want to start your own business, a skin care products business may be your opportunity.
While the industry is competitive, it also provides entrepreneurs who want to join the field with many opportunities. Determine the beauty business idea you want to launch, launch a digital presence, and develop a marketing strategy.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 150 days (?)
Beyond Botanicals, a CBD manufacturing company in the USA, focused on private label CBD, wholesale CBD, and retail CBD products, started with a $7,000 loan and rose to over $3M in annual revenue in just three years, largely due to good taste as a competitive advantage and traditional marketing approaches.
15. Start a weight loss clinic
The modern lifestyle puts us at the risk of becoming obese. Health-conscious people are looking for weight loss clinics to help them stay healthy.
A weight loss clinic provides exercise planning and weight and body measurement services. Providing weight loss advice and coaching people on dietary behavior can be fun and profitable. If you are passionate about helping people through the weight-loss journey, start your own weight loss business. It can be a medical weight loss program or a non-medical one.
To start, you must decide whether an independent weight loss clinic or a franchise option is right for you.
How much you can make: $45,000 — $100,000/month
How long does it take to build: 197 days (?)
Keto Girl Nutritionist's founder, Priscilla Blevins, shares how she started her multi-six-figure online private practice, offering a high-ticket group coaching program for women with a thyroid imbalance, went from making $150 a month to $45,000+ a month within one and a half years, all while utilizing Instagram as her primary marketing strategy.
16. Start a pharmaceutical manufacturing business
Pharmaceutical manufacturers research, develop and bring new medicines that will improve patients' health and quality of life across the globe. Although starting a medications manufacturing business requires huge capital, it can be a lucrative venture. Medication drugs are always in demand and, therefore, can be a profitable business.
How much you can make: $500,000 — $649,999,999/month
How long does it take to build: 720 days (?)
Case study: EC Nutrition, a manufacturer of nutraceuticals, started with no buildings or equipment and now operates out of a 100,000-square-foot facility, experiencing 400% growth in revenue over the past six years and anticipating another 400% increase in the next five years by expanding into new markets and launching new products targeting brain health and sports nutrition.
17. Start a VR-based healthcare app
Healthcare professionals are already using virtual reality and other emerging technologies in patient care, medical training, and other areas. According to experts, the application of VR-based healthcare Apps will reach $9.7 Billion in a few years.
The increase is attributed to the increased need for novel diagnostic tools and the rise in neurological illnesses and disease awareness. Therefore, building a VR simulator for the healthcare industry can be profitable. If you are starting a VR-based healthcare business, offer users a web application, android, and iOS apps.
18. Start a drug rehabilitation center
Are you passionate about counseling drug users and helping them live meaningful life? Opening an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center is a noble idea.
Substance abuse, tobacco, alcohol, and drug addiction are rising globally. According to research, the addiction treatment market is approximately $35 billion a year and growing. Therefore, starting a drug recovery business can be rewarding.
If you plan to start the rehabilitation center, remember that rehab centers are comparable to private medical practices. So you are required to be licensed to operate the business in the addiction field.
Thus, you must attain legal licensure and all regulations and paperwork ready to operate as a drug rehabilitation center.
19. Start a spa retreat center
Spa retreat centers offer yoga, meditation, healing treatments, and counseling sessions to support the patient in finding balance and a sense of well-being. However, wellness retreat centers can be unique, so the same classes, workshops, and treatments can differ.
With the growing demand for wellness retreat services, starting your spa retreat center can be profitable. To start, identify the target market, and establish a facility. You can offer a mobile retreat service or equip a physical facility where you will serve the customers.
How much you can make: $275,000/month
How long does it take to build: 300 days (?)
Glosshouz is a full-service day spa that offers aesthetic and wellness services and has grown to over 1000 monthly members, earning $3,311,338 in revenue in 2022, and will soon be offering franchises.
20. Start a travel medicine clinic
Are you an expert in tropical and travel medicine looking for a good business opportunity? Starting a travel medicine clinic business can be profitable. The travel clinic offers travel immunizations, other travel medications, and expert travel advisories to dignitaries.
21. Start a 24 hours medicine shop
A medicine store that remains open 24 hours a day typically earns more revenue than a store with an opening and closing time. A pharmacist can start a 24-hour medicine shop in his area. If you have no commercial experience in the drug industry, you could become a franchise partner of a reputed brand and operate 24 hours.
22. Start a health consultations business
Healthcare consultants share expertise, advise and guide healthcare organizations to make proper business decisions that promote growth and benefit their customers or patients.
To become a health consultant, you must have a related degree and earned experience. as a health consultant. You will focus on administrative efficiency, legal compliance, work environment, and procedural flow to help healthcare organizations thrive.
23. Start a health insurance claims reviewing business
24. Start a medical fairs business
25. Start a stop smoking clinics business
26. Start a private tutor business
How much you can make: $300,000/month
How long does it take to build: 1200 days (?)
Excel trainer Kat Norton utilized her 1 million TikTok followers to launch a successful software training company, earning between $250,000 and $300,000 per month with a record of $100,000 in 24 hours.
27. Start an expert legal witness business
28. Start a drive-thru clinic business
29. Start a pathological labs business
30. Start a botox clinic business
31. Start a cosmetology school
32. Start an online exams practice site
33. Start a Hospital
34. Start a skin clinic business
35. Start an eye clinic business
36. Start a childbirth service business
What business can a doctor start?
There are many businesses that a doctor can start. They could start a clinic, open up their own private practice, or work as a consultant for another medical business.
There are also many opportunities to start businesses that cater to the health and fitness industry. A doctor could open up their own gym, create a nutrition program, or develop a new line of health supplements.
Regardless of what business a doctor decides to start, they will likely have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful.
Which business is best for doctors?
There is no easy answer when it comes to finding the best business for doctors. Physicians have a number of different options, each with its own set of pros and cons.
Some of the most common businesses for doctors include private practices, clinics, and hospitals. It really depends on the doctor's individual needs and preferences as to which one is best suited for them.
How to start a business as a doctor?
If you're a doctor who's looking to start your own business, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
First, you'll need to make sure you have the financial resources in place to get your business off the ground. This includes start-up costs as well as ongoing expenses such as rent, payroll, and supplies.
Secondly, you'll need to identify your target market and create a business model that appeals to them. This may involve marketing your services to a specific industry or niche group, or creating a unique selling proposition that sets you apart from your competition.
Finally, you'll need to put together a team of qualified professionals who can help you run your business effectively. This may include hiring an accountant, lawyer, and marketing specialist.
By following these steps, you can increase your chances of success when starting a business as a doctor.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
