Business Systems for Healthcare Entrepreneurs: Living in the Top 1% with Adam Lamb

In this illuminating episode of The Nathan Newberry Show, healthcare entrepreneur and business coach Adam Lamb shares powerful insights on creating systems that allow medical professionals to work less while earning more. From building and selling multiple telehealth companies to helping doctors transition from operators to true entrepreneurs, Adam reveals the mindset shifts and tactical approaches needed to thrive in today's healthcare business landscape.

Introduction: Defining High Performance in Business and Life

For Adam Lamb, high performance isn't just about business metrics—it's about intentional living across all domains. "High performance is getting clear on what's important to you and making sure to maximize the time that you're awake and asleep to fulfill that," Adam explains. This means living by your calendar and honoring your commitments, whether they're business meetings, gym sessions, date nights with your spouse, or your children's activities.

After building and selling multiple healthcare companies, Adam now focuses on helping healthcare entrepreneurs, particularly doctors, transition from being providers or owner-operators to true entrepreneurs. His platform, The 1%, emphasizes living in the top 1% in all areas of life: marriage, fitness, finances, faith, and community service.

The Journey from Mortgage Broker to Healthcare Entrepreneur

Adam's entrepreneurial journey began about 20 years ago in the mortgage industry, working for Quicken Loans (then Rock Financial) during their transition to online mortgages. This early exposure to digital business models sparked an idea: applying the same principles to healthcare.

"I saw a correlation of how I could work with people throughout the country to do certain things," Adam shares. "I loved healthcare, and I did online coaching on the side before it was a popular thing... and I saw a way to integrate this online model with the same process and tech that we were doing with the mortgage stuff."

This insight led him to launch one of the first nationwide telemedicine companies—nearly a decade before COVID-19 made telehealth mainstream. When the pandemic hit, Adam suddenly became "the telemedicine guy," with government agencies and major healthcare players seeking his expertise.

What made Adam's approach unique was his focus on systems and processes that didn't require his constant presence: "I wanted to have that four-hour workweek Tim Ferriss thing where the business runs without me."

From Technical Expertise to Mindset Coaching

After consulting with numerous doctors and healthcare providers, Adam noticed a pattern: many would implement his systems initially but gradually slide back into old habits. The problem wasn't technical—it was psychological.

"I realized it was their mindset. They couldn't let go of certain parts of the business," Adam notes. "The business is easy—I've done it hundreds of times. But if I can't get them to see the way they work and the way they spend their time differently, they're going to slide right back to their comfort zone, which is seeing every patient all the time and trading time for dollars."

This realization launched the coaching aspect of Adam's business, where he helps healthcare entrepreneurs make the critical mental shifts needed to scale their practices.

Creating Business Systems That Give Time Back

The foundation of Adam's approach is building systems that allow healthcare providers to focus only on what they truly need to do—while automating or delegating everything else.

"I take that same philosophy for them and say, 'Hey look, you're the doctor. You don't have to do all 50 of these things. You only really need to do these five things, and we can create a system and process to just put all that served right up on a silver platter for you every day,'" Adam explains.

The result? Doctors who used to work eight hours a day can accomplish their essential tasks in just two hours. This creates a virtuous cycle: with more time available, they can focus on scaling their business, adding new revenue streams, or simply enjoying more life outside of work.

Organization as the First Step

When asked about the most common struggles entrepreneurs face, Adam points to something fundamental: organization.

"I think what the first thing that I look at with all businesses and entrepreneurs or business owners is organization—where are they organized and where is it a mess?" he explains. "The fact that most don't live on a calendar, or they're not disciplined to the calendar that they set."

For healthcare providers specifically, Adam notes that "doctors are not taught business" in medical school, creating a significant knowledge gap when they try to run practices.

Efficiency and Time Management

After addressing organization, Adam focuses on efficiency—specifically how entrepreneurs spend their time:

"It's efficiency, like finding out how they spend their time, looking at situations and saying, 'Do you have to be there? No. Could you do that over the phone instead of in person? Oh yeah.'"

Adam challenges the common belief that entrepreneurs are "too busy" for improvement:

"Most people's belief is that they're too busy for more, and that's a lie. As soon as we can get them clear that they're lying to themselves, and that we can get super organized and efficient with how we spend our time, just that alone starts opening up the possibility for them to see what else we can do in their business."

Mindset Shifts: From Fear to Faith

Beyond systems and processes, Adam emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs' mindset and energy management, especially for high-achievers with intense personalities.

The Challenge of Type-A Personalities at Home

Adam acknowledges the challenge that driven entrepreneurs face when transitioning from work mode to home life:

"The challenge can be to shut that off at home. Entrepreneurially, when you're solving problems all day long and then you come home, it's easy to point out the dish in the sink... and then you suck to be around."

He teaches his clients—predominantly Type-A personalities—how to "shift gears" from their intense problem-solving mode to a warmer, more inviting presence at home:

"Learning and teaching other people to shift that gear down, how do I transition into priming myself to walk into the house where I have to be a different version of myself? It comes from accepting that we are psychopath obsessive people and realizing that it's not okay for everybody else."

Priming for Connection

Adam emphasizes a specific practice he calls "priming" to make this transition successful:

"I'm going to prime myself when I get done working to go engage with my family. A tip for every guy, whether you come home from work or whatever it looks like: start thinking about all the amazing experiences with your wife, how much you love her... And then what happens is the stuff from work goes away, and the shift of my energy is going into her."

This intentional shift in energy creates a different dynamic: "When I walk in, my energy is just different. When I go to see her, she's going to feel drawn to me versus on guard with me."

Shifting from Fear to Faith

Adam describes how entrepreneurial motivation often comes from a place of fear, especially in the early stages:

"In the beginning, early entrepreneurs—and I know I did for sure—was like fear, man. Woke up every day like, 'Broke! What if the company falls apart? February, new month, sales are zero, let's go!' But that's exhausting."

Over time, he's learned to operate from a place of faith rather than fear:

"If my fuel comes from faith because I can look back and go, 'Hey, been there, done that, figured it out,' this is just a little different, this is just a different path. I'm going to be okay, I got this, it's going to work."

This shift from fear-based to faith-based motivation creates sustainability: "Fuel from fear can be fatiguing, and that's when we get burned out... Exercising that fuel coming from faith, which is way harder, requires way more intention, way more discipline to stay focused in that path. It's easier to navigate."

Clarity on What You Really Want

A cornerstone of Adam's coaching is helping entrepreneurs get crystal clear on what they actually want—not just what they think they want.

Reverse Engineering Goals

Adam shares how he works with clients to reverse-engineer their business goals:

"I did it with a client yesterday. She's a medical biller, and she's like, 'I want more practices.' I was like, 'Okay, how many more practices?' '12.' 'Great. How many hours a week does a practice usually take you?' She's like, 'Probably 10 hours.' I was like, 'You want to work 120 hours a week?' She's like, 'Well, no.'"

He explains that unrealistic goals are self-sabotaging: "Right out of the gate, you'll never achieve your goal because subconsciously your brain knows it's not attainable. And not only is it not attainable, but you don't actually want it because you don't want to work 120 hours a week."

Starting With What You Love

Adam's approach starts with two fundamental questions:

"What do you love and how much money do you want to make? If you tell me what you love doing—it could be 'I love onboarding, I love closing the deal'—well, cool, let's hire some people to process the fulfillment piece. You stay focused on the sales side."

From there, he reverse-engineers the business model: "How much money you need to make? 'If I can make $300-400,000...' How much you charge? We just reverse engineer. 'Cool, you gotta find 10 new clients a week or 10 new clients a month.' We just put numbers to their mouth."

Conclusion: Building a Business and Life You Love

Adam's journey from mortgage broker to healthcare entrepreneur to business coach illustrates the power of systems thinking and mindset management. By helping doctors and healthcare providers get organized, create efficient processes, and shift their thinking, he enables them to work less while earning more.

But perhaps the most powerful aspect of Adam's approach is his emphasis on holistic high performance—success that spans business, relationships, health, and faith. His current focus exemplifies this philosophy: building a business that allows him to work alongside his wife of nearly 20 years.

"I want to do more with my wife," Adam shares. "I want to travel with you, I want to hang out with you every day, I want to solve problems. I want to have fun building and creating with her versus she does her thing, I do my thing, which is what we've mostly done."

This vision of entrepreneurship—one that enhances rather than competes with our most important relationships—offers a compelling model for anyone looking to build a business that supports a truly successful life.