How My Lifelong Love of Horses Inspired My Medical Business

For years, Barb Blasko led two lives: She was an ER physician in southern California during the workweek and an equestrian in her time off. Then, after practicing medicine for about 15 years, she saw an opportunity to merge her profession and her lifelong passion. In 2021, Barb formally launched ShowMD, a small business that provides medical care to riders at horse shows. This is Barb’s Side Gig Story.

A market gap she couldn’t ignore

At horse shows, there are all sorts of services for ponies, including grooming, stall preparation, mane braiding, and on-site veterinary care. But, for a long time, one thing that was hard to find was high-quality medical care for humans.

Barb began competing in horse shows at age seven and she continued as an adult. But, when she got into medicine, she kept her hobby separate from her career — she’d trade out her scrubs for jodhpurs and go into full equestrian mode. But, as the need for a good doctor at horse shows became increasingly apparent, Barb became more open about being Dr. Blasko. Around 2010, Barb recalls, people started asking her for medical help during competitions: “Over time, enough people started asking me and I realized this is a service that’s really needed.”

Within just over a decade, what started as an off-duty doctor reluctantly offering her expertise evolved into a successful four-person company. ShowMD, which is now four years old, has a seven-figure revenue goal for 2025 — a number Barb says she narrowly missed last year.

Turning an idea into a business

Once Barb knew she had a blockbuster idea, did her homework and identified the top items on her business-building to-do list:

Insurance: Barb did research to understand which types of insurance she’d need to have for an independently owned medical practice. Coverage for liability and malpractice were must-haves. But, because she travels with shows, there was an additional factor to consider: “I made sure my malpractice covers me in all the states I’m licensed in, which is 10.” The price of liability insurance varies by state. Nevada, for example, is on the steep end, so she anticipates paying a higher fee when she sets up shop at a show in Las Vegas.

A financial team: Barb uses an accountant and a bookkeeper to keep ShowMD’s financial operations running smoothly. “I try to do everything and follow the right rules,” she said.

"People in the industry want to partner with me and offer me money and I just turned them all down."

Education: She sought out educational resources to learn more about creating, running, and growing a business. A website called EntreMD proved to be a game-changer. EntreMD’s founder is Dr. Una, who started a profitable private practice and then began coaching other physicians on how to build businesses that generate wealth and fulfillment. There are courses, communities, a podcast, and other forms of support to help physicians think creatively about their careers. Barb has found a course called the business school program to be especially valuable.

Funding: Most new entrepreneurs need to decide how to fund their ventures: Do you pursue outside capital, self-fund, or do both? Every funding model has drawbacks and advantages.

Several years before Barb launched ShowMD, she had a different side gig. She took money from investors to fund it, which gave other people a say in how she ran her business. Based on that experience, Barb decided to bootstrap ShowMD. “From the first mobile clinic that I have, everything I've paid cash for. I haven't financed anything, and it's all been money from the business that I've rolled over and put back into the business,” she said. “People in the industry want to partner with me and offer me money and I just turned them all down because I didn't want anyone owning this business. It's mine.”

The advantage of an insider perspective

Having been an equestrian herself for many years, Barb had first-hand knowledge of the specific medical services needed at horse shows.

Barb is on site during competitions: She works out of a portable ShowMD clinic to assist equestrians with common ailments and injuries, such as broken bones, minor fractures, lacerations, and horse or dog bites. While any qualified, licensed physician could provide the same care, Barb believes her insider perspective sets ShowMD apart. For example, because equestrians often lead more transient lifestyles, many don’t have ongoing relationships with physicians at home. Also, they often only have one day off per week, which is usually Monday, a notoriously hard day to book doctor’s appointments.

When horse shows shut down during Covid, she pivoted to a new strategy: She “soft-launched” her business with only core services.

In addition to providing emergency care and concierge services, she also makes house calls for patients. In all cases, patients pay out of pocket for ShowMD’s services.

Letting patient requests guide growth

Barb has taken a cautious approach when it comes to making major purchases and expanding the services she offers. She first tried to start ShowMD in 2020. But, when horse shows shut down during Covid, she pivoted to a new strategy: She “soft-launched” her business with only core services and then offered more services as patients requested them. Core services are basic things, like treatment for dehydration and animal bites. This more gradual roll-out helped Barb scale ShowMD on a realistic timeline, without worrying about running out of money. “I waited, and then if enough people asked for a service,” she said, “I looked at it in terms of how much it would cost to deliver, how many people would use it, and what my profit was going to be.”

Barb jokes that emergency medicine has become her “side gig," even though she still works in the ER of a teaching hospital.

One recent purchase was an X-ray machine that cost about $40,000. There was enough demand for it to justify the hefty price tag. “Over time,” Barb said, “it’s paid for itself and made me money.”

Cosmetic Botox is another service that Barb started offering because patients requested it. She took training courses through Empire Medical Training and then gave free injections to friends and family. Once she felt confident enough, she began administering Botox to patients. “I do a fair amount of Botox,” she said. “As an ER doctor, I’m very good at learning procedures. Now, I’m comfortable with it and I have people that will only come to me, so it’s kind of nice.”

Giving back through career guidance

Barb jokes that emergency medicine has become her “side gig” now, even though she still works in the ER of a teaching hospital. Part of her personal mission is helping the residents she trains understand what jobs are possible outside a clinic or hospital.

Groups she’s joined on social media have revealed how dissatisfied her peers are with the current state of medicine. This has further motivated Barb to make sure that other physicians, especially those early in their careers, are aware of alternative paths. “I think that other doctors doing innovative things can give people some hope,” she said.

For doctors interested in entrepreneurship, Barb offers four pieces of advice:

• Assemble a dream team: As soon as possible, hire experts you trust so you're not running every aspect of your business yourself. In Barb’s case, she outsourced accounting and bookkeeping to experts early on and considers the decision a worthwhile investment.
• Know your niche: Barb is at an advantage with her target patients because she’s from their world. Her insider knowledge helps her tailor ShowMD's services to the medical needs and interests of equestrians.
• Level up over time: Rather than offer every conceivable service right away, start with core services and let patient requests inform your expansion decisions.
• Give back: By sharing her career experience with interns at her hospital, Barb is helping early-career physicians get comfortable thinking outside the box. Given how widespread job dissatisfaction is in medicine, it's important for doctors to support one another.