Oregon physician makes wood work

Making sidelines pay

Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it.
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Name: James Burke, MD.

Specialty: Obstetrics and gynecology.

Location: Eugene, Ore.

Business: Woodcraft, a franchise business that sells woodworking tools, products and finishes.

Annual revenue: $1.5 million.

Why he started the business: After losing his job when the hospital he worked for closed in late 1998, he decided he didn't want to practice medicine anymore and took a year off to remodel a house.

During that period, "To tell you the truth, I was sitting on my couch one day bored reading a woodworking magazine and there was an ad in it that said, 'Turn in your tie for an apron. Buy a Woodcraft franchise.' So I did."

The fact that Dr. Burke's hobby for most of his adult life involved working with wood also influenced his decision to open a wood product specialty store.

"I turn bowls on a lathe and I've built a lot of my own furniture in my home -- cabinets, entertainment [centers], beds and that kind of thing. Plus I've bought old, rundown places, fixed them up and resold them. It's what I've always done for fun and relaxation."

Why he stopped practicing: "I think it was a couple of things. One was all the paperwork. I truly was spending more time every day filling out forms and dealing with insurance companies and having to code and document everything, which I was very careful about. But I was spending more time doing that than taking care of patients.

"Two, being a solo ob-gyn in a small community, I didn't really get vacations or breaks. To go to the big city to see a movie was a major undertaking. It just burned me out."

Words of wisdom: "You need to have the funds put away to be able to start a business and survive because it's a lot harder than anybody thinks," he said.

"I had to learn to live on a lot less income than I had [as a physician], and we used most of my savings ... to start and open the business. That's been fine. It's worked well, but it's a huge, huge change for someone who is going to do that."