Business
Doctor shows how to make "reel" money
■ A physician brings a little Hollywood to Kansas with a movie rental store.
By Tyler Chin — Posted Oct. 2, 2006
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: Teresa A. Reynolds, MD.
Specialty: Rheumatology.
Location: Wichita, Kan.
Business: Movies! The store rents movies and video games.
Annual revenue: The business, which opened in February, projects sales of $50,000 in its first year.
Why she started the business: Dr. Reynolds, who works at the 150-doctor Wichita Clinic, and her husband, Marshall Matthews, a police officer, were seeking to supplement their incomes. "Actually, it was my husband's idea," Dr. Reynolds said. "He has a friend ... who has video stores in Missouri and had been thinking about doing this for three years."
Movies! is doing well, she said, largely because it's located in area with a population of about 6,000, and its only competitor is the local grocery store. The business also hasn't been affected by Netflix or other mail-order video services. "We're talking a small town here, and a lot of people, I guess, aren't used to the ability [of ordering movies online from] Netflix. I mean, they see the product right there [on the shelf], they don't have to wait for it to arrive, they can come in for the product and leave with it. If they change their mind, they can get a different one the next day," she said.
Why she continues practicing: "I'm close to my patients. I enjoy my colleagues and I'm in a practice situation that I think is pretty darn close to ideal. Why would I quit?"
Words of wisdom: "Do your homework and know what you're getting into. Nobody should go into such an enterprise thinking they are going to get rich right away because that doesn't happen in virtually any business."
