A Psychologist Turned Podcaster | Thousand Faces Club

Conversations with some are quite enlightening! And yet they’re not limited to life-altering conversations — they’re also what we enjoy and have a good feeling later on. We’re bringing your way one such chat we’ve had with Dr. Melvin Varghese — a psychologist turned podcaster and creator. Dr. Melvin says he quit his psychologist job for a six-figure online business around his family, and writes about courses, podcasting, and the creator journey. 💪🏻

Who is Dr. Melvin Varghese?

Now, let’s dive right into the conversation! 👇🏼

Thousand Faces Club: When was that moment when you decided to become a full-time creator and diversify your income?

Dr. Melvin: We all grow up thinking a stable job is a must, but our understanding of a job has often been trading time for income. During my private practice, I saw 25 clients and did two test assessments weekly. And if a client canceled a session or I fell sick, I wouldn't get paid as I was independent, not salaried. I figured this wasn't very sustainable — soon a massive snow blizzard hit Philadelphia where I lived and I had to cancel 22 clients. Uncertainty and the need to save up lingered, and I thought there should be another way. On connecting with colleagues who were in group therapy, we realised none of us took business or marketing classes seriously. So we started learning through books, videos, conversations, and that’s when I took to podcasting. I thought I have all these years of experience listening, asking questions, deep-dive into topics, and decided to apply all that to a different medium. I decided to apply clinical skills and also create courses.

Thousand Faces Club: How did you identify your voice as a podcaster?

Dr. Melvin: When I started the podcast, I interviewed successful therapists and folks in marketing and businesses. Over time, I've done solo podcasts too. But something I've maintained consistently throughout is to avoid surface-level conversations. I prefer diving deep into topics and having those deep human moments, which helped me crack my voice as a creator.

Thousand Faces Club: Interesting! How did you then monetise the podcast?

Dr. Melvin: This was my biggest fear and in 2015, I wasn't a full-time creator. I was still practicing so podcasting and blogging were my side hustles. Months later, I launched my online course, and while it wasn't making a lot of money, people were still buying it. That's when I started taking brand sponsorships and in the first year, it was at $2,000 and doubled down the next year. And then there was affiliate marketing — but high-value content was what led to monetisation.

Check out: Dr. Melvin’s Launch Your Online Course + Create A Life You Love

Thousand Faces Club: Right! That makes sense. Now, many creators struggle with work-life balance. Were you able to nail it?

Dr. Melvin: Very early on in my creator journey, I decided to have a structure in my life. So, I do my deep work early in the morning and usually move on to interviews or content production after that. I also include 45-minute hikes and power naps and wrap my days up with a sacred writing or learning time. After 5 pm, it's only family time.

Thousand Faces Club: Last question: is there something you'd do differently if you could go back in time? 👇🏼