Bulletproof Dental Practice

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 81 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden Guest: Jacob Puhl, DEO Dental Group   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Perspective on dental industry Operationalizing: Consolidation of the highly fragmented dental industry Practices are becoming legitimate well-run businesses Locations are going from a lifestyle business to cost & convenience Consolidation allows the easy button to be hit in the dental industry Create efficiencies in the practice Tendency is to open more locations but the goal is to expand your current location Duplicity of functions under 1 location is key Success Formula Just make what you’re doing is the best that it can be Instill sound principles and think like an executive 1 step at a time vs taking 10 steps Abundantly thinking towards next step Decide what your next best dollar is Open an extra 2 hrs/day, add specialties, reduce cost or raise revenue Nature vs Nurture Entrepreneurship can be learned by dentists The key is to know yourself and know what you’re capable of Have at least one business-minded person on your team Hire for your inadequacies Have a support system with like-minded people DEO Based on Mastermind Formula Focus on 3 things; grow yourself, grow your people, grow your business   References: Scrum Methodology DEO 2018 Fall Summit – Should I Build, Sell, or Partner?  Use code BULLETPROOF for $100 Off Registration Dr. Marc Cooper Mastering the Business of Practice by Dr. Marc Cooper   Tweetables: Make what you’re doing the best that it can be. – Dr. Peter Boulden Don’t shrink your way to greatness. – Dr. Peter Boulden Grow yourself, grow your people, grow your business. – Jacob Puhl

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 80 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Dr. Cory Glenn, VP of Technology for Blue Sky Bio   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Quick Genesis: Dr. Cory Glenn Graduated in 2008, started in solo practice right away Treated Leukemia but back pain never got better Sold the practice due to health issues Overview of where the digital workflow is and where it’s going Digital isn’t new but it is finally accessible The digital space is not a cost impediment Example: Practice Clear Liner Ortho for under $300 a case with a $5k 3d printer Pros and Cons for 3D Printers Moonray Quality printer Plays nice with more materials Simple printer Formlabs Quality printer Closed approach on what materials they will develop profiles for Recommended Digital Printer: Moonray Not because of accuracy but because of materials Speed of print Multi-functional Scanner used to capture information: Shining 3D DSEX Scanner Scans in 5 minutes PVS vs Digital Scanning PVS is preferred, cost is better, builds experience, is less demanding and easier Digital Scanning makes you a better Dentist Discovery of Scanning Impressions Relatively new 2-3 years ago Digitizing workflow and improving accuracy Never send a physical impression to lab Take a physical impression then scan Send STL file to Lab Pronto (Uber for Dentistry) Lab will send back a digital crown made from file Do not need a printer for this process unless you want to print a model to cross-check Recommend Digital Wax ups on everyone because it’s valuable Hire 1 employee that only makes digital wax ups DSD vs Digital Wax Up DSD offers a higher level of service DSD is more expensive Denture Technology One of the most important things a new Dentist should learn Insurance reimbursement for Dentures is very poor yet the lab bill is the highest Dentures are time consuming Digital dentures do not solve these issues Digital dentures are more expensive, does not cut down on time, does not cut down on appointments Blue Sky Plan helps solve these issues with free software, Lab Pronto, printers & scanners Technology is ready to deploy in dentures. A few options include: Print teeth in white and print base in pink then bond together Monolithic denture MFH is a fav Print base, place teeth, then let lab process   References: Moonray 3D Printer Formlabs 3D Printer Shining 3D Scanner Blue Sky Plan Lab Pronto IDT Dental Lab Darin Throndson   Tweetables: You can’t unring the bell when you show patients what they can look like. – Dr. Peter Boulden Cheaper, easier, better is the goal. – Dr. Cory Glenn

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 79 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guests: Tyler Yim and other students from Temple University   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Questions: What is the most valuable resource you use when you were learning how to run a successful business and still use today? YouTube is a great learning source. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Failure is a great way to learn. Look to textbooks for dental education and model successful retail businesses for business education. Podcasts are another great resource. Look for CE outside the realm of dentistry. Did you utilize coaches and consultants as you were growing? Craig is a huge Tony Robbins fan. Suggests looking outside of dentistry. Pete and Craig share a coach to hold each other accountable. You never want to get to the point where you think you’ve figured it out and don’t have to learn anymore. Look for a coach outside of dentistry, more in business. Knowing what you know now about DSO’s, how would you change your business model? There is a lot of runway for awesome, quality practices. Whatever model you ultimately choose just be sure you shoot to be the BEST you can be. Consumers are expecting a lot. It’s very hard to do alone and solo as a new dentist. There’s safety in numbers. The future for dental specialty is concerning, particularly because of disruption from technology. The future belongs to the super GP. It’ll be easier to have larger offices in a wider geographic area. What do you recommend to new grads as far as overcoming obstacles? Work for someone for a couple years instead of starting a practice right away. Very few licensed dentists are ready to go right out and kill it on their own. GPR’s are valuable. What would be the most ideal pathway for getting the largest scope and the most experience at the fastest amount of time? Surgical GPR’s are a good investment. Immerse yourself as much as possible in technology. Learn all you can about occlusion, as it’s the basis for everything. Invest in CE. Study public speaking and body language. To be awesome you have to have clinical excellence and good rapport with patients. How does the future of dentistry look with having associates as employees vs offering ownership? Most corporations do not care if you work there for 2 years and then take off. They plan that into their business model. Look for long term alignment and ownership. The ownership mentality is something you must have. Do not join a practice if you’re not looking to be there long term. Focus on having one great practice vs. a lot of mediocre ones. Don’t scale too quickly. Have you experimented with influencer marketing on social media like Instagram? Influencer marketing is the most underpriced attention out there. It’s hard to utilize because you may not know how to source those influences in your community. Would you start an Instagram page while in school? Would you buy a domain name for SEO purposes? Yes, develop your own brand RIGHT NOW. Buy the domain but don’t try to start building SEO currency. Develop yourself as dentist first, then when practice is open work on promoting your brand. Start a dental relevant Facebook page and dental relevant Instagram page. How do you pitch to specialists? How do you get them to work for you? You can’t build anything part-time. Figure out how to work together to keep them full-time at your practice. Are there are certain specialties that will be protected against consolidation and/or corporate takeover? Whoever owns the patient owns the life cycle of the money. It’ll be very hard as a specialist to own that patient. The price disparity between general UCR and specialist UCR will collapse. Who do you look to – outside of dentistry – for marketing ideas? Storytelling marketing is key. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Take cues from other retail businesses; Starbucks, Apple, etc.   References: Good to Great by Jim Collins Delivering Happiness by Jim Hsieh Built to Sell by John Warrillow T Bone Speaks Dentistry Dental Hacks Podcast Dr. Paul Homoly Toastmasters The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini Chris Ramsey Donald Miller Gary Vaynerchuk Tony Robbins   Tweetables: The speed of your mistakes dictates the speed of your learning. - Dr. Craig Spodak Your speed of innovation is going to be equal to the speed of your success. – Dr. Craig Spodak The cheapest marketing strategy ever… CARE. – Gary V Peer pressure makes everybody better. – Dr. Craig Spodak If you don’t make it easy for patients to do business with you, someone else will. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 78 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Trevor Maurer, President and CEO of Smile Source   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Smile Source is not a DSO, it’s an affiliation of great dental practices. When presented with 4 logos,15% of consumers would choose services from “Dr. John Smith.” “Monarch Dental, Dr. John Smith” has a 22% preference. “Dr. John Smith, a Member of ABC Associates” has a 27% preference. “Smile Source, Dr. John Smith” has a 37% preference. Practice names do matter. Any affiliation above “Dr. John Smith” will carry significant weight. Fewer than 10% of current grads want to own a practice. That percentage goes up significantly after a few years practicing. When choosing a practice name, Trevor recommends having the dentist’s name in it somewhere as a sub-brand but have an affiliation with something much larger. Smile Source’s research favors a sub-brand doctor name. The doctor’s name adds community connection, while the main brand associates with something larger, with benefits. When a patient asks for a brand by name, the doctor gave it to them 87% of the time. However, patients only ask for specific brand names 4% of the time. Branding is great, but don’t be bullied by brands. The greatest fear in dentistry right now is fear of corporate takeover. Corporate is targeting schools because they’re not getting the talent they want from established market. Private equity is pouring money into the market right now, and for the time being it’s good for everyone. Money is making good returns, the labor pool is interested in the message, and there’s a gender shift. You used to be able to get by opening a dental office with a “place to sit and a place to spit,” now you need so much technology and HR experts. You don’t need to go corporate to get that kind of help. Smile Source helps the little guy win. Smile Source has resources to allow dentists to work together to pool their resources, you get the benefits of larger practices while still being individually owned. The majority of practices in the country are part of the traditional cottage industry. Private practitioners need to recognize that most patients want extended hours. 21% of dentists are part of a group or DSO. The right time to bring in an associate is when you have the best time, money, and energy. You’ll find people who have just come out of dental school. They’ll need to understand their production might be low to start and they have to hustle to make themselves valuable to the practice. Finding an associate is all about finding the right relationship for your practice.   References: Built to Sell by John Warrillow   Tweetables: Patients are consumers before they’re patients. – Trevor Maurer Stay committed to the process of growing. – Dr. Peter Boulden If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, then the end is near. – Jack Welch

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 77 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Reese Harper, DentistAdvisors.com   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: There are big differences between fee-based and fee-only financial advisors. People assume “fee-based” means you only charge fees, but advisors who say they are fee-based generally also take commissions. Bad financial advice comes from product salespeople who get paid commissions. Good advice generally comes from people who get paid for their time, or percentage against an investment account. Make sure your financial advisor is disclosing ALL FEES UP FRONT. Everyone who is commission based have a strong conflict of interest. They are incentivized for pushing products that may not be in your best financial interest. Your financial advisor should be a registered investment advisor, and an independent, fee-only fiduciary, and nothing else. If your broker/dealer/advisor is spending a lot of money on you it is a red flag. The more you learn about finance the more you’ll know the current financial market model is crazy. For dentists who have “found money,” the first & best thing you should do is invest it in your business. Dentistry is an amazing career, but there’s a huge barrier to entry. Use your money to work toward at least a 20% operating margin beyond your production. If your practice is good and doesn’t need investment, you can use your money to: Build businesses Buy liquid assets (minimum 6 months of living expenses) (cash, mutual funds, anything you can pull out that isn’t tied up) Work on retirement plans Buy real estate To be a serious investor you have to take risk. In order to take risk you have to be liquid. Pay attention to your debt-to-income ratio. In a calendar year, do you have more than 20% of your gross income left over? If you’re not accumulating 20-25% liquidity every year you haven’t earned the luxury to reduce your debt on an accelerated basis. Your income can only go to: Savings Spending Debt Taxes The ratio of your income mix dictates what you can do. It’s more important to get into the right working situation than it is to pay down your student loan debt. Not everyone is cut out to be a practice owner. There are a lot of benefits to being an associate, and you don’t have to be an owner to max your earnings. There is a correlation between income and ownership. Owners tend to make more, but that’s because 30% of owners manage their practices really well and are killing it. 70% of owners really struggle, to the point where it’s probably a wash whether they should be an owner or not. If you’re smart, your first associate hire will cut your income. As an owner you have to go through periods where you make less than you would as an associate. You have to have a net worth that is about 30x your annual spending in order for work to be optional. Dentists don’t invest their liquid assets aggressively enough. They’re too conservative, and it costs millions of dollars over a 25-year career. The 3-factor model says investments grow more than average because they are: Smaller vs. bigger High value companies vs. high-growth High quality & profitably vs. low-profitability Run if your CFP is telling you to get out of the market now because a correction is coming. You know you’re too conservative if your investments didn’t beat the S&P return. Your investments can earn 10-13% every year if you invest wisely. Keep tuning in to Bulletproof Dental Practice podcasts for the next interview with Reese!   References: Fama–French three-factor model   Tweetables: It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. – Upton Sinclair The things that drive owners are not always financial. – Reese Harper No business tries to pay down debt as their first goal. – Reese Harper Money is an emotional thing, it’s not logical. – Dr. Craig Spodak As long as you’re loving what you do and you’re not oppressed by it, that is freedom. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 76 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Elijah Desmond, Driven Dental Marketing & Smiles At Sea   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: The next Smiles At Sea cruise is in September, then there’s another in March. Changing someone’s smile will often change their whole life. Focus on life-changing moments. Finances are the #1 impediment to enrollment. Team mindset is #2, #3 is contact rate. Your team can develop mindsets about certain types of people that lead to not giving 100% for every patient every time. Go into treatment presentation with he mindset that EVERYONE offers opportunity. Offer multiple financing options so the highest number of patients can accept treatment. CareCredit is the go-to. Marketing is useless if your contact rate is low. Potential patients want information NOW. Consumers expect convenience for EVERYTHING. If you treat people with empathy they’ll think you’re the best dentist ever. Personal referrals are everything. Social media is for engagement. It’s the modern-day word of mouth, on steroids. The number of reviews – and the frequency – are both important. Dentists should not be spending all their time doing consults. Offer a minimum of 2 implant options.   References: Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen Lead Owl Bulletproof Summit 2018 Proceed Finance   Tweetables: Treat everyone with empathy. – Dr. Peter Boulden Every dental professional should be an educator. – Dr. Craig Spodak Change someone’s life and they’ll be a walking billboard for you. – Elijah Desmond

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 75 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Reposted From: Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Statistics show that if new dentists work in a DSO for more than two years, the statistic probability is they’ll stay there for 7-10. About 70-80% of new dentists who go into DSO’s right after school will leave within two years. When everyone is pulling on the rope at the same time it creates better team alignment. People are always the biggest stressor in businesses. You’re always one employee away from starting the whole process over. Storybook leadership isn’t the most effective leadership. Real leaders come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. Patients are looking for experience. If your team is disengaged your results won’t be as good. Create a raving team and your patients will follow suit. The American public is dumbed down to think that if it’s legal, it’s always safe. People are waking up to the reality that you have to be discernable with your consumerism. For marketing, craft a story that’s compelling enough to talk about. Make yourself worthy of being talked about and treat that as your marketing plan. Focus on net patient growth. You have to differentiate yourself. Business is innovation. You need to flip everything on its head and create a value proposition that’s unlike everyone else’s. Realize that patients are grasping at value. They don’t understand the quality of your work, they judge you based on how you treat them and how your office looks. All-Star Smiles provides dental care services to children in need throughout the U.S.   References: Uncomplicate Business by Howard Farran All Star Smiles   Tweetables: Real leadership is putting other people’s needs above yourself. – Dr. Craig Spodak The best leaders are the ones you don’t even feel. – Dr. Craig Spodak A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu Your patients can feel loved if your team doesn’t feel supported. – Dr. Craig Spodak Give people a reason beyond your dentistry to like you more. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 74 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Dr. Shiven Gandhi, Atlanta Dental Spa   Key Takeaways: Right now, Instagram is everything. You’re either a consumer or a producer. The more you can get your mind around the fact that you’re a digital marketing company that does dentistry, the better your message will be amplified. The more attention you can get, the better off you’ll be. Ask yourself what kind of content you can put out that will attract the type of person you want to bring in. Don’t focus on creating content, focus on documenting. By doing that you have genuine stories, people will want to tune in to learn or because they are intrigued. Take photos, take videos, whatever you can put together. Write on your photos. Label things. Draw arrows. Make them engaging. Storytelling marketing is the future. Make your patient the hero, and yourself the guide. The emotional story and the journey is everything. It resonates and draws emotion. Instagram has 3 major components; the feed, stories, and live. Live is easiest to do but is also the most intimidating. Make it simple – and doable. Do something as simple as verbally documenting a case. If you’re not comfortable documenting yourself it would be very beneficial to find someone who is excellent at helping to create and manage content. People don’t want to see static ads. They want to see content that is engaging or helps them be better at what they want to do. It’s not about how many followers you have. It’s about the engagement. You never know which posts will have the most engagement. Just keep consistently putting content out. Hashtags: If you have a hashtag associated with your post, that’s how your post populates in the algorithm. Instagram will allow you to post up to 30 hashtags. Have broad hashtags to pull you into certain arenas, then have very specific ones so you can find your post directly. Hashtags are used primarily for search. You can search hashtags on Google. Social media is hard, because people tune out – and unfollow – anyone who they don’t want to see. It’s hard to be relevant and put out content that people want to see. When you start a page, decide what you want your aesthetic to be. Do you want a theme? Do you want certain types of photos? Do you want your posts in a specific cadence? Decide before you start and use that as a guideline for your content. The cost to advertise on Facebook and Instagram is cheap, compared to Google AdWords. Social influencers are huge. If you can get the right person to post on their page with their story about YOU, it can be amazing for your business.   References: Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk ownR Magazine Dental Influencers Alliance 2018 Conference   Tweetables: You most likely have content, you just don’t share it. – Dr. Shiven Gandhi

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 73 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Thor Conklin, Founder & CEO of Peak Performance Group   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Before you can fix your business, you must decide first where you want to go. You have to figure out what’s getting in the way of your success, and what are the lynchpins to solving your problems. It’s generally stopping or removing something rather than adding something. Often, what we want most in life is what’s most painful for us to get. Gratitude is one of the biggest and best ways to improve your fulfillment. It’s about getting back to what’s really important to you. Meditation and gratitude should be the first things you do in the morning. Try writing everything down that you’re stressed about. You’ll already feel less stressed. Put on your calendar a reminder to spend 20 minutes to work on taking an action to move one of those things forward. When doing something you hate, fake liking it and it’ll get easier. You can physiologically fool your body. People who want to stay pissed, will stay pissed. Just stay away from them. Every top performer has a pre-event ritual. They set their body, their intention, and their mind before they walk in. Take a deep breath and put a smile on your face. Set yourself before starting. 80-90% of communication is non-verbal. Focus on your mental fitness. Doing something physical helps break bad mental patterns. Get your bad energy out physically. Try to make your life as streamlined as possible. Clutter in your life tends to slow you down. Schedule time to allow yourself creative thinking time. High performers have a default of “no.” Know what your overall mission is and say “no” to anything that doesn’t serve that purpose. Figure out what your lane is going to be. Pick that lane and go deep.   References: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle Muze   Tweetables: People confuse happiness with fulfillment. – Thor Conklin The only way to combat stress is action. – Thor Conklin Your emotions do not dictate your physiology, your physiology dictates your emotions – Thor Conklin Anytime you want to change your emotional state, simply change your physical state. – Thor Conklin Every “yes” is a “no” to something else. – Thor Conklin Don’t start running until you know where you’re going. – Thor Conklin You achieve more when you’re happily achieving, then when you’re achieving to be happy. – Dr. Craig Spodak Figure out what your lane is going to be. Pick that lane and go deep. – Thor Conklin

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!   Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 72 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Jairek Robbins   Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: 80% of workers feel stress on the job, 50% say they need help learning how to manage stress. This equates to 300B annually that it’s costing companies in the US. Job stress leads to accidents, lost work time, lack of productivity, etc. As a business, job stress is expensive. Lack of sleep breaks you down mentally and physically. To optimize sleep, look into various plants, blackout curtains, monitoring, and increasing movement during the day. No sleep monitoring device is perfect. Aim for perpetual movement vs short, intense workout bursts. Think about ways you force yourself to walk more in your office, even if it means redesigning your office layout. Get outside early in the morning to get great vitamin D from sun exposure. Blue light from electronics at night hampers sleep. Short morning routine to be a super-human version of yourself: First thing in the morning, start with a clear mind. Do a short meditation and/or breath practice. From there, go straight to the shower and take a 3-minute ice-cold shower. This will activate your adrenal glands. Ease into it! If you want to activate fat burning you can alternate between 20 seconds of hot and cold water. Sign up for Jairek’s Udemy course @ discounted rate of $29.99:   References: Live It!: Achieve Success by Living with Purpose by Jairek Robbins Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson Ben Greenfield f.lux Muse Spire Mel Robbins The Complete Guide to Activating High Peformance by Jairek Robbins Viome Bulletproof Coffee