Bulletproof Dental Practice

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 48 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Chad Cooper, LEGENDARY LIFESTYLE™ Coach Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here! Key Takeaways: People really want to move beyond happiness & material possession, and find FULFILLMENT. We don’t want work/life balance, we want work/life harmony. The one great equalizer is we all get 168 hours in a week. We are all equal that way. How we use that time is what separates the amateurs from the professionals. Creating space in your life and calendar is where your creativity comes alive. Creativity occurs within empty space. Retirement should be doing what you want, on your own terms. Learn and understand what your purpose is. It’s all about how you want to feel, not what you want to achieve or own. To find your purpose sit down and write down 7-10 of your happiest memories. Write 1-2 paragraphs on each of those memories. Add the emotions and feelings within each memory. Go back and circle the emotion words within your writing. Those emotions are your purpose. The greatest failure in the world is achieving everything you want and still being unfulfilled. Once you’ve discovered your purpose, take those emotions and insert them into the activity you’re undertaking. That’s the way to find fulfillment in the things you do every day. Burnout is prevalent with dentists. A lot of that is due to internal narratives. We’ve all been trained to play small. We want to not be afraid of being human, of being normal. If you’re doing something that’s draining your batteries, 7 characteristics of yin and yang. When doing anything, consider these 7 questions. If what your doing answers most of these positively you’ll be much more fulfilled. Is it serving a sense of mission? Did you do it from a place of freedom? Are you doing it with love? Was there adventure involved? When you do this, does it fill you up? Does it create a sense of safety? Does it allow you to speak your truth through love? The two greatest factors for an extraordinary marriage are love and respect. Women desire love. Men want respect. 4 quadrants of life – all four need to be address in order to be fulfilled. Logical – brain Emotional – heart Physical – body Spiritual – soul References: Date with Destiny Charlie Rose interview with Bill Gates & Warren Buffet Create Your Legendary Lifestyle Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek Time Isn’t the Problem, You Are by Chad E. Cooper Tweetables: The vehicle doesn’t change, the meaning that you give to it does. – Chad Cooper You can’t feel love you get, you only feel the love you give. – Dr. Craig Spodak You can’t give what you don’t already possess. – Chad Cooper

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 47 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Dr. Paul Etchison, founder of The Dental Practice Heroes Podcast Key Takeaways: Self-managed teams are a great way to allow your team members authority to create – and reach – goals that benefit your practice. Learn more about Dr. Spodak’s practices that led Spodak Dental Group to be within the top 1% of Invisalign providers in the US. Occlusion, malocclusion, and crowding are incipient diseases from which problems will arise over the long term. High volume Invisalign production cannot be done by the doctor alone, it requires the support of the entire team. Your mouth isn’t optimally healthy with just the absence of caries or periodontal disease. Keep your focus on educating patients, not on trying to sell services. Your team needs to understand why you do what you do, and make sure they’re on board with your overall vision. Otherwise they’ll never help you grow and meet your goals. We’re in the Participation Age where employees want to come to work with their brain turned on and be part of a mission. Everyone wants to work in a culture where they can express themselves. Craig’s top 3 pieces of advice for dentists: Create a vision for your life Work on your leadership skills Focus on exceptional clinical dentistry References: All Star Smiles GOTT iTero Omnicam Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek Finding My Virginity by Richard Branson The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Date With Destiny with Tony Robbins  Tweetables: “People need to be led, only ‘stuff’ should be managed.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “Where focus goes, energy flows.” – Tony Robbins “Be the leader you wish you had.” – Simon Sinek

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 46 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Dr. David Phelps, founder of Freedom Founders and host of Dentist Freedom Blueprint Podcast Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here! Key Takeaways: Building freedom into your business can take many forms. Learn skill sets that are transferable. Becoming the orchestrator of your business is key. Be careful about picking another lane to diversify. First, pick the right people and form strategic alliances. It’s much easier to diversify and become an expert if you have the right support systems. The best return on an investment will always come from optimizing a business. Diversifying into real estate is a common avenue for dentists looking to expand their portfolio. The most profitable seat at the closing table is the lender’s seat. Tweetables The “who” is more important than the “what.” – Dr. David Phelps There’s a difference between investing and speculating – Dr. David Phelps

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 45 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Dr. Bill Williams, founder of Suwanee Dental Care and author of The $10,000 A Day Dentist Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here!   Key Takeaways: Bill William’s book “The $10,000 A Day Dentist” details 50 ways he has identified to create a highly successful dental practice. Dentistry can be broken down into 5 areas: Mindset, Team, Facility, Marketing, and Capacity. Mindset is the beliefs you have and paradigms you operate under. Significant growth can’t happen without the right mindset. Team – it’s important to surround yourself with team members who support your goals and offset your strengths and weaknesses. A lot of dental offices are understaffed. Not having enough staff can be a big impediment to growth. The average revenue per employee across all industries is $200,000 per employee. To get good associates you generally need to enlist a headhunter. To keep them you have to educate them, pay salary plus bonus, and offer benefits that have value for your team. You also need to be sure they’re tied to your practice’s vision. Everyone wants to be on a winning team. Masterminds are a great way for dentists to connect with others sharing similar experiences and problems, and working through solutions. It’s true – you’re a product of the 5 people you spend the most amount of time with! You can only be excellent and really astute with age. Your abilities will triple after practicing for 10-15 years. Choosing your mentors wisely can accelerate your growth.   References The $10,000 A Day Dentist by Dr. Bill Williams Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill The Obvious Secret by Earl Estep Action Coach The Seven Mountains of Marketing Solstice Dental Advisors Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 44 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Reposted from: Thriving Dentist Podcast Show w/Gary Takacs Key Takeaways: There are many different models of success in dentistry. In this Thriving Dentist Show, Gary interviews Dr. Craig Spodak about his practice model. Craig’s model is a single location group practice that produces over $10M per year driven by a Noble Cause. In this episode they discuss: Craig’s experience as a 3rd generation dentist His vision of an ideal building which is LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) Gold Certified The importance of creating a ‘Noble Cause’ Craig’s 14 Core Values in his practice The power of intention, and the importance of learning from mistakes Craig’s model of a single location vs. building a group of multiple locations How Craig discovered that he was paying excessively high fees in his pension plan The influence of Tony Robbins on Craig’s life The meaning of ‘Geek Chic’ References Receive a free copy of the book Unshakeable by Tony Robbins

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 43 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Reposted from: The Dentist Freedom Blueprint Podcast w/Dr. David Phelps Key Takeaways: 6:12 – Where Craig found the inspiration to do something different. 13:29 – How to get serious about looking at your practice as a business. 16:30 – What makes a good leader. 20:15 – The difference between achievement and fulfillment (and why it’s important not to confuse the two). 25:45 – Why ROI isn’t the best dictator of good choices. 28:46 – Ways to make your practice thrive even if you’re not in an affluent area. 30:30 – How to out-serve, out-perform, and out-deliver the competition. 32:15 – What patients really want.  33:38 – Craig’s advice for young dentists to make those first few years really count.   References GOTT Summit All Star Smiles   Tweetables  “There’s room in dentistry to express yourself no matter what you want to do.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “We’re all just buying time, so live the life you want to live; don’t worry about the ROI.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “People are willing to pay a premium if you’re willing to give them premium value.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “Learning what NOT to do is just as valuable as learning what to do.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 42 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Watch the video here!  Key Takeaways: People want to have passion & purpose, and they want to feel secure & taken care of. Taking care of your employees helps your business’s bottom line. It builds loyalty, let’s them know you care about them, and improves productivity. Millennials don’t want a manager, they want a coach. Implement strategies that speaks to their desire for engagement and self-autonomy and they’ll reward you with loyalty and hard work. Employees raving about their place of work on social media is a massively effective way to bring in new patients. The gold standard is to have an engaged workforce; people who have their brain turned on while they’re at work. 80% of the workforce is actively seeking another job. Give people parameters to express their humanity. The workplace has changed, and the marketplace is changing. Be obsessed with adding value to your patients. Your team must feel valued in order for that to happen. References Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek GOTT Summit All Star Smiles Tweetables “What you appreciate appreciates.” “Dentistry is service.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “The person who adds the most value wins.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 41 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Harry Nelson, CEO of Dansereau Dental Key Takeaways: Dental buildouts can be out-of-control expensive. Dansereau started in 1964, and offers quality, American-made dental equipment. Look to simplify when purchasing dental chairs and delivery systems. The less that can break, the better. Also keep overhead costs in mind when choosing equipment. Pay attention to space planning when doing a buildout. Cabinets especially tend to get overly complicated and cluttered. Make sure your equipment vendors are involved in the process starting with blueprints. They may have valuable install suggestions that will help your office work smoother. Many doctors use compressors that are larger than necessary. You may not need as much air, and a larger compressor will take up a lot more space. Vacuums are often under-qualified and it’s very common to see mistakes made in vacuum system builds, they are often engineered wrong. Be very cautious about the engineering of the vacuum lines. Make sure your contractor is licensed and qualified. Do your due diligence when choosing a construction partner. Make sure they have workers comp and liability. Don’t take shortcuts, you’ll often regret them in the long run.

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 40 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Watch the full video of interview by clicking here! Key Takeaways: Marketing today can seem convoluted. You must be more strategic with marketing, rather than tactical. Fifteen years ago, you could literally buy your way to the top. People now want credibility and a story. You can either pay someone to craft a story for you, or become remarkable enough that you’re worth talking about. Find out what the authentic expression of your brand is, and exploit that. Read your reviews to see what the public is saying about you. That’s a great hack for finding your why. Scared money don’t make none. Fear psychology can really mess with your business. Take advantage of technology to create and post easy, not super polished videos and content that will help patients identify with your practice and feel as comfortable as possible making the decision to come see you. Video shows your humanity. Unfortunately, in our digital day and age it’s not good enough to just do awesome dentistry. If you don’t have reviews online, create the narrative of what you want people to say and live that. Figure out ways to give your marketing dollars back to your patient. The most brilliant marketing strategy is to CARE. That’s the easy button. References Everything is Marketing by Fred Joyal Get off the Treadmill Summit Tweetables “Things are simple, they’re just not easy.” “People don’t get burned out because of what they do, they get burned out because they forget their why.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “Success is 10% mechanics and 90% psychology.” – Dr. Craig Spodak “People are rewarded in public for what they practice for years in private.” – Tony Robbins “I’ve got the most brilliant marketing strategy ever… care.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 39 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: David Harris, founder & CEO of Prosperident Watch the full video of interview by clicking here! Key Takeaways: At least 60% of dentists will be embezzled from, but the actual percentage is probably higher. Understanding WHY people steal will help in profiling an embezzler. People steal for 2 reasons: need & greed. Thieves want to be alone when they steal. Keep an eye out for employees who are coming in early, leaving late, or otherwise coming and going at strange times. Be familiar with your practice management software’s daily and monthly financial reports, and run / print those reports yourself. Don’t give anyone the option to report selectively. The Office Manager generally has the most opportunity for financial theft, but anyone at the front desk can be capable as well. Any form of wealth transfer to you can be intercepted; cash, check, ACH, sale of dental supplies, time, you name it. Most embezzlement is not found through audits, but by watching employee behavior. Look for staff members who have money issues, compulsive behavior, who never take vacation, staff members who always resist change, who are territorial, resistant to outside advisors, resistant to upgrades, etc. Less than 1/3 of embezzlement is discovered through a financial anomaly. The other 2/3 of embezzlement is discovered based on watching employee behavior. Many dentists feel ashamed about finding they’ve been embezzled from, but in reality it is not the dentist that caused it, and there is no reason to feel ashamed. There’s no way to totally safe-proof your business, but you can work to catch embezzlement early on. Shift your attention from prevention to detection. Proper background checks during hiring are the BEST way to safeguard your business from embezzlement. When hiring a new employee, talk to all previous employers for the last 5 years. Don’t call the phone number given to you by the potential new hire, instead google them and call the number found there. Ask for exact start date and exact end date, compare those to the resume. You’re looking for discrepancies that may indicate hidden jobs. Confirm job title. The best question to ask is, “Would you rehire this person again if you had a job opening and they were available?” 1 in 4 adults in the US has a criminal record. Prosperident offers a range of products designed to help you put systems in place to aide in preventing embezzlement, and they also offer investigation products should you suspect an embezzler may be at work in your business.