Bulletproof Dental Practice

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 24 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Bruce Johnstone / Apex Design Build Key Takeaways: It is better to have one team handle everything rather than having separate contractors handle your renovation. In a Design-Build Model, the liability and risk is lower because you talk to only one supplier committed to finishing the design. Look at dentistry as a retail function than a health care function in order to learn how to utilize space in new ways. Dental offices can become like retail stores by looking at ways to make patients comfortable while they wait. No one goes to a dental office thinking they’ll have fun. Dental offices have to shift their space so it is more engaging for customers and makes them excited to visit. A lot of things affect your patient’s perception like the lighting of your clinic, the color, the upholstery of your furniture, etc. The best source of new customers is from internal referrals. You get more referrals if patients like your practice. You can put some of your marketing budget into creating a better and patient-friendly clinic. Tweetables: “People don’t mind waiting as long as there is engagement.” - Bruce Johnstone  “Dentistry can take a cue from retail.” - Bruce Johnstone  “The easiest way to market is to make your practice marketable.” - Dr. Peter Boulden  

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 23 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Guest: Josh Robbins / America's Best 401k Key Takeaways: The 401k is a massive liability for any business owner. As the business owner, you are in charge of setting up the account for the sole benefit for your employee. The providers of 401k are broken. There are too many so you need to choose the right one for your team. There are many funds within a 401k plan. You need to know what and why it is being offered and what fees are being charged. The best scenario is a level playing field where there are no middlemen and you get access to all funds regardless of how big your plan is. You can hire a fiduciary to handle your 401k liability for your employees. Investigate the fees being charged to your 401k plan. Most can be cut off. Dentists are easy prey for 401k brokers because of several factors: high income, recession proof, want to look out for their teams, etc. Brokers don’t earn from startup 401k plans so they give a different kind of plan that will earn them a lot. You can save on these fees by going to a fiduciary company. The earlier you start your 401k plan, the better – you’ll save more for less equity / contributions. Auto-escalate your contributions to your 401k fund. Resources Mentioned: www.freetonybook.com - Unshakeable by Tony Robbins Tweetables: “The 401K is a good thing. You just need to have the right one.” - Josh Robbins

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 22 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Guest: Craig Cody Key Takeaways: Mistake 1 - Failing to plan. Like buying a car or a house, you need to make a plan how you’ll pay off your taxes. Mistake 2 - Choosing the wrong entity to operate. You need to understand the different types of entities available before deciding which entity you would choose. Mistake 3 - What-if Paranoia. Do not be afraid of the questions of the IRS as long as you follow the tax codes and everything is documented. Don’t be afraid to take a legitimate deduction. Mistake 4 - Getting the wrong retirement plan. Understand the different plans available to your employees and those that they’ll resonate to. Ask for advice from your CPA. Mistake 5 - Missing family employment if you have kids. Kids can become employees of your business and you can pay them wages to cover other non-deductible expenses. Mistake 6 - Not implementing a medical expense reimbursement plan. This works for some entities and can be used to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses. Mistake 7 - Missing legal deductible items such as: a health care facility for your home office like a pool or a home gym vehicle expenses when the vehicle is used for business meals and entertainment Mistake 8 - Failing to rent out your home for business meetings. Just be careful not to go overboard. Mistake 9 - Not depreciating properly all the costs to set up your practice. Mistake 10 - Not consulting with professionals. Be proactive and ask for advice. Choose a CPA who is proactive.  This episode is not intended to replace the professional advice of your tax preparer or CPA. Resources Mentioned: 10 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Business Owners Thousands - by Craig Cody - www.craigcodyandcompany.com/bulletproof - Receive a free copy of the book! Secrets of a Tax-Free Life  Tweetables: “If you’re doing something and it says you’re allowed to do it in the tax code, let them (IRS) ask you about it. As long as you’ve documented why and how you’re doing it then you’re ok.” Craig Cody “Tax evasion is blasting through the toll booth and not paying the toll. Tax avoidance is taking side streets around the toll legally to get to your destination.” Dr. Peter Boulden

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 21 Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak Key Takeaways: Find fulfillment in helping others. Today is the golden age of dentistry. To create a raving fan culture, your team must know how to make creative solutions within a given paradigm. Self-managed teams - they know what to do and they manage themselves. This results in more fulfillment. Tell your employees the WHY of the job. Make it results and performance-based. Learn to be self-sufficient first then learn to delegate the job. Referrals happen organically. Recognize your culture and explicitly define it. Self-managed team can hire their own people. You have to talk about your culture and give examples about it daily. Talk about the most important thing to your people outside their annual review. You’ll find out it’s not really about the money. Concept of peer-to-peer rewards. Focus on giving your people experience. Customers mostly review the culture. Make it a safe environment for your team and customers to give you honest feedback. Own the honest feedback you get.  Tweetables:  “You don’t get burnt out because of what you do. You get burnt out because you forgot why you do it.” - Dr. Craig Spodak  “Insurance is the penalty you pay if you do not build a raving fan culture.” Dr. Craig Spodak  “If we are not creating the millennial experience, the millennials won’t be our patrons in the future.” Dr. Peter Boulden  “Be dynamic. Don’t think that what worked 6 months ago will work again today.” Dr. Peter Boulden  “Everyone has a culture. It may not just be the one you want.” Dr. Peter Boulden Resources Mentioned: Books: Making Money is Killing Your Business by Chuck Blakeman Why Employees Are Always a Bad Idea by Chuck Blakeman Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 20 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Guest: Michael Levin  Key Takeways Dentistry is a crowded marketplace. You can distinguish yourself by writing a book. You can target niche audiences using a book and build your credibility in that niche. Writing a book is easy using the right resources. You don't even need to write the entire book. You can hire ghostwriters to write it using the knowledge you have. Patients who buy your books and become fans can be your sales force. They become advocates of your practice. You can market your books by giving them as giveaways. Write books that will educate your market. This will create value for your customers. You can write books about your legacy as a dentist. Resources Mentioned: Books: Sober Dad by Michael Graubart River of Doubt by Candice Millard The Hundred-Year Marathon by Michael Pillsbury App: Headspace Tweetables: "People are grateful to the educator." Michael Levin "If you create enough value in the first 95% of the book, you are entitled to a call-to-action at the end of the book." Michael Levin

This is a republished interview from The Relentless Dentist. I met Dr. David Maloley of Avon, Colorado - at the Voices of Dentistry conference in Nashville, TN this February.   His energy and story that I heard during his presentation  almost compels you to live that EPIC life....and the relentless pursuit of it.   It was an incredible conversation-  check it out!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 18 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Key Takeaways: 3 Reasons for Doing a Morning Huddle Bring your team into alignment Allow you to discuss opportunity Provides transparency. You can share your numbers with your team. Tips for a Good Meeting: Meetings should be done by the office manager or a team member Start on time and when everyone is ready. Meetings should be 15 minutes max. End the meeting on a motivational note.  Top Things to Discuss in a Meeting: Look for same day opportunities Look for outstanding treatments Look for outstanding balances Look for any marketing opportunities Tweetables: If you’re not doing the morning meeting, I highly recommend that you start ASAP because it will change the game. - Dr. Peter Boulden

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 17 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Guest: Dr. Brady Frank Key Takeaways: DSO (Dentist Service Organizations) were created to address legal challenges presented by corporate dentistry. Dentists can take advantage of this. Dentists should learn how to become owner-dentists then hire an associate to do heavy lifting of clinical dentistry. Equity harvesting - find a value-added practice, acquire it and convert it to cash Knowing your business value may not necessarily have an impact to your retirement fund How to have cash from investment and use it: (1) Find a value-added practice (2) grow the value-added practice and (3) find a way to receive cash from this asset Get a dentist partner to work on the clinical side so you can work on the business side Continuous exit strategy works with equity harvesting If you acquire another practice, operate it as one business with your existing practice Add dentist partners as you acquire more practices The founding dentist becomes a private equity company also Continuous exit strategy means you own a portion of your company (the DSO) and earn from it continuously as it expands to other regions Hire dentists who want to work as partners vs those who want to just be associates. They are go-getters. Dentists can compete with corporate if they understand how DSOs work. Multiple Incomes available to dentists: management income, clinical income, income from building lease, residual income from regional DSOs, etc. Tweetables: Staying in the game will make you more energized and give you more cashflow. – Dr. Brady Frank Resources Mentioned: Multiple Streams of Income by Robert Allen

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 16 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Guest: Matthew Lewis Key Takeaways: Corporate often invites dental students to join them although it feels that they only present ideal scenario most of the time. Deciding to sell to the corporate model is a tough decision to make. Corporate dentistry can compete on pricing but not on relationship factor. Dental students should keep their options open whether they'll go corporate or pursue a private practice. Corporate dentistry can help dental students get a job and learn practical dental skills. Huge dental debts encourage students to go corporate after graduation. The more in-debt you are after graduation, the fewer choices you have. Fewer students now want to start their own practice after graduation. Corporate offers $500-a-day baseline pay to dental students. Dental associates who are willing to hustle their pay after six months are good for a practice because it means they are interested to be in a win-win situation. When selecting where to practice after graduation consider market saturation. Don't just go with the herd. When looking for a CPA, look for someone who can give you personalized attention, especially if you are running your own business. For contract reviews, you only need the simple services of an attorney. When looking for people to work with - like a CPA or an attorney - look for someone who you are comfortable working with. Interview if necessary and ask for recommendations. Corporate dentistry will make sure you work hard for the money they pay you. Be awesome in something that you are passionate about. Don't force yourself to do something you do not like. Try different procedures first in order to find something you love. You may like a procedure that you hated during school. Tweetables: Force yourself to back out and look at the big picture. Keep an open mind at the things coming at you. Open mind is key. Attitude is everything.

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 15 Host: Dr. Peter Boulden / Atlanta Dental Spa Guest: Garrett Gunderson / Wealth Factory Key Takeaways: Big Mistake: putting money too early into investments for retirement and not having enough liquidity for your business. Grow your business first by investing in it. Invest in what you know. Diversification for a dentist is bad. Learn to be comfortable with having a lot of cash. 5 Part Formula that will give you financial independence in 5 - 7 years Be more efficient with your money by keeping more of what you make. Strategically engineer wealth to eliminate diversification. Accelerate investment by finding ways to make them produce cash. Scale your business revenue. Treat yourself as your greatest asset. Hire a good accountant in order to learn how to pay less in taxes. How to save on taxes: Be proactive with your team and communicate with them. Find all the related expenses to your business and write them off for tax deductions. Reclassify your income. Focus on abundance, than scarcity. Abundance creates value while scarcity destroys wealth. Investments are in relationships, in knowledge and in our own capacity to create value and make money not just money making money. Having a money problem is a symptom of not having the right ideas or the right network of people. Financially stay humble by cutting back, being more efficient or expanding your means. Invest in a great team that share the same philosophy. "Pay yourself first" is the fundamental financial foundation. Invest in becoming a better investor. To download your FREE copy of “What Would the Rockefellers Do,” Text WWRD to 801-396-7211 Tweetables: “The real road to wealth is to own a business.” – Garrett Gunderson “Invest in what you know.” – Garrett Gunderson “Automatically save and deliberately invest.” – Garrett Gunderson ‘Abundance is about exchange; human innovation.” – Garrett Gunderson “Scarcity will say ‘I can't afford it.’ Abundance says ‘How can I afford it?’” – Garrett Gunderson Resources Mentioned: Books: What Would the Rockefellers Do? by Garrett Gunderson Killing Sacred Cows by Garrett Gunderson The War of Art by Steven Pressfield   Productivity App: Omnifocus