← The Lifestyle Practice Podcast For Dentists
The Lifestyle Practice Podcast For Dentists
313. Dental Practice Startup vs. Acquisition: Which Path Leads to Success?
00:42:31
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A
Hey there. Welcome to the Lifestyle Practice, the podcast where dentistry meets real life.
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B
We talk about growing and scaling your
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A
dental practice, avoiding everyday mistakes, fixing common challenges, and building success without burning out. If you want to grow in dentistry while protecting your lifestyle, you're in the right place. Grow smarter, practice better, live more. I think it's a special episode today because I got Derek here to chop it up a little bit. Derek, how are you? What's going on in your neck of the woods?
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B
I'm doing well, thanks for asking. What's going on? I mean, we're first week, just finished the first week of summer break. Kids out for the summer, so it's different, just different flow. Things changing with that. I'm still staying on top of my ACL rehab recovery stuff, reading, finishing up yard projects and stuff that continue to feel like never ending. So that's.
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A
Oh, it never stops. It never stops. Well, that's good. It sounds like you got a. A little bit on your plate for the summer.
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B
That'll.
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A
That'll keep you busy.
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B
Yeah, Yeah, I don't, I, I don't generally have to worry about staying busy.
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A
Same if I'm not moving around. It's like my wife knows. She's like, you need to go do something because you're going to drive me nuts. You know, that's pretty much how like, this guy's got to be moving.
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B
Well, what's your, what's your go to in times like that? Like, I just assume that you're like, just golf is kind of your go to do something.
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A
Yeah, it's. It's the go to and like sometime. But it could be like the simplest stuff, like go out in the backyard and smack some balls around, you know, go work out. You know, even, like, it's, it's a blessing and a curse because even like when I'm tired, you know, tired at the end of the day, still, like, I feel like I want to do something active. And then I realized, well, like, you know, doing active things with your. Sometimes you actually do have to like, shut off your brain or your body. So. But yeah, it's definitely getting outside. Like, so summertime, you know, it's June and in Indianapolis, like, it's. So this is just money right now. I gotta figure out the winter time next year. Like, I gotta have a better attitude. I gotta figure out how to get through it because this year was tough.
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B
What do you mean? Like, you've. This is. That wasn't your first rodeo, so.
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A
I know, I know, dude, I know. Well, if I'll stop. I'll hold on for a second and let everyone know that today we're chopping it up. You couldn't tell by now, Derek and I are chopping it up. Talking life, talking coaching clients, maybe talk solving the world of dentistry's problems a little bit. And that's. That's all we're doing today. But you're right. I don't know. I feel like with every passing year, I love Indianapolis. It's a great city. It's a great place to raise a family. It's an awesome home base. But I feel like with every passing year, the winner just. I go nuts. Maybe it's having a, like, Todd, like, your kids are, like, so much older than mine, but maybe it's having a toddler who's, like, moving around and there's really, like, you can't get outside to blow the stink off, you know? So I don't know. But you're right. It's not my first rodeo. I just. I gotta figure it out.
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B
It's not fun. Do they not have, like. I don't know. This is. Maybe this is a dumb question. Like snow sports type things in the winter there.
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A
I mean, it's flat. It's really flat. We have a place. We have a ski slope. I'm using air quotes if you're watching the video podcast. We have a ski slope called Perfect north, and it's like southern Indiana, a couple hours south. And it's like. It's like a sledding hill. There's a. Yeah, there's like a hill. You know, we live near Butler University where we. My wife and I went to school. There's like a hill in the football, you know, bowl there that we can. That we can sled down. We can build snowmen. But I got to figure it out. Let's just say it's great now. It's great now. Take the kids to the golf course. Take the zoo. We are big. We are a huge zoo family now. Are you guys zoo people?
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B
We're kind of past that. Those ages.
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A
That's fair.
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B
When. But when we. Yeah, I mean, you gotta. We were talking about this earlier, but, like, when I was in your stages is when I was still in dental school. So, yeah, when we. And when we lived in Omaha, we had a zoo pass and we went frequently and it was a cool zoo there.
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A
Sue's good. You're going to be like, coolest youngest grandpa someday. Like you had. I mean, we were talking, like you said. We were talking. You had Your first at 22 you said, right?
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B
Yeah.
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A
Yep, that's. And I had my first at 33.
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B
Yeah. So I'll be. When I'm 40 years old. Yeah. My oldest will be finishing high school, so I'll be. Yeah. So when I'm. What I'll be, I'll still be in my 40s when all of the kids
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A
are out of the house. That's awesome. So in theory. In theory, they'll be out of your house.
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B
No, no, there's a hard, there's a hard fast rule. Don't make me.
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A
Sorry, I didn't mean to strike a nerve.
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B
Well, I have, I have some family members in other parts of the family that are very well grown adults and still living at home. And so I've made it very clear that I am going to be the, a very generous father while they're in, in the home. But there, there is a relatively strict expectation that they're going to be independent after finishing high school. And that's, that's part, part of the, you know, it happens in nature. They get kicked out and that's, that's what happens. And we are waiting much longer than most offspring in nature takes place. So in my mind I'm being very generous waiting till age 18.
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A
It's, it's such a tough thing because you obviously love your kids so much and like you want to support them indefinitely and you could if you wanted to, but you know, ultimately that is not the best thing for them. Like, like our stories, which people know, like, it's not just living off your parents forever, you know, it's, it's having support, it's obviously having love and hopefully resources. Resources are great. Jumpstart a career or a life, but like, you have to figure out a way to, to have them figure things out themselves. You just, you have to.
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B
Yeah, I just did. I mean the podcast that just recently came out where I just kind of talked a lot of thoughts about what I'm doing with my kids financially and it's the finances is one aspect of it, but it's basically like how do I teach my kids to be independent? And so that's been, I mean, I've thought a lot about that over the years and my dance and position has changed over time, but it's. Being a parent is a lot of fun.
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A
I finally hit the age with my daughter. She's two, two years and three months and then my son's three months and I finally hit the age with my daughter where like she feels like an actual human. You know, it's not like, oh, like, she can't understand anything. She's. She's just crazy. Like, she's an actual human. So, like, I mean, literally last night, my wife and I are sitting at the table, like, talking about discipline and talking about, like, you know, this is. This is where it all starts, you know, And I firmly, firmly believe. I know that, you know, you have older children and, like, you have a lot more experience and knowledge, but I firmly believe that, like, you have to start instilling things in them now, early on. And, like you said, independence. Like, I want her to be independent. I do not want this kid who's afraid to, like, order at a restaurant, you know, or who won't speak up and talk to strangers. So, you know, we. We were. We'll take her to the golf course. Like, we did this this morning. Take her to the golf course. And she doesn't know what the heck she's doing, but she loves the bunkers and the geese and, you know, all the fun, all the goofy stuff. And I'll see friends there and say hello and, like, introduce her, and we're, like, really, like, encouraging her to go up and, like, either shake hands or, like, you know, greet people at her age. And she's obviously scared and quiet, but, like, I want her to get uncomfortable in a way. Like, that's super uncomfortable for her. But I want that to happen as soon as possible because I just, you know, it's. I think it's so important that they start to figure life out in some way, you know?
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B
Yeah, it's fun. I think the goal is to love and accept them and then give them opportunities to grow and to fail and to get back up and keep at it. I used to think that the goal was to prevent failure as much as possible in adulthood, but I've changed, and I think it's just about really learning to work through that. And I mean, we were even talking about this earlier, too. Just attitude. Like, I can figure out things. There's a. A book that a woman wrote that my wife and I both read together. I don't remember her name, but it's called Everything is Figureoutable.
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A
Yeah.
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And it wasn't my favorite book, but I love the premise and the idea and that, like, man, if we had more people that approached life in that way, we'd have such a good, productive society.
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A
Yeah. I thought about, like, recording a podcast myself today with the topic being sort of around those lines of like, who. Who do I see succeeding and who do I see failing or not succe as much. And it's generally the people who have the mindset that they can figure stuff out. Like, you just. You just figure stuff out in a dental practice. It's like you either there's. There's truly. It's. You know, you can simplify it to being two types of people. The people who complain or blame or don't take ownership or say I can't or I won't, et cetera, et cetera. And then there's the people who are like, well, I sucked at this, or I screwed this up, or I don't know. So I'm just going to figure it out in some way. It's amazing. Like, it's truly a mindset thing, but it's like, it's everything in life. I mean, it truly is.
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B
When I hear you say that, I immediately think of the book Grit by.
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A
That's so good.
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B
Yeah, that's like. That's one of the first books that I read that really turned me on to this idea that, like, of exactly what you're saying, that whatever you're faced with, you can figure it out. It might take longer than some other people. I'm curious for you, Matt, like, did you have, like, a first experience in life where you kind. Kind of had something that almost seemed, like, insurmountable or, like, really challenging, and you pushed yourself to, like, work through it and figure it out? You came out on top and it kind of started to shift your mindset and looking at other obstacles.
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A
That's a good question. I mean, a couple things come to mind at, like, kind of eighth, ninth grade. Kind of when you're starting to realize, like, you're kind of becoming an adult, you're real. You're having that realization that your parents aren't, like, perfect. You know, you've got a kind of that age. There's a couple things that come to mind. One. One was my dad actually quit his job in 2000, like, five or six. Had some, like, turmoil with, like, his corporate kind of job. And he had a good job, but thought he'd find something else, and then, like, didn't somehow and just never really got back into the workforce. And it was hard. You know, I don't want to say, like, we were at risk of, like, losing our home or like, we, you know, we fell on, like, super hard times. But it was, like, crazy, frugal, stressful time. If I could feel that as like, a fifth grader or, you know, whatever. I was sixth grader. Like, you know, it was stressful and hard. Home My parents eventually got divorced, like, a few years down the road, and I know that was a huge catalyst for that. But I remember that being, like, kind of a time when that was all happening. My parents divorce, and my dad still didn't have a job. It was like, whoa. Like, I don't want this to ever happen for me or my family in the future. And my dad was a great dad, but I just knew that, like, I didn't want this to happen. And so I was just like, wow, if I want to have a great career, have a great life, like, at that point, I did. I. I started to think about dental school in high school. I was like, I just have to figure it out. Like, you know, I. My dad, he was a loving, amazing dad, but I wouldn't really call him a mentor. So I was just like, okay, I'm gonna have to. I'm gonna have to figure this out myself. So that was a huge, like, kind of a huge moment in life for sure. And then another one. I'd say, like, everyone's. I think sports is a pretty big, like, reflection of life, you know, and business and in a lot of ways. And so I had grown up playing, like, travel, baseball, and then, like, just kind of got burnt out and just started playing golf with my buddies in, like, ninth grade summer and tried out for the team and shot a million, but, like, still made the JV team. And that was like, a time where I really never had a coach because we couldn't afford it. We just played this, like, kind of dumpy golf course and just, like, went out there and like, tried to figure it out and did it for just the love of, like, the process of figuring it out, you know, And I think the more. The more ways, like, we talk. We talked about this earlier, like, the more. The more things you can find in your life that you, like, you just want to do and you want to. You want to explore and get better at just because you have a compulsion to do it because you like it or you, you know, fulfills you. I think, like, the more things you can find in your life that are like that, the better. And if that lines up with your career, like, even better, you know. So those are two big ones.
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B
That's a.
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A
How about you? What. That's a good question.
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B
I think, honestly, like, one of the first big ones was the dat. I never was exceptional at test taking or, like, book smart. Like, I had to. I could have. I. I've never been good at, you know, memorizing things. It's been like for me to be able to get good at something, I have to understand why and I have to get curious about it and kind of learn things almost just where it kind of like digests and processes inside of me rather than just being able to kind of regurgitate things. And so in studying for the dat, like I took, I spent a long time studying and I was a tutor for like organic chemistry, gen chem and biology. And so there were several things with the DAT that were that kind of like matched up where anyway, when I took the dat, like I just was obsessed about it. Like I took practice tests and did like, I took ibuprofen prophylactically in case I got a headache. Like, I just had all these things that I would really do in this regimen that I followed in practice tests. And then I did it on the day of. And then I scored a 24, which as I understand it, like scores are much higher now. But at the time like 24 was 99.9 percentile that like came out on my test sheet when it printed. But that was one of those experiences was like, oh wow. Like I really, like, it was the first experience of my life of like really outperforming the rest of the field in a big way. And it was not something that came easily to me. And so after that it kind of started to shift my mind to think, think, okay, I was able to like kind of figure this out, be strategic and do really well. I bet I could do it maybe in some other areas of, of my life that I may have assumed that were out of reach. So that was a, that was a big one. Another one was fitness where like I'd always been not a, not a gym goer. Like I enjoyed sports, but it wasn't necessarily strong. You know, like my physique was always kind of like the skinny fat type of physique and then later on just, just fat. And so when, When I was 2018, my son was born and I had, I was two years into my practice and I was like, you know what, I just don't have an excuse anymore not to make this more of a priority in my life. So I was like, I'm going to get a gym pass. I'm going to go for one year, commit to a year and if it's not worth it, then I won't do it. But I'm in a solid commit for that period of time. And like within like six months I was stronger. And I remember like I've been doing pull ups and like different things. And I remember I watched a YouTube video of, like, how to do the rope climb, and I went and tried it. I. My first time, I climbed the rope and I got to the top and I was, like, blown away with myself.
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A
I just.
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I thought this is something that I had seen other people do. I just. I just always in my mind said, oh, I'm not that type of person. Like, I'm not gonna. I'm just not gonna be able to do that type of stuff in my life. And so that was another one of those experiences. So it's. I think there's probably still things in my life that I'm like, oh, I. You know, I probably have more of a fixed mindset. But going through those experiences is just so good to help you look at the world and just a much more free state of seeing things and thinking that you can do them. That it much more comes down to, is it a big enough priority in my life that I'm willing to put in what I need to. To be able to do that? Yeah.
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A
Yeah, I know. We wanted to talk about some. Some coaching clients and coaching experiences and dentistry today, and. And what you just said resonated so much. I was talking to a client on Friday, and I say this quite often to. To people, and I said it to him. We were talking about. What I told him was, you can literally just do stuff. Like, we were talking about his treatment acceptance and his treatment presentation, treatment plan, presentation. Just kind of, you know, what. What he was doing and, and how he was talking and interacting with Pat is. Is everything in. In your practice. And it just wasn't great. He was getting hung up with. I won't go into a ton of detail, but he was. It just. It just wasn't great. And you mentioned before, you said something about, like, having, like, a fixed mindset or like, oh, it's just not my who I am, you know, and he said something to that effect, like, that's just not who I am, or, you know, I'm. I'm. This way, I'm more analytical and blah, blah, blah. I said, dude, like, what if you just on Monday weren't that way? Because you can absolutely do that. I mean, it's. It's stupid and simple, but he's like, yeah, you're. You're right. Like, there's no reason I can't do it. It's going to be awkward. You might suck at, you know, whatever you're trying to do if you try to. If you change it, like, day one, but you can Literally just do stuff. You can literally just change. You can just climb the road, you know, but so of course we're, you know, we, we all have, we have fixed mindsets about certain things in our life. But I try to think about that a lot. Like you can literally just, you can just choose to do whatever you want to do at any time. It's very freeing.
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B
It's interesting because thought a lot about this and like, it's almost like kind of what you're talking about is a self identity, the perception that we have of our, of ourselves. And sure, there's things that may not come quite as naturally, but we can definitely change the way that we look at ourselves. I mean, I, I, I think even when you're explaining that I think of actors and you know, how the really good actors are, they're not thinking, how do I act differently? Like this person, they're thinking, how do I be this person on camera? And they're very different. And you can tell, right? Like, that's why the, the really good actors are so good at what they do. Because when you watch them, you don't view them as like Denzel Washington. Like, you view them as the character that they are in that movie. And so I think we can do those types of things if we just say no, okay, this is who I'm going to show up as today. I'm going to show up as the leader that my team needs, you know, or I'm going to show up as, you know, the caring and gentle dentist. Like, there's just very simple things and I think, you know, affirmations and things that we talk about can be very meaningful. Change the way that we look at other people, change the way that we look at ourselves. And so it's, I don't know, it's always just so fascinating to me how much, like, when you start out in life, it feels like a lot of life and results and growth comes down to just actions. But so much of it is mindset
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A
in the way that you view things 100%. One of the other things that this client mentioned was he's just not a morning person. You know, he's, we're talking about getting the day started. Like, I don't know about you, like, when you were practicing, but for me and for all my clients, like, I want the start of the day. We are ready to go. Whether that means being super productive, having your team be on the ball. Like, I'm not here to mess around. Like, I'm here to, to help people. I'm here to go, right? And he's like, well, I'm not a morning person. I'm like, well, dude, what if on Monday you were, you know, because you can. I don't know if that's an extra cup of coffee. I don't know what that is. But, like, I straight up told him, I'm like, on Monday you are going to be a morning person.
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B
You know.
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A
But yeah, it's, It's. It's so true. What else you got going on with. Talk to me about coaching. What's been going on? Talk to me about some. Some client experiences, some successes. Give me a rundown.
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B
Yeah, overall, really positive, I guess. Honestly, like, when I think about it, I think more about how, what am I doing as a coach and like, what am I focusing on? And I think the thing that I've been focusing on more lately is trying to increase accountability and interaction. And one thing that I've noticed, too, is that a lot of people like the feedback of, like, I've. I've realized over the years that I get this question of, like, well, hey, how am I stacking up? It's almost like they want some type of verbal litmus. Litmus test or criteria to kind of like, for me to give them feedback and stuff. So I think those are kind of two things that I'm trying to focus on with clients. There are simple things that I've kind of started to do. I've asked people, like, I mean, a lot of our coaching, you know, we'll. We'll have, like, specific goals and focus. And then, like, I like deciding on, like, hey, what's a book that, you know, you can be reading sometimes? It's like a module in TLP Academy that's going to help focus on it or podcasts or podcast episodes, like, some even that we've done. But one thing that I like to do and that I've encouraged clients to do is, hey, when you're listening to this or you're going through it and you have, like, a thought that's really kind of cool, don't wait till your next call. You know, on your drive to work, just, like, record yourself talking into a text voice message and send it to me, and then, you know, I'll respond when I can. And so, like, I think getting better at those frequent interaction and touch points can make it feel like the coaching process is more fluid and continuous and, you know, we can talk about goals and progression. It's actually one thing that I've kind of learned. I was telling you in Working with Raheel, where like, working with him was like a little bit different. Like he had this insane, insane amount of action. And because of that, like, he would reach out and, you know, like more frequently. And so it kind of like spurred me to think, how can I do this more with other clients? And so anyway, that's been really enjoyable for me because I feel like it helps people stay on top of things a little bit more for us to kind of connect and get kind of synced up a little bit more frequently. Frequently. So that then when we have the kind of, the more in depth coaching calls, there's a little bit less catch up and like, we're just already a little bit more synced so that we can dive in and make more progress while we're on the call.
- [21:30]
A
That's awesome.
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B
I love.
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A
It's funny how you people utilize async, like, you know, asynchronized voice memos to communicate. But it's like one of my favorite ways, not just in coaching anymore, but like in life to communicate. You know, send it. Send a voice memo instead of sending a long email or like typing up an email being like, I'm going to cut that out. How does that sound? You know, that whole song and dance of sending a. Sending an email, talking through voice memos with coaching clients is like the feedback that I get is just that it's. It's great because it's like you're having a phone call or a meeting, but you're doing it on your own time and you're not having to sync calendars and work around patients and just all this stuff that we have going on and that's. I. It's so fun. I mean, I. I think like, just like anything like in if I'm delivering news to my team at my practice or if I'm like talk having a sensitive conversation. Like, I want to do that if I can face to face, if I can't like with my voice. And then like my last resort is like an email or a text because you lose so much context, you know, So I love doing that too. It's. It's just fun too. I feel like I'm having a conversation more often.
- [22:34]
B
Yeah. Yeah. It's a little bit more real connection. There's like text and email. Like you have to kind of like try and read between the words and stuff. And when you have the intonation of the voice and stuff, it's much easier. Yeah. You even sent me and Steve like a text question this last week and we kind of like, responded that way too, so.
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A
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
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B
Curious to hear, like, the latest in your practice. Like, what have you been, what's it been like, recently? Any, like, specific focus?
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A
You know, the honest answer is, is no, there hasn't been a specific focus. Truly. Like, I think if you're not growing, you're dying. So I would never in my practice say, you know, we're not trying to grow, we're not trying to do things better. But I, I have, I have definitely found a core group of team members who are just like people that I show up to work and I'm like, oh, I'm happy to see this person. You know, that they're all that way. And over the years, most of them have been that way. But we've had some turnover. You know, we've had, you know, just the normal stuff. So we're in a really good place with the team. I actually have, so a longtime front desk team member who we had, we had talked about adding an office manager like a year and a half ago, and we extended that offer or the consideration to the front office, the current front office team. And everyone said no, you know, not really interested in that. So hired an office manager. Didn't work out great, you know, as, as can happen. And so kind of back to the drawing board. And this, this front office team member, she came to me and she said, hey, like, I kind of, I thought about it more and I really want to be considered for the position. And I said, great, I'm not just going to give you the position and say, good luck. Like, I want you to prove it to me. Like, I want you to show me. I'll give you, you know, I will give you some things I want to see. Like, I want you to just, again, you can just do stuff like act and conduct yourself like an office manager. You know, help me run morning huddle, help me run reports, help me manage the team and all the interpersonal stuff that's going on. She's just like crushed it. I don't take the credit. Like, I think she probably had a mindset shift where she said, wow, like, I can do this, I can be like this. And I mean, she's been amazing. So, you know, she's, we're going to promote her to office manager and she's essentially, you know, managing at this point. It's just, it's just entitled and pay now. But that's been really cool to see. That's like such a rewarding part of practice, honestly. I mean, we've continued to grow. And my associate, like, she's awesome. We just, we work so well together, so it's just like. And that's so, so easy, you know, and it's like a true blessing. And then like, you go on in practice and you have, you look at what you have and like, years ago I would have just been over the moon to be where I'm at now. And I, and I am. And the, the lifestyle, you know, the, the income, all the opportunity that it's afforded me is wonderful. But then, like, I truly care so much about my team and like, I truly care. I care so much about my, my associate dentist, my partner in dentistry, you know, Like, I, I just want them all to, I want them all to do a great job, but like, I just want them all to feel fulfilled. Like, I want my practice to be a place where they feel like it's helping them accomplish their goals too. But besides that, like, it's. That we're not doing anything crazy different, you know, clinically or, or anything like that. It's just kind. Continuing to, to grow feels like organically, you know, nothing, no crazy push and doing anything out of the ordinary. I'd say.
- [25:49]
B
Yeah, that's a fun spot to be. I think when you get to the point where you just feel like your team is really unified and really good foundation makes it really enjoyable. And I think, yeah, and I agree. I mean, there was several years, like when I got that core team in place, where it was like there was. I guess I would kind of say it similarly, like, I was always trying to get better at the schedule and productivity and kind of working with each day and like, little things, but it's, but it changes over time where it's like you're trying to get just 1% better at a lot of different areas rather than like, oh, there's like a lot of meat on the bone in this area, so we're going to put a lot of focus on this.
- [26:29]
A
Yeah. Or, or it's like, again, we talk about this all the time in, in different ways. But like, what. When you have enough. Like when you have enough in that you, your practice is performing the way you want it to be, the income you're making is where you want it to be. It's like, is it worth pushing for more? To me, where I'm at now, no, absolutely not. It's a true lifestyle practice. And I'm not going to go open a second location. I'm not going to go build a new building. I'm not going to add More ops. I'm not going to go crazy because I've dipped my toes in that water in a lot of different ways. And then you realize I just want it to be the way it used to be.
- [27:04]
B
You know, that's too much.
- [27:06]
A
I think we've all. I think it's healthy to hit that point and then, like, revert back because, like, you just have to define what's enough. And I feel like I'm at that point, so why would I. Why would I go crazy, you know?
- [27:18]
B
Yeah. And I think it kind of goes back to when you were talking about, like, messing around at the golf course, playing and enjoying it just for the sake of growth and improvement, like, just for the experience. And I think there's people that do that in practice ownership, and they like the process of owning multiple locations and, you know, partners and a lot of different things like that. But everybody's different, you know, And I was the same in. In that situation. The guy that bought my practice recently reached out, and he kind of, like, asked. He's like, hey, can I ask you, like, thinking about bringing on an associate and doing this and this? And so I was, you know, I just kind of, like, shared all my thoughts, and I was like, there's not a right or wrong here. I've helped people bring on associates, and there's people that are really happy with it and others that, you know, it doesn't turn out like they thought they thought that it would. So I think it's basically just knowing, what are the pros and cons of both of the scenarios? And which of those subsets do you like more? Like, are. If you go through the pros and the cons here, do you like that more than the pros and the cons over here? So it's a good way to kind of think through it. But, yeah, I always kind of came to that conclusion, too. And there was times that I looked at other people and I was like, oh, man, maybe I should have been more like them and done that. Like, look how well they're doing. And then over time, in retrospect, I think, no, I like the way that I put it. Like, yeah, it worked out pretty well.
- [28:36]
A
Yeah, it's cliche to say, but having kids and, like, a growing. A true growing family, I feel like it gives you so much clarity. It's given me so much clarity on, like, what's important in my life, you know, starting my practice. And, like, I've loved working on. And in my practice. It's very fulfilling. Then I see My kids and like all the cool things I can do with them and the time I can spend with them and I'm like, oh, wait a second.
- [28:59]
B
I thought that like, like this was
- [29:01]
A
important to me and like this was kind of the end all, be all or like a big focus of my life. But like this is the game's change and again that's, I think that's something a lot of us experience. But I'm going through this now truly for the first time with my daughter becoming like an actual human. And it's just like totally crystallized things for me, which is, which is fun to see. I feel like it's made me better coach for sure, because I feel like I can, I can relate to the experience of having kids and having a family and when, when I'm work with, working with somebody and we're talking about like, like starting with the end in mind and setting their goals of what they want out of our relationship, what they want out of their practice. Like, it, it helps me understand a little bit more versus maybe you know, even, even a few years ago.
- [29:42]
B
Yeah, that's cool. It's one of those things that you just don't know what it's like until you start going through it. But I think having kids just kind of gives you an extra responsibility. There's, there's. You start thinking through things differently and it, it does make you kind of think more about future generations and what am I, what am I doing for the, the world? What, you know, what's it going to be like for my kid to grow up in this type of atmosphere and culture and stuff like that? So there's a lot of questions. I think as with most experiences in life, like the more variety that you can experience, the more well rounded your perspective is and you start to see principles that apply. You know, like, you see, okay, this principle, oh, this applies really well in my life here, or like it can be in business or even practice or clinical or communication or anything and you start to see that and then you experience something else in life and you're like, oh, that works over here too. And so, yeah, it's always a fun experience to kind of go through those types of things and reinforce or help you learn a new experience that then applies to some of these other things that you, you know, already knew or believed. And it's just a bit of a different perspective.
- [30:55]
A
Yeah, I, I have a client who, she was an associate. We initially talked maybe a couple years ago, but now have been actively working together because she purchased very Small satellite practice that she used to associate at, in, in a very rural area like Midwest. And we've been working together for eight months or something like that. And she took this satellite practice, got it for basically nothing. And we saw potential there. And she like last, like every month here, the last three months, she's hit record highs in this practice. And in like this past month, she did 55,000 in this tiny three rural practice on like three days a week, one day of the week. She actually doesn't have a hygienist because her current hygienist can't do it. And anyway, she's just hustling and I'm so proud of her, you know, 55,000, you know, that's to a lot of us, that's a, not a big number. But like in this situation with where this practice was at, basically doing nothing. And it was actually very profitable even before she grew it. Like, this is an awesome, like, lifestyle practice. A huge initial success for this, for this dentist. And she has these young kids at home. And we've, you know, we've had conversations about how hard it is to like, work on the practice and like the energy level that it takes to, to do what she's doing and then still have energy at home and that like constant kind of angel and devil on the shoulder, like tearing you both ways. And so her success and what she's done. When we had our call the other day, I was like, my happiness for her was elevated even more because I'm like, I know what, I know what you're sacrificing. Like, I know that this isn't just like fun and games for you. Like, this is a true sacrifice. And so then to see the fruits of that labor, like, I just like want to run through a wall for people like her, you know, so it's just stories like that are just. I think that's one of the coolest things about coaching. I never realized, like, when I got into this, I never realized like the relationships that I would form with people and how those would kind of like carry on, you know, like, obviously got, you know, worked with Justin and stayed close with Justin over the years and. But like the successful coaching clients, you know, you're friends with them online, you check in every once in a while, you see how they're continuing to grow and succeed and you're like, I'm just like so happy for them. It's such like a, it's, it's truly like the most abundant thing that I do in my life is Just like, see those success stories. I just gave myself the warm fuzzies. But yeah, yeah, yes, it's great.
- [33:12]
B
There's a lot of people that ask me, like, you know, when they find, like most people don't expect that I'm a dentist and then they find out I'm a dentist and I tell them I'm not practicing anymore. And like a lot of questions start. And so they find out that I do coaching and consulting and stuff like that. And so the question is like, oh, do you like it more? Do you miss that? And it's interesting because, I mean, dentistry is a very, I think, I think it's a very fulfilling career and I enjoyed it a lot and I enjoyed the relationship with patients, I enjoyed the relationships with my team even more, but I enjoy the relationships with coaching clients even more because like, the best case, the best case scenario with a patient is like, you're able to like, really help them with confidence, maybe you take away some pain, alleviate some of their fears that they have with, with dentistry and they're grateful and stuff like that. But like, and if that's like, for the most common, like, best case, you compare that to coaching where you're able to change someone's life where like, they were, you know, kind of facing burnout, not sure if they were going to be able to reach their goals, not happy with ownership or like just where they're at. And then get to the point where they're like, you can totally tell that they're a leader in their practice, their income is high, their confidence is there, they're more time with their family. Like, to go through something like that is to feel like you completely changed the trajectory of their entire life, like the next 50 plus years of their life. Like, that is incredible type of fulfillment and satisfaction that can come from a relationship like that.
- [34:45]
A
And you meet like, you meet like minded people. The energy when you, when you are working with somebody who is kind of, let's say, going about things the right way is so positive on both ends where you're just, I'm happy for you, you're happy for me. And it's just like, it's truly like an abundance, an abundance thing in my, in my life. I'm like, I just, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to, to help. And I agree with you when you talk about dentistry, like, we have a chance to make a positive effect on people's lives. And I agree it's, it's much more fulfilling than sitting around and filling out spreadsheets or Doing Lord knows what. But it's still, it still has a, like, even doing like a really cool all on X case or like a huge reconstruction case, it's still like, is transactional in a way. Sure. It's like, I paid you to do this thing for me. And like, that's just, that's a feeling I get a lot of the time. But then like, seeing I have a client who just opened a scratch start, for instance, and that initial, like that, that month before opening is pretty stressful because you're like, I'm ready for these patients. I've done all the work. Now the floodgates are opening. Where are they? And then to see him immediately get booked out weeks and weeks and weeks and be like having all these great problems of growth and, and who to hire next and all those things, it's like, it doesn't touch the feeling of doing like a perfect crown prep for me, you know, it just doesn't. Or a crown prep can't touch the. Yeah, vice versa. Yeah, man.
- [36:09]
B
Man, do I love the perfect crown prep. That is fun too.
- [36:13]
A
It is fun. Yeah. The crown that seats with no adjustments. Yeah, it is fun. But yeah, those, those stories, it's just. And then like, you've, you've obviously, you know, we're have been a partner in TLP longer than I. But like, as you start to stack those relationships and those stories, like, for me, it like, increase. My motivation continues to increase. Like to, to do it more. You know, we had this discussion about, like, how long do you want to do this? You know, the other day and like, man, I, I could do this forever. Like, it's just, it's fun. It's great. Yeah. So like, my motivation grows with every positive interaction and like, call it success story, but like, every relationship that comes from tlp, even long after we're. We're done, quote, unquote, working together is just like, it's just so fun.
- [36:56]
B
Yeah. And it's been fun too, to like, see your evolution. I think, you know, when you joined, you already were very strong. Like, I just remember being like, really impressed. Strong confidence and very driven. And I think, you know, hearing from different people that have worked with you and kind of the results that they've seen and I think it's been such. You've been such a good addition too. And like, for years we just. People would reach out that wanted to do a startup and we just had to kind of like turn them away. And so now having uv, the expert that's done it and has coached A lot of people through. It is like, so good to have somebody like that that can offer that service. And I think, you know, based on, like, some of the things I'm hearing about other groups that do that, I think what you provide is night and day, like, so far ahead of, you know, those services and experiences. So I'm, I'm really glad that we have you at tlp.
- [37:49]
A
Thanks, dude. It's like we were all, you know, when you and Steve and I were chatting the other day, like, I'd say, gosh, at any one time maybe, you know, 20% of my clients are doing startups. Like, it's not the majority, but they're interesting. I won't say difficult. They're interesting. Compared to like working with an existing practice, I'd say the stakes are higher for sure. And I honestly, like, I feel like at this point I feel like I. It's not that I talk people out of startups more than I talk them into. I definitely don't talk them into it. I feel like I am a voice of reason constantly for people who want to do startups. And, you know, when I'm, when I'm working with someone who's doing a startup, I might come in contact with them very initially, like, hey, Matt, I'm thinking about doing this. What do you think? Or I might come in contact with them at a point of like, hey, Matt, I. I have this location. I'm pretty much full go on this. Here's my plan. Like, let's work together. What do you think? And then let's work together. And I've, I feel like I'm just always asking these questions now to try to make people understand, like, what's at stake, make people understand what's important in like, creating a successful startup versus, like, being all gung ho and just, you know, rah, rah, you can do it. Some people don't like that and like, don't do a startup or don't work with me. And that's great because if I've like, injected some wisdom and just like actually help them, like make a good decision instead of just giving them a pat on the back and saying, yeah, let's do this, and like, I'd much rather like actually help than do that because I think there's a lot, like when I, when I did my startup, you know, used resources, dental town, Facebook, like figured it out just like we were talking about earlier. And I think like, a lot of resources out there are like, like, they're kind of like, overly positive. It's like, yeah, well, you can do it. And so like, I don't want to say I'm negative, but it's more like neutral. It's like trying to remain neutral in evaluation of not just startups but everything in a practice, I think is really important because if you get too positive about things, it clouds your judgment. There's so many times I'm going on here but like there's so many times thinking about a startup where someone's maybe telling me their plan and like how they think they're going to get patients and how successful they'll be. And I'm listening as a neutral party and thinking, I'm glad that you're excited about this. I'm glad that you have enthusiasm. But like that doesn't bring patience through your door. Yeah, startups are fun, they're interesting. I love the balance of working with some startup clients and then like, you know, established practice owners. It's a fun balance to strike, honestly, but it's, they're very different, that's for sure.
- [40:18]
B
Yeah. And I think kind of what I was saying earlier, like principles that carry over and the more that you can expose yourself to so you having more experience with startups, you know, gives you a different perspective in acquisitions or in, you know, what it, what it takes to take your practice to the next level and stuff like that.
- [40:36]
A
So it's funny, like we develop feel and everything we do in our life. Like, you know, you're prepping a crown and, and you don't even know how you did it right. Like you're just doing dentistry and you're just like doing your grocery list in your head. You know, that's, that's feel, right? That's reps. And I've gotten to point in, in my experience where I can basically be talking to somebody and know if they just personality wise are going to be a successful startup owner or a successful practice owner, but like, or if they have the potential to, to get there. That so much with, with startups is like the personality of the person. You and I talked about that way, way long ago when we had a little fun debate on startups and acquisitions and you, I, you said it and it's like stuck with me for a while. You're like, there's just like a certain type of person who can do this and do it successfully and oftentimes people don't know if they're that type of person. And I feel like I'm just like constantly evaluating that when we're having that kind of discussion. It's a feel thing, you know?
- [41:30]
B
Yeah. If you don't know, there's probably a good chance it's not you, but you're like, oh, yeah, this is. I know. This is what I want to do. This is how. And stuff like, okay, yeah, that's probably for you.
- [41:41]
A
Yeah, we're, that's, that's a rabbit hole that we don't have to get city to go down. Well, I have a toddler looking at me from across the room here who just wandered up to my office, so I think this is a good time to cut it. Enjoyed being with you today. D man. Thanks for joining me. Little chop session here. Any last thoughts you want to add?
- [41:58]
B
No, no, I think it's, it's fun. It's. I'm, I'm glad that we could kind of do spur of the moment. Probably be good to do stuff like this once in a while.
- [42:07]
A
Yeah, I know that's what we're trying. We're trying to do more of. So to everybody out there who's listening, thank you for tuning in today. Like we mentioned at the beginning, if you want to learn more about what we do tlp, you know how to reach us. You can email us directly. Matt the lifestylepractice.com Derek the lifestylepractice.com Steve or Head to our website, fill out that assessment survey, and we'll get back to you. Or you can contact us with any thoughts you have. Until next time. Cheers.