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 63

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Mark Costes, Founder of Dental Success Institute

Key Takeaways:

• There’s no one right model for setting up a dental practice, it must be tailored to the owner’s goals and the specific geographic area.
• Boulden predicts the rise of the “Super GP,” a dentist who has skills and training to do more services than they have traditionally. Less will be referred out.
• Technology is allowing a wider range of dentists to practice a wider range of skills.
• “The grass is greener” is always psychology.
• Most dentists don’t have a business. If you’re not making more than 30% as dentist owner then it’s a glorified job.

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 62

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Uche Odiatu, keynote speaker, author, wellness expert

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Uche integrates total health wellness within his busy dental practice.
• Probiotics are now acknowledged by mainstream medicine.
  • Probiotics are live organisms that supplement your diet. If you’re eating the right food you don’t need probiotics, but up to 90% of people are not eating the right food.
• Probiotics have been proven to prevent sickness in trails with extreme athletes, so their benefits for anyone with a stressed immune system can benefit.
• 85% of CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies exercise 3-4 times per week. 15% of the average North American population exercises.
• Fit people have an attenuated response to stress.
• Keeping up with regular exercise helps your body and mind slow down.
• The goal of exercise isn’t to get in shape, it’s to change your life and stay there.
• Find successful people to model yourself after.
• The lack of serotonin causes depression. 90% of serotonin is made in your gut, from food.
• The fundamental, #1 food for your body is fiber.
• Exercise is an independent factor that affects your gut flora. It balances and brings homeostasis to every one of your neurotransmitters.
• To get smarter, exercise and eat fiber.
• If you want to lead you need to do things to increase energy, have abundant thinking, and have good reaction to stress.
• You can’t buy great physical condition. Its an expression to the world of your standard for your body.
• Morning routines are key for setting a great tone for your day.
• Comparing yourself with others is not good, being grateful for what you have is important.
• One thing you can do to start improving your life is to act on one thing you heard that resonated with you. Celebrate, don’t analyze.

References:

Align Probiotic Supplement

The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer

The Microbiome Solution by Robynne Chutkan MD

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson

Exercise – When Less is More with HIIT!!! By Dr. Uche Odiatu

Tweetables:

Time flies for people who aren’t paying attention. – Dr. Uche Odiatu

The quality of your life depends on the quality of your communication. – Tony Robbins

No one is an overnight success. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Gratitude is the master emotion. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Comparison is the thief of joy. – Theodore Roosevelt

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 61

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Garrett Gunderson, author & founder of Wealth Factory

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Wealth Factory is a personal wealth management company with a specialized focus for entrepreneurs in dentistry.
• Garrett co-authored a new book, called “5 Day Weekend.” Look for it on shelves everywhere!
• “The 4 Hour Workweek” is more about outsourcing and frugality. “5 Day Weekend” focuses more on keeping more of the money you make, learning to make more money as an individual, growing your money, and investing back in yourself.
• Dentists got screwed with the new tax change because they’re service-based professionals. Dentists won’t get the pass-through deduction.
• Two major things when it comes to taxes:
  • You should have an accountant to get tax deductions. The biggest way to save tax is to reclassify your income which comes from attorneys. If your attorney isn’t a tax attorney, you will be spending too much money.
  • Every three years you should get a different set of eyes on your taxes. You have three years to amend.
    • If you’ve done any R&D or domestic production. This includes CEREC manufacturing, training, software research, etc. These deductions are additional money you could be leaving on the table.
    • Do a cost segregation on any property you own.
  • Saving tens of thousands of dollars on taxes is like ten years of investing.
  • The two main factors of income reclassification are:
    • How can you take your active income and classify it as passive income?
      • You’ve created unique processes and intellectual property. Set up a separate company as an intellectual property company. Then pay that company 15% to use that proprietary intellectual property.
    • How do you take ordinary income and classify it as capital gains income?
      • Create captive insurance agencies. If you do it right, you can put money in pre-tax and create various insurance protections to sell back to your practice. The money taken out is considered capital gains and has better tax benefits.
      • You can ensure actual business risks. If you can’t sock away $300,000 it’s not worth doing.
    • You can drop your tax rate to 4% if you choose to live in Puerto Rico for at least 4 months of the year and be outside the US for at least 6 months.
    • If you have a company event at your home or personal property you can pay yourself rent without claiming it as income.
    • LLC’s that hold real estate that is rented out to your practice count as reclassification of income and have valuable tax incentives.
    • There’s no reason to be overpaying on taxes when it’s legal and ethical to avoid paying certain things.
    • Wealth Factory acts as your personal financial quarterback, and 93% of their clients save significant amounts of money by working with them.
    • Two ideas about 401k’s:
      • Everyone should look at a charitable remainder trust. You can create tax deductions when you sell assets.
      • Even better, look at converting 401k’s to a Roth plan. You have to pay tax when you convert, but if you use a structured annuity where it’s valued at half of the actual 401k. You’ll get a guaranteed future income stream.
    • Make sure you build up enough liquidity. People overemphasize investing and underemphasize saving.
    • You’ll be ahead of 90% of other dentists by learning how to hire bad-ass people, building liquidity, and owning a building.

References:

5 Day Weekend by By Nik Halik & Garrett Gunderson

Killing Sacred Cows by Garrett Gunderson

Bard Press

The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

America’s Best 401k

Tweetables:

Automatically save and deliberately invest. – Garrett Gunderson

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 60

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Debra Englehardt-Nash

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Private practice dentistry is NOT going to go away.
• We must learn how to stop commoditizing our patients. Instead we should learn to value appreciation of our patients.
• Passionate dentists make great leaders. They create the vision and enlist the help of a supportive team to put that vision in action.
• When a new patient calls start out asking “inspirational” questions, instead of asking about insurance first. Listen to what the patient wants.
• Help your team and patients understand how fees are based:
  • Skill required to do it right
  • Time it takes to do it well
  • Materials used so treatment endures
• Dentistry used to be all about efficiency, now it’s all about experience.
• Thoughtful approaches take longer, but you end up with a better result.
• Pre-collect for appointments. It takes the stress off collecting at the end of the appointment and eliminates no-shows.
• There’s room for all kinds of dentistry, you just have to decide where you want to be.
• Success is a meandering stream, it’s not a direct line. The business of dentistry is hard work.
• Consultants are facilitators to help the leader be the difference in the practice.
• Listening to webinars and podcasts is important, but they can’t replace in-person trainings and meetings.
• Toil is good for you.
• Successful people don’t act as victims, they address their own actions that led to where they are.
• Catastrophes give perspective and help you redirect.
• You don’t have a lot of time to establish trust, so you better do it quickly.
• Ask for your patient’s permission before you start offering treatment options.
• 70% of the reason why patients don’t follow through with treatment is because the treatment wasn’t explained well enough and they were released too soon to talk about money and they weren’t ready to commit.
• Dentists often settle for way too little when choosing members of their team.
• Olympics are won by 1/10th of a second. That extra 10th of a second could be that one thing that moves you forward faster.

References:

American Academy of Dental Practice

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink

Tweetables:

It’s the head of the fish that always smells first. – Benjamin Franklin

People who get frozen in fear will never get a win. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

You have to believe to be believed. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

Whether you’ve spent $400 or $4000, if you’re not happy you’ve spent too much. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

Change your modalities and you might get a different result. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

The dentist’s fear is holding back dentistry. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

Life’s too short to be unhappy. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

Happiness is in the solving of problems, not in the absence of them. – Dr. Craig Spodak

If you’re going to ask your team to be a cheerleader, you better give them something to cheer about. – Debra Englehardt-Nash

The chokehold on any business is always the psychology and skill set of the owner. – Dr. Craig Spodak

The culmination of many small successes is a massive win. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 59

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Darren Shaw, owner of Whitespark

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Google has been ramping up their local SEO features so they can improve their local ad sales.
  • Google posts are new and allow you to push out more content. They expire weekly so you need to stay current with new content.
  • Google Q&A allows you to address some of the most frequent FAQ’s right in google search.
  • Google Insights show who has clicked through to your website, who has called you, etc.
  • Engagement metrics are real. The more engagement you get with your google content the better you will show up in search. Add videos, posts, attributes, etc.
• What makes up a good local search strategy?

1. Get your Google & Google My Business listings are correct.
   1. Make sure your primary category is accurately reflecting what you do.
2. Citations are your online business listings on Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.
   1. Make sure these are all accurate.
   2. Make sure there are as many out there as possible. Shoot for 80+ listings.
3. Reviews are super important for ranking and conversion benefits.
   1. If you are doing a review ask, coax a little bit to mention the specific service they had. Those keywords really help you rank better for those terms in local SEO.
4. Website in local search comes down to how much content you have. Basic blurbs will not help you rank.
   1. Make sure you build out your content.
5. Links help with local search as well. This is often done through sponsorships, community outreach and support. These are easy ways to get other sites to link to you.
   1. Local sponsorships are one of the best ways to get local links.
   2. To find: search in google: “intitle:sponsors ‘YOUR CITY’”, will give you a whole list of local sponsors.
   3. Vendors are also usually high-authority links. Find vendors of yours who list their local customers and find a way to get a link listed on their site.

• Yelp continues to be a challenge for many small businesses.
  • You’re not allowed to ask for reviews. Yelp wants all reviews to come in naturally.
  • It’s also of no value to ask for Yelp reviews. Their filters are very strict, only active Yelp users will have reviews that are shown.
  • Yelp actively endorses a check-in offer, which is a GREAT way to bypass Yelp’s “don’t ask” policy. Any patient who checks in and takes you up on the offer will be encouraged to leave a review. Put the check-in offer on Google posts, send via email, put up a sign, promote as much as you can. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.
  • Another Yelp hack – make a new Gmail account, take your entire patient email list and put it into that Gmail contact list, then run through “find my friends” on Yelp, and it’ll tell you who is active.
• Facebook allows you to create custom segments by uploading your existing patient list.
  • Promote new services, show them what’s new, etc.
• Website is a great opportunity to keep adding detailed content.
• Video is important. Talk about your services and upload on your website, YouTube, social media, etc.
• Google local pack – these are the top results that show up at the right side of the page when you search for a local business.
  • It went from 10 businesses, to 7, now it’s 3.
  • It doesn’t exist within an entire city anymore. Google filters based on the proximity of the searcher. You’ll generally show up within 5-10 miles of your business.
  • The way to slightly break out of the proximity search is to buy local pack ads.
  • Google guarantees some home repair related industries.
    • The listings are paid for and business who participate must be screened.
  • Another opportunity to rank organically is to build out city/neighborhood pages on your website.
    • Build a page on your site that talks about local neighborhoods and how your office has helped with patients in that area. This helps draw in organic ranking results from outside your 10-mile radius. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.

References:

Steady Demand

Whitespark Local Citation Finder

Whitespark Reputation Builder

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 58

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Tarun Agarwal, owner/dentist Raleigh Dental Arts, owner T-Bone Speaks

Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Make sure you’re not being oversold by predatory companies offering horrible insurance and investment planning.
• Review your estate plans every couple years.
• It’s not about how rich or poor you are, it’s about preventing your loved ones from inheriting a storm.
• The cost of maintaining a healthy office is significantly higher than it was 15 years ago.
• We should be shooting for profitability in the 10-20% ballpark.
• Profitability should be based on all your normal expenses, plus the following:
  • Each dentist (including yourself) should be paid as an associate
  • Build in an escrow dollar or percentage amount (2-3%) for future improvements, renovations, and technology gains
  • Interest amount (5%) on capital put into the practice
• “All things under one roof” – medical and dental – is the future of dentistry. Cottage industry offices as we know them will be displaced in certain environments.
• Approximately 80% of offices are solo dentists. The believe is within 10 years this number will drop to closer to 50%.
• If you’re going to stop practicing within the next 10 years you’ll probably be fine. If you’re planning to practice longer than that you will get hit by these changes.
• Put away money on an annual basis to cover renovations.
• Make sure you’re getting fulfillment in your professional life, as well as in personal.
• If you design your business around you and make yourself happy, others around you will be happy as well.
• Focus on outcomes, not goals.
• People aren’t doing enough live training. The magic is being around people and interacting with others.

References:

Creative Planning

Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

Tweetables:

“Life’s ultimate ROI is fulfillment and happiness.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

“What makes people happy is progress.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

“Focus on outcomes, not goals.” – Dr. Tarun Agarwal

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 57

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dan DelMain, owner of DelMain Analytics

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• DelMain Analytics is a full-service digital marketing agency.
• It’s no longer possible to gamify your way to a great digital marketing strategy.
• Google is humanizing their search engine more and more to reward sites who are giving value to consumers.
• It’s all about creating the best user experience.
• The amount of advertising noise is staggering. Voice search is a much more targeted way to search out information.
• Voice search is evolving into longer conversations.
• Evolution of internet platforms has been: desktops – laptops – mobile phones – mobile phone voice search – home devices
• Evolution of SEO has been 7-pack to 3-pack to 1-pack
• Who are the players in voice search?
  • Siri – Apple
  • Google Assistant – Google
  • Cortana – Microsoft
  • Alexa – Amazon
• What are people searching for?

• • conversational - what is the cost of Invisalign?
  • proximity - dentist near me
  • hours of operation 
  • insurances accepted
• 1 in 5 queries on Google are voice searches
• Chrome is also pushing search traffic to security-rich sites
• How to optimize your site for voice search
  1. mobile friendly/responsive
  2. answer FAQ type questions on the website
  3. claiming Google My Business profile
  4. online reputation
  5. social signals/social media
  6. schema markup
• Contact DelMain Analytics and mention Bulletproof Dental Practice, Dan will have a 30-45 phone chat with you and share any tidbits he can recommend!

References:

Google Mobile Friendly Tool

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 56

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Elijah Desmond

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• There is a commonality in all successful people. It’s hunger for more.
• If you aren’t making mistakes or haven’t made one in the last year, you are playing it too safe.
• Elijah Desmond runs a Facebook page called Trapped in an Op for those professionals who want to venture from the traditional clinical setting in dentistry.
• The main issue dental teams are suffering from is drama. Either you have the wrong people or the wrong culture in the office.
• If you are lacking alignment how can you work well as a team?

1. Everyone is a consultant these days.
   1. Business owners are more self conscious than ever with social media outlets being readily available with information.
   2. Stop listening to everyone else. Focus on your goals and what you want out of your career.
2. There is currently a changing of hands. The older generation is passing the baton and a new generation of influencers is rising.
3. What is the reason why you entered in this profession?
   1. For most, the number one reason to be in this profession is to make people smile.
   2. Focusing on the big picture and changing lives
4. What is your hygienist supposed to do?
   1. Focus on complete oral health
   2. Don’t brush off hygiene checks this is where treatment is converted! You have already established a connection with these patients. They more likely to agree to recommended treatment with the help of your hygiene team.
   3. Dental Intel will track which Doctor/Hygienist work best together in converting over treatment.

• Mention Bulletproof Dental Practice and sign up for Dental Intel w/no activation fee.

Tweetables:

“Magic is hard work.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

“Motivation and determination without procrastination is the key to success.” – Elijah Desmond

“The way you get to the top is by helping other people get there too.” – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 55

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Key Takeaways:

• Four Pillars of a Bullet Proof Dental Practice

1. Vision and Leadership
   1. As a leader/owner of the practice you set the tone
   2. You must give your team a road map
   3. Be intentional in explaining your goals to your team
   4. Make a descriptive vision
   5. Self-managing teams
2. Team and Culture
   1. Culture is a foundation of a lot of our marketing
   2. When your team is happy they are more resourceful
   3. Happiness is good for business. Money is the lagging indicator of creating an exceptional experience and exceptional dentistry.
   4. Daylight is very important to incorporate in healthcare environments. It affects mood and purchasing decisions.
3. Marketing and Reputation
   1. The average person has 318 friends on social media
   2. Make sure you are getting mentions
   3. Use Hootsuite for tracking all social media channels
   4. Facebook is not a form of push advertising
   5. Keep your ratio healthy with your posts (funny vs before/after pictures)
   6. Seek out social influencers! Accounts that have more than 300,000 followers.
4. Systems and Metrics
   1. New patients that visit each month
   2. Average dollar amount per visit
   3. True practice growth- how much did we grow this month?

• Click HERE to sign up for Podium w/no activation fees!

References:

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hseih

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

Tweetables:

“Be the leader you wish you had.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure.” Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 54

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guests: Alan Mead, Dental Hacks Podcast / Brian Colao, Dykema Law Firm

Key Takeaways:

• Should you have a DSO?
• If you don’t have a DSO and you’re a doctor owned practice, who can you sell to? You can only sell to other licensed dentists in your state, and that’s a very narrow, deflated market that is getting smaller every day. If you have a DSO your market is the world.
• A DSO deal with established DSO might pay 5-7x EBITDA and is a low-risk deal.
• A private equity deal will require ongoing involvement, and is higher risk, so may pay very high single digits to double digits.
• Private equity deals are performance based.
• There’s an evolution and consolidation in the dental marketplace. The evolution is from doctor owned single practices to DSO’s. The market is being flooded with private equity funds as it allows non-dentists to make money in the marketplace.
• The market saturation of DSO’s is about 10%. There is a lot of runway, and the industry is very fragmented. This means that saturation is a ton of value left to harness in the dental market.
• Seek out education about how the market is changing so you can react and best position your organization.
• Ten years from now there will be very limited opportunity for solo practitioners. If you have eyes set on being a solo practitioner, you need to understand the transition and have a plan. Only the rock star practitioners will thrive on their own.
• Patients are becoming more and more demanding. Consumers don’t really care who owns their dental office.
• DSO’s are in the third generation of progression.
• The highest valuation in the DSO industry is Deca Dental. 18.2x!
• DSO’s are trying to implement one-stop shopping. There’s a lot of upside as a practitioner in working within a one-stop shop style practice.
• It’s not just corporate DSO’s looking to get into the dental marketplace, existing industry suppliers are finding ways to reach consumers directly.

References:

The Cleveland Clinic Way by Tony Cosgrove

Tweetables:

“Peer pressure makes dentists better.” Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 53

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Steven Rasner

Watch the full interview video by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Email Dr. Steven Rasner at drrasner@aol.com, with request to SEND ALL THE STUFF!
• There is hope and prosperity of ownership.
• Oral sedation has the capacity to expand your practice very quickly.
• You can easily market oral sedation.
• The triad for a successful office- oral sedation, extractions and implants.
• Why oral sedation is better? People automatically assume that can’t handle the cost associated with IV sedation.
• One key to a successful practice- Preforming a comprehensive exam on every patient!
• 6 things I would do if I started over on Monday:

1. Financial discipline straight out of dental school. Invest in yourself early on.
   1. Start by taking 1 CE course every quarter and 1 continuum every year.
   2. 95% of dentists cannot retire at age 65 and sustain themselves
2. Seek out successful mentors. This exposes you to other dentist as a resource.
3. Most important protocol for new patient’s is phone verbiage.
   1. It doesn’t cost to be nice. You want your patients to feel a “Cheers atmosphere” where everyone knows your name.
   2. When taking a new patient phone call, you want them to invest in:
      1. seeing an out of network provider
      2. getting their significant other to come to the appointment
      3. paying up front

4. Willingness to do morning meetings with team members to review old balances, new patients, any special needs and special events on your schedule.
5. Embrace your community.
6. Treatment plan your life. Remember to ask yourself: Am I happy living my life the way I'm doing it?
   1. Balance your life. Keep living like a dental student when you're out as a dentist.

• Next open course with Dr. Rasner May 4th-5th http://realizingthedream.com/courses

References:

Realizing the Dream

Tweetables:

“You do what you learn.” Dr. Steven Rasner

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 52

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Michael Apa, Partner Rosenthal Apa Group, Founder Apa Aesthetic in Dubai

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Apa travels back and forth from New York City to Dubai, focusing on creating amazing cosmetic cases.
• The small details in dentistry are best answered by people who are doing it in and out every day.
• Apa figured out how to take a lot of time in planning and prep, so the design and implementation of a case works PERFECTLY with no complications.
• After so many cases Dr. Apa’s team now works like a symphony.
• To have such high output you must have the driving passion and dedication.
• For Dr. Apa the work itself, and seeing patient’s reaction is very rewarding. When you do so much dentistry, you start amassing an audience of people who help to continue propelling you forward.
• Achievement is a drug that keeps high performers going strong, wanting to do more and more.
• In dentistry we draw a small box around what we think is the profession, but you can really do anything you want to do.
• Dentistry lately seems to be focused on the negative; insurance, corporations, debt, etc.
• Younger dentists are searching out more positive messages.
• You can’t listen to what is coming down the pipeline, you must find your own will and your own way.
• Take what everyone says to you, take it in, and exhale and stay true to what YOU want to accomplish.
• People in the US have a much higher knowledge about what is possible in dentistry. Other areas of the world have great opportunity to educate and train the population – and dentists – on what is possible.
• To feel the level of passion Dr. Apa has, you must be able to reach the general public. The best way to get patients of any quantity is to reach them where their attention is: social media.

References:

Apa Beauty

Tweetables:

“Achievement is a drug that keeps high performers going strong, wanting to do more and more.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“Dentistry is a snowflake, you can express your vision however you want.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“Don’t let anybody tell you what you can and can’t do.” Dr. Michael Apa

“Listening to your patients is the best education.” Dr. Michael Apa

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 51

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Blake McClellan, CEO and co-founder of Implant Compare

Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here!

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about upcoming book release and Bulletproof Summit in fall 2018!

Key Takeaways:

• Implant Compare live-streams dental education and surgeries.
• We’re just now discovering the great many capabilities of blockchain, and how it can be applied to everyday life.
• It’s the algorithm behind bitcoin that is the most powerful.
• This episode is not investment advice.
• Bitcoin is a byproduct of a blockchain. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that is decentralized. Every time a transaction happens it’s added to the block. Essentially, it’s an ecosystem of a network of computers that validate every transaction.
• Decentralizing this process creates a lot more complexity and provides protection against data attacks.
• Blockchains aren’t just currency, every different algorithm has different applications.
• The other benefit of using blockchain as currency is it keeps everybody honest.
• Blockchain is a very fast rapid way to move data in a highly encrypted way.
• One major benefit of blockchain in dentistry is potential to develop, fast, highly confidential ways to transfer patient files. Applications could also be built to allow practices to share servers & hardware.
• Phase 2 of blockchain will be around identity management and logistics.
• The technology is still emerging, and we’re seeing big companies entering the development space.

References:

Pro Med Sales

Vital Signs Technologies

Patientory

Dentacoin

Ethereum

Ripple

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 50

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Eric Rea, CEO of Podium

Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here! 

Key Takeaways:

• Podium is a reputation management platform, helping to significantly boost your practice’s online reviews, and Podium has funding invested from Google.
• Podium focused on creating a great experience for the patient. This helps boost conversion rates and gets you more & better reviews.
• Reviews are made simple, and are targeted to platforms that are most popular with the user and the practice.
• Podium has access to parts of Google’s API that other competitors don’t, which gives them unique access into how their review system works.
• Recentness of reviews is important to Google’s algorithm so it’s key to continue getting rave reviews from your patients.
• User generated content (reviews, social media postings from patients, etc) is a way better predictor of your SEO rank than how many links you have to your website.
• Google Local Guides carry more weight than other reviewers.
• To comply with Yelp’s policies of not asking for reviews on their platform, Podium does not solicit reviews for Yelp.
• The most important platforms for dentists to pay attention to are Instagram/Facebook, Snapchat, and Google. These are the platforms where people spend their time, and they’re all working to integrate other features to become unique ecosystems.
• Reviews have shifted the marketing equation, you can’t fake real people talking about you online.
• Video reviews are important for the future, but they’re really hard to sift through. Review platforms haven’t gotten to a place where they make video reviews possible or easy.
• Voice-activated devices are also key to future marketing. Imagine giving your review to Siri or Alexa!
• Podiums software will scale and change based on future development from Google.
• 90% of reputation management companies are NOT recommended by the review platform sites.
• Making experiences seamless is how companies thrive.
• Podium is working on a communication platform that allows offices to connect with patients and make communication seamless.
• Click HERE to sign up for Podium w/no activation fees!

References:

What yelp’s crackdown on review collection means for your business (and why we stopped collecting yelp reviews over a year ago)

Whitespark

Tweetables:

“Consumers are conditioned to always look at reviews.” Dr. Peter Boulden

“Focus on creating an experience for the patient that you would want to have yourself.” Eric Rea

“Dentists who take care of their craft and take care of the details are the ones who will succeed.” Eric Rea

“If you’re providing massive value, you deserve to be successful.” Dr. Craig

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 49

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Christian Coachman, founder of Digital Smile Design (DSD)

Watch the full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• The world is moving at a very rapid pace, and it’s each of our responsibility to roll with the change and grow to meet the expanding demands of our patients.
• Millennials aren’t looking for great products, they’re looking for great experiences.
• Marketing in dentistry has changed. People now expect a story of what they’re going to experience.
• You can no longer rely solely on being the best at doing dentistry, you’ve got to be able to connect with patients and show them what’s in it for them.
• Being good and doing decent dentistry is an obligation, but is not the only thing you need to do to be successful.
• The human brain has evolved to listen to stories.
• Make your patient the hero and the guide.
• The first step in telling your story is to open the communication channels and connect with the emotional side of people’s brains.
• There are 3 stages to presenting treatment plans with patients; gaining emotional permission, discussing problems, then explaining treatment plan.
• The DSD concept is about everything to be understood in regard to running a successful practice.
• DSD focuses on process within patient’s 1st and 2nd appointments; intake, analysis, smile design, treatment planning, treatment presentation, case acceptance, online marketing, and more.
• Dentists who want to own and operate their own practices are going to need to develop business and marketing skills, because your primary competitor will be a corporation.
• In order to change and grow with the business of dentistry, first we need awareness about what is coming.
• Then DSD educations about four moments; design, plan, sell, and perform.

References:

Digital Smile Design

Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller

Tweetables:

“The good guys in dentistry are focused on adding value for patients.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“Change is always a constant, growth is optional.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“This is a great moment for ambitious people.” Dr. Christian Coachman

“Millennials aren’t looking for great products, they’re looking for great experiences.” Dr. Christian Coachman

“Storytelling is the biggest skill for this new era.” Dr. Christian Coachman

“There’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to just learning the clinical.” Dr. Peter Boulden

“If the patient doesn’t see what’s in it for them – you lose.” Dr. Peter Boulden

“When we do dentistry right, we’re helping people.” Dr. Craig Spodak

“Everything happens slowly until it’s sudden.” Dr. Craig Spodak

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:
  1. Create a vision for your life
  2. Work on your leadership skills
  3. 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.