Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 95

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Mark Costes

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here! 

Key Takeaways:

• Introduction To Mark Costes’s Podcast
• Mark’s Introduction
• Overview of Craig’s practice
  
  • Why he wanted a large practice
  • Craig’s Invisalign background
• Overview of Peter’s practice
  
  • Peter’s practices & model
  • Diversification with real estate
  • Peter’s vision
• Private equity
  
  • Valuations
• Craig’s vision & legacy
  
  • Revolutionize the profession
• The Bulletproof Practice book
  
  • Why Craig & Peter decided to write the book
  • To be the leaders they wish they had
• America’s best 401k
  
  • The traditional financial retirement model
  • Doing good in dentistry

References:

The Bulletproof Dental Practice

Tweetables:

Be the leader you wish you had -  Simon Sinek

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 94

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Brannon Moncrief

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here! 

Key Takeaways:

• Starting Dentappraisal
  
  • Background of Brannon
• When did the 75% - 85% of topline revenue become the practice valuation?
  
  • Easy metrics
• Specialty Practices
  
  • Buy-ins and margins are substantial
  • High profitability
  • Level of vulnerability
• What portion of sales are from people wanting to sell their practices vs those looking to onboard a partner
  
  • Reviving management burden
  • Moving locations
• EBITDA or subjective valuations
• 7 key factors for valuation
  
  • Revenue level and trends
  • Profitability level and trends
  • Type and size of patient base
  • Hygiene production and service mix
  • Facilities and equipment
  • Location
  • Opportunities for growth
• Average profitability of practices of 1.5 million and above
• Definition of EBITDA
• What is the average payment the DSO is taking after you sell?
• How private equity more often that not doesn’t help industries
• The average days on the market for a practice
• Options available on the marketplace
• Advice to the industry
  
  • Know your revenue
  • Monitor your practice
  • Manage it appropriately
• What is missing from the market      

References:

Dentappraisal

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 90

Hosts: Chuck Blakeman

Guest: Dr. Peter Boulden

Key Takeaways:

• Introduction To Chuck’s Podcast
  
  • Introduction to Peter Boulden
• Peter’s background
• The business side of dentistry
• Systems & processes
  
  • Start with the result
  • Defining success
• Goal setting      
  
  • Planning future success
  • Without action, it’s just an act of futility
  • Accountability
• Forming habits
• Perspectives on culture

References:

Checklist Manifesto

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 90

Hosts: Chuck Blakeman

Guest: Dr. Craig Spodak

Key Takeaways:

• Introduction to Craig Spodak
  
  • Craig’s background
• Value of knowing where we end up and when
• Freedom doctor and hostage doctor
• Major lessons that Dr Spodak has learned during his career
  
  • Keep pursuing
  • Living to work, not working to live
  • Know yourself, know what you want
• 3 modes that human beings operate in
• The importance of vision
• Fulfilment vs achievement
• Dr Spodak’s non-profit
• Dr Spodak's next goals 

References:

Chuck Blakeman

All-Star Smiles

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 89

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Steven Clausnitzer, CEO/Co-Founder of Forever Labs

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Dentistry accelerates the aging process
• Introduction to Steven / Forever Labs
• Using young stem cells
• The best age to harvest stem cells
  
  • The younger the better
  • 8 opportunities to grow cells
  • Multi-potent
• Using sourced stem cells throughout the rest of your life
  
  • Cryogenically frozen
• Growing more cells outside the body than inside it
• Growing specific to an application
• What’s the difference in cord blood banking?
• Can I use my children’s blood / stems?
  
  • 50% rejection rate hoa match
  • Need your own cells
• What type of investment is this?
  
  • Moving from disease treatment society > health maintenance society
  • Longevity escape velocity - 12 years - time x money
  • $2500 procedure, $250 per year for storage, lifetime plan $7000 upfront
• Differences in dental vs health care, preventative medicine - longevity
• Free giveaway lifetime procedure
• Giving Away 1 FREE Lifetime Procedure: go.foreverlabs.com/giveaway/boulden, use code: Boulden

References:

Forever Labs

Giveaway for 1 FREE Lifetime Procedure

Dr. Aubrey de Grey “Ending Aging” video

Peter Diamandis

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 88

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Marc Cooper, President of DEO Dental Group

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Artificial Intelligence
  • Machine to machine learning will eliminate the human interface
• Dental practice in 10 years given AI and Blockchain
  • No waiting rooms
  • Electronic patient records
  • Extensive vitals
• The tipping point
  • The dental future is past the tipping point
• Futurist
  • Looking towards something but also from something which gives a different perspective of what is going on
  • Dentistry will go where medicine goes
  • Healthcare never goes down in cost
• Dentistry 2032:The Future Report Overview
  • Large DSO’s will dominate the market
  • Robotics will place nearly all dental implants
  • Shift from technician to team leader
  • Always have a human interface
• Quality care
  • Quality means that it lasts
  • Quality assurance will be pervasive throughout dentistry
  • Patients will get better treatment
  • Insurance reimbursement will shift to AI and blockchain
• Successful Entrepreneurship
  • Move forward
  • Think in action
  • Hear the future differently
  • Integrate

References:

DEO Dental Group

The Tipping Point

Dentistry 2032:The Future Report

Tweetables:

Be willing to be wrong without making yourself wrong – Dr. Marc Cooper

There needs to be a fundamental change in the mindset of a dentist about what it means to be a dentist. – Dr. Marc Cooper

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 87

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Jairek Robbins

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Everyone loves the idea of following your passion, but very few people can or will follow through
• What’s the purpose of business?
  • 1 – Add value to the community around you
  • 2 – Generate revenue and profit to feed the families of you and your team
  • 3 – Create a place where the humans who are going to work there are going to become the best version they can be
• 50% of business fail in 5 years, 96% fail in 10 years
  • Out of the 4% that survive, only 39% are profitable
• Good to Great is about companies who focus on meaning vs. making money
• In 10 years, the S&P 500 grew 122%, Good to Great companies grow 331%, Firm of Endearment companies grew 1,026% over same period of time
• Firm of Endearment companies focus on culture, people care about who you are and why you do it
  • These firms do something beyond themselves for the world
  • They take care of their people and they take care of their community
• Dentists have the unique opportunity to shape people in an area where people tend to have a lot of fear
• 10 tenets of a firm of endearment:
  • 1 – Culture of learning
  • 2 – Culture of trust
    • You want your people to know the parameters in which they can operate autonomously and you can trust their decisions
    • Authenticity, say what you mean and mean what you say, transparency
  • 3 – Culture of respect
  • 4 – Culture of caring
  • 5 – Culture of interdependency
  • 6 – Culture of integrity
  • 7 – Culture of fun (be childlike, not childish)
  • 8 – Culture of transparency
  • 9 – Culture of belonging & oneness
  • 10 – Culture of loyalty
• Values of companies have changed
• How you treat your team affects the profitability of the company
• Is your practice a firm of endearment? Click HERE for a free assessment!

References:

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Firms of Endearment by Rajendra Sisodia, David Wolfe, & Jagdish N. Sheth

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 86

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Vicki McManus Peterson, Co-Founder & CEO of Productive Dentist Academy

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Dentists tend to get caught up in the sizzle of marketing, instead your plan should be predictable
• Suggestion is to budget 8% for marketing
  • Average dentist spends less than 1% but sign up for every PPO out there
  • If you’re at 0-1% make sure you have world-class customer service first, BEFORE turning on the marketing funnel, spend the money to get your team trained
  • Marketing is EVERYTHING
  • Once trained, shift those training dollars to marketing
• Track true ROI for your marketing dollars
• Track the relative value of your marketing
• PPC is the least expensive, most effective way to reach a broad audience
• Word of mouth and patient referrals is still the best marketing plan
• Make sure you have at least 10% of your patient base is referring at any one time, then work up to 20%
  • You’re getting new patients who are already warmed up
  • It holds your team accountable for systems and customer service
• One doctor needs a minimum of 35 new patients a month, depending a wide number of variables
• 9 times out of 10 in order to grow a practice you have to slow it down
• Insurance companies train dentists to be lazy about marketing
• There’s an offense and a defense in marketing
• Video content is most often consumed when people can’t actually listen
• Make sure you’re auditing the metadata Google is adding to your content
• Tie labor and marketing funds together
• Vicki says EBITDA stands for “Everybody In Town Drinks A lot”
• The best marketing plan is to CARE

References:

Richard Evangelista

Tweetables:

Marketing is patience. – Vicki McManus Peterson

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, and buy the book HERE!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 85

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. David Eshom, David Eshom DDS

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here! 

Key Takeaways:

• Dr. Eshom runs a very successful FFS practice in San Diego and is an Invisalign superstar!
• Invisalign is not a commodity, although there is a lot more competition in the field than before
• A lot of people underestimate what Invisalign can do
• Compliment your patients and make them feel good about their smile
• The piece of equipment that you shouldn’t live without and has the highest ROI: digital camera
• People will say yes to treatment much more when they see what can be changed with their smile
• Take a big leap with Invisalign, you can’t just dabble
• Entrust your team to learn and perfect the Invisalign practice so you aren’t responsible for all aspects
• Don’t leave practices angry and make sure you know what you’re getting into when joining a practice
• Private practices provide great value when you can make patients happy, take time to listen to patients, and do the work right
• You have to have a good website, it has to serve what patients are looking for
  • Have a contact form where people can request a free estimate
• Surround yourself with a great team and get out of their way

Tweetables:

Pictures sell dentistry. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, buy the book HERE, and come to the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 84

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Bruce Baird, President and Co-founder of Productive Dentist Academy

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Break down your production hourly to really find areas to improve in your practice.
• It’s not about speed, it’s about getting people to say yes to more dentistry.
• Grow your practice, sell it, try something new, invest
• Business ownership
  • Dentistry consolidation and competition is scary
• View of the future
  • There is consolidation
  • There are going to be group practices
  • There is economy of scale
  • Insurance will open massive opportunities for dentists who are entrepreneurs
  • Dentist owned/led mega practices
• Role of specialty in the future
  • Specialists will struggle
  • Technology is the equalizer
  • Implant Dentistry: Simplified, predictable and profitable
• Advice
  • Take on additional training to become a super GP
  • Be the best and learn new techniques and skills
• Direct pay, no insurance, will help find amazing opportunity
  • Compassionate finance allows people to make monthly payments
  • Insurance companies make $77 billion to screw patients and dentists
  • Dental Insurance CEOs make $23-46 million a year
  • Monthly payments will help 80% of people who aren’t being helped
• 7% of people make payments if payments are $100 or less a month
  • Interest offsets risk
• Top 3 traits that make a dentist profitable:
  • #3 – Clinical skills
  • #2 – Want to be the best
  • #1 – Communication skills

References:

Compassionate Finance

Tweetables:

If you’re going to do something, be the best that you can possibly be at it. Then teach others to do it. – Dr. Bruce Baird

With commitment, there is no room for failure – Dr. Bruce Baird

Design Your Graphics and Your Life with Russ Perry

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about all things Bulletproof, buy the book HERE, and come to the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 83

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Russ Perry, Founder and CEO of Design Pickle

Key Takeaways:

• Secret to the success of Design Pickle

• • Hire designers full time, treat them well, let them work directly with customers
  • Cultivate relationships
• Key elements of great content
• • Simple is always better
  • Emotional, different, disruptive graphic
  • Do not over communicate
  • Provide visual inspiration about design needs
• Design Advice
• • Deploy, just roll with it
• Warrior Week (Wakeup Warriors)
• • Training program for men
  • Reprogram men: health, wellness, relationships
  • Not a masculine program, but a man program
  • There is equality but there is a difference in man, woman, age
  • Men and women have different challenges when approaching situations
  • Eliminates the sedation that entrepreneurs experience
• Get 25% off your first month of Design Pickle HERE

References:

Russ Perry

In My “Fillings” Challenge

Warrior Week

The Blackout Experience

Tweetables:

Simple is always better. – Russ Perry

If you borrow from one, it’s plagiarism. If you borrow from many, it’s research. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Something is better than nothing. – Russ Perry

Do what you’re good at and hire out the rest. – Russ Perry

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 82

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Reese Harper, CEO DentistAdvisors.com

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Average retirement age for dentists is 69
• Most dentists retire when they think they can, they don’t wait longer

• When to retire

• • Calculate total net worth, retirement accounts, cash, investment to determine
  • Make 30-35 times what is spent in 1 year at any age younger than 70
  • • Example: $200,000 spent in a year, net worth should be $6-7 million
  • TT Score: Net worth divided by annual spending
  • • Wealth should grow at 3.3% or more at a TT score of 30 to never run out of money and maintain principle
• A lot of people don’t have a clear picture of how their net worth is growing, so they don’t make any changes

• Track personal net worth statement and progress report quarterly
• Spending 30% of your total gross rate is ideal
• • This will allow a 20+% savings rate
  • Average savings % is 21
• Focus on net worth not savings
• People often pursue accumulating assets in the wrong order
• • Focus on practice equity, then liquidity, then qualified assets, then real estate

• More practice equity leads to higher investment returns

References:

Explore the Elements

Tweetables:

If you’re not getting a roadmap, how do you know where the roads are? – Dr. Peter Boulden

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 81

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden

Guest: Jacob Puhl, DEO Dental Group

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Perspective on dental industry
  • Operationalizing: Consolidation of the highly fragmented dental industry
    • Practices are becoming legitimate well-run businesses
    • Locations are going from a lifestyle business to cost & convenience
    • Consolidation allows the easy button to be hit in the dental industry
  • Create efficiencies in the practice
    • Tendency is to open more locations but the goal is to expand your current location
    • Duplicity of functions under 1 location is key
  • Success Formula
    • Just make what you’re doing is the best that it can be
    • Instill sound principles and think like an executive
      • 1 step at a time vs taking 10 steps
      • Abundantly thinking towards next step
      • Decide what your next best dollar is
      • Open an extra 2 hrs/day, add specialties, reduce cost or raise revenue
    • Nature vs Nurture
      • Entrepreneurship can be learned by dentists
        • The key is to know yourself and know what you’re capable of
        • Have at least one business-minded person on your team
        • Hire for your inadequacies
        • Have a support system with like-minded people
      • DEO
        • Based on Mastermind Formula
        • Focus on 3 things; grow yourself, grow your people, grow your business

References:

Scrum Methodology

DEO 2018 Fall Summit – Should I Build, Sell, or Partner?  Use code BULLETPROOF for $100 Off Registration

Dr. Marc Cooper

Mastering the Business of Practice by Dr. Marc Cooper

Tweetables:

Make what you’re doing the best that it can be. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Don’t shrink your way to greatness. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Grow yourself, grow your people, grow your business. – Jacob Puhl

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 80

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Cory Glenn, VP of Technology for Blue Sky Bio

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Quick Genesis: Dr. Cory Glenn
  • Graduated in 2008, started in solo practice right away
  • Treated Leukemia but back pain never got better
  • Sold the practice due to health issues
• Overview of where the digital workflow is and where it’s going
  • Digital isn’t new but it is finally accessible
  • The digital space is not a cost impediment
  • Example: Practice Clear Liner Ortho for under $300 a case with a $5k 3d printer
• Pros and Cons for 3D Printers
  • Moonray
    • Quality printer
    • Plays nice with more materials
    • Simple printer
  • Formlabs
    • Quality printer
    • Closed approach on what materials they will develop profiles for
  • Recommended Digital Printer: Moonray
    • Not because of accuracy but because of materials
    • Speed of print
    • Multi-functional
  • Scanner used to capture information: Shining 3D DSEX Scanner
    • Scans in 5 minutes
  • PVS vs Digital Scanning
    • PVS is preferred, cost is better, builds experience, is less demanding and easier
    • Digital Scanning makes you a better Dentist
  • Discovery of Scanning Impressions
    • Relatively new 2-3 years ago
  • Digitizing workflow and improving accuracy
    • Never send a physical impression to lab
    • Take a physical impression then scan
    • Send STL file to Lab Pronto (Uber for Dentistry)
    • Lab will send back a digital crown made from file
    • Do not need a printer for this process unless you want to print a model to cross-check
  • Recommend Digital Wax ups on everyone because it’s valuable
    • Hire 1 employee that only makes digital wax ups
  • DSD vs Digital Wax Up
    • DSD offers a higher level of service
    • DSD is more expensive
  • Denture Technology
    • One of the most important things a new Dentist should learn
    • Insurance reimbursement for Dentures is very poor yet the lab bill is the highest
    • Dentures are time consuming
    • Digital dentures do not solve these issues
    • Digital dentures are more expensive, does not cut down on time, does not cut down on appointments
    • Blue Sky Plan helps solve these issues with free software, Lab Pronto, printers & scanners
  • Technology is ready to deploy in dentures. A few options include:
    • Print teeth in white and print base in pink then bond together
    • Monolithic denture
    • MFH is a fav
    • Print base, place teeth, then let lab process

References:

Moonray 3D Printer

Formlabs 3D Printer

Shining 3D Scanner

Blue Sky Plan

Lab Pronto

IDT Dental Lab

Darin Throndson

Tweetables:

You can’t unring the bell when you show patients what they can look like. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Cheaper, easier, better is the goal. – Dr. Cory Glenn

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 79

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guests: Tyler Yim and other students from Temple University

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Questions:

• What is the most valuable resource you use when you were learning how to run a successful business and still use today?
  • YouTube is a great learning source.
  • Don’t be afraid to take risks. Failure is a great way to learn.
  • Look to textbooks for dental education and model successful retail businesses for business education.
  • Podcasts are another great resource.
  • Look for CE outside the realm of dentistry.
• Did you utilize coaches and consultants as you were growing?
  • Craig is a huge Tony Robbins fan. Suggests looking outside of dentistry.
  • Pete and Craig share a coach to hold each other accountable.
  • You never want to get to the point where you think you’ve figured it out and don’t have to learn anymore.
  • Look for a coach outside of dentistry, more in business.
• Knowing what you know now about DSO’s, how would you change your business model?
  • There is a lot of runway for awesome, quality practices. Whatever model you ultimately choose just be sure you shoot to be the BEST you can be.
  • Consumers are expecting a lot. It’s very hard to do alone and solo as a new dentist. There’s safety in numbers.
  • The future for dental specialty is concerning, particularly because of disruption from technology. The future belongs to the super GP.
  • It’ll be easier to have larger offices in a wider geographic area.
• What do you recommend to new grads as far as overcoming obstacles?
  • Work for someone for a couple years instead of starting a practice right away. Very few licensed dentists are ready to go right out and kill it on their own.
  • GPR’s are valuable.
• What would be the most ideal pathway for getting the largest scope and the most experience at the fastest amount of time?
  • Surgical GPR’s are a good investment.
  • Immerse yourself as much as possible in technology.
  • Learn all you can about occlusion, as it’s the basis for everything.
  • Invest in CE.
  • Study public speaking and body language.
  • To be awesome you have to have clinical excellence and good rapport with patients.
• How does the future of dentistry look with having associates as employees vs offering ownership?
  • Most corporations do not care if you work there for 2 years and then take off. They plan that into their business model. Look for long term alignment and ownership.
  • The ownership mentality is something you must have. Do not join a practice if you’re not looking to be there long term.
• Focus on having one great practice vs. a lot of mediocre ones. Don’t scale too quickly.
• Have you experimented with influencer marketing on social media like Instagram?
  • Influencer marketing is the most underpriced attention out there.
  • It’s hard to utilize because you may not know how to source those influences in your community.
• Would you start an Instagram page while in school? Would you buy a domain name for SEO purposes?
  • Yes, develop your own brand RIGHT NOW. Buy the domain but don’t try to start building SEO currency. Develop yourself as dentist first, then when practice is open work on promoting your brand.
  • Start a dental relevant Facebook page and dental relevant Instagram page.
• How do you pitch to specialists? How do you get them to work for you?
  • You can’t build anything part-time. Figure out how to work together to keep them full-time at your practice.
• Are there are certain specialties that will be protected against consolidation and/or corporate takeover?
  • Whoever owns the patient owns the life cycle of the money. It’ll be very hard as a specialist to own that patient.
  • The price disparity between general UCR and specialist UCR will collapse.
• Who do you look to – outside of dentistry – for marketing ideas?
  • Storytelling marketing is key.
  • Inspiration can come from anywhere. Take cues from other retail businesses; Starbucks, Apple, etc.

References:

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Delivering Happiness by Jim Hsieh

Built to Sell by John Warrillow

T Bone Speaks Dentistry

Dental Hacks Podcast

Dr. Paul Homoly

Toastmasters

The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk

Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini

Chris Ramsey

Donald Miller

Gary Vaynerchuk

Tony Robbins

Tweetables:

The speed of your mistakes dictates the speed of your learning. - Dr. Craig Spodak

Your speed of innovation is going to be equal to the speed of your success. – Dr. Craig Spodak

The cheapest marketing strategy ever… CARE. – Gary V

Peer pressure makes everybody better. – Dr. Craig Spodak

If you don’t make it easy for patients to do business with you, someone else will. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 78

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Trevor Maurer, President and CEO of Smile Source

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Smile Source is not a DSO, it’s an affiliation of great dental practices.
• When presented with 4 logos,15% of consumers would choose services from “Dr. John Smith.”
• “Monarch Dental, Dr. John Smith” has a 22% preference.
• “Dr. John Smith, a Member of ABC Associates” has a 27% preference.
• “Smile Source, Dr. John Smith” has a 37% preference.
• Practice names do matter. Any affiliation above “Dr. John Smith” will carry significant weight.
• Fewer than 10% of current grads want to own a practice. That percentage goes up significantly after a few years practicing.
• When choosing a practice name, Trevor recommends having the dentist’s name in it somewhere as a sub-brand but have an affiliation with something much larger.
• Smile Source’s research favors a sub-brand doctor name. The doctor’s name adds community connection, while the main brand associates with something larger, with benefits.
• When a patient asks for a brand by name, the doctor gave it to them 87% of the time.
• However, patients only ask for specific brand names 4% of the time.
• Branding is great, but don’t be bullied by brands.
• The greatest fear in dentistry right now is fear of corporate takeover.
• Corporate is targeting schools because they’re not getting the talent they want from established market.
• Private equity is pouring money into the market right now, and for the time being it’s good for everyone.
• Money is making good returns, the labor pool is interested in the message, and there’s a gender shift.
• You used to be able to get by opening a dental office with a “place to sit and a place to spit,” now you need so much technology and HR experts.
• You don’t need to go corporate to get that kind of help. Smile Source helps the little guy win.
• Smile Source has resources to allow dentists to work together to pool their resources, you get the benefits of larger practices while still being individually owned.
• The majority of practices in the country are part of the traditional cottage industry.
• Private practitioners need to recognize that most patients want extended hours.
• 21% of dentists are part of a group or DSO.
• The right time to bring in an associate is when you have the best time, money, and energy.
• You’ll find people who have just come out of dental school. They’ll need to understand their production might be low to start and they have to hustle to make themselves valuable to the practice.
• Finding an associate is all about finding the right relationship for your practice.

References:

Built to Sell by John Warrillow

Tweetables:

Patients are consumers before they’re patients. – Trevor Maurer

Stay committed to the process of growing. – Dr. Peter Boulden

If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, then the end is near. – Jack Welch

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 77

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Reese Harper, DentistAdvisors.com

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• There are big differences between fee-based and fee-only financial advisors.
  • People assume “fee-based” means you only charge fees, but advisors who say they are fee-based generally also take commissions.
• Bad financial advice comes from product salespeople who get paid commissions. Good advice generally comes from people who get paid for their time, or percentage against an investment account.
• Make sure your financial advisor is disclosing ALL FEES UP FRONT.
• Everyone who is commission based have a strong conflict of interest. They are incentivized for pushing products that may not be in your best financial interest.
• Your financial advisor should be a registered investment advisor, and an independent, fee-only fiduciary, and nothing else.
• If your broker/dealer/advisor is spending a lot of money on you it is a red flag.
• The more you learn about finance the more you’ll know the current financial market model is crazy.
• For dentists who have “found money,” the first & best thing you should do is invest it in your business.
• Dentistry is an amazing career, but there’s a huge barrier to entry.
• Use your money to work toward at least a 20% operating margin beyond your production.
• If your practice is good and doesn’t need investment, you can use your money to:
  • Build businesses
  • Buy liquid assets (minimum 6 months of living expenses) (cash, mutual funds, anything you can pull out that isn’t tied up)
  • Work on retirement plans
  • Buy real estate
• To be a serious investor you have to take risk. In order to take risk you have to be liquid.
• Pay attention to your debt-to-income ratio.
• In a calendar year, do you have more than 20% of your gross income left over? If you’re not accumulating 20-25% liquidity every year you haven’t earned the luxury to reduce your debt on an accelerated basis.
• Your income can only go to:
  • Savings
  • Spending
  • Debt
  • Taxes
• The ratio of your income mix dictates what you can do.
• It’s more important to get into the right working situation than it is to pay down your student loan debt.
• Not everyone is cut out to be a practice owner. There are a lot of benefits to being an associate, and you don’t have to be an owner to max your earnings.
• There is a correlation between income and ownership. Owners tend to make more, but that’s because 30% of owners manage their practices really well and are killing it. 70% of owners really struggle, to the point where it’s probably a wash whether they should be an owner or not.
• If you’re smart, your first associate hire will cut your income. As an owner you have to go through periods where you make less than you would as an associate.
• You have to have a net worth that is about 30x your annual spending in order for work to be optional.
• Dentists don’t invest their liquid assets aggressively enough. They’re too conservative, and it costs millions of dollars over a 25-year career.
• The 3-factor model says investments grow more than average because they are:
  • Smaller vs. bigger
  • High value companies vs. high-growth
  • High quality & profitably vs. low-profitability
• Run if your CFP is telling you to get out of the market now because a correction is coming.
• You know you’re too conservative if your investments didn’t beat the S&P return.
• Your investments can earn 10-13% every year if you invest wisely.
• Keep tuning in to Bulletproof Dental Practice podcasts for the next interview with Reese!

References:

Fama–French three-factor model

Tweetables:

It’s difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. – Upton Sinclair

The things that drive owners are not always financial. – Reese Harper
No business tries to pay down debt as their first goal. – Reese Harper

Money is an emotional thing, it’s not logical. – Dr. Craig Spodak

As long as you’re loving what you do and you’re not oppressed by it, that is freedom. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 76

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Elijah Desmond, Driven Dental Marketing & Smiles At Sea

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• The next Smiles At Sea cruise is in September, then there’s another in March.
• Changing someone’s smile will often change their whole life.
• Focus on life-changing moments.
• Finances are the #1 impediment to enrollment. Team mindset is #2, #3 is contact rate.
• Your team can develop mindsets about certain types of people that lead to not giving 100% for every patient every time.
• Go into treatment presentation with he mindset that EVERYONE offers opportunity.
• Offer multiple financing options so the highest number of patients can accept treatment.
  • CareCredit is the go-to.
• Marketing is useless if your contact rate is low. Potential patients want information NOW.
• Consumers expect convenience for EVERYTHING.
• If you treat people with empathy they’ll think you’re the best dentist ever.
• Personal referrals are everything.
• Social media is for engagement. It’s the modern-day word of mouth, on steroids.
• The number of reviews – and the frequency – are both important.
• Dentists should not be spending all their time doing consults.
• Offer a minimum of 2 implant options.

References:

Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen

Lead Owl

Bulletproof Summit 2018

Proceed Finance

Tweetables:

Treat everyone with empathy. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Every dental professional should be an educator. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Change someone’s life and they’ll be a walking billboard for you. – Elijah Desmond

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 75

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Reposted From: Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Statistics show that if new dentists work in a DSO for more than two years, the statistic probability is they’ll stay there for 7-10.
• About 70-80% of new dentists who go into DSO’s right after school will leave within two years.
• When everyone is pulling on the rope at the same time it creates better team alignment.
• People are always the biggest stressor in businesses. You’re always one employee away from starting the whole process over.
• Storybook leadership isn’t the most effective leadership. Real leaders come in all shapes, sizes, and styles.
• Patients are looking for experience. If your team is disengaged your results won’t be as good. Create a raving team and your patients will follow suit.
• The American public is dumbed down to think that if it’s legal, it’s always safe. People are waking up to the reality that you have to be discernable with your consumerism.
• For marketing, craft a story that’s compelling enough to talk about. Make yourself worthy of being talked about and treat that as your marketing plan.
• Focus on net patient growth. You have to differentiate yourself.
• Business is innovation. You need to flip everything on its head and create a value proposition that’s unlike everyone else’s.
• Realize that patients are grasping at value. They don’t understand the quality of your work, they judge you based on how you treat them and how your office looks.
• All-Star Smiles provides dental care services to children in need throughout the U.S.

References:

Uncomplicate Business by Howard Farran

All Star Smiles

Tweetables:

Real leadership is putting other people’s needs above yourself. – Dr. Craig Spodak

The best leaders are the ones you don’t even feel. – Dr. Craig Spodak

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu

Your patients can feel loved if your team doesn’t feel supported. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Give people a reason beyond your dentistry to like you more. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 74

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Shiven Gandhi, Atlanta Dental Spa

Key Takeaways:

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

References:

Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

ownR Magazine

Dental Influencers Alliance 2018 Conference

Tweetables:

You most likely have content, you just don’t share it. – Dr. Shiven Gandhi

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 73

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Thor Conklin, Founder & CEO of Peak Performance Group

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• Before you can fix your business, you must decide first where you want to go.
• You have to figure out what’s getting in the way of your success, and what are the lynchpins to solving your problems.
  • It’s generally stopping or removing something rather than adding something.
• Often, what we want most in life is what’s most painful for us to get.
• Gratitude is one of the biggest and best ways to improve your fulfillment.
• It’s about getting back to what’s really important to you.
• Meditation and gratitude should be the first things you do in the morning.
• Try writing everything down that you’re stressed about. You’ll already feel less stressed. Put on your calendar a reminder to spend 20 minutes to work on taking an action to move one of those things forward.
• When doing something you hate, fake liking it and it’ll get easier. You can physiologically fool your body.
• People who want to stay pissed, will stay pissed. Just stay away from them.
• Every top performer has a pre-event ritual. They set their body, their intention, and their mind before they walk in.
• Take a deep breath and put a smile on your face. Set yourself before starting.
• 80-90% of communication is non-verbal.
• Focus on your mental fitness.
• Doing something physical helps break bad mental patterns. Get your bad energy out physically.
• Try to make your life as streamlined as possible. Clutter in your life tends to slow you down.
• Schedule time to allow yourself creative thinking time.
• High performers have a default of “no.” Know what your overall mission is and say “no” to anything that doesn’t serve that purpose.
• Figure out what your lane is going to be. Pick that lane and go deep.

References:

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

Muze

Tweetables:

People confuse happiness with fulfillment. – Thor Conklin

The only way to combat stress is action. – Thor Conklin

Your emotions do not dictate your physiology, your physiology dictates your emotions – Thor Conklin

Anytime you want to change your emotional state, simply change your physical state. – Thor Conklin

Every “yes” is a “no” to something else. – Thor Conklin

Don’t start running until you know where you’re going. – Thor Conklin

You achieve more when you’re happily achieving, then when you’re achieving to be happy. – Dr. Craig Spodak

Figure out what your lane is going to be. Pick that lane and go deep. – Thor Conklin

Text ‘bulletproof’ to 345345 to stay in the know about our upcoming book release and the Bulletproof Summit on October 12-13th 2018 in Atlanta!

Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 72

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Jairek Robbins

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• 80% of workers feel stress on the job, 50% say they need help learning how to manage stress. This equates to 300B annually that it’s costing companies in the US.
• Job stress leads to accidents, lost work time, lack of productivity, etc.
• As a business, job stress is expensive.
• Lack of sleep breaks you down mentally and physically.
• To optimize sleep, look into various plants, blackout curtains, monitoring, and increasing movement during the day.
• No sleep monitoring device is perfect.
• Aim for perpetual movement vs short, intense workout bursts.
• Think about ways you force yourself to walk more in your office, even if it means redesigning your office layout.
• Get outside early in the morning to get great vitamin D from sun exposure.
• Blue light from electronics at night hampers sleep.
• Short morning routine to be a super-human version of yourself:
  • First thing in the morning, start with a clear mind. Do a short meditation and/or breath practice.
  • From there, go straight to the shower and take a 3-minute ice-cold shower. This will activate your adrenal glands. Ease into it! If you want to activate fat burning you can alternate between 20 seconds of hot and cold water.
• Sign up for Jairek’s Udemy course @ discounted rate of $29.99:

References:

Live It!: Achieve Success by Living with Purpose by Jairek Robbins

Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

Ben Greenfield

f.lux

Muse

Spire

Mel Robbins

The Complete Guide to Activating High Peformance by Jairek Robbins

Viome

Bulletproof Coffee

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 71

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Brian Colao, Dykema

Key Takeaways:

• Dentistry is undergoing a great evolution and a great consolidation.
• There’s also massive disruption within the workspace of dentistry.
• There’s a lot of fear out there, and it doesn’t have to be that way.
• A big part of the fear is lack of information. If you can understand what the changes are, why they’re happening, and what the legal options are, there is no reason to fear change.
• DSO’s allow dentist owners to sell their practice to the whole world, not just to another dentist in your state.
• If you’re a solo office, you don’t necessarily need to be a DSO. If you plan to grow and are looking for the largest buyout possible then a DSO setup will be a great benefit.
• After 3 offices you’ll generally see more favorable tax treatment under the new code. Check with your CPA for specifics on your practice.
• A lot of specialists are forming DSO’s as well.
• GP DSO’s are buying specialists as well.
• As the whole market starts to consolidate to DSO’s, strictly referral-based services will start to lose market share.
• Technology is making specialty procedures a lot more doable for general dentists.
• The next 3-4 years will include a lot of consolidation, but right now there’s room for everyone at the table.
• After 5-10 years the marketplace may change, and some opportunities won’t be there anymore.
• Seeing 14-15x offers will most likely become less common over the next couple years. Brian predicts 6-7x offers will be the norm.
• There is tremendous demand from private equity to buy dental practices.
• There is a bit of a gold rush in the dental industry; there’s high demand and low supply.
• Don’t give in to FOMO; sell when it’s the right time for you.
• For organizations under 5 offices, it costs around $20,000-$25,000 to set up a DSO.
• For restructuring DSO’s, 8 out of 10 times Dykema can rework the original DSO into a better structure.
• Dykema’s 5th Annual Definitive Conference for Dental Service Organizations is coming up July 18th-20th.
  • Register NOW with and use code “BulletProof” to receive discounted registration for $350!

References:

Private Equity is Pouring Money Into a Dental Empire

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 70

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Guest: Dr. Drew Byrnes, The FFS Dentist Podcast

Key Takeaways:

• FFS Practices take courage and planning.
• The first one is the hardest. You’ve already got your proof of concept.
• It’s super important if you’re a FFS practice to really make sure you’re creating an experience.
• Your online reviews are the truest barometer of who you really are.
• Marketing should be fun, especially on social media.
• Recessions are hard to weather but also offer great opportunities for growth.
• Always be auditing for the patient experience.
• Create your culture and make sure you hire the right people for the right job.
• Your team has to come first. Treat them like your family. Support them and they will support you.
• Don’t let anyone who is toxic come into your business; patients or team.
• Marketing is a big factor of growing your practice. Effective marketing amplifies your office culture and experience.
• Don’t spend a lot of money on fancy print ads. The bang for the buck isn’t there.
• Have a bulletproof patient experience process in place BEFORE you spend money on marketing.
• Reach out to any influencers you can find and offer them free services in exchange for them posting about you on social media. Have them publicize their experience about your practice.
• Master attention-based marketing. Find out how to get in front of people on their phones.
• The more you capture someone’s eyeballs the more you’ll capture their conversion.
• There’s no such thing as coasting. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse.

References:

Voices of Dentistry

Under Armour Protect This House

Bulletproof Summit 2018

Tweetables:

The difference between success and failure is typically one more day. – Dr. Peter Boulden

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 69

Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak

Watch full video of the interview by clicking here!

Key Takeaways:

• A lot of general dentistry practices see a slump in the summertime. Kids are off school so parents focus more on their dental care.
• Boulden predicts what is done in March will predict business for April, May, and June.
• Cycles happen and they are normal.
• Oral surgeons tend to have busy months, so take advantage of those procedures.
• During downturns pay attention to pre-appointment rates. What % of your patients are leaving with another appointment scheduled? If you’re in the 90% range you have an iconic practice.
• Pre-appointment rates have the highest correlated number for profitability and overall practice size.
• Have your providers with high pre-appointment rates train those who are lower on how they do it.
• Also look at your revenue per patient and work on growing that number.
• Focus on the # of visits, avg production per patient per visit, and profit rate.
• Only 11% of what can be maximized on dental insurance is being used.
• Marketing isn’t print ads anymore; it’s influencer marketing, spending on patients, social media, etc. Focus your dollars on where people’s attention is.
• Today it takes about 20 impressions of an ad before people choose to act.
• Influencer marketing is currently very low-priced attention.
• Authentic testimonial videos are GOLD.
• Videos don’t have to be super-well produced. People respect unpolished testimonials and often weight them as more authentic.
• Find a dental advocate who wants success for you. Bounce your ideas off them and share tips and tricks.

References:

Dental Intel

Tribute

Spodak Jeff’s Reaction

Tweetables:

Use pain as a motivator. – Dr. Craig Spodak

You get what you focus on. – Dr. Peter Boulden

Influence is the difference. – Dr. Craig Spodak