Bulletproof Dental Practice Podcast Episode 36
Hosts: Dr. Peter Boulden & Dr. Craig Spodak
Key Takeaways:
- What does it mean to work ON your business instead of IN your business?
- A lot of dental practices aren’t really run like business at all. Ignorance is NOT bliss.
- The e-myth (entrepreneurial myth) is that most people who start a business are entrepreneurs, when in reality, most people who start a business are technicians.
- Because we have a high level of understanding of dentistry, we think that uniquely qualifies us to run a business that provides that dental work.
- Most dental practices are set up as people-dependent practices, when the focus should be on a systems-dependent process. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
- People-dependent practices are dependent on specific people in the office, whether it’s you or an employee. Should something happen to that person the office becomes very vulnerable.
- Corporations are process-dependent business, which is why independently owned practices have something to fear. They are far less vulnerable.
- Working on your business means one thing; creating a system for everything so you can get superior results consistently, predictably, and with a lot less stress and work.
- Everything you do should be documented in a manual, a video, a checklist, etc. Create the system intentionally.
- If you’re “too busy” to step back from the drill and devote real time to creating processes, then you can’t expect a different result.
- Having a systems-dependent practice means you’re ready to scale and amplify effortlessly.
- Thriving business have three roles in common; the entrepreneur, the manager, and the technician.
- Entrepreneur is the visionary who thinks ahead, keeps planing for the future, and setting the GPS for the team
- Managers establish order and create consistencies, and hold everyone accountable
- Technicians (hygienists and dentists) do the technical work
- Everyone at their core is better suited to one of these roles, but ideally you should be able to do all three in equal amounts, especially in the beginning
- In order to run a successful dental practice, you have to give up doing all the dentistry yourself to allow yourself the time to grow the practice.
- Three practice stages:
- Stage 1 – Glorified Job
- Stage 2 – The Eager Stage
- Stage 3 – The Mature Stage
- First, we must assess where we are in the process, and situational and personal awareness are way undervalued in our professions
- Tips:
- Take some time and truly look at the pain points in your operation
- Create and optimize your practice operations manual
- Act like a patient, or hire a secret shopper and have them document their entire interaction
- Make a process for everything, assume you’re writing it for a 5th grader
- Silo 1 – Clinical operations
- Silo 2 – Business & admin operations
- Silo 3 – Marketing, growth & online reputation operations
- Silo 4 – Metrics & KPI’s
Part 2 coming soon!