Behind The Smiles: With Dr. Gina Dorfman

Making the leap from associate dentist to startup owner is a scary prospect, and many of us focus on the wrong things when embarking on this adventure. Addressing these obstacles today is author, startup consultant, and founder of Ideal Practices [https://idealpractices.com/ideal-practices-dentistry-s-best-resources-for-practice-ownership1637727239606], Jayme Amos. Join us to hear what building your ideal startup entails and the steps that you can take. We discuss actionable advice both for those looking to startup and established practice owners. We discover some of the challenges that Gina faced in her startup, and why she succeeded where others did not. Tune in to find out why asking "What" is more important than asking "How" when refining your vision, and the three irreversible decisions that can derail your startup before you've even begun. We hear some wonderful anecdotes of how startups change lives, and examples of people that have made an impact on Jayme after joining his network. Jayme talks us through the major problems with the advice given on online forums ("If you build it, they will come"), and how adding a personal touch to your startup can make all the difference to your patient database. Press "Play" to find out what the three P’s of planning stand for, as well as where you can find some great resources to launch your startup, and so much more!

It’s a shocking truth that so many dentists can’t afford to retire at 62 and maintain their lifestyle. But this does not have to be the case! Today we are joined by David Phelps, a Dentist and Real Estate Investor who has figured out how to own his freedom [https://dentistfreedomblueprint.com/] and even wrote a book about it! In this episode, David opens up about the struggles his family faced that motivated him to sell his dental practice and build a passive income. We discuss some of the reasons why so many dentists struggle to retire and how we can go about avoiding this pitfall. We talk about the mistakes dentists commonly make from abdicating the management of their investments and investing in speculative things that aren’t sustainable. David explains how he came to write the book Own Your Freedom [https://ownyourfreedombook.com/] with Dan Kennedy and some of the principles covered in it. Tuning in you’ll hear how to determine what your ‘freedom number’ is, how to achieve it by owning assets, not financial products, and the importance of not just investing in assets but also investing in relationships. To hear David’s valuable advice to investors and business owners in light of the volatile times that we’re living in and to discover how you too can own your freedom, tune in today!

As a dentist, you’d imagine that the only thing you’d have to be good at is solving problems in people’s mouths, but in reality, if you’re going to run a successful practice, there’s a lot more to it than that. Marketing is one of those vital elements with the ability to make or break your business. In this episode, I’m joined by the master of ground marketing, Michael Arias aka The Dental Marketer [https://thedentalmarketer.site/], who is here to share the wealth of knowledge that he has accumulated after many years of developing his niche. As you will hear today, ground marketing is built around the concepts of reciprocity and relationship building. It has a much higher success rate than guerrilla marketing, costs much less than paid marketing, and can be used across all markets, from car dealerships to retirement villages. Tune in today for a valuable lesson on how to turn your humble practice into a thriving business!

These days, if you want to have a successful marketing strategy, you need to have an online presence. Since most dentists don’t have the time or inclination to curate their online presence, they would likely want to outsource their marketing to an agency or independent company. Unfortunately, most agencies don’t specialize in dentistry, resulting in generic content being used that doesn’t reflect the true character of your practice. Here to help us navigate the quickly evolving online landscape for dentists is Rita Zamora, founder and owner of the social media marketing service providers: Connect90 [https://hello.connect90.com/c90] and Rita Zamora Connections [https://ritazamora.com/]. In our conversation with Rita, we discuss the current social media landscape for dentists, the biggest mistakes practices are making online, and how her company Connect90 supports dental practices with their social media strategy. Tuning in you’ll hear Rita unpack the importance of aligning your values with your online presence and why consistency and being intentional is key. You won’t want to miss this information-packed episode, breaking down all the details of what a practice needs to be successful online!

Continued education, or CE, is an important part of any healthcare and dentistry professional's career. After experiencing firsthand, some of the issues with the requirements and systems associated with CE as a dental hygienist, our guest Sarah Thiel, decided she would set about making these processes much easier for people in the industry! This was the backdrop for the founding of her company, CE Zoom [https://www.cezoom.com/], and in today's episode, we get to hear all about the biggest stepping stones in this journey. We also talk about work-life balance, Sarah's commitment to parenthood, and how she has navigated life as a female CEO. So to hear it all, join us today!