The Hidden Factors in Choosing the Right Market with Kent Miller, Dentagraphics

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Welcome to the Hey Docs podcast with your host, Jill Allen. Today,
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I am welcoming back Kent Miller, co-founder and president of Dentographics.
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Kent works with doctors across the country to evaluate markets
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and locations using demographic data, competition analysis, and the factors
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that can ultimately influence a practice's long-term potential. But having
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more data at our fingertips doesn't necessarily make choosing the
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right market any easier. In this episode, we're talking about
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what AI can and can't help you with, why population
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growth may or may not matter as much as you think,
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and what doctors should really be looking at before deciding
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where to build a practice. So let's dive in. And
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now a word from the sponsors who make this podcast possible.
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see it for yourself? Head to grayfinch.com. forward slash Jill
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Allen for a special discount exclusively for my listeners. And
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welcome back. I am so excited to have you back
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on Hey Docs.
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Thank you for having me. Always a pleasure to be here.
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Yes, absolutely. Well, for anybody who may not have caught
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one of our last conversations, do you want to just
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give us a quick refresher on your background and the
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work that you're doing with Dentographics? Yeah.
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So my name is Kent Miller. I run Dentographics. We
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are a dental market analysis company. We work only with dentists.
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We work nationwide. We've been working with Jill and her
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team for, I don't even know, a decade maybe now
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to help orthodontists figure out where is the best place
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for them to practice, essentially, is what we do. So
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we look at market data that helps us understand the
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level of demand for care, the supply of existing practices,
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and also a fit with your vision and your target
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patient base to So you're going to the right area
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for you, not just generically the right area.
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Yeah, yeah, perfect. And I, likewise, I have loved working
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with you and the data that my clients are able
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to get from what you guys are able to compile
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with them, I believe has really helped so many of
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my doctors be really successful and confident in the spaces
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and the locations that they have chosen to start up
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their practices. So thanks for the hard work that you
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guys are doing on that end.
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Thank you. It's been an adventure, but it's been really fun. Yeah, yeah.
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So today, I want to talk a little bit about AI.
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And I don't want to talk about the traditional, how
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do we best use AI and practices and daily life work.
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I really want us to talk about what we're seeing
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now with the access to information that's out there and
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the We can talk about it from ChatGPT to Gemini
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or Claude, but specifically in regard to demographics and a
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list of competitors. Because I think that naturally, by nature,
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most of us are like, I can do this on
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my own. I can go find the data. There's lots
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of tools out there. And I want you to just
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talk a little bit about that. Maybe the pros and
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the cons, where... Where do we maybe fall short when
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we're using those tools and areas where maybe we can
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lean into too? Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I'm so glad you asked that because we are getting
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asked this constantly. And I'll say that to preface this,
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we are huge, huge believers in AI and the power
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of AI. As a company that has a software platform,
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we probably use AI more than any dental practice out there.
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We employ software developers and they're using AI all day,
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every day.
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So it's been awesome. It's been amazing.
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We've been able to build so much faster than we
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were previously. And I think from an aspiring practice owner perspective,
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the access to information is is incredible.
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Transparently, when ChatGPT.
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Sort of first came out and was getting popular, you know,
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we were like, oh man, is this going to be
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a big challenge for us, right? Are people going to
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be just able to go to ChatGPT and get it
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for free? And at first, no, not really, right? Like
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I would ask ChatGPT like, hey, I'm in Dublin, Ohio,
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which is where I grew up.
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How many dentists are there? How many orthodontists are there?
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And it would be way off. It'd be like, I
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found 15 dental practices, general dental practices in Dublin and
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two orthodontists. And it'd be like, nope, it's like 25
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and six, like not even close. So that was great, right?
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That felt good.
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But unsurprisingly, it's gotten a lot better at counting that data,
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counting practices, at reporting data. And we started to think like, okay,
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is this going to be something that is a huge
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threat to our business? And I would say that what
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our clients and what people out there should remember is
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that ChatGPT is an assistant that helps you make decisions,
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but it's an assistant. We always, as a company who
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utilizes AI all day, every day, our developers don't even
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handwrite code anymore.
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We have a human in the loop, right?
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There's a reason we still have developers there to look
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at what AI did and decide, is this a good solution?
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Is this a good outcome? Did it do it right?
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Does it make sense? Literally this morning, one of our
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developers is named Les. And hilariously, I was asking Claude,
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which is what we use primarily, hey, how's this run
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that we're working on going?
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It runs overnight or whatever.
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And Jill, it saw the name Les, and it thought
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we were speaking in French, and it switched to French,
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like randomly. I've had this string going for like weeks,
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and we've always been speaking.
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In English about like our practice data.
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And all of a sudden, it just switched to French
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for one sentence and then switched back. So the point
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is that these models are probabilistic. And so they do
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a great job of making everyone average or above average.
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But when you're making a super, super important decision... you're
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going to want an expert who knows what they're talking
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about and can say, hey, ChatGPT did this wrong or
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I wouldn't have done it that way and uncover what
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those risks are and maybe where its methodology wasn't great.
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That's not to say that its methodology won't.
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Be better in the future or that things might not
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change in the future in regards to how it thinks
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and what sort of intellect is available.
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But certainly as of right now, I would not.
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Be making any huge decisions based off of asking ChatGPT
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a couple of times, like, is this a good location?
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Is that a good location?
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We have humans look at even just small little pushes
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to our web app to make sure that, hey, this
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is going to work and it's not going to cause
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our users to be like, hey, I can't sign in
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or something for an hour. That's not going to be fun,
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let alone going to the wrong location for 10 plus
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years because of a chat GPT conversation.
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Right, right. I think it's good to really think about
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these things because again, I think we are all at
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this place where we're leaning into AI and leaning in,
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I love, as you said, to the assistants that are
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out there to help us with our daily workflows and whatnot.
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But I do agree with you. We still need to
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have a human in the loop. And I think anytime,
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especially when we're looking at demographics of an area, we
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really want to make sure that we are verifying what
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is being said or fed to us with other data
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that has also been backed up. And so, you know,
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I think that kind of leads me a little bit
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into another thought that I've had, and that really has
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to do a little bit more with growth trends. And
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that's something I'm also seeing doctors talk a lot about.
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I'm sure you are too. And there's a lot of
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this attention on comparing markets. And I want you to
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talk a little bit about that because I think sometimes
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we can get lost in the minutia or the details
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and some things can be a little bit overrated or misleading.
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And I want you to talk a little bit, especially
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for our market going forward. What do you think we
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should be paying attention to, whether it's data that we're
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getting or when we're looking at our own data? You know,
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let's just talk through that a little bit.
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Yeah. So from our perspective, growth is probably the variable
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out there that doctors overemphasize most. It's not that we
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want to ignore growth. That's not our message But it's
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really easy. And I'm a person who gets in a
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car and drives around and travels other places and sees
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construction or lack of. It's really easy to get excited
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by this is going up and that's going up. So
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that's always exciting to see that, especially in your local area.
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But we actually view growth as the fourth most important
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consideration that we look at. And the reason that we
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see it as fourth, or maybe I'll start with what
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it ranks behind. The first thing is we want to
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make sure that there is sufficient demand for care. So
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like if you open your orthodontic practice in this tiny
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little town somewhere in the middle of nowhere, and you're like,
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you know, the number one thing that appeals to me
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is there's not another orthodontist for 50 miles.
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That's awesome.
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Like, that's great that there's no other orthodontist for 50 miles,
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but maybe there aren't any orthodontists for 50 miles because
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there aren't enough patients to support a practice, right? Right, right.
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So we need to make sure the population is large enough.
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We need to make sure that they're ultimately going to
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be able to afford care, right? Treatment acceptance rates are
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going to be high enough. Our fees are going to
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be able to support our practice or at least like
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the lifestyle that we're envisioning in the practice.
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So that's number one.
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And if you don't have that, I think it's going
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to be nearly impossible to be successful if there just
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plainly aren't enough patients. The second most important factor that
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we look at is a fit with your vision so
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that you can build out the practice that you want.
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This to me comes down to sustainability.
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So if we don't have demand for care, there's not
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a big enough market, I think basically.
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Nobody can be successful.
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If we go to a market that has sufficient demand
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for care, but it's not the right fit for you,
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maybe you can be successful financially for a year or two,
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but you're probably going.
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To burn out. It's going to start to show in
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the practice.
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And If you signed a seven-year lease or a 10-year lease,
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you're just going to be counting down the days. It's
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not really the point of practice ownership as I think, Jill,
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you'd probably attest to with a lot of your clients.
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Yep, totally agree. Yep.
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So that for me is the second most important factor
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that we look at. And of course, under these concepts
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of demand for care and a fit with your vision,
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we have lots of specific inputs that we're looking at,
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like the size of the population, like income and education
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and the age breakdown.
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Yep.
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So a lot of specific little inputs that tell this
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whole story. The third most important factor that we look
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at is saturation or competition. Supply would be another way
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to think of it on the other side of demand.
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The reason for me that this is the third most
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important factor is that we have worked with hundreds. We've
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been in business for over a decade. We've worked with
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hundreds of practices, maybe thousands of practices that are in
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extremely competitive markets, yet they're still really successful. And we
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know that there are lots of practices in New York
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and California and these super, super.
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Competitive areas that How are they doing that?
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They're out competing some of the other practices in their
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market to have an above average share of that market potential.
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So you can be successful in a competitive area. Of course,
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I'd prefer all else being equal. You go to a
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less competitive market.
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But if you're from.
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Southern California, I'm not going to tell you you got
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to move to Georgia or something because it's less competitive
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over there, right? That's violating our second concept, the fit
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with your lifestyle and what do you want from your
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practice and what do you want to be doing, you know, 5, 10,
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20 years from now. So you certainly can be successful
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in competitive markets.
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I know that's a big concern for a lot of people.
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And this, I would say, is kind of the first factor,
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you know, if you look at importance, where I would
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say we don't have to have like a super unsaturated market.
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It's nice, but we don't have to have it. The
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next thing I think about is growth to come all
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the way back to what you originally asked about. And growth, again,
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we love growth when we see it. But there are
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a couple of things that I want to sort of
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poke holes in growth with. So one is that when
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your practice opens, I want it to be successful. I
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want you to have patience when it opens. I don't
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want you to have patience in 2035 or 2040. I mean,
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I do, but I want you to have patience in.
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2027 and 2028 too.
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So we got to make sure those people are there. Two,
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growth is inherently trying to predict the future, right? Things
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can and do change all the time. So I graduated
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high school in 2009. And where I grew up, there
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were all these houses being built and all these plans
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for more houses. And it was like, oh my God,
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there's going to be a million people living here. They're
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building those houses right now.
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In 2026, right?
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But like if you had built your business based off
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of projecting that all these people were going to move
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there because there were plans, there were specific developers in place,
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like it was there.
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It seemed like it was going to happen.
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But 2009, you know, famously not a great time for
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the housing market.
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They're still working on that, right?
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So we want to make sure that you can be
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successful in an area when you open and when there's
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future growth, that's a bonus. Or at least you understand
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what the risk is if you're going to an area
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where you're hopefully not overly relying, but you're counting on
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some of that growth. You understand things can and do change.
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We're trying to predict the future here and that's really,
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really hard to do.
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Mm-hmm.
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Those are kind of the big pieces.
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Of why growth for us is it's nice to have,
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but I'd much rather you go to a market that's
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overly overall healthy. And that is a good fit with
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what you want to do than one that's just, you know,
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arbitrarily growing.
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And we also want to think about the type of
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growth that's happening.
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Like sometimes people are like, Oh, they're building, like I've
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heard like a new NFL stadium over here.
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Great.
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But I've never gone to an orthodontist on my way
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to a Browns game or been like, Hey, you're like,
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Let me pop in real quick, right?
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So like what type of development are we talking about?
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Right. Well, and I think you bring up such important
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points because I look at all of this too when
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I'm working with my clients and we're looking at that.
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And one thing that I don't think you touched on,
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but I do think is important. I mean, you touched
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on it just a tiny bit, but that kind of
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falls right in line is sometimes doctors will, to your point, say, oh,
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growth is coming. Kind of your analogy of, you know,
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it's here now in 2026, you know, from when you're
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graduating high school. And you So many times we'll get
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into a market too early and then it really can
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slow down actually our growth. And to your point of,
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it'll be great in five years, but what do we
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do for the next five years? Or if we get
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in and, you know, I look a lot at median age.
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I know we talk about this a lot and the
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age of the community and whatnot. And if we're Getting
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in where we've got so many really, really young kids
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may be great for a pediatric practice, and it may
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be great for our observation program and our ortho office,
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but it isn't really great when we need those full
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starts coming in. We have to pay attention to those things.
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Yeah, and maybe somewhat counterintuitively, just because we have lots
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of young kids today actually does not mean that we're
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going to have lots of good orthodontic patients in the future.
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We might be in a community where people start their families,
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but they leave. This happens a lot in cities. So
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if you're in the cool, hip neighborhood in a city,
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We see, okay, there's mom and dad pushing strollers, maybe
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all over the place. But you know what happens when
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they have a second kid and they want a bigger
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house and the first kid starts getting closer to school.
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I'm coming live from Hunt Valley, Maryland here.
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We used to live in New York. We lived in
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New York City two years ago. And now we live,
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I'm looking at trees and green space, but we have
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a kid.
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And so, you know, the space.
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Doesn't mean you're going to see kids walking into your
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practice in a few years.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So I love it that
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you've kind of talked us through the things that are
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important that we're looking at and why we shouldn't just
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wait everything on growth of an area. Because to your point,
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there are so many different factors that we're looking at.
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And it really is like taking a look at the
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whole picture. How many people own houses versus rent houses?
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What's the median age? What's the saturation rate? You know,
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all those different things that you and I are always
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looking at when we're evaluating, and just to make sure
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that we are making the best decision possible. And we
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aren't just saying, well, there's good growth, so therefore I
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know I'll be successful. I mean, that's kind of a
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very naive way to think about it. You really have
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to understand what all of the components mean. And I
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think that that kind of even translates into the next
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point that I want to talk about, because you and
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I have been through this a lot with doctors where
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we are moving in one direction for an area and
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something changes. We've identified an area where maybe even putting
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in LOIs, maybe even into lease negotiations and something just
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falls through. And now we're back to starting again. And
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I want to talk a little bit about that because
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I do believe sometimes our doctors feel like, eh, I
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went through that once before with another. I know what
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to look at. I'm good now. I don't need to reevaluate.
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I'm just going to pivot and buy a practice and
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not look at demographics or I'm just going to make
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a change in a totally different direction. Can you talk
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a little bit about that and what you see and
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what you think we need to be paying attention to
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and maybe what needs to be reevaluated when we have
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those unforeseen pivots that may come up?
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00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:36.670
Yeah, yeah.
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00:19:37.329 --> 00:19:42.119
So I call a search for a practice location, a snowflake,
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not in the sense that it's sensitive, but in the
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sense that.
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Everyone is different. They're all unique.
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And if your experience previously was like looking for an
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00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:55.289
apartment or maybe even trying to buy a house, and
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you know, in your brain, logically, it's like, okay, well,
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00:19:57.789 --> 00:19:59.890
now I'm looking for a location for my dental practice.
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00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:03.000
How different could it be? It's pretty different.
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00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:05.619
Especially, I would say, in terms of timeline, we see
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00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:09.079
lots of things that come up that are unforeseen, even
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00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.829
when sometimes all of the experts sat around and said,
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this is going to work, this is going to be
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00:20:13.369 --> 00:20:17.029
the one, and then a bomb implodes and stuff just happens.
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00:20:17.690 --> 00:20:20.349
So I think it's really, really common, like kind of
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the way that we see the ideal process, and hopefully
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people stick to.
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00:20:23.490 --> 00:20:24.950
This as closely as possible.
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00:20:24.990 --> 00:20:27.529
But if stuff happens, it's not necessarily your fault, is
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that we identify.
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00:20:31.099 --> 00:20:32.849
first of all, where do you want to live, right?
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Not now, not next year, but like 10 years from now.
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00:20:36.589 --> 00:20:38.490
And if you can't say where you want to live
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00:20:38.490 --> 00:20:40.150
10 years from now and you don't want to live there,
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00:20:40.309 --> 00:20:42.210
maybe you know you want to live in 10 years,
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00:20:42.230 --> 00:20:43.869
but you don't want to live there now. I would
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00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:45.730
say it's probably a little bit early for you. But
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00:20:45.769 --> 00:20:47.150
if you can say, okay, here's why I want to
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00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:48.289
plant roots. I want to live here for 10, 15,
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00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:52.630
20 years. then we can say, okay, from your house,
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00:20:53.170 --> 00:20:56.970
let's find the best area to practice. Or that couple
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00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:01.099
of areas where we have the best combination of market conditions.
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00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:04.680
So good demand for care, hopefully not oversaturated, and a
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00:21:04.700 --> 00:21:06.640
good fit with the type of practice that you want.
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00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:08.640
But we're going to say we want you to walk
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00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:11.769
away with two or maybe three areas in most cases,
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00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:14.089
sometimes even four if you looked at like a ton
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00:21:14.109 --> 00:21:16.630
of areas, or the really small or something like that.
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00:21:17.109 --> 00:21:18.549
But the reason we want you to walk away with
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00:21:18.589 --> 00:21:22.589
a couple of places is half of site selection, which
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00:21:22.650 --> 00:21:25.400
is the real estate side. So I don't want you
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00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:27.900
to go to what I would call an A-rated market,
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00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:30.900
where there's great demand for care, there's no competition, the
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00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:33.640
patient base is exactly right for you. If it means
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00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:37.130
you're going to get an F-rated property, it's really tiny
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00:21:37.170 --> 00:21:39.750
and awkward, and there's no signage, and there's no parking
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00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:42.230
for an orthodontic practice, and for some reason, it's expensive.
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00:21:42.930 --> 00:21:45.049
Even though I only work on the market side, this
427
00:21:45.089 --> 00:21:47.430
is a holistic process, as you mentioned, Jill.
428
00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:47.849
Yep.
429
00:21:48.009 --> 00:21:48.390
And so.
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00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:53.160
If we only look in one sub-market because the number
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00:21:53.220 --> 00:21:55.240
said that's where you should go, we're not going to
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00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:57.200
have that perspective on the real estate side.
433
00:21:57.619 --> 00:21:59.119
So I always recommend that.
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00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:01.859
We're going to look in two or three sub-markets, see
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00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:03.440
what kinds of properties are available there.
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00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:05.369
And then we have both pieces of the puzzle.
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00:22:05.849 --> 00:22:08.450
And we can say, okay, this one's a really great market,
438
00:22:08.490 --> 00:22:11.440
but the property is not so good. This market's... Not
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00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:13.299
quite as strong as that first one, but it's still
440
00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:15.789
pretty good. But the property is so much better and
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00:22:15.809 --> 00:22:17.829
the lease rate is so much better. And that's going
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00:22:17.849 --> 00:22:19.890
to be a much, much better situation for you. But
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00:22:19.930 --> 00:22:21.410
we're not going to have that info if we didn't
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00:22:21.470 --> 00:22:23.269
look in multiple areas. And of course, we still need
445
00:22:23.289 --> 00:22:25.150
to add the personal side to it too, right? So like,
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00:22:25.710 --> 00:22:27.509
maybe the first one was 10 minutes from home and
447
00:22:27.529 --> 00:22:30.369
the second one's 40 minutes from home. Next 10 plus years,
448
00:22:30.390 --> 00:22:32.190
you want to drive an hour and a half every day,
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00:22:32.289 --> 00:22:34.519
like hour 20 minutes, you know, that's something to think about.
450
00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:36.579
So there are a lot of pieces and there isn't
451
00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:38.339
necessarily one right answer all the time. But we want
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00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:39.279
to make an informed decision.
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00:22:39.769 --> 00:22:42.809
I love that approach and I just cannot agree with
454
00:22:42.869 --> 00:22:46.430
you more that we really should be looking at it
455
00:22:46.490 --> 00:22:51.809
from multiple angles and giving ourselves options. And now a
456
00:22:51.869 --> 00:22:57.750
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And my favorite part, access to the Smart Start pricing
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for two whole years after you open your doors. That
466
00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:37.049
gives you flexibility to add more chairs as your cash
467
00:23:37.170 --> 00:23:41.150
flow grows. It's pretty smart. As an orthodontist, you care
468
00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:45.019
about getting all the little details right. And ADEC really
469
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got it right with this program. So if starting off
470
00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:51.480
with a big savings on ADEC equipment sounds good to you,
471
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.480
the ADEC Smart Start is definitely worth a closer look.
472
00:23:55.900 --> 00:23:58.640
Just follow the link in the show notes to learn more.
473
00:24:03.869 --> 00:24:06.230
I want to take us down a rabbit trail for
474
00:24:06.289 --> 00:24:10.049
just a minute, kind of along that thought. And I
475
00:24:10.109 --> 00:24:13.029
kind of have my thoughts on what I like or
476
00:24:13.309 --> 00:24:17.769
don't necessarily like. But I think sometimes... when we have
477
00:24:18.190 --> 00:24:22.210
real estate brokers, sometimes I feel like they can kind of,
478
00:24:22.650 --> 00:24:24.569
I know you're like, what's Jill gonna throw at me here?
479
00:24:24.990 --> 00:24:27.000
I feel like a lot of times they come at
480
00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:31.680
it with, here's the property, and now see how great
481
00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:34.900
it is around the property. And I want you to
482
00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:38.220
talk just a little bit about that because I personally,
483
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.960
I'll tell you how I feel on this is, I
484
00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:45.920
would rather us identify the strong areas and then go
485
00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:50.259
look for the properties within those strong areas versus taking
486
00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:53.980
it like, well, here's a potential property. Now let's go reevaluate.
487
00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:56.119
Does that make sense? Because I feel like sometimes it
488
00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:01.039
kind of pigeonholes us into an area without really kind
489
00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:03.769
of looking at the big picture. Any thoughts on that?
490
00:25:03.789 --> 00:25:07.509
Because I'm seeing that happen a lot right now where
491
00:25:08.109 --> 00:25:10.670
clients are kind of being led by, and I know
492
00:25:10.750 --> 00:25:13.329
like the market is tough out there sometimes. So sometimes
493
00:25:13.390 --> 00:25:15.750
we only have what we have to work with, but
494
00:25:15.809 --> 00:25:19.069
I almost feel like I'd rather know areas that are
495
00:25:19.150 --> 00:25:22.190
better and then go search or wait for properties to
496
00:25:22.230 --> 00:25:25.450
come up than to just be kind of like squirrel, oh,
497
00:25:25.470 --> 00:25:29.000
here's a new property. Squirrel, oh, here's a new property. Right.
498
00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:30.359
Yeah, 100%.
499
00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:32.740
And I think that in the long run, it's going
500
00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:35.259
to get you into the space and into the practice
501
00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:38.279
faster if you do your homework first, right? So you're
502
00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:42.170
prepared and you know when you see this property that
503
00:25:42.289 --> 00:25:43.710
it's in an area that you like and you're not
504
00:25:43.750 --> 00:25:46.009
wasting your time, you're not wasting your broker's time by
505
00:25:46.049 --> 00:25:49.930
going to a location that a few weeks later, a
506
00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.650
month later, I decided, actually, I don't really like that area.
507
00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.539
You don't want to waste your time. You want to
508
00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:57.059
get into the practice as quickly as possible. So absolutely,
509
00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:59.839
we recommend you do your homework first. That helps you
510
00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:02.339
narrow down to those top couple of areas. A broker
511
00:26:02.380 --> 00:26:05.299
then is going to go find the properties that they
512
00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:08.640
can find through CoStar, which is different from you seeing
513
00:26:08.680 --> 00:26:11.079
a sign outside. It's different from you going on LoopNet
514
00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:13.599
and contacting the landlord yourself. They're going to go to
515
00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:16.539
a program called CoStar that is wildly expensive. They're the
516
00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:18.019
only ones who have access to it. They're the only
517
00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:21.109
ones who it makes sense to have access to it,
518
00:26:21.220 --> 00:26:24.390
at least in their capacity. Maybe they send you 10 locations, right?
519
00:26:24.390 --> 00:26:28.089
10 different properties. And of those 10, you're like, I
520
00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:31.950
like these four. You'll set up tours. And of those four,
521
00:26:32.230 --> 00:26:34.170
maybe you like one or two of them. So we
522
00:26:34.190 --> 00:26:37.450
can narrow that down based off of the market conditions,
523
00:26:37.490 --> 00:26:39.910
based off of the buildings themselves, even the landlords. Maybe
524
00:26:39.930 --> 00:26:42.049
you get a bad feeling from a landlord or he's
525
00:26:42.130 --> 00:26:43.269
kind of a jerk. You're like, I don't want to
526
00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:45.789
pay that guy rent for 10 years. And like, what
527
00:26:45.829 --> 00:26:48.710
happens when I need him for something, right?
528
00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.079
Right.
529
00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:53.039
And how do you quantify that, right? Like you can't quantify,
530
00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:56.000
is landlord a jerk one to 10? I suppose you can,
531
00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:59.400
but difficult to do, right? So there's so much that
532
00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:01.799
goes into that process. And what we want to make
533
00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:05.349
sure is that people are making informed decisions and.
534
00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:06.069
That they feel good about it.
535
00:27:06.569 --> 00:27:09.509
When you sign that lease and you sign with the
536
00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:12.390
bank for a lot of money, you want to feel
537
00:27:12.509 --> 00:27:14.849
good about that. You don't want to be questioning it.
538
00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:17.150
You don't want to be thinking that I just sign
539
00:27:17.230 --> 00:27:19.759
everything away. Am I going to declare bankruptcy? You want
540
00:27:19.779 --> 00:27:22.400
to feel good that I'm happy. This is going to work.
541
00:27:23.690 --> 00:27:26.890
Yeah, yeah, that's great. Thanks for indulging my little rabbit
542
00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:30.160
trail there. Because again, I think that these are the
543
00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:33.779
important things that we have to be thinking about as
544
00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:37.930
we're evaluating our future space. Because to your point, most
545
00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:40.990
of our leases are 10-year leases. Most of our loans
546
00:27:41.049 --> 00:27:44.009
are now between 10 and 12 year, even up to
547
00:27:44.049 --> 00:27:46.130
some of the banks are going as long as 15
548
00:27:46.130 --> 00:27:49.650
years now. So you're picking a space and it's kind
549
00:27:49.690 --> 00:27:52.109
of your forever space or going to be close to
550
00:27:52.150 --> 00:27:54.670
your forever space. So to your point, you really want
551
00:27:54.690 --> 00:27:57.309
to be thinking about where you want to be. And
552
00:27:57.349 --> 00:27:59.250
I've heard it and I know you've heard it too, Kent,
553
00:27:59.289 --> 00:28:02.150
so many times. You just tell me a good market
554
00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:05.299
and I'll go practice there. And I'm like, oh, no, no, no, no.
555
00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:07.859
That is not a good approach.
556
00:28:08.180 --> 00:28:08.960
Yeah, yeah.
557
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:11.460
And one other thing I want to touch on too,
558
00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:13.380
as much as I love our broker friends and we
559
00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:16.259
work hand in hand with so many of them across
560
00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:19.019
the country, so many great brokers, the end of the day,
561
00:28:19.079 --> 00:28:22.240
their incentive is to sign a lease, to get.
562
00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:23.769
You to sign a lease, right? Because they're not going
563
00:28:23.789 --> 00:28:26.490
to get paid a penny before that. Yep. And you
564
00:28:26.549 --> 00:28:28.569
can't separate that. If I were a broker, if I
565
00:28:29.369 --> 00:28:31.390
stopped doing denographics and tomorrow became a broker, you know
566
00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:31.869
what I would want?
567
00:28:32.109 --> 00:28:34.529
People to sign leases because I'm not getting paid until...
568
00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:38.299
They signed the lease. So I love, love brokers. I
569
00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:40.480
think that the vast majority of them do a good job.
570
00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:43.740
They do an honest job. But it's impossible to separate out,
571
00:28:43.859 --> 00:28:45.440
when am I going to get paid? Am I going
572
00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:48.720
to get paid? And what the outcome is for our clients.
573
00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:51.660
So you want to make sure that you keep that
574
00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:53.519
in mind too. Again, not that they're trying to take
575
00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:56.880
advantage of you. But if your treatment acceptance rate is 0%,
576
00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:57.519
not a good time.
577
00:28:57.539 --> 00:28:59.599
You want to make sure people are accepting treatment.
578
00:29:00.130 --> 00:29:03.490
Yep, yep, exactly, exactly. I want to talk a little
579
00:29:03.529 --> 00:29:06.569
bit about the banks now. And I know that you
580
00:29:06.609 --> 00:29:10.210
don't deal specifically with the banks or funding, but you
581
00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:13.430
do have a lot, you see a lot, just like
582
00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:17.299
I do, on where banks land on their willingness to
583
00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:22.359
finance a location. And They really do care about, does
584
00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.759
the market make sense? If I'm going to lend you
585
00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.259
a million dollars for a startup, or I'm going to
586
00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:32.930
lend you whatever money to purchase this acquisition practice, they
587
00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:37.549
really do put some weight in if you as the
588
00:29:37.589 --> 00:29:41.950
borrower have evaluated the space. and understand the market. And
589
00:29:41.970 --> 00:29:44.690
I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about
590
00:29:44.730 --> 00:29:48.940
your experience and what you've seen on your side with
591
00:29:49.099 --> 00:29:50.220
what you've run into there.
592
00:29:51.160 --> 00:29:51.400
Yeah.
593
00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:56.380
So There are a number of banks that specialize in
594
00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:00.170
lending to healthcare providers and dentists even specifically.
595
00:30:00.250 --> 00:30:02.950
So they kind of all have slightly different ways that
596
00:30:03.190 --> 00:30:03.609
they work.
597
00:30:04.049 --> 00:30:05.769
And of course, you know, there are lots of like
598
00:30:05.930 --> 00:30:08.390
credit unions and local banks and stuff that have their
599
00:30:08.430 --> 00:30:10.950
own methodology as well. That usually is just like what
600
00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:13.630
they do with like any business for the most part, right?
601
00:30:13.670 --> 00:30:16.309
Whether you're starting a dog grooming business or a dental practice,
602
00:30:17.069 --> 00:30:18.109
we view it the same way.
603
00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:21.380
What the banks know though is, and I.
604
00:30:22.490 --> 00:30:24.130
hear this all the time in the industry now too,
605
00:30:24.230 --> 00:30:27.119
is that the vast, vast, vast majority of loans.
606
00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.440
Get paid back.
607
00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:33.259
Something like 98% of loans get paid back. And the
608
00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:36.619
1% or 2% or 3% that don't usually had something
609
00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:41.319
pretty wrong go... Or something go pretty wrong in the practice.
610
00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:46.349
Things that are not normal. But I think that what
611
00:30:46.630 --> 00:30:49.960
you should be asking yourself is, is paying the bank
612
00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:52.069
back a good enough benchmark for me?
613
00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:54.430
What if I was making twice as much as an associate?
614
00:30:54.789 --> 00:30:58.890
Or what if I had just gone to this other
615
00:30:59.029 --> 00:31:00.690
area that maybe I could have done a little bit
616
00:31:00.730 --> 00:31:01.130
better in?
617
00:31:01.190 --> 00:31:03.470
Or a different space, right? Maybe it's not even market-related.
618
00:31:03.589 --> 00:31:08.170
Or hired somebody, a different office manager, different staff, different
619
00:31:08.210 --> 00:31:08.910
marketing company.
620
00:31:08.950 --> 00:31:11.819
And obviously, things are always moving. There are always these
621
00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:12.450
types of questions.
622
00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:14.980
So it's not that you want to get into paralysis
623
00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:15.799
by analysis.
624
00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:19.740
But the banks, generally, they're looking at you.
625
00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:24.980
Can you produce? Are your finances in order? And can
626
00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:27.920
you write a really simple business plan and send it
627
00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:30.180
to me? And if so, here's a lot of money.
628
00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:33.089
Because we know we're probably going to get paid back.
629
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:37.269
But I think there's a lot more granularity to success
630
00:31:37.329 --> 00:31:42.390
beyond paying the bank back. I think you're envisioning more
631
00:31:42.450 --> 00:31:44.849
than that when you're thinking about starting or buying a practice.
632
00:31:45.269 --> 00:31:48.190
Yeah, yeah. You touched on it a minute ago about
633
00:31:48.289 --> 00:31:51.390
writing that business plan. And to your point, we've got
634
00:31:51.430 --> 00:31:54.720
a good solid handful of banks out there, especially for
635
00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:57.740
my startups. You know, I always joke that the banks
636
00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:00.259
kind of hand out a million bucks like it's Halloween
637
00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:03.849
candy on Halloween. Like it's probably the easiest loan you
638
00:32:03.869 --> 00:32:07.109
will ever get is a startup loan. Even easier than
639
00:32:07.170 --> 00:32:11.069
purchasing a practice loan is a startup loan. But there are,
640
00:32:11.170 --> 00:32:15.390
to your point... these few exercises that the bank is
641
00:32:15.450 --> 00:32:17.720
going to ask that you go for. And, you know,
642
00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:19.460
a lot of times with our clients, we'll help them
643
00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:22.740
kind of write up that, you know, basic business plan
644
00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.380
and come up with a performa and the different things
645
00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:28.940
that go along with that. But part of that is
646
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:32.769
just to your point, that exercise of, I'm going to
647
00:32:32.789 --> 00:32:36.390
be a business owner and I need to understand what
648
00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:39.119
What it's going to take is it truly we are
649
00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:41.440
gone are the days where we just throw a shingle
650
00:32:41.569 --> 00:32:44.549
up and here comes all the patients. Right. You got
651
00:32:44.589 --> 00:32:46.589
to do the work. You got to know what you're
652
00:32:46.670 --> 00:32:51.390
in for. And I think understanding the demographics, understanding the
653
00:32:51.490 --> 00:32:55.369
psychographics of an area, even sometimes, you know, really make
654
00:32:55.390 --> 00:32:59.180
a difference. big difference on when I look at success
655
00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:03.660
with my startups and I've got practices that do everything
656
00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:07.349
from our baseline numbers that are great to million plus
657
00:33:07.410 --> 00:33:10.240
practices in their first year. And a lot of times,
658
00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:12.619
some of that difference truly has to do with either
659
00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:18.369
location and how much work and understanding the doctor had
660
00:33:18.849 --> 00:33:21.730
of what they needed to do and put in to
661
00:33:21.769 --> 00:33:23.349
make that a successful practice.
662
00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:27.680
Yeah. Yeah. We want our clients to be set up
663
00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:31.220
for success. but there's so much that goes into the execution.
664
00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:31.779
And running of the practice.
665
00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:33.640
And it's great, Jill, that they've got people like you
666
00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:35.599
who can help out with all those things that come
667
00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:37.960
later on. But we want to make sure that they're
668
00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:40.329
started off on the right foot and they've got the
669
00:33:40.390 --> 00:33:42.609
best possible chance at the practice that they want.
670
00:33:43.170 --> 00:33:43.410
Yeah.
671
00:33:43.690 --> 00:33:43.869
Yeah.
672
00:33:44.390 --> 00:33:47.150
So I know I alluded to this a little bit earlier,
673
00:33:47.549 --> 00:33:50.670
but I want you to talk about this just a minute. Again,
674
00:33:50.829 --> 00:33:53.859
you know my thoughts on it, but I'm out there
675
00:33:54.059 --> 00:33:57.039
and I see different things pop up or I have
676
00:33:57.099 --> 00:34:01.170
docs where we see best place to open a practice
677
00:34:01.309 --> 00:34:05.279
or these gotcha, you know, reach outs there. And I
678
00:34:05.339 --> 00:34:09.159
want you to talk a little bit about why doctors
679
00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:12.239
should be really careful about relying too heavily on those
680
00:34:12.340 --> 00:34:15.639
rankings and deciding. And I know we've been kind of
681
00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:18.269
building up to this, you know, through this, through our
682
00:34:18.289 --> 00:34:21.269
whole conversation, but can you talk just a little bit
683
00:34:21.329 --> 00:34:25.170
more about that? Because I think that's the easy, right? Like,
684
00:34:25.190 --> 00:34:26.929
you know, oh, they said it's going to be good.
685
00:34:26.989 --> 00:34:28.230
So therefore I'm going to be fine.
686
00:34:28.250 --> 00:34:29.130
Yeah.
687
00:34:29.230 --> 00:34:29.449
Yeah.
688
00:34:29.489 --> 00:34:29.730
Right.
689
00:34:29.869 --> 00:34:30.030
Right.
690
00:34:30.130 --> 00:34:30.809
Yeah. Yeah.
691
00:34:31.309 --> 00:34:34.079
I'm in New Jersey. I'm moving to Florida and yeah.
692
00:34:34.659 --> 00:34:35.260
Done deal.
693
00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:38.099
I'm going to be a success. But New Jersey was
694
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:39.579
my problem. Yeah.
695
00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:42.659
So those lists are fun. We've put some of that
696
00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:44.079
type of content out there.
697
00:34:44.099 --> 00:34:48.260
Ours is maybe framed a little bit differently in terms.
698
00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:50.320
Of we might say the most.
699
00:34:50.139 --> 00:34:54.719
Saturated metro areas, the least saturated metro areas. Not necessarily
700
00:34:54.989 --> 00:34:58.210
the areas where you're going to find the most fulfillment
701
00:34:58.269 --> 00:35:00.829
and financial success. So two things here.
702
00:35:01.329 --> 00:35:01.429
One.
703
00:35:02.250 --> 00:35:04.690
Everyone has something that's a little bit different from what
704
00:35:04.710 --> 00:35:07.889
they're looking for in a practice, the types of patients
705
00:35:07.909 --> 00:35:09.679
that they want to treat, right? Like reimbursement rates are
706
00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:12.059
going to be different from one state to another type
707
00:35:12.099 --> 00:35:13.320
of patient that is going.
708
00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:13.659
To be there.
709
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:18.079
If you don't speak Spanish, and you go to like
710
00:35:18.340 --> 00:35:21.230
South Texas, which is seeing a ton of growth, that's
711
00:35:21.250 --> 00:35:24.309
going to be different both in the practice, the way
712
00:35:24.349 --> 00:35:26.269
that your practice runs on a day to day basis,
713
00:35:26.750 --> 00:35:30.179
and truly in terms of your life and like what
714
00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:32.460
it looks like outside of the, you know, quote unquote,
715
00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:35.860
nine to five outside of Monday through Friday. So one,
716
00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:37.579
those lists are obviously not personalized.
717
00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:39.239
Again, they're fun. They're super shareable.
718
00:35:39.860 --> 00:35:43.320
And then two, from a methodology perspective, usually what we
719
00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:48.840
see is like Florida is amazing or like the Austin
720
00:35:48.909 --> 00:35:53.530
area is amazing. But within these much larger geographies, we
721
00:35:53.550 --> 00:35:57.690
have hundreds, if not thousands of sub markets. So within
722
00:35:58.130 --> 00:36:01.969
the Austin area or within Florida, we can see, okay,
723
00:36:02.309 --> 00:36:04.409
this area would be pretty good for your practice. This
724
00:36:04.469 --> 00:36:06.070
area would not be good for your practice.
725
00:36:06.090 --> 00:36:07.809
They're 10, 15 minutes drive apart.
726
00:36:07.849 --> 00:36:10.949
Maybe they're a five-minute walk apart and one's on one
727
00:36:10.969 --> 00:36:12.159
side of the street and the other's on the other
728
00:36:12.199 --> 00:36:12.699
side of the street.
729
00:36:13.420 --> 00:36:15.079
So those lists, again.
730
00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:16.960
They're fun. We like to read them.
731
00:36:17.199 --> 00:36:19.760
Sometimes we even like to share them and put that
732
00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:23.480
type of content out there. But they're not directional advice
733
00:36:23.500 --> 00:36:25.239
for like, this is what you should do with your life.
734
00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:28.909
They're more like, this is fun and it's a way to.
735
00:36:29.809 --> 00:36:33.309
Kind of like think about like this area versus that area.
736
00:36:33.429 --> 00:36:35.349
But that's about as far as I think they go.
737
00:36:35.789 --> 00:36:40.050
Yeah, it's kind of like a horoscope, right? I think
738
00:36:40.090 --> 00:36:43.489
it's interesting because over the last 20 years as I
739
00:36:43.530 --> 00:36:47.110
have watched doctors, it's always interesting to me where we
740
00:36:47.130 --> 00:36:50.690
will have these big surges of all of a sudden
741
00:36:50.730 --> 00:36:52.889
I've got, to your point, a bunch of doctors in
742
00:36:52.909 --> 00:36:55.780
a certain part of Texas or a bunch of doctors
743
00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:57.860
that are all of a sudden in New Jersey or
744
00:36:57.900 --> 00:37:01.019
all of a sudden in California. And so many times
745
00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:04.900
I find that it goes back to an article or
746
00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:08.260
a something that has come up and everybody's like, that's
747
00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:10.860
the magic spot. That's where I need to go. Now,
748
00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:13.440
of course, if I'm working with them, we're really sussing
749
00:37:13.500 --> 00:37:16.739
through that and making sure that we're going there for
750
00:37:16.780 --> 00:37:18.530
the right reasons if that's where we're going to go to.
751
00:37:18.570 --> 00:37:21.389
But I do think that it's fun to look at,
752
00:37:21.489 --> 00:37:23.769
but let's really be a little bit cautious. You may
753
00:37:23.829 --> 00:37:28.010
not be meant to work in the middle of Montana, right?
754
00:37:28.329 --> 00:37:30.530
if you're a city and ocean person, you know what
755
00:37:30.570 --> 00:37:30.750
I mean?
756
00:37:30.769 --> 00:37:31.429
Right, right.
757
00:37:31.730 --> 00:37:35.500
Sounds obvious in hindsight, but I think naturally also, there
758
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:37.619
are a lot of people just based off of kind
759
00:37:37.639 --> 00:37:40.300
of the age that you are when you're transitioning into
760
00:37:40.340 --> 00:37:42.559
practice ownership that maybe are at sort of a more
761
00:37:42.599 --> 00:37:43.579
adventurous stage of life.
762
00:37:43.639 --> 00:37:45.519
And it's easy to romanticize like.
763
00:37:45.539 --> 00:37:47.860
Oh man, what if I moved to Florida or Texas
764
00:37:47.929 --> 00:37:50.849
or New York or, you know, wherever it is. And
765
00:37:51.190 --> 00:37:54.190
we come across that often at our stage in the game.
766
00:37:54.210 --> 00:37:58.210
And what, we always want people to think about. And
767
00:37:58.230 --> 00:38:01.389
it really has, I think, changed quite a few searches
768
00:38:01.489 --> 00:38:03.670
or progressed them to the point that they would have
769
00:38:03.710 --> 00:38:06.530
eventually gotten to anyway, but much more quickly. Where do
770
00:38:06.550 --> 00:38:08.190
you want to be in 10 years? Think about like,
771
00:38:08.630 --> 00:38:09.670
do you want to be married? Do you want to
772
00:38:09.690 --> 00:38:12.269
have kids? Are you close to your parents? Are they,
773
00:38:12.349 --> 00:38:13.670
you know, in 10 years going to be a little
774
00:38:13.690 --> 00:38:15.210
bit older? And are you going to want to be
775
00:38:15.250 --> 00:38:18.250
flying five hours each way to go see them or
776
00:38:18.590 --> 00:38:21.530
make them move? So this really is something that has
777
00:38:21.610 --> 00:38:24.960
a permanence to it that being an associate, you know,
778
00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:26.219
a thousand miles away does not.
779
00:38:26.690 --> 00:38:27.690
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
780
00:38:27.849 --> 00:38:28.349
That's great.
781
00:38:28.809 --> 00:38:31.170
Well, Kent, I feel like every time we talk, you
782
00:38:31.190 --> 00:38:34.980
just give us such good information and it's just good, solid.
783
00:38:35.300 --> 00:38:37.300
You know, this is what we, you know, I truly
784
00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:40.599
believe this is the first foundational piece that we build
785
00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:44.590
practices on. is having a good understanding of our demographics.
786
00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:48.489
And whether it's a startup, whether it's a practice acquisition,
787
00:38:48.889 --> 00:38:52.110
we have to understand the market now for the market
788
00:38:52.130 --> 00:38:54.289
for the future and have it make sense. And to
789
00:38:54.309 --> 00:38:57.880
your point, we have to understand where we're at right
790
00:38:57.920 --> 00:38:59.880
now in life and where we're going to be 10
791
00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:03.179
years from now, because we're not just turning these over
792
00:39:03.239 --> 00:39:06.860
in five years, especially if it's a startup. You're financially
793
00:39:07.039 --> 00:39:10.159
obligated to a space for usually a pretty long time.
794
00:39:10.780 --> 00:39:13.960
So if somebody is looking for more, if they want
795
00:39:13.980 --> 00:39:16.000
to know, find out a little bit more, they want
796
00:39:16.039 --> 00:39:20.219
to understand a little bit more about what Dentographics does
797
00:39:20.559 --> 00:39:22.880
and maybe some of the different types of reports that
798
00:39:22.900 --> 00:39:24.909
they can get their hands on, What's going to be
799
00:39:24.949 --> 00:39:27.119
the best way that they can reach out to you
800
00:39:27.159 --> 00:39:27.579
and the team?
801
00:39:28.630 --> 00:39:29.969
Yeah, so dentistry.
802
00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:37.360
is www.dentagraphics.com. That's dental without the L. And then me personally,
803
00:39:37.460 --> 00:39:39.179
I am Kent at Dentagraphics.com.
804
00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:40.920
I love that.
805
00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:43.320
Thank you. And I just, you know, I really love,
806
00:39:43.340 --> 00:39:45.090
I'm just going to say this a little plug for
807
00:39:45.110 --> 00:39:47.369
the company. I really love what you guys have done.
808
00:39:47.750 --> 00:39:49.889
And not only doing the, I'll call them more of
809
00:39:49.989 --> 00:39:53.869
our old school hard copy reports, but also I really
810
00:39:53.949 --> 00:39:56.989
love your new online version that you have. I mean,
811
00:39:57.010 --> 00:39:59.760
I think that's such a nice tool where We can
812
00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:02.079
kind of get a subscription. So it gives us an
813
00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:07.019
opportunity to really look and determine different areas. And so
814
00:40:07.219 --> 00:40:09.380
I just am so thankful that you guys have that,
815
00:40:09.739 --> 00:40:12.800
which I think is so helpful for me as a
816
00:40:12.840 --> 00:40:15.320
consultant and the clients that I'm working with to be
817
00:40:15.409 --> 00:40:18.949
able to look at things in real time immediately versus
818
00:40:19.010 --> 00:40:22.949
having to just rely on, you know, one dimensional report.
819
00:40:23.050 --> 00:40:24.130
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
820
00:40:24.789 --> 00:40:26.849
Yeah, the software is great for that kind of more
821
00:40:26.889 --> 00:40:27.989
interactive element.
822
00:40:28.289 --> 00:40:29.420
And you keep it as long as you need it.
823
00:40:29.429 --> 00:40:30.610
You know, it's not like you've got to sign up
824
00:40:30.650 --> 00:40:33.409
for a year or five years or something. It's a
825
00:40:33.429 --> 00:40:36.480
relatively short commitment. So if you don't need it after three,
826
00:40:36.500 --> 00:40:37.360
four months, that's okay.
827
00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:41.880
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great. And now a word from
828
00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:47.840
the sponsors who make this podcast possible. Hey, docs, let's
829
00:40:47.880 --> 00:40:51.929
talk about SmileSuite because it's not just another scheduling system.
830
00:40:52.389 --> 00:40:55.309
It's a game changer in the world of new patient management.
831
00:40:55.750 --> 00:40:59.280
And as a proud SmileSuite partner, I've witnessed the incredible
832
00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:03.780
impact it has on practices of all sizes. SmileSuite means
833
00:41:03.820 --> 00:41:06.940
your new patient calls and web leads are expertly handled
834
00:41:07.090 --> 00:41:10.389
seven days a week, even during nights and weekends. And
835
00:41:10.449 --> 00:41:16.650
they offer top-notch customizable presentation software and seamless post-consultation follow-up.
836
00:41:16.909 --> 00:41:20.889
It's like having a secret weapon for your practice's success. Curious?
837
00:41:21.309 --> 00:41:26.170
Dive into the revolution at GetSmileSuite.com. And don't forget to
838
00:41:26.210 --> 00:41:31.010
mention HeyDocs to unlock some extra goodies. Elevate your practice
839
00:41:31.130 --> 00:41:37.269
with SmileSuite because every smile deserves a suite of excellence. Well,
840
00:41:37.329 --> 00:41:39.780
you remember from the last time how I like to
841
00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:41.719
finish up. Hey, Docs, I like to finish this up
842
00:41:41.760 --> 00:41:44.239
with a little speed round. Are you ready? Are you
843
00:41:44.320 --> 00:41:45.860
all loosened up and ready to go?
844
00:41:45.940 --> 00:41:47.619
Okay. All right. How about this one?
845
00:41:47.699 --> 00:41:51.840
What is one thing you can't start your workday without?
846
00:41:52.510 --> 00:41:53.190
My newsletters.
847
00:41:53.429 --> 00:41:57.019
I've got to get acquainted with the day. I read
848
00:41:57.079 --> 00:41:58.179
every morning, the Wall Street Journal.
849
00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:00.019
I got two from them. I got a couple of
850
00:42:00.059 --> 00:42:00.940
tech newsletters.
851
00:42:01.320 --> 00:42:02.960
I've got to start my day with what's going on,
852
00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:03.619
what's out there.
853
00:42:03.659 --> 00:42:05.440
That's when I'm freshest. So I want to read the
854
00:42:05.539 --> 00:42:07.409
big ideas in the morning.
855
00:42:07.489 --> 00:42:07.820
Love it.
856
00:42:07.889 --> 00:42:09.630
So yeah, every day. Okay.
857
00:42:09.769 --> 00:42:10.159
I love it.
858
00:42:10.230 --> 00:42:10.579
I love it.
859
00:42:10.829 --> 00:42:11.030
Okay.
860
00:42:11.070 --> 00:42:13.090
How about this one? What is one thing you think
861
00:42:13.269 --> 00:42:15.010
everyone should make more time for?
862
00:42:16.469 --> 00:42:19.570
Cooking a homemade meal. We get so much enjoyment out
863
00:42:19.610 --> 00:42:23.250
of that. We love making it. We love eating it.
864
00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:26.820
It saves us a ton of money. And honestly, when
865
00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:29.650
I met my now wife six years ago, I couldn't
866
00:42:29.690 --> 00:42:31.070
cook Pop-Tarts in the toaster.
867
00:42:31.349 --> 00:42:32.289
Like I couldn't do it.
868
00:42:33.030 --> 00:42:36.190
And Jill, I'm not saying I'm a Michelin star chef
869
00:42:36.269 --> 00:42:39.409
or anything, but like I can make some Chinese dishes,
870
00:42:39.429 --> 00:42:41.059
Thai dishes, like stuff that I thought.
871
00:42:40.860 --> 00:42:42.519
Was like, how in the world do you make that?
872
00:42:42.539 --> 00:42:44.320
A home cooked meal is amazing.
873
00:42:44.360 --> 00:42:46.639
It's a great way to spend time with whoever you're
874
00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:48.320
living with. I've got a wife and a son and
875
00:42:48.360 --> 00:42:51.219
it's super, super fun. He loves watching us cook. So yes,
876
00:42:51.280 --> 00:42:52.719
a home cooked meal.
877
00:42:52.739 --> 00:42:53.909
I love that idea.
878
00:42:53.929 --> 00:42:56.230
I could not agree with you more. I love that. Okay,
879
00:42:56.289 --> 00:42:59.550
last one. What's the best investment you've made in yourself?
880
00:43:00.570 --> 00:43:04.820
Betting on myself, going out there and getting Denographics up
881
00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:09.070
and running. And especially in the beginning, there were times
882
00:43:09.110 --> 00:43:11.610
where it was like, huh, I guess my paycheck is $.
883
00:43:11.489 --> 00:43:11.809
200 this month.
884
00:43:14.030 --> 00:43:16.889
As every entrepreneur has said at one point in their life.
885
00:43:17.150 --> 00:43:18.409
Yep.
886
00:43:18.670 --> 00:43:21.610
And that, you know, when you have that type of month,
887
00:43:21.690 --> 00:43:24.550
especially early on, it's kind of hopefully a kick in
888
00:43:24.590 --> 00:43:26.510
the butt to be like, all right, things got to change.
889
00:43:26.530 --> 00:43:28.809
Like we got to do something different. We got to
890
00:43:28.849 --> 00:43:31.230
get out there more. We got to be doing something better.
891
00:43:31.929 --> 00:43:35.409
So 100%, and I hope a lot of your clients
892
00:43:35.449 --> 00:43:38.789
can relate to this. I've learned so, so much from
893
00:43:39.329 --> 00:43:41.250
doing it. It's not even just like the financial thing.
894
00:43:42.940 --> 00:43:46.579
side of it, but so many invaluable lessons, so many
895
00:43:46.619 --> 00:43:47.940
connections that just.
896
00:43:47.820 --> 00:43:48.760
Would have never happened.
897
00:43:49.550 --> 00:43:53.130
As somebody who might struggle to work for other people,
898
00:43:53.769 --> 00:43:56.789
I think that going out there and doing it for
899
00:43:56.829 --> 00:43:58.750
myself has just been invaluable.
900
00:43:59.130 --> 00:43:59.389
Yeah.
901
00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:01.909
Well, that's great. I love that. I love that bet
902
00:44:01.929 --> 00:44:04.909
on yourself. Well, again, thanks Kent so much for being
903
00:44:05.210 --> 00:44:09.010
on Hey Docs with us and love having our conversations,
904
00:44:09.170 --> 00:44:11.349
love what you're doing out there for our community.
905
00:44:11.940 --> 00:44:13.260
Thank you so much. Always a pleasure, Jill.
906
00:44:13.300 --> 00:44:13.980
All right.
907
00:44:14.139 --> 00:44:15.820
See you until next time. Bye.
908
00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:16.099
See ya.
909
00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:20.260
Are you ready to start a practice of your own?
910
00:44:21.039 --> 00:44:23.440
Need a new fresh set of eyes or some advice
911
00:44:23.539 --> 00:44:26.800
on your existing practice? If so, reach out to me,
912
00:44:27.119 --> 00:44:33.199
Jill Allen, at www.practiceresults.com. If you like what we're doing
913
00:44:33.260 --> 00:44:35.190
here on Hey Docs and want to hear more of
914
00:44:35.250 --> 00:44:38.389
this awesome content, be sure and give us a five-star
915
00:44:38.449 --> 00:44:42.610
rating on your preferred listening platforms. and subscribe to our
916
00:44:42.659 --> 00:44:46.590
show so you never miss an episode. Remember, new episodes
917
00:44:46.650 --> 00:44:49.159
drop every Thursday. See you next week.