Video Podcast
Odette de Beer: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome back to Amplify with Purpose, where we dive deep into the strategies and stories that help businesses and individuals strive by living and working with purpose. I'm your host Odette de Beer, and today I'm joined by two very special guests, Dr. Gabrielle Smart and Mollie. Patterson. Gabby and Molly are both the dynamic duo behind the inspiring venture that's transforming customer experience and culture.
Odette de Beer: Now, if you see me glance over, that's because there's some tech stuff on the other screen. Yes, I am on that side too, but let us add our fabulous guest. Hello, ladies. Welcome. It's lovely to have you here. Hello. Oh, sorry. Okay, Gabby,
Dr Gaby Smart: you've got
Odette de Beer: a
Odette de Beer: fantastic, a very impressive background from your formative years in Seymour College to academic pursuits in the health spaces, and your path has been both diverse and fascinating. [00:01:00] Would you share a little bit about your professional journey? And what led you to where we are today? And what's inspired you to create such a really cool practice?
Dr Gaby Smart: Cool. Yeah, sure. So I grew up in the country which gives a bit of background to the practice focusing in on the needs of country children. And I then went to boarding school and then university where I studied dentistry. I really enjoy caring for children, even in my like dental school study days, I remember one of my earliest patient experiences.
Dr Gaby Smart: I had a therapist who was just asking about what we wanted to do. And I said, Oh, I think I really think I want to be a pediatric dentist. I really like communicating with families and enjoy the dynamic with families. And she just fired back straight away. She said, Oh, that's, that sounds good.
Dr Gaby Smart: You are pretty simple. And then she laughed at that. You're good at explaining things. simply to children. And that's yeah, from dental school, head down the pathway of paediatric dentistry and public and private practice. Molly and I work together in private [00:02:00] practice.
Dr Gaby Smart: Even in the big hospital, you see I guess cultures and practice spaces that maybe make practicing a little bit challenging and can be bits of blocks. So then we ended up wanting to design and be in our own space where we can provide care exactly the way we want to. And that's yeah, how we've ended up where we are today.
Odette de Beer: Awesome. Molly, over to you.
Mollie Patterson: So I grew up in the country as well, not too far away from where Gabs grew up. And as a child, unfortunately, I had some trauma to my teeth. And also had a mineral issue on some of my baby teeth as well. So I had a lot of dental treatment very early on as a child and also had very good experiences luckily for me.
Mollie Patterson: So after I finished uni, I did a arts degree at uni. And then for, I wanted to get into healthcare and from having such good experiences, my teeth and my parents having to be looked after and trained through what I needed. Done on my teeth. I just wanted to get in there and be able to help other people as well with the same issues.[00:03:00]
Odette de Beer: That is really inspiring. So for those of you listening, you are going to miss out for the next minute. And you watching, we have a little bit of a treat today. Our gracious guests have got a beautiful video about. And I'd love to show you the video so that you can see what I'm talking about and why they're here.
Dr Gaby Smart: Hi, I'm Dr. Gabrielle Smart. And
Mollie Patterson: I'm Molly from Hills and Country Pediatric
Dr Gaby Smart: Dentistry. We'd love to show you around our custom built pediatric dental rooms in Handoff. Please come and take a look.
Dr Gaby Smart: The practice was designed to deliver the highest quality, specialised care to our local hills and country communities. Both Molly and I grew up in the country and now live in the Adelaide Hills and love that we can work locally and tailor the care we provide to rural, regional, and remote children.
Dr Gaby Smart: Thanks for having a look around and we hope to see you soon.
Odette de Beer: Ladies, it is quite an impressive practice. You obviously know from the first time that I walked in, I was like, Whoa, guys, you obviously put some thought into this. [00:04:00] Would you mind sharing with us, where did the inspiration come from? How did you get to creating this space that is child friendly? I have two kids, for those of you, full disclosure, this is not paid promotion.
Odette de Beer: However, my two kids do go to their practice and they love going there, which is why We have them on the show today.
Dr Gaby Smart: Yeah. So I suppose part of it probably come from working in spaces that maybe weren't quite as child friendly. So we started with the layout. Some of our patients often have prams, double prams, wheelchairs things like that.
Dr Gaby Smart: So our hallway, doorways, things like that were oversized from the start. A car park and entrance off the car park was quite important for us so that there was that bit of safety coming in. And then we wanted, with the practicalities out of the way, we wanted people to feel relaxed and feel a sense of a little bit of fun, too, but not too pediatric when they came in, and that's where [00:05:00] we worked with our graphic designer to come up with the wall decals and the feel that you feel as soon as you walk through the door.
Dr Gaby Smart: And what about you, Molly? What do you think about the vibe and the design, all the things? Yeah,
Mollie Patterson: I think the atmosphere and obviously, like you said, it's evident when, as soon as you walk in the door, but I like the feeling that you're coming to see friends. It's not a scary place for kids to come that you can have a chat and it not be Very super clinical and Gab said it the way that she explains things is matter of fact and understandable as well Which makes it less clinical as well.
Mollie Patterson: It's just all about the experience coming in
Odette de Beer: What I love about what you've done is you've taken something that is cold and clinical and made it human which is For me, the first key to a successful business. And secondly, Gaps, you said it now. And for me, that's the key of customer experience. You thought about what you wanted people to feel when they walked in.
Odette de Beer: And it's not [00:06:00] a natural connection for people to make often. Businesses, whether it's a dentist or a retail store or someone selling services, think about the things they need to sell and the process that the people need to go through in getting that stuff in their hands. But before we even get to that, we have to consider what do people feel when they come to your practice, when they deal with your business.
Odette de Beer: And it's an important key because feeling determines whether or not they come back. And you'll know in your experience, poor feelings or negative feelings towards a dentist results in people not. And then they have like lifelong trauma when they have horrible feelings, which is quite bad. So where did this come from?
Odette de Beer: Because it's not a natural thing to think about. What do I want my customers or my patients to feel? I'm
Dr Gaby Smart: trying to think where it's come from. I think probably our own experiences, like Molly saying she [00:07:00] had some quite significant dental experiences as a youngster. I always knew my dentist to start with.
Dr Gaby Smart: So my first dentist was my great uncle was a pediatric dentist. So I always felt relaxed and in common because I was going to see uncle Kevin, I wasn't going to the dentist as such. So I suppose. We wanted people to feel like they were coming to see Molly and Gabs, or they were, coming to Hills and Country Pediatric Dentistry, or coming to HCPD.
Dr Gaby Smart: They're not, yeah. But that's probably stemmed from my own experience, that I never had bad feelings about going. And I think one of the biggest things is that I've learned along the way is that your feelings and experience starts from your first interaction with the practice.
Dr Gaby Smart: So even our practice software and our booking software and our patients filling in all their medical histories and getting all their information. We try and make that as user friendly from the start as we can, or even from the minute Molly picks up the phone, we get so much feedback about Molly's energy [00:08:00] and positivity on the phone and how clear everything is.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I think, yeah, it's probably when we thought hard about how we wanted patients to find our experience, we wanted it to be easy from the start and to feel comfortable from the start. If that makes sense, yeah.
Odette de Beer: Yeah, it makes total sense. It's actually one of the keys to having a great experience is that's the one thing that you should be thinking about.
Odette de Beer: But often business owners miss that. You also mentioned in the beginning of the conversation, culture, which is a loaded word. And I think you have managed to create a really cool culture between yourself and Molly at the practice. Molly why Gabby? And what about the culture made you go there and made you stay?
Mollie Patterson: Yeah, like Gab said before, we have worked together at another paediatric dentist about five years ago. It was a bigger practice than it is of Gab's and I at the moment but the workplace culture wasn't great. [00:09:00] I had worked in dental now for So I've worked around six different practices.
Mollie Patterson: So for moving from practice to practice, I knew exactly what I wanted in where I was working and what I didn't want in where I was working. And Gabs and I always got along really well. I loved working at the, with kids at a kid's practice. And for me, the country aspect and looking after our local kids, like Gabs said, growing up in the country and It's not just me having lots of dental treatment, it's what I wanted to help the community and make it a community based.
Mollie Patterson: And Gabs and I get along really well and she's very open to any ideas or anything I had. So
Odette de Beer: it's worked very well. That's awesome. So Gabby, was this intentional or was it just that you
Dr Gaby Smart: like working together? Yeah, no, I'd say to add on that too, I think similarly, I've worked in about six different either general practices and private or pediatric practices.
Dr Gaby Smart: And, Some were great. Some were challenging. [00:10:00] And even the challenging ones, there was some that worked really well. So I think having that experience and taking all the good bits and knowing what was challenging and hard and trying to build that into a practice was really good and just really fortuitous timing.
Dr Gaby Smart: I think that Molly and I had those similar experiences at a similar time. I wasn't really ever sure. I wanted to own my own business and wanted to own my own practice. That wasn't something that I thought was on my radar. And I remember when I was considering this and I saw the location and it was eight minutes from home.
Dr Gaby Smart: So work life balance was going to be better with young children. I remember picking up the phone or maybe I messaged you Molly and I was just like, what do you think? This is nowhere near home for you, but this is what I'm thinking of doing. Because it's going to fit my life. And it was almost like everything just aligned and Molly's life was heading to the Adelaide Hills anyway.
Dr Gaby Smart: So some of it was very purposeful. And then some of it, just everything aligned that it made sense for both of us as well. But [00:11:00] definitely. I've worked in lots of workplaces where the workplace is stressful, the culture is stressful, management is stressful they were very conscious decisions to take all of that away as much as we could.
Dr Gaby Smart: The purpose of creating this was to create somewhere that we loved being at work and we loved caring for our patients or our clients in this space as well.
Odette de Beer: It shows and I think it works. So my next question is, If you were to fast forward five years from now, do you see the practice growing?
Dr Gaby Smart: Yeah, that's an interesting question too, because I didn't think, and I'm still not sure I think having had a bit of trauma with different work environments, I'm very wary of bringing extra things in that might complicate it. Extra personalities different specialists have different opinions, work ethics, all those sorts of things too.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I do want to let. Find its way, but I don't have huge projections planned for it, if that makes sense. I do think it's just [00:12:00] growing quicker than we could have thought it would to the point that I probably might have to consider getting other specialists or different people in, but I do really want to protect our culture and I don't want it to spiral and lose.
Dr Gaby Smart: what we've worked hard to achieve as far as the feel and the vibe of it. And part of it is that patients do feel heard and cared for and that we do have time. And I definitely don't want to lose that by getting too big too quickly, if that, yeah.
Odette de Beer: Yes, I'm smiling because the words that I use on a daily basis is people want to be seen, they want to feel cared for, and they want to be heard.
Odette de Beer: And it's so cool that these are just things that just, they just flow from you, which is fantastic, which means you buy into it. And that makes sense that your practice is growing unintentionally, because when you have a really cool practice and you look after your customers, or in this case, your patients, [00:13:00] then they will come back and their parents are referring you because their kids are walking away with a smile on their faces, all of them.
Odette de Beer: And I, for those of the. dentists that are perhaps listening. I'm not sure if we have any of those, but if there is a dentist listening, it's not about the toys that you give the kids. I just want to just put that out there because my kids have been to multiple dentists where they get a toy afterwards that doesn't detract from a poor experience.
Odette de Beer: And I think what the two of you have done really is you've taken a really respectful work relationship and you've created an environment with that work relationship. And I understand your caution around growing the team, because when you introduce new people, things potentially could change. It just means that you've got to be intentional about how you hire them and how you train them.
Odette de Beer: So Molly, I presume that you didn't need a whole lot of training when you joined the practice, [00:14:00] but I assume that you've had tons of training. So how did you make sure that you didn't bring along the yucky bits and you kept it as amazing as it is? I think from the
Mollie Patterson: get go, because of the environment and the way GABS had envisioned the practice, that wasn't going to happen regardless.
Mollie Patterson: It was a clean slate I'd come from a bigger practice, a corporate practice, before coming here, in between when GABS and I worked together last. And I think I just wanted a clean slate. This is how we start, and starting on the front foot, and starting and growing the practice the way we want it from the get go was what our philosophy was going to be the entire time.
Mollie Patterson: And I think going to any medical appointment is daunting. And so we want people to feel comfortable. So that's the way you just have to plan every single time.
Odette de Beer: Absolutely. It's phenomenal. You guys are doing a sterling job, although you're not in sterling. And my kids are coming there, which is [00:15:00] fantastic.
Odette de Beer: And I'm sure other people's kids are loving coming there, which is why your practice is growing so quickly. So for the two of you, would you mind sharing for those people who are listening, who are thinking? What are the main principles that I need to be paying attention to in my business? And then Gabs, if you could share for the dentists specifically listening, I'm not sure if there are any, but I'm sure there will be after this.
Odette de Beer: Would you just share with them your key principles or some key insights that if you could do this again, or you had an opportunity to give someone a headstart what is it you would tell them?
Dr Gaby Smart: Sure. So one of the biggest. principles around that the practice was built around. Was obviously we wanted positive experiences, but in that you want to minimize the potential for patient anxiety.
Dr Gaby Smart: And we'll look at dental anxiety specifically. Some of us are predisposed to it. And there's other like multitude of factors, but the factor that the dentist or the dental practice can impact on is not having a negative dental experience to [00:16:00] start with. So you could have someone really predisposed to dental trauma, but if all the interactions and if all the experiences are positive, then they're not going to get The dental anxiety and the interaction start or in the waiting room is how all of your staff and everyone approaches the child and all the way down to the treatment appointments, but also breaking it right back down to prevention, because if we prevent an issue, the child doesn't need treatment, they're not going to be anxious.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I guess we really based it around prevention really good processes for booking and processes for the waiting room and the flow through the waiting room. So that came down to the actual structure of the building. And then also being up front with cost. And really trying to be as affordable as we can be for all families.
Dr Gaby Smart: We do accept the Medicare Child Dental Benefit Scheme. But we're always up front and try and explain everything to the best of our knowledge because there was a survey done in Australia that a lot of dental anxiety, more in adults, but same thing for [00:17:00] parents if they're feeling anxious in the waiting room, actually stems from what the bill might be at the end.
Dr Gaby Smart: So we're trying to look at that and just be completely transparent and accountable. for what everything is, if that makes sense. So they were the main key principles that I really focused in on. Did you have any extra ones, Molly, when we were? Yeah, on
Mollie Patterson: that as well, not feeling like you're a number when you're coming in.
Mollie Patterson: And I think that a lot of the time you can be going to a dentist or a medical professional, you go see them in the room, you're in there for 10 minutes, you see the practitioner that you're paying X amount for, and then you're out the door. Whereas Gab's half the time will come and get the patients.
Mollie Patterson: and bring them out afterwards. Go over the treatment plan. Like I said, finance, being transparent with that I think is the biggest thing and what I've learned from other practices. If you're not being transparent, that causes the most anxiety. People cancel appointments. They don't want to come back.
Mollie Patterson: Whereas if you're up front, GABS goes through the treatment plan from start to finish, shows all the items and explains everything to the [00:18:00] parent. So if they've got any questions, they're not just getting a printout and walking home and not understanding what they're paying for. So I think, yeah, the finance of being very transparent and Gab spending time with patients and their parents as well.
Mollie Patterson: And they're not just feeling like a number when they're coming in is a massive thing as well.
Odette de Beer: Absolutely. So I can confirm that everything that these two beautiful ladies are saying is 100 percent true. They do these things really well. And some of the things that you will always hear on this podcast is words like clarity.
Odette de Beer: I didn't coach them by the way, beforehand, but I mentioned clarity transparency, clarity. It's the same thing. We need to be clear both internally and externally and in our communication with our clients. We need to be accountable. Gabs, you used it so beautifully. Well done. I feel like I need to start running a bingo count on these shows.
Odette de Beer: Accountability right up there with my My advocacy framework. And [00:19:00] then of course, consistency, which is something these ladies have managed to do really well. The first time you walk through the door is the same as the second time and the third and the fourth. And the reality is that. Those are the things that build business.
Odette de Beer: Those are the things that build trust. And when you have trust, you will have loyalty. When you have loyalty, you will have advocacy. So for those of you who were wondering, why did we have a pediatric dentist on the Amplify with Purpose show? I hope I have adequately explained clarity, accountability, consistency, emotional connection with customers, all of these amazing things.
Odette de Beer: plays out in the pediatric dentist's office. Now, if you're listening and you're wondering, how does this apply to your business? It 100 percent is we all and are the life. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Molly. Thank you, Gabby. It was absolutely awesome speaking to you both. [00:20:00] If you want to get in touch with the team at the Hills Country Practice, their details will, it will be in the show notes.
Odette de Beer: You can find them on their website or go to their. Email pages. And I'm sure there's some LinkedIn or some social media sites that will be in, in the links below. So go check them out and say, Hey, tell them that you saw them on the show. Cause that'll be so awesome. And then if you've got kids. Take your kids.
Odette de Beer: If you don't send your friends with kids there. Okay. Awesome. Thank you guys. Until next time. It was lovely having you both here. Thank you for an enlightening conversation and remember to amplify your life and your business with purpose until next time. Bye for now. Thank you.
Odette de Beer: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome back to Amplify with Purpose, where we dive deep into the strategies and stories that help businesses and individuals strive by living and working with purpose. I'm your host Odette de Beer, and today I'm joined by two very special guests, Dr. Gabrielle Smart and Mollie. Patterson. Gabby and Molly are both the dynamic duo behind the inspiring venture that's transforming customer experience and culture.
Odette de Beer: Now, if you see me glance over, that's because there's some tech stuff on the other screen. Yes, I am on that side too, but let us add our fabulous guest. Hello, ladies. Welcome. It's lovely to have you here. Hello. Oh, sorry. Okay, Gabby,
Dr Gaby Smart: you've got
Odette de Beer: a
Odette de Beer: fantastic, a very impressive background from your formative years in Seymour College to academic pursuits in the health spaces, and your path has been both diverse and fascinating. [00:01:00] Would you share a little bit about your professional journey? And what led you to where we are today? And what's inspired you to create such a really cool practice?
Dr Gaby Smart: Cool. Yeah, sure. So I grew up in the country which gives a bit of background to the practice focusing in on the needs of country children. And I then went to boarding school and then university where I studied dentistry. I really enjoy caring for children, even in my like dental school study days, I remember one of my earliest patient experiences.
Dr Gaby Smart: I had a therapist who was just asking about what we wanted to do. And I said, Oh, I think I really think I want to be a pediatric dentist. I really like communicating with families and enjoy the dynamic with families. And she just fired back straight away. She said, Oh, that's, that sounds good.
Dr Gaby Smart: You are pretty simple. And then she laughed at that. You're good at explaining things. simply to children. And that's yeah, from dental school, head down the pathway of paediatric dentistry and public and private practice. Molly and I work together in private [00:02:00] practice.
Dr Gaby Smart: Even in the big hospital, you see I guess cultures and practice spaces that maybe make practicing a little bit challenging and can be bits of blocks. So then we ended up wanting to design and be in our own space where we can provide care exactly the way we want to. And that's yeah, how we've ended up where we are today.
Odette de Beer: Awesome. Molly, over to you.
Mollie Patterson: So I grew up in the country as well, not too far away from where Gabs grew up. And as a child, unfortunately, I had some trauma to my teeth. And also had a mineral issue on some of my baby teeth as well. So I had a lot of dental treatment very early on as a child and also had very good experiences luckily for me.
Mollie Patterson: So after I finished uni, I did a arts degree at uni. And then for, I wanted to get into healthcare and from having such good experiences, my teeth and my parents having to be looked after and trained through what I needed. Done on my teeth. I just wanted to get in there and be able to help other people as well with the same issues.[00:03:00]
Odette de Beer: That is really inspiring. So for those of you listening, you are going to miss out for the next minute. And you watching, we have a little bit of a treat today. Our gracious guests have got a beautiful video about. And I'd love to show you the video so that you can see what I'm talking about and why they're here.
Dr Gaby Smart: Hi, I'm Dr. Gabrielle Smart. And
Mollie Patterson: I'm Molly from Hills and Country Pediatric
Dr Gaby Smart: Dentistry. We'd love to show you around our custom built pediatric dental rooms in Handoff. Please come and take a look.
Dr Gaby Smart: The practice was designed to deliver the highest quality, specialised care to our local hills and country communities. Both Molly and I grew up in the country and now live in the Adelaide Hills and love that we can work locally and tailor the care we provide to rural, regional, and remote children.
Dr Gaby Smart: Thanks for having a look around and we hope to see you soon.
Odette de Beer: Ladies, it is quite an impressive practice. You obviously know from the first time that I walked in, I was like, Whoa, guys, you obviously put some thought into this. [00:04:00] Would you mind sharing with us, where did the inspiration come from? How did you get to creating this space that is child friendly? I have two kids, for those of you, full disclosure, this is not paid promotion.
Odette de Beer: However, my two kids do go to their practice and they love going there, which is why We have them on the show today.
Dr Gaby Smart: Yeah. So I suppose part of it probably come from working in spaces that maybe weren't quite as child friendly. So we started with the layout. Some of our patients often have prams, double prams, wheelchairs things like that.
Dr Gaby Smart: So our hallway, doorways, things like that were oversized from the start. A car park and entrance off the car park was quite important for us so that there was that bit of safety coming in. And then we wanted, with the practicalities out of the way, we wanted people to feel relaxed and feel a sense of a little bit of fun, too, but not too pediatric when they came in, and that's where [00:05:00] we worked with our graphic designer to come up with the wall decals and the feel that you feel as soon as you walk through the door.
Dr Gaby Smart: And what about you, Molly? What do you think about the vibe and the design, all the things? Yeah,
Mollie Patterson: I think the atmosphere and obviously, like you said, it's evident when, as soon as you walk in the door, but I like the feeling that you're coming to see friends. It's not a scary place for kids to come that you can have a chat and it not be Very super clinical and Gab said it the way that she explains things is matter of fact and understandable as well Which makes it less clinical as well.
Mollie Patterson: It's just all about the experience coming in
Odette de Beer: What I love about what you've done is you've taken something that is cold and clinical and made it human which is For me, the first key to a successful business. And secondly, Gaps, you said it now. And for me, that's the key of customer experience. You thought about what you wanted people to feel when they walked in.
Odette de Beer: And it's not [00:06:00] a natural connection for people to make often. Businesses, whether it's a dentist or a retail store or someone selling services, think about the things they need to sell and the process that the people need to go through in getting that stuff in their hands. But before we even get to that, we have to consider what do people feel when they come to your practice, when they deal with your business.
Odette de Beer: And it's an important key because feeling determines whether or not they come back. And you'll know in your experience, poor feelings or negative feelings towards a dentist results in people not. And then they have like lifelong trauma when they have horrible feelings, which is quite bad. So where did this come from?
Odette de Beer: Because it's not a natural thing to think about. What do I want my customers or my patients to feel? I'm
Dr Gaby Smart: trying to think where it's come from. I think probably our own experiences, like Molly saying she [00:07:00] had some quite significant dental experiences as a youngster. I always knew my dentist to start with.
Dr Gaby Smart: So my first dentist was my great uncle was a pediatric dentist. So I always felt relaxed and in common because I was going to see uncle Kevin, I wasn't going to the dentist as such. So I suppose. We wanted people to feel like they were coming to see Molly and Gabs, or they were, coming to Hills and Country Pediatric Dentistry, or coming to HCPD.
Dr Gaby Smart: They're not, yeah. But that's probably stemmed from my own experience, that I never had bad feelings about going. And I think one of the biggest things is that I've learned along the way is that your feelings and experience starts from your first interaction with the practice.
Dr Gaby Smart: So even our practice software and our booking software and our patients filling in all their medical histories and getting all their information. We try and make that as user friendly from the start as we can, or even from the minute Molly picks up the phone, we get so much feedback about Molly's energy [00:08:00] and positivity on the phone and how clear everything is.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I think, yeah, it's probably when we thought hard about how we wanted patients to find our experience, we wanted it to be easy from the start and to feel comfortable from the start. If that makes sense, yeah.
Odette de Beer: Yeah, it makes total sense. It's actually one of the keys to having a great experience is that's the one thing that you should be thinking about.
Odette de Beer: But often business owners miss that. You also mentioned in the beginning of the conversation, culture, which is a loaded word. And I think you have managed to create a really cool culture between yourself and Molly at the practice. Molly why Gabby? And what about the culture made you go there and made you stay?
Mollie Patterson: Yeah, like Gab said before, we have worked together at another paediatric dentist about five years ago. It was a bigger practice than it is of Gab's and I at the moment but the workplace culture wasn't great. [00:09:00] I had worked in dental now for So I've worked around six different practices.
Mollie Patterson: So for moving from practice to practice, I knew exactly what I wanted in where I was working and what I didn't want in where I was working. And Gabs and I always got along really well. I loved working at the, with kids at a kid's practice. And for me, the country aspect and looking after our local kids, like Gabs said, growing up in the country and It's not just me having lots of dental treatment, it's what I wanted to help the community and make it a community based.
Mollie Patterson: And Gabs and I get along really well and she's very open to any ideas or anything I had. So
Odette de Beer: it's worked very well. That's awesome. So Gabby, was this intentional or was it just that you
Dr Gaby Smart: like working together? Yeah, no, I'd say to add on that too, I think similarly, I've worked in about six different either general practices and private or pediatric practices.
Dr Gaby Smart: And, Some were great. Some were challenging. [00:10:00] And even the challenging ones, there was some that worked really well. So I think having that experience and taking all the good bits and knowing what was challenging and hard and trying to build that into a practice was really good and just really fortuitous timing.
Dr Gaby Smart: I think that Molly and I had those similar experiences at a similar time. I wasn't really ever sure. I wanted to own my own business and wanted to own my own practice. That wasn't something that I thought was on my radar. And I remember when I was considering this and I saw the location and it was eight minutes from home.
Dr Gaby Smart: So work life balance was going to be better with young children. I remember picking up the phone or maybe I messaged you Molly and I was just like, what do you think? This is nowhere near home for you, but this is what I'm thinking of doing. Because it's going to fit my life. And it was almost like everything just aligned and Molly's life was heading to the Adelaide Hills anyway.
Dr Gaby Smart: So some of it was very purposeful. And then some of it, just everything aligned that it made sense for both of us as well. But [00:11:00] definitely. I've worked in lots of workplaces where the workplace is stressful, the culture is stressful, management is stressful they were very conscious decisions to take all of that away as much as we could.
Dr Gaby Smart: The purpose of creating this was to create somewhere that we loved being at work and we loved caring for our patients or our clients in this space as well.
Odette de Beer: It shows and I think it works. So my next question is, If you were to fast forward five years from now, do you see the practice growing?
Dr Gaby Smart: Yeah, that's an interesting question too, because I didn't think, and I'm still not sure I think having had a bit of trauma with different work environments, I'm very wary of bringing extra things in that might complicate it. Extra personalities different specialists have different opinions, work ethics, all those sorts of things too.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I do want to let. Find its way, but I don't have huge projections planned for it, if that makes sense. I do think it's just [00:12:00] growing quicker than we could have thought it would to the point that I probably might have to consider getting other specialists or different people in, but I do really want to protect our culture and I don't want it to spiral and lose.
Dr Gaby Smart: what we've worked hard to achieve as far as the feel and the vibe of it. And part of it is that patients do feel heard and cared for and that we do have time. And I definitely don't want to lose that by getting too big too quickly, if that, yeah.
Odette de Beer: Yes, I'm smiling because the words that I use on a daily basis is people want to be seen, they want to feel cared for, and they want to be heard.
Odette de Beer: And it's so cool that these are just things that just, they just flow from you, which is fantastic, which means you buy into it. And that makes sense that your practice is growing unintentionally, because when you have a really cool practice and you look after your customers, or in this case, your patients, [00:13:00] then they will come back and their parents are referring you because their kids are walking away with a smile on their faces, all of them.
Odette de Beer: And I, for those of the. dentists that are perhaps listening. I'm not sure if we have any of those, but if there is a dentist listening, it's not about the toys that you give the kids. I just want to just put that out there because my kids have been to multiple dentists where they get a toy afterwards that doesn't detract from a poor experience.
Odette de Beer: And I think what the two of you have done really is you've taken a really respectful work relationship and you've created an environment with that work relationship. And I understand your caution around growing the team, because when you introduce new people, things potentially could change. It just means that you've got to be intentional about how you hire them and how you train them.
Odette de Beer: So Molly, I presume that you didn't need a whole lot of training when you joined the practice, [00:14:00] but I assume that you've had tons of training. So how did you make sure that you didn't bring along the yucky bits and you kept it as amazing as it is? I think from the
Mollie Patterson: get go, because of the environment and the way GABS had envisioned the practice, that wasn't going to happen regardless.
Mollie Patterson: It was a clean slate I'd come from a bigger practice, a corporate practice, before coming here, in between when GABS and I worked together last. And I think I just wanted a clean slate. This is how we start, and starting on the front foot, and starting and growing the practice the way we want it from the get go was what our philosophy was going to be the entire time.
Mollie Patterson: And I think going to any medical appointment is daunting. And so we want people to feel comfortable. So that's the way you just have to plan every single time.
Odette de Beer: Absolutely. It's phenomenal. You guys are doing a sterling job, although you're not in sterling. And my kids are coming there, which is [00:15:00] fantastic.
Odette de Beer: And I'm sure other people's kids are loving coming there, which is why your practice is growing so quickly. So for the two of you, would you mind sharing for those people who are listening, who are thinking? What are the main principles that I need to be paying attention to in my business? And then Gabs, if you could share for the dentists specifically listening, I'm not sure if there are any, but I'm sure there will be after this.
Odette de Beer: Would you just share with them your key principles or some key insights that if you could do this again, or you had an opportunity to give someone a headstart what is it you would tell them?
Dr Gaby Smart: Sure. So one of the biggest. principles around that the practice was built around. Was obviously we wanted positive experiences, but in that you want to minimize the potential for patient anxiety.
Dr Gaby Smart: And we'll look at dental anxiety specifically. Some of us are predisposed to it. And there's other like multitude of factors, but the factor that the dentist or the dental practice can impact on is not having a negative dental experience to [00:16:00] start with. So you could have someone really predisposed to dental trauma, but if all the interactions and if all the experiences are positive, then they're not going to get The dental anxiety and the interaction start or in the waiting room is how all of your staff and everyone approaches the child and all the way down to the treatment appointments, but also breaking it right back down to prevention, because if we prevent an issue, the child doesn't need treatment, they're not going to be anxious.
Dr Gaby Smart: So I guess we really based it around prevention really good processes for booking and processes for the waiting room and the flow through the waiting room. So that came down to the actual structure of the building. And then also being up front with cost. And really trying to be as affordable as we can be for all families.
Dr Gaby Smart: We do accept the Medicare Child Dental Benefit Scheme. But we're always up front and try and explain everything to the best of our knowledge because there was a survey done in Australia that a lot of dental anxiety, more in adults, but same thing for [00:17:00] parents if they're feeling anxious in the waiting room, actually stems from what the bill might be at the end.
Dr Gaby Smart: So we're trying to look at that and just be completely transparent and accountable. for what everything is, if that makes sense. So they were the main key principles that I really focused in on. Did you have any extra ones, Molly, when we were? Yeah, on
Mollie Patterson: that as well, not feeling like you're a number when you're coming in.
Mollie Patterson: And I think that a lot of the time you can be going to a dentist or a medical professional, you go see them in the room, you're in there for 10 minutes, you see the practitioner that you're paying X amount for, and then you're out the door. Whereas Gab's half the time will come and get the patients.
Mollie Patterson: and bring them out afterwards. Go over the treatment plan. Like I said, finance, being transparent with that I think is the biggest thing and what I've learned from other practices. If you're not being transparent, that causes the most anxiety. People cancel appointments. They don't want to come back.
Mollie Patterson: Whereas if you're up front, GABS goes through the treatment plan from start to finish, shows all the items and explains everything to the [00:18:00] parent. So if they've got any questions, they're not just getting a printout and walking home and not understanding what they're paying for. So I think, yeah, the finance of being very transparent and Gab spending time with patients and their parents as well.
Mollie Patterson: And they're not just feeling like a number when they're coming in is a massive thing as well.
Odette de Beer: Absolutely. So I can confirm that everything that these two beautiful ladies are saying is 100 percent true. They do these things really well. And some of the things that you will always hear on this podcast is words like clarity.
Odette de Beer: I didn't coach them by the way, beforehand, but I mentioned clarity transparency, clarity. It's the same thing. We need to be clear both internally and externally and in our communication with our clients. We need to be accountable. Gabs, you used it so beautifully. Well done. I feel like I need to start running a bingo count on these shows.
Odette de Beer: Accountability right up there with my My advocacy framework. And [00:19:00] then of course, consistency, which is something these ladies have managed to do really well. The first time you walk through the door is the same as the second time and the third and the fourth. And the reality is that. Those are the things that build business.
Odette de Beer: Those are the things that build trust. And when you have trust, you will have loyalty. When you have loyalty, you will have advocacy. So for those of you who were wondering, why did we have a pediatric dentist on the Amplify with Purpose show? I hope I have adequately explained clarity, accountability, consistency, emotional connection with customers, all of these amazing things.
Odette de Beer: plays out in the pediatric dentist's office. Now, if you're listening and you're wondering, how does this apply to your business? It 100 percent is we all and are the life. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, Molly. Thank you, Gabby. It was absolutely awesome speaking to you both. [00:20:00] If you want to get in touch with the team at the Hills Country Practice, their details will, it will be in the show notes.
Odette de Beer: You can find them on their website or go to their. Email pages. And I'm sure there's some LinkedIn or some social media sites that will be in, in the links below. So go check them out and say, Hey, tell them that you saw them on the show. Cause that'll be so awesome. And then if you've got kids. Take your kids.
Odette de Beer: If you don't send your friends with kids there. Okay. Awesome. Thank you guys. Until next time. It was lovely having you both here. Thank you for an enlightening conversation and remember to amplify your life and your business with purpose until next time. Bye for now. Thank you.
