Business Of Dentistry with Dr. Russell Kirk

My guest this week is Travis Hornsby, the founder of Student Loan Planner, a student loan advisor company. Behind every great man there’s a great woman, they say. In Travis’s case, the great woman is his wife, a physician in Saint Louis. When they first started dating, she had a lot of student debt. So Travis decided to help her out by making a model of how they can pay off her student debt. He used all the knowledge he got from bond trading and modeling complex debt instruments and started researching what are the most advantageous choices you can make while repaying your debt. His then girlfriend, now wife, started spreading the word about what he was doing, so he started helping more and more dentists. He advised about 250 dentists and dental specialists in the past 18 months. Key takeaways: The grim current landscape of student debt Choose your plan according to your goals The current state of student loans is not sustainable, and that might change Links: Student Loan Planner Want to receive our podca

This week I am joined by Dr. Paul Etchison, host of The Dental Practice Heroes Podcast, and author of Dental Practice Hero: From Ordinary Practice to Extraordinary Experience. Paul comes from Illinois, and studied in Chicago. After finishing dental school, he worked for a specialist who owned several practices. There he got the chance to learn a ton of things, and after about two and a half years, he started thinking about creating his own business. The next step for him was taking Dr. Scott Leune’s Breakaway Practice Seminars and gathering as much information as humanly possible. He then started looking for a location for his office, found the perfect spot and grew the business really fast. Fast forward to six years later, they now have almost 3 million visits every year and still counting! Key takeaways: Success narrowed down to effort and dedication Devoted to creating an exceptional practice culture Some of the marketing strategies they’ve used Burnout and coming up with a solution Why he become an auth

My guest this week is a self-declared Nebraska farm boy whose first career pursuit was athletic medicine. He later realized that athletic trainers are really married to their job, and this wasn’t the lifestyle he wanted for himself. Dave Maloley then switched to dentistry and never looked back. Today we talk about why it’s necessary to keep an eye on your vision, and why you should constantly remind yourself of what’s important to you. We also touch on Dave’s 16 life categories that help him be more focused on his goals, on how he discovered high-performance training and how it completely turned his life around. Finally, it’s useful to remind you that you can always sign up for the Dental Success Network, whenever you have questions, or if you need to double-check something. It’s an enormously valuable resource. Key takeaways: Building vision and clarity Dave’s 16 life categories How high-performance training changed his life The Dental Success Network initiative Links: The Relentless Dentist Podcast The

This week I speak about two things that have helped me improve my practice and my wellbeing.   The first one is treating myself to a buffer day before jumping back to work on a Monday morning. I realized that by doing so, I was more relaxed, and I could tackle the everyday problems better. I strongly suggest you give it a try if you’ve never considered it before. The second thing that I truly benefited from is painting a whiteboard in front of my desk. So now every time I need to add something to my schedule, I can just add it to the list, and I will have it in front of my eyes until I solve it. This small trick has helped me be more organized and it took away the stress of having to keep things in my head. Key takeaways: Why I find buffer days important A small trick: using a whiteboard in order to keep everything in check What’s next for the show Want to receive our podcast on a weekly basis? Subscribe to our newsletter! http://businessofdentistrypodcast.com/

This week I touch on a few things I’ve noticed in my area lately. Consider revisiting some policies and protocols from time to time, to make sure you are in compliance with state and federal regulations. I found out from my Marketing Director that OSHA has been paying some visits to dental offices in Tennessee, checking if our business is up-to-date with their requirements. As you might be aware of, we have a problem here in Tennessee with opioid prescriptions. The state legislature is trying to tackle it by passing a new bill, which I’m not so excited about. I also speak about a new credentialing organization we recently switched to, and some DEA visits I heard about from an oral surgeon friend of mine. Key takeaways: Revisit the OSHA compliance in your state A potential new bill regarding the opioid problem in Tennessee An alternative to CAQH and some DEA visits Links: ICD-10 Codes 2018 CAQH Availity Want to receive our podcast on a weekly basis? Subscribe to our newsletter!

This week I speak about the challenges I’m faced with as a small practice owner. Sometimes the administrative tasks that I need to solve stress me out, and I am still working on improving my problem-solving skills and coping mechanisms. I often get complaints from my patients about the fact that I sometimes step out of the practice. It’s impossible for me to always be there, sometimes I need to take care of certain things. I also recently remembered how important it is to observe your office from the patient’s point of view. I strongly suggest you give it a try and do so periodically. We’ve been having some problems with the dental camera and with the website. If you know a good web developer or a long-lasting, top quality dental (video) camera, get in touch with me at drkirk@businessofdentistrypodcast.com. I really appreciate your help. The challenges we are all faced with in our professional careers are part of our journeys. And I’ve learned to care more about my journey than about my destination. Key takea

Full show notes at: http://businessofdentistrypodcast.com/ This week is all about the strategies I’ve used in order to set boundaries in my professional life. These helped me handle my burnout and ended up being a valuable tool for everyday use. In December 2011, I was a bit of a mess. I was endangering my personal and professional life, so I took my wife’s advice to go and seek professional help. I went to see five different specialists, and they each gave me their advice. I started implementing it, and slowly, but steadily, I started improving. This episode is a heartfelt testimony of my journey. I share the three types of boundaries I’ve set that made the biggest difference for my well-being. Key takeaways: If you feel overloaded, ask for help Establish administrative time Say no to distractions and set gatekeepers Links: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It Join me for a talk on some important strategies to use in order to overcome your burnout. Want to r

Full show notes at http://businessofdentistrypodcast.com/ Kevin Donlin, doctor, and manager of We Care Dental and member of the South Dakota Army National Guard, shares his challenges and solutions to being a small town practice owner. When you’re living in a small town, you will most likely end up being either the only dentist in town or one of two or three others. This situation poses challenges if you are considering expanding your practice. Kevin shares his opinion on what your options are and how to best tackle this situation. Apart from managing his practice, Kevin is also involved in the National Army Guard. This means that his schedule is most of the time full, leaving him little time for other activities. Kevin speaks about how he copes with being away from home for extended periods of time. Are you a small practice owner in a small town? Then this episode is just for you. Key takeaways: What are the challenges of being a small practice owner in a small town? Combining being a small dental practice

Boomcloud founder, Jordon Comstock, is no fan of insurance companies. He is convinced that dental practices don’t need a third party providing them with clients, so he developed a software that enables practitioners attract and retain customers through in-house membership plans and financing. He is not alone in this venture. More and more dental and medical offices become tired of having to deal with insurance companies and develop plans of their own. If you’re a dental (or medical) practice owner thinking about making a change and reducing or renouncing your insurance dependence, then you’re in for a treat, as Jordon carefully lays out the steps you need to do in order to become more independent. As a bonus, you should know that generating recurring revenue stream will increase the valuation of your practice. Key takeaways: The dental insurance industry is deeply flawed, but there’s something else arising at the horizon Generating recurring revenue stream will increase the valuation of your practice Members

Brian Colao, Director of leading US law firm Dykema, shares with us his expertise on how to get started with expanding a solo practice to a DSO or securing a private equity deal. The dental industry is currently heading towards more DSO affiliations from solo practitioners. Getting affiliated with a DSO or doing a private equity deal can result in a much higher ROI over time, so many practitioners choose to expand. What are the first steps towards restructuring to a DSO, or doing a private equity deal? What questions should you ask yourself and how much money would you need? What should you know beforehand when deciding between a DSO and a private equity deal? Brian Colao comes to the rescue with answers to these questions and more. Key takeaways: Affiliating with a DSO vs doing a private equity deal How much money you will need to get started and how much ROI you can expect What the process of reorganizing to a DSO looks like Links: Dykema Tune in to hear more on how Brian Colao’s company is helping sol