Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Eric Weeden, a seasoned go to market software executive, team builder and a catalyst for revenue growth. My journey is fueled by a profound passion for ushering in a new era of dental healthcare through cutting edge AI technology.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Hi, I'm Liz Strikwerda. Since 2008, I've been immersed in the world of dental marketing and business technology. At TrueLark, I I focus on explaining how generative AI can help multi practice dental organizations scale while redefining the patient experience. Together, we welcome you to navigating DSO innovation, where we have unfiltered conversations with dental leaders and discuss how they are using tech to win in this booming market.
[00:00:49] Speaker C: Hello, everyone. Welcome to today's episode of navigating DSO Innovation. And today I'm really excited because I have Tim McNealy. He is known for helping dental entrepreneurs thrive in the midst of an uncertain world. And he is the CEO and co founder of the lifestone Companies and the host of Dental Wealth Nation. If you have not checked out his podcast, you need to give that a listen and you'll put it on your list of must listens, I promise. So welcome, Tim.
[00:01:24] Speaker D: Hey, excited to be here, Liz.
[00:01:26] Speaker C: Awesome. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background?
[00:01:30] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for that intro. I am known for helping dental entrepreneurs thrive in the midst of an uncertain world. And right now there is. There's so much uncertainty, economically, politically, socially. And the question is, how do you optimize not just your business, but also your personal financial world? How do you tie them two together so that you can thrive no matter what life throws at you? And this is a very personal journey for me, one I've been on with my wife and we're continuing to thrive in the midst of a crazy world out there.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: Yeah, I understand you married your dentist, so that's a good way to get into the industry.
[00:02:07] Speaker D: It sure is. Although I'll tell you, it can be a pain sometimes because I'm trying to go to sleep and all of a sudden she's like looking in my mouth. But aside from that, everything's great.
[00:02:16] Speaker C: Well, I bet your dental health is top notch.
[00:02:19] Speaker D: It is.
[00:02:21] Speaker C: That's great. So can you let me explain how just a little bit about the current trends that are affecting your clients and others that are either starting this journey or they're well into this journey. Journey of building their personal and business wealth with their dental business?
[00:02:47] Speaker D: Yeah, no, that's such a great question, actually, I'm super excited to be here with you today to share some results of a study I just helped underwrite. We worked with Dan Sullivan from Strategic Coach, who's one of the largest coaching organizations for entrepreneurs. We did that along with CEG insights. I'm a client of theirs. I've been part of their elite mastermind group for years. And together we helped do the largest study of entrepreneurs ever done, 2096 entrepreneurs. Net worth in excess of $35 billion across everyone. And those were some of the things we dove into, is, what are the current risk, what are the current challenges that entrepreneurs are facing at all levels across their business? And we found 27.9% of those entrepreneurs. My clients and people running businesses are really concerned about market volatility, what's going on in the marketplace, the inflation that we're seeing, the social, political, economic climate. How are you dealing with that? It's a really, really big concern, competition. About 18.7% of the entrepreneur is very concerned. What's interesting, too, is about 9.3% are very concerned about technology disruption coming into the industry, too, and really staying relevant, staying efficient. And really, how do you face those challenges head on? So I would tell you those are kind of the top three challenges we're seeing. It's market volatility and what's going on in that social, political, economic environment. It's competition and technology disruption. And if you wanted one more, it's also talent acquisition. Right? How do you hire, how do you retain, how do you keep the best people working for you and not your competitor?
[00:04:30] Speaker C: Okay, so at Truelark, obviously, you probably guessed what I want to talk about now, and that is how technology affects them. And it sounds like, and from other things I've listened, other shows you've been on, that there is some apprehension in the dental space. And I know many dentists and their businesses have adopted, say, AI powered clinical tools, but generally, we kind of focus on more of the patient support, patient experience.
And so tell me how you counsel your clients to not be afraid of technology, but to use it to their advantage in building their business.
[00:05:18] Speaker D: It's such a great question. And, you know, and it's normal to have fear when new things come out, especially with something as powerful as what we're seeing in the AI space. It starts making you wonder, well, are they going to need me? Right? That AI can write better than I can write. It can solve math faster than I can solve it. It can put proformis like, what am I needed for? Well, you, as the dentist, as the owner of your organization, you are still needed for the strategy, for the insight, for finding new ways to do things, finding more efficient ways to do things. And AI is a tool. It's a powerful tool. It's like having a hammer to build a house, right? You're not going to say, well, I want a house, but I'm not going to use hammer and power tools. That's just, that's too new stuff for me. No, you want to use and grab every single advantage you can. And AI is a powerful tool to help you accelerate your success and really help drive a shortcut. And it's become my most used tool over the last year and a half. And I've never seen adoption of a technology come so quickly. And I believe there's lots of operational efficiencies that you can drive through your practice, through your life. And even on the wealth management side, it is a great tool to really help drive things forward much quicker. And I think especially when it comes to customer experience, and we talked with Eric about this, and Liz, I talked about this with you also is on the technology side, I think we're really hesitant to roll out any kind of technology tools on the customer service side because we've all been stuck on those phones with the auto voice recognition, and you have to tell it what you want to do. And a couple minutes in, you're screaming at the phone saying, get me a human. So we understand the pain that can come when trying to implement technology and it's not done correctly. And so I think that's part of the big fear out there is are your pain patients can actually get a good experience from implementing these technologies in your practice.
[00:07:21] Speaker C: So with, among your clients, whether they're in a DSO or multi practice group or individual solo practice, have you seen maybe some of them that were initially hesitant, have a good experience with onboarding, and now they've got a happy patient base and they say, why did I wait so long? This is working up better, I would.
[00:07:48] Speaker D: Tell you, surprisingly not. And here's why. Here's what I've noticed, at least among my clients and the people I work with, is they're usually pretty driven people and they are the earlier adopters. And so they don't have this fear, they don't have this hesitancy of really bringing technology into the practice. And that's why I believe they've been able to become so successful in the first place, is because they always are looking at how do we improve profitability, how do we improve efficiencies, how do we better serve more people? And so they've always kind of been on the forefront, so I haven't seen a lot of that hesitancy, but the practices that do continue to adopt and put the technology in, they continue to flourish. The profit margins continue to grow. They are able to attract great talent because they've been able to build processes and systems using the technology to really streamline their workflow.
[00:08:41] Speaker C: So in addition to, say, patient communications, where have you seen the biggest impact on which business functions in a practice?
[00:08:50] Speaker D: So we also see it in terms of marketing and outreach, you know, and the communication part, I think, is so huge, right, getting the right message at the right time to the right person and right in terms of even, you know, the storytelling that's done and the, like I mentioned, the social media and the marketing, that's being huge to really craft the story. And I've also seen a lot of my clients using it to start to create business plans and really using these different tools that are out there as a chance to brainstorm with themselves and sit down and create a vivid vision for their practice or do some of the strategy that needs to be done. And it really helps enhance communication with the team because when you can say, you know, I've got this idea, I'm not really quite sure how to communicate it, and you can just start talking to your phone or talking to your computer and have a brainstorming session, all of a sudden you've got a great draft of document that you can now pass around and share with people to really build team alignment. So that's really how I see a lot of the technology being used right now.
[00:09:56] Speaker C: You know, I'm a, you probably know this, but I'm a marketer first and foremost. And a couple years ago, I would be typing feverishly during this interview. And then I would, I'd have to look at the transcript, I'd listen to the transcript and I'd correct it before I even started if, say, if I was repurposing this for some piece on social media or a blog post, and I love just one example, I can sit and look at you and talk, and I know that my AI companion is taking notes and they're going to organize it for me and summarize. It doesn't take me out of the equation. It just gives me a big head start for any piece of content I am working on and for especially small teams, I just see the productivity boost and I'm probably still, you know, I'm trying to, you know, I really stay up on AI, especially in the dental industry. But still, every week I discover a new application for it and, and I think that's going to be happening for a long time. I think that as you, you know, move one thing into your workflow, then you're ready for the next thing. And that is what keeps my job really funny.
[00:11:21] Speaker D: And I love what you just brought out there with the transcripts. Right. It seems so trivial. It seems so simple.
[00:11:27] Speaker C: Right?
[00:11:27] Speaker D: Oh, hey, we got a transcript. Create a summary. But there's something really powerful that happens with that. And I'm going to argue that's the gift of actually being present as we talk to each other. Right. We are in a world full of distractions and like you just mentioned, right. Having the confidence to just sit down and have a conversation, not worry about missing anything, not saying, oh, my gosh, hey, I just said something I got to follow. Right? We get to give each other the gift of actually being present with each other right here, right now. And I think that's actually a really powerful thing that we're actually starting to get back, because I believe technology has stolen a lot of that from us.
[00:12:05] Speaker C: Yeah. And that's counterintuitive, but, you know, that just gets the wheels turning in my brain. Isn't that great that here, finally, a piece of technology is not making us more isolated or distracted, you know, doing every multitasking so much that everything is just done halfway, not, you know, it.
[00:12:26] Speaker D: Operates in the background without us having to think about it.
[00:12:29] Speaker C: Yeah, I love that. Now when I hop on different calls, I see everybody's AI companion, you know.
Right. With them, you know, it's their, it's their right hand, you know, assistant, which we can all use. Right. And with the encyclopedic, encyclopedic memory of everything you've ever done, you don't have to keep telling them, never takes a sick day.
So a lot of advantages.
So in a dental practice, what do you see are the next things? There's many clinical products that incorporate AI and other technologies, and many of the patient management, electronics, records management. Where do you see leading edge? Where do you think it's going to, you know, be used, you know, in the next couple of years?
[00:13:29] Speaker D: I think the, like we just mentioned, we're going to see the biggest impact on the places where it can really free us up from the technology. So it literally just operates in the background. It does what it's supposed to. We don't have to worry about it or think about it. It just does its job. Just like the whatever AI companion we have recording this interview right now. It's just doing its thing. Without us having to worry about. And so I think those kinds of technologies, right? And once again, patient communication is so huge, right? You want to communicate with people, you want to be able to actually build that relationship with them, but you got to communicate with them in a way that they want to be communicated with. And so whether that's text or email, right, however you're reaching out. So I think those things that drive it forward so that we can be more present are gonna be those powerful technologies. And even if it's diagnosis type treatments where maybe it's x ray scanning, it's pointing out potential areas on the radiograph that the doctor should take a look at or whatever it is, the tools that really free us up to be more present, I think that's gonna be the driving force out there.
[00:14:38] Speaker C: I think it's exciting to think of that an individual dentist could use a tool that's been trained on such a massive data set that he or she is getting the benefit of thousands, I guess, potentially millions of other medical professionals that had been dealing with that specific case. And just think of harvesting all that knowledge will help everyone. I mean, ultimately, right, helping the end user, the patient, I would think, and I'm sure in dental schools, it's just, you know, it's probably revolutionized the way they train dentists now, especially with, you know, the technology they use. So let's turn our attention a little bit to wealth management, which is your expertise. And we, you know, this show is mainly for DSO. So if there was a practice and you advise many dentists, and if they were considering joining a DSO, what should they look for? I mean, I'm going to make it wide open that you have seen they should consider when they're evaluating.
[00:15:50] Speaker D: The first question you got to ask is, why am I doing this? What's the motivation behind it?
Have you built a great organization and you're looking to exit? Are you looking to join another organization to help you scale? What's your motivations? Right? You gotta get clear on your goal. And I know that once again kind of sounds cliche, but this is the biggest mistake I see time and time again is lack of clarity in terms of what's important. Or we start off with some clarity and we think we know what we're going for, but then all of a sudden we get a big offer dangled in front of us and we're kind of turning off and we're like, well, that check looks pretty attractive, but we don't necessarily count the cost of taking that check and aligning ourselves with someone else. So you really got to get clear. Once you've got some clarity, you want to make sure there's alignment, right? Culture is going to change you or it's going to destroy you. And if you don't merge and you don't join someone with a similar culture, it's not going to work. So you got to make sure that there's cultural fit and alignment in terms of what you're actually trying to achieve. And so, right, start with click clarity, then look at alignment and then, then start looking at the financial aspect. Don't ever put the financial aspect first. Like, money is important, don't get me wrong, but it's not the best way to measure wealth. The best way to measure wealth is the relationships that you have, the quality of life that you have, and the ability to achieve your most important goal. So put the financials right, put them in there, pay attention to it, make sure it's going to give you enough money to achieve what you want. But that should not be your first and primary driver is whatever size check you're going to get by joining another DSO.
[00:17:34] Speaker C: You know, I appreciate the plug for culture because I think three of the last people I, you know, the guests that we've had that is such a big deal. And they say you just can't assume. You can't assume that, you know, they're culture, you know, and maybe it's not even a kind of a good or bad question, but it's just, you know, the way you work and how that's going to, you know, support the lifestyle you want. So let me ask you this. I'm curious about when you started your career advising dentists to now what has changed? Are dentists generally looking for a formal plan, younger or not necessarily? What changes have you seen?
[00:18:17] Speaker D: Could you repeat that one more time? You cut out real briefly.
[00:18:20] Speaker C: Okay, I'm sorry. So in your experience and in your career, advising dentists and helping them grow their businesses and make a plan for, you know, building wealth, lasting wealth that, you know, can bless their families and, you know, and that they can pursue the things that mean that they're passionate about, what changes have you seen? For example, are they kind of seeking your guidance younger or earlier in their careers, or have you not noticed things like that?
[00:18:58] Speaker D: No, I'll tell you, the trends have been very, very profound. And once again, coming back to the study that we just completed with the 2094 entrepreneurs $35 billion of net worth, we see some very interesting trends. But I'll tell you, over which we'll get into. But over the last couple of years, what I've really seen is that people are just unsure if they're getting advice that actually makes a difference. And the reason that happens is we often start our lives and we maybe have one dental practice and we've got our CPA in place that we like and maybe a financial advisor that we like and an insurance guy that we like. And all of a sudden, now we've got two practices, three practices, and now we got seven or 15 or 30 practices. And so you, as a dental entrepreneur, you've grown. But you start looking around your team at advisors, and maybe they haven't grown with you. And now, all of a sudden, you don't just need investment management, you need holistic planning that ties in tax strategies and business strategies and business succession planning. And now, you know, you've got some kids and you're getting up there in age, and, you know, my body doesn't work as well as it used to when I was 17, has a couple more problems, and as I get older, we're going to all have more problems. And so now maybe concierge medicine is at the forefront of your mind and thinking about longevity and longevity planning. And so now you really require an advisor who's not an expert in anything, in everything, because none of us are experts in everything. But you really require an advisor who manages a team of the best of the best players out there. And this is what we see take place in the world of the super rich all the time. They establish family offices, which are teams of the best of the best individuals that are on this family's payroll. And the job of this team is to manage your family's wealth. And that's great. They're wonderful to have, but it's kind of expensive to have a whole bunch of people sitting around just serving your family. And so what I really have done in response to the changing needs of the industry is I create virtual family offices for driven dental entrepreneurs, where we actually are able to do an assessment of your current team. We work with the right team members. If you love people, we leave them in place, but we want to bring in the right specialties and the right resources for you. And so really, the growth of the virtual family office, which has been driven by the technology revolution, Liz, like these wouldn't be possible unless we had the technology connecting us. And so that's really what has enabled driven entrepreneurs to get access to a lot of the same things the super rich have without having to have a ten figure net worth. And so we've really been able to bring down the availability and access to a lot of top tier talent and make that available to a lot more people at a lower net worth.
[00:21:45] Speaker C: Well, thank you so much. I could talk for another hour. I have so many questions, but I will put the link to the study in the show notes. And I was hoping that you would kind of wrap up with. You were talking about, I listened to you on another show, and you were talking about this study and how you love to work with optimists that see a bright future. So can you just kind of part with that? Because it's such a.
Anyway, just made my day to hear that.
[00:22:16] Speaker D: Well, I'll tell you. Right. Entrepreneurship is hard. I mean, let's think about Elon Musk and SpaceX, right? Chances are you've seen the videos on YouTube of rockets after rockets after rockets blowing up, right. Hundreds of millions of dollars literally blowing up. It takes some resilience to make it through that. But now we see what Elon is doing and we see what SpaceX is doing, and they are doing rocket launches on a regular basis. These things are sending satellites to space all the time now. And so it takes optimism to be an entrepreneur. And this is why I really do love working with driven dental entrepreneurs, is once again coming back to the results of the study. We ask them, what do you see happening in your business? Do you see future growth being better? Do you think you're going to stay the same? What do you think's going on? And, Liz, this is outstanding. 51.2% of entrepreneurs believe their future business growth is going to significantly, not just a little bit significantly, outpace the previous level. So we see a high level of optimism. Another 30% of the entrepreneurs that we looked at, they expect the future growth will be somewhat better. And only 15% think it's going to simply match, only 3.2 think it's going to be less. So 80% of entrepreneurs really believe in a bigger future than the past. And this is so important. And I would encourage all of you listening to this, make your future bigger than your past, because I believe just with the technology revolution, the AI revolution, the healthcare revolution, all the things that are going on in the world, you have a brighter future ahead of you than in the past. But. But you've got to get on board and you have to invest in the technologies, you have to invest in the resources. And that was another interesting thing, and I'll leave you with this. And I think it ties back into the optimism. But we really ask, you know, how important is time management for you as an entrepreneur? Like, does time management play a role? 0.9%. Less than 1% of entrepreneurs believe that time management is only slightly important. 94.8% of entrepreneurs consider controlling their time to be one of the most important things that they can do to achieve their goals. Right. Controlling your time. And in today's world, the only way you can really control your time is through using technology. Just like we were talking about in this interview, right? We've got an AI assistant recording this, right, that controls our time, because now, creating summaries, doing follow up, it's so much quicker. But you got to invest in the tools. You got to invest in technology. Doing that will help you invest in your time and will help create even more optimism for the future.
[00:25:04] Speaker C: So our time is finite, but our future and potential wealth is infinite, unlimited.
[00:25:12] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:25:13] Speaker C: See, it's not all doom and gloom. Look at all this good news.
[00:25:17] Speaker D: Yeah. I believe the future has never been brighter.
[00:25:20] Speaker C: Okay. Hey, thank you so much for joining us, Tim, and we'll catch up with you in a few more months. Okay?
[00:25:26] Speaker D: Excellent. Pleasure. Pleasure serving you and talking with you today, Liz.
