Podcasts about Dent

Howard Tullman, American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, educator, writer, lecturer, and art collector, joins Lisa Dent to discuss his latest article, the anniversary of January 6, and more.

Karen Conti, Partner at Conti & Dolan, LLC, joins Lisa Dent to discuss National Divorce Day.

Jim Chilsen, Communications Director of the Citizens Utility Board, joins Lisa Dent to discuss People’s Gas proposed tax rate hike. He shares that in 2023, People’s Gas got the largest tax rate hike in Illinois history, and three years later, they are asking for a 202-million-dollar tax rate hike. Chilsen reports that this increase would […]

Terry Savage, nationally syndicated money columnist, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the DOW approaching 50,000. She shares more details about the how the markets are faring and, as always, answers questions form listeners.

Dr. Elizabeth Schwab is a psychologist, professor and founding chair of the M.A. Behavioral Economics at The Chicago School, joins Lisa Dent to discuss Dry January. Dr. Schwab explains the factors that affect people and their ability to fulfill their goal of staying sober the whole month. She also talks about how people can manage […]

Karen Conti, Partner at Conti & Dolan, LLC, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro's court hearing today.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Jahmal Cole, founder and CEO of My Block, My Hood, My City, joins Lisa Dent to talk about his mission to live in all 77 of Chicago's neighborhoods. This month, he's in Chinatown, and he updates listeners on his upcoming plans and shares how you can support his journey.

Dr. Sterling Elliott, clinical pharmacist at Northwestern Medicine and assistant professor of orthopaedics at Feinberg School of Medicine, joins Lisa Dent to discuss all things pharmaceuticals. He answers questions concerning weight loss drugs, their side effects, and what researchers are learning about how the drugs work.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Ron Brown, news anchor for WGN Radio, joins Jon Hansen filling in for Lisa Dent to share his weekly movie reviews. Brown shares his thoughts on Marty Supreme, The Housemaid, Song Sung Blue, dished out his brownie points, and more.

Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Dan Hampton, NFL Hall of Famer and host of the Hamp and O'B show, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to preview the Bears Week 18 matchup against the Detroit Lions. Extended Hamp and O’B Pregame starts at 2pm Sunday on WGN Radio 720 and our digital streams. Hamp and O’B Postgame will be heard […]

Quinn Myers, reporter for Block Club Chicago, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to discuss the reported number of murders in Chicago in the year of 2015. Myers reports that the city reported 419 murders, the lowest since 1965. Myers shares that not only is this number lower than the pre-COVID crime spike, […]

Ilyce Glink, owner of Think Glink Media, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to talk about the economy and the 2026 real estate outlook.

In this episode of the Tactical Dent Tech Podcast, I break down one of the most overlooked — yet powerful — parts of marketing for dent technicians: the hook. A hook is the first few seconds of a video or the first line of a post that grabs attention and pulls people in. And just like fishing, some hooks work… and some don't. In this episode, I explain how I test hooks, why the first three seconds matter more than ever, and how the right hook can turn content into a predictable lead source. We cover: What a marketing hook really is (and why it's called a hook) Why attention spans keep getting shorter How I test hooks on Instagram and ads Action shots vs tool shots — and when each works Using written hooks in posts and ads Breaking customer resistance with simple CTAs Why "Upload Your Dent" works so well Turning winning hooks into predictable marketing assets If you want more leads without relying on insurance companies or door knocking, this episode will help you think differently about how you present your business online. Test your hooks. Find your winners. Then turn them on like a machine. Welcome to the Tactical Tech Movement.

Jon Hansen checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

durée : 00:03:46 - Le Pourquoi du comment : philo - par : Frédéric Worms - La pensée d'aujourd'hui répond-elle à celle d'hier ? Chronologique pour l'urgence du présent, intemporelle pour l'héritage des idées, ou critique pour se construire avec et contre les prédécesseurs : comment se situer dans l'histoire de la pensée ? - réalisation : Luc-Jean Reynaud

Terry Savage, nationally syndicated money columnist, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to discuss the latest movements in the stock market, and, as always, answer questions from listeners.

Dr. Jeffrey Linder, Chief of Internal Medicine at Northwestern Medicine, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to discuss the rising cases of the flu. Dr. Linder says that the increase of flu cases is from a new strain that started in Europe. He encourages at-home remedies: Over-the-counter medicine and rest for people who […]

Jon Hansen checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Brian Hoogeveen, The Cash Man from Americash Jewelry & Coin Buyers, joins Jon Hansen, filling in for Lisa Dent, to talk about rare items, coins, and art that he appraises and buys. He answers listener questions on these items. If you think you have items you'd like to have appraised, visit topcashbuyer.com or call (630) 969-9600.

durée : 00:29:43 - Les Pieds sur terre - par : Sonia Kronlund, Antoine Guirimand - Quand elle était jeune tout le monde louait le sourire de Marie. Depuis sa rencontre avec un dentiste escroc, elle n'ose plus ouvrir la bouche. Nordy, de son côté a des problèmes de dents depuis sa naissance. Venant d'une famille très pauvre, elle a toujours lié conditions dentaires et sociales. - réalisation : Louise André

In this episode of the Tactical Dent Tech Podcast, I break down the real lessons I learned this year building and scaling a seven-figure paintless dent repair business in the DFW metroplex — one of the most competitive hail markets in the country. From digital marketing and facility planning to parking logistics, storage, staffing decisions, and strategic partnerships, this is a raw breakdown of what actually matters when you're trying to grow in a hail-prone market. We talk about: Why marketing matters more than saturation Building a seven-figure operation without a traditional sales team Choosing the right location and why Frisco, TX became a competitive advantage Parking, storage, and logistics most techs don't think about When expansion makes sense — and when it doesn't Hiring lessons and identifying chaos inside a business Building relationships with other dent companies instead of competing Why body shop relationships are critical in hail markets Using details, rentals, and logistics to close deals faster Digging the well before you need the water This episode is part reflection, part strategy, and part warning for technicians looking to enter or scale in hail-heavy regions. If you're serious about building something sustainable — not just chasing storms — this one's for you. Welcome to the Tactical Tech Movement.

durée : 00:29:43 - Les Pieds sur terre - par : Sonia Kronlund, Antoine Guirimand - Quand elle était jeune tout le monde louait le sourire de Marie. Depuis sa rencontre avec un dentiste escroc, elle n'ose plus ouvrir la bouche. Nordy, de son côté a des problèmes de dents depuis sa naissance. Venant d'une famille très pauvre, elle a toujours lié conditions dentaires et sociales. - réalisation : Louise André

The voice of Northwestern Wildcasts and former WGN Radio Sports Anchor Dave Eanet joins Lisa Dent (in for Bob Sirott) to preview Friday’s Northwestern Football Bowl Game. Tune in to WGN Radio on Friday, December 26th 2025 for an 11:30am pregame for Northwestern vs. Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field in […]

Pawan Joshi, CSO at supply chain platform e2open, joins Lisa Dent on the show to talk about how uncertainty could be the headline of the holiday season and carry over well into the new year with regards to tariffs.

Etiquette expert and President of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting Jodi R.R. Smith joins Lisa Dent to share some of the rudest things you can do when being a guest in someone’s home this holiday season.

Howard Tullman, American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, educator, writer, lecturer, and art collector, joins Lisa Dent to discuss his latest article, “Are Some of Your Best Employees Hiding Second Jobs?”

Rick Silverman, inventor of the drug NU-9, joins Lisa Dent on the show to talk about this new promising drug that demonstrates further promise as an early intervention for Alzheimer's disease.

Sam Toia, President of the Illinois Restaurant Association, joins Lisa Dent on the show to discuss some of the ways restaurant and bars are combating Gen Zers not being made up of a generation of drinkers. Listen in while Sam shares some of the strategies places are using to get more patrons to go out […]

WGN-TV weather producer Bill Snyder joins Lisa Dent to discuss the latest weather updates. Listen in while Bill breaks down this unseasonably warm weather we are experiencing this holiday season and then Bill gives a holiday forecast through the New Year.

Terry Savage, nationally syndicated money columnist, joins Lisa Dent to discuss how the admin will start garnishing wages of past due student loan borrowers. Terry also discusses how gold has hit an all-time high, how the GDP is strong but how consumer confidence continues to plunge, and more.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Jennifer Serino, Executive Director Lake County Workforce Development, joins Lisa Dent as part of our Your Hometown: Long Grove spotlight. Serino highlights their partnership with Lake Zurich Chamber of Commerce to help small businesses.

Julie Yurko, President & CEO of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, joins Lisa Dent to discuss how the Northern Illinois Food Bank focuses on delivering food and healthy eating services to the Northern Illinois community and so Lisa could congratulate Julie for being named Food Bank Leader of the Year. To learn more, go to […]

The President of Rogers & Hollands, Brent Stern, joined Lisa Dent on the show to remind listeners why jewelry is the perfect present to give this holiday season.

Louisa Chu, Chicago Tribune Food Critic, joins Lisa Dent to share her review of a bagel cafe in Pilsen. She calls it the “most unique bagels I’ve ever seen around Chicago.” She highlights the Mexican flare that Rosca adds that sets it apart from every other bagel spot.

Michael Leonard, Federal Defense Attorney at Leonard Trial Lawyers, joins Lisa Dent on the show to share details surrounding the recent reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous drug per President Trump effective Thursday, December 18th.

President and CEO of Choose Chicago, Kristen Reynolds, joins Lisa Dent to discuss what people can expect when they attend Chicago’s historic live NYE Countdown on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

State Representative Kam Buckner, 26th District, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the Bears’ letter announcing they are looking at Northwest Indiana for the location for their new stadium.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Keywords entrepreneurship, humanitarian mission, business lessons, personal development, integrity, relationships, adversity, collaboration, startups, economic bridging Takeaways Jackson's journey began with a humanitarian mission in Ecuador. Education can come from unexpected places, including personal experiences. Business success often requires learning from failures and setbacks. Integrity is a crucial component of successful business relationships. Missionary work can provide valuable life and business skills. Parenting and relationships require continuous learning and adaptation. Adversity can lead to personal growth and a deeper understanding of purpose. Perspective is key in navigating life's challenges and successes. Collaboration is essential for sustainable business growth. Startups require a balance of innovation and ethical practices. Summary In this episode, Mitch Beinhaker interviews Jackson Calame, who shares his journey from a challenging academic background to becoming a successful entrepreneur focused on bridging economic gaps between North and South America. Jackson discusses the importance of integrity in business, the lessons learned from his humanitarian mission, and the value of collaboration over competition. He emphasizes the role of adversity in personal growth and the need for a shift in perspective to navigate life's challenges. Jackson also shares insights from his experiences with startups and the importance of providing ethical and sustainable business practices. Titles From Humanitarian to Entrepreneur: Jackson Calame's Journey Bridging Economies: The Vision of Jackson Calame Sound bites "I had a 0.37 GPA." "I was thrust into business." "Integrity is key in business." Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Jackson's Journey 02:50 The Call to Humanitarian Work 05:57 From Academic Struggles to Business Ventures 08:52 Sales and Networking: Lessons Learned 11:56 The Impact of Missionary Work on Business Skills 14:51 Navigating Personal Relationships and Growth 17:53 The Importance of Adversity in Shaping Character 20:35 Finding Purpose Through Helping Others 23:44 Reflections on Resilience and Perspective 25:03 Navigating Life's Challenges 26:07 Making a Dent in the Universe 27:33 The Journey to Self-Acceptance 29:03 The Power of Small Changes 30:36 The Myth of the One Thing 32:34 Collaboration Over Competition 37:34 Startup Experiences and Lessons Learned 43:22 Building a Visionary Business 51:04 The Abundance Mindset

Lisa Dent along with Bob Kessler, Mary Van De Velde, Kevin Powell, Drew Harris and Collin McCarthy participate in what has become a tradition on the afternoon drive show – the holiday White Elephant Gift Exchange.

Laura Dignani, DREAM Team Advisor and Camila, DREAM Team Student Member, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the DREAM team raising money for their classmates with parents in immigration detention. Camila shares first-hand experience of seeing her classmates’ parents taken, and the effect it has on those kids. She shares the goal of the DREAM team, […]

Sarah Moskowitz, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, joins Lisa Dent to discuss AI data centers, Illinois electricity and more. Moskowitz reports that unless something is done to “reign in this unchecked data center growth,” our electricity bills could increase drastically over the next five years.

Lou Manfredini joins Lisa Dent for Lou's To Do List, sponsored by Perma-Seal. Lou answers any questions you have about projects on your to-do lists.

Judith Allen, Chief operating officer of CIS of Chicago, joins Lisa Dent to discuss strategies that help prevent the “winter slide.’ The winter slide, Allen explains, is when schools kids lose their school structure and concentration during winter break. Allen shares exercises that kids can do during their winter break to keep their brains stimulated.

Kiera compares the stages of a business to the stages of the human life cycle, from the infancy of a startup, to the chaos of money flow without systems, to the growing profitability of early adulthood, and so on. The goal is, of course, to reach maturity, where the business can run on its own, there's work-life balance, money flow, and more. Kiera gives listeners the common factors for each "age group," and what needs to be done for practices to reach their prime. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you are having an amazing day. I hope it's an epic day. I hope you're loving your life. I hope you're having just so much fun. ⁓ I love dentistry. I love podcasting. I love connecting with so many of you. I just met people this week that are Dental A Team fanatics and it's always fun. And it's funny on calls when I get to chat with you in real life, people are like, Kiera, you sound just like you do on the podcast. And I'm like, that's great because guess what? It is me.   So I am so excited to podcast with you guys today. Welcome. If you're new to Dental A Team podcast. Hello, I'm Kiera Dent. Dent really is my last name. And it's because I love all things dental. ⁓ I love my husband, even though he's not a dentist. ⁓ I love, I just love life. I love helping people. We had a, in our consulting, we have what we call our doctor mastermind. It's a doctor only mastermind and it's on ⁓ Tuesday, the first Tuesday of the month. And we call it Think Tank Tuesday for our doctor mastermind.   We had all of our doctors there this week and we had several doctors come. It was just a really, really fun time. And as I was sitting there, I tell everybody that this think tank is supposed to feel like you're sitting in my living room, hanging out with me. We're all just here having like a good time. I love to see there's one doctor pushing her daughter on a swing. There was another doctor making dinner. There's another doctor sitting at the office, another doctor driving home.   It truly is a like, let your hair down, come be, let's come hang out, let's all be together, let's all work together. Cause honestly, dentistry can be super hard and challenging. And ⁓ as I walked away from that, we were talking about the life cycle of a business and people were just talking about where they were and here's where I am and how do I get to the next phase of my business? What are some easy moves? And it was crazy because it's actually not that hard to move from one part of the business to the next part. ⁓ A lot of times it's just having somebody pointed out to you.   ⁓ giving you the confidence that you can do that. ⁓ And then having a group of people around you that are just like you. And as I walked out of that meeting and that just fun hangout time, there's always Kiera's after party, which is not recorded. It is Kiera unfiltered. I just thought, I'm so blessed to get to know these human beings, these people that we get to work alongside with, that we get to collaborate with. I get to see them go through all the phases of business from where they were to where they are.   working with us, get to see their production increase, I get to see their ROI ⁓ tenfold, I get to see how happy they are in life, I get to see when they were once stressed to where now they're exuberant and happy and fulfilled and that is why Dental A Team exists. That is why the podcast exists is because I want all of you to feel like you have ⁓ someone in your corner, someone who is rooting for you, someone who has answers where you feel like there are none, someone who sees the path more clearly than you can.   someone who's created a community of like-minded doctors that are either where you are or have been where you are and can help you get to the next step. We have doctors who mentor each other. have ⁓ masterminds in person. have where we come to your practice. So if you're listening to this podcast and you're feeling like, gosh, I just don't even know what to do. The answer is there's actually always the what's next to do. There's always somebody who can help you. It's just you having the courage to book the call to   ⁓ invest in your practice in yourself and decide that you're worth having the life and the practice that you know, you're capable of having. And so if that resonates with you, reach out, come join our doctor mastermind, come meet us in person, come hang out with me in real life. I would love to have you be a part of it. ⁓ my mission truly is to change people's lives. and that's luckily I get this amazing platform of dentistry. So, reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com because honestly, I believe that it is so fun and so powerful. ⁓   to go from that. And so I teased out a little bit of a life cycle of a business. This came from Tony Robbins. I really love Tony. I love a lot of things that he teaches and ⁓ there's a lot of wisdom. so just to kind of to take this on for the podcast today, I feel like, hey, we talked about this in our Dr. Mastermind, but I think it'd be very beneficial for all of you to hear. And this is my adaptation of it to take it to dental offices and kind of then giving you some of the things that I see in a practice so you can kind of understand.   But basically we have kind of like think about the life cycle of human beings. It's where we start out as infancy. We're born into this world and then we're infants and then we're toddlers. And then we go into this like middle life, like middle school. And then we go into high school and then we go into young adults. So college or young adult. Then we go into maturity or our prime of our life. Then we go into this kind of midlife evaluation. That's right before we retire. Then we go into aging. Then we go into institutionalization and then we go to death.   So we think about how people go around and it's interesting because there could be say a 25 year old, 30 year old, 40 year old who actually could be on the aging path even though their age is not where you would think that they would be. And so the idea of this is to kind of look to see based on like a life cycle of us where your business is and what maybe is like the pain point. So when we look at a business and we look at like children, so an infant,   They're screaming, right? They're screaming all the time. Yes, they're alive. Yes, they're there, but they're screaming and they're hungry and they don't know how to make money and they always have all these problems and it just feels like it's problem after problem after problem. That's like when you first start a business and it is chaos and it is exuberant and it is blissful and it is terrifying. Like Tiff and I were actually joking about it when we were on our doctor mastermind and we were talking about how like Dental A Team when it was in its infancy stage.   I literally was paying Tiffanie via Venmo. I did not have any payroll set up. I don't know why Tiff stayed with me. So Spiffy Tiffy shout out to her today. ⁓ But I really truly was such a naive business owner. I did not have protocols. I did not have a lawyer. I didn't have HR. I just said, I want to be here in this world and put something together, but no processes, no systems. It was screaming mayhem all the time. And then you go from that infancy stage to toddler, right? Toddlers, they can sleep through the night.   They're more independent. They can reason on certain things, but they're not this middle schooler, right? ⁓ And so when we look at that toddler that like they're going to elementary school, they're kind of in that middle stage. This is now where a business has elevated. It's not like paying people via Venmo, ⁓ but you still don't have the cash flow to be able to hire great people. It's still this like very new. You probably have one or two people. Practices that are in this realm are more the   the startup phase. So startup is like your very infancy, whether you're buying it or if it's a scratch start or you already have it. But it's kind of that screaming and then you move into toddler where like we can afford like one or two people on our team. but maybe we're moonlighting at another practice. cash flow is not consistent. ⁓ Systems and processes are not in place. And it's really just in this like delicate, but more stable, like we're like, okay, we're not we're not gonna go broke.   We know we can kind of handle, but at the same time, cashflow is not there. Then you move into middle school and you think about a middle schooler. This is where like we're starting to hit production. We can kind of have a few team members in there. We kind of maybe have a little bit of money, but not quite. ⁓ And we're starting to get a little more established, but we're like very gangly. We're very awkward. ⁓ We're doing the dentistry, but we're still, we're still not quite making it. And so from there, when we move from there,   You didn't go into a teenager and you think about a teenager, they think they know what they're doing. They've got the keys to the car. And this is where you've got money, but you're blowing through it because you have no systems, no processes. Like you are mayhem. Like you're making the money, but you're not keeping the money. And you're running on all four cylinders. But it's just chaos. It's wild. There's a frenzy. There's an excitement. And I think when Dental A Team was in that phase,   We had a little bit of money and so we were hiring people, but we didn't have quite enough money so we're not hiring experts quite yet. And you can just feel there's like this teenage energy and ⁓ then you move into like young adult and young adults were like perfect. The company is making money. We're able to hire more experienced people. So like we can bring on an office manager. We can bring on a better hygienist. We can have more things in place. And then we go into this like maturity and maturity and prime are where we're.   Profitable, we've got the production, we've got the systems in place. have a leadership team that's running the practice. It's not all dependent upon the dentist or one or two people. We've got the systems in place, we've got the profit in place, we've got the production in place. And a lot of times that happens when people are in this maturity or this prime, they're hanging out right there. What they often do is this is when they wanna buy another practice. Sometimes they even wanna buy a practice when they're in toddler, teenager, or like that college mid-year. But they're really just...   this is when they do it. And what happens is when you buy a practice or you expand your practice or you any of the phases, then you actually like usually kick yourself down and you go back to either toddler or maybe middle schooler or high schooler and your business like re re fumbles. There was a practice that I was working with and they're like, Kiera, we have this great opportunity. I worked with them for a year and we got everything set. The doctor was like, I'm tired of having to run it all. So they were like kind of in that   probably more at that mid year, they were probably college age. So the practice was great. They were profitable, but the doctor was still doing everything. And the doctor was just like, I don't want to do this anymore. I need you to train my team. I need you to train all the people so that way I can just come be a dentist and truly own my business, which kicks you into that maturity and prime. So we worked together. We were able to train the team. We were able to train the doctor. We did leadership training. We trained the whole team. We put systems into place that they didn't realize. And the doctor like literally we got them into prime like   It was incredible. It took us about a year to get them there. And they're like, Kiera, it's great. Cause I was thinking like, we're wrapped up. put a bow on this. I'm super excited for you guys. And the doctor was like, Kiera, guess what? There's this awesome opportunity for another practice. Do you think we should buy it? And I tell you, when people get into this like prime, like they're in it, they've, they've, they reached the mountain. They're like, we should buy another practice. And I was like, well, so here's the deal.   your kids have gone off to college. That's where your practice is right now. Like you're sitting here, you're very happy, you're very comfortable. Life is very easy for you. And buying another practice is going to be literally bringing on a screaming brand new, like brand brand new infant baby. Do you want to do that? And the doctor was like, that's a good point. ⁓ Let me think about that. And they're like, here, the deal is just too good of a deal. And honestly, if I was in their shoes, I would have done the same thing. The practice was truly a, you should take it and do it.   And then what happened, we flew all the way back down into toddler. Like we didn't go quite back to infancy, but oh my gosh, like the practices started screaming and both practices started struggling. And all these little pieces came up because we went from having this mature, we're in prime, our life is really easy to bringing on this screaming baby. And all of a sudden everything started jostling, the leadership team got jostly. We were bringing in different partners and lo and behold, two, three years later, we finally now gotten the practices.   they're right around teenager, maybe young adult for both locations and guess what they want to do? You guess it, they want to buy another practice. And this tends to be the cycle of dentistry. ⁓ Or what actually can happen is we go from prime and then we actually can go into midlife evaluation. And what happens here is when doctors are considering like, do I want to sell? Do I want to keep sitting in the chair? Maybe we're ⁓ not, not purposely, but maybe we are not diagnosing as much as we used to. Maybe we don't want to go to the CEs. Maybe we don't want to do all these other pieces. And you start to get into this midlife. And if you're not careful and you don't   get the CE or get a younger associate or whatever it is to kick you back over or bring in different team members, you can actually then fall into aging and become this aging practice that ⁓ if you're not careful, will actually die off. ⁓ And that's what we call sleeping practices. New grads love to buy aging practices, but then what can also happen is your team members might also be at a different space on the life cycle than you are. So sometimes when you inherit this sleeping practice as a new owner, well, you might.   inherit a team that also is maybe a little bit sleepy too where they're like I'm on my way to retirement, I don't want to be putting in all this new technology, I don't want to do all this software, I don't want to do all these changes or that team might be like sweet and they got kicked back just like someone in their 50s can be like you know I'm gonna go run a marathon and they kick them back into that maturity, that prime or they're in their 60s or they're 65 like my mom she went back to college, my mom was on her path to aging and she went back to college later on in life, she became   She got her master's degree and she started working a job. You better believe that pushed her all the way back over into like teenager. Like she had no clue what she was doing, but she flipped herself back over and, and added more of that energy back into her life. And so all of us, what I was trying to explain through all this is just because you're at one space in the life cycle does not mean that you're forever on the trajectory up and over the curve. It's like a bell curve. ⁓ what we're trying to aim for on whichever side of the bell curve, whether we're on the young toddler or we're on the more aging headed towards institutional.   is our goal is to keep our businesses keep pivoting towards that prime, that maturity, that middle spot where the business is running without us, it's profitable, we're able to have all the time, the work-life balance that we wanna have. And so when you're looking at this, the questions are one, where are you personally on the life cycle of the business and yourself? Are you a new owner? Are you a seasoned owner? Where do you fall on that? Where is your practice through all this?   And then where is your team through all of this? And then assessing based on all those factors, what needs to happen to get you closer to that like middle section where we were striving for that's the prime and where is it? And what do you need to do to get back there? So a couple of scenarios were like a doctor is struggling, they're exhausted, they're burnt out, they're doing all the work and like, what should they be doing? They're producing well, they've got hygienists there, but they're exhausted. They're working like five days a week, just exhausted.   Like what can this person do? And so the questions are, where is this person on the life cycle? This person could be in teenager where they're just exhausted because they're doing it all. They also could be over on midlife evaluation where they're doing it all. Both can actually be true, depending upon the practice and where they're at. And there is no science to this. like, okay, if you have XYZ, then you fall here. Like this is more for you to assess. ⁓ And when I look at this and I think about it, ⁓ options for this practice are hiring an associate would be amazing. That would kick them into prime.   It will also kick them down into the screaming if they don't have the systems in place. But what it will do is it will add some energy. You could also add in team members and no more than you do because you've got the money, you've got the flow. You could bring on a consultant that can help you get to the next level. You could actually add on extra days. You don't have to necessarily work it, but it's what can I do to get myself to this prime where I'm profitable? I'm producing what I want. I'm working the hours that I want. I'm innovating the practice. My team is aligned. My team is running the practice. I'm not staying here.   till super, super late every single night. I have my family life that's ideal for me. That's what we're aiming for. That's what we're striving for in consulting and working with our clients. This is what I obsessed about is how can we get more clients to their sweet spot? That's when I say like living their dream life when I walk it and I see people that have gotten there. That's what I mean by this, like maturity, this prime. Like I remember my CPA told me ⁓ once he said, Kiera, it actually gets a lot easier later on in life. He's like, because   then like you bought the house, you bought the cars, like whatever it is that you were striving for, and then money becomes easier. And I was like, you are a liar. There's no way this is gonna happen. And then you meet people and they really are there and they're comfortable and they walk with ease. And there's just this like, I don't know this calm about them, but they're still very energetic. They still have a lot of things that they wanted to, but I think the frantic energy of the young or the exhausted energy of the aging doesn't exist.   It's more this centered calm, knowing, doing things on purpose and intentional rather than reactionary. It's a very, very different space. And so like that's our obsession is getting offices to that space. And so for you to assess and to diagnose, where are you? And what's fascinating to me that I often find is sometimes the dentist is actually the problem. There was a dentist that I was chatting with and this doctor refuses to delegate. And I'm like, so great. You've actually accidentally pushed your practice into almost aging.   because you're not willing to delegate. And then also you're not willing to hire people that are smarter and more equipped. You're sitting here having very inexperienced team members that don't know what they're doing, making lots of mistakes. So therefore you don't trust anybody because you haven't spent the money to hire the people that you need to hire to bring in that energy and that structure and that leadership. Instead, you're trying to do it all yourself plus be the dentist. Like you have actually not like kept yourself younger. You've actually   aged your practice accidentally to where if you're not careful, it will actually age and deteriorate into death. And so I think also being self-aware of where you are, ⁓ I think being cognitive and what's really awesome is once you know where you are, once you know where your team is, once you know where your business is, then instantly the diagnosis becomes very easy of what you need to do and what the next step is. But I think oftentimes easy and doing are not the same thing.   I think oftentimes we say, my gosh, this is so easy, but that doesn't mean that I want to do it or that I'm going to do it or that I'm going to follow through on it. I think so many times people get stuck and they're just like, either A, I'm not willing to accept what I need to do or B, I don't know what I need to do or C, I'm not willing to acknowledge what I know I need to do and actually do it. And so if I look at all of this, I think this is a fun assessment for you to look to see like what, where am I on the life cycle of the business? What do I need to do to progress to the next level?   And am I willing to do that? Or do I need somebody to push me along? I will say sitting in a business myself, I have hired different people. I have realized when the business has outgrown me, we just had a meeting with our team and I said, guys, like the great news is we have grown, we've evolved and our mission is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible and to serve more offices. And I can't do that with the knowledge that I have today. I need someone smarter than me that knows how to run systems on a different level.   I can do it for dental offices all day long, but a corporate business that's evolving, I don't know how to do that. Do I know how to like program HubSpot? The answer is a hard pass. No, I do not even know what that thing should do. I've never worked in an industry that's done that. I need someone smarter than me. And so we bring those people in and what's beautiful is it's scary and it's daunting, but it is magical because I know that this is the next phase to get us to where we actually want to go and to be in those optimal spaces.   Again, you're not always on the upward path we're always working towards and certain decisions will actually push us back down. Sometimes personal decisions, sometimes business decisions, sometimes things outside of our control, like we lose key team members or we have unexpected life events. Those can move us in this space a lot differently. So really it's a matter of where are we today and where do we want to be and how can we get closer to that destination today? And that's something I love. And hopefully today you took an assessment on yourself. Hopefully you diagnosed where you were.   And hopefully you realize that the answer is not too far away from where you want it to be. Or maybe you're like, Kiera, I absolutely don't know. Well, great. Reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com or go to our website, TheDentalATeam.com. Click on the book of call. And I will definitely happily chat with you and help you see where are you at and what's your next step and how we, or you can do it on your own can help you. But the answer is you're worth it. You deserve it. You deserve to be in that maturity prime optimized space of your life where there's calm, not chaos, where there's fun and joy rather than.   ⁓ the worry all the time. And again, no stage is permanent. None of them are. Everything is temporary. Everything only lasts for so long, but it's how can we make it last longer in the space we want to be rather than it deteriorating or not accelerating or crushing us before it even has a chance to begin. And that's something that I really love doing. So if we can help you at all, reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. ⁓   Definitely so obsessed with making sure that you as a human being are taken care of, that you feel like there's someone championing for you and helping you out and making sure that you are taken care of. So reach out. ⁓ And if not, make sure you assess where you are and be committed to taking the next step. Great things truly never come from comfort zones. So get off that comfort zone, push yourself to the next level and know that ⁓ patience, teams, your life, your family, all of that's worth it. And you.   especially are worth it. And as always guys, I just adore you. I hope you have an amazing day today. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.