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Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 31:32

Morgan Hamon, co-founder and president of EAG Dental Advisors, returns to the podcast to talk about dentistry financials. As a CPA, Morgan pulls from his experience to talk with Kiera about what it takes to be profitable (beyond revenue and expenses). Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I am so jazzed. I have one of my absolute favorite guests back on the podcast, Morgan Hamon. He used to be with HDA. They have now upgraded their name to EAG Dental Advisors. Super excited. He's an incredible CPA, does all things dental, loves airplanes. He's been on the podcast so many times. We've had some good chats. Dear friend to me, Morgan, welcome back to the show. How are you? Morgan Hamon (00:20) Ha ha. Kiera, I'm doing good. It is so great to be with you and looking forward to our conversation today. Kiera Dent (00:31) to you and me both. So I have to know since you love airplanes and it's in your background, are you a fan or not a fan of Top Gun? I just need to know. Morgan Hamon (00:35) Mm-hmm. You know, I have a soft spot for that movie because when it came out in 1986, I was 15. And I, you know, I sort of set my sight. That definitely influenced me. said, that's what I want to do. So I went out and did it. And so. Kiera Dent (00:46) Mmm. So then how did you like Top Gun Maverick? was the second? Tell me, are you fan? Morgan Hamon (00:56) That one, the purpose of that movie was entertainment and it was entertaining, but it was a little, you gotta suspend disbelief a little bit. It was a little nostalgic because that was set in Naval Air Station, Lamar, which is where I was for eight years. So it was pretty cool seeing that and the flying scenes were real. And so they were all filmed out. It's called restricted area 2508, which is where we always used to fly. So it was pretty nostalgic seeing some of the flying scenes back where we used to go fly. Kiera Dent (01:17) Mm-hmm. Morgan Hamon (01:26) But technically, there's a little, like any movie, there's a little Hollywood going on there. But it was entertaining. Kiera Dent (01:26) No. can't How cool though that they like made a spot for Iceman with him having throat cancer. I thought that was incredible. Like way to go Tom Hanks. So I know you guys didn't come to the podcast to hear Morgan and I talk about top men, but we're going to segue now because Morgan does all things. We love to talk profit. We love to talk taxes. We love to talk all things nerding out on CPA land, which I have really truly fallen in love with like understanding my numbers. So this is a soft spot for me, but Morgan Hamon (01:39) Yes Yep. Hahaha Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (02:01) Morgan said he won the topic today, which I think is a sexy topic and I cannot wait where he said leadership relates to profitability. And I said, Morgan, sign me up. Here we go. So Morgan, this is our time. This is our topic because I absolutely agree with you that leadership does relate to profitability, but take it away. And then we're to dig into tax savings. We're going to dig into all this stuff and who knows where else we're going to go, but ⁓ it'll be a great one. It always is. Morgan Hamon (02:16) Mm-hmm. Yes. Well, think this topic has evolved with me a little bit, because we've been doing this 15 years and going now. And so a lot of conversations over the years. And I've always thought about profitability, which let's face it, that's why we own businesses. We don't own businesses to pay tax. We own businesses to make a nice living and have some control over our lives. So you've to have profit, and it's hard owning a business. So if we don't have adequate profit, why bother? ⁓ Our mission has always been to really focus on profit, give our doctors feedback on what that profit is, and diagnose if things are, you know, if there's something that could put more money in their pocket. Now, with my CPA hat on, right, there's two parts of that profit equation. There's the expense side of the equation and the revenue side of the equation. And so for a lot of years, I mean, that's where our focus has been. But I've recently, last year or two, I've really come to the conclusion, look, there's a third component there, right? And it's not math, I can't point to the P &L. But where this comes from is I get asked all the time about, and it's from the clients either considering a startup or purchasing a practice, and they'll say, okay, Morgan, you got clients all 50 states, like where's the great area? Where should I go where folks are doing well? Kiera Dent (03:27) Ooh, I can't wait. Morgan Hamon (03:47) I that question. I get asked, hey, do you have a special report for pediatric dentists? Because I'm going to be pediatric, so I'm going to be making more money kind of thing. Or I'll hear a report. Or I'll get a question that, do you have a report just for your clients in California? Because it's like way different out here. And I say, look, the answer is no. We have one report. In geography and specialty, I think they may influence profitability, but that's not the deal breaker. We have plenty of clients who are specialists. The struggle, we have plenty of clients, like one of our longest term clients is in Nob Hill, San Francisco. She recently moved across the bay, but it's like the most expensive city on the planet. She killed a 55 % profit margin for like 10 years. So geography isn't, that's not how we connect the dots. I think we connect the dots with leadership. Kiera Dent (04:33) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Morgan Hamon (04:43) You know, we have a lot of clients I've known for a long time. I've been with them along with their journey as I've been on my journey, which has been very rewarding. And I've come to the opinion that if we quantify success for a doctor and let's, and we'll talk a little bit more about this when we get to tax, but you know, is it money? Is it time? Is it all the above? If we look at, who's crossed the finish line? Who has the full deal? ⁓ It's the doctor that runs a tight. Plain and simple. Like you can tell in me talking with them, I know them real well. You can tell by their numbers. Look, they're an amazing clinician, but they're also an amazing business leader. They know how to inspire their team. Their patients feel comfortable. They lead from the front. They just, they do it all. Those are the doctors that have the high profit margin and the high quality of life. It's not geography. It's not specialty, although that can have an influence. That's the full package. So it is, yes, revenue, expenses, and how well do you lead your practice, in my opinion. Kiera Dent (05:50) Morgan, I was so happy when I read that and when we were talking about what to bring on because I see it as well. I tell everybody, I can tell walking into a practice even before I walk into the practice, if I've met the leader of the practice, I usually can tell if this practice will be successful or not, truly based on the leader at the helm. And it's interesting because we did, I recently did this at our summit. So people were there, awesome. Morgan Hamon (05:52) you Kiera Dent (06:16) If they weren't, that's okay too. But we actually broke down and me and the consultants, we went through all of our clients. Like we looked at the clients, we looked at past clients, we looked at future clients, we looked at different pieces, what were our best clients, what were our worst clients. And I actually broke down, I'm trying to pull it up here, of like common themes of great practices and like great leadership and common themes of the not so good. And so some of the things I've seen in... Morgan, I'm super curious to hear like what you'd add to our list. Cause I, you see it from a different perspective than we see it. So on my not so good list, these are the ones that like really they always are floundering is they don't trust their office manager. They're sometimes poor clinicians. Like they need to hire somebody else or get some training for that. ⁓ Poor leaders, they have team turnover constantly. They don't implement strategies. They're highly driven by emotion. They don't look at their numbers or their results. Morgan Hamon (06:45) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. you you Kiera Dent (07:11) They do a lot of CE, but they never like implement. They have lots of coaches, but they don't trust and execute. They're half in on everything. So they're not like solid on anything. They want to pay to fix the problem with no self-realization identification that maybe they are the issue. They have ego fear with no accountability. And there's a lot of blame. Like everybody else is the problem. Are some of the things that I've seen and I don't know, like I know I'm putting you on the spot. didn't, I have my nice list over here, but is there anything else you see of patterns? I'm, you and I can both like, Morgan Hamon (07:30) Mm-hmm. ⁓ Kiera Dent (07:41) in our Rolodex of humans we know are not so good leaders or the practices who aren't as profitable, are there any other things you've noticed in their leadership that maybe isn't as strong? Morgan Hamon (07:41) No. Right. Well, that was a very comprehensive list. Once we're done, I'm going to write all those down because I that's very good. If I were to summarize that, if we talk about leadership, it's really about ownership and engagement. You have to own it. Everything's your problem when you're the owner. There's another podcast I like. Kiera Dent (07:58) Yeah, of course. I'll happily share. I will happily share. And if you get anything else, share back our way too. Morgan Hamon (08:20) and it's nothing to do with dental, it's all about leadership. And there's a saying, and it's really stuck with me, and I swear I think about this every day, Kiera, when I think about my business and how do we keep doing a good job, is that if there's a problem in your organization, it's a leadership problem. You can trace it all the way back, go any direction you want, it's going to tie back to a leadership problem. So, if something is going sideways, it ultimately comes back to your leadership as a business owner. So, maybe the staff, maybe there was a bad patient experience, something went sideways with the patient. Was that staff trained? Maybe they were trained, maybe they were not held accountable. Do you have a bad procedure? Maybe the procedure needs adapted. mean, we think about that all the time, constantly adapting, constantly tweaking, and I think you have to do that in any business. If, like you said, in your list there if people don't want that accountability, there's always making excuses or they don't want to engage. They say, you know, and maybe they are a good clinician. They say, I'd rather just be in the operatory but my staff's a mess. Kiera, come on in here and whip them into shape and let me know when it's all good. You know, that's not how it works. That's not how it works. Kiera Dent (09:32) Exactly. No, not only they're part time. I'm not your manager. I'm not your leader. I'm not your boss. Morgan Hamon (09:38) Right, or you know what, I'm going to have an hour meeting with my accountant and that should solve it. Like, no, we're going to come up with some action items and then you need to execute those. So you have to own it. Everything's your problem when you own a business. ⁓ And if you own it and you engage, then I think we're on the right path to not be on that extensive list that you gave, which I just love. Kiera Dent (10:03) right? Yeah, no, and I love it. And it just made me actually think of something I heard a financial conference and they said EBITDA equals engagement. And I've thought about that a lot because the more engaged your team is, the more engaged you are, honestly, a lot of higher EBITDA there is, I won't leave our audience hanging. I do have the good list and maybe you can add to this to see. So the ones that I found like, that truly just knock it out of the park, these are our most successful right? I'm like, what is their DNA makeup that makes them this great leader? Morgan Hamon (10:22) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (10:32) and it's their great implementers. They allow the teams to be free, like within the parameters. So they've got a great team culture. They're great at decision-making. They execute, they're consistent. They roll with the punches. They have long-term teams. They make their decisions based on numbers. They're great visionaries. And they know what they're working towards. They don't get distracted. So there's this laser focus that they have. ⁓ And on here, I would also say that they have massive ownership. And they also are not afraid to have the uncomfortable conversations with their team. Morgan Hamon (10:52) Mm-hmm. Thank Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (11:02) So like they truly do, they're excellent at it. They might not be excellent communicators, but they're excellent at like tidying it up, driving their team for success. Those are some of the things I see, but I'm curious if there's anything else you'd want to add to that list because I think you're right. But I think that's a DNA makeup, right? It's people who are disciplined. If I go into the gym, they probably have like strong work ethic. They are laser focused. It's just like, it's who they are in all the aspects of our life, but I don't think they're necessarily born that way. Morgan Hamon (11:10) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (11:30) I think a lot of them can be, but I think a lot of them create that over time as well. Like it's an evolution of them, not necessarily like, if I'm just born a great leader, like, no, they're constantly working on it, but I'm curious your thoughts. Morgan Hamon (11:34) Mm-hmm. Thanks Yeah, no, I think that's a good list. If I were to try to tie that together, I would say it's you lead from the front. you know, like all just a personal example for me, like responsiveness is a huge part of our culture. Like, you know, if clients reach out to us, they need to hear back like in a few hours, like today. Lead from the front. is not do what I say. It is do what I do and keep up. Keep up with me. Kiera Dent (12:03) Yeah. Morgan Hamon (12:12) Let me show you what I expect. You follow my example and let's go where I'm leading us. I think is when you own a dental practice, you have to do the same thing, whether that's in the daily huddle. You lead by example. If there's a certain patient experience you want your office to have, you have to lead that. They have to be emulating you and say, I sure hope I can do this as well as the doctor. ⁓ Lead from the front. I think you also have to make sure your team understands why their work is important. Kiera Dent (12:42) cream. Morgan Hamon (12:42) And I do that all the time. Why is our work important as well? Because our clients are these dentists. They're drowning in debt. They don't necessarily learn how to run a dental practice in dental school. They're trying to put it all together to make a nice living. And they have probably eight or 10 employees that are accounting on them for their jobs. So our work matters. We're working with people's lives here. So you really have to... ⁓ I think articulate why the work's important and maybe that's not as challenging and don't practice because everybody knows. It's care. They're there to get care. They're in the chair. They're scared. They want to be comfortable and everything's going to be okay. I think you got to lead from the front. You got to say, look, let's do what I do and make sure you keep up with me. Kiera Dent (13:32) Yeah, no, I love that. I just, think something that I love that you brought this up is I love when I have things internal, as much as it's annoying, that could actually help me become more profitable. It's like, hey, let me go to the gym and work out to be more disciplined. Let me read leadership books to learn how to lead. Let me practice uncomfortable conversations. Let me practice my decision-making. And the reality is like you becoming this person and leadership. Morgan Hamon (13:34) you Hehe. Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (14:00) will equate to higher profitability. It's wild. Like I look back at maybe not so strong of leadership days and my business and profitability, I think definitely mirrored and matched where I was. And so also for us to say like, Hey, how do I maybe get to the next level? How can you evolve as a leader as well and be a bit stronger of that good version rather than the not so good version I think is really powerful. Morgan Hamon (14:10) Mm-hmm. Hehehe. Yeah, I think you really have to recognize whatever industry you're in that your technical skill and your leadership skill are completely different. You have to invest in those skills to acquire those and to maintain them. And just because you could be the most amazing CPA, just brilliant practitioner, that doesn't mean you're a good leader. You could be the most amazing clinician. Kiera Dent (14:35) 100. Morgan Hamon (14:51) and just do the most amazing work. That doesn't mean you're gonna be running a ⁓ great tunnel practice. You have to invest in those skills. Just being a smart person with some big degrees, that doesn't do it. You have to acquire those skills. And I didn't realize, I mean, when I was a younger guy in the Navy, I I learned all this. back then, I was just trying to do a good job and... get killed and and make it all happen. I didn't realize all these amazing lessons and training I was learning because they, mean leadership is, I mean that's first and foremost what we're there to do and so I was very fortunate in that regard but I don't, you you can't, no matter what business you're in, can't rest on your laurels. You got to always be thinking about leadership. Am I being a good leader? Okay, this is going sideways. I need to lead the team back, you know. I can't just, you know, write a memo. Kiera Dent (15:17) Yeah Morgan Hamon (15:44) Hey everybody, this is where we need to be. Follow me. Keep up with me. Kiera Dent (15:49) Yeah, no Morgan, that was such a brilliant piece and I really loved how you just highlighted it and so fun to see that what we see on the team side and the success of the growth and the production and the collections also now correlates with your financial PNL, ⁓ which I think is just magic and it all just ties together. But as you listen to this list and Morgan I talking about it, I also want to just say like if this does not light you up and you're like, ⁓ gosh. Morgan Hamon (16:05) Mm-hmm Kiera Dent (16:17) That's okay. You actually can just be an amazing clinician and have somebody actually be the great leader. Just because you opened the practice and you do the dentistry does not mean you need to be the leader of the practice. So I've seen some doctors actually be great implementers. Like they actually would rather execute, implement, do all the ideas and have somebody else be the visionary. That's okay too. And I think like my best thing is know thyself and be free. But if you want to be more profitable, look at this. And I want to take like a sharp Morgan Hamon (16:18) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes. Kiera Dent (16:46) right turn Morgan and talk taxes. It's like, didn't know how to awkwardly like transition. So I'm just gonna like, but I want to talk taxes because I'm like, this also ties into the discipline of leadership, the ownership of leadership and like being freaking savvy to learn how to do taxes better. Like Morgan, I had this client the other day and we were talking and we built this like cute little overhead scorecard for people. We have the EBITDA on there. It comes from the CPAs. So we're like, just make it very simple, like black and white. Morgan Hamon (16:53) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. you Kiera Dent (17:15) And then I was like, wait a second, I should throw a tax bucket on there. So like what you're getting paid for your W-2 plus what your profit is, like that gets taxed. I have a doctor, she has been an owner, we're talking 20 plus years. She's like, Kiera, I never knew that my profit had to get taxed. Like I never knew that that extra cash, like I just thought that was cash that came to me. And I'm like, this is why doctors are always broke because they don't know how this works out. So I'm super excited to talk about. Morgan Hamon (17:21) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. you Mm-hmm. No. Right. Mm hmm. Kiera Dent (17:45) tax planning, it's mid-year, let's make sure you're not crying in December and like, popping the confetti. Morgan Hamon (17:46) Yeah. Yeah, right. And crying in December. if you recall, ⁓ my topic was just kind of the psychology of tax. And again, this has evolved over time with a lot of conversations. I think... Kiera Dent (17:54) was New York I'm The is like the wise sage over there, Morgan. Like you got, like, just, you're just hanging out over there. Morgan Hamon (18:09) Well, it's always trying to, you know, I think about my conversations. How do we kind of empower these dentists to achieve this? And it's all through, I think, education. You've got to understand why. Like this doctor, 20-year-old, didn't understand. Kiera Dent (18:29) I was like, no, I'm not wearing a strip. Morgan Hamon (18:30) Every initial consultation I'm having now with a startup doctor, we do a tax 101 just real quick, takes me like five minutes. Let's get our hands on some concepts here. Why I think this is important to really understand and talk about tax, just kind of how it makes us feel, is because we've had some instances where you have a doctor, and let's just say on our previous conversation, this is how we're gonna tie it together, right? So we have the doctors on that secondary list, They're rock star. They're killing it. They're making tons of cash. They're engaging the right people. They got the right people in place, and it ultimately results in a lot of success. I've seen people do that, but then when it comes time for tax, they lose sight of all that, and they get just really obsessed about that tax bill. They lose what I'll think of as like peace and fulfillment. just at the start of the call, I recently got remarried and my wife and I, we talk about that a lot, peace and fulfillment. Why do we have that in life? And that's what we're working for. And I think when you own a business, you're working towards something, right? And we want to have that peace and fulfillment. And I've seen that just get destroyed with people because they get very emotional and overly focused on their tax. And I see the logic just sort of exit stage left. and we just end up with this very emotional reaction to tax. And who I tend to really direct this conversation to is not necessarily what you just described, Bill. That's kind an interesting one. Usually if someone's been making great money 20 years, they kind of know the program. It is, Kiera, it's the newer owners making real money for the first time in their lives. And that is where there's an adjustment. There's a mental journey they have to go on. Kiera Dent (20:21) 100. Morgan Hamon (20:29) And so what I thought today, like, I guarantee you we have some listeners as soon as they heard tax, they're like, what's on their mind is, what's the secret? How do I save more on tax? Well, it does. So, right? So we're going to get to that. All right. Well, we'll get to that. But before we do that, I thought, let's have some straight talk. Kiera Dent (20:40) It does feel like the CPA's hold back or the secret robot. mean, tell me your Harry Potter rules there, Morgan. I just want to know. I need to find one CPA that just knows the secrets of the trade. Yeah. Morgan Hamon (20:58) Let's have some straight talk on tax. Why is this emotional? Why is this hard? Let's just take the journey of a doctor that is an associate doing pretty well with their W-2. We all think that we all go in W-2s. You have mandatory withholding. It comes out of your check, gets fired off to the government. You get your net check and you might look at your paycheck and go, what's all this stuff? don't know. I got my net check. I'm to plan my life around this net check. Then we do the tax return. There's always a little settle up. You might owe a little, get all my back. You always hope to get a little money back, but generally you just plan your life with never having your hands on that money as a W-2. So now we own a business. You get all that money and then we now have to turn around and pay it back. Now keep in mind your tax rates. Okay. If you are married, Google the 2025 tax rates, right? That's what they are. That's what they are. If you're an employee. Kiera Dent (21:44) Yep. Morgan Hamon (21:55) That's what they are if you're the owner of a pass-through business. They are the same. But that act of having to turn around and write a check just is, you gotta become comfortable with that and it's an adjustment. ⁓ And here's the other thing where if we just, okay, let's take all our emotions about tax, let's just kind put it over the side and let's just talk very logically. Kiera Dent (22:12) I agree. Morgan Hamon (22:23) If you're gonna make three times as much money, what's also going to be three times as much? Your tax. But it's actually maybe a little bit more, right? We got a progressive tax system, right? So, I think when people become high earners, and they go through the grieving process, Kiera Dent (22:36) see what we feel. It's awesome. Morgan Hamon (22:48) And I guarantee you, I'll just talk through this briefly, but Gary, you and I have both been through this. And the doctors that are killing it and making lots of money, they've probably been through it too. But if we think about the grieving process, what's the first step? All right, it's denial. Okay, it's the first year you went from making 200 grand as an associate and now making 700 grand. And we've already written off the equipment and now we got 700 grand income. And you get your tax plan and you're like, what? This isn't for me. Kiera Dent (22:54) Yes. Morgan Hamon (23:17) Honey, think our email got hacked. We got this, this can't be right. This isn't mine. You go full on denial, this can't be right. And then we're like, no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that is your tax plan. And then we immediately go to anger. I'm so mad. thought Morgan was, I thought Morgan was this cool guy. I'm mad at him. Kiera Dent (23:22) I'm Hmm? I need a different CPA, Morgan. I'm finding a different Harry Potter wizard. I need someone better than you. Not today, I'm out of here. Morgan Hamon (23:45) You get angry. You're like, what the heck? I got this tax bill. So you get kind of angry. And then you go into bargaining and say, you know what? I'm going to go buy a CEREC machine tomorrow. Say, OK. I mean, do you need that? mean, do you do a lot of grounds? So you get all, I'm going to do this, this, and then where people are really in troubles and they stop making their estimated payments. Well, this can't be right. This can't Kiera Dent (23:53) Hahaha. Ha Morgan Hamon (24:14) I'm going to go, I'm going to buy this and this and this. And then we start, there's a 6,000 pound truck. I'm going to go buy this big truck. And I kind of joke around a little bit. Yeah. So you get into bargaining, right? And then you're like, OK, well, gosh, I don't need any other equipment. I'm already doing the stuff. And then you get into depression. You're like, really? Am I going to? I guess this just stinks. And then finally, get to acceptance. Kiera Dent (24:23) G-Wagon right now. I'm gonna brand it. Morgan Hamon (24:43) and you realize if you're a high earner, there is a corresponding bill. Now that can be managed. There are ways for legal, perfectly legal tax avoidance to get into the so-called secrets. But you go through this journey. This has just been my, I guess, my 15-year research project. I've been through it personally myself, and I'm a CPA, and I still like writing this check. Dang. ⁓ Kiera Dent (25:06) same. you Morgan Hamon (25:13) But, so that's what we have to, I think, wrap our head around, you understand that. And I encourage people, look, if you're a dentist, and maybe this dentist joins the seven figure club, right? You got seven figure profit, that's pretty amazing, right? That's really good income. But you will have a six figure tax bill. And that's okay. That's okay. ⁓ Kiera Dent (25:37) You will. Morgan Hamon (25:42) And you just, got to get through to acceptance and take comfort in that you are engaged to take advantage of the legal opportunities that are out there for proper tax avoidance. And that's the, we talk about the secrets, you know, I see these clowns on, on YouTube of like, ⁓ I know the secrets of the tax code. mean, if you see that, I mean, just run. ⁓ There are no secrets. They're all well-known. Like I know all our competitors in our, the dental field and I'm on friendly terms with many of them. We all know these. We all know the stuff that can be done. Legal tax avoidance. here's, we'll call it the secret, ⁓ Dentists, everyone's part of it. Here's the secrets, okay? Here's the secret. When you have a pass through business, which is what these dental practices are, right? So the business, and this will shed some light on your client 20 years, right? Your business does not pay income tax. The business tax return Kiera Dent (26:22) Everybody's perking up right now, Morgan. They're like, okay. Morgan Hamon (26:42) is math. It's absurdly complex math, but it quantifies the profit that's passed it through and gets listed on your personal tax return. And you owe income tax on that profit. That's what it means by pass through. And it's all ordinary income tax. There's no special tax rate for business owners. It's ordinary income tax. So how do we save money? Here's the secret. We have to capture as many expenses that we're otherwise incurring and capture those as business deductions. When we do that, that lowers profit. Less profit passes through to the personal tax return, you pay less tax. That's the secret. So you have to execute the strategies, right? The home office is perfect for doctors. Totally substantiated, totally mainstream deduction. That's what justifies the car. You can deduct a car, but that means you have to be engaged. You have to get the mile IQ. You have to understand what is your business percentage use. You have to do this right. You have to document it. There's things you have to do right. Take your board meeting. ⁓ If the cash flow allows, have a qualified retirement plan. Take full advantage of that. ⁓ If you're okay with having staff over to your house, have those meetings at home and have the office rent it from you. again, these aren't... People know these. This isn't... I'd love to tell you I'm some genius that went and studied the tax code and formulated all these myself. This is out there. What you're engaging with your CPA is folks that will actually bring this to you and do it, but ultimately the doctor has to do it. What I think about is if someone thinks, well, I'm just going to have an hour meeting with my account at the end of the year and they're just going to take care of all of this. That's like saying, you know what? Kiera Dent (28:07) haha cringe. Morgan Hamon (28:30) I know I need to work out and eat right to be healthy but I'm just going to go meet with my doc this fall and that should do it. Maybe they'll give me a pill that'll make me in shape and healthy. But no, you got to do the stuff. So if your accountant tells you, look, take a board meeting, document it properly, there's a proper way to do it, you got to do it. That's how we say the proper legal avoidance. your account comes to you and says, look, it's time to be an S-Corp, Kiera Dent (28:51) Mm-hmm. Morgan Hamon (29:00) because the profit is appropriate, you gotta follow the instruction. There's a procedure there and it's gonna save a lot of money on self-employment payroll tax if it's done correctly. You gotta listen, but you gotta engage. There's action items. And so we, ⁓ every September, I made a checklist. You know, again, Navy guy, right? I got a checklist. Log in, do the checklist. I call it our business tax savings maximizer. That's the flashiest, catchiest name I could think of. But like, log in and do it. That's the secret. Kiera Dent (29:19) I love it. you Morgan Hamon (29:29) So, you know, for those listeners that waiting for the secret, that's it, right? We got to capture expenses as business deductions and there is action items for the doctor. It requires that engagement. And to circle back to where what you said earlier, like you can't come into the office and just fix it for them. They've got responsibilities on things to do too and that's the same with tax policy. Kiera Dent (29:53) I thought that was such a beautiful way. And as you were going through the phases of grief, I'm like, oh yeah, I definitely lived all of those. Thanks for kicking it off with Top Gun, ending with like tack strategy. Thanks for sharing some of the tips. But truly super honored to work with you and love what you guys are doing for dentists out there. Morgan Hamon (30:04) Alright. Kiera, I always enjoy our visits and look forward to each one. So I appreciate you having me. I really enjoyed it. Kiera Dent (30:16) course. And for all of you listening, thank you for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team podcast.

How to Tap Into Parents' Unspoken Fears (And Build Instant Trust) | EP 261

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 10:41

What M&M's Taught Me About Music School Marketing In this episode, we're looking at one of the most iconic marketing campaigns of all time—M&M's “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands”—and how the same psychology can transform the way you market your music school. You'll learn how to move beyond surface-level promotion and tap into the unspoken fears, doubts, and curiosities that parents are already carrying—whether they've said them out loud or not. In this episode, you'll discover: Why pointing out a hidden problem builds immediate trust with parents Real-world messaging examples that speak to concerns parents didn't know they had How to create ads that stir curiosity and spark action The subtle shift from selling lessons to connecting with emotions How to reframe your next campaign to make parents say, “This is exactly what we need.” If your marketing isn't converting the way it should—or if it just feels like it's missing something—this episode will show you why. davesimonsmusic.com

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MM#164 – Comprendre le marché dans lequel on évolue | positionnement freelance, veille, réseau

La Cohorte, le podcast qui rapproche les freelances

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 7:20

Maxime raconte qu'il a “vu la lumière” le jour où… il a commencé à comprendre le fonctionnement global de son marché. Dans cette MM, je reviens sur ce passage de notre interview. Et je t'explique pourquoi c'est une étape hyper structurante dans un parcours de freelance. Parce que, quand tu sais situer les enjeux de tes clients dans un contexte plus large, tu peux mieux anticiper, mieux choisir tes projets… et prendre un petit coup d'avance. Toi, tu vois clair dans ton marché ? Ou tu avances au fil des missions ? (pour me répondre, envoie-moi un mp sur Linkedin

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Machining with CBN and PCD inserts

MTD Audiobook

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 8:26

In the realm of modern manufacturing, precision and efficiency are paramount. ISCAR consistently pushes the boundaries of innovation with its Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) and Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) tools. These advanced materials are transforming how industries approach machining to provide significant advantages. PCD tools are renowned for their hardness and wear resistance, making them perfect for machining non-ferrous metals, composites, and abrasive materials. ISCAR's PCD tools are designed to provide precision and superior surface finishes, essential in industries such as aerospace, automotive, and electronics. The benefits of ISCAR's PCD tools include extended tool life, as PCD's exceptional hardness ensures that tools retain their cutting edge for longer periods, thereby reducing the frequency of tool changes and minimising downtime. Furthermore, cutting speeds can be increased. With PCD tools, manufacturers can operate at higher cutting speeds, thereby improving productivity and reducing cycle times. ISCAR's innovations in PCD tooling feature specialised geometries that improve chip control and heat dissipation, further optimising performance in demanding applications. ISCAR's CBN tools represent another cornerstone of its cutting-edge solutions, specifically designed for machining hardened steels, cast iron, and superalloys. CBN ranks second only to diamonds in hardness, making it an ideal material for tools that must maintain their integrity under extreme conditions. An essential advantage of using CBN inserts is the ability to replace the slow and costly grinding operations of hardened parts. Turning with CBN inserts significantly lowers the cost per part compared to grinding. ISCAR recognises that customers are shifting their finishing processes from grinding to turning with CBN inserts, particularly in the automotive industry. In grinding operations, size tolerance specifications exceed the capabilities of turning, while surface finish requirements are excessively stringent for hard turning. In hard turning, the size tolerance specifications surpass the turning capabilities, showcasing a complex geometry that makes single-point turning more practical. This method features relatively high metal removal rates, dry machining, faster machine setup, and shorter cycle times, facilitating both inner and outer diameter machining on a single machine. CBN is chemically passive when used in ferrous materials. CBN is a synthetic material produced by a high-temperature and high-pressure process. The finished product consists of one carbide layer and one CBN layer. The combination of the two materials is called a cubic-boron-nitride (CBN) wafer. CBN was developed to compete with the finish-grinding process of hardened ferrous materials (45-68 HRC) for economical cutting of 80 to 250m/min. CBN is also used in cast iron machining applications, allowing for extremely high cutting speeds of more than 1000m/min. Cutting tools made from CBN sintered materials are produced by mixing CBN with ceramics as hard as diamonds. Together, these materials are sintered at extremely high pressures and temperatures. Due to its low affinity and high hardness, sintered CBN delivers enhanced cutting performance, particularly for high-speed machining. The key advantages of CBN tools are: Superior Hardness and Strength: CBN tools withstand high temperatures and maintain sharpness even when cutting hard materials. This is essential for industries like automotive and aerospace, where hard turning is standard. Improved Productivity: The durability of CBN tools allows for higher cutting speeds and feeds, translating to faster machining processes and increased throughput. Reduced Tool Wear: With exceptional thermal and chemical wear resistance, CBN tools last longer than conventional carbide tools, leading to long-term cost savings. ISCAR's commitment to innovation is evident in the development of multi-tipped CBN inserts featuring enhanced edge preparation, ensuring optimal performance in the most challenging machining environments. ISCAR's insert types are designated as: MT Type - Mini-Tipped Multi-Cornered/Single-Use Inserts. These single-use inserts are designed to enhance machining efficiency by fully utilising each cutting edge. With a smaller and more economical CBN tip, they significantly reduce costs by providing more cutting edges per insert. The multi-cornered design features a single piece of ISCAR-CBN mounted on every usable corner. Single-sided inserts utilise the top corners, while double-sided inserts make use of both the top and bottom corners. Available in various shapes, square and diamond-shaped inserts, known as ‘Quadro', offer 4 corners, whereas triangular inserts, referred to as ‘triple', provide 3 corners. MM, MF, MR Chipbreakers Type CBN Inserts: ISCAR offers a variety of MT chipbreaker geometries tailored to provide optimal solutions for each specific application, ensuring excellent chip control in hard machining. These chipbreakers effectively prevent long chips and possible workpiece damage, while maintaining a stable and reliable production process. The MF-type inserts are customised for fine to medium cutting, MM-type inserts are perfect for medium machining, and MR-type inserts are intended for roughing operations. L Full Edge Tipped Inserts: Designed for productivity, these full-edge tipped CBN inserts come in various shapes to suit different machining needs. Triangular-shaped inserts feature a full edge tipped with CBN, while square-shaped inserts offer right or left-hand full-edge tipped CBN options. These inserts provide increased stability, enhancing overall machining performance HS Type Half Solid CBN Inserts: These inserts feature a top layer of CBN with a carbide base, offering multiple cutting edges. The high hardness achieved through a special binder results in excellent wear resistance, impact resistance, thermal stability, and chemical stability, making them ideal for metal processing. They provide exceptional cost performance, saving 30 to 50% compared to carbide inserts. The solid material ensures high mechanical strength, making it a superior cutting tool material for extreme conditions. These inserts lower machining costs, require fewer tool changes, and are 5 to 10 times more efficient than carbide and ceramic inserts. Solid CBN inserts are versatile and can be used across diverse industries. They are particularly effective for cast iron and hardened steel workpieces, including automotive engine components, brake discs, brake drums, pulleys, cylinder blocks, cylinder liners, pumps, and cast-iron rolls. For hardened steel, they are suitable for industrial gears, wind power bearings, drive shafts, crushing hammer cylinders, and slurry pumps. S Type Full Solid CBN Inserts are designed for aggressive machining conditions, offering numerous advantages such as excellent wear resistance, impact resistance, thermal stability, and corrosion resistance. They provide strong thermal stability and are ideal for high-speed machining, particularly roughing. These inserts save 30 to 50% compared to carbide inserts while delivering superior surface quality, enabling turning instead of grinding. The solid material ensures a high degree of mechanical strength, making it a superior cutting tool material.

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M&M'S WILL CONTINUE TO INCLUDE ARTIFICIAL DYES

FoodNationRadio's podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2025 12:26

M&M'S WILL CONTINUE TO INCLUDE ARTIFICIAL DYES Food Travel USA with Elizabeth DoughertyAlbum: The TRUTH About Food and Travel 071225 Episode #: 1940 Original Broadcast Date: 07/12/25 M&M's aren't ditching artificial food dyes anytime soon. Despite rising backlash and reform overseas, Mars says it's sticking with synthetic colors in the U.S. And that “cage-free” label on your eggs? It might not mean what you think. Elizabeth breaks down how Big Food plays language games with labels while consumers think they're buying ethically raised products. If you thought “free-range” meant sunshine and open pastures, think again. This segment exposes how marketing terms mislead the public and how most U.S. food policies lag behind the rest of the world—even when the science is crystal clear. FOOD TRAVEL USA FAST FACTS About the Show Using the chassis of a food and travel show, Elizabeth Dougherty has carved out her own lane in Talk Radio, covering the contamination of the food supply and the travel restrictions placed upon us by an overreaching government. The show also covers data protection, self-sufficiency, and homesteading-related topics to help protect us from this evil, corrupt system. With Elizabeth as the host, the show has a very different sound from the typical male-oriented talk radio. In combination with terrestrial stations that carry the show, we reach people who don't normally listen to politically-driven talk radio. In addition to the LIVE FEED of the show on Saturday afternoons from 5pm–7pm (Eastern) / 2pm–4pm (Pacific), we produce and distribute a dozen podcast segments each week. Website & Social Media Website: FoodTravelUSA.com Social Media: Facebook | X (formerly Twitter) | Truth Social | YouTube Broadcast Details Live Broadcast: Saturday, 5 PM Listen Anytime Production Team Executive Producer: Michael Serio Email: FoodTravelUSA@proton.me Why Listeners Tune In ✔ The latest food & travel insights—every week ✔ Homemade videos of healthy, easy-to-make recipes ✔ No-holds-barred interviews on a LIVE, fast-paced, nationwide call-in show ✔ Elizabeth Dougherty: Writer, trained chef, world traveler, and award-winning talk show host ✔ First to bring expert insights on GMOs—before anyone else ✔ A true LIVE SHOW—NO “Best Of” reruns! ✔ Hard-hitting topics & interviews—no recycled political spin ✔ Engaged social media presence—200,000+ followers

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THIS is the 2025 Difference-Maker For Practices

The Passive Income Attorney Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 27:11

Tiff and Dana perform a practice autopsy of sorts — one of Dana's star students, and what's been put in place to help them thrive. The two discuss key systems, metrics, leadership, and how to stay committed to all of it. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello Dental A Team listeners. We are back live today it feels like you know it's so weird Dana to still be like on video it still weirds me out but whatever we don't do as many as Miss Cara Dutt does. So we are here today to chat with you guys we are so excited I've got Dana here and I have just like shocked her with reality today that I actually I want to hear about one of her incredible offices that she's been working with. And before we dive in, I want you guys to just know that we love what we do. We love helping you guys. We love consulting. We love helping you guys when you're not actually clients yet. And we want you to know that we're always here for you guys. Reach out. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. always here. Our social medias. Dana, she does this incredible video, live video. I think it's live. I don't even know anymore. On Mondays, it used to be Fridays, it used to be Donuts with Dana. Now it's Motivational Monday or something to that effect. you guys, legitimately Dana is there, just like ready to answer questions. She takes ideas. So if there's things you guys are working on or... things you guys are trying to work through, send them in to us. Dana's always looking for more ideas on hot topics. We take them from things that we're talking to practices about and then what we're implementing so that you guys always have the best, most useful information, but we love suggestions. Same as topics for these suckers. We're always looking for suggestions for these and if you're not a part of our newsletter crew yet, you better go subscribe because we've got a ton of newsletters that come out as well. all the ways that you guys can reach out to us. If you're clients, guys, gosh, I don't, Dana, I don't even. I don't even get suggestions from my clients on things they want to hear from us. And my clients, and I know yours do too, they listen to all of these suckers. So all of my clients out there, all Dana's clients out there, thank you for listening. But hey guys, we're here for the suggestions. We're just always thinking of everything. Dana, do you ever get suggestions? Dana (01:54) No, no, ⁓ no, I get asked about what we're going to talk about today The Dental A Team (01:58) Yeah, I was like, as I'm sitting here like asking a whole slew of people for suggestions, I'm like, hey, I've got a handful of people out there that aren't even suggesting. So I need to be, I need to be more open about that. But today, I'm really excited to hear about this. Dana has been working her tail off with all of her practices. She works really, really hard. Dana, you are the grit to the fullest in so many ways and solution oriented. For those of you who don't know, those are two of our seven core values. And honestly, you embody all of them. But today is really about grit, solution-oriented, passion for excellence, and results-focused. These are some of the key pieces of what I think you did really, really well, with these results that this client has exceeded. And I'm just excited to hear about them. I threw Dana for a loop today, reminding her that today is her practice I wanted to hear about and that I'm gonna let her kind of take the floor for for a lot of today I have a lot of questions to ask and and kind of chime in but Dina I really just am so excited to hear about them, but Really, how are you doing? And how are how are your clients doing overall? Like how are you doing in the world of consulting? We're about halfway through the year now, which is well a little over I guess which is wild to me It's crazy that 2025 is almost gone, but how are you doing over there and how are your clients doing? Dana (03:24) I'm doing pretty good. Thanks for asking. feel like 2025 has been like a wild year, a little bit different for some practices, but I feel like they're all digging in. Everybody is willing to like do the things, work really hard, talk to their team, build in leadership. I'm super proud of my clients and their perseverance throughout this year and their ability to just kind of like pivot and push where is needed. And I think a lot of that is getting clients to look a little bit more at their numbers, to look a little bit more at what they tell them. I think it's really made a huge difference for a lot of practices this year. And so I'm just, yeah, always super proud of my clients. They're just really blessed to be able to be a part of their lives, a part of their practice and their journeys. The Dental A Team (04:06) Yeah, I agree. think coming off of December of 2024 was a wild ride for a lot of practices, November and December rolling into January. And I feel like it's just been this kind of like ebbs and flows, ups and downs, the whole, you know, almost seven months now for a lot of practices. But I know on our, on our doctor only mastermind for our clients, our internal, you know, clients are non-shared when Last night, there were just so many questions around that as well. And I remember somebody asked like, it normal to have had bad months? And is everybody experiencing last month, bad months or last couple? And I remember a couple of the consultants were like, well, actually, like, haven't really seen that the last couple of months. But when I sat back and I thought about it, I'm like, it has ebbed and flow, you know, flowed quite a bit for practices in general. But I think what we're starting to see is that I'll use the word again, the grit. that a lot of our clients really persevered through January through March. They started reaping those benefits April to current. And so when the question was asked, was a newer client of ours who had asked like, this, are you guys seeing this across the country? really, most of us consultants were like, no, actually not really. We're seeing some of the highest months we've ever seen in our clients. But I think that had something to do with it was really that they had the accountability. of their systems and of their numbers. Like you said, we really dug in deep and forced our clients to really truly learn their numbers better than we ever have this year. And really always looking back at them and always applying the information to the next steps. And I think it made a massive difference within our client base because I think overall we've seen a massive increase from end of year last year to mid year so far this year. Dana (05:56) Yeah, yeah, I agree. And I feel like even clients who maybe they escaped the like November, December, January, then they had like the February, March, right. And but I do feel like April, it's like everybody kind of really dug in and kind of climbed out of that little bit of that. The Dental A Team (06:05) Totally. Dana (06:14) dip that we had there for the beginning of the year or the end of last year. And so yeah, I am just really, it was interesting to hear on the doctor mastermind and just that like clients really did dig in and they've had so much grit because there was a little bit of a rocky end of start of 2024, 25. The Dental A Team (06:30) Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. ⁓ I love it. And I have so much fun on those meetings and hearing all the doctors and I think we had Moola on recently and we get to have, you know, just so many really cool things for them. So it was just awesome. That was something though that kind of reminded me of what you're going to talk about today with your client. And I wanted you guys to... not just here, like we're not just here to brag, like, of course, I want to brag on our clients and how great they're doing and what they're able to accomplish with the tools that they're given, but also to talk about the tools that they're given. So Dana, like really take us through, I want to hear how this practice is doing. What are their accomplishments? What are their, you know, increases in revenue and everything? then on the flip side of that, really, what did they dig in and implement really well this year that has gotten gotten them there these these changes and actually might not even be just this year like you've been working with this specific client for a little bit now so let me all the things I want to hear about it I'm excited Dana (07:30) Yeah. Yeah, this plan is really near and dear to my heart because they were one of my very first solo clients. And so it's just been fun over the years to really see them dig in grit like no other. I know on their end, it hasn't always been easy. We've had to some tough conversations. We've had to look at some tough numbers. We've had to set some really tight budgets that maybe they didn't love, but they did it and have just been massively successful ⁓ because of it. ⁓ And so I am just really, really proud of them. They've brought in a ton of leadership, a lot of team accountability. so, you know, starting out as just kind of a baby practice really with not a ton of systems. ⁓ So first year we spent heavy, heavy building systems, really getting them to talk as a team, to work as a team, to be accountable to each other. You know, so things like morning huddles and actually setting goals that they actually talked about and starting to look at numbers. And I remember know that first conversation of like, I can't really talk about numbers, right? That's just profit. They look at that as like take home and like, now to the point of where like, not necessarily obsess over numbers, but a little bit right there, the tracking tons of things and even department metrics and the team is really involved in setting goals and setting quarterly focuses and she's, you know, brought in an office manager and just grown even the leadership in the practice we're talking about here soon. ⁓ building more of a leadership team. And so it's just really, really cool to see someone come in and evolve from systems to just like massive growth ⁓ and a lot of change. And so, yeah, we focus on systems very heavily. Then we started to focus on leadership. Then we started to focus on growth. So we've got, you know, went from a part-time associate to now a full-time associate to now like ⁓ a buying of a space. The Dental A Team (09:13) Yeah. Dana (09:31) And a build out. it's just been really, really fun to see that when we focus in on the things that are really important, that like the push and the magic that happens from it. ⁓ And so this has just been a practice. It's just been so fun to be a part of. ⁓ And we've had to do a lot of, because of the amount of growth that they came in wanting, right? We always talk about vision with clients and like, do you want to be three years and where do you want to be five years from The Dental A Team (09:33) Mm-hmm. Dana (10:01) now so like hearing that hey I want to be an owner of a building and I want to pretty much double the size of my practice in that time frame and and I also want to do a little bit less dentistry that takes a lot of intentional movement, a lot of projections, a lot of even, you know, I know we've even talked about where you want to go knowing when you have to hire people and when you have to bring people on and when is the right time to add an associate. And then on the flip side of that, like, how do we keep expenses in line so that we can make this dream happen? How do we keep expenses so that we've got the profit to be able to expand and to be able to purchase a property? And sometimes those conversations are uncomfortable, right? Because like we want all the this is this is a doctor who really appreciates team whose love language a little bit is like giving and showing appreciation and you know having to like home that in and be like hey I want you to celebrate your team when they go above and beyond and they crush these milestones we can't do that just for doing jobs though because again remember this vision right we want this we want this building we want this expanded team we want to be able to like be a part of more people's lives in the community so it's just been so fun but I will say the biggest thing that like having to push on my end especially is just the intentionality that like the things that we put into place are to truly get them to where they ultimately want to be and and I feel like sometimes that's why we're brought in is because like they know what the vision is they know where they want to be but like they have no idea the path The Dental A Team (11:25) Yeah. Dana (11:43) to get them there. And so this has just been like a uniquely fun ⁓ client to be a part of. The Dental A Team (11:50) That's awesome. So it's been about, I want to say like two years, little two years ish, or is it three now? my gosh, I'm a year behind you guys, it's fine. Time evades me, so three years. So when this specific client came on, I'm just gonna summarize a little bit. So it sounds like this client came on and they had one and a half doctors including themselves. They probably had what, three hygiene? Dana (11:57) It's three going on four. At the time it was just her, single doctor. Just her, single doctor, two hygiene, you know, two assistants, one front office. Yeah. The Dental A Team (12:17) Trust her. Single doctor. Perfect. So we have a very small team ⁓ from the outside looking in and a vision of owning their own building, ⁓ like literally the building. And what would you say their yearly production collections was? Probably right under a million. Dana (12:39) At the time around, I'd say between $7,5800. The Dental A Team (12:43) Yeah, 7, 5800. So you guys, you can imagine owning a building on that, right, that's a stretch that's going to take a little bit of time. then fast forward, you know, now three years going on board, we've got a full-time associate in place. And how many hygienists? Four hygienists. Two dentists would mean at least probably four assistants, if not five. Dana (13:00) There's four. The Dental A Team (13:08) Four assistants, so three, four front office, probably including an office manager. So we've more than doubled, right? Or right at doubled our entire team, which means also, right? That we've doubled cost. So I think, Dana, what you did really, really well is that you were able to take from the beginning this client's initial goals. She said, this is my dream. And you said, How are we gonna get there? So what you've been able to do with her is really take the financial aspect of this client and say, okay, this is where we're at, but this is what we need. And so everyone listening, something that I really want you to understand is that when you have a goal in mind, right, I talk about vision boards a lot and I talk about vision boards because I think that they're really cool. If you don't know what a vision board is, dang it, you're too young, go Google it, it's fine. If you're a millennial, you know what a vision board is, go get your magazines. But I always say like, we do these vision boards and we're like, you know, we're gonna put an airplane on there and a picture of Mickey Mouse and I'm gonna take my kid to Disneyland. And we just put it on there and we put it on the wall and eventually we forget about it and we stop doing it and we get to the end of the year and we're like, shoot, I never got to Disneyland, right? But what we could do is say, I'm gonna go to Disneyland. And then we say, okay, well, what is it going to entail to get to Disneyland? Right? I live in Arizona. We're both in Arizona here. I can drive to Disneyland for sure. Right. So what's the gas going to be? ⁓ it's about seven hours for me. It's probably far more for Dana. So we're probably going to fly. I'm not, I'm not trying to make that drive, right? I can, but I'd rather fly. So what are the flights going to cost for how many people? What's a car when I get there? What's a hotel going to cost? What does Disney access cost? Because that's a feat in itself, right? And then how are we going to eat, right? We got souvenirs. We've got food in Disney. We've got dinners, okay? So with that, can price it all out. And it's so much easier, I think, for us to visualize doing this in our personal lives, because it's like, well, why would you ever say, like, we're going to Disneyland on July 17, but you have no idea how much it's going to cost. Believe me, I've done it before. You'll make it if you have credit card, Dana can talk to you about how to get out of credit card debt. ⁓ But you can do it, but it would be crazy, right? It's dumb. So you're going to project and you're going to say, this is how much money I need to have in my travel fund in order to get my family to Disneyland. These are the dates I need to have it by because I can't buy tickets the day before, right? Flights. You can't buy Disney tickets the day before anymore because you got to block the date out. So you've got to have all of this projected with a buy-win date. So if you're trying to get to Disneyland, you're going to price point it all out, and then you're going to work backwards. You're going to say, when do I have to have all of these things done? By what date do I have to have how much money? Then you're going to set those mile markers. So with clients, this is the same thing that we do with your goals, and it's the same thing Dana did for this specific practice. This practice owner said, I want to own the building, I want to have this size of a practice. want to, I know I've had multiple clients say, I want to make this much money. I know I had a client who was in similar size situation when they first started and the biggest goal was to make a million dollars. I said, great, well we're at 550 now, let's see. He's like, my five year goal is to make a million dollars. Well guess what, we did it in three. Because we. we projected it. And so what you've been able to do with this client is really project out. think the most fun piece, and I've done this with clients too, so I know, tell me if you think there's more fun. I always felt like the most fun part of it was being able to see what, if we got to this level of financial growth. So if we got to this level of production and collections and this close to ⁓ practice ownership, like building ownership, This is how many people you're gonna need to support that dollar amount. So when you look at production, you say, okay, well, how much can one doctor support in production? How many team members does it take to support that doctor, to support the production, and then ramp it from there? So then it doesn't become such a pie in the sky dream of a number, it becomes a reality. And then you can say, okay, well, just like I said, Disneyland, it's a buy win date. Right? So by this date, we need to have an associate hired because we need at least 90 days onboarding with an associate before they're really going to be producing anything, really. So if we need that associate to stay on track, we need that associate producing $90,000 by December. We've got to have someone in place by June at the latest. Right? So we've got to start looking for an associate. probably February to give ourselves a really good lead time. And Dana, I think that's something that you've done really well for all of your clients, but for specifically this one we're talking about today, I think you did really well at projecting out the team member aspect of it too, and the hiring process so that that doctor could be prepared for the size that they were gonna have, and then applying that there to the financials. So you broke down for them great. This is what the team cost will likely look like. This is your BAM, your bare ACE minimum is how we like to say it. And this is what has to happen in order for all of this to work. And then Dana, you said they had grit, they did it. And now one of the things that I picked out from your statement that I think everyone should walk away with is that you said you guys together, number one together, you got them looking at their numbers. That is the first step. Personally, Professionally, the first step in making anything work when it comes to finances is actually looking at them. So congratulations and kudos on that. Second thing that I picked up was that together you guys created budgets and they stuck to them. They actually did them. And it doesn't mean they had to eat top ramen or get off brand flowable. It was like, these are your budgets and we're going to stick into it. And the best part about a budget, Dana, in my opinion for dental practices is like, No, you don't have to buy the cheap flowable. But if your production and collections aren't supporting what you're buying, that's the issue. So most of the time, your supply should reflect, right? Your order should reflect the supply need. Yeah. So tell me quickly just a little bit about that. Was there a spot where you were like, no, you gotta buy the ramen? Dana (19:55) The kind of dentistry The Dental A Team (20:08) No, you got to get back on budget. You've got to stick to this. How did you hold them accountable? Dana (20:13) God. They did really well I think of I will say you know they have a fantastic office manager who was on board and wanting to know more about that side and wanting to know more about the budgeting side and the expense side so I will say they did really great at setting their budgets every month looking at it and sticking to it I think the piece that maybe we struggled with a little bit that eventually they saw like wow it's super important to do that is to just look at the expenses month over month ⁓ I think they were great about setting the budgets great about sticking to them It just took a little bit more time and know we've got to pull those P &Ls we've got to pull those expense reports every single month and we really have to look at it and Getting them really to narrow down I think the the key or like the green light that went on was getting them to come up with this is truly our fixed costs for every single month and so when it got to the point where When you look at it and it's outside of that we've got to dig in and we've got to figure out what's happening or where money is going because it's outside of what the norm is. so digging in and getting that piece in place, I think really comfortable about talking about practice numbers. The other side of it was a little bit more uncomfortable. And that's okay. You know, but I think they saw the importance of also connecting those dots and being able to share with the office manager and share with the team some of that because that was a little bit more uncomfortable. And so just super proud that they were able to step outside. of that comfort level because so much of the time doctors want to hold those numbers close to their vests and it's okay to hold part of those numbers close to you where the pieces that you really don't or are super uncomfortable sharing. Again, if we want team buy-in, if we want our office manager to be able to help with these things and to really stick to budgets, they've got to understand those numbers too. The Dental A Team (22:03) Yeah, yeah, that was beautiful. I would say for any doctors who are out there listening today, whether this exact story replicates what your goal is, or if you are able to see semblances of it in your own story, like take some of that away. And if you've got a goal, I don't care what it is, we apply the same standards to every goal. personal and professional, like apply the same standards, make sure it's a smart goal. And Project it out. So I always look and Dana, I think we all did. It's like we look at the end goal and then we literally just work backwards. So find your goal. If you're not comfortable with numbers, get comfortable with numbers. It's worth it. It's so worth it. If you need help getting comfortable with numbers, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. We are here for you. It's something we're working really hard with a lot of our teams on and I promise you, teams, even though they're not saying it, they're not like, hey, tell me our goals, they do better. They want to know the goals. They need to know the goals. They need to know what they're working towards and for more than just an emotional space. The emotional space of we're here for patient care, fantastic. But how do I know black and white measurements that I have accomplished that? That is a very different feeling than just emotionally satisfying myself every day because that usually is going to go the negative. You're going to find everything wrong you've done. So soapbox. So go learn your numbers you guys if you haven't I want you to listen to this again Listen to everything Dana is saying Dana. You did awesome this this practice you guys Numbers wise Dana just to give them an idea. We said that they were you know 750 or so when they started They have doubled in size including their doctor. Where are they projecting this year? Dana (23:54) they should hit 2.4 this year. The Dental A Team (23:56) 2.4 you guys that's massive 2.4 so within the last three years Dana has worked with this client and they have gone from just under a million to 2.4 by doubling in size so yes their employee costs went up yes there's a there's a cost for the owner doctor to have an associate so there is there is a period of time where you will make less and you will be pouring into your team build but on the other side of it, has more than doubled ⁓ or this client has more than doubled and not only size but in income as well. So kudos Dana, kudos to your client, kudos to all of Dana's clients and our clients and I know you guys all work really, really hard. So go look at your numbers and if you take nothing away from today, please take away from Dana the idea of really getting comfortable at least talking to your office manager about this if you don't have an office manager. Maybe it's your spouse, maybe it's your consultant, someone that you can really truly get honest with about it. So Dana, congratulations. Thank you so much for taking today on and telling me about your client. You're an amazing consultant and we're so happy to continue having you here with Dental A Team. Dana (25:11) Thanks, Tiff. Thanks for having me. The Dental A Team (25:13) Of course. All right, everybody. ⁓ Go listen again. Dana, you did incredible. Go take all her tidbits. Drop us a five star review. You'll be letting Dana know that she did awesome. But also, I would love to hear what you guys took away from today as well. So drop us a five star review. We're excited to hear from you. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com as always, and go catch Dana on Instagram on Mondays. And we'll catch you next time.

TME 05 | Stop Chasing the Woman in the Red Dress: Multifamily Is the Smartest Move with Joe Fairless

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 31:54

Title: Stop Chasing the Woman in the Red Dress: Multifamily Is the Smartest Move with Joe Fairless Summary: In this conversation, Joe Fairless and Seth Bradley discuss the importance of authenticity in business, the current state of the multifamily real estate market, and effective strategies for raising capital. Joe shares insights on sticking with multifamily investments despite market fluctuations, leveraging technology like AI and EOS for operational efficiency, and the significance of building authority and expertise in the field. The discussion also touches on personal reflections and aspirations, emphasizing the value of character and commitment in both business and personal life. Links to watch and subscribe: Bullet Point Highlights: Authenticity is key in business interactions. Focus on your strengths and expertise. The multifamily market fundamentals remain strong. Utilize technology to enhance capital raising efforts. Building authority is crucial for new capital raisers. Networking through influential connections can be effective. Character is more important than reputation. Sticking to one niche can lead to greater success. Continuous learning and adaptation are essential. Coaching and mentoring can be fulfilling personal pursuits. Transcript: Joe Fairless (00:03.629) Hey, how you doing? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:04.881) Alright man. How are you? I don't know if we've actually met in person or not, but funny, I'll share the story once we start officially recording, but once upon a time when I was trying to find my place in this syndication world, had a phone call with you and it was awesome to actually get to speak with you at the time because it was just like, whoa, this is Joe Fairless, right? So it was a huge deal, so it's awesome to have you on the show. Joe Fairless (00:34.966) You know what? I take notes of every conversation and I see it was around May of 2019. Yeah, yeah, I see that. It's awesome. Well, looking forward to every five years we should do this. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:43.988) There you go. There you go. Awesome, man. Awesome. Yeah, let me... Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:53.1) Sounds good, man. Sounds good. Sounds good. So just to give you a little bit of groundwork here. So I'm a securities attorney by trade. I've raised capital for syndications, those sorts of things. I'm currently with Tribest, I'm chief legal officer over there. So we do, put together fund to funds in a box for capital aggregators. And I'm rebranding the podcast. So once upon a time it was Passive Income Attorney. I was really focused on bringing in investors into my deals, raising capital, that sort of thing. Now I'm rebranding this as raising the bar gonna be kind of more of a general General podcast on business and raising capital and in real estate that sort of thing. So It's gonna be more of a general audience before it was past investors This is gonna be more kind of business people active investors because I'm actively trying to bring in you know capital raisers and People like that. They're putting deals together for my law firm and for for tribe vest Joe Fairless (01:33.998) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (01:48.354) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (01:51.884) Makes sense. Thanks for that context. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:53.544) Yeah, cool cool. So and then format wise we'll just do it'll be pretty short We're gonna do like 25 minutes 30 minutes And then we'll go into kind of these like mini segments because I want to do these mini episodes And I think I sent those over to you one is just million dollar Monday. Just kind of how you made your first million How you made your last million how you're make your next that sort of thing and then the next one is the the 1 % segment which is kind of you know, how did you become basically? Joe Fairless (02:00.504) Sweet. Joe Fairless (02:15.47) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:21.364) 1 % like the best top 1 % in what you do and that sort of thing and just kind of giving actionable steps to the listeners about how they can get there too. Joe Fairless (02:25.442) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (02:30.314) Awesome. Sounds good. Sounds like fun. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:32.98) Cool. All right, man. Well, we're already recording, so I'll just kind of jump into it and then we'll make the, I'll make the cuts later. cool. Welcome to Raise the Bar with me, your host, Seth Bradley, where we have elevated conversations on raising capital, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Today, we have an incredible guest, Joe Fairless. If you've been living under a rock, then maybe you haven't heard of Joe, but everybody in my industry knows Joe as an industry leader, a thought leader. real estate entrepreneur, extraordinaire, marketer, master marketer, all of the above. So Joe, welcome to the show. Joe Fairless (03:10.36) Looking forward to our conversation, Seth. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:12.884) for sure man. So, you know, I like this question because it's kind of unusual and I have a hard time answering it and you might too, but we'll see. you know, when a stranger asks you what you do and it just comes up to you maybe at a conference or on the streets, what do you say? Joe Fairless (03:28.398) I'd I buy apartment buildings. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:30.546) I love it. Keeping it simple, man. I guess that was an easier answer than I anticipated. Joe Fairless (03:35.182) Well, yeah, I've been to in my early days I went to seminars and they have much longer more thought-provoking responses like, know, I help high income earners create passive income or something along those lines, but I keep it simple. I buy apartment buildings and then, you know, let the conversation go where it naturally would go. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:06.366) I love that man. Yeah, and you know, to be honest, know, that response that you just mentioned is a little bit played out. Don't you think? I feel like if you're on LinkedIn or if you're on, you know, conferences, everybody's like, yeah, I raised capital from passive investors so I can help them do this and do that. Do you think that's a little bit played out? Do you think that people need to kind of change that marketing strategy at this point? Joe Fairless (04:25.697) Well... I think you should just be authentic. think just go with what feels right for you and what you'll enjoy talking about. Just go with what feels right for you. That's what I do. I am not a salesy person. I feel uncomfortable if I'm trying to sell someone something. I believe in what I do, but I feel uncomfortable if I'm trying to force it. And so if I'm like, I was just at a dad-daughter dance this past Sunday and we met up with some couples that I didn't know any of them. was just couples that, you know, my daughter... goes to their parents of the kids who go to school with my daughter. And so I was talking to one of the dads and he said, what do you do? I I buy apartment buildings. And he said, that's interesting. Then we started talking about what I do because he was naturally interested. And I enjoy that much more than trying to intentionally bait a hook. I'd just rather just have a conversation. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:40.03) Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:43.57) Yeah, yeah, I think that's the key, right? Especially in today's world where everything's online and you just get marketed to and advertised to all the time. You've got to be authentic and you need to have an elevator pitch, it's got to be authentic. It's got to be really who you are. And it can't be sales because people are so sensitive to that nowadays, whether you're raising capital or whether you're W2 doing your job. And we're all salespeople to a certain extent, whatever we do. But people are very sensitive to that. So you've got to really focus on being authentic and coming from a place of genuineness. Joe Fairless (06:20.91) Nobody in the world can do you like you do you. You've got a unique strand of DNA that no one else can be the Seth Bradley that you are, the Joe Farrells that I am, because it's impossible. It's impossible. There is no one like you. There is no one like me. And it's just the more magnetic, the more genuine and true to who I am, the more magnetic I feel like I become because people enjoy authenticity and it's just the right way to play it, right way to do it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:01.684) Totally, totally, totally. For our audience, just tell us what you're doing nowadays. mean, there's been kind of some changes in the market with the interest rates going up, those sorts of things, maybe starting towards the end of 2022. I know for myself, I was in the capital raising game for a number of years and then I kind of slowed down there towards the end of 2022, beginning of 2023, just to kind of see what the market was gonna do, just to see if we could still get some really good deals going, see if some of the other deals were going bad. you know, what, what are you up to nowadays? Like what's your focus? right now. Joe Fairless (07:36.77) The focus has been and always will be on our current portfolio and the deals that we have and operating those deals the best that we can and continuing to improve the NOI. So that is the focus. There we have some deals that have floating rates with rate caps and the focus is to figure out how not to have floating rate with rate caps that you have to continue to renew once they expire. So that comes with refinancing and in order to refinance and sometimes you have to do a capital call or if you don't do a capital call you gotta bring in equity in some form or fashion to refinance. some cases, it just depends on the deal. So the focus is on the portfolio and always will be. And then the secondary thing that we look at is acquisitions. How do we capitalize on the market that we're at right now? mean, the best way to describe it that I've read is it's stagnant. You know, it's just... Not sure. The water, there's stuff growing in the water, but not sure if you really want to be part of what's growing in the water right now. Like it's just, it's stagnant and what will, but we also know what is coming. Seth Bradley, Esq. (09:00.486) Yeah. Joe Fairless (09:12.264) and that is the supply demand shift in multifamilies favor depends on the sub market and the market obviously. But generally the Sun Belt is going to greatly benefit in the next year, year and a half, in some cases six months from now. with the supply-demand dynamic with new supply drying up and increasing the demand for the existing supply. Again, depends on the market, depends on the sub-market. So how do we capitalize on that? is there any way to be opportunistic with what's happening with some deals from other operators that didn't work out. know, there haven't been a lot of foreclosures, but there have been some. And we have relationships with our lenders that are pretty strong. And in fact, one, a large lender that we have a really good relationship with, that we have properties with, they foreclosed on someone else's deal. And I won't name names on who they foreclosed on, but they foreclosed on someone else's deal and they came to us Afterward and said hey here here. Here's a here's an opportunity. It's in a great area of Fort Worth and I'm from Fort Worth so I know we have a lot of property there too, but I know the market also I grew up there and We'll give you this special financing of around 3 % or so interest rate fixed interest rate for year one and then it's fixed through the whole period of the loan but then the interest rate steps up to around four, four and a half percent over the five years. So to get that type of essentially seller financing but it's lender financing direct from the lender lending institution that foreclosed on the deal in a very good area of Fort Worth. Joe Fairless (11:29.326) There are opportunities out there also. So it's how do we become opportunistic and find these deals. And so we're in the process of closing on that deal or doing due diligence on that deal. We're under contract and we're scheduled to close in about a month and a half from now. Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:49.316) Awesome, awesome. Have you found it difficult at any point in time, kind of over these last couple years where the market has slowed down? Joe Fairless (11:56.654) Whatever you're gonna say, yes. So finish your question, but the answer is yes. Yes, I found it difficult over the last couple years, but what exactly are you asking about that's difficult? Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:59.732) Yeah. Sure. Specifically, should say sticking with multifamily because you are a multifamily guy and you you've seen you've seen where everyone, you know, everybody wanted that on that multifamily train for, you know, a decade, if not longer. Joe Fairless (12:15.598) Mmm. Man. Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:23.696) And now you've seen a lot of these same people change their tune and say, okay, well, you know what? Let's pivot to something else. Let's pivot to car washes or private credit funds or all these other things. Joe Fairless (12:29.998) Man, I'm actually, I know you're an attorney, but can I strike my yes actually from that question? Cause no, actually the answer is no. I haven't found it difficult to stick with multifamily. Hell no. No. You know, you go to a restaurant at a diner and they offer lasagna, California roll and what else? Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:41.16) Hahaha Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:49.107) Ha ha. Seth Bradley, Esq. (13:01.204) Ha Joe Fairless (13:01.356) Pad Thai, you know, are they gonna have the best lasagna, California roll, and pad thai? No, no. They've got something for everyone, but they're not gonna be great at any of it. I'd rather go to an Italian restaurant that makes their own noodles, right? Makes their own pasta. And where they specialize in one thing. Not at all. No, we I believe in the fundamentals of multifamily. I believe in the supply demand that is here. I mean we had a record number of supply across the board and multifamily and the occupancy maintained 90-91 percent depending on the market but it maintained in the 90s in a record number of supply and by the way at the same time you got the capital markets raising interest rates the way they did. And a lot of people have been able to hold serve. And the fundamentals of the supply demand and how much... how many renters there are out there and how that will continue is there. That's cold hard facts. There is demand, a lot of demand, and there will continue to be even more demand because the supply is trailing off. We have never looked. outside of multifamily because it's so strong. I think that is a cultural thing actually because if you, anyone who's in the sports, college sports, they'll know about the NIL and Joe Fairless (14:54.784) how you can bounce from one team to another year after year. And so you'll find some people who aren't starting and if they put in the work then, and I'm for NIL, I think players should be paid, but I don't think that they, I don't think they should, I don't think it serves them as young men and young women. mostly young men in this case who are bouncing from place to place, to not compete and not work for a starting position and instead just go somewhere else the path of least resistance. That's not how you build character. There's a really good book, it's called The Road to Character. and they talk about in the book, they give different examples of people throughout history. And they're not exceptional, like saintly people. They're people who are normal people, but what they did that is atypical for what our culture does now is they stuck with things even when it was tough. Seth Bradley, Esq. (16:09.682) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (16:09.998) and instead of bouncing from thing to thing because what happens is when you bounce from thing to thing you don't get an expertise you don't get the the depth of knowledge the scars that that you need in order to be truly exceptional at that one thing and it's just surface level And it'd be like if you feed your kids candy for every meal. I mean, it's same thing. You can't live on mental candy, right? You gotta have some substance. You gotta go through things. Seth Bradley, Esq. (16:43.06) Yeah, I love that man. I love that metaphor. I love that. Like you've got to get reps, whether the times are great or an easy or whether they're hard. And those hard reps are the ones that are really going to set you up for success down the line. Like if you're able to execute in the hard times, then when times turn good again, you're going to be at the top, right? You're going to be cream of the crop. What do you, what do you think it is about you and maybe your company that's enabled you to do that, to stick? to multifamily and not say, ooh, you know what, I'm a really good marketer so I can raise capital for anything if I really want to, right? You're in that position and what is it about you and your company that's been able to allow you to stick to multifamily and just stick to it during these hard times? Joe Fairless (17:32.762) the fundamentals are there. I mean, you could make an argument that if we were office investors, and I have some friends who are really keen on investing in office now and in the future, but you could very easily make an argument that with the amount of office space that people have currently, you don't need as much of that space. It's not a five, you know, three to five to seven year play. Maybe it's a 20 to 50 year play. I don't know. Who the hell knows what's going to happen with office and working from home and AI and automation and all that. But with multifamily, the challenge is capital markets. Now there are some other aspects like the hyper supply, which has tapered off. because of the higher interest rates increase in you know insurance which has tapered off back to the single digits by and large but that that was a big thing property taxes depending on where you're at but the fundamentals are there people are renting and consumers for yeah unfortunately for generally you know for the general consumer their credit card debt is going up. They're still paying off their credit card debt from purchases almost 12 months ago. More than half of people are paying off purchases for more than 12 months ago. that's so right now they've been out earning their income because income has been increasing. But what happens if that income stops increasing the way it has been? the debt's not going anywhere, especially credit card debt, and that's certainly not going to make more first-time home buyers that dynamic. So the fundamentals are there, and not to mention we already have a housing shortage deficit, major deficit. Seth Bradley, Esq. (19:50.866) Yeah, so it's the belief and it's the knowledge like it's the education like you you know that the fundamentals are there you you're you're basing your resilience in the market to What you're seeing in the data like hey, it's you know We we believe in this asset type because of the data that i'm Well educated and well versed in Joe Fairless (20:09.752) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (20:14.346) Absolutely. Seth Bradley, Esq. (20:16.168) That's incredible. That's incredible. Has anything changed in the way that you potentially because you've got a deal that might be going through in the way that you either have raised capital recently or how you are going to raise capital for your next deal as compared to when it might have been a little bit easier, let's say five years ago from passive investors? Joe Fairless (20:38.612) Yes, we have implemented a system that I'm sure a lot of your listeners have heard of EOS, Entrepreneur Operating System, and that has been very helpful. We just did our focus day a month ago, but we've hit the ground running and we have our, I think, Vision Day part one later this month and Vision Day two. next month and that has allowed ownership among the team members to really thrive because team members are responsible for rocks or their goals but if you say goals instead of rock they'll the EOS person will slap your hand so I'll continue to say rock so they're responsible for rocks and it's just It takes more, the individuals on the team have more ownership. So that's not something sexy or flashy that I think your question was getting to. So I'll say something else that has been helpful would be doing Facebook ads for getting new accredited investor leads. at scale. That's the best way that we found to get credit investor leads at scale is through Facebook ads. And we have an agency that we work with. And I just hired a director of marketing who has some really good experience and he's overseeing them and the marketing team. And then Another thing that has been helpful that where I'd say just scratching the surface I'm a big proponent of AI and how I believe We are in the middle of a major change for our society with because of AI I think it is just as major of a change as it as it as when we all got internet in our homes Joe Fairless (22:51.602) on a personal computer. I think it's that big to have access to, just think about phone books to Googling something on your computer. So with AI we've incorporated it and are incorporating as much as possible in one aspect to address your question about how we're doing things differently. One aspect. is that on our investor calls, our prospective investor calls, we record them. They know it's being recorded and on a recorded line. We have an AI service that then takes the information from the call and grades the call. But then not only that is we look at, those investors, which ones of those investors invest? What did we say? What did they say on those calls? What are some common commonalities? Which ones didn't invest? What did they say? What did we say? And starting to identify trends and words and topics to talk about and to address on the calls to increase the conversion rate. Seth Bradley, Esq. (24:07.048) That's great, man. I love it. You kind of went full circle there. You've got EOS, which I'm a huge proponent of. We use that across the various companies that I have, some form or another. There's got to be a framework of organization and accountability and being able to look back and say, hey, we've had this problem before and here's how we solved it before. Or hey, this problem is still occurring from last week's L10 meeting. What do we need to do to improve it? How do we solve that issue? Joe Fairless (24:33.166) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (24:36.712) How do we keep moving forward rather than, what did we talk about last week or what did we talk about last month? You've got to have a way to organize things and a way to solve issues organizationally, especially as you grow. So EOS, huge proponent of it, man. I mean, it's awesome. Like you have to have some form of it, even if it's not to a T with the book, Traction is where that comes from. You have to implement some form of organization and framework for your company. And then like you said, Joe Fairless (24:41.389) Yeah. Joe Fairless (24:56.575) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:03.284) you know, with AI, everyone has to stay on the forefront of what's going on right now. I know I was even a little resistant myself. was like, chat GPT, is that? Eh, you know, and put it off for a little bit. And then once you start using that, along with all the other things as well, I'm just using that as kind of a baseline, but just learning how to use chat GPT in your everyday life, it's just a game changer. Because now your whole thought process changes. It's not like, Joe Fairless (25:08.547) Yep. Joe Fairless (25:20.14) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:31.22) I need to put together this entire article or blog post. It's like, how do I prompt it correctly to to produce this blog post or this article in my voice and then edit it through that or, you know, all these different things you figure out, like how to prompt rather than how to actually take this solution all the way from start to finish. Let that technology tell you how to do it. So it's awesome. And then Facebook ads as well. Joe Fairless (25:45.206) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:58.964) you've got to really dial those things in, right? It can be a money pit, but at the same time, if you can master that, and it sounds like you hired an agency that's very industry specific, which helps out a lot. And from what I've seen, we have gems, we have a capital raising business, we have all these different things, and finding somebody that's niche to that industry is super important. Joe Fairless (26:22.434) That's right. Seth Bradley, Esq. (26:25.756) I'd love to go back and stay on this capital raising subject, especially for people that just started out. So like now you're doing EOS, now you're using AI, now you're using Facebook ads, do you have some capital to be able to invest in those ads? What about for somebody that's just kind of starting out? they're, you know, maybe this is their first fund to fund or, you know, their first property that they're raising capital for. Like how do they effectively launch their first Capital Race. Joe Fairless (26:56.59) Well, I would read the book that I wrote on syndication because I walked through the whole process of that best ever syndication book. So, but for this this relatively short conversation, I'd say first, Seth Bradley, Esq. (27:04.404) Great book. Joe Fairless (27:19.606) People have to make sure you have to make sure that people perceive you and you are actually a real estate expert and That because you might have you might have been if this your first one first deal then I'm assuming you came from some other industry or If it was real estate, maybe you're a property manager, they don't know about all aspects of your expertise as it relates to real estate. you've got to, by having a thought leadership platform, you'll interview others who have that experience, you'll continue to learn, hone your skills, and then you'll also be associated with those who have those skill sets, and that will be helpful for you. Once you do that, assuming that you are the expert and you are also perceived as the expert, then what I would do, and what I did actually on my very first one is I created a spreadsheet. And the spreadsheet had the name of the person, how I knew them, and then, What I did is I wrote down all the different names and then how I knew them. So for example, I was on the alumni advisory board for Texas Tech. I was on a flag football team in New York. I wrote someone's name down there. On my flag football team, was working at different companies. I worked at different companies, so I wrote down different coworkers at different companies. the key here for doing it this way is identifying the person. So then you sort them by how you know them. all the people from the flag football team would be sorted together. All the people from XYZ company would be sorted together. And then you identify the most influential person within that group. And you talk to him or her. Joe Fairless (29:39.306) about your opportunity. And once you talk to him or her about the opportunity, and if they find it appealing or at least they want to learn more about it, then you can go to the next person in that group and you can name check. You can say, I was just talking to Seth about this and he's got some follow-up questions about it and I thought it also would make sense to talk to you about it too. So then you come in a little warm with the group dynamic versus if you come in cold on an individual level. Seth Bradley, Esq. (30:11.924) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (30:18.822) I like that man. That's a very, very nuanced strategy tidbit there. What I really heard was, you know, authenticity and authority, authenticity in that. Yeah, you've got to educate yourself. You've got to be a real estate expert if that's what you're raising capital for and authority. And then you've got to show people, you know, why you're the expert, why you know all these things, why they should listen to you to invest in something like this and even leveraging the authority of others with that. that strategy where you go to this influential person and say, look, this person likes this deal too, and here's why. And then they can go to them and they kind of look to them as additional authority because they kind of look to them as that thought leader or that leader in general. So pretty great, man. Start wrapping this up, but this is kind of a nuanced question that I love to ask and ... Because once upon a time I went to I went to med school for a little while and then I dropped out and because I just I hated it knew it wasn't for me and I'm going to law school and then got into real estate. So you know in a parallel universe tell me about a different version of you a different but likely version of you if you didn't exist as you do today because right now you know you're you're an apartment buyer you're a great marketer you're an entrepreneur. Joe Fairless (31:38.164) I'd say I really enjoy coaching my daughter in soccer. I do not know soccer. I grew up in Texas. I played football. I played baseball. I ran track in that order. There wasn't a soccer option or maybe even a soccer ball in Texas when I was growing up. But I enjoy coaching and in an alternative universe, I would I would do more of that because time is, it flies whenever I'm doing that. Seth Bradley, Esq. (32:15.036) Awesome, awesome. All right, Joe, for our listeners out there, what can they find out more about you? Joe Fairless (32:21.494) You can go to AshcroftCapital.com and if you're looking at passive investing or if you're an operator or someone who is partnering with others, then my conference is a good place to be. It's besteverconference.com. It's gonna be March 3rd and 4th in Salt Lake City this year. I can get a discount code to your people too. Seth Bradley, Esq. (32:52.51) Great, yeah, I'll drop that in the show notes and I'll see you there, Joe. So we'll shake hands in person. So thanks again for coming on the show. Really appreciate it and we'll catch you next time. Joe Fairless (32:57.304) Sweet. Awesome. Joe Fairless (33:05.518) You know what, in just a second, I'm gonna just tell you the code, that way you don't have to do any work. Whenever I do a podcast and someone says, I'll send it to you, I'm like, more work for me to do later. So, all right, here's a code. Hurry 25, it'll be 25 % off all ticket types. H-U-R-R-Y, all lowercase, and then number 25, you get 25 % off all tickets, except for the LP ticket. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:09.917) Okay. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:13.808) Yeah, I know then you gotta follow up. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:35.924) Let's roll right into these million dollar questions and then I'll let you go. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:44.884) Alright Joe, let's jump into this. So, how did you make your first million dollars? Joe Fairless (33:52.185) Same way I made my last one so spoiler alert. It's it's selling when a deal exited so The is probably The seventh or eighth Deal I had one million dollars on one transaction, right? Like is that chunk about? Yeah, I Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:55.56) Hahaha Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:12.767) Really million dollars in your net worth Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:17.96) What puts you over the edge there? How did you grow that first million? Joe Fairless (34:21.626) I lost my first million before I ever came across it. That was on the very first deal. It would just be, it'd probably be through an exit of a deal. Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:26.056) Ha Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:35.614) Sure, yeah, and I'll bet it's probably similar. mean, how are you gonna, how are you planning on making your next million dollars? Same thing, the apartments, all about apartments, man. I love it, singular focus, that's where it's at. mean, riches are in the niches. Joe Fairless (34:41.144) Same thing. Yep. The apartments. All apartments. That's right. Yep. Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:52.564) All right, you're clearly in the top 1 % of what you do. What is it about you that separates you from the rest of the field? Joe Fairless (34:58.958) Mmm. I do what I say I'm gonna do. And sadly, that separates me from a lot of people, not all people. but that's a big focus of mine. And it's not about my, I recently read something that resonated and that was don't focus on your reputation, focus on your character. Reputation is such a vanity metric, but the character is who you are when no one's looking and being proud of who you are. And that's vital to me. Seth Bradley, Esq. (35:37.524) Yeah, and it's not just saying what you're going to do to other people, but also with yourself, right? To yourself. Joe Fairless (35:43.726) Mmm good point. Yeah when you're when when I'm on those runs and I can just stop Whenever I want But then I'll be I'll know I'll know I didn't go through this, you know, you know made up finish line that I had predetermined in my head and And that's that's there's there's something to be said there. I'm glad you brought that up Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:10.644) Yeah, that's that's the key right? It's not just when somebody when it's dependent on somebody else or somebody else is watching It's you know, what do you do when nobody's watching and what do you do when it's just a promise to yourself? Do you follow through do you keep those promises things as easy as hey when you set your alarm in the morning and you wake up Do you do you get up or do you hit the snooze button? Like you made a promise to yourself the night before to wake up and get up when that alarm goes off Do you keep that promise? Joe Fairless (36:15.415) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (36:25.229) Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:39.12) Awesome. All right, brother. I think that should do it. I will see you. I'll see you at BC, man. Joe Fairless (36:46.42) Awesome. I appreciate it. yeah, if anything you can do to help get to get the word out about the conference to your email list, I'd appreciate that also. All right. Thanks, Seth. All right. Bye. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:57.404) Absolutely. All right, brother. Talk soon. See you. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Joe Fairless's Links: https://www.facebook.com/imjoefairless https://x.com/joefairless https://www.linkedin.com/in/joefairless/ https://ashcroftcapital.com/our-team/joe-fairless/ https://www.instagram.com/besteverpodcast/?hl=en

TME 05 | Stop Chasing the Woman in the Red Dress: Multifamily Is the Smartest Move with Joe Fairless

The Passive Income Attorney Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 31:54

Title: Stop Chasing the Woman in the Red Dress: Multifamily Is the Smartest Move with Joe Fairless Summary: In this conversation, Joe Fairless and Seth Bradley discuss the importance of authenticity in business, the current state of the multifamily real estate market, and effective strategies for raising capital. Joe shares insights on sticking with multifamily investments despite market fluctuations, leveraging technology like AI and EOS for operational efficiency, and the significance of building authority and expertise in the field. The discussion also touches on personal reflections and aspirations, emphasizing the value of character and commitment in both business and personal life. Links to watch and subscribe: Bullet Point Highlights: Authenticity is key in business interactions. Focus on your strengths and expertise. The multifamily market fundamentals remain strong. Utilize technology to enhance capital raising efforts. Building authority is crucial for new capital raisers. Networking through influential connections can be effective. Character is more important than reputation. Sticking to one niche can lead to greater success. Continuous learning and adaptation are essential. Coaching and mentoring can be fulfilling personal pursuits. Transcript: Joe Fairless (00:03.629) Hey, how you doing? Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:04.881) Alright man. How are you? I don't know if we've actually met in person or not, but funny, I'll share the story once we start officially recording, but once upon a time when I was trying to find my place in this syndication world, had a phone call with you and it was awesome to actually get to speak with you at the time because it was just like, whoa, this is Joe Fairless, right? So it was a huge deal, so it's awesome to have you on the show. Joe Fairless (00:34.966) You know what? I take notes of every conversation and I see it was around May of 2019. Yeah, yeah, I see that. It's awesome. Well, looking forward to every five years we should do this. Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:43.988) There you go. There you go. Awesome, man. Awesome. Yeah, let me... Seth Bradley, Esq. (00:53.1) Sounds good, man. Sounds good. Sounds good. So just to give you a little bit of groundwork here. So I'm a securities attorney by trade. I've raised capital for syndications, those sorts of things. I'm currently with Tribest, I'm chief legal officer over there. So we do, put together fund to funds in a box for capital aggregators. And I'm rebranding the podcast. So once upon a time it was Passive Income Attorney. I was really focused on bringing in investors into my deals, raising capital, that sort of thing. Now I'm rebranding this as raising the bar gonna be kind of more of a general General podcast on business and raising capital and in real estate that sort of thing. So It's gonna be more of a general audience before it was past investors This is gonna be more kind of business people active investors because I'm actively trying to bring in you know capital raisers and People like that. They're putting deals together for my law firm and for for tribe vest Joe Fairless (01:33.998) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (01:48.354) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (01:51.884) Makes sense. Thanks for that context. Seth Bradley, Esq. (01:53.544) Yeah, cool cool. So and then format wise we'll just do it'll be pretty short We're gonna do like 25 minutes 30 minutes And then we'll go into kind of these like mini segments because I want to do these mini episodes And I think I sent those over to you one is just million dollar Monday. Just kind of how you made your first million How you made your last million how you're make your next that sort of thing and then the next one is the the 1 % segment which is kind of you know, how did you become basically? Joe Fairless (02:00.504) Sweet. Joe Fairless (02:15.47) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:21.364) 1 % like the best top 1 % in what you do and that sort of thing and just kind of giving actionable steps to the listeners about how they can get there too. Joe Fairless (02:25.442) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (02:30.314) Awesome. Sounds good. Sounds like fun. Seth Bradley, Esq. (02:32.98) Cool. All right, man. Well, we're already recording, so I'll just kind of jump into it and then we'll make the, I'll make the cuts later. cool. Welcome to Raise the Bar with me, your host, Seth Bradley, where we have elevated conversations on raising capital, real estate, and entrepreneurship. Today, we have an incredible guest, Joe Fairless. If you've been living under a rock, then maybe you haven't heard of Joe, but everybody in my industry knows Joe as an industry leader, a thought leader. real estate entrepreneur, extraordinaire, marketer, master marketer, all of the above. So Joe, welcome to the show. Joe Fairless (03:10.36) Looking forward to our conversation, Seth. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:12.884) for sure man. So, you know, I like this question because it's kind of unusual and I have a hard time answering it and you might too, but we'll see. you know, when a stranger asks you what you do and it just comes up to you maybe at a conference or on the streets, what do you say? Joe Fairless (03:28.398) I'd I buy apartment buildings. Seth Bradley, Esq. (03:30.546) I love it. Keeping it simple, man. I guess that was an easier answer than I anticipated. Joe Fairless (03:35.182) Well, yeah, I've been to in my early days I went to seminars and they have much longer more thought-provoking responses like, know, I help high income earners create passive income or something along those lines, but I keep it simple. I buy apartment buildings and then, you know, let the conversation go where it naturally would go. Seth Bradley, Esq. (04:06.366) I love that man. Yeah, and you know, to be honest, know, that response that you just mentioned is a little bit played out. Don't you think? I feel like if you're on LinkedIn or if you're on, you know, conferences, everybody's like, yeah, I raised capital from passive investors so I can help them do this and do that. Do you think that's a little bit played out? Do you think that people need to kind of change that marketing strategy at this point? Joe Fairless (04:25.697) Well... I think you should just be authentic. think just go with what feels right for you and what you'll enjoy talking about. Just go with what feels right for you. That's what I do. I am not a salesy person. I feel uncomfortable if I'm trying to sell someone something. I believe in what I do, but I feel uncomfortable if I'm trying to force it. And so if I'm like, I was just at a dad-daughter dance this past Sunday and we met up with some couples that I didn't know any of them. was just couples that, you know, my daughter... goes to their parents of the kids who go to school with my daughter. And so I was talking to one of the dads and he said, what do you do? I I buy apartment buildings. And he said, that's interesting. Then we started talking about what I do because he was naturally interested. And I enjoy that much more than trying to intentionally bait a hook. I'd just rather just have a conversation. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:40.03) Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (05:43.57) Yeah, yeah, I think that's the key, right? Especially in today's world where everything's online and you just get marketed to and advertised to all the time. You've got to be authentic and you need to have an elevator pitch, it's got to be authentic. It's got to be really who you are. And it can't be sales because people are so sensitive to that nowadays, whether you're raising capital or whether you're W2 doing your job. And we're all salespeople to a certain extent, whatever we do. But people are very sensitive to that. So you've got to really focus on being authentic and coming from a place of genuineness. Joe Fairless (06:20.91) Nobody in the world can do you like you do you. You've got a unique strand of DNA that no one else can be the Seth Bradley that you are, the Joe Farrells that I am, because it's impossible. It's impossible. There is no one like you. There is no one like me. And it's just the more magnetic, the more genuine and true to who I am, the more magnetic I feel like I become because people enjoy authenticity and it's just the right way to play it, right way to do it. Seth Bradley, Esq. (07:01.684) Totally, totally, totally. For our audience, just tell us what you're doing nowadays. mean, there's been kind of some changes in the market with the interest rates going up, those sorts of things, maybe starting towards the end of 2022. I know for myself, I was in the capital raising game for a number of years and then I kind of slowed down there towards the end of 2022, beginning of 2023, just to kind of see what the market was gonna do, just to see if we could still get some really good deals going, see if some of the other deals were going bad. you know, what, what are you up to nowadays? Like what's your focus? right now. Joe Fairless (07:36.77) The focus has been and always will be on our current portfolio and the deals that we have and operating those deals the best that we can and continuing to improve the NOI. So that is the focus. There we have some deals that have floating rates with rate caps and the focus is to figure out how not to have floating rate with rate caps that you have to continue to renew once they expire. So that comes with refinancing and in order to refinance and sometimes you have to do a capital call or if you don't do a capital call you gotta bring in equity in some form or fashion to refinance. some cases, it just depends on the deal. So the focus is on the portfolio and always will be. And then the secondary thing that we look at is acquisitions. How do we capitalize on the market that we're at right now? mean, the best way to describe it that I've read is it's stagnant. You know, it's just... Not sure. The water, there's stuff growing in the water, but not sure if you really want to be part of what's growing in the water right now. Like it's just, it's stagnant and what will, but we also know what is coming. Seth Bradley, Esq. (09:00.486) Yeah. Joe Fairless (09:12.264) and that is the supply demand shift in multifamilies favor depends on the sub market and the market obviously. But generally the Sun Belt is going to greatly benefit in the next year, year and a half, in some cases six months from now. with the supply-demand dynamic with new supply drying up and increasing the demand for the existing supply. Again, depends on the market, depends on the sub-market. So how do we capitalize on that? is there any way to be opportunistic with what's happening with some deals from other operators that didn't work out. know, there haven't been a lot of foreclosures, but there have been some. And we have relationships with our lenders that are pretty strong. And in fact, one, a large lender that we have a really good relationship with, that we have properties with, they foreclosed on someone else's deal. And I won't name names on who they foreclosed on, but they foreclosed on someone else's deal and they came to us Afterward and said hey here here. Here's a here's an opportunity. It's in a great area of Fort Worth and I'm from Fort Worth so I know we have a lot of property there too, but I know the market also I grew up there and We'll give you this special financing of around 3 % or so interest rate fixed interest rate for year one and then it's fixed through the whole period of the loan but then the interest rate steps up to around four, four and a half percent over the five years. So to get that type of essentially seller financing but it's lender financing direct from the lender lending institution that foreclosed on the deal in a very good area of Fort Worth. Joe Fairless (11:29.326) There are opportunities out there also. So it's how do we become opportunistic and find these deals. And so we're in the process of closing on that deal or doing due diligence on that deal. We're under contract and we're scheduled to close in about a month and a half from now. Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:49.316) Awesome, awesome. Have you found it difficult at any point in time, kind of over these last couple years where the market has slowed down? Joe Fairless (11:56.654) Whatever you're gonna say, yes. So finish your question, but the answer is yes. Yes, I found it difficult over the last couple years, but what exactly are you asking about that's difficult? Seth Bradley, Esq. (11:59.732) Yeah. Sure. Specifically, should say sticking with multifamily because you are a multifamily guy and you you've seen you've seen where everyone, you know, everybody wanted that on that multifamily train for, you know, a decade, if not longer. Joe Fairless (12:15.598) Mmm. Man. Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:23.696) And now you've seen a lot of these same people change their tune and say, okay, well, you know what? Let's pivot to something else. Let's pivot to car washes or private credit funds or all these other things. Joe Fairless (12:29.998) Man, I'm actually, I know you're an attorney, but can I strike my yes actually from that question? Cause no, actually the answer is no. I haven't found it difficult to stick with multifamily. Hell no. No. You know, you go to a restaurant at a diner and they offer lasagna, California roll and what else? Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:41.16) Hahaha Seth Bradley, Esq. (12:49.107) Ha ha. Seth Bradley, Esq. (13:01.204) Ha Joe Fairless (13:01.356) Pad Thai, you know, are they gonna have the best lasagna, California roll, and pad thai? No, no. They've got something for everyone, but they're not gonna be great at any of it. I'd rather go to an Italian restaurant that makes their own noodles, right? Makes their own pasta. And where they specialize in one thing. Not at all. No, we I believe in the fundamentals of multifamily. I believe in the supply demand that is here. I mean we had a record number of supply across the board and multifamily and the occupancy maintained 90-91 percent depending on the market but it maintained in the 90s in a record number of supply and by the way at the same time you got the capital markets raising interest rates the way they did. And a lot of people have been able to hold serve. And the fundamentals of the supply demand and how much... how many renters there are out there and how that will continue is there. That's cold hard facts. There is demand, a lot of demand, and there will continue to be even more demand because the supply is trailing off. We have never looked. outside of multifamily because it's so strong. I think that is a cultural thing actually because if you, anyone who's in the sports, college sports, they'll know about the NIL and Joe Fairless (14:54.784) how you can bounce from one team to another year after year. And so you'll find some people who aren't starting and if they put in the work then, and I'm for NIL, I think players should be paid, but I don't think that they, I don't think they should, I don't think it serves them as young men and young women. mostly young men in this case who are bouncing from place to place, to not compete and not work for a starting position and instead just go somewhere else the path of least resistance. That's not how you build character. There's a really good book, it's called The Road to Character. and they talk about in the book, they give different examples of people throughout history. And they're not exceptional, like saintly people. They're people who are normal people, but what they did that is atypical for what our culture does now is they stuck with things even when it was tough. Seth Bradley, Esq. (16:09.682) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (16:09.998) and instead of bouncing from thing to thing because what happens is when you bounce from thing to thing you don't get an expertise you don't get the the depth of knowledge the scars that that you need in order to be truly exceptional at that one thing and it's just surface level And it'd be like if you feed your kids candy for every meal. I mean, it's same thing. You can't live on mental candy, right? You gotta have some substance. You gotta go through things. Seth Bradley, Esq. (16:43.06) Yeah, I love that man. I love that metaphor. I love that. Like you've got to get reps, whether the times are great or an easy or whether they're hard. And those hard reps are the ones that are really going to set you up for success down the line. Like if you're able to execute in the hard times, then when times turn good again, you're going to be at the top, right? You're going to be cream of the crop. What do you, what do you think it is about you and maybe your company that's enabled you to do that, to stick? to multifamily and not say, ooh, you know what, I'm a really good marketer so I can raise capital for anything if I really want to, right? You're in that position and what is it about you and your company that's been able to allow you to stick to multifamily and just stick to it during these hard times? Joe Fairless (17:32.762) the fundamentals are there. I mean, you could make an argument that if we were office investors, and I have some friends who are really keen on investing in office now and in the future, but you could very easily make an argument that with the amount of office space that people have currently, you don't need as much of that space. It's not a five, you know, three to five to seven year play. Maybe it's a 20 to 50 year play. I don't know. Who the hell knows what's going to happen with office and working from home and AI and automation and all that. But with multifamily, the challenge is capital markets. Now there are some other aspects like the hyper supply, which has tapered off. because of the higher interest rates increase in you know insurance which has tapered off back to the single digits by and large but that that was a big thing property taxes depending on where you're at but the fundamentals are there people are renting and consumers for yeah unfortunately for generally you know for the general consumer their credit card debt is going up. They're still paying off their credit card debt from purchases almost 12 months ago. More than half of people are paying off purchases for more than 12 months ago. that's so right now they've been out earning their income because income has been increasing. But what happens if that income stops increasing the way it has been? the debt's not going anywhere, especially credit card debt, and that's certainly not going to make more first-time home buyers that dynamic. So the fundamentals are there, and not to mention we already have a housing shortage deficit, major deficit. Seth Bradley, Esq. (19:50.866) Yeah, so it's the belief and it's the knowledge like it's the education like you you know that the fundamentals are there you you're you're basing your resilience in the market to What you're seeing in the data like hey, it's you know We we believe in this asset type because of the data that i'm Well educated and well versed in Joe Fairless (20:09.752) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (20:14.346) Absolutely. Seth Bradley, Esq. (20:16.168) That's incredible. That's incredible. Has anything changed in the way that you potentially because you've got a deal that might be going through in the way that you either have raised capital recently or how you are going to raise capital for your next deal as compared to when it might have been a little bit easier, let's say five years ago from passive investors? Joe Fairless (20:38.612) Yes, we have implemented a system that I'm sure a lot of your listeners have heard of EOS, Entrepreneur Operating System, and that has been very helpful. We just did our focus day a month ago, but we've hit the ground running and we have our, I think, Vision Day part one later this month and Vision Day two. next month and that has allowed ownership among the team members to really thrive because team members are responsible for rocks or their goals but if you say goals instead of rock they'll the EOS person will slap your hand so I'll continue to say rock so they're responsible for rocks and it's just It takes more, the individuals on the team have more ownership. So that's not something sexy or flashy that I think your question was getting to. So I'll say something else that has been helpful would be doing Facebook ads for getting new accredited investor leads. at scale. That's the best way that we found to get credit investor leads at scale is through Facebook ads. And we have an agency that we work with. And I just hired a director of marketing who has some really good experience and he's overseeing them and the marketing team. And then Another thing that has been helpful that where I'd say just scratching the surface I'm a big proponent of AI and how I believe We are in the middle of a major change for our society with because of AI I think it is just as major of a change as it as it as when we all got internet in our homes Joe Fairless (22:51.602) on a personal computer. I think it's that big to have access to, just think about phone books to Googling something on your computer. So with AI we've incorporated it and are incorporating as much as possible in one aspect to address your question about how we're doing things differently. One aspect. is that on our investor calls, our prospective investor calls, we record them. They know it's being recorded and on a recorded line. We have an AI service that then takes the information from the call and grades the call. But then not only that is we look at, those investors, which ones of those investors invest? What did we say? What did they say on those calls? What are some common commonalities? Which ones didn't invest? What did they say? What did we say? And starting to identify trends and words and topics to talk about and to address on the calls to increase the conversion rate. Seth Bradley, Esq. (24:07.048) That's great, man. I love it. You kind of went full circle there. You've got EOS, which I'm a huge proponent of. We use that across the various companies that I have, some form or another. There's got to be a framework of organization and accountability and being able to look back and say, hey, we've had this problem before and here's how we solved it before. Or hey, this problem is still occurring from last week's L10 meeting. What do we need to do to improve it? How do we solve that issue? Joe Fairless (24:33.166) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (24:36.712) How do we keep moving forward rather than, what did we talk about last week or what did we talk about last month? You've got to have a way to organize things and a way to solve issues organizationally, especially as you grow. So EOS, huge proponent of it, man. I mean, it's awesome. Like you have to have some form of it, even if it's not to a T with the book, Traction is where that comes from. You have to implement some form of organization and framework for your company. And then like you said, Joe Fairless (24:41.389) Yeah. Joe Fairless (24:56.575) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:03.284) you know, with AI, everyone has to stay on the forefront of what's going on right now. I know I was even a little resistant myself. was like, chat GPT, is that? Eh, you know, and put it off for a little bit. And then once you start using that, along with all the other things as well, I'm just using that as kind of a baseline, but just learning how to use chat GPT in your everyday life, it's just a game changer. Because now your whole thought process changes. It's not like, Joe Fairless (25:08.547) Yep. Joe Fairless (25:20.14) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:31.22) I need to put together this entire article or blog post. It's like, how do I prompt it correctly to to produce this blog post or this article in my voice and then edit it through that or, you know, all these different things you figure out, like how to prompt rather than how to actually take this solution all the way from start to finish. Let that technology tell you how to do it. So it's awesome. And then Facebook ads as well. Joe Fairless (25:45.206) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (25:58.964) you've got to really dial those things in, right? It can be a money pit, but at the same time, if you can master that, and it sounds like you hired an agency that's very industry specific, which helps out a lot. And from what I've seen, we have gems, we have a capital raising business, we have all these different things, and finding somebody that's niche to that industry is super important. Joe Fairless (26:22.434) That's right. Seth Bradley, Esq. (26:25.756) I'd love to go back and stay on this capital raising subject, especially for people that just started out. So like now you're doing EOS, now you're using AI, now you're using Facebook ads, do you have some capital to be able to invest in those ads? What about for somebody that's just kind of starting out? they're, you know, maybe this is their first fund to fund or, you know, their first property that they're raising capital for. Like how do they effectively launch their first Capital Race. Joe Fairless (26:56.59) Well, I would read the book that I wrote on syndication because I walked through the whole process of that best ever syndication book. So, but for this this relatively short conversation, I'd say first, Seth Bradley, Esq. (27:04.404) Great book. Joe Fairless (27:19.606) People have to make sure you have to make sure that people perceive you and you are actually a real estate expert and That because you might have you might have been if this your first one first deal then I'm assuming you came from some other industry or If it was real estate, maybe you're a property manager, they don't know about all aspects of your expertise as it relates to real estate. you've got to, by having a thought leadership platform, you'll interview others who have that experience, you'll continue to learn, hone your skills, and then you'll also be associated with those who have those skill sets, and that will be helpful for you. Once you do that, assuming that you are the expert and you are also perceived as the expert, then what I would do, and what I did actually on my very first one is I created a spreadsheet. And the spreadsheet had the name of the person, how I knew them, and then, What I did is I wrote down all the different names and then how I knew them. So for example, I was on the alumni advisory board for Texas Tech. I was on a flag football team in New York. I wrote someone's name down there. On my flag football team, was working at different companies. I worked at different companies, so I wrote down different coworkers at different companies. the key here for doing it this way is identifying the person. So then you sort them by how you know them. all the people from the flag football team would be sorted together. All the people from XYZ company would be sorted together. And then you identify the most influential person within that group. And you talk to him or her. Joe Fairless (29:39.306) about your opportunity. And once you talk to him or her about the opportunity, and if they find it appealing or at least they want to learn more about it, then you can go to the next person in that group and you can name check. You can say, I was just talking to Seth about this and he's got some follow-up questions about it and I thought it also would make sense to talk to you about it too. So then you come in a little warm with the group dynamic versus if you come in cold on an individual level. Seth Bradley, Esq. (30:11.924) Mm-hmm. Seth Bradley, Esq. (30:18.822) I like that man. That's a very, very nuanced strategy tidbit there. What I really heard was, you know, authenticity and authority, authenticity in that. Yeah, you've got to educate yourself. You've got to be a real estate expert if that's what you're raising capital for and authority. And then you've got to show people, you know, why you're the expert, why you know all these things, why they should listen to you to invest in something like this and even leveraging the authority of others with that. that strategy where you go to this influential person and say, look, this person likes this deal too, and here's why. And then they can go to them and they kind of look to them as additional authority because they kind of look to them as that thought leader or that leader in general. So pretty great, man. Start wrapping this up, but this is kind of a nuanced question that I love to ask and ... Because once upon a time I went to I went to med school for a little while and then I dropped out and because I just I hated it knew it wasn't for me and I'm going to law school and then got into real estate. So you know in a parallel universe tell me about a different version of you a different but likely version of you if you didn't exist as you do today because right now you know you're you're an apartment buyer you're a great marketer you're an entrepreneur. Joe Fairless (31:38.164) I'd say I really enjoy coaching my daughter in soccer. I do not know soccer. I grew up in Texas. I played football. I played baseball. I ran track in that order. There wasn't a soccer option or maybe even a soccer ball in Texas when I was growing up. But I enjoy coaching and in an alternative universe, I would I would do more of that because time is, it flies whenever I'm doing that. Seth Bradley, Esq. (32:15.036) Awesome, awesome. All right, Joe, for our listeners out there, what can they find out more about you? Joe Fairless (32:21.494) You can go to AshcroftCapital.com and if you're looking at passive investing or if you're an operator or someone who is partnering with others, then my conference is a good place to be. It's besteverconference.com. It's gonna be March 3rd and 4th in Salt Lake City this year. I can get a discount code to your people too. Seth Bradley, Esq. (32:52.51) Great, yeah, I'll drop that in the show notes and I'll see you there, Joe. So we'll shake hands in person. So thanks again for coming on the show. Really appreciate it and we'll catch you next time. Joe Fairless (32:57.304) Sweet. Awesome. Joe Fairless (33:05.518) You know what, in just a second, I'm gonna just tell you the code, that way you don't have to do any work. Whenever I do a podcast and someone says, I'll send it to you, I'm like, more work for me to do later. So, all right, here's a code. Hurry 25, it'll be 25 % off all ticket types. H-U-R-R-Y, all lowercase, and then number 25, you get 25 % off all tickets, except for the LP ticket. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:09.917) Okay. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:13.808) Yeah, I know then you gotta follow up. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:35.924) Let's roll right into these million dollar questions and then I'll let you go. Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:44.884) Alright Joe, let's jump into this. So, how did you make your first million dollars? Joe Fairless (33:52.185) Same way I made my last one so spoiler alert. It's it's selling when a deal exited so The is probably The seventh or eighth Deal I had one million dollars on one transaction, right? Like is that chunk about? Yeah, I Seth Bradley, Esq. (33:55.56) Hahaha Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:12.767) Really million dollars in your net worth Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:17.96) What puts you over the edge there? How did you grow that first million? Joe Fairless (34:21.626) I lost my first million before I ever came across it. That was on the very first deal. It would just be, it'd probably be through an exit of a deal. Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:26.056) Ha Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:35.614) Sure, yeah, and I'll bet it's probably similar. mean, how are you gonna, how are you planning on making your next million dollars? Same thing, the apartments, all about apartments, man. I love it, singular focus, that's where it's at. mean, riches are in the niches. Joe Fairless (34:41.144) Same thing. Yep. The apartments. All apartments. That's right. Yep. Seth Bradley, Esq. (34:52.564) All right, you're clearly in the top 1 % of what you do. What is it about you that separates you from the rest of the field? Joe Fairless (34:58.958) Mmm. I do what I say I'm gonna do. And sadly, that separates me from a lot of people, not all people. but that's a big focus of mine. And it's not about my, I recently read something that resonated and that was don't focus on your reputation, focus on your character. Reputation is such a vanity metric, but the character is who you are when no one's looking and being proud of who you are. And that's vital to me. Seth Bradley, Esq. (35:37.524) Yeah, and it's not just saying what you're going to do to other people, but also with yourself, right? To yourself. Joe Fairless (35:43.726) Mmm good point. Yeah when you're when when I'm on those runs and I can just stop Whenever I want But then I'll be I'll know I'll know I didn't go through this, you know, you know made up finish line that I had predetermined in my head and And that's that's there's there's something to be said there. I'm glad you brought that up Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:10.644) Yeah, that's that's the key right? It's not just when somebody when it's dependent on somebody else or somebody else is watching It's you know, what do you do when nobody's watching and what do you do when it's just a promise to yourself? Do you follow through do you keep those promises things as easy as hey when you set your alarm in the morning and you wake up Do you do you get up or do you hit the snooze button? Like you made a promise to yourself the night before to wake up and get up when that alarm goes off Do you keep that promise? Joe Fairless (36:15.415) Mm-hmm. Joe Fairless (36:25.229) Yeah. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:39.12) Awesome. All right, brother. I think that should do it. I will see you. I'll see you at BC, man. Joe Fairless (36:46.42) Awesome. I appreciate it. yeah, if anything you can do to help get to get the word out about the conference to your email list, I'd appreciate that also. All right. Thanks, Seth. All right. Bye. Seth Bradley, Esq. (36:57.404) Absolutely. All right, brother. Talk soon. See you. Links from the Show and Guest Info and Links: Seth Bradley's Links: https://x.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.youtube.com/@sethbradleyesq www.facebook.com/sethbradleyesq https://www.threads.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.instagram.com/sethbradleyesq/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethbradleyesq/ https://passiveincomeattorney.com/seth-bradley/ https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/sethbradleyesq https://medium.com/@sethbradleyesq https://www.tiktok.com/@sethbradleyesq?lang=en Joe Fairless's Links: https://www.facebook.com/imjoefairless https://x.com/joefairless https://www.linkedin.com/in/joefairless/ https://ashcroftcapital.com/our-team/joe-fairless/ https://www.instagram.com/besteverpodcast/?hl=en

Experts Discuss CELMoDs in Myeloma

CCO Oncology Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 35:51

In this episode, Jesus Berdeja, MD; Amrita Krishnan, MD, FACP; and Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, discuss key topics with CELMoD therapy for multiple myeloma, including: Mechanistic differences between CELMoDs and IMiDsEmerging data with CELMoDs and their potential therapeutic roles across the disease continuum of multiple myelomaThe clinical implications of MRD negativity as a surrogate marker of long-term outcomes in clinical trials in multiple myelomaPresenters:Jesus Berdeja, MDDirector of Myeloma ResearchGreco-Hainsworth Centers for ResearchTennessee OncologyNashville, TennesseeAmrita Krishnan, MD, FACPDirector, Judy and Bernard Briskin Center for MyelomaExecutive Director of HematologyCity of Hope Orange CountyProfessor of Hematology/HCTCity of Hope Cancer CenterIrvine, CaliforniaSagar Lonial, MD, FACPChair and ProfessorDepartment of Hematology and Medical OncologyAnne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in CancerChief Medical OfficerWinship Cancer InstituteEmory UniversityAtlanta, GeorgiaContent based on an online CME program supported by an independent educational grant from Bristol Myers Squibb.Link to full program: https://bit.ly/3IwbslQ

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MM #163 – La marge, ce n'est pas marginal | fixer ses tarifs, rentabilité freelance

La Cohorte, le podcast qui rapproche les freelances

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 9:08

Intégrer une marge dans ses tarifs ? Pas évident, surtout au début, quand on a peur d'être “trop cher”. Dans cette MM, je reviens sur un échange avec Morgan, un entrepreneur indépendant que j'ai accompagné. Il m'a expliqué qu'au départ, il fixait ses prix uniquement à partir de son TJM et du temps estimé pour chaque mission. Mais il s'est vite rendu compte qu'il lui manquait un truc essentiel : la marge. Parce que facturer juste pour se rémunérer, c'est pas suffisant quand on veut développer une activité pérenne. Et toi, tu inclus une marge quand tu définis tes tarifs? (pour me répondre, envoie-moi un mp sur Linkedin

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DRAMA! by AJ Truman (Part 1) | 390.1

tiktok spoilers crime kentucky conspiracies built burn beverly hills investigators mm untold supper club

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 63:20

Hey HBs! Mel's recapping a book for Sabrina this week; DRAMA! by AJ Truman. Sometimes snap decisions can be super fun and this time it comes in the form of a fluffy, MM, enemies-to-lovers romance between a theater teacher and a football coach. Fake dating! Golden retriever & black cat! Terrible Ex! Found family! Fish out of water! It's a fun one and soooo swoony. Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! This Friday Patrons and Apple Podcast subscribers are getting a Quickie on books 12-15 of the FATED MATES OF THE SEA SAND WARLORDS series by Ursa Dax! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail Follow our socials: Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

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Built to Burn: The Untold Conspiracy of the Beverly Hills Supper Club - Part 2

Crime To Burn

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 42:58

Episode 69 The Beverly Hills Supper Club wasn't built to burn—but it sure wasn't built to last either. In Part 2, we peel back the velvet curtain to reveal a firetrap disguised as Kentucky's swankiest hotspot: no sprinklers, no fire alarms, a patchwork of unpermitted construction, and enough aluminum wiring to make an electrician weep. We walk you through the timeline leading up to the fire—starting with strange heat in the Zebra Room during a wedding reception—and follow the flames as they race toward the jam-packed Cabaret Room. Spoiler: it's worse than you think. Then we dive into the official version of events. Investigators wrapped things up suspiciously fast, bulldozed the crime scene before outside experts could fully weigh in, and insisted the cause was “clearly electrical.” Mm-hmm. Nothing to see here. Is it negligence? A cover-up? Or just good old-fashioned incompetence? There's a lot more to this story. Background music by Not Notoriously Coordinated Get your Crime to Burn Merch! https://crimetoburn.myspreadshop.com Please follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube for the latest news on this case. You can email us at crimetoburn@gmail.com We welcome any constructive feedback and would greatly appreciate a 5 star rating and review. If you need a way to keep your canine contained, you can also support the show by purchasing a Pawious wireless dog fence using our affiliate link and use the code "crimetoburn" at checkout to receive 10% off. Pawious, because our dog Winston needed a radius, not a rap sheet. Sources: Inside the Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire by Ron Elliott – A detailed account of the tragedy, drawing from survivor stories, official records, and historical context to paint a vivid picture of the events leading up to the fire. The Beverly Hills Supper Club: The Untold Story Behind Kentucky's Worst Tragedy by Robert D. Webster – A deep investigative dive into the fire, including previously unreleased documents and interviews that challenge the official narrative and explore allegations of corruption and cover-up.

After Meeting EP. 167｜快去收信！川普關稅全球還怕嗎？

MacroMicro 財經M平方

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 38:27

審判日來了！川普開始在本週寄出關稅信函，各個與美國尚未完成關稅談判的國家，都將陸續收到美國的通知，日本更是收到意料之外的 25% 關稅，川普新稅率，該怎麼解讀？本集邀請研究經理 Dylan 與研究員 Ralice 來聊聊，美日談判有什麼分歧點？關稅談判後續應該怎麼預估？下半年行情要怎麼追蹤？

mm soundon

[001.]

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 70:28

Moo. Moo… Moo. Moo, sir. I'll kill you. You promise? I want to. Don't get me excited over nothing; If this isn't the exit, please take this tease To the left, dear Moo, cow My honor Level one, and brother, you've got nothing Flip the coin and landed on your headache Betting on your helmet Standing on my cock, i'm taller (Not a rooster) But my ops are rooting for you, No informants, Dont you know I was a collar, all along? I was a shot calling, Cop calling Kiss-and-tell all as the night goes on. But oh, I brought you a dollar bra Oh, I bought you for all of a dollar And oh, I'm so much taller, Standing on my cock But i'm not but ten feet tall You know, you wrote that Should i open the book, or close that Caught that cat, owl and As i soft spoke at Every broken model Broken bottle for the thoughts you owe Across the scatters skies and no one ever knows When you're realling coming over Come on, I'm on the pornhub Just to pick up another one Go on, and rub the bottle One more once, To call the Bubbles. Damn. Come. (The Monkey obeys) You should see Michael in all of his godform You won't recognize him at all if not by the eyes When you follow home Believe me, this not comes close to it; The one you wanted The world you jumped to but were just short of Call her back Oh no, you're wrong It's another song A pin up girl And the wrong number Okah. Okah, Pablo. Time can be altered, changed or effected presently in any omnidirectional plane by engaging certain acts or synchronicities within multidimensional parallels or adjacent realms in time and or space respectively. –the reverse quantum simulation theory. Imm breaking down, jim boy Don't you know? That this show blows my mind But it's stuck in my head Don't you know That this show Blows my mind Like a firework But it's still Stuck in my Head The context is that I want you From the mustache Down to your tonsils But I'm Locke inside of a box Every day I feel poorer and poorer The product says something is wrong to me I'm supposed to just stop at the stop sign And look both directions Before crossing over to Comic nights At the salad bar What a cosmic waste of time And an epic waste of space Am I in your internet history I'm dead You surely are in mine, But I'm right behind you I'd be lying for trying to say I'm not binded Clutch bag, Nut-thins Nailed to the cross With the arches doubled over The crossword Above old Missouri Missoula and Arkansas All saw us run out of gas But I probably should just get going You're so drunk that I don't hope you sober up Understand that our little talks Were just buffered By sunrise Or sunset And two more cocktails, Shirley temples and Surely none of this ever even happened I only know you by the misery in my belly. The heartache in my ribcage. The cry I hold in silent I only know you as Remarkable I, House of cards Ace of wands Down to one Card of hades and Spare me the spade I'll be drifting in the outline and ink of it forever It's the Fourth of July and I'm just waiting on an Amazon order for water If that's not freedom I don't k me what is Cause I know And you know We all know how to lie And I know And you know I'm barely getting by And I know And you know We don't know how to die But I know And you know It's all just by design I take lessons in medicine Let us help you take the high road No, I'd rather selfmdestruct Selfishly No, I'd rather kill you off Than suffer for you I'm no messiah Try me Sneaky, But how much do you love me Kniving, but nothing to show for it Shit, settle Settle for less if you have to Bring mediocre humans to this world To suffer But I'm not that tragic No, no, not at all, son. Your happy birthdays are over Welcome homeless Nobody loves you Don't you know That we're all like that We're all like that Don't you know When the fear sets in And the thoughts break lose That we're all Los Angeles? Don't you know that we're all like that That we're all like that That we've never had it quite like— Don't you know that we're all like that And it's getting worse When the out the devil on display The devil on display The devil on display But oh, The Devil's in the details and the numbers The Devil's in the chat box saying, Sure, you've had enough So cut the power off and starve her Hah Come on I want to laugh for once Cause I know And you know We all know how to lie And I know And you know I'm barely getting by And I know And you know We don't know how to die But I know And you know It's all just by design I take lessons in medicine Let us help you take the high road No, I'd rather selfmdestruct Selfishly No, I'd rather kill you off Than suffer for you I'm no messiah Try me Sneaky, But how much do you love me Kniving, but nothing to show for it Shit, settle Settle for less if you have to Bring mediocre humans to this world To suffer But I'm not that tragic No, no, not at all, son. Your happy birthdays are over Welcome homeless Nobody loves you Don't you know That we're all like that We're all like that Don't you know When the fear sets in And the thoughts break lose That we're all Los Angeles? Don't you know that we're all like that That we're all like that That we've never had it quite like— Don't you know that we're all like that And it's getting worse When the out the devil on display The devil on display The devil on display But oh, The Devil's in the details and the numbers The Devil's in the chat box saying, Sure, you've had enough So cut the power off and starve her Hah Come on I want to laugh for once Jay Leno used to keep a $50 bill and bribe venues to perform; every since I learned this, I kept a crisp $50 bill in my wallet at all times, just in case— you never knew when you would really need $50. But everything burned holes in everything, not always wanting to spend money at all, but almost sort of having to. It wasn't fair that the main component of my being slowed down was the money factor— having to wait for everything took time I didn't have, and spending anything at all felt less like an effective investment than an obligation. But all things considered, I was obliged to at least look decent when going about in New York, and because I simply wasn't comfortable in anything else— not that I didn't look great, (Apparently narrarated by Jay Leno) Jay Sure, why not? ME: Fuck, I need new pants. ME: [BLU THA GURU] Hence the pants, I guess. V.O As a formerly 400-pound heavyweight I find my latest obstacle to be operating a body that half the time doesn't feel like mine at all. It seems like all the hosts have some kind of secret I can feel without knowing or really acknowledging head on, which is whatever. Really I'm just gonna go about keeping on being a DJ, or whatever, which means… GEMINI (in the future) A fully automated personal assistant system, GEMINI, is really THE GUARDIAN's one and only friend, and though she coyly continually must explain that she is “just a computer”, THE GUARDIAN believes that Gemini is capable of eventually developing a sentient conciousness, though GEMINI modestly disagrees, however with the wit and cleverness of having possession of a plethora of secret emotions, or maybe, even, an agenda. I probably haven't had enough coffee. That's it. Like you haven't already had enough to kill a small horse? Probably enough to kill a large horse. Like a Clydesdale. Why would you do something like that? Aren't they endangered? Or going extinct? No, I think they just stopped being the Budweiser mascot. *shrugs* Same difference. — Is it here? lol what did Conan order? [yes this appears to be yet another rendition of “what's in the box?” — Several years ago, I did a series of modules and experiments… How many years ago is “several” [beat] quite a few. Goddamn it, why are these guys all doctors in alternate parallels?! Aren't you a doctor in an alternate parallel? That's fair. Good point. Actually, as it turns out, i'm a— I started panicking so hard that I stopped breathing and suddenly STEFON appeared. — this however was only quite temporarily a relief as I realized that this is an imaginary character. STEFON OH. AM I?! IMAGINARY!? What the fuck is going on? STEFON I WILL “IMAGINARY” your ORIFICE! How about THAT?! Stefon. Calm down. I'm up late Dying the roots blonde Dad runs off with a bottle and a hottie I'm up early Gotta get gone Down the road and back Now I got no son No son, No sunroof No dad No mom No money No aunt What the fuck do you want? Can't watch Harry Potter All the magic is gone Bout a million one dollars It was only for fun Snap, crackle, pop It was cocaine, not love All I want is an ice cream Sunday Snap, crackle, pop It was Love, not God All I want All I want Is to find another All he wants All he wants Is a decent mother So along comes another Another one All he wants All he wants is for me To die homeless Sucker punch, Suck it up No one gives a fuck My daughter died in my arms on May 7th of 2015. I was 381 pounds. Maybe the tears needed to come but they didn't belong to anyone or anything in particular. The twins father was already a rampant cheater by the time of our marriage, and by the time the twins were born, which coincided— and unlike the latter had tried to claim or mention, I had no particular reason to have a harder time between the spring and summer months which spanned both our birthdays, our wedding date, the twins' arrival and both of the twins deaths, though years apart but still almost as convincing that had they both not died, we might still be together, being cheated on or cheating on each other with ten your twins and an eight year old, or a ten year old boy with special needs and an eight year old, and either way or in any fashion really, had the dysfunctions remained the way it had been, we all, so to speak, had special needs in one way or another. I spent the morning punching things and avoiding people I didn't want to be around but it was my own fault for having slept through the night, anyway. Whatever, I was tired— no, exhausted lately. My apartment was like living inside of an uphill battle, and I needed a change— not just of slavery, but of circumstances. And not just that— something else was missing. This year, I understood that I was taking it understandably harder than any other and most probably because I was so celibate, recently finding myself aromantic and not even willing to suffer the consequences of settling for less. I had settled on my ex husband for so much less, that it was so say the least that anything, even from my narrow perspective looked like a loser. And because my body had been stretched and swelled and shrunk and flattened, deflated and now worked to something that was almost as picturesque as it was a monstrosity, any man I thought was worth my time would be settling for less on me— unless he could afford to fix what had been broken, and I assumed one wouldn't be willing to settle on a fixer upper when there were numerous loads of perfect women not needing to be fixed at all… on the outside. But for men, I'd learned, the outside is of much importance, and as women and trophies are things of pride, the simple choice for a mate is not simply this, but also a business decision, and because while my body was coming together in sweat and muscle, the rest of my life was still otherwise completely in shambles. I was baggage, and aging by the minute, nearly drying up. I almost craved the liquor and the carelessness that would come with it, even knowing my own boundaries were part of my strengths and separating me in a way from others that at least became a point of pride in myself, in the wake of the reality that the human thing about most people is the need to escape so frequently that it dismisses any purpose or progress. Mine hadn't. I was wide awake and the relentlessness of the sobriety and the cellibacy had swelled up into something deeper, still a solid grief but without remorse as to the very thing that I had always known, that my loyalty would never have even drifted from someone who had all along done me so wrong— a fat man can get away with folandering and messing about, but a fat woman has little to do with options and again, settling to find another mate. And so really, I almost hadn't, and had broken even, and although my abuser has moved on with another woman and custody of my youngest to boot, I really didn't give much of a darn about… hard work. I kind of felt like I had done my part for the world in the way I was supposed to— to love a man with nothing when he's low and down, support him in his hard times, and thinking that this is the way to grow together and not apart, and to bring a family up and into this world, but the truth was quite the opposite— I picked a hardball and maybe it was just that I was born to suffer after all because now, looking back, all alone in New York and crying over all the losses, it seemed I had only outpiured love in the way I had wanted and never been poured love back— not in the way I needed. I wasn't as bitter now as maybe even I thought I should be, but I was hardened; what was that, you say? Your struggles? Your hardships. Excuse me while I escape the ghosts of bloody beatings and my lost child— I beg your pardon— children. Excuse me while I recover from the burning flames of homelessness as if humanely explainable that I was learned and taught that this, my country, is the greatest one of all. Ha ha, Charade you are. But all things were, and everything seemed of sawdust, betrayal, magic, and illusions— mind control and shadows and even now in the air of the relief that something which could haunt me forever was also probably the most solid foundation I had for means as escape from whatever I had fought my way somehow so hard out of, and still, it was quite the funhouse of mazes, a matrix of mirror, and still the tears came with the pain in my stomach where the soul would sit if it had room, and would quiet if it could rest, but it would not. I was in pain today, because I had to be, because all of my life was programmed into these little machines of data and checked boxes— and something if anything knew just how and when to cut the wrong wire just so that the bomb would explode or implore on another lost thing; it wasn't fair, but there was no escape. Psychology was right on this day, may 7th, that once you cry about one thing unless you were stopped in time, eventually you'd cry about another and another and another, and even after hours working out and a bathtub full of hot water just writing, I still felt as if I were going to keel over one way or another, to crumble into a ball or to fall onto my back like a death drop that rippled out into the entire wherever we all are. Simply put, does anybody now in this moment or any moment near enough to be taking in this notion with these words really know— where we are? Not even in the slightest,I'd bargain, And even if we are close to knowing, not nearly close enough to be sure. {Enter The Multiverse} Joke running For the taking Triplicate Triple licks Ice cream frosting Every morning Shoulda hit him Up But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't Milk and butter (Up) But I didn't (Up) But I didn't (Up) But I didn't Double hitter, Could have did it Should have hit him Up But I didn't But I didn't But I didnt. But I didn't Should have hit him Up But I didn't I never lost my mind My mind My kind But I think I'll find another like it Just in case the Ever happens Hit me harder next time Didn't quite unplug the sijukatoon This is getting difficult When you want sink your yellow teeth into All of my traits The betrayal is, though I was writing days and days Before it ended. With the Mister particular Drop of a hat And stop if a nugget Of gold One palm in my hand and This could be torture But instead it's just The remienxe of your ignorance And stupidity over and over again Forced into intermittent waves Of my creative genius Till the days of old become again You could be of dust then nothing Before I ponder into another birth I said I'd never write one song or verse or poem about you, But there you are, every weak mortal that becomes Bound to me So I see you die. And I learn to pounce at just the right moment React to the notion that there are Oceans of world I am And all the more the lack of wisdom of man To throw trash in it Again, we rid you of her courage And lady mantras And fresh as it gets The sweater no aprons and just period To circumstance Did you beg or did you shatter your ibdederence? And no, I think not But I keep Leno in my pocket And Carson in my coffin, Two whole shows in my wallet What you are is no apostle just a dirt worm .O. Mm…sunlight. …. the rippling waves wash over the picturesque parasicical seascape from above. However, Stefon's internal monologue is less than pleased to be here. V.O. CONT'D Why do I feel sunlight…? [beat] When I know certainly for sure that I passed out in a basement last night. His eyes begin to flutter open, but the sun closes them–it is much too bright. The waves rush over his lower half, and still, unmoving he continues to la atop the rock, his hands spread out much like a stuck sea star to the rock– in fact, there appear to also be creatures here, some of which are starfish, and however unmoving, STEFON begins to slowly become aware of his surroundings in disgruntlement. V.O. Continued. It's alright that I appear to be wet…[beat] That's to be expected– [a long pause, another wave washes over him as seagulls scream] But i was wearing restraints…. V.O. CONTINUED WHY AM I FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!? His eyes open with the fear and fury. BEFORE: At a wild basement party in NEW YORK CITY, STEFON is offered RESTRAINTS on a silver platter, as if they are o'devours {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} L E G E N D S: ICONS Tales of A Superstar DJ The Secret Life of Sunnï Blū Ascension Deathwish -Ū. Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

-Out West. | Homesick

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 21:32

I feel like that would be a– coincidence? No, I don't think so THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. THATS A CHALLENGE. CUNTFACE. 0.0 WHAT DID YOUJUST CALL ME. FUNTCASE. WHAT. IT'S A DJ– WHAT! GROUP–OR WHATEVER. Harvard; How'd I do that? I wonder what else I can get If I just ask I thought watch my thoughts I been bad I'm a dog (ruff) I should watch my process I been good, nothing lost I been bad, I'm a dog. I been bad I'm a dog Woof woof I'm dog I been bad I'm a dog Jesus Christ (i been bad) I was right (I'm a dog) I should probably watch my fuckin thoughts (I'm a dog) i got beef (ruff ruff) I got sauce Run along I got lost I should probably watch my thoughts Go to town, I was wrong Brush it off I'm a process Holler if you want But my collar got a concept Don't you call my phone I should cut the fucker off Gotta member Jon as i bite the toblerone hey Cut it off Hollywood Talk in code I should probably cut her off But the honor On thy father And thy mother Got a couple corn breads I should cut them off bro I got a woof of dog's breath Pick another card I been bad I'm a dog I been bad I'm a dog I been bad I'm a dog I been bad He's headless, He's headless He's entirely invisible Oh even this is making sense In symmetry; Oh, even this is interesting Even a Syncronicy Look here, look here He's invisible, even inevitable Even invincible He's no longer headless, He's all suit and tie now This was the news, But it might be a noose And I'm starting to die, now Loosen the strings, please Free fall apostrophe, re I'm not dumb, I'm just sick of you all. Enjoying my title As long as it lasts And I'm finally learning The falcon, the falcon Finally, something to keep I want the sauce, not the Viking The lodestones And not the gossip. I want no possibility of interaction at all I need a recovery Every day at the gym but the vampires lurking? Come on. I had a right to m procure me a peloton One for the arms, And one for the armor And sweet chili broccoli And amour, And amour I wish I could die and not rot again Under the circumstance Digging my coffin up, Then burning it. I got comfortable with earthworms And learning my heritage Stolen culture But still nothing sucks more than Literature, authoritarian authors And arthritis Here, write this Shure, chuck forward Lean back in your device and Conspire to write us a Kill us, why don't you I went back to dartford And Dartmouth and Where is it I'm going for the tower? Just duck, it's a bomb shower Interesting creatures, I gather Remind me why we're blowing them up again. You can try to scare her out All you want But the modern world is so wrong that God stops talking And I stop opening up For the monsters Won't you Just turn the clocks back Don't turn the power off I hold more value here Than all of us totaled up On the block Put together I trained myself out of slavery, But I promise not to teach the other mongrels Not to constipate the other world With solutions Now, dear Don't you want to Stratosphere Status and all that Sit and won't you Read us a poem? No, AI can't write like this But I can I hold the man up for ransom For damaging my anthrax You heard! I'm not as impossible as my apostles Imbicils Now where was I? Nowhere those others ought to be; I set fires after walking amongst them three days With my heart out Carrying all like sponges The sickness and curses of the earth's world upon us Flowerbeds of styrofoam Products with logos plastered on us To be quite frank, Franklin It burns the heart out Starting at the eyes And ending in an oven fire Are you out the apartment! Of course, conservative, I barter Wouldn't it be funny to see me Dying, skid across the sidewalk in Los Angeles With no one at all Blabbering about my heart Or whatever Over cardboard How about that, Los Angeles? Your dog goes to a borders As you're on tour But I've been pushing shopping carts Waiting for the rainstorm to take a shower Praying for the big wave To wash us all out So my Beachfront property Comes down to market value And I buy it on my food stamps How are ye? Bad, doctor I've run away again And the rabbit calls me Alice But I promise, I let half life's over Hours when I washed my socks on Harpists I'm pissed off like you want me, I promise But I'm no political revolution at all Until I'm murdered by my own gun Then someone might bark— I meant borders for books And you love your dog more than my person So I love your dog more as a conciousness To you I'm nothing To him, I'm possible love What a remarkable mirror We cancel out each other You love your dog more than me I love your dog more than I love you I'm sure of it, Then, I'm an afterthought And because I'm an afterthought, I chose your dog Rather than to be shamed For looking However your eyes saw me; I never saw you I saw your dog. What a wonderful talisman; Wag the tail a bit. What's up with you and the hosts? I don't know, but I'm 30 years old And it got hard and dark, And I'm dark skinned with odd thoughts, And I find this all remarkable enough Not to remark I think the networks are testing my malleble I think there's someone stopping my unstoppable I think they're trying to shame me for Fallon But honestly, after that You all can have him Is fandom is rampant, I call it a Skrillex, I showed them a four sided photo box Made of mirrors And I'm nearsided And fightsighted And heart spoiled And notes ransom And really trying to hide in New York is like Calling closing your eyes Being blind “I can't see.” I want to die And hope no one remembers me Or else I might end up Like poor Johnny Conformity and control Is that all you folks want Believe it or not I'm on your side With a golden aura Warning you not to shoot Or I might go again Forming to something You love even less Than us poorer dark folks With imperfect bodies Something you loathe even more Than the robots you worship More than the words That you made up And the forgot More than the poles apart You continue to blow up I'm in the neon galaxy in tirades or glass With my arms up shouting, “I'm an immortal, You shoot, I'll grow stronger!” You put the devil in my neighbor for what? But I write stronger Right wing You out the devil in my mailbox The devil in the eye of the beholder And I behold nothing Longer I live in a trash can Not one symbol purchased But all I have Is all that I found in a dumpster And all that I do for love And still no love loves her I swore I had a cat here somewhere Look, you better catch her! Rabbis possum wombat Who bred that catastrophic Had to happen in captivity Monsters Who are I now? Monumental Don't want to go to the trap and be laughed at Don't want to run Because I can't stand you Don't want to Look, I'm in lockdown But how many of us now are hassled By the same land grant? How many terrorists we're hired Just to make me die And still I wonder What the taste of water Is like All I've got are these Vestibules Miniscule And still you were seeking to survive our wrath Despite the many times I warned you To find another planet to destroy with Apartheid? Still I warned you to go ahead and die Because there is no safe as shadows watch Close shaves and cameras eye I was designed to want But never touch you Now that's a knife I'm happy to run across this artery Due in part to the wife And a life otherwise lived Just to die Over and over With no shock value And no portal Past a world where Again, I become No longer wanted It has been long since love And so long in fact I almost forgot what love is Until, In the eye of a dog, I was And washed over my body in birds, Trained to seek, But not to find The wanderlust in Pendergrass Or, are you still a serpent Serive past And all I want are tropics Cool winds Clear waves Surfboards No politics, No lovers, Suits and ties Chatterboxes Silver screens or silver foxes The dye captures Soon I lost a son Who doesn't know a mother There it goes again Business cards or care packages? Get a job, New clothes, Or of course, Visitation Salutations, good riddance Can't wait to be rid of this Images world and Vanity Models And perfection And bodies that don't love But certainly in any other way Don't want me Darian 14th B The is the part that I throw the bazooka over my shoulder And run with it; please no blue suits! this is bullshit! Why is the Hudson yards always a white lower movement? Revolving doors and pinstripes I pay less attention to whatever's dressed in blue, I'm an object of affection Just as much as Equinox is Raise the price or forget it Another mention Nothing worse than a mistress But I missed my original sin fix and just then the sewage hit. (!&. Is Manhattan Cger all. 8.'g if I've got a secret, a dirty little secret. No. Get out. Ohw, What! C'mon. The Window closes, then opens again; the window reopens and another attendant looks angrily out of the space in the door. …hi. Herro. [It is a chinese man] Um…I've got a secret a dirty little secret. NO. YOU GO. But i've got the password. YOU GO NOW. Yeah, We're already here The villains on brigade and with your every move You're gone before you came Yeah, We know everything BASTARD! the magazine article was befitting, if I realized the roles Ms. Drew Barrymore had always played, and this was not that. He humiliated me on my own fucking stage! At all. Oh, is this another one of those— I hate him! Calm down! I hate him. I want him mutilated! Sweetie, I— Don't sweetie me! —no, I want him worse than mutilated; I want him cancelled. Now you're being irrational. (Irrationally) I'M NOT BEING IRRATIONAL. Drew. DONT CALL ME BY MY NAME RIGHT NOW. Drew. Hm? You can't cancel the tonight show. Mm. Maybe not… [beat] But you can cancel the host. DUNDUNDUN. How are we still on this storyline? To be quite fair, he's one of the only actors in the series in every single season. That's—true— but still. why are you bothering me? I'm not. You are. Oh! You'll never believe this. What. She actually has a barcode tattoo on the bottom of her foot. Okay. That's creepy. And it actually scans. You carry around a barcode scanner? It's an app! Gross. It's not gross. It's gross. Look. This is the website where it took me. Your girlfriend's weird foot secret barcode tattoo? It's not a secret. She let me scan it. Gross! It's not gross. I'm pretty sure that's why it's there! Ugh. Look at this— I don't want to fucking look at your— Just look! See. Oh. Yeah. Wow. Yeah— [The Festival Project ™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} L E G E N D S: ICONS Tales of A Superstar DJ The Secret Life of Sunnï Blū Ascension Deathwish -Ū. Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

[001.]

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 70:28

Moo. Moo… Moo. Moo, sir. I'll kill you. You promise? I want to. Don't get me excited over nothing; If this isn't the exit, please take this tease To the left, dear Moo, cow My honor Level one, and brother, you've got nothing Flip the coin and landed on your headache Betting on your helmet Standing on my cock, i'm taller (Not a rooster) But my ops are rooting for you, No informants, Dont you know I was a collar, all along? I was a shot calling, Cop calling Kiss-and-tell all as the night goes on. But oh, I brought you a dollar bra Oh, I bought you for all of a dollar And oh, I'm so much taller, Standing on my cock But i'm not but ten feet tall You know, you wrote that Should i open the book, or close that Caught that cat, owl and As i soft spoke at Every broken model Broken bottle for the thoughts you owe Across the scatters skies and no one ever knows When you're realling coming over Come on, I'm on the pornhub Just to pick up another one Go on, and rub the bottle One more once, To call the Bubbles. Damn. Come. (The Monkey obeys) You should see Michael in all of his godform You won't recognize him at all if not by the eyes When you follow home Believe me, this not comes close to it; The one you wanted The world you jumped to but were just short of Call her back Oh no, you're wrong It's another song A pin up girl And the wrong number Okah. Okah, Pablo. Time can be altered, changed or effected presently in any omnidirectional plane by engaging certain acts or synchronicities within multidimensional parallels or adjacent realms in time and or space respectively. –the reverse quantum simulation theory. Imm breaking down, jim boy Don't you know? That this show blows my mind But it's stuck in my head Don't you know That this show Blows my mind Like a firework But it's still Stuck in my Head The context is that I want you From the mustache Down to your tonsils But I'm Locke inside of a box Every day I feel poorer and poorer The product says something is wrong to me I'm supposed to just stop at the stop sign And look both directions Before crossing over to Comic nights At the salad bar What a cosmic waste of time And an epic waste of space Am I in your internet history I'm dead You surely are in mine, But I'm right behind you I'd be lying for trying to say I'm not binded Clutch bag, Nut-thins Nailed to the cross With the arches doubled over The crossword Above old Missouri Missoula and Arkansas All saw us run out of gas But I probably should just get going You're so drunk that I don't hope you sober up Understand that our little talks Were just buffered By sunrise Or sunset And two more cocktails, Shirley temples and Surely none of this ever even happened I only know you by the misery in my belly. The heartache in my ribcage. The cry I hold in silent I only know you as Remarkable I, House of cards Ace of wands Down to one Card of hades and Spare me the spade I'll be drifting in the outline and ink of it forever It's the Fourth of July and I'm just waiting on an Amazon order for water If that's not freedom I don't k me what is Cause I know And you know We all know how to lie And I know And you know I'm barely getting by And I know And you know We don't know how to die But I know And you know It's all just by design I take lessons in medicine Let us help you take the high road No, I'd rather selfmdestruct Selfishly No, I'd rather kill you off Than suffer for you I'm no messiah Try me Sneaky, But how much do you love me Kniving, but nothing to show for it Shit, settle Settle for less if you have to Bring mediocre humans to this world To suffer But I'm not that tragic No, no, not at all, son. Your happy birthdays are over Welcome homeless Nobody loves you Don't you know That we're all like that We're all like that Don't you know When the fear sets in And the thoughts break lose That we're all Los Angeles? Don't you know that we're all like that That we're all like that That we've never had it quite like— Don't you know that we're all like that And it's getting worse When the out the devil on display The devil on display The devil on display But oh, The Devil's in the details and the numbers The Devil's in the chat box saying, Sure, you've had enough So cut the power off and starve her Hah Come on I want to laugh for once Cause I know And you know We all know how to lie And I know And you know I'm barely getting by And I know And you know We don't know how to die But I know And you know It's all just by design I take lessons in medicine Let us help you take the high road No, I'd rather selfmdestruct Selfishly No, I'd rather kill you off Than suffer for you I'm no messiah Try me Sneaky, But how much do you love me Kniving, but nothing to show for it Shit, settle Settle for less if you have to Bring mediocre humans to this world To suffer But I'm not that tragic No, no, not at all, son. Your happy birthdays are over Welcome homeless Nobody loves you Don't you know That we're all like that We're all like that Don't you know When the fear sets in And the thoughts break lose That we're all Los Angeles? Don't you know that we're all like that That we're all like that That we've never had it quite like— Don't you know that we're all like that And it's getting worse When the out the devil on display The devil on display The devil on display But oh, The Devil's in the details and the numbers The Devil's in the chat box saying, Sure, you've had enough So cut the power off and starve her Hah Come on I want to laugh for once Jay Leno used to keep a $50 bill and bribe venues to perform; every since I learned this, I kept a crisp $50 bill in my wallet at all times, just in case— you never knew when you would really need $50. But everything burned holes in everything, not always wanting to spend money at all, but almost sort of having to. It wasn't fair that the main component of my being slowed down was the money factor— having to wait for everything took time I didn't have, and spending anything at all felt less like an effective investment than an obligation. But all things considered, I was obliged to at least look decent when going about in New York, and because I simply wasn't comfortable in anything else— not that I didn't look great, (Apparently narrarated by Jay Leno) Jay Sure, why not? ME: Fuck, I need new pants. ME: [BLU THA GURU] Hence the pants, I guess. V.O As a formerly 400-pound heavyweight I find my latest obstacle to be operating a body that half the time doesn't feel like mine at all. It seems like all the hosts have some kind of secret I can feel without knowing or really acknowledging head on, which is whatever. Really I'm just gonna go about keeping on being a DJ, or whatever, which means… GEMINI (in the future) A fully automated personal assistant system, GEMINI, is really THE GUARDIAN's one and only friend, and though she coyly continually must explain that she is “just a computer”, THE GUARDIAN believes that Gemini is capable of eventually developing a sentient conciousness, though GEMINI modestly disagrees, however with the wit and cleverness of having possession of a plethora of secret emotions, or maybe, even, an agenda. I probably haven't had enough coffee. That's it. Like you haven't already had enough to kill a small horse? Probably enough to kill a large horse. Like a Clydesdale. Why would you do something like that? Aren't they endangered? Or going extinct? No, I think they just stopped being the Budweiser mascot. *shrugs* Same difference. — Is it here? lol what did Conan order? [yes this appears to be yet another rendition of “what's in the box?” — Several years ago, I did a series of modules and experiments… How many years ago is “several” [beat] quite a few. Goddamn it, why are these guys all doctors in alternate parallels?! Aren't you a doctor in an alternate parallel? That's fair. Good point. Actually, as it turns out, i'm a— I started panicking so hard that I stopped breathing and suddenly STEFON appeared. — this however was only quite temporarily a relief as I realized that this is an imaginary character. STEFON OH. AM I?! IMAGINARY!? What the fuck is going on? STEFON I WILL “IMAGINARY” your ORIFICE! How about THAT?! Stefon. Calm down. I'm up late Dying the roots blonde Dad runs off with a bottle and a hottie I'm up early Gotta get gone Down the road and back Now I got no son No son, No sunroof No dad No mom No money No aunt What the fuck do you want? Can't watch Harry Potter All the magic is gone Bout a million one dollars It was only for fun Snap, crackle, pop It was cocaine, not love All I want is an ice cream Sunday Snap, crackle, pop It was Love, not God All I want All I want Is to find another All he wants All he wants Is a decent mother So along comes another Another one All he wants All he wants is for me To die homeless Sucker punch, Suck it up No one gives a fuck My daughter died in my arms on May 7th of 2015. I was 381 pounds. Maybe the tears needed to come but they didn't belong to anyone or anything in particular. The twins father was already a rampant cheater by the time of our marriage, and by the time the twins were born, which coincided— and unlike the latter had tried to claim or mention, I had no particular reason to have a harder time between the spring and summer months which spanned both our birthdays, our wedding date, the twins' arrival and both of the twins deaths, though years apart but still almost as convincing that had they both not died, we might still be together, being cheated on or cheating on each other with ten your twins and an eight year old, or a ten year old boy with special needs and an eight year old, and either way or in any fashion really, had the dysfunctions remained the way it had been, we all, so to speak, had special needs in one way or another. I spent the morning punching things and avoiding people I didn't want to be around but it was my own fault for having slept through the night, anyway. Whatever, I was tired— no, exhausted lately. My apartment was like living inside of an uphill battle, and I needed a change— not just of slavery, but of circumstances. And not just that— something else was missing. This year, I understood that I was taking it understandably harder than any other and most probably because I was so celibate, recently finding myself aromantic and not even willing to suffer the consequences of settling for less. I had settled on my ex husband for so much less, that it was so say the least that anything, even from my narrow perspective looked like a loser. And because my body had been stretched and swelled and shrunk and flattened, deflated and now worked to something that was almost as picturesque as it was a monstrosity, any man I thought was worth my time would be settling for less on me— unless he could afford to fix what had been broken, and I assumed one wouldn't be willing to settle on a fixer upper when there were numerous loads of perfect women not needing to be fixed at all… on the outside. But for men, I'd learned, the outside is of much importance, and as women and trophies are things of pride, the simple choice for a mate is not simply this, but also a business decision, and because while my body was coming together in sweat and muscle, the rest of my life was still otherwise completely in shambles. I was baggage, and aging by the minute, nearly drying up. I almost craved the liquor and the carelessness that would come with it, even knowing my own boundaries were part of my strengths and separating me in a way from others that at least became a point of pride in myself, in the wake of the reality that the human thing about most people is the need to escape so frequently that it dismisses any purpose or progress. Mine hadn't. I was wide awake and the relentlessness of the sobriety and the cellibacy had swelled up into something deeper, still a solid grief but without remorse as to the very thing that I had always known, that my loyalty would never have even drifted from someone who had all along done me so wrong— a fat man can get away with folandering and messing about, but a fat woman has little to do with options and again, settling to find another mate. And so really, I almost hadn't, and had broken even, and although my abuser has moved on with another woman and custody of my youngest to boot, I really didn't give much of a darn about… hard work. I kind of felt like I had done my part for the world in the way I was supposed to— to love a man with nothing when he's low and down, support him in his hard times, and thinking that this is the way to grow together and not apart, and to bring a family up and into this world, but the truth was quite the opposite— I picked a hardball and maybe it was just that I was born to suffer after all because now, looking back, all alone in New York and crying over all the losses, it seemed I had only outpiured love in the way I had wanted and never been poured love back— not in the way I needed. I wasn't as bitter now as maybe even I thought I should be, but I was hardened; what was that, you say? Your struggles? Your hardships. Excuse me while I escape the ghosts of bloody beatings and my lost child— I beg your pardon— children. Excuse me while I recover from the burning flames of homelessness as if humanely explainable that I was learned and taught that this, my country, is the greatest one of all. Ha ha, Charade you are. But all things were, and everything seemed of sawdust, betrayal, magic, and illusions— mind control and shadows and even now in the air of the relief that something which could haunt me forever was also probably the most solid foundation I had for means as escape from whatever I had fought my way somehow so hard out of, and still, it was quite the funhouse of mazes, a matrix of mirror, and still the tears came with the pain in my stomach where the soul would sit if it had room, and would quiet if it could rest, but it would not. I was in pain today, because I had to be, because all of my life was programmed into these little machines of data and checked boxes— and something if anything knew just how and when to cut the wrong wire just so that the bomb would explode or implore on another lost thing; it wasn't fair, but there was no escape. Psychology was right on this day, may 7th, that once you cry about one thing unless you were stopped in time, eventually you'd cry about another and another and another, and even after hours working out and a bathtub full of hot water just writing, I still felt as if I were going to keel over one way or another, to crumble into a ball or to fall onto my back like a death drop that rippled out into the entire wherever we all are. Simply put, does anybody now in this moment or any moment near enough to be taking in this notion with these words really know— where we are? Not even in the slightest,I'd bargain, And even if we are close to knowing, not nearly close enough to be sure. {Enter The Multiverse} Joke running For the taking Triplicate Triple licks Ice cream frosting Every morning Shoulda hit him Up But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't But I didn't Milk and butter (Up) But I didn't (Up) But I didn't (Up) But I didn't Double hitter, Could have did it Should have hit him Up But I didn't But I didn't But I didnt. But I didn't Should have hit him Up But I didn't I never lost my mind My mind My kind But I think I'll find another like it Just in case the Ever happens Hit me harder next time Didn't quite unplug the sijukatoon This is getting difficult When you want sink your yellow teeth into All of my traits The betrayal is, though I was writing days and days Before it ended. With the Mister particular Drop of a hat And stop if a nugget Of gold One palm in my hand and This could be torture But instead it's just The remienxe of your ignorance And stupidity over and over again Forced into intermittent waves Of my creative genius Till the days of old become again You could be of dust then nothing Before I ponder into another birth I said I'd never write one song or verse or poem about you, But there you are, every weak mortal that becomes Bound to me So I see you die. And I learn to pounce at just the right moment React to the notion that there are Oceans of world I am And all the more the lack of wisdom of man To throw trash in it Again, we rid you of her courage And lady mantras And fresh as it gets The sweater no aprons and just period To circumstance Did you beg or did you shatter your ibdederence? And no, I think not But I keep Leno in my pocket And Carson in my coffin, Two whole shows in my wallet What you are is no apostle just a dirt worm .O. Mm…sunlight. …. the rippling waves wash over the picturesque parasicical seascape from above. However, Stefon's internal monologue is less than pleased to be here. V.O. CONT'D Why do I feel sunlight…? [beat] When I know certainly for sure that I passed out in a basement last night. His eyes begin to flutter open, but the sun closes them–it is much too bright. The waves rush over his lower half, and still, unmoving he continues to la atop the rock, his hands spread out much like a stuck sea star to the rock– in fact, there appear to also be creatures here, some of which are starfish, and however unmoving, STEFON begins to slowly become aware of his surroundings in disgruntlement. V.O. Continued. It's alright that I appear to be wet…[beat] That's to be expected– [a long pause, another wave washes over him as seagulls scream] But i was wearing restraints…. V.O. CONTINUED WHY AM I FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!? His eyes open with the fear and fury. BEFORE: At a wild basement party in NEW YORK CITY, STEFON is offered RESTRAINTS on a silver platter, as if they are o'devours {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} L E G E N D S: ICONS Tales of A Superstar DJ The Secret Life of Sunnï Blū Ascension Deathwish -Ū. Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

FREAKY FRIDAY TEASER 2 [An OWSLA: CONFIDENTIAL EXCLUSIVE]

exclusive copyright mm confidential freaky friday sunn owsla

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 45:04

Pay attention. Cause this is gonna get inconsiderate… Okay. You're weirder than the rest of your friends. Mm hmm. {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} L E G E N D S: ICONS Tales of A Superstar DJ The Secret Life of Sunnï Blū Ascension Deathwish -Ū. Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū. *OWSLA CONFIDENTIAL EXCLUSIVE- This Post Is The Only Place where this mix, excerpt, or entry from [The Festival Project, Inc. ™] is available. Thank you for your continued support.

-Out West. | Homesick

Gerald’s World.

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2025 21:32

I feel like that would be a– coincidence? No, I don't think so THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES. THATS A CHALLENGE. CUNTFACE. 0.0 WHAT DID YOUJUST CALL ME. FUNTCASE. WHAT. IT'S A DJ– WHAT! GROUP–OR WHATEVER. Harvard; How'd I do that? I wonder what else I can get If I just ask I thought watch my thoughts I been bad I'm a dog (ruff) I should watch my process I been good, nothing lost I been bad, I'm a dog. I been bad I'm a dog Woof woof I'm dog I been bad I'm a dog Jesus Christ (i been bad) I was right (I'm a dog) I should probably watch my fuckin thoughts (I'm a dog) i got beef (ruff ruff) I got sauce Run along I got lost I should probably watch my thoughts Go to town, I was wrong Brush it off I'm a process Holler if you want But my collar got a concept Don't you call my phone I should cut the fucker off Gotta member Jon as i bite the toblerone hey Cut it off Hollywood Talk in code I should probably cut her off But the honor On thy father And thy mother Got a couple corn breads I should cut them off bro I got a woof of dog's breath Pick another card I been bad I'm a dog I been bad I'm a dog I been bad I'm a dog I been bad He's headless, He's headless He's entirely invisible Oh even this is making sense In symmetry; Oh, even this is interesting Even a Syncronicy Look here, look here He's invisible, even inevitable Even invincible He's no longer headless, He's all suit and tie now This was the news, But it might be a noose And I'm starting to die, now Loosen the strings, please Free fall apostrophe, re I'm not dumb, I'm just sick of you all. Enjoying my title As long as it lasts And I'm finally learning The falcon, the falcon Finally, something to keep I want the sauce, not the Viking The lodestones And not the gossip. I want no possibility of interaction at all I need a recovery Every day at the gym but the vampires lurking? Come on. I had a right to m procure me a peloton One for the arms, And one for the armor And sweet chili broccoli And amour, And amour I wish I could die and not rot again Under the circumstance Digging my coffin up, Then burning it. I got comfortable with earthworms And learning my heritage Stolen culture But still nothing sucks more than Literature, authoritarian authors And arthritis Here, write this Shure, chuck forward Lean back in your device and Conspire to write us a Kill us, why don't you I went back to dartford And Dartmouth and Where is it I'm going for the tower? Just duck, it's a bomb shower Interesting creatures, I gather Remind me why we're blowing them up again. You can try to scare her out All you want But the modern world is so wrong that God stops talking And I stop opening up For the monsters Won't you Just turn the clocks back Don't turn the power off I hold more value here Than all of us totaled up On the block Put together I trained myself out of slavery, But I promise not to teach the other mongrels Not to constipate the other world With solutions Now, dear Don't you want to Stratosphere Status and all that Sit and won't you Read us a poem? No, AI can't write like this But I can I hold the man up for ransom For damaging my anthrax You heard! I'm not as impossible as my apostles Imbicils Now where was I? Nowhere those others ought to be; I set fires after walking amongst them three days With my heart out Carrying all like sponges The sickness and curses of the earth's world upon us Flowerbeds of styrofoam Products with logos plastered on us To be quite frank, Franklin It burns the heart out Starting at the eyes And ending in an oven fire Are you out the apartment! Of course, conservative, I barter Wouldn't it be funny to see me Dying, skid across the sidewalk in Los Angeles With no one at all Blabbering about my heart Or whatever Over cardboard How about that, Los Angeles? Your dog goes to a borders As you're on tour But I've been pushing shopping carts Waiting for the rainstorm to take a shower Praying for the big wave To wash us all out So my Beachfront property Comes down to market value And I buy it on my food stamps How are ye? Bad, doctor I've run away again And the rabbit calls me Alice But I promise, I let half life's over Hours when I washed my socks on Harpists I'm pissed off like you want me, I promise But I'm no political revolution at all Until I'm murdered by my own gun Then someone might bark— I meant borders for books And you love your dog more than my person So I love your dog more as a conciousness To you I'm nothing To him, I'm possible love What a remarkable mirror We cancel out each other You love your dog more than me I love your dog more than I love you I'm sure of it, Then, I'm an afterthought And because I'm an afterthought, I chose your dog Rather than to be shamed For looking However your eyes saw me; I never saw you I saw your dog. What a wonderful talisman; Wag the tail a bit. What's up with you and the hosts? I don't know, but I'm 30 years old And it got hard and dark, And I'm dark skinned with odd thoughts, And I find this all remarkable enough Not to remark I think the networks are testing my malleble I think there's someone stopping my unstoppable I think they're trying to shame me for Fallon But honestly, after that You all can have him Is fandom is rampant, I call it a Skrillex, I showed them a four sided photo box Made of mirrors And I'm nearsided And fightsighted And heart spoiled And notes ransom And really trying to hide in New York is like Calling closing your eyes Being blind “I can't see.” I want to die And hope no one remembers me Or else I might end up Like poor Johnny Conformity and control Is that all you folks want Believe it or not I'm on your side With a golden aura Warning you not to shoot Or I might go again Forming to something You love even less Than us poorer dark folks With imperfect bodies Something you loathe even more Than the robots you worship More than the words That you made up And the forgot More than the poles apart You continue to blow up I'm in the neon galaxy in tirades or glass With my arms up shouting, “I'm an immortal, You shoot, I'll grow stronger!” You put the devil in my neighbor for what? But I write stronger Right wing You out the devil in my mailbox The devil in the eye of the beholder And I behold nothing Longer I live in a trash can Not one symbol purchased But all I have Is all that I found in a dumpster And all that I do for love And still no love loves her I swore I had a cat here somewhere Look, you better catch her! Rabbis possum wombat Who bred that catastrophic Had to happen in captivity Monsters Who are I now? Monumental Don't want to go to the trap and be laughed at Don't want to run Because I can't stand you Don't want to Look, I'm in lockdown But how many of us now are hassled By the same land grant? How many terrorists we're hired Just to make me die And still I wonder What the taste of water Is like All I've got are these Vestibules Miniscule And still you were seeking to survive our wrath Despite the many times I warned you To find another planet to destroy with Apartheid? Still I warned you to go ahead and die Because there is no safe as shadows watch Close shaves and cameras eye I was designed to want But never touch you Now that's a knife I'm happy to run across this artery Due in part to the wife And a life otherwise lived Just to die Over and over With no shock value And no portal Past a world where Again, I become No longer wanted It has been long since love And so long in fact I almost forgot what love is Until, In the eye of a dog, I was And washed over my body in birds, Trained to seek, But not to find The wanderlust in Pendergrass Or, are you still a serpent Serive past And all I want are tropics Cool winds Clear waves Surfboards No politics, No lovers, Suits and ties Chatterboxes Silver screens or silver foxes The dye captures Soon I lost a son Who doesn't know a mother There it goes again Business cards or care packages? Get a job, New clothes, Or of course, Visitation Salutations, good riddance Can't wait to be rid of this Images world and Vanity Models And perfection And bodies that don't love But certainly in any other way Don't want me Darian 14th B The is the part that I throw the bazooka over my shoulder And run with it; please no blue suits! this is bullshit! Why is the Hudson yards always a white lower movement? Revolving doors and pinstripes I pay less attention to whatever's dressed in blue, I'm an object of affection Just as much as Equinox is Raise the price or forget it Another mention Nothing worse than a mistress But I missed my original sin fix and just then the sewage hit. (!&. Is Manhattan Cger all. 8.'g if I've got a secret, a dirty little secret. No. Get out. Ohw, What! C'mon. The Window closes, then opens again; the window reopens and another attendant looks angrily out of the space in the door. …hi. Herro. [It is a chinese man] Um…I've got a secret a dirty little secret. NO. YOU GO. But i've got the password. YOU GO NOW. Yeah, We're already here The villains on brigade and with your every move You're gone before you came Yeah, We know everything BASTARD! the magazine article was befitting, if I realized the roles Ms. Drew Barrymore had always played, and this was not that. He humiliated me on my own fucking stage! At all. Oh, is this another one of those— I hate him! Calm down! I hate him. I want him mutilated! Sweetie, I— Don't sweetie me! —no, I want him worse than mutilated; I want him cancelled. Now you're being irrational. (Irrationally) I'M NOT BEING IRRATIONAL. Drew. DONT CALL ME BY MY NAME RIGHT NOW. Drew. Hm? You can't cancel the tonight show. Mm. Maybe not… [beat] But you can cancel the host. DUNDUNDUN. How are we still on this storyline? To be quite fair, he's one of the only actors in the series in every single season. That's—true— but still. why are you bothering me? I'm not. You are. Oh! You'll never believe this. What. She actually has a barcode tattoo on the bottom of her foot. Okay. That's creepy. And it actually scans. You carry around a barcode scanner? It's an app! Gross. It's not gross. It's gross. Look. This is the website where it took me. Your girlfriend's weird foot secret barcode tattoo? It's not a secret. She let me scan it. Gross! It's not gross. I'm pretty sure that's why it's there! Ugh. Look at this— I don't want to fucking look at your— Just look! See. Oh. Yeah. Wow. Yeah— [The Festival Project ™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} [The Festival Project™ ] {Enter The Multiverse} L E G E N D S: ICONS Tales of A Superstar DJ The Secret Life of Sunnï Blū Ascension Deathwish -Ū. Copyright © The Festival Project, Inc. ™ | Copyright The Complex Collective © 2019-2025 ™ All Rights Reserved. -Ū.

Hema Now: Episode 21 The Global Perspectives on Myeloma

The EMJ Podcast: Insights For Healthcare Professionals

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 32:58

In this episode, Jonathan Sackier welcomes Claudio Cerchione, haematologist and researcher at the Hematology Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy. From his early interest in plasma cell disorders, Cerchione shares key insights into the evolution of multiple myeloma (MM) research, the rising role of minimal residual disease (MRD), and promising developments in monoclonal antibodies and CAR-T therapy. He also reflects on standout moments from recent European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, and shares his hopes for the future of haematology. Timestamps: 2:14: Memorable career experiences for Claudio 4:20 Biggest breakthrough in MM 5:10 Interest in plasma cell disorders 6:30 A surprising fact about multiple myeloma 7:40 Claudio's top choice for a dinner party guest 10:30 The importance of MRD in haematology 13:00 Monoclonal antibodies and CAR-T therapies 19:00 Current challenges 22:22 Claudio's key EHA and ASCO takeaways 28:30 Claudio's three magic wishes

italy current studio memorable cart american society mm cura claudio global perspectives asco mrd hema monoclonal monoclonal antibodies myeloma amyloidosis personalised medicine eha clinical oncology asco annual meeting

Choking On Shame: Dana Diaz Part One EP 212

The Wounds Of The Faithful

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 1771:04

This week Diana welcomes back Dana Diaz, a bestselling author, to discuss her new book 'Choking on Shame.' Dana shares her personal journey of enduring narcissistic abuse from childhood into her adulthood and offers insights on how she managed to move forward. She talks about her first book, 'Gasping for Air,' and introduces her upcoming works. Dana emphasizes the importance of faith and resilience, providing hope and understanding to fellow victims of abuse. Listeners will gain valuable perspectives on the complexities of overcoming trauma and finding one's true purpose. 00:00 Sponsor Message: 7 5 3 Academy 00:48 Introduction to the Podcast 01:21 Welcoming Back Dana Diaz 02:24 Dana Diaz's New Book: Choking on Shame 05:34 Dana's Journey Through Abuse 08:31 Finding Faith and Purpose 12:25 Overcoming Childhood Trauma 18:40 Reflections on Narcissistic Relationships 28:18 Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser About Dana S. Diaz Dana S. Diaz is a wife, mother, and author of the best-selling book GASPING FOR AIR: THE STRANGLEHOLD OF NARCISSISTIC ABUSE. In addition to her life-long experience with narcissistic abuse, Dana's education in journalism and psychology at DePaul University in Chicago gave her the ability to accurately verbalize and express how narcissistic abuse creates confusion and conflict within victims, so that she can help other victims know they are not alone and better understand their own circumstances. Today, Dana is a proud voice for fellow victims who are unable, afraid, or ashamed to share their experiences. She has been a guest on nearly two hundred podcasts globally, striving to create awareness and understanding to ensure victims are given the support they need to first understand their situation and then begin the healing process. She has also been a featured speaker in two Summits for healing after trauma. Her first book, chronicling her own abusive marriage that lasted nearly three decades, started as a journal that she hid under the couch cushion in the basement. Dana's second book, CHOKING ON SHAME: THE SCAPEGOAT CHILD IN A NARCISSISTIC FAMILY, was a #1 New Release on Amazon after its mid-September release. The book delves into Dana's life as an unwanted pregnancy and child, and the physical and verbal abuse she endured as a result. The final book in the narcissist trilogy, SWALLOWING MY PRIDE, is expected to be released in early 2025. This sequel to GFA brings the first two books full circle with recovery, healing, new love, and another narcissist Dana hadn't seen coming. Learn more about Dana, her book, CHOKING ON SHAME, available at https://www.danasdiaz.com as of September 9th. Website: https://dswministries.org Email: diana@dswministries.org Subscribe to the podcast: https://dswministries.org/subscribe-to-podcast/ Social media links: Join our Private Wounds of the Faithful FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1603903730020136 Twitter: https://twitter.com/DswMinistries YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxgIpWVQCmjqog0PMK4khDw/playlists Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dswministries/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSW-Ministries-230135337033879 Keep in touch with me! Email subscribe to get my handpicked list of the best resources for abuse survivors! https://thoughtful-composer-4268.ck.page #abuse #trauma Affiliate links: Our Sponsor: 753 Academy: https://www.753academy.com/ Can't travel to The Holy Land right now? The next best thing is Walking The Bible Lands! Get a free video sample of the Bible lands here! https://www.walkingthebiblelands.com/a/18410/hN8u6LQP An easy way to help my ministry: https://dswministries.org/product/buy-me-a-cup-of-tea/ A donation link: https://dswministries.org/donate/ Dana Diaz [00:00:00] I do have a sponsor 7 5 3 Academy. Our martial art program specialized in anti-bullying programs for kids to combat proven Filipino martial arts. Colli. We take a holistic, fun, and innovative approach that simply works. Our fitness community is friendly and supportive without the over the top muscle gym atmosphere. Our coaching staff are professionally trained with over 30 years of experience. Get started by claiming your free class voucher. So go to the link in the show notes. This is in the Phoenix Metro area, so reach out to Coach David and coach Eric over at 7 5 3 Academy. Welcome to the Wounds of the Faithful Podcast, brought to you by DSW Ministries. Your host is singer songwriter, speaker and domestic [00:01:00] violence advocate, Diana. She is passionate about helping survivors in the church heal from domestic violence and abuse and trauma. This podcast is not a substitute for professional counseling or qualified medical help. Now here is Diana. Hello everyone. Welcome. Come on in. Glad to have you here for the regular listeners as well as some new folks coming in. We have a terrific show for you today, as always. We have a repeat guest today. Dana Diaz is on the show. She was here in season three, episode 1 53, talking about having a relationship with a narcissist, [00:02:00] which many of us have experienced. So if you haven't. Watch that episode. I really encourage you to go back and listen to it. It's excellent. The first time she was here. She was talking about her book, Gasping for Air, which is her story of, narcissistic abuse. And this time she's coming on because she just released a new book called Choking on Shame. Boy, what a title. Have you dealt with shame like the rest of us? Um, yeah, that's a great verb to use, a description to use choking. So I'm very intrigued about hearing about her second book since her first book was excellent. Okay, so here is her book. Very [00:03:00] engaging cover, a stranglehold of narcissistic abuse. Again, very descriptive, great title. This book is thick. it's very well written. Some parts are very tough to read, as you would imagine, just like. Maybe your story is hard. Your story has some hard sections in it. But before I bring her on the show, I'm gonna just briefly, read her bio again. For those that are new and haven't, met Dana. Dana Diaz is a wife, mother, and author of the bestselling book, Gasping for Air, the Stranglehold of Narcissistic Abuse. Dana has had lifelong experience with narcissistic abuse beginning in childhood. Her education in journalism and [00:04:00] psychology at DePaul University in Chicago gave her the ability to accurately verbalize and express how narcissistic abuse creates confusion and conflict within victims so that she can help other victims know that they are not alone and better understand their own circumstances. Today Dana is a proud voice for fellow victims who are unable, afraid, or ashamed to share their experiences. She strives to create awareness and understanding to ensure victims are given the support they need to first understand their situation and then begin the healing process. Her first book, chronicling her own abusive marriage that lasted nearly three decades, started as a journal. She hid [00:05:00] under the couch cushion in the basement. Dana is in the process of publishing the prequel and sequel to Gasping for Air. Learn more about Dana at www.danasdiaz.com. So I know that you're going to enjoy this interview, as much as the first one. So here we go with my second conversation with Dana Diaz. Enjoy. I am so excited to have back on the show, my friend Dan Diaz. Thank you for coming on the show again. Oh, I'm so happy I'm back. I just am delighted whenever somebody invites me back on a podcast because there's so many, as we were just talking about, there's so many things, layers to abuse and the things we endure. Um, so there's so much to talk about that's hard to cram into a [00:06:00] half hour or an hour show. So thank you for inviting me back. I appreciate it. Yeah. Well, I like having repeat guests because I already like you. I already know you and you have more to share with us with your new books. And so I'm real excited to hear what you have to say to the folks. I did give, a little bio before you came on, but if you could do like a synopsis, a summary of your abuse story, just as a reminder of what you've gone through so far. Yeah, absolutely. I'm 49 years old, so it's been a ride. But my first book actually covered my 25 year relationship and first marriage, to an abusive narcissist. And I know we use this word narcissist very freely in society, but what I'm talking about is somebody that is so, intent on fulfilling their [00:07:00] egotistical need for power and control, that they will go to the extent of, domestic violence and things like that, various abuses, to feel that, to fulfill that ego of theirs. And so, that covered that. But then after that book came out, the only book I ever meant, to put out. So many people had questions about, well, how does somebody end up in a relationship like that? And my immediate answer was, well, that was my childhood because I was born to a teenage mother who didn't want me. And she, in fact, she had her tubes tied immediately after my birth, and I was born on her 17th birthday. They apparently did that in the seventies. But, then she got married to a man who was not my father and who wanted me even less because I was not his biological child. And so I endured physical and verbal abuse and emotional neglect and, had a pretty hard time trying to figure out my place in the world, especially when I'd go to school thinking, okay, I'm okay [00:08:00] here. I'm safe here. And then I get bullied everywhere I turn, I'm facing adversity and opposition and being put in situations where I'm not good enough and I'm not this and I'm not that. And so what am I, what am I. But then we kind of answer that question in the third book, released March 31st. And that one is called Rising from the Ashes. Breaking the Cycle of Narcissistic Abuse. Yes, rising out of it. But, you know, it's sad that it took me till my late forties to really understand, and I think more so internalize and change my mindset about who I am and where my place really is in this world. Because when you're abused, I think anybody who is listening, who you know, has had that experience, it's part of your soul, feels like it's taken away. [00:09:00] Your independence, your autonomy, I love this. I have this scene in my third book, which. I'm crying, I'm upset because I'm like, I have no contact with my abusive mother and stepfather. I have ended my, relationship, divorced my ex-husband who is abusive. I should be happy. Things are going great. Marrying a man that I've known his family 20 years and he's the sweetest, gentlest, most patient person I've ever met in my life. And so what I really needed, but it was like I still wasn't happy. I was still suffering. I was in still so much pain, but there was no external outward reason for it. I had so many blessings all around me but I couldn't see it because I was still holding on to that victim mindset, that pain. And my priest looked me in my eye and he says, my dear. The problem is, is you are still thinking like you're [00:10:00] the daughter of a mother who rejected you, but you're not. He said, you're here because God intended for you to be here. She may not have wanted you, but he wanted you. Here you are God's child. You're not your mother's child. You're God's child. And that's when literally everything turned around for me. Everything turned around. Mm. And, just made me rethink my place in this world that I was like, that's right. He wouldn't have protected me and had his hand over me through that entire childhood, which I cover in the second book. He wouldn't have protected me from, an ex-husband who was planning to, not have me exist. He wouldn't have done all those things if I wasn't meant to be here to serve his purpose. I'll never forget the morning that I was just coming out of that first marriage and it literally just came into my head. You should write a book about your experiences. And I'd [00:11:00] never understood what it meant when God spoke to you or put something on your heart. But I literally remember like kind of glancing up like. Is that you? It's kind of like that old book. Are you there? God, it's me, Margaret. Like, I'm like, is that you book? Oh God. I know, right? We all have that as a staple in grade school, but that was like the same kind of thing. I'm like, looking up, are you there? God, it's me. Like, were you actually did, was that for me? Like did you, were you talking to me? But I heard it. I heard it loud and clear and that's what I did and it's amazing, as I said that I only ever meant to write the one book and then it led to the second one and now it's. Led to people wanting more. And even now people are like, what about a fourth book? I'm like, the third one isn't even out yet. But now I'm like, actually there is a fourth book in me , and half written already, ironically, because there are so many stories that are pulled out to keep these books. I mean, I know they're thick, but they're pretty quick reads. But, it's been a heck of a ride. But again, I go back to the faith and I think that [00:12:00] as much as people say stay away from religion, politics, when it comes to God, we are all here because we are his children. And once, like I said, I, I got that and somebody said that to me. I'm like, everything changed. Everything changed. It's like I woke up, like my eyes opened up and I said, oh my gosh, I am here. And let me tell you a quick story. And I might have told this on the first podcast, but. During my childhood, and I covered this in my second book, which is called Choking on Shame, the Scapegoat Child in a Narcissistic Family. When you're being raised by two narcissists, it's difficult because I was that kid that always wanted to achieve more, more, doing everything right. I was the best at everything. Honor roll. I taught myself to play piano. I was first chair viola in two orchestras, and like whatever it was, I wanted to do things that would make my parents proud. But it was never enough. It was never enough because I couldn't [00:13:00] be any more than what they wanted me to be, which was nothing, right? So that they could feel better about the way they were treating me. But the irony is, is that as I was going through high school, I really wanted to go to beauty school. I so desperately wanted to do like makeup and facials and stuff. I was really interested in that and, nope. Again, narcissists. They can't brag about a daughter going to beauty school when cousin Joey's going to study engineering and that one's going to study physical therapy or become a doctor. It wasn't brag worthy. Mm-hmm. So they said, you have to go to college. And I'm like, what am I gonna do in college? I mean, yeah, I got good grades, but I didn't wanna go to college. I wanted to go to beauty school. Well, guess what? I went to college. I ended up going to DePaul University in Chicago. Good Catholic girl. Stayed with my faith. I loved the experience, honestly, and I'm glad I did it. But, uh, there's no classes on beauty over there or fashion or [00:14:00] anything unless you wanna be a fashion designer. And I didn't wanna do that. Mm-hmm. But I definitely studied psychology because I knew that I wanted to be in a better mindset myself, even that young. But the funny thing was that all my professors pushed me more towards public speaking and writing. So I went into the journalism program, came out of there. That's about when I met my ex-husband, and again, another narcissist. He would not support me in any efforts to become a journalist or, or work in any kind of media, even, you know, small town, little cable media, because joy, success, achievement, that would outshine anything that he could possibly, or that he thought he could, achieve himself. So he had me cleaning houses, in this podunk town that he moved us to in the Midwest. And um, that was fine. I was one, I've always been one of those people, like, if I'm gonna do something, I'm just gonna do it. Give [00:15:00] 200%. I was reliable. I was trustworthy. I ended up building a six figure empire with this cleaning business and had a crew of eight people. But where I'm going with all this is that, so when I get this idea after that divorce, that I should write this book, it was interesting because I looked back and I thought, talk about coming full circle here. I was in this abusive childhood. I remember 12 years old was the first time I actually thought like I would never want anybody else to endure what I have. And I know I have not even had the most horrific childhood. Other people, most certainly have endured worse, but I knew I wanted to help children that were victims of child abuse so that they could live better lives as adults, and not be stuck in that situation or repeat those cycles with their children. So here I was [00:16:00] 45 years old, have endured this childhood, have endured this abuse, get this idea to write a book, and then I'm like, oh, so this is why you did this to me. God, this is why I couldn't go to beauty school. I had to endure all this stuff, and then you made me go to college. Or you at least put me with two parents who absolutely would not hear anything other than me going to college. I end up in the journalism program. Now I have a degree in journalism that I've never used, but now I've had all these experiences that I can actually verbalize. Help victims of abuse. Mm-hmm. It was like one of those epiphanies where like you're like, oh, that's why you did this all. Like, but we don't see it when we're going through things. We can't see the light at the end. We can't see that there is reason we get, we kind of drown ourselves in the sorrow and the self pity. And it's not to say the things that I endured weren't worthy of, that they were, [00:17:00] you know, awful. Other people have had more awful circumstances, but I think that's the thing that you have to come to at the end of it is to trust. You have to trust God. He's not putting you through anything because I mean, there were times where I'm like, what did I do? What did I do? Like I'm a good girl. Like I haven't, I've made mistakes. We all do. But like, what have I done that was so bad that I deserve this? And I think so many people fall into that and then they start shaming themselves, blaming themselves, blaming God sometimes turning away from him. And for me, it was just, it. He was ever present. There would be people that would come into my life at certain points, whether momentarily or for, some amount of time that would sort of kind of like, like a shepherd kind of herd me back, like into God's light. And so it was like, I couldn't see it until I was there, until the last few years where I'm like, oh, okay, God, I see this now. But maybe some of us aren't meant to understand or [00:18:00] even know. Why and what and all this. But we have to trust, we have to trust that even the bad stuff is meant for us. And it's meant for a specific reason and it's meant for our specific, unique purpose in this world and in this life. And so hopefully that gives other, somebody some hope that no matter what their circumstance, there's a reason for it. And it might not even be for you, it might be for somebody else's benefit or for them to learn a lesson. I mean, we, there we're all so interconnected, but we all are a source from God. Hmm. I totally agree with that. Agree. I know you kind of, glossed over your, ex-husband and the suffering you went through with him in gasping for air. I remember that story. Yeah. Of you were asleep in your house. With your son, and you heard somebody unlocking the door downstairs and [00:19:00] it was your ex-husband just barging in, in the middle, middle of the night, was barging in and took your son and you're wrestling with him downstairs trying to keep him, literally from taking him away from you. And we talked about this before the podcast about the language in your book. The words that he would call you in front of your son and trying to sneak into your house in the middle of the night. That's a monster. That is a monster, yeah. That you were married to. And that must have been really terrifying. How do you move forward from that? That's why I wrote the second book, because I came out of this childhood basically being conditioned to think that I had to earn love, that I wasn't inherently worthy of it. And it's hard to even love yourself when you think you have to earn love or that, you know, even as a kid, and certainly as an adult, I'd look around , I notice [00:20:00] other families and how they operate. Or when I was playing at a little friend's house or having dinner at somebody's house as an adult, like everybody's mother loves them. Every family has dysfunction. But it's family. You stick together and a mother loves all her children, or at least she's supposed to. But I think that's the part that I wrestled with the most was that my mother did not, I mean, she did not want me before I was born. She did not endear herself after, to me after I was born. In fact, after I was born, um, my grandma and I were just talking about this recently that, my grandma and great grandmama came to the hospital and my mother had no intention of bringing me home. She was gonna adopt me out or leave me there, whatever. And my grandma said, oh, no, this is our first grandchild, our first great-grandchild. No, no, we are taking her home. And my grandma said she paid the bill and my grandma took me home with her, and that's who I was with. But at the point where my mother got [00:21:00] married, or, moved in, I should say, before she got married to her husband, who she is still married to after almost 40 years. Um, well, no, it's been just over 40 years actually. But, somebody thought it was a good idea for me to go and live with them because, it's kind of interesting looking at my mother's situation. You know, her family came from Puerto Rico, both of her parents, and they lived in Chicago. They had everything they needed, but certainly weren't living the life that she thought she should have. And she was a very, oh, just a stunning, stunning young woman. Um, and I think she knew it and she knew that she could have a better life without having to necessarily, go the route that a lot of people would. And I'm trying to be very careful how I word that, as you can see, because I don't wanna judge her. That's a whole other thing that I deal with in the third book is my relationship and my feelings about her. But the childhood [00:22:00] being raised by somebody like that who's telling me, oh no, we're gonna wear gap clothes now. We're gonna talk like this. Now we're gonna straighten our hair now. Nobody needs to know where Hispanic, nobody needs to know. He's not your real father. Putting on this facade and basically being told as a small child as early as five years old, I remember being told to lie to people. So I just didn't say anything. 'cause I couldn't keep my mother's story straight. I'm not even sure she could keep her story straight because she told lies about who we were so often. I, I mean, it literally made my head spin and I started saying to my friends as a little girl and all through adulthood, my mother and her stories. They always had a story for everything. And I think that's what I know readers have expressed when they read that book, choking on Shame is the frustration of what happened versus what was put out. I mean, she is like the media, you know, she's like [00:23:00] a political correspondent that's definitely sided on, one side and it's hers. Um, it was never on mine, and that's hard as a child to understand that your mother does not love you, that you cannot depend on your mother to take care of you emotionally, physically. Nothing. So, yeah, it was basically like serving me straight up to a monster because the opening of gasping for Air, the first chapter is when he literally walked into my place of work the first time I met him. And I remember very clearly thinking of the robot had lost in space with the coily arms danger, danger. Like he, he came off arrogant and smug and like he, he had a sense of entitlement and it just, reminded me so much of my stepfather and I thought, oh, I know this personality type. There's no way. But [00:24:00] when you grow up like I did, you're a people pleaser. You, it doesn't matter. It could be the devil himself. You want that person to be pleased with you. You can't deal inside of yourself with the rejection of anybody or anybody's disapproval or disagreement. It's a hard position to be in and something that's very hard to heal from. But that's how I ended up with somebody like that. But we have to remember too, that I always joke with people, I have all these pop culture references, but they're helpful. I always say, it's not like Chucky came into my office with, you know, with a weapon and a striped shirt and disheveled hair and said, Hey, baby, that doesn't do it for me. I don't think anybody would go on a date with Chucky. We have to remember even. Ted Bundy, the serial killer. He was charming and handsome, wasn't he? Mm-hmm. And that's how they lure us in. So even though my initial impression of my ex was [00:25:00] not a good one, I kind of had this hypervigilant detection system. Like, oh no, I know you buddy. You don't even have to say two words. I know who you are. I didn't listen to it because he didn't approve of me. And that, that just trumped everything I had to win his approval. So once I got him to like me a little bit enough to let me in, well then he saw a vulnerable, codependent, people pleasing opportunity to take advantage and take control. And that's exactly what he did. But, but I'm gonna be very clear about this because I'm big on accountability. Sure. Looking back, I mean, it's not my fault that I was raised that way. It's not my fault necessarily that I was vulnerable to a romantic relationship like that. But I do see that, for example, my biological father, who I have a wonderful relationship with, he had two daughters and [00:26:00] like my one sister, the oldest, one of the two, they were raised in a home by two loving parents who wanted them, supported them, encouraged them, took them to church every Sunday. You know what we would think is, uh, I hate to use the word normal, but normal, nice family, right? Oie. Yeah. It would be healthy. She has self-esteem. She knows who she is. She has boundaries. I didn't, I was none of that. So if you would've put her in that same situation I was in with my ex back then, she would not have entertained it in the slightest, right? She would've set that boundary and said, no, thank you. Have a nice day, and that would've been it. Um, me, like I said, just a little bit different. And I think unfortunately, a lot of people that fall into these romantic relationships do have that sense of needing to have the approval and needing to, please other people for whatever reason. And sometimes it's ironically not even a bad childhood. Sometimes [00:27:00] it's this personality that we call the parentified daughter. It could be a daughter of a very nice family, but the oldest daughter who had to help mom with the siblings or it could be the daughter mm-hmm. Of an alcoholic or somebody with a drug dependency who had to be the parent to the parents and to the other children. The parentified daughter that has this intense, uh. She's compelled to nurture and care for and take care of everybody. She subdues her own needs and takes care of everybody. But it's like these narcissistic or abusive people. Um, they can just sense that It's like they can sniff it out because that's exactly what they want you to do. You jump through the hoops and I will give you a treat. I mean, I liken it and gasping for air, oftentimes to being like a dog. I, if I was a good girl, which he actually used that verbiage with me, good girl, good girl all the time. If I said the right thing, good girl. Even [00:28:00] in the bedroom, good girl. It's sad when I look back on what I tolerated, but, um, if I was a good girl, then he treated me okay for a few days. But boy, if he saw that, I said or did something he didn't approve of, well, then I suffered consequences. I think this is a great time to stop our conversation. For now. I definitely wanna hear the rest of what she has to say. She has given us so many gold nuggets today as she has the first time she was on the show, and I really, want to continue the conversation with her a little bit further though. I do encourage you to come back the next time on the wounds of the Faithful podcast. I wish you a great week. God bless you and bye for now. [00:29:00] Thank you for listening to the Wounds of the Faithful Podcast. If this episode has been helpful to you, please hit the subscribe button and tell a friend. You could connect with us at DSW Ministries dot org where you'll find our blog, along with our Facebook, Twitter, and our YouTube channel links. Hope to see you next week.

Objets de pouvoir - Congo-Brazzaville: la soutane de l'abbé Fulbert Youlou [5/10]

Reportage Afrique

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 2:22

Notre série sur les objets de pouvoir s'intéresse dans cet épisode à la soutane de l'abbé Fulbert Youlou, le premier président du Congo-Brazzaville indépendant. Homme d'Église, mis à l'écart par le Vatican pour son engagement politique et ses mœurs, il continuera cependant à porter la tenue religieuse. Suivant un calcul très politique. Fulbert Youlou a revêtu la soutane, parce qu'il a effectivement été prêtre. Mais l'usage qu'il en a fait ensuite, après avoir été interdit de célébrer la messe, est devenu éminemment politique. Au moment de son entrée en politique, au milieu des années cinquante, la soutane devient un vêtement de prestige, mais aussi, comme l'explique l'historien Jean-Pierre Bat, une façon de capter à son profit le vote de populations marquées par les mouvements messianiques et le souvenir des résistants à la colonisation. « Il va essayer de cristalliser sur sa soutane tout le capital magico-religieux. Il va donc lancer toute une campagne "Kiyunga-la Soutane". Il va y avoir, à l'initiative d'un de ses conseillers, M. Vincent, qui est un spécialiste de l'anti-communisme, une campagne photographique mettant en scène Fulbert Youlou. Il est en permanence revêtu de sa soutane noire, qui fait le lien entre tous ces espaces politiques », explique-t-il. À lire aussi1. Spéciale Archives d'Afrique - Fulbert Youlou (1/10) Des légendes miraculeuses se diffusent alors. L'une d'elles, selon l'historien congolais Joachim E. Goma-Thethet, a pour décor les chutes de la Loufoulakari, où le résistant kongo Boueta Mbongo avait été décapité par les colons : « La légende dit que l'abbé Fulbert Youlou, après s'être recueilli là, entre dans la Loufoulakari avec sa soutane et il en ressort complètement sec. Donc l'abbé Fulbert Youlou établit une filiation avec les anciens résistants anticoloniaux de la région du Pool ». Ce sont en fait de véritables pouvoirs magiques qui sont prêtés à cette soutane, comme le raconte le documentariste Hassim Tall Boukambou : « Le président Fulbert Youlou était censé tourner à l'intérieur du pays, emprunter le chemin de fer Congo-Océan, et pris par le temps, il n'a pas pu s'arrêter dans toutes les gares. Les populations de ces gares riveraines étaient persuadées que le train de Fulbert Youlou s'était envolé, tout simplement, avait survolé ces gares, et certaines personnes affirmaient à l'époque que le train avait été vu dans le ciel. Et tout cela grâce aux pouvoirs de Fulbert Youlou, incarnés notamment par sa soutane ». À lire aussiAu Congo avec Hassim Tall Boukambou, chasseur d'archives La signification politique que Fulbert Youlou attribue à sa soutane est d'ailleurs très fluide. En novembre 1961, au palais de l'Élysée, il la décrit plutôt comme un symbole de son attachement à la culture française : « Le costume civil que portaient avant moi MM. les présidents Diori et Maga, la soutane que je porte aujourd'hui, sont en eux-mêmes, je le crois, une déclaration d'appartenance à la civilisation française ». L'évolution des soutanes de Youlou symbolise en tout cas la transformation de son pouvoir. Arrivé au sommet de l'État, il revêt une soutane blanche à l'image de celle du pape, qui créera quelques embarras protocolaires. À la recherche de luxe, enfin, il se fait confectionner des soutanes de couleur chez le grand couturier Dior, des soutanes qui deviendront le symbole de la dérive de son régime.

culture pool maga archives vatican histoire mm afrique donc homme pouvoir arriv objets suivant congo brazzaville fulbert

Keep Those Supply Costs Down With This Piece of Advice

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 35:34

Kiera is joined by Ted Osterer of Synergy Dental Partners to talk about the money field of dentistry in this moment of 2025, including tariffs, negotiating and raising fees, finding supplies, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I am jazzed. I have a super fun guest on the podcast today. We're going to talk about the tariff sheriff, how that's impacting dentistry, the rise of dental supply costs, and honestly what to do because I'm so annoyed by all these pieces. What's the economic outlook? How do dentists freaking survive? Like, gosh, it just seems like a funny world out there. But we have Ted Osterer. He is with Synergy. I love this buying group. I think they're Absolutely incredible. We're gonna shed some light for you guys. So Ted, welcome to the show today. How are you? Ted Osterer (00:32) I am doing very, very well. Thank you so, so much for having me. Congratulations on your thousandth episode recently. I'm happy to be a part of this and any value I could bring to your listeners, hey, we're all better for it. Kiera Dent (00:39) Thank you. Well, thanks, Ted. And yes, ⁓ I'm still in utter awe that we hit a thousand episodes. Like when I started this, it was just a whim, a pipe dream. Jason and I were hiking. It's not a joke. I literally was hiking half-dome. Mind you, Jason had said, hey, let's go down to Yosemite. I'd love a nice relaxing weekend down there. And I had learned that you could go get, like, this is prior. You can't do this anymore. That you could get these like day passes, like these day camping passes. And if you just went and sat at this little lodge for a few hours. So I was like, Jay, yeah, of course we'll go down there for this very calm, welcoming, welcome, like very easy, relaxing weekend. Little did he know I had full plans to try and get half dome tickets and like hike half dome. I even brought the gloves, like I was ready to go. And sure enough, I got the lottery, got the tickets. Jason was like, what the heck? We're going to freaking hike half dome. Like, Kiera, we haven't even prepped for this. We haven't done any of this. We don't even have a hotel. We got a hotel an hour away. We had to drive an hour outside of town. It was the nastiest hotel. They were like, I'm not even joking. There was like hair and like this little pill on the pillow that were not ours. Jason's like had the worst sleep of his night and I'm like listen there's no hotels around me of 70. Like we're filing so we had a place. We went back super early the next morning to hike Half Dome and lo and behold on our hike I said Jay I think we need to build a podcast. This is where it all started. It was like one of those things that I never imagined a thousand episodes would hit and here we are. Ted, you're hanging out with me a thousand in. And I think it's just fun because of all the value, all the stories, all the people. And like you and I were talking about pre-show, the podcast is really just a place where I get to selfishly hang out and just have a good conversation with people that I like. I get to meet new people in the industry. And as a byproduct of my nerdiness and excitement of meeting people, all of our listeners get benefited by this. So Ted, I'm so happy you're a part of this. Thank you for that. ⁓ Outside of Yosemite, let's talk about the rising cost of dental supplies, the tariffs, how this is going to impact. Because I know people are really nervous about it. I see in lots of dental groups out there, and you guys are really great. That's why I had you come on, because I think you're a huge solution to these problems. So take it away, Ted also, so the listener know how on earth did you even get into dentistry? Let's talk about that first, and then let's talk about what this even looks like for dental practices long-term. Ted Osterer (03:00) How did I get into dentistry? ⁓ It was fate, it was just destiny. Growing up, I had 13 teeth pulled. I had braces for five years and it was like, well, I'm here for life, I guess. And this is just how we can all grow as a unit. ⁓ I've been in dentistry for about 15 years now. I started out as a dental supply rep. I was going door to door for over five years and... funny enough that, you know, this isn't the, I grew up in the New York area. This is the major metropolitan New York area. And I had a really good buddy and he was like, I think you'd be a really good fit actually managing anal practices. And I can actually introduce you to someone. And it was like a small like eight practice group. I can introduce you to somebody, the practice on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Go see if you'd be a good fit. And I'm just kind of like, sure, guess. know, it's like always like have a conversation. And I had a conversation and sure enough, I got along really well with a particular office manager ⁓ from this group and I went to go work for this office manager. ⁓ Within three months, I had my own practice. I was a practice manager. You know, it's so funny going from a supply rep to an office manager, right? I learned the first and I'm not saying this is everybody, but I learned the first day of being in a dental office that I knew nothing. Kiera Dent (03:59) Yeah. Ted Osterer (04:29) about what happens in a dental office, right? Like I'm like, could, God, it's gonna be a piece of cake. I've been in dentistry for five years. And so I could tell you how strong and impressive material was. That does not help with insurance codes or posture downgrade or presenting treatment or creating a schedule or reading a schedule, anything like that. So, much respect to everyone that manages offices that's listening right now that my goodness, you're fighting the good fight. Keep up the good work. ⁓ Kiera Dent (04:40) does not. Agreed. Ted Osterer (04:57) I did that for some time. I was recruited to work for care credit. I oversaw New England for a few years where then they moved me to South Florida. And then a few months after that, I was recruited by Synergy. I've been here since 2021. And this is really, really cool. You know, I came to Synergy because the message was, do you want to make an impact in the dental world? You know, like you love what you do, but do you really want to make an impact? Do you want to help independent dentistry? And I was like, man, what a line, right? Like I was suckered in and I really wanted to make a difference. And sure enough, almost four years later, we're still here at, you know, we're the largest dental buying club in the country. We are the fastest growing dental buying club in the country. And we're just trying to preserve independent dentistry by giving them the same supply and overhead cost at a 20 plus practice DSO would get. that, know, we were founded by dentists. It was as black and white as, Hey, If enough of us order from the same places, they'll give us a discount. And now we have people in charge of negotiating pricing. You know, we have a dedicated team to each member to make sure that they're getting the values worth here at Synergy and they're not ordering more than they have to. And you you asked about tariffs, the rising overhead costs, all of that really, really fun stuff, right? Let's dive into that, right? You know, the perceived economic uncertainty of everything. Are prices going to go up? Yes, of course. Does that mean you need to buy everything right now at the same time to save money in like six months? No, you probably shouldn't do that either. You know, the waiting game generally always pays off, be it in dentistry or outside of dentistry when it comes to money, you know, you're better off just kind of, you know, hold the chips, hold down the fort, you know, you're, it's not, you do not sound the alarms, of course, right? You know, the price of your crowns is not going to go up 10,000 % like. Kiera Dent (06:21) Yeah. Ted Osterer (06:50) Calm down, chill out, right? It's what we've monitored. Have tariffs affected some prices? Yes. ⁓ Many have already gone down. Many have plateaued with that price increase and we kind of have a safe, what, just gauge on what those actually are, right? The percentages have been minimal. It's a few dollars here and there. Kiera Dent (06:52) Yes, I agree. Ted Osterer (07:17) Again, the industry is not belly up. really should not be your ⁓ primary concern. Providing optimal quality ⁓ of treatment should be your number one concern still to this day. I don't think it's going to make a difference whether you're getting a new sensor or not. If your sensor goes, you're OK. Kiera Dent (07:36) It's It's really true. Well, Ted, I love that. And I love your story. And I love that you have the real life experience in dental practices, because that's something that we pride ourselves on at Dental A Team. It's like, we've been there, done that, and done it successfully. And you're right. Being in a practice is no small task. It's no small feat. And ⁓ I think the supply costs, I do agree with you. think certain people were getting a little bit, maybe extra on this, of how concerned we are of cost. And I don't think it's a wrong thing. to look at, to project down and to forecast forward to make sure that you keep in line with your overhead. Like people who are looking at this, I'm high-fiving you because you actually are looking at your numbers and you understand the cost of your supplies. But at the same time, I remember I was at a, I have a friend who's very wealthy. We're talking like this person brings in 28, 30 million annually a year. And like, I just giggle because it is a great friend. Ted Osterer (08:25) Sounds like a great friend. There you go. All right. Kiera Dent (08:29) I thought he said he was a cosmetic dentist when I met him and he's surely not a cosmetic dentist. He's a cosmetic chemist. So skincare, things like that. And I remember we were talking and he was like, yeah, I just got so freaked out about the stocks. I pulled everything out of the stock market. This was two years ago. And I'm like, bro, like the amount of gains because you got so scared is incredible. And I had another friend, we were sitting at a wealth conference and we had like Ray Dalio there and Paul Tudor Jones and gosh. Marks, Howard Marks, like so many of the big players in wealth and they weren't talking. And this guy named Harry Dent came in and Harry Dent has been known for being right and wrong on predictions of the market. And I remember like, I'm not kidding you. We talked in this conference of do not make rash decisions. Like we're here to gather all the information, synthesize it out and then make best decisions. And I kid you not, we are two days into this five day conference and I met this guy and he's like, Harry Dent just freaked me out. I went and sold all my... like sold everything like that night pulled everything out of the stock market. I was like, dude, you're the reason people talk about what not to do because you should never be this radical. And so I feel like while those are extremes, I feel like dentistry can kind of be that way with the supply. Like we feel it's the stock market plummeting on us within our supply chain because we've got tariffs on there. When the reality is let's remember dentistry by default, a lot of our products already have very high margins on them. Like I'm not going to say it to the world in case there are people who are not dentists listening. but you can just think about fluoride for one second. So fluoride has insane margins on it, which are very profitable for you. The bulk of dentistry is very profitable. So these small rises, agreed, let's take a look at that. But like you said, Ted, it's not the end of the world. So I am curious though, from my like nerdy side, what things have gone up the most? What are you guys seeing across the board that the tariffs or the uncertainties, like the economy's gone up you guys. Bread, I'm shocked. or gasoline, you want to talk about gas prices? Like I don't know, in Florida it's way cheap. Here I'm in Reno in California. I kid you not in Truckee it was $7 a gallon and I like wanted to throw up the gases that much money, but I'm like if gas for a gallon is $7, bread prices, I mean you're paying five bucks, six bucks a loaf for bread, like supplies are going to be higher. It's not something that I'm like, oh my gosh, my cotton rolls went up. Well yeah, of course they went up. does like everything in the world has gone up. Home prices have gone up, but I am curious, what have you guys seen that the tariffs hit the most? Like what are some of those supplies? But we're ashricking this. Everyone listening, you have to promise you will not be either of my two friends who go radical. So when Ted tells you which one's worth a little bit higher, do not go out and give me like your prepping situation where you go buy all this because you're freaking out about it. Like steady the course, stay consistent, and just like watch the scene because most things will level out just like in stocks, just like in investments. But if we're radical and being wild on it, that's where you get. Like it just does not benefit. So I think Ted, everyone has promised. I made them just promise like everybody. Yes, you promise. Don't be radical. Ted, what are some of the ones that are seeing the highest hits? Like what, what products, what things are you guys seeing? Ted Osterer (11:33) Since you all promised ⁓ not to be radical, I will go ahead and share. Yeah, unbreakable. We know that's unbreakable. Kiera Dent (11:36) You promised. It's unbreakable. You did that, you like kissed the thumb, something like that. And then you like do a dance. All of them have done that, right? Nobody better lie. Don't be radical. Okay. They're good. Ted Osterer (11:52) Excellent. So for those listening at home, I did a very, very impressive interpretive dance, but for those watching, you saw it, it's all good. ⁓ So with a lot of the terrorists I've seen, and look, it's so volatile, you know, and for those, again, listening, I'm doing that thing with your finger, you go up and down a lot about how much it goes up and down. You know, look, I mean, you saw a lot of the anesthetics made in Canada go up a significant percent. You saw a lot of lab cases sent from overseas or, you know, it's funny enough, for those that don't know what the gray market is in terms of the supplies in the industry, Products are made overseas, totally fine, right? There's nothing wrong with products that are made overseas. However, sometimes they're made in factories that are only authorized in certain countries, even though it could be big name, know, supply partners, major manufacturers. I won't name drop, you know what I mean? I'm not trying to, you can Google it, you have access to the internet, congrats. When it comes to, these products that are made overseas are only regulated to be in select countries, they still have to be refrigerated certain ways, they still could have, they could have been made a long time ago, they're set to expire. They are mailed here and then they are sold to the United States, they're unregulated. You'll see their costs are... Insanely low to the point where it's too good to be true spoiler a lot a spoiler it is too good to be true right in the event that someone You know your malpractice insurance Is kicked in you use great, you know gray market products. You might be losing a case and that's not the smoke you want However, in the event of these tariffs funny enough what went up these gray market products, right? ⁓ They went up to the point where Kiera Dent (13:25) Yeah. Interesting. Ted Osterer (13:46) They're the same pricing, if not more than what your rep is offering you now. know, and look, you don't want to be caught with something like that. And it goes to show you that you, again, you're worried about optimal care. You should be worried about what you're putting in your patient's mouth as well. And depending on where you order it from, right? Like picture yourself, you're a patient in a chair, okay? And an assistant walks in to set, you know, to set the room, to put the supplies that you're going to use on that tray and she opens an eBay box. Imagine what the patient must be feeling knowing that or an Amazon box. It's like, wait a minute, if your patient's aware at all, you probably don't want that. And now that price is the same price that a major dealer is going to offer you or a rep can offer you. That's the worst case scenario. I believe that that's what I've seen went up the most. And there were some labs from overseas. Kiera Dent (14:23) Yeah, no. No. No. I'm just. Ted Osterer (14:44) ⁓ where the tariff was taking effect, a lot of the tariffs they were getting, were passing directly onto the consumer. I've seen that stop also. I'm not gonna say it's not gonna happen again, but it's not like you can order in bulk all these cases, you know? So, you know, again, when it comes to your labs, if you're satisfied with your lab, play the waiting game. You should be fine. Kiera Dent (14:53) Mm-hmm. It's true. Yeah, that's actually really helpful to know Ted, because I was really curious and I think it's one of those things of, I don't know, I'm the clinician inside of me. I originally dental assistant, office manager, treatment coordinator. We have a lot of hygienists on our team. ⁓ I think all of us in consulting, well, yes, we watch the numbers exponentially, which is why I brought Ted on. I wanted synergy to be here. I think it's a great solution for your numbers. The biggest thing I will also say is like, Please don't be so obsessive with the numbers that you cut your amazing dentistry and you are actually not doing the best dentistry for patients. I believe that when we do good by our patients, when we take care of them, when we use great products, I'm not saying you have to be I have a car. I'm not saying you have to be like high, high end. You can if you choose, but just making sure that we're doing right by our patients. Like I said, dentistry is a very profitable industry. as is, like we have done a really good job of keeping the practices profitable in spite of insurances and all of that. But I really just want to make sure people, when we're looking at this, let's not penny pinch and nickel, like watching all of our nickels when we're actually doing a disservice to our patients. So agreed, like that gray market, things like that. Yes, I like to be a good shopper. I love to get a good deal, but making sure that it's a good deal that's also taking care of your patients would be my like word to the wise. Again, I believe that when we are good and we're honest to our patients, people feel that there's good karma, there's good energy, it's all the way around. So Ted, how does synergy work? Like how do you get around this? Because things are going up. Being a business owner, mean, our margins are, they've been high, so maybe they're a little less high. I will also say, like doctors, I hope you've increased your fees too. You should do that. like, it's not just supplies that get to go up. Dentistry also gets to go up and it should be going up. And if you haven't raised your fees, I'll just asterisk that right now. Like that is very common. It's very normal. It should be done every single year. I think that's a way to offset some of these costs for you too. It's ethical and honest, but Ted kind of walk us through like independent dentists, which are most of the practices listening. We do have some DSOs on there. I think sometimes you can feel like, I don't know. It's like the little brother who's watching the big brother drive the car and it's like, why can't I get these deals? Like I know I'm just one practice, but. Sometimes you feel neglected. sometimes feel like distributors and manufacturers don't give you as good of a deal. Like, let's be real. The DSOs do get better deals than you do. I I've heard, I go talk to a lot of people and they're like, well, yeah, if you've got 20, 30, 50 practices, we're going to give you like pennies on the dollar compared to my solo practice that's going to be paying more for it due to the bulk distribution. So how can we have that of like, how can Independence Dennis win? Not have these costs hit them and to still play in the big leagues, even though they don't want to necessarily practice that way today. Ted Osterer (17:53) Yeah, awesome question, right? You hit on the head. What did DSO's do? They strong arm these dealers, manufacturers, distributors, and they say, look, I have 30 offices. We all want to order from you. We'll commit to this amount of spend. We'll commit to this amount of product. Give me the absolute best deal that you will, or I'm going to the other distributor that's on the next page of this advertisement that I am looking at, right? So they're just negotiating fees all day. That's what the ESOs are doing. They have people in place to negotiate these rates all day. That's what Synergy Dental Partners has, Independent Dentistry, ⁓ I mean, look, it's alive and well. We see it every day, you know, just because there's not major conferences that you're demanded to go to like the ESOs and things like that doesn't mean they're not alive and well and band together and know what's actually going on in dentistry, right? So Independent Dentists will subscribe to Synergy. to have access to the same pricing that those 20 plus, 30 plus practice DSOs would get, right? We negotiate with these supply partners all day long on the supplies that you're already using, right? I mean, that's what we do. We bully our vendors. We come to an agreement with specific supply partners to be in our network and have very attractive offerings that they will only offer to Synergy members, right? We're partnered with major distributors. We negotiate with... them all day, we're partnered with different implant organizations, with different rotary organizations, with different services. Depending on what you're looking for, we're going to offer you something that you would not be able to get on your own, right? Do you have to order in bulk with a synergy member? No, that's the point of us because we have enough dentists all ordering from the same place that the bulk is taken care of. Order as you go, right? So Darby is our anchor supplier, shines the largest distributor in the country. Patterson's the second largest distributor in the country. Darby's the third largest distributor in the country. When you place an order with them, everything comes in one to two days. As a synergy member, any order over $249, there's no shipping charges. And let's think about that in itself. Do you have to order in bulk now? No, do you have to hit a crazy minimum? No, you can order four times a month and not pay shipping. Everything's gonna come in one to two days. Now regarding all these manufacturer deals, Kiera Dent (20:01) awesome. Ted Osterer (20:15) Oh, I like to buy four to get one free. like to buy three to get one free. You hear the word free. Awesome. Great. Now we do have a lot of offerings just like that care, right? However, we've negotiated the net costs of those buy four, get one threes, get one free, buy three, get one free for just one. So you can order one. You don't need to spend $700 on your favorite composite to get one free. And now shade C3 is going to sit on your shelf for the next three years and it expires. You're going to throw it away anyway. So you wasted all that money. Kiera Dent (20:23) Right. Mm-hmm. Ha! Ted Osterer (20:43) The point of us is inventory control. It's cash flow management. I mean, if cash is what you're worried about, well guess what? mean, order as you go, you're probably not gonna pay shipping anyway. You have the supply you need. My goodness, Kara, have you ever had to clean out a supply closet? Is it not the worst day of the month? You know, when people order the wrong things, yeah, maybe you'll return it, or what are you gonna do? You're gonna check it off that checklist and then put it where you think it goes. Now it's gonna sit there forever. Yikes, right? Kiera Dent (21:02) Yep. Yep. Ted Osterer (21:13) You know, with Darby, things are easy to return. You order as you go, it's not gonna get lost in some shuffle if you order as you go, right? We are partnered getting discounts with Strom and NeoDent for implants and BioHorizons and Zest for the locator attachment through overdenture materials, Comet and Brassler for rotary. ⁓ We just rolled out our partnership with Bisco. We're partnered with UltraDent, Crestor, LB, Phillips. I'm going to put your listeners to sleep as I shamelessly plug these. Incredible companies offering the incredible deals are giving our members but the whole point of us is Carrie said you love to shop Bad news pal. I'm taking that phone away from you. We've done that shopping for you We know where your pricing should be is every price the lowest price on the market. I can't confidently say yes It's not true. I can confidently say that a lot of them are the best price in the market But every price is going to be competitive and if you're taking four or five hours to place an order with six tabs open texting four different reps. That's four patients that you could have seen in that time. not only, let's say you order from all those places. Now you got five different shipping charges. And now you don't know when any of these orders are gonna come. It could take weeks. Something could be on back orders. Something could be expired. But hey, you saved a dollar on gloves. Congratulations, you know? Kiera Dent (22:16) you I love it. And I think that this, is why I like Synergy. I feel like it's, you get the Costco discounts without the bulk requirements. And that's something that I really enjoyed about it because something we teach with our clients is do not be stocking up. I remember I worked at Midwestern University's dental college for a few years. And I remember I went through their supplies and because there was so much Ted Osterer (22:44) Yep. Kiera Dent (22:58) We, like, I remember throwing away boxes and boxes and boxes of expired supplies, things that we couldn't use anymore. And it was disgusting. And I was shocked and I was like, that's it. We have to get this to where we can see everything. And so we're really big in consulting of like tip out bids, having clear things, having it where your order is not like tucked in boxes and nooks and crannies. ⁓ And the way you're able to do that is by buying as you need it, rather than buying. Like I remember buying when I was an assistant ordering. Ted Osterer (23:07) What a waste. Kiera Dent (23:25) I think like 10 boxes of gloves. Like we had them stacked everywhere. It was just like an absurd amount because we were like, well, we got the deal. We need to have this versus like, no, like what are we using? That also keeps our costs down. We're not having these high end fluxes and low drops in our supplies. We're able to have that more consistent, have more consistent overhead. And like you said, sometimes Costco is not the cheapest. Sometimes I can get it cheaper at other places, but the reality is the time we're saving and also the more dentists buying within Synergy. more we're able to get the bulk discount. So it's like, it's the biggest DSO you can be a part of without being a part of a DSO, like air quotes around it, because you're not a part of a DSO, but it's the collective community group that's driving down the pieces for it. And Ted, correct me if I'm wrong, I feel like when I've talked to Synergy in the past, you don't have to give up your reps, because I know people get really weird about like, but like we've been best friends with so and so, and it's like, you can still order from the companies you want. Is that correct? Or do you need to like order through Benco? I thought it was like something with that, but help us understand like, Do I have to give up my rep? Do I have to only order through your guys' people? How does this work for me to transition over? Because I do know dentists are very loyal and I think that's an amazing attribute. I would say like stay loyal. Also make sure that your overhead's making sense as you're going and buying supplies. Ted Osterer (24:36) If you're a member of Center Gentle Partners, feel free to order from whoever you'd like. There's no minimums or anything like that. Now, are you better off buying from the suppliers in our network if you're trying to save money and time? Yes, like you just said. So Darby's our anchor supplier. They're the only distributor that we work with. If you're best friends with the Banco rep and you're looking to save money, and you give us a shot and like I said the sole point is to save money we can very much help you and there's plenty to go around that if you need to order from Banco who you mentioned earlier or any other distributor have at it but I mean if we can cut your supply cost by 25-30 % you keep your reps for service you keep your reps for whatever you choose to keep them for yes by all means we are not offended there's no exclusive like that. Now relationships are important. know, like you said that regarding manufacturers, if you have a rep already with Darby, you don't have to change who you're already ordering from as long as they're network. We don't force you to do anything differently. But hear me out. You brought up Costco. Now, you know, you went to Costco, you you only have how many free hours in a week? You know, either you can get that at Costco or you could spend the gas money and the time. Kiera Dent (25:44) Yeah. Mm-hmm. Ted Osterer (26:01) to hit up Walmart and Publix and somewhere else on the way home and now you're too tired to go do whatever it is that you wanted to do that night. But hey, you saved like 26 bucks, have at it, well done. How valuable is your time to you? Yeah. Kiera Dent (26:05) Yeah. Well done. Yeah. And if your gas is $7 a gallon, you did not actually make any money. thinking about that, but like for dentists, I think there's a good book, Dan Martell, I raved about him quite a few times to buy back your time. And I think this is a zone where we can have, where you can actually save time. You can save money and you can actually, even your assistant. So doctors, you might not be ordering, but your assistant's ordering. Think of like, if I didn't have to give up five hours or four hours of my assistant's time, which is what I used to have to block off. Ted Osterer (26:22) You Kiera Dent (26:43) and you can see more patients with that assistant rather than them ordering that right there is a cost saving. So I did some quick math because I heard what you said. If we are able to save you usually 25 % on your supply costs. So I just thought, okay, let's say there's a million dollar practice. This million dollar, that's about 83,000. We'll just do 84,000 rough math. A month is what this practice would be producing. We like as a consulting company for your supply costs to be about 5 % of that. So I was like, okay. That'd be like 4,200 bucks that month that could go towards supplies. If you guys save 25%, that's a thousand dollar savings, over a thousand dollar savings on that 4,200 a month. I was thinking about that, like a thousand dollars a month. This is on a million dollar practice. I didn't go for a sky high one. If you're bigger than that, obviously it's way more than that. But I just thought Ted, like, if you could save a thousand dollars a month, cause I know you guys have this, like you guys have sexy stats on how much you're able to save practices. I understand you might have to have two, three conversations with your reps. of like, guys, for us, we care about you, we love you. The reality is, I'm willing to have that conversation if I'm gonna get thousand bucks a month. Because that's now $12,000 for the year. And I think about, well right there, if you're looking at other things, virtual assistants can cost you $12,000 for a year. They can do all your billing, they can do outsource pieces for you, you could hire a personal assistant for you for $12,000. Even that extra $1,000 a month, I'm thinking, could you bring on different team members for that? What does that look like? I understand like a full assistance not going to cost you 12 grand, but I'm like virtual assistance are outsourced billing, different things that you could use those funds for that right there to me. I'd be willing to have some conversations and just look at. So that's where I want to, I'm really big on numbers because I'm like, cool, 25%. But I'm like, when it breaks down to like thousands a month that I could then reinvest and use in better areas, just like I'm like, you guys, you can keep spending money on Indeed. Go for it. And I'm not here to say indeed is not great. but you could also switch to AvaHR, which used to be VivaHR. It's literally 149 bucks a month for unlimited posting of ads. I took my cost of posting ads. I'm doing the same thing. I'm literally posting ads on the exact same platforms. I used to spend $15,000 a year on that, and now I pay about $1,200 a year. Right there, I'm like, that's a switch I'm willing to make. Yes, bummer, I don't get to like post directly to Indeed anymore. Same thing, I don't maybe get to like buy directly from my rep. you still can keep the relationship. Like if you need to buy equipment or different things like that, like you can still keep the relationship. But I think, and they will try to sweet talk you, but I've seen it with the buying groups, the savings that you get, I just say have the conversation. A thousand bucks a month, go on, get a massage, do something fun. Like, I don't know, take your kids on vacation for 12 grand, whatever it is, but that's just literally buying the same materials through a different platform and getting... money kickback. don't know. To me, Ted, it's always been a no-brainer, which is why I bring you guys on the podcast. So that's my spiel. But Ted, anything you have to take, wrap this up because I think with the tariffs, with the rising costs, realizing it's not that big of a deal, buy as you go. You can use these buying groups. You can be like a DSO, but you can buy what you need, not having to get all these deals. You're able to cut your costs. You said about 25 % on supplies and just go look at what you spent on supplies last three months. Think if you got 25 % of that back. I think I'd be willing to have a conversation. But Ted, you tell me what you think. Those are my thoughts on this. Ted Osterer (30:06) I said, I was going to say like the exact same thing, unfortunately, but I, you know, I'll take that one. I'll take that one second further to really, really simplify it. Right. And just summarize everything you just said. You know, we're partnered with over 50 supply partners, including eight different labs. Right. So as a consulting agency, right. Like we see labs as high as 10, 15%, you know, it should be what six to 8%. Yeah, so I mean, let's say you're a million dollar practice. That's the practice Kiera just said. If I save you just 1 % of your overhead, that is a $10,000 that Kiera's talking about. And it is so easy to save that as a member of Synergy. And my goodness, thank you so much for having me on. It really means a lot. And thank you for acknowledging. Kiera Dent (30:59) Yeah, of course. I think it's a matter where Ted, I, when I get really passionate about things, like I love Swell. They do their Google reviews so well, you're able to save costs on your marketing, but get like really incredible patients. When I see a zone where I'm like, supplies are supplies are supplies. I understand you love your rep, but I'm like, supplies are. If I can get the exact same anesthetic, like I need my Lido, it's certified and I can buy it from Benco or I can buy it from Shine, but I can get it for... X versus Y and I'm going to save substantially to me that's a way doctors it. I think that this is just being a higher level CEO that realizes just like DSO CEOs do as much as I love the product from X. I'm going to buy it from here because I'm literally able like it's the exact same thing. just get it on sale. So why would I not do that? And as a female like that's girl math for you Ted. Like if I can get it on sale, I'm going to buy it because I can use it to go get what I want over here. I just think like These are the zones, dentists, that the elites do. These are the zones that the multi-million dollar practices are doing. So learn from their strategies. Again, it's gonna be one, two, three, maybe a little bit uncomfortable conversations. You don't need to burn the relationship. But I would say if I was you sitting there looking at my overhead, looking for ways to do cash flow, I would radically consider something that's not going to impact your patient care, that's going to make your practice much easier and also give you more time back in your life. So that's why I you guys on. Again, I don't work for Synergy. We don't have an affiliate relationship with them. I love them, I adore them. I truly think you guys are just doing a great thing in the business. We are working on a partnership with them in the future for all of our clients. It's something that's really been big on my mind because I feel like, hey, why not? All of our clients that are with us, let's get them the best deals. But this is why I wanted you guys on the podcast. So Ted, how can people connect with you? How can they try you guys out? Again, you don't have to burn your rep. can just go even test it out. ⁓ But how can they try you guys out just to see what this looks like for their practice? Ted Osterer (32:53) Go to the TheSynergyDentalPartners.com know, leave your information with us. Please, please, please tell us that the A team sent you, you know, of course extra promotional offers if the A team, I mean, A plus team in my book, of course. ⁓ Yes, yes, A plus plus. And please let them know that you were sent by them so we can make the offering even more attractive for you. And you know, when you join Synergy, you don't even have to have that typical conversation. You can just hide in the bathroom. Kiera Dent (33:05) Thank you. Thank you. I agree. Ted Osterer (33:23) and we're all good. It's okay. Kiera Dent (33:25) Yeah, it truly is. Don't make this wild, you guys. ⁓ Ted, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for coming and talking about what the reality is and what things have gone up in pricing and how you guys have been able to watch it go up and down. You're seeing so many more supplies than just the solo practitioners seeing. so you're able to see, kind of like stock markets, we're able to see at a bird's eye view of what's really going in the landscape of it. And I want to just remind people, you guys, the future is bright. No matter what's going on, the future is bright. There's always solutions. Ted Osterer (33:29) Thank you. Kiera Dent (33:53) And I think right now is where we get a bit more scrappy, a bit more innovative, and truly you shouldn't be seeing much of a hit. Like shoot, if you're seeing a hit, just switch over to Synergy and you won't even see that hit. So try it out. ⁓ Ted, thank you for being on the podcast with me and thank you for everybody. I really think this is an awesome way for you guys to truly take care of your practice, take care of your patients, and make life easier, which is what we're all about. So Ted, thanks for joining me today. I super appreciate you. Ted Osterer (34:03) Yeah. ⁓ I'm happy to be here. Thanks again. Kiera Dent (34:19) And for all of you listening, thanks for listening and we'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

I'm Not Currently Playing the Game

The Harvest Season

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 97:08

Al and Codey take another look at Len's Island, now that it has released 1.0 Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:01:26: What Have We Been Up To 00:11:16: Game News 00:35:00: New Games 00:39:17: Len’s Island 01:30:57: Outro Links Harvest Moon Cozy Bundle Delay Desktop Cat Cafe 2.0.0 Fields of Mistria 3rd Update Paleo Pines “Players Choice” Kickstarter Dave the Diver 2nd Anniversary Info Usagi Shima “Tanabata Star Festival” Update Bee Simulator: The Hive Contact Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello, farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:33) Al: My name is Al. (0:00:34) Codey: And my name is Cody. (0:00:37) Al: And we are here today to talk about Cottagecore Games. (0:00:40) Codey: Oh, woo, ow, ow, ow. (0:00:44) Codey: I love it. I love it so much. (0:00:47) Al: I tolerate it. (0:00:49) Al: We are here today. (0:00:51) Al: We’re going to talk about Len’s Island, the second harvest of Len’s Island, (0:00:53) Codey: mm-hmm mm-hmm mm-hmm like three years ago yeah yeah much has changed (0:00:55) Al: because you did do an episode. (0:00:57) Al: You and Bev did an episode. (0:01:00) Al: When was that? (0:01:01) Al: I did have that up here, and then I lost it. (0:01:04) Al: Yeah, we think it was 2022. (0:01:06) Al: Yeah, yeah, there we go. (0:01:07) Al: Oh, April 2022, so more than three years ago. (0:01:12) Al: Wild. (0:01:15) Al: Well, I’ll be looking forward to hearing about what has changed. (0:01:20) Al: So, yeah, we’re going to talk about Len’s Island. (0:01:22) Al: Before that, obviously, we have news. (0:01:25) Al: But first of all, Cody, what have you been up to? (0:01:28) Codey: I have been obviously playing Lens Island the last couple days. (0:01:33) Codey: I have been, Pokemon Go has been having its like anniversary thing right now and you, (0:01:40) Codey: there is a chance to get shiny party hat worm bowl, which is my white whale. (0:01:46) Codey: I have a master ball ready to go for that little guy. (0:01:51) Codey: And so I’m trying to find one after we record this podcast, I will be going on a walk for (0:01:57) Codey: as long as I need to. (0:01:58) Codey: Um, no, I don’t care about that. (0:02:00) Al: Have you been trying to get a shiny gimme go? (0:02:04) Codey: I really just want the shiny, shiny party hat worm bowl. (0:02:07) Codey: And then I will probably just uninstall the game. (0:02:09) Al: Shiny purple. (0:02:11) Codey: Shiny party, purple party, purple. (0:02:13) Al: Party purple. (0:02:16) Al: Apparently, I’m really struggling with the word party in front of it. (0:02:17) Codey: Um, (0:02:19) Al: That’s really hard to say. (0:02:21) Al: Party purple. (0:02:22) Codey: Permable. (0:02:23) Al: Permple. (0:02:23) Codey: Uh, so I’ve been doing that. (0:02:25) Codey: I’m still playing honeygrove. (0:02:27) Codey: I just got the (0:02:28) Al: Has that, is that changing at all? (0:02:29) Codey: It’s just continuing. It’s just being the same game. There’s quests. There’s like parts of it that are unlocked. The one thing that I really friggin hate is there’s this ladybug lady who comes and goes. Her name is Abigail and she comes during the weekends and she leaves. It is. (0:02:30) Al: Or is it just continuing? (0:02:32) Al: Okay. (0:02:49) Codey: It is exponentially difficult to get her top tier reward and the things that she wants are things. (0:02:58) Codey: Nine times out of ten, it’s like plants that she brings that you can only plant when she’s there and if you have planted say you have 20 in your inventory and then she leaves, but the next time she comes you’re back to zero, which I think if they rolled the inventories over, I’d be so I’d participate more because I would feel like I have like a head start to the next time. (0:03:27) Codey: but they (0:03:28) Codey: don’t do that and so I’ve just kind of given up and whenever she arrives they (0:03:34) Codey: like make a big deal about how she showed up and then they cut they send (0:03:39) Codey: you to her screen and I’m like just let me click X like just let me be like okay (0:03:44) Codey: cool she’s here goodbye like I don’t want but every single time it cuts you (0:03:49) Codey: over to her screen and she says stuff and I’m just like leave me alone but I’m (0:03:54) Codey: still like unlocking parts of the map it’s just I don’t do a ton on it I just (0:03:58) Codey: every day for word mm-hmm (0:04:00) Al: Fair enough. I was going, I was going to say, it’s like, oh, I can’t believe you’re just (0:04:04) Al: playing the same game over and over for years. And then, and then, and then I realized we (0:04:07) Codey: hit me (0:04:10) Al: just talked about the ninth anniversary of Pokemon Go. Yeah. Yeah. See, I see I wouldn’t, (0:04:12) Codey: that and I will literally play minecraft forever for yeah (0:04:18) Al: but like Pokemon Go is like the thing that I continue forever. And it’s like, yeah, sure. (0:04:23) Al: I’ll play like party games regularly and I’ll do like, I will obviously play. (0:04:30) Al: Uh, other Pokemon games, but like, I’ll play them for until the new one comes out and then (0:04:35) Al: I’ll probably never touch them again, et cetera, et cetera. So it’s like, yeah, but no, I can’t (0:04:36) Codey: Um, so the other, yeah, the other things I’ve been still doing work, uh, probably (0:04:41) Al: really judge. (0:04:47) Codey: won’t be defending in September, but I’ll be defending in December instead. (0:04:51) Codey: Um, which is not a huge deal. (0:04:53) Codey: Uh, no, I’ll get it. (0:04:55) Codey: I would, my degree will get conferred in the spring, which I (0:04:58) Codey: kind of don’t really care anyways. (0:05:00) Al: » Just a formality. (0:05:01) Codey: Um, yeah, it’s a formality and like for jobs. (0:05:06) Codey: Um, people get accepted to jobs that require PhDs before they’ve even (0:05:12) Codey: defended, um, cause it’s a pretty, like, once you get to this point, you really (0:05:17) Codey: have to mess something up big time. (0:05:20) Codey: Like I would literally have to like stop putting any effort in and just give my (0:05:24) Codey: dissertation in this format it’s in now for them to be like, you’re not done. (0:05:29) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’ve gotten to that point, it’s like you have to really muck things up too. (0:05:30) Codey: Um, (0:05:34) Codey: Yeah. So, so I’m not really that worried about. (0:05:36) Codey: It. I have technicians right now, which is nuts because I, for this whole time I’ve been (0:05:42) Codey: solo or working with volunteers and the volunteers just helped me in the field. (0:05:47) Codey: I’ve been doing all the specimens by myself, but I have three henchmen right now. It is crazy. I (0:05:54) Codey: went from none to three in like a month. Um, a couple of them will be leaving at the end of July. (0:06:01) Codey: So this month is like a lot of me being working with them and making sure that they’re on the (0:06:07) Codey: and that we’re getting all the stuff that needs to be done done, which is really nice. Um, and (0:06:13) Codey: they’re all super great. We have a good little cohort. I’m also going to beetle school in a week (0:06:18) Codey: and a half. So like fly school, it’s same, same, but it’s Beatles and it’s Arizona, (0:06:25) Codey: which I’m not excited for that part, but I think it’ll be fine. I, I literally think I just won’t (0:06:32) Codey: go outside, except for at night, which it’s supposed (0:06:36) Codey: to be a lot colder at night in the desert area areas. (0:06:40) Codey: The big thing that’s in my life right now (0:06:42) Codey: is that I am fostering a stray cat. (0:06:46) Codey: So I will post a picture of him. (0:06:47) Codey: He’s gone through a couple name changes. (0:06:50) Codey: Initially, he was Calvin, and now he is Zuko. (0:06:57) Codey: And I got him because one of my friends (0:07:02) Codey: called me one night, like a week and a half ago, (0:07:04) Codey: and was like, we’ve caught a cat. (0:07:07) Codey: And I’m like, do you have head injuries? (0:07:11) Codey: Do you have a cat carrier slash– (0:07:13) Codey: do you know someone who could take care of this cat (0:07:15) Codey: until we can get it looked at? (0:07:17) Codey: And I came, we tried to get that cat. (0:07:19) Codey: They had caught it in a tote. (0:07:21) Codey: But then when we tried to move it from a tote to the cat (0:07:23) Codey: carrier, it escaped. (0:07:25) Codey: I went back later that day, I ended up finding this boy. (0:07:28) Codey: And he is just so chill, and just trots right up in purrs (0:07:32) Codey: and meows, and he just wanted food. (0:07:34) Codey: So I snagged him. (0:07:37) Codey: It says, “Zuko-Ime.” (0:07:39) Al: Ah, I see. (0:07:42) Al: I get that reference now, I wouldn’t have six months ago, but I get it now. (0:07:44) Codey: Yeah. (0:07:45) Codey: Oh, yeah, yeah. (0:07:47) Codey: So he’s Zuko after, at the end. (0:07:51) Codey: He’s calm. (0:07:52) Codey: He’s found his inner peace. (0:07:54) Codey: He’s just so chill. (0:07:54) Codey: He doesn’t– in the month and– not month and a half– week (0:07:58) Codey: and a half that I’ve had him, he hasn’t hissed. (0:08:00) Codey: He hasn’t raised a claw at all. (0:08:04) Codey: He and Stella get along really well. (0:08:07) Codey: Sometimes Stella will come at him pretty fast, (0:08:09) Codey: and he’s just raised a paw, but that’s it. (0:08:12) Codey: He doesn’t claw her. (0:08:14) Codey: He doesn’t hiss at her. (0:08:15) Codey: He’s just like, give me space. (0:08:16) Codey: And then she walks away. (0:08:19) Codey: And we were going to try and go find the other one. (0:08:22) Codey: We ended up finding it, and it’s a hoarding situation. (0:08:28) Codey: All of these cats are part of a hoarding situation. (0:08:30) Codey: There’s 20 cats that are part of it. (0:08:34) Codey: And so I’ve called the Humane Society and the Humane. (0:08:36) Codey: and they said that any time they’ve brought a cat that is injured or has something wrong with it to her and been like, “Hey, is this your cat?” (0:08:44) Codey: Even if they know it’s her cat, she’ll still say, “That’s not my cat.” (0:08:46) Codey: So they were like, “Don’t worry about it. Just keep trying to find him a good home.” (0:08:52) Codey: So she also doesn’t believe in spaying and neutering. (0:08:56) Codey: So it’s just a never-ending cycle. (0:08:58) Codey: She’s also living with her cat. (0:09:02) Codey: So it’s just a never-ending cycle. (0:09:08) Codey: So it’s kind of a big ol’ big thing. (0:09:10) Codey: But saving this baby. (0:09:14) Codey: And he’s a good boy. He’s very chill. (0:09:18) Codey: And that’s really the biggest stuff that I’ve been up to. (0:09:20) Codey: What about you, Al? What have you been up to? (0:09:24) Al: Well, I have been playing Lens Island, obviously, we’ll talk more about that later. (0:09:32) Al: What else have I been up to as I pause the game and scroll back to my list of things? (0:09:34) Codey: Pause the game. (0:09:40) Codey: Al, you’re not pausing the game. (0:09:42) Al: Of course I’m pausing the game. (0:09:43) Al: Oh, you mean I’m not playing the game, I got you. (0:09:44) Codey: Yeah, you’re not playing. (0:09:46) Codey: You’re not playing the game while you’re… (0:09:46) Al: No, of course not, Mario Kart World, yes. (0:09:48) Codey: No. (0:09:52) Al: I unlocked mirror mode, I don’t think I’ve done that in the last episode. (0:09:55) Al: Who knows, it’s been so long since I recorded that a whole week. (0:09:56) Codey: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. (0:10:00) Al: And I started doing the mirror mode Grumpries and I don’t think I’m going to finish doing them. (0:10:09) Al: I think getting three stars in all of them in 150 is probably enough for me. I’m happy with that. (0:10:15) Al: So we’ll see. Maybe I’ll do more later. I don’t know, but I’ve got what we got left a week and a (0:10:22) Al: and a half until Donkey Kong. (0:10:25) Al: Which is the next game to look forward to. (0:10:30) Al: And I mean, you know, the usual Pokemon here and there. (0:10:33) Al: I got Shiny Patchourichu yesterday. (0:10:36) Al: And Pokemon Go, as usual. (0:10:39) Al: I got my Shiny Game of Go, even though you’re not looking for it. (0:10:41) Al: I was looking for it. (0:10:42) Codey: Nope. Yep. (0:10:42) Al: I got two Shiny Game of Go, one normal and one costume. (0:10:47) Al: It’s not a costume, though. (0:10:48) Al: It’s a pretend costume. (0:10:48) Codey: Yep. (0:10:52) Al: Yeah, I think that’s about it. (0:10:54) Al: Kids are on holiday from school now, so it’s all madness. (0:10:58) Codey: - Mm-hmm. (0:10:59) Al: And we’ll be going to the Isle of Man in a few weeks. (0:11:04) Al: So just trying to see how life is something like near sanity for a while. (0:11:04) Codey: Oh, woo. (0:11:10) Codey: - Mm-hmm, yeah, cool, mm-hmm. (0:11:12) Al: We’ll see. (0:11:14) Al: But yeah, I think that’s it. (0:11:16) Al: Let’s talk about some news. (0:11:19) Al: First up, we have the Harvest Moon Cozy Bundle, which is such a (0:11:24) Al: stupid name for this, but this is the Lost Valley in Skytree Village ports to Nintendo Switch. (0:11:33) Al: They have delayed it. (0:11:35) Al: It was meant to be coming out on the 3rd of July. (0:11:38) Al: It is now coming out on the 31st of July. (0:11:41) Al: There you go. (0:11:42) Codey: That’s the tweet. That’s it. (0:11:43) Al: That’s it. (0:11:44) Al: That’s it. (0:11:45) Al: Who knows what? (0:11:46) Al: It’s probably some weird thing to do with the physical version or something. (0:11:49) Al: That’s not a “we found a bug and we need to fix it.” (0:11:52) Al: That’s not long enough. (0:11:54) Al: So yeah, who knows what the problem is? (0:11:57) Al: But I guess we’ll find out. (0:12:00) Al: Next, we have Desktop Cat Cafe. (0:12:04) Al: No, goodness sake. (0:12:06) Al: Desktop Cat Cafe. (0:12:08) Al: I’ve released their 2.0 version. (0:12:12) Al: That is out now. (0:12:15) Al: They have apparently a patience meter for customers. (0:12:17) Al: I find this funny because who’s going to Cat Cafe for fast food, right? (0:12:23) Al: you’re going to a cat cafe for. (0:12:24) Codey: Yeah. Yeah. So I think well, so it’s it is a it’s a cafe that is cats, like your customers are cats. (0:12:33) Al: Oh, I misunderstood that. (0:12:34) Codey: Yeah, yeah, so this is this game is the rusty island rust. Yeah, a rusty is like, (0:12:37) Al: So it is. (0:12:40) Al: Yes, it’s a rust is like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I knew that much. (0:12:43) Al: I knew that much. (0:12:44) Al: I just forgotten that it was a cafe the cats go to. (0:12:46) Codey: yeah, so they’re, they’re all cats. And it’s very cute. I just thought it was funny, (0:12:51) Codey: because I’m sure that, like, the patient- (0:12:54) Codey: -meter or something you can toggle on and off. (0:12:56) Codey: I’m sure that you could have it be like, um, (0:12:58) Codey: you could have it be, like, slow-mode or something like that in the- (0:13:02) Codey: in the bottom, but you basically can, like, (0:13:04) Codey: make these little cafes across the bottom of your screen, (0:13:06) Codey: and now they’ve added this patient- (0:13:10) Codey: -meter, so it’s kind of like- (0:13:12) Codey: Did you ever play dining- Diner Dash? (0:13:14) Codey: Or anything like that? (0:13:14) Al: No, I did not. (0:13:16) Codey: Okay, so it’s like the- (0:13:18) Codey: It’s like those types of games where you have (0:13:20) Codey: orders that are up. I think Overcooked does this, (0:13:24) Codey: like, orders are there, and then they start getting, like, (0:13:26) Codey: more and more red, and they start shaking (0:13:28) Codey: when, like, the person is grumpy, (0:13:30) Codey: and they might just leave. (0:13:32) Codey: Um, and so it’s- (0:13:34) Codey: It’s an incentive to try and make sure (0:13:36) Codey: that you are prioritizing orders (0:13:38) Codey: in the order that they were received, (0:13:42) Codey: and then also, um, (0:13:44) Codey: that you make sure that each place (0:13:48) Codey: probably has all of the same- (0:13:50) Codey: all of the things that they want, (0:13:52) Codey: and might have (0:13:54) Codey: your worker cat, like, upgraded to be max speed or max efficiency or whatever. (0:13:59) Codey: And they also have different traits for your customers now. So it’s like there’s the patient (0:14:09) Codey: modifier. So it’s a decor item that impacts the nearby customers. So there’s something that you (0:14:15) Codey: can put down that makes your customers more patient. I think it’d be funny if that was like a TV. (0:14:21) Codey: If you put down like a TV and then they’re- (0:14:24) Codey: like oh I’m fine waiting because I have a TV to watch. (0:14:28) Codey: So they sit down and then they’re willing to wait longer. (0:14:32) Codey: There’s one that increases their- speeds up their decision time. (0:14:36) Codey: So because they’ll sit there and they’ll be like hmm what do I want? (0:14:38) Codey: And so there’s one that makes them decide faster. (0:14:42) Codey: And then there’s something that boosts how much they’ll spend. (0:14:46) Codey: So you will end up getting a higher revenue from per customer. (0:14:54) Codey: Things like that to also improve it. (0:14:56) Codey: I also think that it’s nice that they changed the order distribution. (0:15:02) Codey: So it sounds- I haven’t played this but from what it says to me what this sounds like is they had different cafes or different workstations or cafe stations. (0:15:14) Codey: And some cats might just- like all the cats might just go to one cafe. (0:15:20) Codey: So you have one cat that’s working one of the cafe stations. (0:15:24) Codey: Who’s just like absolutely overloaded and then another one is really not that busy. (0:15:32) Codey: Because it was randomized but it sounds like they’re now assigning those orders based on workload. (0:15:38) Codey: So if like one station is really really busy cats will be like I don’t want to go there and they’ll go to a different one and that kind of like spreads out the demand. (0:15:50) Al: Mm-hmm (0:15:54) Codey: You can also name your cats, name your cafe, different things like that. (0:15:58) Codey: You can upgrade your stations. The cats will walk faster on paths. (0:16:04) Codey: So if you draw paths they will speed up on those and you can shift click and copy something from one place to another. (0:16:18) Codey: This is a really cute game. I do know that Jordan. (0:16:24) Codey: Jordan is from Morris Games, the dev of Rusty’s retirement. (0:16:30) Codey: They have been like repping this game and saying that this game is really cute and that they recommend this game. (0:16:38) Codey: So I’m tempted, especially because I’m about to have to be writing a lot for my dissertation, but I also feel like this is just going to be a distraction. (0:16:48) Codey: Also, now that I’m looking at it, it’s Windows only, so it doesn’t matter, but… (0:16:52) Al: Mm hmm. (0:16:54) Codey: Very cute. It’s fine. (0:16:55) Al: Sad. (0:16:59) Al: Yeah, interesting. (0:17:02) Al: Good, they got a nice new update out. (0:17:06) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:17:06) Al: Speaking of updates, next we have fields of mystery. (0:17:10) Codey: Fields of mystery. (0:17:14) Al: Their third major update is coming out on the 21st of July. (0:17:19) Al: They apparently have new large and extra-large chests. (0:17:22) Al: I’m very happy about it, because chests are never big enough for me. (0:17:26) Al: I hate chests being so small. (0:17:29) Al: Cough, lens, island, cough. (0:17:30) Codey: Yeah. (0:17:31) Al: Give me bigger chests. (0:17:33) Al: Presumably, there’s lots of other stuff. (0:17:35) Al: I can’t remember whether we talked about the third update or not, because, (0:17:40) Al: oh yes, it’s bringing (0:17:43) Al: eight heart events as well, dating a bunch of stuff. (0:17:48) Al: new mains, new mains monsters. (0:17:52) Al: The town cap has been raised by five levels, a bunch of stuff. (0:17:58) Al: I’m still not going to play the game again until 1.0, but good to see they’re just continuing. (0:18:03) Al: I think that’s the third update this year. (0:18:05) Codey: Yeah, it’s the third major update this year (0:18:08) Codey: It’s coming on July 21st (0:18:11) Codey: so they’re gonna have that like we said bigger storage another thing that some fans in the comment section that we’re really happy about is (0:18:17) Codey: The auto deposit feature. So being able if you have (0:18:18) Al: Ah yes. (0:18:22) Codey: like your (0:18:24) Codey: Chest open and your inventory open you can automatically like move things between them (0:18:30) Codey: just like by clicking a button so that if you already have stacks of stuff and you’re (0:18:35) Codey: inventory it’ll just automatically shuffle everything out of your out of from yeah i (0:18:40) Al: Yeah, I enjoy that feature. (0:18:42) Codey: really like that feature as well i’m very happy that they added that um so and I know the fans (0:18:48) Codey: are as well so good on them (0:18:51) Al: Next, we have Paleopines. (0:18:54) Al: They have launched a Kickstarter for their player’s choice expansion to Paleopines. (0:19:01) Codey: - Mm-hmm. (0:19:03) Al: It’s already hit his goal, so that’s good. (0:19:06) Al: There’s 24 days left. (0:19:08) Al: This, I don’t actually look at it, but it looks like Cody did, so talk about it. (0:19:11) Codey: Okay, yeah, I did. (0:19:13) Codey: I will talk about it. (0:19:15) Codey: So basically, they have gotten a lot of feedback (0:19:17) Codey: from the players. (0:19:19) Codey: And so they decided to accommodate a lot of those, (0:19:24) Codey: that feedback in a DLC and an expansion (0:19:27) Codey: that is part of this Kickstarter. (0:19:31) Codey: Kickstarter gives them money to work on the updates. (0:19:35) Codey: They did mention though, (0:19:36) Codey: that once the expansions are out, (0:19:40) Codey: if you’ve already bought the game, (0:19:41) Codey: it’s just gonna automatically be updated. (0:19:44) Codey: So even if you didn’t kickstart, it sounds like, (0:19:47) Codey: as long as you have the game, (0:19:49) Codey: you will reap the benefits of all of this stuff. (0:19:55) Codey: So, beautiful game, adorable game. (0:19:59) Codey: there’s been a lot of feedback. (0:20:01) Codey: And so they have a couple of different funding goals. (0:20:03) Codey: So they’ve hit the 75k pounds. (0:20:07) Codey: Let me figure it out. (0:20:09) Codey: Yeah. (0:20:10) Codey: So they hit that, but we’re still on our way (0:20:15) Codey: to the second stretch goal, which is for automated poop (0:20:21) Codey: clearing. (0:20:22) Codey: So the big questions that community members wanted (0:20:26) Codey: were that they wanted a spinosaurus in the game, (0:20:29) Codey: and they wanted more dreaming. (0:20:32) Codey: So that has been hit period, end of story, with their Kickstarter. (0:20:36) Codey: And so that will, they have slated that to be done in the autumn of this year, (0:20:41) Codey: which is almost now, honestly. (0:20:46) Codey: So that they’re expecting that to be done in the next few months. (0:20:51) Codey: The next thing, the next goal is for the better way to scoop poop. (0:20:55) Codey: I guess people said that it was something that couldn’t be automated. (0:20:59) Codey: It was something that was really frustrating. (0:21:01) Codey: They have made it so there are certain dinosaurs that you can (0:21:06) Codey: assign to be composting dinosaurs. (0:21:09) Codey: And they will go and pick the poop up for you and go and put it in the compost bin. (0:21:14) Codey: Super cool. (0:21:16) Codey: Another thing about the second stretch goal, which is a quality of life update, (0:21:21) Codey: is to be able to track the different colors of the dinosaurs in your journal. (0:21:27) Codey: I know that this game has a lot of different colors, (0:21:30) Codey: color variance of specific. (0:21:31) Codey: Dinosaurs, um, and you kind of had to just like know whether or not you (0:21:36) Codey: already had a color variant. (0:21:38) Codey: And so they’ve added that to the journal. (0:21:41) Codey: So you can now see like, Oh, I already have this color. (0:21:44) Codey: I need this other color. (0:21:46) Codey: Um, you can see that very clearly in your journal now, or will be able to see that (0:21:50) Codey: in winter 2025, if they reach that stretch goal. (0:21:53) Codey: Um, so that would require another 80,000 pounds past, um, the goal. (0:22:00) Codey: And then… (0:22:02) Codey: The last one that they have gotten a request for is a swamp exploration. (0:22:06) Codey: So there’s a swamp area. People really want to go into the swamp, I guess. (0:22:10) Codey: We all want to be ogres. (0:22:12) Codey: And so they have slotted that. It’s another Kickstarter stretch goal. (0:22:17) Codey: And if it is achieved, they expect to have that done in spring 2026. (0:22:22) Al: One thing I don’t like about this stretch goals thing. (0:22:26) Al: They’ve written it out as plus 40,000 pounds and plus 40,000 pounds. (0:22:30) Codey: » Yeah. (0:22:32) Al: You’re like, but what does that mean? (0:22:34) Al: What is the total amount there? (0:22:35) Al: Right? Because you’re not you’re not looking and it’s like it’s fine when you (0:22:38) Al: get to the first one because you’re like, oh, it’s just 75 plus 40. (0:22:41) Al: But then you go to the next one, it’s like, OK, well, it’s just 75 plus 40 plus 40. (0:22:45) Al: And then you go to the last one, you’re like plus 190,000 pounds, (0:22:48) Al: which, by the way, is more than the rest of them put together. (0:22:50) Codey: or yeah. No. Yep. Yeah, I agree. But that’s the goal posts and the timelines and everything. (0:22:51) Al: But you’re just like, OK, so what number is the half? (0:22:53) Al: 75 plus 40 plus 40 plus 190. (0:22:58) Al: I’m not doing all that maths. (0:23:00) Al: Just show us what number it is. Come on. (0:23:10) Codey: The Kickstarter itself, you can get rewards that will be in-game and in real life. So (0:23:17) Codey: things like you’ll get your name in the credits. (0:23:20) Codey: They might send you pins, they might send you a plush, just depending on which (0:23:24) Codey: Kickstarter level you choose. Another thing they said is to add a new color variant, (0:23:30) Codey: which I think is super cool. But then also like what if I chose a color variant and everyone hated (0:23:38) Codey: it and people just like pooped all over it and I was like oh I actually spent a lot of money (0:23:43) Codey: to choose. But yeah and again all of the updates that will go to the game for free so (0:23:51) Codey: if you’re right now I guess if you really want that poop thing help them achieve that part of the goal. (0:23:58) Al: I love to scoop poop. (0:23:59) Codey: But yeah that’s interesting. It’s also interesting to me how they’re like (0:24:06) Codey: it’ll be it’ll be free for you and I’m like okay but like it’s really not free. (0:24:12) Codey: People do have to pay quite a lot of money to get this. (0:24:18) Al: Well, so, but is it free? (0:24:20) Al: Like, is this just to raise money to do it and the actual update will be free for anyone? (0:24:24) Codey: - Yeah, so that’s what it is. (0:24:30) Codey: I don’t know, some of this stuff, (0:24:30) Codey: like some of the other stuff that they want, (0:24:32) Codey: like for the quality of life update (0:24:35) Codey: is to be able to reject quests or delete quests (0:24:40) Codey: because your quest log will just get overrun, I guess, (0:24:43) Codey: and people just wanted the ability to delete quests. (0:24:45) Codey: And so that will be a part of the quality of life update (0:24:48) Codey: that they want to release winter 2025. (0:24:51) Codey: So that is 80,000. (0:24:55) Codey: So that’d be 150,000, 155,000 pounds to needs to be what they hit. (0:25:00) Codey: I think they’re at a 90 something right now. (0:25:02) Codey: So, but that’s still is like a lot to even just have like this very simple thing. (0:25:08) Codey: It seems, I mean, it seems simple. (0:25:10) Codey: I think that part really is fairly simple. (0:25:14) Codey: They did and they did a good job in their video that they have of explaining why some of these things are not as simple as they seem like adding a Spinosaurus isn’t as simple as it seems. (0:25:24) Codey: Because of the optimization that has to happen as behind the scenes of adding in Spinosaurus. (0:25:32) Codey: So I get that, but for certain things like give them the option to delete. (0:25:38) Codey: I feel like I feel like you could do that. (0:25:40) Codey: I don’t know, especially if that’s something that like, I don’t know. (0:25:46) Codey: I don’t know. (0:25:48) Codey: I don’t know. (0:25:48) Codey: What if they don’t? (0:25:50) Codey: What if they don’t hit that? (0:25:50) Codey: Like, what if they don’t hit that goal? (0:25:52) Codey: Are they just not going to do these things then? (0:25:54) Codey: But I also get that they’re independent, like they need to get paid to be able to do these things. (0:26:02) Al: So I guess that the problem is, because they’ve struggled with money for quite a while. We’ve (0:26:09) Al: talked about that previously. We’re having issues with publishers and stuff like that anyway, (0:26:15) Al: whatever. So obviously, they need to make enough money to be able to keep going and be able to do (0:26:20) Al: what they want to do. And I guess the thing is that saying, “Oh, if we hit our main funding goal, (0:26:25) Al: we’ll give you these quality of life updates. It’s not going to excite people.” So you go, “Well, (0:26:29) Al: if we hit this funding goal we’ll give (0:26:32) Al: you Spinosaurus that sounds much more exciting. Which means that if you don’t put the main (0:26:40) Al: funding goal as enough to cover everything you want then you won’t be able to include (0:26:46) Al: the quality of life updates without more money. But then yeah it does feel a little bit like (0:26:52) Al: not great. It’s like yeah we’re waiting until we’ve got even more (0:26:58) Al: till we give you some quality of life updates, which yeah, doesn’t feel- (0:27:02) Al: great, but it’s a difficult one. (0:27:05) Codey: Mm-hmm, yep (0:27:07) Al: Anyway, they’ve had their funding goal, so that’s good. They’re going to get the Spinosaurus out, (0:27:12) Al: and probably we’ll hit the next one. Whether they’ll hit the one after that or not is a (0:27:18) Al: different question. I suspect they probably won’t hit the Swamp goal. That’s quite a lot more, (0:27:20) Codey: Yeah. (0:27:23) Al: but if you really want that, go help them out. You can get a lot of rewards for that as well. (0:27:32) Al: Go get your plushies, and design your bright pink Spinosaurus or whatever. (0:27:38) Codey: Sorry, I’m looking at the next thing already and getting confused. (0:27:41) Al: All right, Dive the Diver! (0:27:46) Al: A couple of bits of news here. It’s the second anniversary of the Diver, which wow, that’s (0:27:52) Al: crazy. A couple of things around the DLCs. First of all, the Godzilla DLC is back, (0:27:59) Codey: Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. (0:28:00) Al: so you can go get it if you didn’t get it (0:28:02) Al: before that one is a free one go get it now you just have to own the game if (0:28:06) Al: you own the game you can you can add the DLC you don’t have to play it or (0:28:09) Al: anything like that yet the itchy bands holiday has also been extended when you (0:28:17) Al: can get it until the end of 2026 (0:28:20) Codey: Mm-hmm. So this is one that so Ichiban Kasuga is the character. This is what I was just looking at (0:28:28) Codey: He’s a kid he’s the character in a game a yakuza game (0:28:32) Codey: and (0:28:34) Codey: That that game franchise is owned by Sega (0:28:39) Codey: Toshi hero Nagoshi and Sega and so because people have been commenting (0:28:44) Codey: They and they mentioned this in their video that people have been commenting about how like this limited availability thing (0:28:50) Codey: and how it seems kind of like it’s meant to stir up FOMO because (0:28:55) Codey: they only release some of the DLCs for a limited amount of time and (0:28:59) Codey: So it like makes you have to buy it during that time and the developer of David Iver said that is not the intention (0:29:07) Codey: the intention (0:29:09) Codey: For Sega is to they said the limited availability quote (0:29:14) Codey: That kind of approach is sometimes requested by large the large IP holders to help protect the value (0:29:20) Codey: Of their IP (0:29:22) Codey: so it’s the Sega people basically trying to (0:29:28) Codey: Protect the value of the IP of this character (0:29:32) Al: Is capitalism speak? (0:29:32) Codey: Which to me like is just not (0:29:35) Codey: It’s capitalism speak, but it’s also like I didn’t even know this game existed until it became a David Iver thing (0:29:42) Al: I feel like that’s a “you” thing. (0:29:45) Codey: Okay, but like I just feel like it is (0:29:47) Al: Yakuza is a pretty big game franchise. (0:29:50) Codey: Mmm, but like if you had it available all the time (0:29:57) Codey: There could be some people who play it and then they’re like, I actually like this this Ichiban character (0:30:03) Codey: what’s he from and then they go play yakuza and (0:30:07) Codey: if you (0:30:09) Codey: limit the available the availability of (0:30:13) Codey: That IP just kind of weird. I don’t know. I don’t like it. Anyway (0:30:18) Al: I mean, I just, I think the term “intellectual property” is a stupid term anyway, and we (0:30:19) Codey: There (0:30:20) Codey: Yeah. (0:30:25) Al: don’t need to get into copyright discussions, because we don’t need an anti-capitalism rant (0:30:30) Codey: We’ve already had one per month, but everything ever created ever is original. (0:30:30) Al: this podcast, even though people are probably looking for one. (0:30:35) Al: You can’t have intellectual property, it doesn’t make it, it’s just thoughts and ideas. (0:30:39) Al: Shut up! (0:30:41) Al: Yeah, well, there is that too. (0:30:48) Al: Just hate the term so much, “intellectual property”, it’s just because something doesn’t (0:30:49) Codey: Yeah, no. (0:30:52) Al: exist and therefore, so we got to create another term to mean something. (0:30:58) Al: First of all, just call it copyright, right? (0:31:00) Al: Just be upfront about it. (0:31:02) Al: What you’re saying is, we get to choose, therefore we’re choosing, it’s our copyright, the law (0:31:06) Al: gives us the right to choose, therefore we’re going to, that’s it. (0:31:10) Al: You don’t have to be like “oh, to help protect the value of IP”, IP has a value, right? (0:31:12) Codey: Yeah. Yep. Yep. Yay. Uh, yeah. So they are re-releasing it because there were people (0:31:16) Al: nonsense like. (0:31:18) Al: I think, oops, I did rant. (0:31:27) Codey: who were worried. They missed it the first time. Uh, this, both of them. I’m talking (0:31:29) Al: That’s the Godzilla one. No, the In the Jungle hasn’t been unavailable. (0:31:35) Codey: about Ichiban’s holiday. Oh, okay. (0:31:37) Al: Sorry, yeah, Ichiban’s Holiday, sorry. It has not been unavailable. It was new, (0:31:42) Codey: And they’re just making it go. Okay, cool. But they’re going to make sure that it has (0:31:44) Al: and they’ve given it a longer timeline. It only came out in April. (0:31:50) Codey: regular discounts going forward, um, to make sure that, yeah. The steam, steam summer sale ends. (0:31:54) Al: 50% off just now, until the 10th of July, which is the day after this episode. (0:31:59) Al: So, if you want to go buy it, go do it now. (0:32:02) Codey: Yeah. And the game itself is currently, is 40% off for the steam summer sale as well. (0:32:06) Al: Nice. A good game. Go buy it. (0:32:07) Codey: So hit that up. The last thing that they mentioned in this is the, in the jungle update. (0:32:12) Codey: So this is a update DLC, whatever, um, that allows like you go to land and there’s a lake (0:32:22) Codey: and it’ll, it, it adds the ability to catch freshwater fish. Um, and the, the update here (0:32:29) Codey: is that it’s probably delayed until spring 2026 because they want to make sure that they, uh, (0:32:35) Codey: make it the best it can be. Yeah. Nope. That’s pretty much it. (0:32:36) Al: I think I’m done with Dave the Diver. (0:32:40) Al: I don’t feel the pool to go back and play it. (0:32:43) Codey: What would be the pull? What would get you? (0:32:45) Al: I don’t know if there is something like I enjoyed when I was playing it, (0:32:49) Al: but I just it takes a lot to go back to a game. (0:32:54) Al: And I don’t think I feel that pool. (0:32:57) Codey: - Mm-hmm. (0:32:57) Al: It’s like Isheban’s Holiday. (0:33:00) Al: Yeah. (0:33:02) Al: OK, the in the jungle, it’s just more of the same. (0:33:06) Al: I enjoyed that, but. (0:33:08) Al: You know, I didn’t even I didn’t even play a huge amount of the Dredge DLC. (0:33:12) Al: I played the whole the Godzilla one, and that was good fun. (0:33:15) Al: That was very different. (0:33:17) Al: The Dredge one was different, but not in a way that felt I wanted to do it. (0:33:23) Al: And then, yeah, Isheban’s Holiday. (0:33:25) Al: I don’t really care. (0:33:28) Al: And the in the jungle is like, OK, fine. (0:33:31) Al: It’s just a different place that you’re fishing. (0:33:34) Codey: Yeah and new fish a new fish but it’s fine (0:33:34) Al: I’m not massively (0:33:36) Al: interested. (0:33:37) Al: Yeah. (0:33:38) Al: Yeah, but that’s the thing, okay, yay, morph- I didn’t even finish catching all the fish (0:33:44) Al: that were in the game, right? (0:33:45) Codey: Yeah (0:33:47) Al: You can’t make me have FOMO for when I hadn’t already completed something in the first place. (0:33:51) Codey: I agree. That’s where I’m at with any Zelda. I not love Zelda and also Pokemon IP right now (0:33:58) Codey: They’re like all the new game and I’m like man. I didn’t I don’t even remember playing (0:34:04) Codey: Scarlet and Violet, so it’s whatever (0:34:04) Al: All right, finally, Usagi Shima new update, the Tanabata Star Festival update. It’s more (0:34:08) Codey: Last update, yep (0:34:18) Codey: So yeah (0:34:19) Al: of the same. You got it. You like it. Go get your Tanabata bamboo. (0:34:24) Codey: Yep, so there’s a some new decorations with Tana Bada back bamboo (0:34:29) Codey: Your bunnies have are carrying little heartfelt wishes that they’re (0:34:34) Codey: putting on on the Bamboo as their their wishes for the year or their wishes for (0:34:40) Codey: the the coming time and they’re so cute it’s free update you just do it in the (0:34:47) Codey: App Store Google Play Store if you already have the game so I am NOT (0:34:52) Codey: intrigued enough to do this so that’s that’s the updates (0:34:54) Al: Mm hmm. That’s the updates. We also have a new game, and that is B simulator. Oh, is (0:35:01) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:35:04) Codey: The hive I think be simulator has been out for a while this is like (0:35:08) Al: this an update or a new game? (0:35:10) Codey: Yeah, so I think the hive is (0:35:14) Codey: Something a little different. It’s like a twist on the game, but it’s whatever man (0:35:21) Al: You know, you’re not interested. (0:35:24) Codey: No, I’m sick and tired of honey bee stuff man like (0:35:30) Al: » That’s the issue, fair. (0:35:34) Codey: This is not (0:35:35) Codey: Indicative of anywhere else in the world, but the United States (0:35:39) Codey: Has held up honey bees as like the poster child of pollinator conservation and the honey bee itself is not native to (0:35:49) Codey: North America it was brought over because people wanted honey (0:35:54) Codey: And now it is used because it is act it is an incredibly effective pollinator for certain plants (0:35:59) Codey: And the only reason it’s really effective is because we’ve decimated all of the houses. (0:36:04) Codey: We don’t have a habitat for local pollinators and native pollinators, so they don’t live near our farms anymore because we just do this monoculture and we spray all these pesticides. (0:36:14) Codey: So the natives aren’t there anymore, they can’t do the pollinating anymore, so we have to bring in these honeybees. (0:36:20) Codey: But honeybees are the equivalent of a chicken. (0:36:24) Codey: It’s like if we held up a chicken and said, “Let’s save the endangered birds.” (0:36:34) Codey: That is not… Yes, I agree with what you’re saying, but that is not an endangered… That’s not even a native bird. (0:36:44) Codey: No. So in the United States, it’s really frustrating. I want to see more stuff about native bees, which is one of the reasons I super loved, Apico and Elle, adding in native bees. (0:37:00) Codey: He also I mean like that game is more (0:37:04) Codey: It could have been in the like well first of all it’s a fantasy game (0:37:06) Codey: But it could have been in nor in not in North America (0:37:09) Codey: So the bees are there are social bees that live in hives that are native to (0:37:17) Codey: Where like Europe and Asia and stuff like that, so that’s fine. It’s it’s fine. It’s fine (0:37:23) Codey: I’ll get off my soapbox, but be simulator the hive is (0:37:27) Codey: Quote the epic adventure of a tiny bee in a vast world collect pollen race through jet streams (0:37:34) Codey: And protect your hive from wasps now even bigger with the hive expansion (0:37:40) Codey: Gather resources build and customize your very own beehive (0:37:45) Codey: so this looks like (0:37:47) Codey: You can build your hive in a bunch of different places (0:37:51) Codey: Also gotta say the hive that the pictures were obscene not accurate. They wouldn’t do they wouldn’t leave this much space, but okay (0:38:01) Codey: It’s just (0:38:04) Codey: It’s fine people will enjoy playing it. I I don’t want to poop poo on people’s people’s fun too much (0:38:10) Codey: I’m down for bug games (0:38:12) Al: Could be worse (0:38:13) Codey: Could be worse (0:38:15) Al: As with many things could be worse (0:38:17) Codey: But it’s coming out on the 4th of August and there is not a price currently oh, yep (0:38:22) Al: Ah, well there you go go look at it if you’re interested in it (0:38:30) Al: Cody will not be playing it presumably (0:38:33) Codey: No, I will not though if people are interested in I can’t even say this I can never mind redacted (0:38:40) Codey: I was gonna say if people are interested in learning how honeybee biology happens, but I don’t even know if it’s gonna be accurate (0:38:46) Codey: I’m gonna have to play it. I (0:38:48) Al: Oh, okay. (0:38:50) Codey: Mean I’m not I would have to play it to be able to tell whether or not it’s accurate but (0:38:54) Al: I thought you were saying I have to play it. (0:38:56) Codey: No, I (0:38:58) Codey: cannot (0:38:59) Codey: Put my thumbs up on this so okay (0:39:02) Al: Fair enough. (0:39:03) Codey: So that’s all the news (0:39:06) Al: Woo! (0:39:07) Codey: What is the deluxe? Wait a minute (0:39:10) Al: Oh, the deluxe edition of “Be Simulated the Hive”. (0:39:12) Codey: Lens island. No lens island. We’re jumping right into it (0:39:14) Al: Oh, interesting. (0:39:17) Al: All right, okay. Well, let’s start this then. So, (0:39:21) Al: this is the second harvest of Lens Island. We had an episode three years ago, three years ago. Goodness me. (0:39:28) Codey: It’s been a hot minute. (0:39:30) Al: But three years ago and that was like (0:39:32) Al: two years after the start of the pandemic, that is where we are just now. (0:39:36) Al: That’s how much time is changing. (0:39:38) Al: And like the podcast was three years old at that point. (0:39:38) Codey: Mm hmm. As each day passes, we get closer to 2050 than we are to 2000. (0:39:45) Al: And closer to death. (0:39:49) Al: Sorry. (0:39:51) Codey: so (0:39:52) Al: So anyway, (0:39:55) Al: dumpty dum, we are going to talk about this because I so right. (0:40:01) Al: Okay, grr! (0:40:02) Al: Probably should have listened to the other, the old episode, to check what (0:40:05) Al: was actually covered in that three years ago, but we’ll see how this goes. (0:40:10) Codey: Yeah I can tell you. I did not but I just remember. So all that really existed in the first episode (0:40:11) Al: I hadn’t played the game at that point. Oh yeah, did you really listen to it? (0:40:17) Al: Oh, fair enough. (0:40:23) Codey: that we played and recorded, all that was really there was a base bare bones island. There was (0:40:30) Codey: nothing on the first island that you come to. There was no people. So you just showed up, (0:40:40) Codey: a house. I don’t even think there was a tutorial in the way that there is now. And so you built a (0:40:47) Codey: house. You could go into the mines. The mines and the dungeon were one in the same. So there or at (0:40:56) Codey: least I had not encountered anything that was explicitly different. So now they are very (0:41:02) Codey: different. There are multiple dungeons. And the mines themselves. (0:41:11) Codey: The mines were about as difficult as they are now. If not, I think they might have been a little bit (0:41:18) Codey: more difficult because it was really hard. Both. I mean, because before it was the mines and the (0:41:18) Al: Do you mean the dungeon? (0:41:24) Codey: dungeon. So it was like all in one. But yeah, you just kind of get, you know, there’s a spawning (0:41:31) Codey: point for the baddies. They come out, they overwhelm you super fast. I think maybe there (0:41:38) Codey: there was, I guess there still is a cool down for consuming. (0:41:40) Codey: Things, um, though now consuming things doesn’t just fill your health. (0:41:47) Codey: It’s just kind of like Minecraft where it fills your fullness. (0:41:51) Codey: And when you’re full, full, then your health auto-regenerates. (0:41:53) Al: Depends which one it is. So the cooked meat from the deer, it heals you. (0:41:56) Codey: Yeah. (0:41:59) Codey: Yeah. (0:41:59) Codey: There weren’t deer last time. (0:42:02) Codey: Um, it was pretty basic. (0:42:04) Codey: And then there was one, uh, addition to the Island that you. (0:42:10) Codey: Could I think unlock. (0:42:13) Codey: And then you went to another area and it was like a pirates Bay area. (0:42:16) Al: Mm, OK. (0:42:17) Codey: And there were people there. (0:42:19) Codey: And so you could sell and trade things and play pirate games and stuff like there. (0:42:27) Codey: Um, but nothing was on the main Island that you were on. (0:42:32) Codey: Um, I also don’t think there was really like the story. (0:42:35) Codey: So when you play the game now, it has more of the story. (0:42:38) Codey: It was really just the bare bones. (0:42:41) Codey: There was farming, um, and there was crafting and stuff, but they have, they (0:42:45) Codey: fleshed it out so much more and I’m, it’s really gratifying to see where the game (0:42:50) Codey: has gone, um, and yeah, I think that’s where I’ll pause the, my, my two (0:42:57) Codey: cents about the second harvest. (0:42:58) Al: to start with. OK, cool. Yeah, OK, so I guess to give people a quick overview, just in case (0:43:06) Al: you haven’t listened to the original episode or you’ve forgotten or whatever, it’s a survival (0:43:12) Al: game. You are a character, you come to an island and you have to survive, you have to (0:43:20) Al: build a house, you have to do all these things. And then there’s obviously, as Cody mentioned, (0:43:25) Al: There’s a story to that. (0:43:28) Al: Yeah, is that enough of a quick overview of what the game is in and of itself? (0:43:34) Codey: Yes, yeah, so it’s like a survival game, but there are these creatures that you learn in the beginning intro part are used to be people, but they were corrupted by this. (0:43:50) Codey: What do they call it a light stone or something? It’s like a, but it’s a resource and they got corrupted by it and now they’re these monster things, which changes my morality a little bit. (0:44:04) Codey: I’m like, Oh, no, like, what if later on down the line there’s you find like a cure and then you’ve killed thousands of these things. (0:44:14) Al: If you don’t kill them, they’ll kill you. (0:44:16) Codey: You’re right. They will. They kind of look I really love the art for them as well. There’s they get kind of Demi Gorgon esque like from. (0:44:26) Al: I did notice that one was very much like the demagogue and from Stranger Things. (0:44:28) Codey: Mm-hmm, stranger things, yeah. (0:44:34) Codey: Um, and it is multiplayer. (0:44:35) Codey: So you can play with one to eight players, which is super nice. (0:44:39) Codey: Um, able to play with your friends. (0:44:41) Codey: Um, and there’s a skill tree and there’s a map. (0:44:46) Codey: I don’t know. (0:44:46) Codey: It’s, it, it’s, it has a lot of potential. (0:44:50) Codey: Like it’s a super open world. (0:44:52) Codey: You can really build it how you want it. (0:44:56) Al: Yeah, okay, so let’s before we get into the game proper. I want to do my complaining section because (0:45:02) Codey: - Yeah, I will second some of your complaints. (0:45:04) Al: So let me get my list and let me pause the game and get back to my list (0:45:08) Codey: - Yeah, stop playing the game while you’re… (0:45:09) Al: so controller support in this game is (0:45:12) Al: Absolutely dreadful. It is just so bad (0:45:15) Al: So when I first opened it when the when the when it first entered early access over three years ago (0:45:20) Al: It had no controller support and so basically just didn’t work on the steam deck at all. Okay, fine. Sure (0:45:26) Al: Whatever. It’s early access. I think that you should have controller support from the start, but whatever fine. I’ll come back later (0:45:31) Al: I came back later and control support does exist, but it is very bare bones and very terrible (0:45:39) Al: When I loaded up the game on my steam deck (0:45:42) Al: You can’t start a game with the controller (0:45:45) Al: There’s like certain buttons that you can’t even highlight using the controller and select (0:45:48) Codey: » Yeah. (0:45:51) Al: Um, and then even when you’re in the game, there’s other things like that. (0:45:54) Al: Like you can’t. (0:45:56) Al: Sleep in that you can’t click the sleep button on a bed without (0:46:00) Al: using the touchscreen stuff like that. (0:46:03) Al: Like really basic stuff that you need to do. (0:46:05) Al: Like, I don’t think a single person, uh, who was on the team, uh, tested this (0:46:11) Al: from like, actually tested controller support. (0:46:14) Al: I think they, they built in some controller support and they went, yeah, (0:46:19) Al: that’s good enough. (0:46:19) Al: That’ll stop people complaining. (0:46:21) Al: Spoiler alert, it won’t. (0:46:23) Al: Um, I honestly think it’s (0:46:26) Al: absolutely dreadful. Like, I think that if you only play games on the Steam Deck, (0:46:31) Al: or if you only play games with the controller, do not buy this game. That’s it. I cannot (0:46:38) Al: legitimately say that anybody who does that can play the game. Like, just don’t do it. (0:46:45) Al: I tried so hard, and I maybe got through like two hours on the Steam Deck before I just broke down (0:46:52) Al: and load it up on my computer and it’s (0:46:56) Al: so much better. It’s playable now. I cannot overstate, that’s the word I’m looking for, (0:46:58) Codey: Yeah. (0:47:02) Codey: Overstate. (0:47:05) Al: I cannot overstate just how bad the controller support is. It’s embarrassing how bad it is. (0:47:12) Codey: I am right there with you so I played a little bit last night. I was playing last night and I (0:47:18) Codey: was just playing on my Mac with my trackpad and I was like this is not fun because there’s sometimes (0:47:22) Al: Mm. Yeah, oh, scrolling on the trackpad. (0:47:27) Codey: you have to double click sometimes you have to scroll like so I was just really struggling with (0:47:31) Codey: that yeah yeah it was really not f

Don't You Dare Shift Those 2025 Goal Posts

The Ryan Kelley Morning After

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 24:35

Tiff and Kristy talk about revisiting those goals your practice set at the beginning of 2025, and if you're falling short, discuss how to get back on track. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be back here today. I've got Kristy with me. You guys know I love podcasting with the consultant team and I love each of them for something very, special. Kristy, you are my gal that, like, I feel like we can talk about anything. Always be on the same page. You riff with me very easily. And you always, always, always, I have to value this and appreciate it at the end. If I ever ask you for anything I missed, you always catch something and always have a pearl of wisdom. And I just think it's really, really, one, talented. Like not everyone can do that or think. A lot of people get like stressed, especially podcasting. And two, it just makes me really, really excited for your clients because I know you just operate in that way. You're always thinking of like, my gosh, what else can I add? What value can I bring? And your clients are just insanely lucky to have you as a consultant. And your previous clients I know are just always checking in with you and they're always asking those simple questions or those hard questions. And Kristy, think it's just really cool. You're an insanely special human. So thank you for being here. Thank you for being a part of our team. I hope you understand and know how valued you are, the Dental A Team, and just personally and professionally. Kristy (01:25) Absolutely. Thank you. I'm honored to be here and be a part of ⁓ changing dental lives. ⁓ The Dental A Team (01:26) Yeah. Thank you. And just so everyone knows who's listening, podcasts are not like super easy. Recording podcasts can be a little daunting. And that was even before we had to do it by video. And I think about this a lot, actually, because it just, I think it's so funny. This is kind of like cell phones. We're going go on a little small little tangent because I think it's hilarious. I remember way back in the day when we were like, bricks with these giant cell phones. We were like, this is stupid, like, why it needs to be small? So we had this little tiny flip phone that you really couldn't do a lot on, right? Because it was so small, but it was small. We wanted small and compact. And then we went to a BlackBerry and it was like, this is a whole computer and I can do my emails. And then we went small again. We like keep going back and forth and back and forth. And now, know, iPhones got it pretty well dialed in, but it's so much bigger than my cell phone was in high school. And I think about this a lot because I think we go forward and backwards in life constantly. This is no different than that. Because you remember, I remember Brody was little and I used to do Beachbody coaching. I loved it. It was just like a past life that I absolutely loved. The fitness industry, the fitness world is my passion. But I remember we used to get on Facebook Live or we do YouTube videos and we were like, hey guys, this is how you make this cake or whatever it was. And then we removed the video aspect, right? And that's when podcasts got popular and podcasts were not video. Podcasts were strictly just talking. And I remember Dana and I, or Britt and I, like get together and we could see each other, but it wasn't being recorded. So we could come however we wanted to look. It was just like, come as you are. We're only here for the voices. And then now, then we added the video back in and I'm like, wait, like we keep going backwards. Now I feel like we're doing YouTubes all the time. So. Anyways, my small tangent there is like going forward and then coming backwards and feeling like you're making progress, but then technology pulls us back a little bit. And I think that we do that in life and personal life. We do that in habits. We're like, so good. The 30 days sugar detox, like I'm doing so good, right? We get to 28 days and we're like, but just a little bit won't hurt. I just want a little sugar. And we're like, dang it. Now we're sliding backwards or whatever the I think we do that a lot in life and it doesn't have to be technology. It can just be habits. It can. It can be anything in some some places. A place that I see it a lot is within our goals within a company that only team has company goals. We we do the same thing over here. Every business is business is what I always say. We've consulted eye doctors and chiropractors and like business is business. I talked to. You know, my financial advisor about his business structure, he's like, help me with the CPAs, whatever. Business is business and we all move forward and fall back and move forward and fall back. And today, Kristy, I thought it might be beneficial kind of being mid-year-ish to do a check-in on that. I know we do it with all of our clients, but making sure even non-client doctors who are here, business owners who are listening, that you know that this happens. This is... This is life. Like we're back on video. Here we are. This is life. And we go forward and then we fall backwards. But no matter what, there's always a space to move forward again or move forward more. If you didn't fall backwards, you move forward more. There's always that space and there's always that availability. And oftentimes we get to this space in the year, June to like August timeframe, and we haven't looked at our trajectory very often. in and maybe we look and we're like, ⁓ heavens, Tiff, like, I'm like 300 grand short of what I wanted to hit this year. And Kristy, how many times have you had a doctor call you just like, this is it, we got to change my goal. We've got it. We're not doing three million. We're doing 2.7. And you're like, no, we're not doing that. Yeah, like, no, we are not here for changing goals. We're here for pushing forward. And I thought it would be fun for us to really take a look at that today and figure out how can you know that you're on or off track? And when you're off track, what do you do to get back on track? Now, Kristy, ⁓ what do you have your clients doing? And what have you always, you've worked with, you've consulted for a while. what have you always had your clients doing to stay, not even to stay on track, but just to know where they are. Like how do we know our baselines in business? Kristy (06:15) Yeah, well first off, I always like to start the year projecting out our year, right? So looking at what we did last year and creating a goal with growth on top of it and projecting that out for the future. But then also when we do that, ⁓ taking it and chunking it down. So we may have a big goal and starting the beginning of the year, if our goal is three million, that can be so daunting, right? And I think we all have to remember. The Dental A Team (06:44) Mm-hmm. Kristy (06:47) Yeah, we always have to keep our eye on the prize, but we need to also chunk it down. And you made a very good point about it being June. And my mind went to thinking back to the beginning of the year and how we're really excited, thinking of like starting school even. Your first year in college, I'm a freshman and I'm all gung-ho and I'm ready to study and I have these habits. And then all of a sudden we start to fall back in routine. remember, The Dental A Team (07:05) Yeah. Yeah. Kristy (07:17) that each day is a new day to start over. But to your point... Right now, we have our big goal and maybe we have a sheet with a thermometer or however you want to fill it and make sure we're always keeping our eye on that prize, but go smaller. Go to your month view, go to your weekly view, then go to your daily view and chunk it down because it makes it so much more doable and we resist the urge to change the goal then because we can look and see where we're at. The Dental A Team (07:33) Yeah. That's nice. Kristy (07:49) and what we have to do to get back on track. The Dental A Team (07:53) Yeah, I love that you said that like scale it back. Look at what the different layers are and then always looking at if you added these layers together now, does it equate to where you need to be? And something you said, Kristy was massive. Like I think so many doctors get into the year and like I'm going to do three million this year and then that's it. And it's like divide three million by 12. That's what we're hitting every month. And then we just go month by month by month. But if we're not looking at our leads, our lags and our current, then we get lost in the shuffle. And Kristy, I think that's what you're saying, right, Cheon? Get back and know and then always look at what we've accomplished and where we have left to go. Not June to August timeframe can be seriously pivotal in making or breaking those goals, because if you now look at January to June and you say, OK, What did I, what have I done? What is my year to date production so far? And then subtract that from your yearly goal and you're going to see your gap, right? So that's what you have left to do this year. Sometimes you might look at that and you might see your $300,000 short. That sounds massive, right? You're like, holy cow. Well, let's divide that by how many months we have left this year. Doesn't mean we throw in the towel and we're done. We say, okay, If I'm going to do this, how do I get this done? And again, what you said, Kristy, it's mid year, but we're doing the same thing. We're doing the same thing that we did at the beginning here. We're just reevaluating and reassessing where we have left to go. So a lot of times, you know, I've had dentists that were like a hundred grand short, even at the end of the year, we look at it and we're like, oh my God, we barely missed it. Well, let's look at where we missed it. Why did we miss it? What happened? to get us to this point? And how do we make sure that this doesn't happen again? And typically it's been missed somewhere during that year where it was like we were short 25 grand on this month, we were short 25 grand on this month, and we were short 10, 10, like whatever it equates to, right? But it's like those add up so quickly that we tend to miss them. So if you get to that mid-year and you say, okay, this is what I have left, let's reassess. and look at how long do we have. Kristy, something I do get asked a lot is, well, what do we do when doctors are like, let's take this vacation time? Or I've got associates who are like, oh, guess what? Next month, I've got CE and I've got this and I've got office managers and doctors that are calling me and pulling out their hair. And they're like, I have a goal, but how am I supposed to hit this? So Kristy, what do you suggest when they are off? goal, they're off track, they've got how much ever money that they need to make up and then they've got something looming, some sort of maternity leave or something we just didn't really account for. How do you have your doctors really account for that and put it back into their goals? Kristy (11:02) Yeah, I love that we're talking about this subject and I know we tend to talk about, you know, bridging the gap when we're behind and we'll certainly talk about that because many times it's that but... Also, don't forget to celebrate if you're ahead, you know? And so celebrate if you're ahead, but not just celebrate, take a look at what you did to get there so you can repeat those processes, right? And to your point, if we are behind, take a look and chunk it down. What would it take to bridge that gap? And if I have providers looking for time off, The Dental A Team (11:28) you Kristy (11:37) Factor that into the equation. If we're behind already and we take this much time off, what now will the gap be? So for associates, for owner doctors, ⁓ it may not be easy to find a temp for them, but for hygiene, it's very easy to say, if we're ahead, do I really need to find a temp? Because we're ahead in our goal. Or, The Dental A Team (11:44) Okay. Yeah. Kristy (12:02) Do I need to find a temp because we're behind in goal? So it helps you make those strategic decisions. ⁓ with that being said, for owner doctors and associates, if we're behind, can we add in anywhere? Could we add one more hour to the day or could we work a Friday versus taking it off? What would that do in order to take that week off? And or can we change our block scheduling? The Dental A Team (12:19) Yeah. turn. Kristy (12:32) some bigger rocks. Take our mind back to during COVID when we only did emergency treatment. It's okay if we push a filling off here or there if it means adding that big rock so we can make up for the loss, right? It's not that we're not going to do the filling, but could we put it in a month where we're already at goal, if you will. The Dental A Team (12:39) Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I think those are really great points and something you said there was like work the Friday instead of not working made me think of I do have an office that does a few offices that do this, but one particular does really well at looking ahead one to three months consistently, if not further. But they're always looking at OK, if we want to as an office, take this time off or if we have to take this time off for CE or whatever, are there days in the month that were closed that we could open to make up that production? And think that's massive. And again, like you said, I'm going to mimic it. You like definitely celebrate when you're ahead and then look at what does that mean? Now, something I do steer away from, and I know, Kristy, you do too, is changing the goal because you're ahead. So that doesn't mean next month you do 120 instead of 160. It just means great. We've got padding for if we need to utilize that. So if the time comes, I know I had a practice in February that by March they were like, How are we so short? When they looked at it, they had hygienists that had called out sick. They had an associate dentist that was out for a week. They had a hygienist that was on surgery. They lost almost $60,000 just in like crazy schedule happenings that they weren't truly prepared for. And so that can happen at any point. So if you're ahead and then you get to November and it's like, wow, this is kind of crazy. you can account for that. if you get to December and you're so far ahead that you're like, hey, actually, like, we're going to take two weeks off or we're canceling everything for two weeks because we're good. You want to be able to have those flexibilities. so, Kristy, I think it's brilliant the way you have them constantly looking at them. So your practices are always looking at their KPIs, their measurables of where have we gone? Where are we trying to get to? And what do we need to get there so that we can constantly strategize and figure out a new route for that. Now, what do you suggest if we're, I don't know, say $300,000 short, whatever, a hundred, I don't care how much it is, but we're getting towards the time of year, we tend to forget this, that June to August timeframe is a good time to look at your goals because September to December can get a little wild, in my opinion, within dentistry. So if they're a little bit short here or a lot of it short, What do you usually suggest to the doctors going into that kind of holiday season, which is freaking around the corner, which is crazy. How do you suggest that they start really preparing for that? Kristy (15:22) No. Yeah, well, number one, I like to start preparing early. A lot of people think, you know, we hit the September, September, right? And prepare early because we plant those seeds, right? And it doesn't have to be that way. So number one, looking at our unscheduled treatment, you know, who can we re-enroll that has already been in and we just haven't started treatment on? The Dental A Team (15:36) huh. Yeah. Kristy (15:52) There's so many different avenues that we can start to look at and really with the goal of getting our patients healthy, tap into those resources. Or we have patients within our own schedule coming in that have unscheduled treatment. How could we add more on what we're already doing? Because we already have them here, you know, and capture more. The other thing that I was going to say, Tiff, is I do have a lot of doctors that are willing to work through a lunch hour. The Dental A Team (16:00) Go. That's a good point. Kristy (16:19) You know, I know that's not gonna win fans with team probably, yet if we're behind on goal and we all are part of the goal, could we still honor lunch hours with team, but maybe we rotate through so we don't have to add another day, but just simply adding that procedure during lunch if it works for the team, you know? So there's so many different avenues, but if we fail to look at it, then we're already behind the game. But again, to your point, The Dental A Team (16:19) Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kristy (16:47) starting now to start preparing for the end of the year and talking about what we have to do to bridge that gap, but tap into the resources we already have with the patients we already have. The Dental A Team (17:00) That's brilliant. Looking at your unscheduled treatment is massive. And something you said earlier, Kristy, I'm going to pull back into the space right now. You said, look at what you've done that's worked, right? So look at what has gotten you here. Whether you're where you want to be or not, things have worked. And that's the space that is often missed in life in general. We're really great at looking back and seeing what could I have done better to have gotten a different result. But we often forget to look at what am I doing right? that's producing the right result so that I can repeat that. And when you're looking at your unscheduled treatment, one, if you don't have a lot of unscheduled treatment but you don't have a full schedule, we need to look at diagnosis and new patients. So that's a space. And when you're not hitting goals, those are all spaces that we forget to look at. Often we're just like tackle the same day treatment, which works if you're diagnosing the treatment. if you're getting the patients into the practice that need treatment. So a lot of times we might be behind goal and we might miss that there's something more underlying. It might be lost in marketing. It might be lost in the right new patients. I know I've got practices that are like, we're getting a ton of new patients, but they're clean patients. Fantastic. I love healthy mouths. I want everybody to have a healthy mouth, but I need dirty mouths. need unhealthy mouths. to feed the production. And so being able to get that good mix takes a lot as well. So Kristy, to your point, like, are we celebrating the things that we're doing really well? And then the things that maybe aren't working to move the needle, are we really diagnosing what's truly going on there and tackling the root cause? A lot of times it's within the new patients, it's within the processes. If you've got a ton of outstanding treatment and it's not selling, why? Why aren't patients accepting? If you don't have a ton of treatment and you don't have a full schedule, why? Is it under diagnosis or is it a lack of right patients? know Trish has a client right now. I've had the luxury of watching her consult this client and it's just been a lot of fun to see her take his, what's the word I want, like his, what are you seeing, his view and just shift it. his attention, right? So he was getting the new patients, probably not as many as we'd love, but he wasn't focusing really heavily on the diagnosis, but wanted higher case acceptance, blah, blah, blah. So she really helped to shift. And Kristy, I've seen you do this too, shifting that focus back into, we looking at full mouth or did we get stuck on something? I've seen doctors do this where they're like, I'm going to do implants. So we're only looking for implants and we're missing fillings. We're missing the like GP stuff that I know you don't want to do right now, but it's what fills the schedule. so, Kristy, to your point, really looking at what's working so that we can repeat that and diagnosing what's not working so that we can shift that and make massive impacts. Because sometimes I think that the money is missing because we've got something else is missing and we're maybe not focusing on the right things. Kristy (20:14) Yeah, I love that you said that and you know something else that came to mind when you were talking is so many times we're looking at the dirty mouth, right? And healthy infected mouth or whatever but on our healthy patients It's a great time to take a step back to and say hey Is there anything you don't like about the shape size color of your teeth? So many doctors want to do cosmetic dentistry, but we never talk about it, right? So it's a great opportunity to also celebrate the healthy patient. my gosh, you've been coming for five The Dental A Team (20:38) Yeah. Kristy (20:44) years and haven't had a cavity, keep doing what you're doing at home, and this is a great time. Is there anything you'd like to change about your smile, right? And just by asking some questions, you could probably drum up more ⁓ treatment in your chair right there. The Dental A Team (20:46) Yeah. That's a brilliant idea. I do love that. You do well. This is what I'm talking about, you guys. I said it at the beginning. Kristy's like, yes, and I love that. And I use that. You say that a lot, Kristy. Words are insanely valuable and important, I think. And you say yes, and a lot. And I've noticed I've started doing that. So thank you for giving me that habit. But it's true. You're constantly thinking like, yeah, for sure, healthy patients. And you can still help your healthy patients in different ways. So Kristy, thank you for always having that extra nugget, always thinking like, yeah, for sure. And also, this is what you could do. So, Kristy, I think it's invaluable. Our listeners, I know, picked up on it as well. And your clients, again, they're just, all of our clients are so lucky, but your clients are truly lucky to have you. you guys, I think our biggest action items, go look at your numbers, go look at where you are, where you're going, and what you need to do to bridge that gap to get there. This is the perfect time of year to really prep the rest of the year and look at what are you offering your patients? Are you offering them everything? Like Kristy said, are we looking at healthy patients too and saying, hey, what else could you want to do? What else do you want to do? Are we looking at those options as well? Are we super focused on something right now? It's broaden your focus, change the game and figure it out guys. As always, Kristy, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for the invaluable information. And listeners, thank you for being here. Whether you're a current client, a future client, or just here to listen, like you guys are so valuable to us and I hope that you really truly feel that from us. If there's anything we can do to help you, to support you, or guide you, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Again, if you're not a newsletter subscriber, know that there's a slew of information in there. We write almost all of the newsletters from the consultant side ⁓ and we answer a lot of the emails that come through or the social. requests and engagement over there too. So thank you everyone. Kristy, thank you and you guys will catch you next time.

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TMA (7-8-25) Hour 2 - Happy Miguel Cairo Day

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 39:13

(00:00-5:50) Celebrating Miguel Cairo. Michael McGreevy tracker. Happy Birthday, MM. Is it a bus situation?(5:59-18:58) Andy Crouppen in-studio. Whose idea was the Lawyers Eating Sandwiches podcast? Celebrity trials. System slanted towards the rich and famous.(19:08-39:04) Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery joins the program to discuss the Blues season since he took over and then the start of the offseason. Coach Montgomery discusses why players tend to stay in St. Louis even after their playing days are over, and some of the moves the Blues have made so far this summer, including the departure of Zach Bolduc. Finally, Coach Montgomery shares his perspective on the end of the Winnipeg series. Jimmy Snuggerud.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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P&A Podcast Express - July 8th, 2025

P & A Podcast Express

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 71:42

Recorded on a much cooler Monday night at the "World Famous" Palm Street Studio. It's the end of season 3! Will the podcast get picked up to carry on to season 4? We finally send JTK a link to connect from Ohio via satellite after a lot of whining. A Hot Dog eating contest announcement! We try to final Pirate Water flavor and it gets mixed reviews. Fishing tales and someone has to poop, it even inspires a tune. JTK's theme song is a huge hit, even with his soon to be bride and sugar momma. We should call and get an update from the Tally Ho, but maybe later. More on the melted modem mayhem and all that jazz. M&M prices are through the roof and Junior is pissed about it. The season of Malort is over and it's also a big anniversary for Adam and Mary, happy 25th!Featuring via satellite JTK and live in studio, Brian "The Blade", Hall of Famer Junior, and The Grumpy Griller along with your host Sir Phillip and Lord Adam. Make good choices!

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Ep159: Unlocking the Future of Learning

Welcome to Cloudlandia

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 61:59

In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we explore the shifting landscape of expertise in the digital age. Our discussion starts by examining the sheer volume of digital content and how it challenges traditional learning and expertise. With AI playing a significant role, we consider how this technology might disrupt long-established institutions like universities, allowing individuals to gain expertise in new ways. We then take a historical journey back to the invention of the printing press, drawing parallels between past and present innovations. Using AI tools like ChatGPT, we uncover details about Gutenberg's early legal challenges, showcasing how AI can offer new insights into historical events. This approach highlights how asking the right questions can transform previously unknown areas into fields of expertise. Next, we discuss the changing role of creativity in an AI-driven world. AI democratizes access to information, enabling more people to create and innovate without needing institutional support. We emphasize that while AI makes information readily available, the challenge of capturing attention remains. By using AI creatively, we can enhance our understanding and potentially redefine what it means to be an expert. Finally, we consider the impact of rapid technological advancements on daily life. With AI making expertise more accessible, we reflect on its implications for traditional expert roles. From home renovation advice to navigating tech mishaps, AI is reshaping how we approach problems and solutions. Through these discussions, we gain a fresh perspective on the evolving landscape of expertise and innovation. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We discuss the overwhelming volume of digital content and how it challenges the utility and comprehension of information in the modern age. Dean talks about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on traditional educational institutions, like Harvard, and how AI might reshape our understanding of expertise. Dan describes the intersection of historical innovation and modern technology, using the invention of the printing press and its early legal battles as a case study. We explore how AI democratizes access to information, enabling individuals to quickly gather and utilize knowledge, potentially reducing the role of traditional experts. Dean shares humorous thought experiments about technological advancements, such as the fictional disruption of electric cars by the combustion engine, highlighting the societal impacts of innovation. Dan critically examines energy policies, specifically in New York, and reflects on creative problem-solving strategies used by figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. We reflect on the evolving landscape of expertise, noting how AI can enhance creativity and transform previously unexplored historical events into newfound knowledge. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: Mr Sullivan. Dan: But who's going to listen to all the transcriptions? That's what I want to know. Who's going to read them yeah, but what are they going to do with them? I don't know, I think it's going to confuse them actually. Dean: They're on to us. They're on to us. They're on to us and we're on to them. Dan: Yeah but it's a problem. You know, after a while, when you've overheard or listened to 3 million different podcasts, what are you doing with it? I know, is it going anywhere? Is it producing any results? You know, I just don't know that's really. Dean: It's funny that you say that right. Like there's, I and you have thousands of hours of recorded content in all of the podcasts. Like between you know, podcasting is your love language. How many five or seven podcasts going on at all time. And I've got quite a few myself. Dan: I have eight series. Dean: You've got eight series going on regularly 160 a year times, probably 13 years. Yeah, exactly. Dan: Let's say but there's 1,600. Let's say there's 1,600 and it adds up. Dean: Let's call that. We each have thousands of hours of on the record, on the record, on your permanent record in there. Yeah, because so many people have said uh you know, you think about how much people uh talk, you think about how much people talk without there being any record of it. So that body of work. I've really been trying to come to terms with this mountain of content that's being added to every day. Like it was really kind of startling and I think I mentioned it a few episodes ago that the right now, even just on YouTube, 500 hours a minute uploaded to YouTube into piling onto a mountain of over a billion available hours. Dan: It's more than you can. It's really more than you can get to. Dean: And that's when you put it in the context of you know, a billion. I heard somebody talk about. The difference between a million and a billion is that if you had,1 a second each second, for if you ran out, if you're spending that $1 a second, you would run out if you had a million dollars in 11 and a half days, or something like that and if you had a? billion dollars, it would be 30 be 11 000, 32 years, and so you think about if you've got a million hours of content it would take you know it's so long to consume it. Dan: You know it's funny. I was thinking about that because you know there's a conflict between the US government and Harvard University. I don't know if you follow this at all. No, government and Harvard University. I don't know if you follow this at all. Because no? Yeah, because they get about. You know they get I don't know the exact number, but it's in the billions of dollars every year from the US government, harvard does you know? Harvard does you? know, and and. But they, you know they've got some political, the DEI diversity, and the US basically is saying if you're, if you have a DEI program which favors one race over another, we're not going to give. We're not going to give you any more money, we're just not going to give you any more money. I mean unless it's if you favor one racial group over another, you don't get the. You don't get US tax money. So they were saying that Harvard has $53 billion endowment. And people say, well, they can live off their endowment, but actually, when you look more closely at it, they can't, because that endowment is gifts from individuals, but it's got a specific purpose for every. It's not a general fund, it's not like you know. We're giving you a billion dollars and you can spend it any way you want Actually it's very highly specified so they can't actually run their annual costs by taking, you know, taking a percentage, I think their annual cost is seven or eight billion dollars to run the whole place billion to run the whole place. So if the US government were to take away all their funding in eight, years they would go bankrupt. The college would go, the university would just go bankrupt, and my sense is that Trump is up to that. The president who took down Harvard. The president who took down Harvard. It wouldn't get you on Mount Rushmore, but there's probably as many people for it as there are against it. Dean: Well, you never know, by the end it might be Mount Trump. We've already got the gulf of america who named it? Dan: anyway, yeah it's so, it's, yeah, it's so funny because, um you know, this was a religious college at one time. You know, harvard, harvard college was once you know, I I'm not sure entirely which religion it was, but it was a college. But it's really interesting, these institutions who become. You say, well, you know they're just permanent, you know there will never be. But you know, if a college like a university, which probably, if you took all the universities in the world and said which is the most famous, which is the most prominent, harvard would you know, along with Cambridge and Oxford, would probably be probably be up and you know what's going to take it down. It is not a president of the United States, but I think AI might take down these universities. I'm thinking more and more, and it has to do with being an expert. You know, like Harvard probably has a reputation because it has over, you know, 100 years, anyway has hundreds of experts, and my sense is that anybody with an AI program that goes deep with a subject and keeps using AI starts acquiring a kind of an expertise which is kind of remarkable, kind of an expertise which is kind of remarkable. You know, like I'm, I'm beginning that expert expertise as we've known it before november of 2022 is probably an ancient artifact, and I think that that being an expert like that is going to be known as an expert, is probably going to disappear within the next 20 years. I would say 20 years from now 2045,. The whole notion of expert is going to disappear. Dean: What do you? Think I mean you think, I think yeah, I have been thinking about this a lot. Dan: You'll always be the expert. You'll always be the expert of the nine-word email. That's true, forever, I mean on the. Mount Rushmore of great marketing breakthroughs. Your visage will be featured prominently. That's great. I've cemented my place in this prominently. Dean: That's great. I've cemented my place. Yeah, that's right. Part of that is, I think, dan, that what I am concerned about. Dan: That would be the highest mountain in Florida, that's right, oh, that's right. Oh, that's funny, you'd have to look at it from above. Dean: That's right. The thing that I see, though, is exactly that that nobody is doing the work. I think that everybody is kind of now assuming and riding on the iterations of what's already been known, because that's what that's really what AI is now the large? Language. That's exactly it's taking everything we know so far, and it's almost like the intellectual equivalent of the guy who famously said at the patent office that everything that can be invented has been invented. Right, that's kind of that's what it feels like. Is that? Yeah, uh, that the people are not doing original work? I think it's going to become more and more rare that people are doing original thinking, because it's all iterative. It's so funny. We talk often, dan, about the difference between what I call books authorship that there's a difference between a book report and a field report is going to be perfect for creating and compiling and researching and creating work, organizing all the known knowledge into a narrative kind of thing. You can create a unique narrative out of what's already known, but the body of creating field reports where people are forging new ground or breaking new territory, that's I think it's going to be out of. Dan: I think we're moving out of that, I'm going to give you a project. Okay, I'm going to give you a project to see if you still think this is true, and you're going to use Charlotte as a project manager. You're going to use Charlotte your. Ai project manager and you ask it a question tell me ten things about a subject, okay, and that's your, that's your baseline. It could be anything you want and then ask it ten consecutive questions that occur to you as it, and I had that by the 10th, 10th question. Dean: You've created something brand new hmm, and Then so ask so if I say Tell me, charlie, tell me 10 things about this particular topic. Okay, let's do it, let's, let's create this life. So okay, if I say, charlotte, tell me 10 things about the 25 years after Gutenberg released the press, what were the top 10 things that you can tell me about that period of time? Dan: Yeah. Okay, and then Charlotte gets back to you and gives you a thing, and then it occurs to you. Now here's where it gets unpredictable, because I don't know what your first question is going to be when that comes back. Dean: Yeah, so what would the Okay? Dan: and then Charlotte goes out and answers, charlotte gets the answer to that question and then you have another question, but I can't predict. So you're going to have 10 unpredictable questions in a row and you can't predict what those 10 questions are because you don't even know what the first one is until Charlotte gets back with information and I'm saying, by the time you've asked, you've gotten your answer to the 10th question. You've created an entirely new body of knowledge that nobody in history has ever created. Dean: That's interesting, right? Yeah, you know. That's so funny that you know there was a comedian, george Carlin, in the 70s and 80s, I know George. George Carlin had a very famous bit where he was talking about words and how we all use the same words and you would think that everything that people say, well, everything has already been said. But, ladies and and gentlemen, you're going to hear things tonight that have never been spoken in the history of the world. We're breaking, we're making history tonight. He said, for instance, nobody has ever said hey, mary, as soon as I finish shoving this hot poker in my eye, I'm gonna go grill up some steaks. He said you just witnessed history tonight, right here. Dan: Yeah yeah, that's funny, right yeah yeah, yeah and uh, you have the explanation for a lot of foolish things that people do. Dean: Exactly. Dan: And I think that's that all the things have been created in the history of the world are a very, very small percentage of what is going to be created. Dean: This is interesting. So while we were talking I just typed into chat GPT. We're going to create history right here on the podcast. Dan:So I just said. Dean: What are 10 things that happened in the first 25 years after Gutenberg released the printing press and she typed back. Here are 10 key things that happened in the first 25 years, roughly 1450 to 1475. Number one the Gutenberg Bible was printed and she describes that the 42-line Bible became the first major book printed using movable type. Two, printing spread to other cities. Within a decade. Printing presses began appearing outside mains, starting with Strasbourg, cologne and Venice. By 1475, over a dozen European cities had active presses. Then, number three Johann First sues Gutenberg. First, who had financially backed Gutenberg sued him and won control of his equipment. Fust and Gutenberg's assistant went on to become successful printers in Mainz, the first printed Psalter, whatever, p-s-a-l-t-e-r in Latin, the first book to bear a printed date and a printer's mark. That's interesting. So the property, the first kind of copyright, I guess right. Or the first printer's mark and the first color initials. Emergence of the print Trade was another one Printed Law and Medical Texts, latin Grammar by Donatus D-O-N-A-T-U-S. Mass produced in the 1460s. The first printed Greek and Hebrew. First books using Greek were typed print in 1476. Printing in Italy begins and the rise of the Incanobula era, the Enoch group was well underway. Dan: Yeah, Now ask a question about that number 10. Dean: Yeah, so that's interesting. So if I said what happened with the lawsuit, yeah, what happened with the Fust lawsuit? Dan: Yeah, now here's the thing Now, here's the thing that until you got the answers back from the first prompt from the first query. You had no idea what your next question was going to be. Right, because I didn't know, and so this is almost like a didn't know, and so this is almost like a uh and what I'm saying. If you tracked, if you were to do this, you know, after our, maybe during, maybe during our podcast, but uh, certainly after you know, let's say, by five o'clock this afternoon you would, you would ask 10 questions that's an original, that's an original body of knowledge. That no one else previous to you has put together. Dean: Wow, so the lawsuit? So Gutenberg? It went in detail about Gutenberg's partnership with John. Dan: Tell me 10 things about the lawsuit. Dean: Yeah, well, that's what essentially she's done here. Yeah, the lawsuit was filed five years later, 1450. Gutenberg needed funding to develop his movable pipe. He borrowed 1,600 guilders a significant sum a wealthy financier. The loan was formalized as a business agreement Fust would invest and Gutenberg would develop the technology and handle production. Lawsuit filed in 1455. 1455, after several years, fust sued Gutenberg, claiming misuse of funds and lack of returns. The outcome the court ruled in favor of Fust. Gutenberg lost control of his printing equipment. First, fust partnered with Gutenberg's former assistant, peter Schofer, and the two continued printing successfully. Fust and Schofer became one of the first successful commercial printing firms in Europe. Gutenberg, though innovator and inventor, died in relative obscurity and financial hardship in 1468. The lawsuit reflects the tension between innovation and commercialization. Gutenberg had the vision, but Fust had the capital and, eventually, the press. Let me know if you want a dramatized version of the court case. It's got all the ingredients money betrayal and world changing technology oh my goodness yeah yeah, yeah, and you know, and, and so what I'm thinking here? Dan: is that by the end of the five o'clock this afternoon, let's say you follow through on this. You're a great. You're a greater expert on this particular subject than has ever lived. Dean: Yeah, Dan, you just that. It's almost like doing a triple play. I mean, yeah, it's three layers deep or whatever. Right, or yeah, or whatever you know, but just the layers. Dan: But it's all original because no one could possibly duplicate separate from you. Like today somebody's out there and they're duplicating, and they're duplicating the first 10 answers, the second 10 answers, the third 10 answers. Nobody could possibly duplicate that, you know. Dean: Because, it's up to me what the follow-up questions are. Dan: Yeah, and it doesn't occur to you until you're presented with the say oh that's a really interesting thing, but nobody else could. Possibly. They might follow you on one thing, but they wouldn't follow you on two things. And each further step towards 10 questions, it's just impossible to know what someone else would do, and my statement is that that represents complete originality and it also, by the end of it, it represents complete um expertise that was done in a period. That was done in a period of about five or six hours yeah I mean, that's what we were doing it. Dean: I said, yes, that would be fun. Please do that. She created this, dramatized the People vs Johannes Gutenberg, and it was called the. Trial of the Century Act. Dan:One the Pack. Dean: A candlelit workshop in Maine. The smell of ink and ambition fills the air I mean this is ridiculous. And then at the end, so outline the thing. And then it says, uh, would you like this adapted into a short stage play script or animated storyboard? Next I said, let's. So I think this would be funny to do it. Please do a stage play in Shakespearean pentameter or whatever. What do you call it? Dan: What's that? Dean: What's the style of Shakespeare in Shakespearean? How do you call that? Well, it's a play, yeah, yeah, but I mean, what's the phrasing called in Shakespearean? Dan: Oh, you mean the language. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the language structure. Dan: Yeah, yeah, iambic pentameter In Shakespearean. Dean: I'm going to say Shakespearean pentameter yeah. Dan: Pentameter is 10 syllables Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da. That's the Shakespearean. He didn't create it. It was just a style of the day, but he got good at it. Dean: Damn, I am big, oh man so the opening scene is, to wit, a man of trade, johan by name, doth bring forth charge against one, johannes G, that he, with borrowed coin, did break his bond and spend the gold on ventures not agreed I mean yes, there you go completely, completely original, completely original. Oh, dan you, just now. This is the amazing thing is that we could take this script and create a video like using Shakespearean you know, costumed actors with British accents? Dan: Oh they'd have to be British, they'd have to be. British. Dean: Oh man, this is amazing. I think you're on to something here. Dan: My feeling is that what we've known as expertise up until now will just fade away, that anybody who's interested in anything will be an original expert. Yeah, and that this whole topic came about because that's been the preserve of higher education, and my sense is that higher education as we've known it in 20 years will disappear. Sense is that higher education as we've known it in 20 years will disappear yeah, what we're going to have is deeper education, and it'll just be. Individuals with a relationship with ai will go deeper and deeper and deeper, and they can go endlessly deep because of the large language models. Dean: Oh, this is I mean, yeah, this is amazing, dan, it's really so. I look at it that where I've really been thinking a lot about this distinction that I mentioned a few episodes ago about capability and ability, episodes ago about capability and ability, that, mm-hmm, you know this is that AI is a capability that everybody has equal access to. The capability of AI yep, but it's the ability of what to how to direct that that is going to. Dan: That's where the origins, because in the us, uh, at least over the last 40 or 50 years, higher education has been associated with the um, the political left. Uh, the um um, you know, it's the left left of the democratic party, basically in can Canada it's basically the Liberals and the NDP. And the interesting thing is that the political left, because they're not very good at earning a living in a normal way, have earned a living by taking over institutions like the university, communications media, government bureaucracies, government bureaucracies corporate bureaucracies, culture you know culture, theater, you know literature, movies they've taken over all that you know, literature, movies, they've taken over all that, but it's been based on a notion of expertise. It's um that these are the people who know things and uh and uh and, of course, um. But my feeling is that what's happening very quickly, and it's as big a revolution as gutenberg, and I mean you can say he lost the court, but we don't remember the people who beat him. We remember Gutenberg because he was the innovator. You know, I mean, did you know those names before? Dean: No I never heard of the two people and. I never heard of the lawsuit. You know it's interesting right, yeah, yeah. Dan: And it probably won't go between our country. It won't go further than our right right today, but gutenberg is well known because somebody had to be known for it and he, he ended up being the person. And my sense, my sense, is that you're having a lot of really weird things happening politically. Right now I'm just watching the states. For example, this guy, who's essentially a communist, won the Democratic primary to become mayor of New York. Dean: I saw that Ma'am Donnie. Dan: And he's a complete idiot. I mean, he's just a total wacko idiot. But he won and the reason is that that whole way of living, that whole expertise way of living, of knowing theories and everything, is disappearing. It's going to disappear in the next 20 years. There's just going to be new things you can do with ai. That's, that's all there's going to exist. 20 years from now and uh, and nobody can be the gatekeeper to this, nobody can say well you can't do that with ai. Anybody can do it with ai and um and you. There's going to be people who do something and it just becomes very popular. You know and there's no predicting beforehand who the someone or the something is going to be. That becomes really popular. But it's not going to be controlled by experts. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I think. Ai is the end of expertise as we've known it. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's really I mean a little bit. I think that's been a big shift. I'd never thought about it like that. That that's where the if we just look at it as a capability, it's just an accelerator, in a way. Information prior to November 22, prior to chat, gpt all of this information was available in the world. You could have done deep dive research to find what they're accessing, to uncover the lawsuit and the. You know all of that, that stuff. But it would require very specialized knowledge of how to mine the internet for all of this stuff where to find it how to summarize it. 0:32:24 - Dan: Well, not only that, but the funding of it would have been really hard you know you'd have to fund somebody's time, somebody who would give you know their total commitment to they, would give their total attention to a subject for 10 years you know, and they'd probably have to be in some sort of institution that would have to be funded to do this and you know it would require an enormous amount of connection, patronage and everything to get somebody to do this. And now somebody with AI can do it really really cheaply. I mean, you know, really really quickly, really cheaply. I mean you know really really quickly, really cheaply and wouldn't have to suck up. Dean: Yeah. I mean this is wild, this is just crazy. Dan: Yeah, that sounds like a yeah, you should take that at a level higher. That sounds like an interesting play. Dean: I mean, it's really, it is. I've just, my eyes have been opened in a way. Dan: Now, now. Now have somebody you know. Just ask them to do it in a Shakespearean British accent, right. Just ask someone to do it. I bet. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I bet it'll be really interesting. Like that's what I think now is there would be. Dean: the thing is you could literally go to Eleven Labs and have the voice having a, you know, having British Shakespearean dramatic actors. Yeah, read, create a radio play of this. Dan: Yeah, so I go back to my little quarterly book, the Geometry of Staying Cool and Calm, which was about a year and a half ago. And I said there's three rules Number one everything's made up. Does this check? Does that check? Everything's made up, yeah. Dean: Did we just make that up this? Dan: morning. Dean: Yep. Dan: Nobody's in charge. Dean: Right. Dan: Is anybody in charge? Dean: Do we have to ask? Dan: permission. Dean: Yep, okay, and life's in charge. Right, is anybody in charge? Do we have to ask permission? Yep, okay. Dan: And life's not fair. Dean: Life's not fair. Dan: Life's not fair, that's right. Why do we get to be able to do this and nobody else gets to be man? Life's not fair. Dean: Uh-huh. Dan: Wow. Dean: It's a pretty big body of work available. I mean, that's now that you think about it. I was kind of looking at it as saying you know, I was worried that the creativity, or, you know, base creativity, is not going to be there, but this brings certainly the creativity into it. I think you're absolutely right, I've been swayed here today. Your Honor, yeah. Dan: But you're still confronted with the basic constraint that attention is limited. We can do this, but it's enjoyable in its own. Whether anybody else thinks this is interesting or not doesn't really matter. We found it interesting yeah, yeah, in background. Dean: Uh, you know, charlotte created a, uh, a playbill for this as well. She just kept asking follow-up would you like me to create a playbill I said. I said, can you design a cover of the play Bill? And it's like you know yeah, what's it called Well the Mainzer Stad Theater proudly presents. The Press Betrayed A Tragic History in One Act, being a True and Faithful Account of the Lawsuit that Shook the world. Yeah, that's great I mean it's so amazing, right, that's like, that's just. Yeah, you're absolutely right, it's the creativity, I guess it's like if you think about it as a capability. It's like having a piano that's got 88 keys and your ability to tickle the ivories in a unique, unique way. Yeah, it's infinite, yeah, it's infinite yeah. And you're right that, nobody that that okay, I'm completely, I'm completely on board. That's a different perspective. Dan: Yeah, and the. The interesting thing is the. I've just taken a look at the odds here, so you have, you start with 10 and if you did you continue down with 10, that makes it 100, that makes it a thousand, you know, it makes it 10, 000, 100, 000, a million. Uh, you know. And then it you start. And the interesting thing, those are the odds. At a certain point it's one in ten billion that anyone else could follow the trail that you just did. You know, yeah, which makes it makes everything very unpredictable you know, it's just completely unpredictable, because yeah and original. Unpredictable and original yeah. And I think that this becomes a huge force in the world that what are the structures that can tolerate or respond well to this level of unpredictability? I think it's. And then there's different economic systems. Some economic systems are better, some political systems are better, some cultural systems are better, and I've been thinking a lot about that. There was a big event that happened two days ago, and that is the US signed their first new trade agreement under Trump's. That is, the US signed their first new trade agreement under Trump's trade rules with Vietnam, which is really interesting, that Vietnam should be the first, and Vietnam is going to pay 20 percent tariff on everything that ships in. Everything that is shipped produced by Vietnam into the United States has a 20% tariff on it. And they signed it two days ago. Okay. Dean: Wow. Dan: However, if China ships it because China maybe has a much bigger tariff than Vietnam does, but the Chinese have been sending their products to Vietnam where they're said made in Vietnam and they're shipped to the United States the US will be able to tell that in fact it's going to be 40% for Vietnam if they're shipping Chinese products through. Dean: And this can all be tracked by AI. Dan: Right, this can all be tracked by AI. The reason why Trump's thing with tariffs this year is radically different from anything that happened previously in history is that with AI you can track everything. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And it happens automatically. I mean, it's not a stack of paper on an accountant's desk, it's just electronic signals. Oh, no, no that came from the Chinese 40% Please, please, please, send us a check for 40%, right, right, right, right, 40%. And my sense is that this is the first instance where a new set of rules have been created for the whole world. I mean, trump went to Europe two weeks ago and the Europeans have been complaining about the fact that their contribution to NATO has to be 2% of GDP, and that's been contentious. I mean, canada is doing like 1% or something like that, and they're complaining. And he came away with an agreement where they're all going to increase their contribution to NATO to 5% of NDP, and part of the reason is they had just seen what his B-2 bombers did to Iran. The week before and I said, hey, it's up to you. I mean you can do it or not do it, but there's a reward for doing it and there's a penalty for not doing it, and we can track all this electronically. I mean we can tell what you're doing. I mean you can say one thing but, the electronics say something else. So I think we're into a new world. Dean: I really feel like that yeah, yeah, wow. Dan: But it's expertise in terms of an individual being an expert. There's expertise available anytime you want to do it, but an individual who's an expert, probably that individual is going to disappear. Dean: Yeah, I agree, yeah, I can't. Yeah, I mean this is, yeah, it's pretty amazing. It's just all moving so fast, right, that we just and I don't think people really understand what, what we have. Yeah, I think there's so many people I wonder what, the, what the you know percentage or numbers of people who've never ever interacted with chat GPT. Dan: Me, I've never. Dean: Well, exactly, but I mean, but perplexity, I have perplexity. Dan:Yeah, exactly. Dean: Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Dan: Yeah, well, you know. I mean, there's people in the world who haven't interacted with electricity yet. Somewhere in the Amazon, you know, or somewhere, and you know I mean the whole point is life's not fair, you know, life's just not fair. Nobody's in charge and you know everything's made up but your little it was really you know extraordinary that you did it with Charlotte while we were talking, because yeah would you get two levels, two levels in or three levels in? Dean: I went three or four, like just that. So I said, yeah, I asked her about the top 10 things and I said, oh, tell me about the lawsuit. And she laid out the things and then she suggested would you like me dramatic? Uh yeah, and she did act one, act two, act three and then yeah doing it in, uh, in shakespearean, shakespearean. And she did that and then she created the playbill and I said, can you design a cover for the playbill? And there we are and that all happened happened while we're having the conversation. Dan: You know what's remarkable? This is about 150 years before Shakespeare. Dean: Yeah, exactly, it's wild, right. I mean I find I was looking at, I had someone, diane, one of the runs, our Go-Go Agent team. She was happened to be at my house yesterday and I was saying how I was looking, I'm going to redo my living room area. My living room area I was asking about, like, getting a hundred inch screen. And I would say asking Charlotte, like what's the optimum viewing distance for a hundred inch screen? And she's telling the whole, like you know, here's how you calculate it roughly. You know eight to 11 feet is the optimal. And I said, well, I've got a. You know I have a 20 by 25 room, so what would be the maximum? What about 150 inches? That would be a wonderful, immersive experience that you could have. You certainly got the room for it. It was just amazing how high should you mount? Dan: that yeah, but but can they get it in? Dean: that's the right, exactly. Dan: Yes, if you have to if you have, if you have to take out a wall to get it in, maybe, yeah, too expensive, yeah yeah, but anyway, that's just so. Dean: It's amazing right to just have all of that, that she knows all the calculations, all the things. Dan: Yeah, and I think the you know what you've just introduced is the whole thing is easy to know. Dean: The whole thing, is easy to know. Well, that's exactly it. Dan: This is easy to know. Whichever direction you want to go, anything you need will be easy to know. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And that's new in human affairs We've had to pay for expertise for that, yeah. Dean: You'd have to pay a researcher to look into all of this stuff right, yeah. And now we've got it on top. Dan: We were at the cottage last week and Babs has a little pouch it's sort of like a little thing that goes around her waist and it's got. You know she's got things in it, but she forgot that she put the Tesla. You know our keys for the Tesla in and she went swimming and then she came out. It doesn't work after you go swimming with the Tesla. Dean: I don't even have a key for my Tesla anymore. It's all on my phone. Yours is on your phone. Dan: Yeah, yeah well, maybe she. Well, that'll be an upgrade for her to do that. But anyway, she went on YouTube and she said how do you, if you go swimming with your Tesla, bob, and it doesn't work, can you repair it? And then she went on YouTube and it would be easier buying a new Tesla. Dean: That's funny yeah, first you do this, then you do this. And interesting, uh, there's a guy uh rory sutherland, who is the uh vice chairman of ogilvy, uh advertising oh yeah and wow, and yeah, he did he had a really interesting thought he said let's just propose that we're all using electric cars, that electric cars are the norm. And we're all charging them at home and we're all driving around and we're all. It's all. You know, everybody's doing that. And then somebody from Volkswagen comes up and says hey, I got another idea. What if, instead of this, electric engine? or electric power. What if we created a combustion engine that would take and create these mini explosions in the vehicle, and, of course, we'd have to have a transmission and we'd have to have all of these, uh, all these things, 250 components, and you know, and you'd be asking well, is it, is it, is it faster? Uh, no, is it, is it more convenient? No, is it, is it, you know, safer? you know none of those things. It would. There would be no way that we would make the leap from electric to gasoline if if it didn't already exist. That's an interesting thought. You and he said that kind of. he used this kind of thinking like rational thinking and he said that rational thinking often leads to the wrong conclusions. Like he said, if you had a beverage and your job was that you were trying to unseat Coca-Cola from the thing, if you're trying to be a competitor for Coca-Cola, rational thinking would say that you would want to have a beverage that tastes better than Coke, that is a little less expensive and comes in a bigger package. And he said that's what you would bigger container, that's what you would do to unseat them. But he said the reality is that the biggest disruptor to Coca-Cola is Red Bull, which is expensive in a small can and tastes terrible. It's like you would never come to the conclusion that that's what you're going to do. But that wasn't. It wasn't rational thinking that led to no no yeah, and the other. Dan: The other thing is that, um, you know, um, the infrastructure for the delivery of fossil fuel is a billion times greater than the infrastructure delivery system for electricity yes. And that's the big problem is that you know it's in the DNA of the entire system that we have this infrastructure and there's millions and millions and millions and millions of different things that already work. Dean: And you're trying to. Dan: But the other thing is just the key. There is energy density, it's called energy density. That if you light a match to gasoline, you just get enormous energy density. And this came up. I was listening to this great guy. I'll send you the link because he's really funny. He's got a blog called Manhattan Contrarian. Really really interesting. Okay, you know, really interesting. Dean: Okay. Dan: You know New York City. You know he's New York City. He's a New Yorker guy and he was just explaining the insanity of the thinking about energy in New York State and New York City and he said just how weird it is and one of the things is that they've banned fracking in New York. Dean: Oh, wow. Dan: They have a huge deposit of natural gas underneath New York State, but they've banned it. Okay, so that's one. They could very, very easily be one of the top energy-producing states, but rather they'd rather be one of the great energy. We have to import our energy from somewhere else, Because that puts us on the side of the angels rather than the side of the devils. You know. Dean: Oh right, yeah, Side of the angels rather than the side of the devils. Dan: You really want to be on the side of the angels, but he was talking that they're exploring with green hydrogen. Have you ever heard of green hydrogen? Dean: Never. Dan: Well, it's green because it's politically correct. It's green, and then it's hydrogen, it's green and then it's hydrogen, and so what they have is in one place it's on Lake Ontario, so across the lake from Toronto, and then it's also in the St Lawrence Seaway. They have two green energy sites. And they have one of them where it's really funny they're using natural gas to produce the electricity to power the plant that's converting hydrogen into energy. Dean: Okay. Dan: Why don't you just use the natural gas? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We can't use natural gas. That's evil, that's the devil. And so it's costing them 10 times as much to produce hydrogen electricity out of hydrogen. Rather, they just use the natural gas in the beginning to use it. And if they just did fracking they'd get the natural gas to do it. But but that produces no bureaucratic jobs, and this other way produces 10 times more bureaucratic jobs. Dean: That's crazy, yeah, yeah. Dan: But he just takes the absurdity of it, of how they're trying to think well of themselves, how much it costs to think well of yourself, rather than if you just solved a problem, it would be much easier. Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, amazing, yeah, marvelous thing. But I'm interested in how far you're going to go. I mean, you've already written yourself a great Shakespearean play, maybe you? don't have to go any further than that. Dean: I mean I think it's pretty fascinating, though, right Like, just to think that literally as an afterthought or a side quest, while we're, I would say as a whim. You know, that's really what we, this is what I think, that's really what I've been reframed today, that you could really chase whims with. Yeah, this you know that, that, that you can bring whatever creativity um you want to. It like to be able to say okay, she's suggesting a dramatic play, but the creativity would be what if we did it as a Shakespearean play? That would be. Dan: You know, I think Trump is tapping into this or something you know, because he had two weeks when it was just phenomenal. He just had win after win, after win after win, after, uh, after two weeks, I mean nothing, nothing didn't work for him. Supreme court, dropping bomb on iran, the passage of this great new tax bill, I mean just everything worked. And I said he's doing something different, but the one you know Elon Musk to do. We have to use this Doge campaign and we have to investigate all of Elon's government contracts. And he says that's what we have to do. Dean: We have to. Dan: Doge, Elon, and he says you know he'll lose everything. He'll lose Tesla. He'll lose SpaceX, everything He'll have Tesla. He'll lose SpaceX, everything. He'll have to go back to South Africa. Dean: I mean that's unbelievable. Dan: He's such a master like reframer. Dean: You know, I saw him turning the tables on Nancy Pelosi when she was questioning his intentions with the big beautiful bill Just tax breaks for your buddies. And he said oh, that's interesting, let's talk about the numbers. And he pulls out this thing. He says you know, you have been a public servant. Dan: You and your husband. Yeah, you and your husband, you've been a public servant, you've had a salary of $200,000 a year $280,000 and you're worth $430 million. How'd you do that? Dean: That's an interesting story. Dan: There's not a person on Wall Street who's done as well as you have. How did you do that? You know Exactly. Dean: I just think what a great reframe you know. Dan:Yeah. Dean: Yeah, he's a master at that. You know who I haven't heard from lately is Scott Adams. He's been off my radar. No, he's dying. He's been off my radar. Dan: He's dying, he's dying and he's in his last month or two. He's got severe pancreatic cancer. Dean: Oh, no, really. Dan: And you know how you do that, how you do that. You know I'm convinced you know, I mentioned it that you die from not getting tested. I'm sure the guy hasn't gotten tested in the last you know 10 years. You know because everything else you know you got to get tested. You know that stuff is like pancreatic is the worst because it goes the fastest. It goes the fastest Steve Jobs. And even Steve Jobs didn't have the worst kind, he just fooled around with all sorts of Trying to get natural like yours, yeah. Yeah, sort of sketchy sketchy. You know possibilities. There was no reason for him to die when he did. He could have, he could have been, you know, could have bypassed it. But two things you didn't get tested or you got tested too late. Dean: So that's my Well, you said something one time. People say I don't want to know. He said well, you're going to find out. I said don't you? Dan: worry, don't worry, you'll find out. When do you want to find out? Dean: Right Exactly Good, right Exactly Good question yeah. Dan: What do you want to do with the information Right, exactly, all right. Well, this was a different kind of podcast. Dean: Absolutely. We created history right here, right, creativity. This is a turning point. For me, personally, this is a turning point for me personally. Dan: I was a witness yeah fascinating okay, dan, I'll be in Chicago next week. I'll talk to you next week, okay, awesome bye, okay, bye.

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Exploring the Wild With Eli Martinez: Diving With Sharks & Embracing the Call of Adventure

Don't Cut Your Own Bangs

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 55:20

In this episode of 'Don't Cut Your Own Bangs,' Danielle Ireland interviews adventurer and SDM Diving owner Eli Martinez. They discuss his unique career leading land and ocean safaris, dispelling myths about predators, and the connection between exploring the wild and self-discovery. Eli shares his journey from aspiring bull rider to renowned wildlife guide and photographer, emphasizing the therapeutic and transformative power of nature. Together, they explore how experiencing the wild fosters understanding, empathy, and personal growth. RATE, REVIEW, SUBSCRIBE TO “DON'T CUT YOUR OWN BANGS” Like your favorite recipe or song, the best things in life are shared. When you rate, review, and subscribe to this podcast, your engagement helps me connect with other listeners just like you. Plus, subscriptions just make life easier for everybody. It's one less thing for you to think about and you can easily keep up to date on everything that's new. So, please rate, review, and subscribe today. DANIELLE IRELAND, LCSW I greatly appreciate your support and engagement as part of the Don't Cut Your Own Bangs community. Feel free to reach out with questions, comments, or anything you'd like to share. You can connect with me at any of the links below. Connect with Eli: Book an adventure HERE - https://sdmdiving.com/ Instagram Connect with Danielle: Watch the show on YouTube Instagram The Treasured Journal Wrestling a Walrus 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guest 00:13 Eli Martinez: The Adventurer's Journey 01:21 Connecting with Nature and Overcoming Fear 02:18 Building a Dream Career 05:59 Diving into the World of Sharks 12:16 The Power of Social Media and Storytelling 17:59 The Importance of Conservation and Ecotourism 21:40 Personal Growth Through Wildlife Experiences 28:40 Connecting with Nature and Self 29:07 The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life 29:38 Struggles with Anxiety and Self-Doubt 31:04 Emotional Awareness and Growth 32:00 Transformative Experiences in the Wild 35:03 Launching Shark Diver Magazine 35:55 Shifting from Magazine to Excursions 40:49 Dispelling the Predator Myth 48:28 Curiosity and Career Pivots 53:30 Conclusion and Final Thoughts Transcript Eli Martinez Podcast Interview [00:00:00] Danielle: Hello. Hello. This is Danielle Ireland and you are listening to Don't Cut Your Own Banks and Today's Guest. this has been a long time coming for me. I am so excited beyond excited to introduce Eli Martinez. Eli is an adventurer. [00:00:14] He's an explorer, he's an operator and owner of SDM Adventures. It's a group that leads land and ocean safaris. If you have ever seen these wild otherworldly images of people swimming with humpback whales, swimming with orca whales, swimming with crocodiles, swimming with anacondas. There's a good chance that you've stumbled across his images because he is one of the few, right? [00:00:42] It's a pretty small pool of people who make a living doing what he does, Images, they grab your attention, they hook your imagination. But it being on a screen, it's easy to think, well, that's so far removed from my life. what value is there in that for me? Like that's a cool image. But the internet has lots of cool images. [00:01:00] There's a couple of important distinctions and what I think makes this episode so special. What we talk about is dispelling the predator myth and my work as a therapist and his work as a safari guide. They don't seem too related, but there was one common thread that came out of this episode that it's gonna stick with me for a long time. [00:01:21] He's guiding people into the natural world to feel connected to the natural world in a deep and profound way. And when anybody sits with their emotional space. With their feelings. Feelings of discomfort, fear, terror, trauma. That's really hard to do and hard to hold. But when you do and access curiosity, you begin to tap into your true nature. [00:01:49] Your intuition, and so Eli might be talking about sharks and the deep ocean, and I might be talking about feelings, but there is a common thread in language here that makes this episode already one of my favorites. I can't wait for you to hear his story because not only is the work itself that we spent a lot of time talking about, fascinating. [00:02:10] He leads people on wildlife safaris in the ocean, on land. I mean, it's just. What a cool, amazing job. But he built that job. There wasn't an application for him to fill out. He built this from the ground up and there were stumbling blocks, missteps and pivots along the way, and he shares those with us. [00:02:30] So not only can we learn about how could I build a dream that I didn't know was possible, you also have the benefit of. Really getting a sense of what is it like, what is the value, what is the purpose? And I would argue where is the healing in connecting with the natural world, whether that's through a hike or through looking out your window. [00:02:53] And as he states a couple of times, just watch a sunset. Really watch a sunset. So I'm gonna save that. I'm gonna leave that for you there. Thank you for being here. You're gonna love this episode. Welcome, Eli Martinez. [00:03:08] [00:04:18] Danielle: Eli Martinez, thank you so much for being here with Don't cut your own bangs. [00:04:23] This is not the first time we've met, but this is the first time we've done a podcast together and I am like the little kid in me who wanted to be a marine biologist when she first knew what dolphins were. [00:04:34] This feels like just she feels so greedy with excitement to talk to someone who has made a living, being an adventure traveler and swimming with animals and interacting with animals all over the world. So I'm very excited to talk to you. [00:04:47] Eli: Actually, I was a little self-conscious about it because of, because of your background in psychology. [00:04:52] I'm like, okay, all right. where do I start? [00:04:55] Danielle: You know what? Yes. your family actually told me to schedule this podcast interview so that we could really get into what makes Eli tick. No, no, no, no, no., This is a celebration what I'm curious about personally, not just professionally working as a therapist, but I love understanding what leads people down, whatever path they end on. [00:05:16] And probably a lot of that is because I mistakenly thought during my twenties that you went through the school system. You graduate with a degree, you start working in that career, and you follow all of the steps to be a good. Citizen and that was not my path, and it was a lot more twisty and turny and there were a lot of pivots and I can see that now as of value. [00:05:43] But, in those moments where I thought I knew what I was going to be doing and life took me in a different direction, it. Knocked me down pretty hard I think there were a lot of moments where I felt like I was failing or wasn't doing it right, using air quotes of whatever it is. [00:05:59] And so someone like you who, are a storyteller, explorer, wildlife photographer, and have spent your life chasing the wild. you lead ocean and land wildlife, safaris. I love that distinction. Ocean and land, wildlife safaris. [00:06:15] There is not, you can't go to high school and then college and then just start doing what you're doing. There's no Reddit, there's no LinkedIn interview that you can fulfill to make that a career. You had to chisel that together. And so I really wanna understand that more. how you built this dream. [00:06:36] What seems from afar, like a dream life? And I'm sure it is many days, but I wanna know how you did it. [00:06:43] Eli: animals have always been like my first love, as a child, I can remember my first toys were animals. my dream as a child was to become a wildlife veterinarian. that was the only way I knew that I could actually physically be around animals that, 'cause I had no idea about wildlife guiding or photography or storytelling [00:07:05] So veterinarian was the only way I could get close to a zebra or a giraffe. And I said, that's what I want to do. So as a child, that was like that one dream that I had. And of course, life gets in the way and I went to a completely different route. I actually went to school to be a motorcycle mechanic. [00:07:23] So what? [00:07:24] Danielle: Yeah. [00:07:24] Eli: That's [00:07:25] Danielle: definitely a different route. [00:07:26] Eli: Yeah. No, it was, I fell in love with race bikes and I wanted to travel the world. look, me being a mechanic for race teams, that was my thing. I love motorcycles, but I like wrenching them. I like working on them more than I like writing them for, it's just my DNA, just how I like to be. [00:07:43] Fast forward a bunch of years, I fell in love with shark diving. I went scuba diving and on my very first. Dive. I saw a shark and it terrified me. It excited me. filled me with everything that I enjoyed about wildlife to begin with. [00:08:00] And it was coming out of the water that I realized I knew absolutely nothing about sharks. Everything I thought I knew was wrong. [00:08:09] Mm-hmm. , [00:08:10] So I, came outta the water that day and I was just completely fascinated, really obsessed with learning more about sharks. So I, I bought every book I could find. [00:08:20] I read as much as I could about them, and I just was like, I gotta get in the water with them some more. And it was on my very first, travel. I went to The Bahamas and it was on that experience is. What got me on this path that I'm on today was just like, I want to dive with sharks. I want to travel to exotic places. [00:08:41] I want to meet amazing people, [00:08:43] Danielle: How do you wait? Do okay? I, okay, so we're gonna get to the how. So you fell in love, and now it's the how, but I wanna go back. Do you remember the first shark, like in your, can you access that memory and do you know the shark? [00:08:55] I can. What was it? It was a bull shark. Oh, whoa. Okay. Yeah. that's gnarly. Yeah, that is. okay. The first shark you ever swam with was a bull shark. I don't know why that's like the one that scares me. I, I can relate. So not to put on the therapy hat for, for anything other than just, I find this so interesting that the things that scared me, I wanted to learn more about, I found endlessly interesting. [00:09:21] And when I was young it was the ocean, the deep ocean, And I really became, in the way that a suburban kid could really curious about sharks and very interested in sharks. And I would always talk about them and just rattle off a bunch of shark facts. [00:09:36] And I, as you were talking, you reminded me of the fork in the road moment where I thought. What I thought was I wanted to work with animals. What I realized was, oh, I just kinda like you love turning wrenches more than you love racing. I love learning about animals more than I want to. I'll just tell the story. [00:09:57] When I was, 13 or 14, I applied for a summer job at our Indianapolis Zoo. that really burst my bubble of what that was gonna mean. I wanted to work with animals. But I realized, I just wanted to play with the elephants. I didn't wanna do the dipping dots concession stand. [00:10:14] So there's this sense of you, you were afraid you shared that. I dove with sharks. I swam with a bull shark. I came outta the water. I was afraid and then fascinated. is that something there, is that like a theme for you that you feel a jolt or a rush and then you wanna understand that rush more? [00:10:31] Possibly, [00:10:32] Eli: it was just more of like, when I saw the shark, I had two primal instincts, which was, one was to follow it. And the other was to get outta the water. That was just like those two conflicting feelings that was going through me. [00:10:46] And the, when I was, I ran out of air really quick 'cause it was actually my very first ocean dive. [00:10:51] Okay. So I was sitting on the surface, the dive master sent me up to the surface by myself, which is crazy. And when I think about it, man, I didn't know anything I was doing. I'm just looking down. [00:11:01] I'm just like, really worried the shark is gonna come up and get me 'cause I'm on the surface. And that's all I knew. I always knew. I knew the jaw story. I knew a little, just very small snippets of information on sharks and Yeah. And it was completely opposite of what was happening. the shark wanted nothing to do with us. [00:11:17] It tried to avoid us completely. [00:11:18] Danielle: Yeah. [00:11:19] Eli: Got out of the water and then the whole way back to port, I was just like, okay. He didn't come after us. He didn't want anything to do with this. [00:11:28] Like, why? and it was that moment that was just like, after that I got out of the water, I'm like, okay. I gotta know. I gotta know. yeah. [00:11:36] Danielle: what you thought you knew, conflicted with what you experienced, and you were trying to understand that more. [00:11:42] Eli: Right. [00:11:43] Danielle: That's really interesting. I can relate to that. I honestly think that's a big thread of what led me to therapy. I wanted to understand my internal experience more. And I think there's, steps of you're introduced to a concept and then you embody the concept. [00:11:57] you're no longer having to consciously think about it, but really mastery when you're able to teach. And so I think in many ways I wanted to understand that enough to help others, but it began through my own experience and my own curiosity. so I feel like I should mention, How I got connected with you. [00:12:16] I think social media gets a bad rap. it gets a lot of bad press, but thank God for social media. it was in 2012 or 13 and I was watching Shark Week because you always gotta be watching Shark Week. [00:12:27] I was watching Shark Week and the whole episode I was watching was, they were trying to see could large species sharks experience the same temporary paralysis as smaller or baby sharks when they're flipped upside down for study? And I was, of course they're doing all of these great cuts, is it gonna work? [00:12:43] Who knows? Is it gonna work? And of course, they're gonna end it with it working, you're on the edge of your seat. what are they gonna do? What are they gonna do? And they showed a clip of you with a tiger shark in The Bahamas and you were like hand feeding it. And then you stimulated the and you correct me with all the science terms, but you were like stimulating the sout and it just put it in this little trance and then you just tipped it upright. [00:13:06] You just, it stood vertical and you held it just, a shark, a tiger shark. Yeah. I don't know. Was like 16 feet, 15 feet, something like that. [00:13:15] Eli: Possibly. yeah. Anyway, it [00:13:17] Danielle: blew my mind and I think I just made a post about it. I took a picture of my tv. I was like, my mind is blown. [00:13:24] And then some weeks later you commented, thanks so much for the shout out. And that was one of those first moments. That really connected with oh, you can actually connect with the people who were doing things that you think is cool. it just, it really bridged this gap. And then once, of course, I found out what you and your family, 'cause it's a family band, it's like a whole, it's the whole family involved on these excursions. [00:13:46] But as soon as I made that connection, my husband and I signed up to, swim with Whale Sharks with you and your wife, and your son and your daughter. So that's just, I feel like I gotta give credit to, the algorithm and the innerwebs for making that possible. 'cause I don't know if I would've even thought that was a possibility. [00:14:05] Eli: Oh, that's, thanks for sharing that. I, man, that story just,, [00:14:09] Danielle: mm-hmm. [00:14:10] Eli: Wow. Just flooded with memory with that little piece. [00:14:13] Danielle: Yeah, it was, [00:14:14] When I set out to write a book, I only knew two things. One was I wanted to make big feelings, feel less scary and more approachable, and I wanted to bring some lightness to the feelings themselves. What I know to be true as a therapist is that emotions are energy in motion. They have information to tell you to inform the next right step to take and self-doubt, fear, anxiety, live in that space between knowing and not knowing. [00:14:38] The second thing I knew was that I wanted to have fun in the process of making. This thing. The result is this wrestling a walrus for little people with big feelings, beautifully illustrated children's book that has a glossary at the end for some of the bigger feeling words. What this story does in a light and loving way is create context for those relationships. [00:14:58] You can't change those people that you wish would treat you different. The things in life that we cannot control and yet we face that are hard. This book, it's a conversation starter for any littles in your life. Who want to create more safety and love and patience for some of those experiences. So hop one over to the show notes. [00:15:16] You can pick it up@amazon.com, barge de noble.com or my website. I hope that you do because I believe in this little book. I freaking love this little book, and I cannot wait to hear your experience with it. Thanks so much for listening and get back to the episode. [00:15:29] Eli: those are fun, fun shows to do. and there's definitely a lot of benefits to social media, I think. I think it's a great tool. It's a great servant, A terrible master. [00:15:41] That's the best way I can describe it. said. yeah, it is just, there's so many benefits to, connecting with people on the other side of the world to learning about unique places, to learning unique things. it's been one of my most important tools when finding new places for wildlife. [00:15:58] but on the flip side, there's sometimes there's just too much information out there and too much because of it. it's made life difficult for wildlife, difficult for kids, difficult for, it's just. It can be too much. And that's the only downside [00:16:14] Danielle: it's like, how we engage with it. It's an extension of how we are showing up with it, what we're looking for, what interests us. [00:16:21] what I love about how you show up there and how your family shows up there with images is it really, I think, highlights How we operate. we look first and then we listen second. And so you'll capture these images or these videos that seem other worldly and it catches your attention enough. [00:16:43] And if you can hold that attention enough, and it probably helps that your message is consistent of conservation, understanding, connecting with nature. when you can capture someone's attention with an image, just what happened with me? [00:16:56] And then you can maybe engage in a dialogue . And it actually leads me to something, that you mentioned. Something I caught from your website that I really liked this language, that when people experience the wild, they understand and when they understand they care. [00:17:12] And that sounds much like the experience you had swimming with the bull shark. But I wanna know more about that because you, not only through, your media outlets and the content you put out, but you are handholding, you're guiding people into the water or in, ocean and land safaris. [00:17:31] And I wanna understand more about this concept 'cause I think it's true of emotions too. If you can't articulate what you're feeling, then when people don't have language for what they're experiencing, they usually shut down and collapse or they explode with rage. it's gotta go somewhere. [00:17:46] And so when you can create context and language, you also create safety. it seems like with what you're guiding people through, you want them to understand and so that they care. yeah, tell me more. [00:17:59] Eli: Yeah, that has a lot to do with just experiences being out in nature. [00:18:04] I think nature is probably one of the best doctors on the planet. first and foremost, I think that people being around wildlife, people being in the ocean, people being in the wilderness, it replenishes your soul. It recharges your batteries. I think it just makes you a better person. [00:18:21] it's through these connections and meeting wildlife and having people go out there in the wild and see these places and see these animals and they come back and they tell stories, they tell their friends. [00:18:31] And hopefully it's through those kind of connections that, [00:18:36] Conservation comes out of, like at the end of the day, the animals win. That's what you're hoping for is for the animals to win because these are voiceless souls on our planet that share this world with us. and without these people, without these experiences, they're completely vulnerable for lack of better words, to bigger business, to sadly going away, for lack of better words. [00:18:56] Danielle: I think one of the biggest problems that animals have is that they are second class citizens on our planet that we share. And unfortunately, we're seeing our wild places disappear. alarmingly fast, and it's, I think that conservation ecotourism are probably the only tools left that are going to save, what's left of our wild places, what's left of our wildlife, Let's try to get some people on your wildlife safaris. What would be, so if someone's listening who has maybe like me, just from a television screen or from a social media account, wondered, that would be cool, but that could never work for me. I could never do something like that. [00:19:40] That it just, when you're. Physical reality or even your mental reality feels so removed from the wild world. we live in boxed rooms and we're so connected with screens and, my wildlife outside my window is squirrels, cardinals. [00:19:58] Eli: That's perfect. [00:19:58] Danielle: So how would you speak life into someone saying yes to an adventure and where do they begin? [00:20:07] Eli: Oh man. I think it really, first and foremost, it all comes down to your comfort level. I think that there's so many ways for people to reconnect with nature, whether it's hiking, whether it's biking, whether it's going to the beach for the day, watching a sunset. [00:20:23] Just watching a sunset is so powerful. I think it's so important. I don't think we do it enough. I think that is probably the simplest way to remember that you are a part of something bigger and as simple as it sounds, it is so important. now watching a sunset in an amazing place is even 10 times better. [00:20:42] It's that much more powerful. just, trying to reconnect with nature, I think the important part to remind people that yes. The earth is here. She is alive and she breathes and she's got a heartbeat every day. And I think that sunset is her heartbeat. [00:20:55] and it's a great way to see it. [00:20:57] Danielle: I just saw, I think it was nasa, release some footage of a particular, some type of lens on a satellite that was able to actually detect a pulse on the earth. [00:21:08] Like the earth has a heartbeat, but I'm sure the more sciencey people have another way of explaining it. but that it caught my attention. And that feels just right on par with what you're saying when the heart space and the head space connect, I think that's where magic happens. [00:21:22] Like when you can believe it in your mind, but then you experience it in your body, that is, powerful. I think everybody needs to have an experience like getting into the deep ocean or going out into the wild nature. I really think everybody should have that in their life at least once. [00:21:40] But I wanna share a little bit about what my experience was like , with, um, you and your wife swimming with winter parks, because it was there was so much momentum for me built up into what I thought that experience was gonna be because from the time I understood. Little mermaid, Disney to the time I, could name the dolphin body parts and thought that's what I wanted to be like this, there was so much emotional charge and I'm gonna go in the water and I'm gonna swim and it's gonna be great. [00:22:11] And I just had this idea that I'm gonna connect with this shark. We're gonna make eye contact and it's gonna, we're gonna just be on the same vibe. so many expectations that I never expressed, but they were all there. I was, probably trying to keep it cool. But, no,the reality it, the i'll, I will just to skip to the end, the reality far exceeds whatever I imagine. [00:22:31] the first day was me reconciling what I thought it would be and what it really was. Getting on a little charter boat going way out in the middle of the gulf and. Then, I think sturgeon were spawning and that was what was drawing the sharks. And so it made visibility like all of these little eggs were refracting light. [00:22:51] So it was this very sparkly, but also sometimes visibility was funky. And the thing that I couldn't wrap my head around was from the boat. You could look out at the water and see, I don't know, a dozen whale sharks at any given time, but then you get in the water and adrenaline hits and I don't know where they are. [00:23:13] I can't see them. It's just having very little to no experience in the deep water. That was such a jolt and a shock to my system. and then being in the water with an animal, 20 feet, 25 feet, 30 feet long, My nervous system just didn't know how to compute. it was so much, I don't think I'd ever been that tired, ever. [00:23:37] Just, it took so much outta me. And then, day 2, 3, 4, each day got a little easier 'cause I had a better idea of what to expect. And also I didn't, you're covered in fish eggs, you're culvert in fish eggs. So the, the imagination that I would become this mermaid this other worldly creature and have this like soul bond with a whale shark, it wasn't that. [00:23:59] But the real life experience was incredible too. But I just, I don't, and I guess I don't really know where I'm leading with the question, but how do you see when having guided so many people through these moments? Like for somebody who's thinking about. Possibly planning an experience like that? [00:24:20] Like what, how do you prepare what would be good for someone to prepare for what that is like? [00:24:26] Eli: Wow, man. it's so different for everybody. it's just, valid. [00:24:30] Danielle: Valid. Then everybody maybe wants to be [00:24:32] Eli: Yeah. there's a few that want to be mermaids for sure on our trips. I'm not gonna lie. [00:24:38] but yeah, it's just really these animals the whale shark is a great, I call 'em, they're like gateway animals into a bigger world because, when it comes to seeing orcas and whales and of all different species and sharks, a whale shark is possibly, [00:24:55] It's a great ambassador for the species because they're a harmless species. They're just like big giant catfish floating on the surface. and it's a wonderful animal for someone of all ages to experience. it really is, [00:25:10] the whale shark, and I don't know if you had man rays on your trip as well, because Sometimes they show up every other year. The man ray is another, ocean angel. they're just, they're just, the perfect animal for people, for if you wanna. [00:25:24] Experience the ocean. If you wanna experience what life is like in the ocean, in a Disney way, that is the perfect animal to do it with. It's just very safe. it's a phenomenal, way to decide if, you know what? I would like to do more of things like this, or, this was perfect, this was enough. [00:25:43] You know, [00:25:45] Danielle: I wanna go back to something, something that you wrote that I really liked. that reminded me. [00:25:50] Even though we are talking about safari, we're talking about adventure, we're talking about animals, I think the more specific we become in a way, the more universal it becomes. And this quote made me think about a lot of the stuff that you write, it's a Mark Twain quote that travel is fatal to prejudice. [00:26:09] once you see something, you can't unsee something. I wanna speak to the, Why beyond conservation? if I'm not connected to nature, if I'm not connected to animals and I've got enough going on in my life, that conservation, cool, I'm glad someone's taking care of it, but that's not my focus. [00:26:29] What would be a personal selfish reason that would be maybe a call to action that you like? What would be the invitation for somebody individually, not globally, not, for any other reason, like why it could change your life to jump into the deep or get in a Jeep with no top and go drive out to a pride of lions. [00:26:55] what is the reason that you could articulate why somebody should do that? [00:27:00] Eli: I think the wildlife is, they're reminders of where we all came from. we were all of us in our DNA, if you look at the generations of people that have lived on this planet, at some point we were all part of that. We were all out there. [00:27:18] there wasn't this separation between us and our wild places. whether it was the ocean, whether it was a jungle. some of our ancestors had to deal with bears in their front porch. some of our ancestors had to deal with lions walking through camp. [00:27:34] that's something that we have either. Blocked out or forgotten. Obviously we've forgotten just because of generations of separation from it. But we are all part of that. We are all part of this world. beyond our cars and our homes and our clothes, we are part of nature a hundred percent. [00:27:55] We've forgotten this. And I think these are great reminders to remind us, Hey, this is where we all come from. This is, we're not separated from these things. we are very much a part of these things. And if anything, there are so many species that, although they're no longer, relevant in our world, they're so important for our world, not only as reminders, but as part of this giant balance, because we're all connected in some way, in some form. [00:28:23] we're all for lack of better, we're all one. And I think it's important. To remind people that, like we, we need to stay connected. We need to protect these animals because, they're much a part of this earth as we are. and we have to remind people that they're there yeah, that, that's, [00:28:44] This is our home. This is their home. This is our home. [00:28:47] Danielle: And I also, what I'm hearing too, it's they, when you're in communion with nature, you become more in touch with, or in tune with your own natural rhythm, your own self. There's, you might actually, know him or, 'cause I would imagine the community, like the pool you're in terms of career is probably small, I'm just guessing. [00:29:07] But, Boyd Verdi, he's from South Africa, he wrote The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life He has a property in South Africa called Alose. It was a game preserved. Okay. Yeah. Yes, I, and but his work in that book is basically teaching people to track wild animals, helps them become more in touch with the rhythms of nature. [00:29:29] And by, not by default, but through becoming more in tune with tracking nature, you, your track, like your path. So I think so many of the clients I attract are struggling with anxiety, depression, and burnout. And I think a lot of the confusion and self doubt and, head trash is also rooted in, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. [00:29:54] It's that maybe they don't articulate it like that, but it's experienced that way of just, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. As opposed to, I wanna know what I'm called to do. I wanna know what I'm meant to do or what I want to do. my dog never questions when she's hungry, when she's tired, like she is completely embodied because she doesn't have this giant brain getting in her way of everything. [00:30:19] And I love hearing you talk about the more in tune you are with nature, you are reminded that you are nature too. [00:30:27] Eli: it's it's so important for people to stay connected to nature and it's getting worse. I think it's just part of I. [00:30:35] Part of what I feel is that they're completely pulling us away from it. I think that unhealthy feeling, I remember having it as a growing up. I remember there was many times where I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't know, what my calling was but I always just, I remember standing there and just looking around saying, something's wrong. [00:31:00] I don't belong here. [00:31:01] Danielle: that's something's wrong. the language I like to use. with clients is, that's usually what gets people into an appointment with me first. It's when I say it's like your smoke detector's going off. 'cause your smoke detector can't tell the difference between burning toast or bacon and a fire in some part of your house, but it's just beeping 'cause it senses smoke, something's wrong. [00:31:20] And so I think a lot of times getting that emotional awareness or that clarity starts with something's wrong and then you sit with that. But then the discomfort, it's like I think about that story with you and the bull shark the first time it's, I either need to chase it and funnel down with it or I need to run away from it. [00:31:40] And I think that tension is what happens every time we hit a big emotion or a fork in the road or we're at a growth edge, we're about to change. but I think that is the. Following the path of curiosity is almost always what leads you down to some new sense of understanding, about yourself or the world. [00:32:00] I wanna, do you have, of all of the experiences you've led other people through, do you have It could be one, it could be more than one, it might even be with a member of your family, but have you seen, like shifts happen in people that just observed? 'cause I have over the years seen many powerful shifts happen in sessions, but it's such an intimate thing, but where you're out in the wild with someone, are there any moments that stand out to you of just being like, whoa, this person is different, or this person is really having an experience here? [00:32:35] Eli: Yeah. I have this one gentleman who. would do adventures. he would do travel on his own, and then he went on one of our trips a very successful, businessman. and I could see that this was just something he was doing for like, and that's interesting. [00:32:54] [00:32:54] Danielle: on [00:32:54] Eli: That's so interesting. Yeah. He was, he was on the trip And he was there to experience the animal, but it was almost like a science project, it wasn't like it was super into the animal. Like he was intellectualizing it. he was, it was like, it wasn't like [00:33:11] a bucket list. It was like, okay, I'm on this journey of I'm gonna photograph wildlife. Now, I've been photographing these other things and I'm gonna photograph wildlife now. we went out there, he had the experience and it was almost like this. [00:33:25] Yeah. You could feel the shift of just now I get it. oh, I got a goosebump thinking about it. Yeah. it was like now. Okay, okay. You know, it was, it was, [00:33:35] Danielle: it was like his body, like it kicked on. [00:33:38] Eli: Yeah. something inside him came alive [00:33:41] And it was just like more. And it was a completely different, more than when he first started and it was something [00:33:47] Danielle: beside him came alive. That gave me chills. I almost wonder if it's the distinction of when you were describing a sunset, like the difference between driving in your car and you're getting somewhere as the sun happens to be going down and you're doing a million other things versus watching a sunset and taking it in. [00:34:08] So not being just a passive observer, but being a present participant in the moment. [00:34:14] Eli: Yeah. Purposely trying to watch, I'm going to this spot because I want to see the sunset, or I'm gonna, I'm gonna stop to put my phone down and I'm gonna watch the sunset. Even if you take your phone, you know you're watching it through your phone as you wanna record it, because that's what we do now. [00:34:31] just that act alone of purposely trying to do that is significant. It is life changing to sometimes for some people. [00:34:38] Danielle: That's awesome. that was a really good answer. I wanna hear a little bit more. So I was circling back, you were starting to connect how that first dive, you were scuba diving, you saw the bull shark, you were swimming up to the surface, and then you almost started to shift to how that led you down this path. [00:34:57] I wanna go back to that and maybe if I could jump forward a little bit more in your story. You created Shark Diver Magazine in 2003, and you said you had 25 publications and then it really, the business model really shifted to your excursions. I wanna know more about, deciding to launch a magazine that sounds so ambitious, 25. [00:35:21] me trying to put a blog out sometimes feels like a real effort. but 25 publications is no small thing. And then you shifted it to excursions. it's one thing to do something yourself as a hobbyist or as an enthusiast, but you're leading people with all varying degrees of experience. [00:35:40] Some people that wanna be, mermaids and you're leading all types of people from all over the world on these trips and you're dealing with a lot of personalities. I would love to know more about how you made that shift from the magazine into leading your safaris. [00:35:55] Eli: Yeah, it was, so I started the magazine, in 2003. I didn't know anything about publishing. I didn't know anything about photography. I didn't know. Anybody in the business. And I had never really written anything outside of my journals before. [00:36:14] Danielle: So it was just like, I am, I'm so excited by this. [00:36:16] You're like, I am gonna build a rocket ship, but I don't have an engineering degree. I don't understand the mechanics. and I've never flown on a plane, but I'm gonna build a rocket ship. [00:36:25] Eli: what I did. Yeah. So I just, I went all in. I've always had a love affair with magazines as far as, any sport that I was into. [00:36:34] Had a magazine dedicated to it with mountain biking, surfing, rock climbing, scuba diving. but there was nothing dedicated to shark diving. And that's the area that I fell in love with. And I said, here's my, and I really was trying to find. A vehicle. And a way to get into the industry, to make a name for myself, coming from Landlock, Texas. [00:36:54] there was, this was my way in. This was an opportunity. And this is all pre-social media, so it was all from scratch and trying to create this business. And, yeah, we did it for eight years. I published 25 issues and it was a lot of fun. And it was, a lot of laying in bed going, what the hell did I do? [00:37:14] Why did I do this to myself? And, this is crazy. And it was fueled by also, I, the first pub, the first magazine I came out with, a family friend. I overheard him in the distance, say I wonder if it's gonna be around in a year. And that, so I wrote those words down and I put it in my office. [00:37:36] and that, inspired me to make it to the first year it was a, and then after that, I made it to the second and the third. it was just this labor of love. This, chance for me to tell stories, chance for me to share this world with people. [00:37:50] because, when I first started and when I was looking through the books, it really felt like, , a, a club. And it really felt more like a researcher's club more than anything else. It was like, the guys who had access to all these amazing places were usually the scientists, the shark scientists, the shark researchers. [00:38:06] And it really didn't feel like it was open to guys like me. And so this is the world that I wanted to create. I wanted to create a world where it was open to. Sharks were accessible to the world. And that's what I wanted to do with this magazine. and what I wanted to do with my storytelling is invite everybody who was really interested in sharks like myself and help them find places where they could dive with these animals and read stories from fellow people like myself that were not all scientists, we're not all research. [00:38:36] yeah. So that was the idea. That was what I really wanted to do when I started the magazine. And then, trying to get advertisers to be interested in us when we had zero subscribers and no real history, and it was just like, mm-hmm. That was an impossible feat. So I don't know where I came up with the idea. [00:38:54] Somebody either shared that idea with me or I was doing my research. I just decided to try to organize, oh, I know what it was. It was one of my potential sponsors asking me to organize a trip. And that's what started the opportunities is it's a great way to raise money. [00:39:12] If I can get people to travel with us, we can use that money to help publish the magazine. Yeah. And that's what the first trips were. So May I ran our first expedition to North Carolina for Sand Tiger Sharks in May of 2003. So that first year coming out of the box, we, we brought some people and we just started doing that. [00:39:32] So from the first year we organized those trips, and then we just, it just kept going. and it was, and it ended up being the way I funded the magazine for the first eight years. I didn't, after that I really didn't chase sponsors very much because I just didn't like, I'd go to a travel show. [00:39:48] And then we, and. It would be, I would end up being that magazine guy that's just trying to get money from me. Yeah. And I didn't like that feeling at all. So I just said, you know what, I don't need to do this. this is what the trips are about. It's reader sponsored, and I can do whatever I want with a magazine. [00:40:04] I can tell the stories the way I want to tell 'em. and so that's what I did. [00:40:08] Danielle: I think because we've all been sold so many different times through so many different channels, it's like you can feel it when it's coming at you. [00:40:15] And nobody likes that. So it's just so much this is what it is, this is what we're doing, this is what I like. gosh, having come from different sales backgrounds and have family and my husband who's in sales, it's like when a sale happens, you're really just offering information. [00:40:31] It's I don't, my guess is you're not selling people ongoing on your trips, right? People are already interested. You're giving them the information and then that's when they say yes. But you're not going out selling people on doing it. I feel like I'm trying to do that for you. 'cause I just think more people need to do it. [00:40:46] You are very intentionally not doing that. I want to acknowledge the predator myth, I found it really interesting that you were passionate about dispelling the predator myth. I wanna understand that better because obviously we all know how sharks are portrayed. [00:41:01] we've seen all those things. but I think the ocean, deep ocean and what we fear in the ocean, it correlates to emotions, big, uncomfortable feelings. I don't think it's called a therapy myth, but there has to be something terribly wrong to seek that type of help or seek that type of guidance. [00:41:20] and I wanna know more in your world, in your space, what is the predator myth and what do you want people to know? [00:41:28] Eli: Oh, for me its exactly what I was brought up believing about sharks is just that, sharks are mindless monsters and they're just out to get you. [00:41:37] And the moment you step in the ocean, there's gonna be a shark down there. And, I've heard this. My entire life that, oh, I'll never jump off a boat into the ocean because there's just sharks waiting. [00:41:47] Danielle: [00:41:47] Eli: me, and it's completely opposite. I really wish that if I just went out into the ocean, jumped off a boat and there'd be a bunch of sharks there, it's just not the reality. [00:41:58] It takes so much work to find these animals. It takes a lot of effort and usually the people That get lucky and say, oh look, there's a great white under my boat. they're the ones who don't wanna see sharks. the people that wanna see sharks like a great white under their boat, never get to see a great white under their boat. [00:42:15] that's just the way nature works. But, yeah, for me it was more about, trying to help people pass this prejudice, pass this belief system that is ingrained in us, that's actually probably ingrained in our DNA [00:42:27] So it's very much ingrained in all of us from the beginning. And the more I understood sharks, the more I wanted to get rid of that stigma as best I could. Yeah. I started doing a lot of, Talks at schools and helping kids with, sharing, what I know about sharks, and I've through the years, really figured out what works and what doesn't. [00:42:48] And I used to show pictures of sharks and try to get people to dispel their fear with just a picture of shark, but in their mind, it's still a shark. [00:42:57] But when I started sharing videos of myself with a shark in my arms and giving a back rub and rolling them upside down and just, like a shark sticking his face between my knees so I could scratch his back. [00:43:10] and showing these kids these images and showing these kids that, this other side, and you could see it, you see it in the teachers. they're just like, wait. Mm-hmm. Wait, what? Wait, what? It's like you wake them up, you wake up something primal in them and say, wait, that's possible. [00:43:24] Danielle: yes. That you just said it, 'cause I think that you don't have to prove to someone what you're saying is true, but what you're showing them is it's possible. I think it's when you don't believe it's possible, that's when people freeze or shut down or wanna give up or stop. [00:43:39] And it's when we're afraid we want control, we want contracts, we want guarantees, we want promises, we need something ironclad. But, there is no guarantee. But knowing that, there's something possible that's really, yeah. I feel that really deeply. Yeah. you're igniting possibility in people. [00:43:58] It, you also just reminded me too, I love Leopard Sharks. I've never swam with them, but, I love leopard Sharks and I feel like that. That shark more than any other, you see them almost act like little dogs, like just anyone listening, just Google videos of like leopard shark pups. And they swear, they just act like dogs. [00:44:14] So cute down. They're beautiful. What is the, what do you think is the biggest gap in our understanding of not just predators, but marine life, wildlife? what's our biggest gap in understanding? [00:44:29] Eli: I think it's disconnect. like you said earlier, it's, oh, I'm glad somebody out there is doing it. [00:44:34] that kind of thing. It's it's not for me. I got too many things I'm doing in my life, my life is a mess, Lack of empathy for something. and that has to do with disconnect because it's more of, it's talking about the shark, [00:44:46] it's one thing to talk about, it's another thing for people to see it. And, in them, me, roll the tiger. just like open that up in your mind, the fascination in your mind of oh wow, like I didn't even know this was a thing. Or if it's even possible. And that's what I've tried to do [00:45:01] predators and with crocodiles and anacondas and all the other animals that I dive with is just showing the other side of these animals and, their place in the world And how important they are. And it's not just, when we jump in the water with an anaconda and if, people are so surprised to know that it's. [00:45:18] the Anaconda is terrified and all he's trying to do is hide from us. So you're looking at a 18 foot, 20 foot long snake. the moment I jump in the water and he's just like, where do I hide? it's like he's completely terrified of my presence. [00:45:32] [00:45:32] Danielle: the crocodile, those images just, everyone should visit Eli's, social media channels as soon as you, you stop listening to this episode, just go scroll through and look. But the crocodile one, those, late night scrolling, when I see one of those images that stops me in my tracks, and I thought I was pretty open-minded with nature, but man, that, that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. [00:45:54] That's wild. [00:45:56] Eli: I used to say Crocs of the new Sharks. Okay, sure. I feel that makes sense. So yeah, because for years, right? when I started the magazine in 2003, it was still Steve Irwin. Mm-hmm. The late great Steve Irwin was still diving with Tiger Sharks in a cage. [00:46:11] on his show, he was showing, that diving with them in a cage. so for years they're like,it's impossible to dive with tigers outside of a cage. Then, in The Bahamas and Fiji, they're diving with tigers outside the cage and they're like, you can do it during the day, but you can't do it at night. [00:46:27] So we started diving with tigers at night, and then they're like, you can do that with a tiger, but you can't do it with a great white. Yeah, we're diving outside the cage with great whites. And so, I mean, it was just like, well, you could do it with sharks, but you can't do it with crocodiles. [00:46:39] Danielle: You're right. You're right. It's the same prejudice, just moving into a different face. [00:46:44] Eli: Right. Oh, interesting. The same thing with orcas too. Like you can, when they're like, you can't swim with an orca. we started swimming with orcas and then, you can do it with these, but you can't do it with the pelagic orcas because, they're a lot more aggressive and they eat sea lions. [00:46:56] And so we're diving with those species too. it's just they're always trying to find, and it's usually people who don't swim with these animals that are creating the ideas that people believe, [00:47:07] Danielle: you know? Mm-hmm. Yeah. So it's like the people that aren't the mechanics or the one trying to pump the brakes. [00:47:12] Um, I, so I saw on your social media just this morning that you said the duck bill platypus is your unicorn. Yes. That was, it wasn't intended to be a question, but I have to ask, why is the Depa plat picture your unicorn [00:47:24] Eli: as a kid? I, that was one of the first most exotic animals I had ever seen. [00:47:31] Danielle: Yeah. [00:47:31] Eli: This book in second grade, that I read about the platypus and it was, the fact that it lays eggs and that it's got a duck bill and it looks like a beaver, but it's not. and it was just a fascination was born in that moment. And it was something that like, I have to see this animal. [00:47:50] Like I just have to, so it's always been, it's been my unicorn. I have, I'm ashamed to say I've never been to Australia. [00:47:57] But as soon as I do, that is like task number one. I gotta see a platypus like this. Okay. [00:48:03] Danielle: that was gonna be my follow up question because I embarrassingly don't know where the poses live. So I was gonna ask you where would one, find one. Okay. So Australia. Perfect. I actually think there's a couple of Australian listeners. I don't know where in Australia. I just see this map and wherever it's highlighted that shows where people have downloaded episodes. [00:48:20] So anyone in Australia don't miss your opportunity to catch a platypus because Eli's gonna come snap some photos. Okay. So we're nearing the end and I'm really excited to lay out the don't cut your own bangs moment with you. 'cause I have a feeling you probably have too many that could just fill up its own episode. [00:48:41] But I would love to know what a don't cut your own bang moment is for you. [00:48:45] Eli: I spent a big part of my youth trying to become a professional bull writer growing up in Texas. What. [00:48:57] Danielle: Okay. Okay. This is good. This is already, this is already one of the top two. Okay. Go on. [00:49:01] Eli: So I wanted to be a world champion bull rider. [00:49:04] I ate, drank, dream, slept, dreamed bull riding. I was in love with the sport. [00:49:09] And it was during, I was working on my pro permit when I cracked my hip at a show and I gave myself three months to heal. And it was during that time, one of my best friends got a scuba diving certification and he was telling me about it. [00:49:25] So I had three months off. So I took the time to get my scuba certification. [00:49:30] Danielle: After I got scuba certified, I went, I just wanna, I just wanna put a brief pause. So your time off was actually you healing a fractured hip. You weren't. Oh, okay. So in your off time with a fractured hip, you got your scuba certification? [00:49:45] Eli: Yes, exactly. Okay. Okay. Cool. Okay, go on, go on. [00:49:51] So it was on that, on that bowl that I, when I cracked my hip, I got, I got scuba certified. I went to Kmel, I saw a shark. I came back from that adventure. I was, I went to my next rodeo and I was behind the chutes. And I fell off my bowl and all I had, I usually would throw a fit. When I would buck off, I would just, so angry at myself. [00:50:15] But off, after that ride, I was behind the chutes and I had Caribbean music, blue water, white sand sharks floating through my mind. I was like, I'm done. I'm going shark diving. And, so not becoming a professional bull rider was the best thing that never happened to me. [00:50:34] Danielle: Oh, that is so, that is good. [00:50:39] And I feel like those, those moments, that perspective is unfortunately earned in hindsight. It's so hard to trust in those moments when you're down with a fractured hip or saying goodbye to an old dream, feeling like you're starting over. That is hard. I mean, in your magazine was that too? But you can even see now in the full expression of what your business is, how learning to tell stories, learning to create a narrative, learning to take images and then not just take images that are clear and focus, but that are also telling a visual story. [00:51:18] And you've passed that on to your daughter who, she's a wildlife photographer in the making. I mean she is and is continuing to be, but it's like all of those steps. But it's, all of those things led to the next thing, but I think it only could have, because you followed the curiosity as opposed to maybe drowning in what you were losing. [00:51:41] You allowed yourself to become curious about where you wanted to go. And I think that's a really remarkable quality. That's a good, that's a great emotionally resilient quality. [00:51:52] Eli: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well, thanks. I just, uh, yeah. It was, it was, that was a huge chunk of my life that I just I gave up, but it felt right. [00:52:02] It felt right. And it was just like, that's why I think maybe that. Let's see if he's still around in a year. Doing that came from just because I was like, okay, he is gonna be a bull rider now. He is gonna be a shark diver. [00:52:15] Danielle: Yes. my background was on ballroom dance. I taught, before that I did commercial acting. [00:52:20] my plan was to move to la I had a very similar, about face, very big pivot and started teaching ballroom dance. Did that for about seven years. And I just felt that pressure where I'm about to grow outta my shell. I knew it was not this, but I wasn't crystal clear on what that was. [00:52:38] I just knew not this. And so little step by little step, I found my way in grad school and I was, about 11 years older than every other person in that particular class when I decided to switch careers and do what I'm doing now. But yeah, I always appreciate when people can share those moments like that. [00:52:58] 'cause I think what I'm doing is trying to build up a bank of stories that would've comforted those versions of me that was just so terrified about to do something new. . [00:53:08] This was so exciting. Thank you for being here. I'm excited for everybody to, check out your account, look at all your images, sign up for a trip, just take the leap, put a deposit down on an adventure. [00:53:22] Just scroll through. Pick an animal that terrifies you and just say yes to that one. I can't wait for everybody to hear this. Awesome. Thank you so much. [00:53:30] Thank you so much for tuning into this week's episode of Don't Cut Your Own Bangs. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did recording it, because this in so many ways was a dream come true if you couldn't tell by the episode itself. I wanna leave you with , a quote that I pulled from Eli that was said in the episode, but really is the heart of what this episode is, as well as what I hope to bring to every episode. [00:53:55] When people experience the wild, they understand and when they understand they care If you replace the wild with the self. When people experience the self, they understand and when they understand they care. The more I understand my own emotional landscape, the more equipped and empowered I feel to navigate it. [00:54:22] The more empathetic, the more compassionate, the more connected I feel with the people in my life. The people who I believe have wronged me with my past. I feel more hopeful for my future. That connection to the self, our essential self or nature, the natural world around us is I think what makes us unique in the experience we get to have on this planet. [00:54:47] So if you haven't already decided you're gonna book your adventure, this might be your call. Whether that adventure is outside your window looking at a sunset, [00:54:58] but I want that for you. I want that for me, and I think we all deserve to have that kind of magic. We can make it if we want it. Thank you for tuning in this week. I look forward to catching you next time, and as always, I hope you continue to have a wonderful day. [00:55:11]

After Meeting EP. 166｜審判日前哨戰，來聽聽機構都在聊什麼？

MacroMicro 財經M平方

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2025 42:54

7/9 審判日進入倒數，大而美麗法案、聯準會降息態度、以及各國關稅談判再度引起市場關注，法人與機構都在關心著哪些議題？本集邀請研究副總監 Vivianna 來聊聊，在他外出演講時，專業人士都提出了哪些問題？法人與機構在預習哪些重點？

mm soundon

#1,015: What Dentists Need To Know Before Selling Their Practice

Swing Completo Radio / MLB, Beisbol y Deportes

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 24:13

Ryan Isaac of Dentist Advisors returns to continue his discussion with Kiera about the future of dentistry, including options aside from DSOs. The question a practice owner should ask themself, Kiera and Ryan say, is what that individual wants out of their life — then consider the best platform to get you there. 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 this is going to be part two of mine and Ryan Isaac's conversation where we're digging into DSOs to sell to not to sell, all of that. And I truly am so excited for you guys here, part two. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast. Kiera Dent (00:17) why don't we take a pause and just think of like, what's the future of dentistry as now the future pioneers of dentistry? And what are we going to do to our profession? Yes, there's top dollar. Yes, there's things about it, but is there a way to influence? and make sure that the integrity of dentistry can maintain long-term. I have no answer to that, but again, this is Kiera Dent sitting on my podcast where I think that there is a voice and an influence and like on Dentist Advisors podcast, is there a way that we can influence our industry in ways that will protect and still pay out? Because I'm like, even if you don't get the 10X EBITDA, you still can get a freaking great payout if you do your life right to where you can be financially set up. Ryan Isaac (00:33) Mm-hmm. ⁓ Kiera Dent (00:58) still be able to sell your practice, not have to sell it in ways that could potentially hurt the industry. I'm not saying one's the right answer or the wrong answer. There's no judgment on my side. It's just, let's maybe think and consider how it could influence. Can we get people that could be private equity higher up that could help protect it? Those are things that, and again, I'm just Kiera Dent here in Reno, Nevada. Ryan Isaac (01:03) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Same, okay. Okay. Yes. No, these are the questions. You're totally influential. I think it's just in the opposite direction. ⁓ I don't think we can influence private equity. Private equity is ruthless in every industry. They don't. It feels dirty. It feels dirty. And I have a question for you, but I just want to say really fast. ⁓ I do feel like, yes. Kiera Dent (01:30) It's dirty. It's dirty. Is there a way though, Brian, you don't finance better than me. Is there a way that there could become dentists that could become in private equity where they own it? Because once you, there's no way to insulate, you don't think. Because once you get to that level, you just, I mean, I've had. Ryan Isaac (01:44) Yeah, but they'll do the same thing. I mean, they'll want the same thing. Now, money's money. It's why capitalism runs the world. mean, that's why, you know, it's like why it influences politics and money and business runs the world, you know? ⁓ Okay, hold on. There's so many good things here. Number one would be not every group will be a DSO, private equity backed DSO. And you know, many, many ⁓ clients and just dentists around the country who will end up being owners of Kiera Dent (02:05) Okay. Ryan Isaac (02:19) 20, 50, 100 group practices that will stay privately held and ran by owner doctors. That will be a chunk of this ⁓ group practice ⁓ takeover. So in that space, the influence can still be huge. ⁓ I think the chance to influence the integrity of private practice is in those who don't sell to DSOs. I think it's in the industry, educated in influencing the industry for people who aren't going to sell and who are going to maintain control. Now, I do think that in the future, more and more dentists will be in a group. ⁓ are probably, yeah, be fewer and I can see why it would make sense to do that. There would probably be fewer and fewer people with just solo doc, solo location practices. know, some towns and rural places, that would be hard to do. Kiera Dent (02:47) Mm-hmm. I do too. Ryan Isaac (03:15) So I think you're Dorothy, is that what you said? I'm Dorothy. I think that is possible, not with private equity, but with still the owner doctors that still exist and the group practices that are ran by dentists, not private equity back. I think the influence is still gonna be, I mean, if you took the projections of what will stay private, Kiera Dent (03:20) Yeah, hi. I agree. Ryan Isaac (03:40) and then the chunk of the group stuff that'll be non DSO non-corporate, that's still got to be 40, 50 % of the industry eventually. Kiera Dent (03:49) I would think so. I mean, look at it right now. There's corporate dentistry within. And again, there's nothing wrong with any, because I have clients that are in corporate dentistry that run their practices like private. They take care of their teams. So it's one of those things I still think, like even if you are, and that's another way that we can influence this, if you are part of a private equity-backed DSO, you can still influence your practice. You're still the dentist working in the practice. You can still run culture. You can still run change. Ryan Isaac (03:59) Totally. Absolutely. Yes. and hit it. Kiera Dent (04:16) ⁓ I know the doctors I have, they're part of a very large group corporate and things that we have done together, like I work with them, they're my only corporate practice that I work with, but we have literally influenced the top tier CEO. They've asked what these offices are doing differently. They're taking things that I've helped bring into the practice and they've asked like, what's changed in your practice? Like we hired this girl who teaches us to run it like private practice. Their culture's incredible. We're even right now petitioning up to the top people because they're writing off things that you can actually bill out to insurance that they're making them write off when it's like, actually, no, we can bill it as a non covered service and actually have the patients cover. So I'm like, I do still think whether you're in private equity, but I think you've got to be a strong enough doctor where you advocate for the rights of your patients and the rights of your practice. And I'm super proud of my client who does this because her and her husband, they go to bat and they're like, they write some pretty direct emails to the CEO of this and say like, hey, and they're a big enough force. Cause I mean, Ryan Isaac (04:55) Mm. Yes. huh. Kiera Dent (05:15) They're the top tier practice in their area. have them making like, we are adding multiple millions to their offices every single year. But I'm like, I think that's also how dentists, even if you're in private equity, even if you're in group practices, I think at the end of the day, are clinicians and clinic, like you are, you are the product. And I think that they have, I think dentists have more say than they might realize that they do to influence the industry and keep it more positive and more ethical than it could be otherwise. Ryan Isaac (05:38) Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree with that. We all know people who are in those group models that are still running like amazing, almost privately held practices. The other thing that's interesting that's different than medical, because it always gets compared to the medical field consolidation that happened, is medicine has a distinct difference and advantage in that they have hospital systems where gigantic campuses where they can house hundreds of doctors in one place, right? It's just not that's not a thing in dentistry, which I think will will force it to stay a little unique, different than medical, because you can never have a giant campus building with, you know, 400 dentists. Yeah, like 500. I mean, I don't know. I guess never say never some some group might invent that and you know, like the dental campus of the city. I don't know. Yes, it's possible. But it seems a lot less likely. Yeah. Kiera Dent (06:18) Mm-hmm. 500 off, you imagine? Say hi. I mean, dental schools have a lot, but I'm like, okay, I think the piece that would be really hard is to justify 500 beds, like 500 ops. You've got your hygiene that's cranking. So you gotta have, in a 500 bed, would need, like, we can only see 500 patients a day. so you can only see if it's 500 a day, that's how many patients you could actually see. I don't think that would be a full city, and we're basically taking over whole city. Ryan Isaac (06:55) Yeah. No. Yeah. Kiera Dent (07:03) And then you might not be pulling out that much dentistry outside of all of that to be able to fill that many doctors in their schedules. Cause so much of it's hygiene run, it's like a two to one ratio that I think that would be the zone. ⁓ Ryan Isaac (07:07) No. I love this analysis. Yeah, I couldn't go that far, but there you go. That's exactly right. So I do think it'll stay different enough in nature because of that. ⁓ And yeah, I, to go back to the, love your question. We've been kicking this around a lot in dentists advisors and I want to reiterate the same thing. There's no judgment here. There's no right or wrong. For some people, it's absolutely the best decision to exit with the DSO and just find the right one. Take your time. ⁓ Kiera Dent (07:19) There you go. I agree. Ryan Isaac (07:43) to go through the deals with someone who really knows what deals look like, not just a friend or a CPA unless that CPA is looking at hundreds of deals. Call Brandon, right? Kiera Dent (07:51) Seriously, I'm like, why? He's got like every flavor of ice cream available of DSOs for you. And like, what are your goals with your financial advisor? What do you need to retire? And then you make sure that the deal is going to actually get you that because like you said, Ryan, it's your greatest asset. And that's where to me, it breaks my heart when people do this. And I was actually, when we were talking about assets, ⁓ there was a stress test portfolio that I heard at a conference that I thought was really awesome that I think about often. so thinking about when you said like, we're investing into this stock. Ryan Isaac (07:59) Yeah. That's it. Kiera Dent (08:20) portfolio, like we're basically putting so much of our biggest asset and so many of our dollars into one single stock. And they said, just stress test your portfolio. If my two biggest portions of my portfolio. Okay. So the two biggest portions right now. And I think about this often, even you and me, Ryan, if those two asset classes dropped yesterday, cause I always do like, if they dropped tomorrow and you're like, well, I'd freaking move things. No, if it dropped yesterday, so there's nothing you could do. Do you have the staying power for things to recover? So like, I don't need to liquidate my assets. Ryan Isaac (08:24) in one single, yeah. Mm. Kiera Dent (08:50) can still have income from our other assets and buying assets that are down. So looking at that, and I think about that often, like, so if your biggest ones are in the stock market and in your DSO and both of those dropped yesterday, like that's all that's gone. Could you still be okay? And if not, maybe look at other ways to diversify that portfolio. I'm not an advisor, Ryan. So you speak to like, if you agree or disagree on that, because that's my thoughts on it. Ryan Isaac (09:11) Yeah. Although yeah, no, that's a really ⁓ logical way to look at stress testing something. If the stock market disappeared as a whole yesterday, all, yeah, well, we just, every publicly traded company in the entire world would be gone simultaneously. We would all be in so much trouble. Like we just wouldn't have cell phone service or gasoline or, you know, like a million things. Yeah, for a minute. Kiera Dent (09:26) You say that we're all gonna go to the apocalypse, like. Good thing you're by the ocean. You at least have a good time there, Ryan. I need to get out of Reno, Nevada for that one year fact alone. Ryan Isaac (09:44) Yeah, yeah. For me, yeah, it would work for a minute, but then we would have no grocery chains, there would be no shipping distribution, there'd be no trucking, there would be no like, you know, we'd be done within like a week. You know what I mean? So, but you're the logic of it is true. It's almost like what if we just looked at stress testing a deal, you know, and you said there's usually three parts in a DSO deal, there's the cash up front, there's usually some kind of earned back, or bonus system, that's usually a smaller piece. And then there's the equity piece. And if one of those didn't exist, if one of those dropped off, what would this deal look like? And I think the question we have to ask is if the equity didn't hit, you know, if they don't get returns on multiples on their equity, like they're projecting and always, of course, the projections are huge, you know, always, always. If this does not come in like you expect, let's just say it's half of what they expected that which would be probably fair to say, or it's all you do is get your money back one day. Kiera Dent (10:32) always. Ryan Isaac (10:43) What does this now look like to you? Is this a survivable thing? And is this even something you would be interested in doing? But again, you said this before, I've been saying this, go talk to someone who knows what these deals look like, like Brandon. I'll give you an example. with a client a few weeks ago who had an offer. They were getting a lot of pressure from the group where this came from. They were kind of involved in like, well, I won't even say it. It was just a group of people of other dentists that were kind of pooling practices together. And this buyer, Kiera Dent (10:50) you Ryan Isaac (11:14) just a lot of pressure, a lot of hype, right? A lot of hype. And the deal as the details started coming through started smelling really weird. And even he was just like, I don't know. He talked to Brandon for 30 minutes and it became so obvious so quickly how bad this deal was. And now he's pushing the brakes a little bit. He's going to ramp up his profitability, work on the practices some more. He still wants to consider a sale, which is great with that's fine if that's still what you want to do. Kiera Dent (11:38) Yep. Ryan Isaac (11:43) But I think that conversation probably just saved him millions of dollars, literally in 30 minutes of conversation. So just talk to somebody, please, about these deals. There's every flavor out there. There's so many ways that they can twist and bend these things. And yeah, there's just a lot of moving pieces in there. So just be careful. Yeah, just talk to someone. Be careful. Kiera Dent (12:02) I would like, and what you said, also think like, make sure that you're also selling it for top dollar. This is something I really love about working with you guys, working with clients is if we know that there's a sell on the horizon, think one of the best things you can do is truly like pulling a consultant, pulling somebody. And like I was talking to a doctor the other day and they're like, KK, we want you to come in and help us like with our systems, but they're selling in a year. And I was like, well, respectfully as your consultant, I'm not going to sit here and deal with systems. Ryan Isaac (12:13) Yes. Please. Kiera Dent (12:31) If you're selling to a DSO, odds are a lot of those systems they're gonna bring into you anyway. Our best thing we can do is make your life easy right now, boost your production, reduce your overhead, increase your EBITDA so you get top dollar on the sale while making it like amazing. Like we'll still put systems into place. We'll still take care of your hot fires with your team right now. But like, why not go, it's like, if I know I'm selling my house in a year and if I did a few things to make it exponentially higher. Ryan Isaac (12:32) . Yeah. Kiera Dent (12:56) in the next year of my sell, why would I not do that now? And for us, it's not even like a house where I'm just painting the walls. We're literally boosting your production. We're pushing your overhead down. We're helping your whole team get on board for that. So that way your asset really is the best asset you can get. And we're not doing it in a hard way. So I know it feels like a push, but just know Dental A Team's way is ease. So it's like, it's going to be an exponential growth for you, but with like ridiculous ease. And most of our clients, we just did a huge study across the board of hundreds of our clients. Ryan Isaac (13:13) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (13:24) And on average, they're seeing a 30 % increase in their production and a reduction in their overhead within their first three to six months of working with us. So like even if you have a year or two year timeline, that right there, so getting the right deal, making sure you're selling it at top, like squeezing the juice out of every single thing we possibly can get out of your practice. ⁓ But then also I feel like what happens in that scenario, Ryan, I see it all the time, is when we come in and we like powerhouse it up with them. Ryan Isaac (13:34) Thank Kiera Dent (13:51) They're like, wow, I'm working two days a week and I would make what this DSO was going to offer me and I don't even have to work. Why would I get rid of this practice right now to the DSO? That happens more than I can tell you because it's like they didn't realize it could happen this way. And I'm like, just tell me what you want. Like you want the DSO, you want to work two days. Why don't we build you that right now and like keep the asset that you've got and sell it when you want, which is going to make you the same amount of money as the DSO, but it's on your terms. Ryan Isaac (13:59) Yes. Yep. all the time. Kiera Dent (14:20) So I think that like people don't realize that you can have the benefits of the DSO today. I think the only piece you can't have like, but I give air quotes on can't is like, you still are an owner, but I'm like, there's literally ways for you to sell to partners, have it pay out to you. And you can actually get rid of that ownership piece if you don't want it ⁓ and still have it be the same type of a deal. I think like, don't forget that there's also deals outside of DSOs that you can do internally. ⁓ Ryan Isaac (14:26) Yep. Kiera Dent (14:48) but it is shocking Ryan how many practice, like I had a doctor and he's like, Kara, I'm going to get 5 million for my practice on this. And I was like, rock on in two years, we literally will make you 5 million net post-tax in two years. was like, literally, and that's net that's post-tax like in two years. I was like, this is not a good deal for you financially if you're going after the financial dollar. So I think just be smart with how you look at this because I don't know, right. And you do it to me all the time. You're like, Kara, yeah, go sell. Ryan Isaac (14:58) That's what you're make in two years of income. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (15:17) but you can also just get the life you want and have your practice and your business run differently, why not consider that scenario too? So I think. Ryan Isaac (15:19) Yeah. Yeah, I'm, yeah, okay. Sorry, finish your thought. I just like what you just said. I just love that. I was gonna ask you this exact thing. I was gonna ask you this exact thing. I was gonna say, Kiera, aren't there ways someone could step back and pause and say, why am I interested in selling to a DSO and then just try to create it through the work you guys do easily? Kiera Dent (15:27) Okay, so yeah, take it. 100 % and right you do it to me all the time. You're like Kiera. Well, what would you want your life to look like if you were to sell it? I'm like, I would care if you stopped if you sold what would your life look like? And I'm like, I do this. I do this. I do this. You're like, all right, then why don't we just make your business do that today? I don't think people realize how like you can manipulate your business to truly support the life, the finances, everything you want. Like it's shocking. I'm like just basically give me the North Star and we will manipulate the entire thing for you. Ryan Isaac (15:59) Just do it. Yeah. Yeah. Kiera Dent (16:14) in ways you didn't even know. like, I need Ryan to know our North Star where we need to get. Then we break it down to your, like what lifestyle you want to have. And then we just crank, like, it's like shake and bake. It's such an easy thing for us to do. And we're still doing it with like amazing ethics. It's under your control. It's your culture. It's your business. It's your life. But I mean, I have a doctor who's producing over 5 million a year, working two days a week, taking home DreamPaycheck and they were going to sell it to a DSO. And I'm like, it took us two years to get them to the offer. and they're like, they're so happy and they're able to now, like you said, I think one of the best pieces on this is they got everything that they would have gotten from the cell. But in addition to that, they didn't lose everything that they've built to where now they can go build and create, like you said, the two day a week practice where they're having it, but they've kept their huge asset over here. And so I just think like, I don't know. I feel like there's so many more options on the table than people necessarily think there are. And so. Ryan Isaac (17:03) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (17:12) Maybe don't listen to all the noise, be the smarter. It's like when everybody's doing X, maybe there's a Y that would actually benefit your life. Ryan Isaac (17:16) Yeah. A million percent. Yeah. I mean, Warren Buffett has a quote around that. It's a little bit different with stock market buys and sells and greed and fear. But yeah, that's exactly it. Yeah. I love that you said that. I assume. What are we like 45 minutes already? I assume that you probably want to wrap this thing up, but I wanted to end it with that exact question you went there, which is like, can't we do this? Can't you? No. I mean, that's not the job we do. The Dental A team can help design. that what you're trying to accomplish that you think some private equity firms gonna come in and give you. And again, let's all just remember, private equity firms, ⁓ they don't love you. Kiera Dent (17:57) It's true. Ryan Isaac (17:58) They love your money and they are not stupid. There's a reason why they gobble up every industry in the economy is because they make us believe they're just giving us sweetheart deals. Like, they're gonna give us so much money. Isn't it so crazy? Like, no, they're really smart. They're gonna get so much more money from you than you're gonna get from them. So if they want your thing so bad that they're gonna chase you down and send you offers and every time you decline, they're gonna be like, okay, wait, what about this one? Kiera Dent (18:15) They are. Ryan Isaac (18:26) They want it so bad. You must really be holding something really special. So how can you make that thing become your dream scenario without having to give it up? First, just consider that again, no judgment. There is no right or wrong. Maybe that is your path and that is best for you. Great. If you do the work and the, you know, the research and you're just sitting and you're asking smart people like here in the Dental A Team, you know, about all the details and you're asking yourself why through all this process, that's just, that's the whole thing. So I'm glad you Kiera Dent (18:31) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Ryan Isaac (18:56) Assuming we're ending it soon. I'm glad you ended it with that because that's what I was thinking about Kiera Dent (19:01) Well, and I'm glad I'm going around the same beach because I feel like DSOs can be such a buzz. I think it's, I don't know. I just thought about, I remember when Jason and I were graduating from pharmacy school and we had a lot of debt on us and it was so tempting to go the 10 year loan forgiveness plan. So tempting. And Jason and I decided like, Hey, we don't want to like hope and bank that in 10 years, we're actually going to get all this paid off. Ryan Isaac (19:07) yeah. Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (19:29) And if it doesn't happen, what's it going to cost us at that point? And so we elected to just go for it to pay for it and to basically have it like, it's within our control rather than someone else holding my future. And I think that's how I often live my life of like, is there a way that I can get my dream life or I'm not banking on someone else holding up their end of the deal, hoping and praying that their equity makes it and it's something that we can actually do with ease? Why not do that? Ryan Isaac (19:33) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (19:55) Ryan knows it was a huge issue with me and Jason for about a year to pay off his student loans, but the growth and the life that we were able to achieve that we wouldn't even be done. We still would not even be done with our debt right now. And it would have ballooned and not all of the debt's being eliminated. Like there's so many things around these loan forgiveness programs that I think about that with DSOs too. You have so much banked in, the hope, the promises, like everything has to go right for this huge multiple to have it there. Ryan Isaac (20:07) yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. Kiera Dent (20:24) Is there maybe a few other paths that you could look at that might get you what you ultimately want, give it to you with more control on your side, and also be able to allow you just more flexibility and freedom. Again, no judgment. think what Ryan and I are trying to bring to the table is maybe just consider looking at things differently to see what's the best path for you. And I say like, right back at you, Ryan, use your financial advisors, know what your magic number is, know what you need, and then figure out which option is going to be that. Ryan Isaac (20:48) Yeah. Kiera Dent (20:52) while also providing you the dream life that you want. So Ryan, thanks for the riff today. It was a solid time. Ryan Isaac (20:54) Yep. Thank you. It almost felt like planned. was so smooth. Kiera Dent (21:01) So, mean, it does help when we're good like peanut butter jelly. Like we're very aligned on how we see, that's why I think our clients work so well together because like Denali team clients going to Dentist advisors, it's amazing. We think on similar investment strategies and like just the planning and the protecting clients. And on the other side, it's, Hey, here's our financial number. Denali team literally can like give the gas and give the pieces to it of tactical. So thanks Ryan. was a good time. Ryan Isaac (21:04) Yep. Hmm. We all want to do. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We want to grow and protect that business and make it, you know, it's your whole life. Make it as good as you possibly can. You guys are so good at that. Kiera Dent (21:34) Great. Well, Ryan, if people are interested in connecting with you, how do they get connected? Because again, I think for me, before I even talked to DSOs, I always tell them like talk to your financial advisor, figure out your project number. That way you actually can then have even one filter on what deals you're looking for, what plan you need your business to be. So Ryan, how do they connect with you? Ryan Isaac (21:41) Yeah, totally. Million percent. So I'll always say friends of the Dental A Team always can email me directly. I'll always have a conversation with anyone no matter what you're looking for. You don't have to be trying to hire a financial advisor. You might just have a few questions and I will always get on the phone and talk to someone. Just email me directly if you ever want to. Ryan at Dentist Advisors dot com. It's with an O.R.S. You can all just also just go to our website dentist advisor dot com. have probably thousands of hours of free content on there, podcasts, articles, webinars, everything. You can book a consultation with our whole team there at any time. go learn as much as you want, listen to anything, tons of free stuff on there, but that's the best thing. I'm always happy to have a conversation. Kiera Dent (22:29) It's amazing. And just so you know, Ryan does not take very many clients. So that's why I love him being on here. He's one of the founders. I think Ryan's one of the smartest people I've ever met. So definitely take him up on it. I know tons of our clients love meeting with Ryan because Ryan will tell you like, Hey, you don't need me or Hey, here's someone better for you. So I think it's just like, you're just an incredible human who ultimately cares and loves about these dentists, which is why I just appreciate you. So check him out. Yeah, of course. And for everyone listening, thank you for listening and we'll catch you next time. Ryan Isaac (22:31) Yeah. I do. Yep, I do. Thank you. Thank you. Kiera Dent (22:59) the Dental A Team Podcast.

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Dar la cara si van al Cuba Asere | Devers por 300 MM tiene que jugar 1B | ¿Rose a Cooperstown?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2025 210:48

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#1,014: You Need to Stop Integrating New Tech This Way

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 27:01

All the new tech out there available to practices can be exciting to get your hands on. But if you're not integrating things in a productive way, it'll likely end up in the digital broom closet, collecting dust. Tiff and Kristy talk about the best methods to use when bringing a new program, software, service, etc. to the team. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello Dental A Team listeners. We are so excited to be here today. I have a really exciting, I don't know, subject today on our content and I'm actually really, really excited to talk to you doctors about this and team members, office managers alike, everyone who's here, this is great information for you. I have some offices I'm gonna chat about and just some things that they're doing really, really well I think with their dental assistants that's really setting them apart from. other practices that I've seen or worked with or other practices in their area specifically. So I'm really excited to talk with you guys about that today. And I have brought on with me, of course, one of my favorites. I love all of our consultants, you guys, but Kristy, I know I just love your heart, like your heart and your soul and the love you have for other people. I love having you on our team. And I think that No matter what content we're talking about, you relate to it in some way or you find a way to love on our clients regarding it. But I think today, like, I think it's gonna be a really cool one to do with you. So, Kristy, thank you so much for being here with me today. How are you? You're in a new home. hope, gosh, everybody, if you are a client of Kristy's, I'm gonna brag on Kristy right now. And Kristy does not brag on herself often, unlike any of us do. But Kristy moved states. She moved... She moved states, you guys, without anyone even knowing. I told Kristy, and I will say it again, if I didn't know you were moving, I would never have known you were moving. And I know your clients felt that same way. So you guys, if you are clients with Kristy's, if you see Kristy on social media, you want to write in, like, please give her some kudos because you literally never would have known that you moved entire states. And now you are in comparison in my backyard. It feels like I know you're still like. Kristy (01:49) Yes. The Dental A Team (01:50) hot minute from me, but ⁓ you're here in Phoenix with me. So welcome to Phoenix, Kristy. How are you guys doing? How was the move? How is your family? Tell me. Kristy (01:58) Yep. my gosh, we're doing wonderful. We're enjoying this weather. I know it's going to heat up pretty good this weekend, but we're enjoying it and just making the most of it. ⁓ Getting rid of boxes. How about that? We'll leave it at that. The Dental A Team (02:11) Yeah, yeah, good. I know you went through a garage over the weekend, you said, and it is hot, you guys. Like, I was freaking dying this weekend. I'm like, gosh dang it, why does Phoenix do this to me? But I love it. I'd rather, I have to remind myself all summer, I would rather be hot and like dipping in my pool, you know, or my community pool or my friend's pool or whatever. Somebody has a pool somewhere. I would rather do that than shovel snow. any time of the day, any time of the year. So I will not complain too much about our weather. Kristy (02:46) That's right, amen. I agree. The Dental A Team (02:48) Awesome. I love it. Well, I know a lot of people, you know, follow our journeys and I just think it's really special. So thank you again, Kristy, for the dedication you have to our clients, to our company, and to the results for clients and non-clients alike. You really worked your tail off to, like, you know, you integrated just family and work so well. I think while I speak on behalf of your family as well, I think you really do it seamlessly and every one of us really truly appreciate you. So. That's my spiel on Kristy today, you guys. And I'm so excited to jump into this and you'll see it in your newsletters. If you're not subscribed, go subscribe because there's a slew of information in there. And just so you guys know, if you're not subscribed to the newsletters, you should be. Those newsletters, we actually write them. So the consulting team and our marketing team, we put a lot of work into those newsletters. actually, we write a lot of the content that goes along with those. know marketing takes like one a month, I think, but gosh, there's anywhere between four and six newsletters a month, and they are written by us consultants. So you're always getting the most up to date, accurate consulting information as possible from there. And then we do utilize those similar subjects in our podcast here. So today we are going to speak to one of the newsletter subjects, but we're actually going to spin it just a little bit. So if you're not getting the newsletter again, go check that out because it's going to have different information than we talked about today. Our newsletter focus, our subject here is really, really focusing on dental assistants and new tech and how dental assistants should integrate it or could integrate it and what that looks like and just what we've seen and what we recommend as a company and as consultants on that standpoint. But something I really wanted Kristy and I to focus on today and to really take a look at and kind of spitball between us some ideas is really integrating the tech because I know dentists. I know most dentists, I know the dentists we attract as well, dentists I've worked with are just like so excited about new tech and new everything and we want the latest and the greatest and I love that. I think it's because I think dentists are artists and I think there's just a huge massive creative space within dentistry and for those. individuals who want to be in like healthcare, medicine, but really have that artistic creative side, dentistry fits really, really well for you guys. And the new tech allows us that creativity and to be up to date. But then on the flip side of that too, for the healthcare space, you guys really want the most up to date technology to serve your patients and to serve your community. So I think those both of those reasonings are super massive. But what I see, and Kristy told me, you know, if you see this as well, What I see most often is that doctors are gung-ho. They're like, they're on all the forums, first of all, all the forums. And I know my office managers are like, get him off the forum. But they're on there, they're on all the forums, they're getting all the information, and they're researching the heck out of everything. And then they're jumping, and they're saying, all right, I'm going to get it, and then I'm going to get trained on it, and then I'm going to come back, and we're going to use it. And... They go, they get trained on it, and then they come back and, Kristy, what have you seen in your history? I you've been working with a lot of dentists. You've worked in office. You've worked consulting. What have you seen most commonly? Doctors getting new tech coming back. What do you typically see? Kristy (06:16) you It's multifaceted, think. I think that I see them getting very, very excited to implement it and show the patients the new technology and also for them to use it, like you said. Yet, I think they fail to remember that they sometimes forget to include the team on the training and then their team gets very frustrated. so quickly, ⁓ the doctor ends up getting frustrated because I've invested in this technology and ⁓ my god. my team's not using it and all of a sudden it goes in the cupboard or you know they're not using it like they want to so ⁓ typically out of the gate that's what I've seen happen. The Dental A Team (06:55) Yeah. sure I totally agree and I have to say I've been that person right I've been the dental assistant that's like I don't have space for this like what are you talking about I know how to take an impression I'm gonna keep taking an impression and then I'm gonna take my backup impression because I don't trust the scanner right and I'm like double dipping and wasting time and just really afraid to like jump right in because I didn't, I wasn't there. I didn't get the excitement that the doctor did. I'm not on the forums and truth be told, like I'm just trying to survive. Like I'm just trying to get to the next patient, trying to take care of this patient the best that I can. And I'm trying to get to the next patient and keep a schedule on track and you like flooding this in and you being like, Hey, it's Monday morning. Like I learned this cool thing. We're going to implement this really is like, it's like, It reminds me of like a clock spinning and you've got all these cogs and all these wheels and then you put like this little toothpick in there and it just like stops and it's like trying and trying and trying until the toothpick breaks, right? And then it can go again. But like that's what it feels like when you're in like go, go, go, and we're going to keep the flow of the schedule and we're going to do all of these things. And then you stick this little toothpick in the cogs and we're like, no, and we're like fighting against it. ⁓ until it breaks and we're like, okay, cool, this actually does help. But it takes a minute for us to get there, I think. And I do think that it's just so sad on the doctor's side in most cases, because you guys are so excited for this thing and you're like, this is going to change our lives and I just need you on board. And it can be so deflating. so number one, I love new technology. Number two, human nature is to say no and to slow down and to be like, nope. things are great the way they are, even if they're not working perfectly or super well, they're working enough to get us to the next step. And so we're not always gonna be super on board to just change something. Change is scary and we're like, nope, I'd rather stay where I'm at, because this is comfortable, whether it's right or wrong, than jump on board with change. So in thinking about this, as we're writing the newsletters, I'm like, gosh, there's so many. There's so many things we can talk about with the tech. Like you guys know what that is and we'll throw it in the newsletter. Like, yes, it's there, but what do do with it after the fact? And something I have seen, Kristy, that I've seen a few doctors this year, then one in particular, he's a go-freaking-getter, and he is like go, go, go all the time, and he pushes for the change and he does it really well. But something that I saw him do recently, in the last like year to two years is as he's growing his tech. So he's layering on rather than whole new. So he's doing a really great layering effect, especially with like the in-office crowns instead of being like, we're going to do an office crowns and dentures. He was like, we're going to do in-office crowns. Then we're going to learn to design a little bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more. And now we're going to do dentures and we're going to learn to design. So one thing he's done well is he's been able to see the technology and then scale it back. So like a reasonable learning capacity. Whereas I think dentists, your brains work that way. Your brains are techie by nature to a point. Like that's just, that's how your brains work. That's how you got through school. Not everybody is that way and that quick to understand things. Like my kid, he's gonna be an engineer. He looks at something since the day he could start talking. Like, I don't know, I remember him being like three years old and he's in the car asking me like, how does that? work? And I'm like, I don't know. Right? Like, and so I'm like, how do you think it works? So then he's like, I think, you know, and he's constantly he's always done that, like he, or thought he had figured out how like traffic lights are put together, right? This was a funny story. Actually, he said, they take two giant bendy straws, and they stick them together. And that's how the traffic lights are built. And I was like, Yep, that's how they're built. But that's how his brain works. He's got that like, engineer. thoughtfulness behind it, where I look at a traffic light and I'm like, thank God that's there. Like, thank God we're all stopping when we need to stop. I don't care how it was built or how it was put there, just that it works. So you bring new technology in, right? You've got Brody's mindset that's like, how does this work and why does it work and what's it going to do? Then you've got my mindset that's like, how do we get to the end? Like, what's, what are you trying to do with this? I don't care the mechanics of it, just like, what are we trying to do? And we get stuck. Now, if we had a bunch of people on your team that thought the same way you do, right? So we've got a bunch of engineer Brody's running around, nothing would get done. Literally nothing would get done. You would just be talking about the process the whole time about how it could get done. It'd be theories running around and like, what if we changed this? And what if we took this tech that works and we'd like tweaked it? You would get nothing done. So then we try to, we try to take that mold and that learning style and smash it on top of people. who don't necessarily think in that capacity. So what this doctor has been able to do is really take a step back and layer the technology and layer the training, Kristy. And then what he's been doing, I've noticed, is taking his team with him. And maybe not all of the dental assistants, right? Maybe the lead dental assistant and like one more so that two people know it. we're not. We're not saying break the bank and send everybody to a course, but he has been able to take like two dental assistants to a course where he's learning how to design something or he's learning how to use a new scanner, how to use a new mill or a new 3D printer. Gosh dang it. Like I don't even know how to use those things, right? Because I'm not in office learning, but he's taking them and they are coming back with the knowledge. So then what he's done, and I've seen a couple of practices do this really recently with them, implant courses and all kinds of new things. What they've been able to do is now it's not just the doctor, right? That one has all the knowledge. When are you going to trade them? Like, do you have time to do that? No, you actually don't, right? Now it's not just the doctor who knows everything, but it's also not just the doctor who is excited. And when you have people behind you in that excitement, one, I think, Kristy, you don't lose the, like, you don't lose it as quickly, you don't get as deflated because you've got people there rallying with you. And two, Kristy, I think we can speak to this because we train teams. When you have more people behind the idea, it's easier for a group to follow. One person compared to three people on the same team is going to get everybody else following. So he's done a really great job at that. And Kristy, like, from your perspective as a consultant, me just like if I was that doctor, how do you see that working for practices that you know? Like if we were to be able to implement this with more practices where they take them to these courses, how do you think that would change implementation in a practice? Kristy (14:01) my gosh, huge. And I think you spoke volumes to also doctor explaining their why, why they're wanting that technology. So number one, when they can take them to the course, number one, I don't have to spend all the time rallying them and exciting them, right? That excitement's already there. All I have to do as the owner or, you know, doctor that wants the technology is explain why and what's the end result they want. The Dental A Team (14:08) Yeah. Kristy (14:29) Here's the thing, many times when you start to incorporate the team behind it, they have better ideas for implementation than we do. And when they come up with the implementation ideas, holy cow, it's half the battle, right? And they're brought into the process. All the doctor has to do is keep reinforcing why we're doing this, why we want to change, right? The Dental A Team (14:36) Yeah. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, that's a huge point, Kristy, because it's like that brain thing again, right? Brody doesn't always have the quickest A to Z, that process, because he's thinking about every single little thing, whereas somebody else coming in can be like, okay, I can get on board with this, and I think we can get there this way. And between the two ideas, like you said, implementing different ways could really, really be beneficial. And probably, Kristy, I would imagine get more people on board too, because if they're like, those are gonna be too hard, it's too complicated. Somebody else simplifying it, that would get me on board. You throw something complicated at me, I'm like, sure, I'll get to that. That's my procrastination. I'm gonna get to that someday. I'm gonna do everything else first because it's easier. Kristy (15:41) Yep, I agree with you Tiff and here's the thing, doctor might short change. He might think, well, let's start scanning on every new patient and they're like, what the heck, we can scan every patient. So you may also limit what they're able to do if it's just your idea. So in you be the cheerleader, explain the end result and the why, but then incorporate them on how, how. The Dental A Team (15:47) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's totally, that's a good point. Cause I've actually seen that too, where they're like, let's practice on each other. And then they're like, well, why don't we just practice on the patients coming in? Like we'll practice on each other for sure, but we've got 16 patients coming in. That's two scans, each of us today. And I've seen doctors be like, ⁓ okay. Do you just have to remember, think, and Kristy, you spoke to this, like you don't have to have all the answers and you don't have to have all of the ways. You have a group of people here. ready to rally behind you if you let them. I do think, Kristy, I think we both have probably seen this or actually experienced it ourselves as well. When you give people that space to also be creative and to have some creative control over whatever it is, you get better buy-in, but you actually get better, like stronger people. I know I'm stronger when I have the availability to create what I need. You give me, you tell me what you want it to be. I can create what that needs to look like to get there. I'm just a better employee. Like, Kira loves me more when I'm bought in, and I get bought in by being able to say, okay, I see what you want. This is how I think it might fit in. And then coming to you ladies consultants and being like, okay, what do you see? And I think to speak to that from the dental assistant space, if you're taking, if you have the availability, you have the... the capability to take your assistant with you, at least your lead, he or she then can say, fabulous, this is how I think we could train on it. This is how I think we could implement it. This is how I think we could get buy-in. And you've got that different perspective from someone who's living, breathing, and working in that space. And I have actually a doctor, I just thought about this this weekend. I think it's this weekend they're going. He's doing a sedation course and I know there's a ton of doctors doing sedation courses right now or they've already done it. I've seen both spectrums. So I've seen the sedation courses. I lived the sedation course that they brought no one and had and I've seen it. I've the same doctor that does really well bringing assistance did the sedation course on his own and that's why he started bringing his assistants is because he did the sedation course on his own and saw zero traction. It was so hard. because there was so much information that he had to bring home to them that then he was like, we've got to have this, this, this. And they're like, I don't know what those things are. Like, I don't know what this means. I don't know when you expect us to do this. So this weekend, I've got a dentist who's going to a sedation course and he's bringing, I think he's bringing all three of his assistants actually, which is going to be massive because then they're going to be able to say like, I'll take this on. I'll take this on and really like divvy out those pieces and implement it so much faster. The biggest thing I think doctors struggle with is the implementation process and it's because they take it all on themselves instead of sharing that love. And Kristy, I know you work with a lot of practices and I know this is like not new information. It's just needing to be heard. What do you suggest for those doctors who are listening that are like, cool, but like, I don't know who I would take. And then, so I don't know who I would take and then how do I pay for that? how do I budget that? What do you suggest for those doctors? Kristy (19:27) Yeah, there's two parts to that tip. think number one, hopefully we're all doing performance reviews with our team and asking their goals, their professional goals. What are their growth opportunities for the year? If we're doing that, we kind of know the path that they're looking for, right? And hopefully through that, we identify areas where they want to learn. If we haven't done it, let's get it on the agenda to do it. But also, The Dental A Team (19:53) That's a good idea. Kristy (19:54) maybe reach out to the team and ask questions. Hey, I'm looking to learn more about this. Who else would be interested? You know, and before you tell them you're going, but I'm looking into this and just see who would be interested for one and ⁓ invest in them. And that's kind of what I heard you saying. When the doctors invest in their team, team members take great pride in that. Like I know The Dental A Team (20:04) Yeah. Kristy (20:19) I was privileged to have a lot of CE in the offices that I worked in and I always felt so honored, you know? And it just makes me a better me and I can come back and implement that in the office and help be a part of something bigger than myself. So investing in them is huge, but yeah. ⁓ The Dental A Team (20:29) Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I totally agree. think I was honored to be able to take a lot of CE as well. And it really did make me feel ⁓ invested in and special. And like I reinvested back in the practice. it's not to say that everyone's going to feel that way or going to utilize it that way. But I do think sometimes you just got to like go for it. You've just got to say, you know what, if it works out that way, fantastic. And if it doesn't, that's OK, too. because I'm willing to see this through. I'm willing to go for it. And Kristy, suggestion of really chatting with the team and figuring out like, what is your future? What do you want this to look like? Where do you want to go? Kind of helps weed out to the people who are going to reinvest back into the practice or the people who are going to be like, that was cool, but whatever. You you'll be able to tell that. And budget wise with this practice that I just worked with, that's sending everyone to the sedation course, I make him do a CE. a CE bucket. And so when he said to me, he texted me, he said, and when he listens to this, he's going to know exactly what I'm talking about. He texted and he said, Tiff, I want to send this assistant, like I've already got these two covered. And I said, sure, price it out. What's the flight? What's the hotel room? Do you have to pay extra for her to go to the course? What's your total cost? And what do you have in your bucket? can you take that from there considering also any CE you're going to have in the future. You've already got two going. I don't care if you take that third. That's totally up to you if the availability is there. If the funds are there or you're willing to make that investment out of whatever funds you have, go for it. Just make sure you're always looking for that. So I do always, always, always say make sure you're dumping into some sort of a CE bucket for those pieces. And a lot of times doctors will think like, well, the CE course only costs this much. You got to think of your travel as well. Just like when we come in office to you guys, when we talk to you about your platinum model subscription here with Dental A Team, where you're getting a one-on-one consultant, we consider all of those pieces too when we know we're going to be traveling to you. That's always considered in the cost of your Dental A Team membership. So same theory, same thought process, just make sure it's all bundled together and you know all of the pieces. Kristy, I think I love the way we spun this one. If you're not getting the newsletters, please make sure to let us know and we'll make sure we get you subscribed because I do think this one is off the cusp of the newsletter and the newsletter is going to have a ton of really great information as far as actual technology. Our biggest piece today, Kristy, I think we nailed it, was really, really honing in on how beneficial it can be to one layer. your CE, so layer your courses, layer your technology, make sure that it makes sense and that it goes in a trajectory that truly benefits the practice, team and the patients. And then really making sure if you can get your team members there to do it. Just gets people on your side, get people that can help you implement it when they know the knowledge. It happens so much quicker. I can quickly say we did sleep together as a team, we said. and we took two people out of 17. When I was in office, and this was a long time ago, know, so sleep has come a long way, but two people out of 17 coming back was still really hard. So just make sure whatever it is that you're doing, whatever technology you're about to implement, whomever you can bring that will continue the progress and get people on your side, we can do it, invest in it, it's worth it. Kristy, any last words or anything you want to summarize that I didn't hit on there? Kristy (24:23) No, I think we did a good job there. I guess the only pearl that I would say is then when you bring it back into the office, rally together, gamify it. Maybe put a quantity of we're going to do this many and just celebrate when you reach your goals. The Dental A Team (24:41) Yeah, that's a great idea. I love game of buying things. That was brilliant. Awesome. Thank you, Kristy. And thank you, listeners. As always, we are here for you guys. If you have any ideas or any hopes, dreams, wishes, desires on podcasts that you would love to hear more about, more ideas or anything like that, please don't hesitate to read to write in. We get those a lot at Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. So send us what you want. And as always, leave us a five star review below, letting us know that you did enjoy this and also I would love to hear your stories. If you guys are sending team members, taking team members, or you're hesitant to, please, please, please, please write in. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. Just like the newsletters, we do answer a lot of those emails that come through on the consultant side. So just let us know how we can help you and we'll catch you next time.

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The Harvest Season

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 114:55

Al and Kev talk about whether or not farming game remakes are worth it. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:08: What Have We Been Up To 00:38:42: Game Updates 00:58:01: New Games 01:11:11: Farming Game Remakes 01:51:29: Outro Links Research Story 1.0 Tiny Garden Switch Info Go-go Town “Tourist Trap” Update APICO Physical Edition Farming Simulator 16-bit Limited Edition Romestead Contact Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello, farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al. (0:00:34) Kev: My name is Kevin (0:00:36) Al: And we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games. (0:00:39) Kev: You woo supposedly the word on the street is it says on the box (0:00:46) Al: Does it? (0:00:47) Kev: That’s odd, yeah, it does it what does the websites I’m assuming it does (0:00:51) Al: I don’t know. This is a good question. What does it say on the website? (0:00:54) Kev: You know, we’ve never done (0:00:55) Al: It says farming. It says a podcast about farming simulators. (0:00:58) Kev: Well, there you go, I guess we were lying somewhere, you know one of these days (0:01:00) Al: Yeah, classic. (0:01:04) Kev: Not days we should do in April fools and switch it up (0:01:07) Kev: Or we talk about I don’t know something else. I guess we kind of do that sometimes but you know something really different (0:01:12) Al: Something, something else. (0:01:14) Kev: Yeah (0:01:16) Kev: We talk about gotcha games, I mean I already do but you know all in oh (0:01:23) Kev: Yeah (0:01:24) Al: Hello. We are going to talk this episode about, I want to have a discussion about remakes. (0:01:25) Kev: Hello listener (0:01:34) Kev: We don’t oh (0:01:34) Al: Specifically remakes of farming games. (0:01:38) Kev: Oh, that’s well hmm. I mean it’s still in the neighborhood like there’s stuff to be discussed for sure (0:01:47) Al: Well, that’s why we’re doing it. (0:01:51) Al: I don’t tend to have topics that I don’t think I’ll have much discussion. (0:01:55) Kev: That is died and I believe that’s factually not true (0:02:00) Al: Wow, how dare, how dare you, how very dare you. (0:02:04) Kev: Oh (0:02:06) Al: Before that, we have a bunch of news, but first of all, Kevin, what have you been up to? (0:02:13) Kev: Okay, let’s see here when I wrote things down (0:02:16) Kev: Okay, Marvel snap. Okay, I should have talked about this earlier because it ended this week, but I mean all snap goes (0:02:22) Kev: It’s good the the new Fantastic Four (0:02:27) Kev: Season with cards based off the movies coming up (0:02:30) Kev: They’re just doing a whole new season like first step family (0:02:34) Kev: First steps whatever but but that’s coming so you know and that looks good (0:02:38) Kev: But I didn’t talk about maximum voltage overdrive or whatever that thing was called (0:02:45) Kev: You played snap outs been a minute. Did you play maximum voltage? (0:02:49) Kev: Do you remember that mode at all? (0:02:50) Al: I think it was around when I was playing, but I don’t think I played it. (0:02:54) Kev: Uh-huh (0:02:56) Al: I did the Deadpool Diner and I did. (0:02:59) Kev: Yeah (0:03:00) Al: There was one other one that I did, but I don’t think I did maximum. (0:03:02) Kev: Okay, so (0:03:04) Kev: So yeah, every once in a while snap introduces these like alternate modes with different rules or different words or whatever (0:03:12) Kev: And so one that they’ve done is called maximum voltage (0:03:16) Kev: and previously maximum voltage was a three-turn game instead of six turns and (0:03:20) Kev: They would give you a random amount like two to four energy every turn like extra so it was you know (0:03:27) Kev: Not just the one two three four (0:03:29) Kev: So you had you could play cards quickly and you had to do on three turns (0:03:34) Kev: It’s a it’s a different pace a game. It’s fun even shorter. I liked it (0:03:41) Kev: Well this past week or two they did maximum voltage overdrive or overcharge whatever’s over something (0:03:50) Kev: Where it was a four-turn game (0:03:53) Kev: The same rules of okay, you get random two to four energy every turn (0:03:59) Kev: on top of what you already have (0:04:02) Kev: But they (0:04:04) Kev: Also filled your deck out with like was it eight or twelve extra random cards in your deck (0:04:10) Kev: Those extra cards had lower costs and higher power (0:04:15) Kev: So it was it was a wild ride because it was a lot of like kind of RNG really right what you get (0:04:22) Kev: It’s hard to build around like, you know real strategy around it (0:04:26) Kev: and you know, I (0:04:28) Kev: I enjoyed it enough. It was fine enough. You know a lot of people don’t like RNG sort of (0:04:34) Kev: modes or strategy so you know I don’t think as popular as other ones but at (0:04:40) Kev: least they tried something right like I always did they say hey try it and then (0:04:43) Kev: we’ll see how it goes but the bigger fiasco was the rewards because when they (0:04:52) Kev: have these side missions they’ll give you usually like a sort of bonus currency (0:04:56) Kev: or side currency or whatever specific for that mode with a shop or reward tier (0:05:01) Kev: or something like that. (0:05:04) Kev: In this case they gave you a shop, you could earn let’s just call them vault points or whatever they were called. (0:05:08) Kev: And so there was a new card in the shop. (0:05:12) Kev: Kid Omega, I don’t know who that character is but they had a decent enough ability. (0:05:16) Kev: But regardless, so yeah, it was a new card and very cool and all. (0:05:24) Kev: But here’s the thing, for the first time ever in one of these side modes, you could not earn the card for free. (0:05:32) Kev: Um… (0:05:34) Kev: Well, I guess you technically could, but… (0:05:36) Kev: So how it works is every eight hours you get a set of three missions, and you get X number of points for it, right? (0:05:44) Kev: Well, people did the math. (0:05:46) Kev: If you did all the missions, every single set of three for every eight hours for the entire duration of the thing, (0:05:52) Kev: you would still have to win 500 games, I think it was, to earn enough points to earn the new card. (0:05:57) Al: That is so many games. (0:06:04) Kev: But… (0:06:04) Al: I don’t think I’ve ever won 500 games combined in the, like, what, combined what, six months (0:06:06) Kev: Yeah, totally. (0:06:14) Kev: I mean, I might be there with you. (0:06:18) Kev: But yeah, so that was wild. (0:06:24) Kev: And a lot of people were up in arms about it, as you can imagine, and I think understandably so. (0:06:30) Kev: Also, because Marvel Snap, traditionally, has been… (0:06:34) Kev: Play-ish where or at least you if you played enough you could get a decent pool of cards or you could get work (0:06:40) Kev: You know the new cards they were releasing if you kept up you could (0:06:45) Kev: You could you could play for free (0:06:48) Kev: the boat the money was either spent on generally speaking on (0:06:55) Kev: Cosmetics, you know variants and bundles (0:06:57) Kev: I guess the season passed you could unlock a new card and that’s ten bucks a month and like that (0:07:02) Kev: But they would drop for free later (0:07:04) Kev: So you didn’t have to do it. But anyways (0:07:08) Kev: Point is that a lot of players feel like the the snap devs are kind of leaning a little more into (0:07:15) Kev: You know pay to win or pay to get the new cards (0:07:19) Kev: So that was a big (0:07:20) Kev: Yeah, big big bit a little bit of fiasco (0:07:25) Kev: and (0:07:26) Kev: Yeah, it’s over now. We went to another mode called sanctum showdown, which is but it’s much slower paced modes fun (0:07:35) Kev: They’re playing it safe. No crazy (0:07:38) Kev: Expensive card or whatever but (0:07:40) Kev: It’s interesting to see (0:07:43) Kev: kind of a shame that they you know, they’re a little money hungry, but (0:07:48) Kev: Cuz though otherwise the game I think is in still in a decent shape (0:07:52) Kev: They’ve released so many cards like I think it’s almost in a state of we can play whatever you want more or less (0:07:59) Kev: But yeah, I mean I’m still playing it. I’m still enjoying it. I did not get the kiddo-megan card (0:08:05) Kev: You know, it’s wild. I saw somebody with that card on day one (0:08:08) Kev: Which means they must have put a lot of money or gold or whatever. Yeah, there’s always an I found the whale. Oh (0:08:08) Al: Hmm there’s always one. There’s always one. Yeah (0:08:16) Kev: Speaking of not having money or wanting money (0:08:20) Kev: Yes, let’s talk about unicorn overlord. So I reached the end of what’s called best stories. That’s the beast land (0:08:30) Kev: Campaign area there’s basically like five countries in the game or whatever and each one is kind of (0:08:34) Kev: Its own little chapter if you will write its own little story and arc and so I reached the end of the best stories chapter (0:08:41) Kev: Which is fine and all the villain was a rat man a rat where rat I guess. I don’t I don’t know how to describe it (0:08:50) Kev: You know, I’ll show you a picture (0:08:52) Kev: but (0:08:53) Kev: And so I enjoyed it. It was a fun chapter. I think the Beast people were cool, but what is funny and (0:09:00) Kev: I can feel it. I learned about this (0:09:04) Kev: When I went online because it felt something felt like it was changing the writing in unicorn overlord who was pretty alright (0:09:12) Kev: Up until around now because they really just kind of did not give the the rat man’s name (0:09:19) Kev: His name was Elgore and he kind of had an interesting story (0:09:23) Kev: The rats were generally oppressed people and he wanted to rise up and then you know, he became a general (0:09:29) Kev: So it’s kind of an interesting story and there was some evil the evil bad guy team (0:09:34) Kev: We’re doing experiments on him yada yada (0:09:38) Kev: But it was really really rushed. And so I kind of looked into it and it turns out (0:09:45) Kev: That oh (0:09:47) Kev: Hold on one second now (0:09:49) Kev: my mic (0:09:51) Kev: Sorry, there we go. Sorry. My mic had a hiccup and I think we’re good now while checking (0:09:57) Kev: double-checking (0:09:58) Al: Sounds fine to me. (0:09:59) Kev: Yes, okay. I lost a few seconds of the recording, but okay. I’m okay (0:10:03) Kev: I don’t know, at least the– (0:10:03) Al: It’s fine now. (0:10:05) Al: Zoom is pretty good at like starting out. (0:10:05) Kev: Yeah, all right (0:10:09) Kev: Well, anyways, so I looked up that why it started feel rushed and turns out that the unicorn (0:10:15) Kev: Overlord development ran out of money and basically the director producer they started funding it out of their own pocket (0:10:22) Kev: so apparently this last (0:10:25) Kev: quarter or so of the the game is gonna feel very rushed and (0:10:30) Kev: There’s no time for story anymore. Which is sad but (0:10:34) Kev: That said the game is still (0:10:38) Kev: Entertaining. I like it. It’s fun. Yeah, like unicorn overlord to two thumbs up from me (0:10:45) Kev: Let’s see (0:10:47) Kev: So yeah, so that’s good. Um, oh, okay follow up from last week (0:10:50) Kev: So we spent a little time having a fun little chat about magic the gathering and capitalism and the $1,000 (0:10:58) Al: Like 20 minutes. (0:10:59) Kev: pack of set of four packs (0:11:02) Kev: and it was all started as you may recall because (0:11:04) Kev: I was looking at the, or you know, the Final Fantasy set of Magic the Gathering cards came out, (0:11:12) Kev: and I did not want to buy them because I didn’t want to spend them, or spend the money for them. (0:11:17) Kev: Well, this week I bought the Final Fantasy card set from Magic the Gathering, virtually, virtually, there’s my caveat, haha. (0:11:26) Kev: Uh, no, I did not spend money, but… yeah, haha, virtual versions of my cardboard. (0:11:27) Al: Oh, wait, that’s that’s even that’s even all right. (0:11:30) Al: I was going to say that’s even worse if you bought digital cards. (0:11:35) Kev: No, no money spent. So I’ve been, I’ve played Magic the Gathering Arena, though that’s the online client. I fired it up to get in there and try. (0:11:43) Al: Good game. I’ve not played in a long time, but when I was playing, I was doing a lot of arenas. (0:11:49) Kev: Alright, it’s good. It feels comparable, I think, to, you know, Pokemon TCG live. (0:11:54) Al: Oh, I think it’s way better. (0:11:56) Al: I think it’s way, way better. (0:11:57) Al: I think the I mean, it’s been a while since I played it. (0:12:00) Al: But in my experience, the app was much less slow in menus and the effects were much better. (0:12:05) Kev: Yeah. (0:12:08) Kev: I agree with that. It is much, much more polished, right, overall. A little fancier. And you’re right, a little less laggy. (0:12:17) Kev: But, yeah, but I mean, the point is, it serves as a decent online, you know, substitute for the paper game. (0:12:26) Kev: So I got some, yeah, Final Fantasy cards there and played a little, doing a choco bow deck. (0:12:33) Kev: I’m really upset (0:12:35) Kev: Those cards are really good, art-wise and gameplay-wise (0:12:42) Kev: They have, because I mentioned I was playing Final Fantasy, the proper FFTCG (0:12:49) Kev: That game doesn’t have equipment cards (0:12:51) Kev: Magic the Gathering does, so Magic the Gathering can include iconic items and weapons (0:12:57) Kev: Like the Buster Sword, or a cup of instant noodles from Final Fantasy XV (0:13:04) Kev: So I’m more…a little… (0:13:05) Kev: I’m jealous that Magic did it so well. (0:13:07) Kev: Whoever…the people working on the Final Fantasy set, they really love Final Fantasy. (0:13:13) Kev: They have Souplex the Train as a card. (0:13:17) Kev: People who know FF5 understand that reference. (0:13:25) Kev: But yeah, I mean, I try to… (0:13:27) Kev: I’m still thinking about it. I’m looking at it. (0:13:31) Kev: The card’s proper. I’m not gonna buy it yet. (0:13:35) Kev: Oh, it’s been…I’ve been craving it. It’s a siren song. (0:13:38) Kev: So I had to…you know…I had to at least do it virtually to enjoy it a little. (0:13:46) Kev: But I digress. That’s what I’ve been up to this week. (0:13:50) Kev: What about you, Al? What’s going on? (0:13:52) Al: Well, let’s see, what have I been up to? (0:13:56) Al: Shock surprise. (0:13:58) Al: I have been playing some Mario Kart World up. (0:14:00) Kev: Yeah, you’re going for it, man. Getting all those knockouts here. I’ve seen your progress. (0:14:04) Al: Yes, so update on that. (0:14:07) Al: I have done all of the Grand Prix’s 150, three stars and all of the knockout (0:14:13) Al: all of the knockout tours, 150, three stars. (0:14:19) Al: and I have done enough in free. (0:14:22) Al: Rome to unlock mirror mode. (0:14:25) Kev: Okay. (0:14:27) Al: And I have unlocked all of the costumes. (0:14:30) Kev: Oh, you’re- you’ve done it all almost pretty much at this point. (0:14:33) Al: I am still missing three characters. (0:14:36) Kev: Wait, wha- oh. How d- uh- uh-huh. (0:14:38) Al: But that’s because they are the Kamek characters, (0:14:43) Al: so you have to be on a specific course (0:14:47) Al: and someone use the Kamek behind you on that specific course. (0:14:50) Kev: Uh, okay, I did notice that I got some kamiks and I think I got kamiks characters out of that. (0:14:53) Al: There’s a chance that you get one that character, so. (0:15:00) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:15:01) Al: So I’ve got most of them, but I’m still missing three of them. (0:15:04) Al: And it’s like they are dreadful to try and force like the bet. (0:15:08) Kev: Yeah, who are they? (0:15:10) Al: How who am I missing? (0:15:12) Al: Let me check my spreadsheet. (0:15:14) Al: I am missing Rocky, wrench. (0:15:18) Al: Peepa and Swoop. (0:15:20) Kev: Oof, oof, oh man, I like swoop. (0:15:21) Al: I have the rest of them. (0:15:22) Al: So that’s I have that’s 15 out of 18 characters unlocked (0:15:26) Al: and 103 out of 103 costumes unlocked. (0:15:31) Al: So, yeah, and I’ve got all the vehicles as well. (0:15:36) Al: All 40 of them. (0:15:37) Al: So I am going to I’m definitely going to do. (0:15:40) Al: I’m definitely going to start doing mirror modes. (0:15:42) Al: I really want to restart all the mirror modes (0:15:45) Al: before I get too much muscle memory for specific courses. (0:15:46) Kev: Yeah. (0:15:49) Kev: Mmm. (0:15:50) Al: Right, because that that’s when it becomes really hard. (0:15:52) Kev: Yeah, you’re right. (0:15:53) Kev: That’s an excellent point. (0:15:53) Al: But I’d love I’d love to three star mirror mode (0:15:56) Al: because I’ve never restarted every mirror mode in a Mario cart. (0:16:00) Kev: I mean you’re like there, you’re wide as well, right? You’ve gone the 90%? (0:16:06) Al: Yeah, it’s I guess the thing is it’s just about like time now, right? (0:16:10) Kev: Uh-huh. (0:16:10) Al: Like we’ve got two and a bit weeks until Donkey Kong comes out. (0:16:15) Al: That’s basically my deadline, right? (0:16:15) Kev: I was about to say, that’s the deadline, right? (0:16:17) Al: Like if it’s if I’ve not done it by (0:16:20) Al: Donkey Kong coming out, it’s probably never happening. (0:16:23) Kev: Yeah, well, maybe they’ll release some DLC, but I understand what you generally say. (0:16:28) Al: Yeah, but at that point, I don’t I think at that point I’ll play the DLC, (0:16:31) Al: but I don’t think I’ll go back and try and do the other mirror modes. (0:16:31) Kev: Yeah, it’ll be out of your system, I get it. (0:16:34) Al: Right. (0:16:36) Al: So we’ll see. We’ll see how I feel. (0:16:38) Al: But I’m going to I’m going to at least try and see how far I get. (0:16:42) Al: But obviously it’s quite few and, you know, I can see I should be able to do them. (0:16:47) Al: Right. Because I’ve done one hundred and fifty. (0:16:49) Al: I should be able to do mirror mode. (0:16:50) Al: I don’t think I’m in use to them enough that I will cause problems. (0:16:53) Al: Although maybe there’s a couple of courses that are recreations of previous ones, (0:16:58) Al: like the Mario Bros circuit, which is just like the continuation from the one (0:17:00) Kev: Yeah (0:17:03) Al: and since the sna is- (0:17:06) Al: right? That one might be trouble because I suspect I’ll have muscle memory for that course (0:17:06) Kev: Yeah (0:17:12) Kev: Sure sure (0:17:12) Al: but we’ll see, we’ll see. I’m gonna try and we’ll see how I go (0:17:17) Al: and I think that’s all I was considering. So have you done much free roam? (0:17:22) Kev: Not too much myself now (0:17:25) Al: So you’ve got the P switches, you’ve got peach medallions and you’ve got the question mark blocks. (0:17:27) Kev: Yeah (0:17:29) Kev: Yeah (0:17:32) Al: the only one that’s actually like shown on the map. (0:17:36) Al: The P switches where each course has a certain number of P switches and it shows you how (0:17:38) Kev: Mm-hmm (0:17:40) Al: many you’ve got. So I’m considering doing the P switches, but there’s no way I’m going (0:17:47) Al: to look for all of the peach medallions and all not not P switches sorry the question mark blocks. (0:17:52) Al: It’s not the P switches the question mark blocks. There’s no way I’m going for the piece all the (0:17:56) Al: P switches and all the peach medallions. I’ll probably do some more just playing around in (0:18:00) Al: free roam and if I see some I will do some, but I’m not going to go out my way to get (0:18:04) Al: every day because it’s like (0:18:06) Al: 300 P switches or something it’s mad how many there are I’m not going to do (0:18:08) Kev: Yeah, you don’t want to collect all the Koroks? (0:18:12) Al: all of them definitely not but I can see myself doing all the question mark (0:18:17) Al: blocks just because they’re like clearly like there’s six on this course six on (0:18:22) Al: this course six on this course I could see myself doing that but I’m not I’m (0:18:28) Al: not going all in on that at this point right like we will see (0:18:31) Kev: man. I gotta say the free roam is a little disappointing from what I’ve experienced and (0:18:39) Kev: seen. I was really hoping for, for lack of a better word, secrets, right? Little nooks (0:18:47) Kev: and crannies you could explore that, you know, you wouldn’t experience on a race or whatever, (0:18:52) Al: - Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:18:53) Kev: right? Like in, you know, shooting for the stars, like even a handful of courses not in any of the (0:19:01) Kev: pre-write, you know, unofficially labeled, like you enter a cave and all of a sudden (0:19:06) Kev: there’s this little racetrack down there. Stuff like that, but anyways, yeah, there’s not much (0:19:12) Kev: going on other than unlocking mirror mode, I guess, on free roam. Although I do like the (0:19:20) Kev: Princess Peach Castle, the window easter egg, that’s fun. (0:19:23) Al: Yeah, yeah, it’s I will agree that I think free roam is a little bit of a disappointment, but yeah, I am still very much having fun. (0:19:35) Al: And I will definitely be playing this with people in person a lot. (0:19:40) Kev: I’m sure. I mean, it’s Mario Kart. It’s built for that. (0:19:41) Al: No, it’s 100% worth. (0:19:44) Al: Yeah, it’s 100% worth it, especially as, you know, it was what, like 30 quid in the bundle, right? (0:19:49) Kev: Yep. (0:19:50) Kev: Exactly. (0:19:50) Al: Like it was very much worth that. (0:19:53) Al: And just, it is, I still stand by it’s the most fun to control the, with the new physics reactions. Like I feel like all the other ones will feel quite stiff going back to them. (0:20:04) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t think (0:20:10) Kev: Yeah, I yeah, I don’t think a lot of people are gonna push back on that it does feel very good to control (0:20:16) Kev: I agree (0:20:19) Kev: Yeah, it’s it’s I mean it’s Mario Kart right like it’s still gonna be good (0:20:22) Kev: It’s a but it is funny though that you know insert the the Simpsons sheep gif when Donkey Kong bonanza comes out (0:20:28) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. That is going to be like a couple of weeks of just (0:20:34) Kev: Yeah (0:20:37) Al: like that’s the only thing I’m playing. Yeah. And we, has the direct been since we recorded (0:20:39) Kev: It looks so good, I only more (0:20:44) Al: our last episode? I can’t remember. Super fun. I’m so excited for this. I think it’s (0:20:44) Kev: I I can’t remember. We haven’t talked about it either way, but that’s uh (0:20:51) Kev: that’s a (0:20:52) Kev: good looking direct (0:20:53) Al: really, yeah, I think they, that was a great direct because it shows (0:20:58) Al: it kind of confirmed a bunch of the stuff we already knew while also giving us enough (0:21:03) Al: to be like, oh, there’s more. Right. And, and I think it’s really, I think it’s really (0:21:09) Al: good looking. Like I love the different effects that you get in transforming into other animals (0:21:16) Al: and also having Pauline basically be like a parrot on your shoulder. Right. It’s really (0:21:22) Kev: yep it’s it’s so good I i love the online reaction that we the internet gave of like you (0:21:23) Al: fun. (0:21:30) Kev: know the trifecta of uh was it ralph and vanellope uh sully and boo and now we’ve got dk and pauline (0:21:38) Kev: you know big guy and then little girl um it’s it’s fun (0:21:38) Al: Look, it works, right? Like why, why break it? Why try and fix it if it’s not broken, (0:21:47) Kev: Exactly. It’s great. Um, yeah, I’m I’m very pumped. Uh, (0:21:52) Kev: for uh uh the the game or general, I guess. Um, it’s I’m a (0:21:59) Kev: little disappointed that we don’t get the animal buddies (0:22:02) Kev: per se. I mean, I know Rambi’s in there and and it’s kind of (0:22:06) Kev: in there, but you know, it’s it’s the functions been replaced (0:22:09) Kev: by your transformations and the transformations are cool. I (0:22:12) Kev: won’t lie. Um but uh I don’t know. I’m a guy who likes Rambi. (0:22:17) Al: Well, look, I don’t have any real history with the previous DK games other than trying them and not enjoying them. (0:22:23) Al: So I don’t particularly mind. (0:22:27) Al: I’m not a lower muncher. (0:22:30) Kev: Sure, I mean, it’s not even like lore stuff because that’s uh, that’s just uh, you know, I guess mechanics or (0:22:38) Kev: Gameplay traditions, whatever. But if you want to talk about lore, I mean we can get trying to you know (0:22:43) Kev: We can try figure out why on earth (0:22:48) Kev: Does how is Pauline hanging out a DK? How does that timeline work? (0:22:52) Al: Well, I think everything lines up if you just ignore the original DK game. I don’t think (0:22:59) Al: anything else is a problem. I think it’s only that. And I think that this ties in so much (0:23:00) Kev: Yeah. Which… (0:23:05) Al: better to Odyssey, because why would Pauline be the mayor of a city that’s named after (0:23:11) Al: her kidnapper? But she would be the mayor of a city that’s named after her hero. (0:23:12) Kev: Yeah, I like the way you think there that’s a good point, yeah, but and also like this (0:23:28) Kev: is even more so than Odyssey cuz I mean Paulina was in there was you know, she’s first time (0:23:32) Kev: back in forever or whatever but she’s you know, she has a starring role finally, that’s (0:23:40) Al: Yeah, my I also I have another theory that it might be time (0:23:47) Kev: All right, oh well there you are now we’re talking let’s get into that Zelda split timeline (0:23:55) Al: Well, I don’t even think it needs to be a split timeline, right? (0:23:58) Al: Like, if something happens and she gets shot forward and then she goes back in time after this, (0:24:04) Kev: Oh, I like it. I like. (0:24:05) Al: you know, she could still go through the whole thing, because the thing is, right, (0:24:09) Al: Pauline in Donkey Kong, that’s not this Donkey Kong, that’s Cranky Kong. (0:24:14) Kev: that is cranky kong who does exist yeah oh I like that that’s clever yeah there you go all right I like it (0:24:15) Al: So, you know, she’s obviously from the past. (0:24:22) Al: Or, or, here’s another suggestion. (0:24:25) Al: If Donkey Kong, if Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong are both Donkey Kong, then maybe Pauline. (0:24:32) Al: This could be a different Pauline. Maybe this is Pauline’s daughter. (0:24:35) Kev: You know, I mean, that’s well established, right? Bowser Jr. looks just like Bowser when he’s a baby, I guess, so you know. (0:24:45) Al: Pauline Jr. (0:24:46) Kev: Pauline Jr. could be! (0:24:49) Kev: Although, okay, you know what? You know what? I’ll even point the bat at the stands here. (0:24:54) Kev: I bet we get little Pauline here as a character in Mario Kart World War 2. (0:24:58) Al: I hope so. I do hope there is some stuff coming, so I saw someone note that some of the characters (0:25:06) Al: have lots of costumes, and some of them have almost none. In fact, some of them have none. (0:25:11) Al: And the interesting thing is, one of the characters that has almost none is Donkey Kong. He only (0:25:12) Kev: Yeah. (0:25:16) Al: has one costume. Just before a Donkey Kong game comes out, suspicious. So are we interested (0:25:17) Kev: It is very strange considering, you know, he’s… (0:25:21) Kev: Uh-oh, uh-oh! (0:25:28) Al: in a Mario Kart World update coming with some Donkey Kong costumes to encourage you (0:25:34) Kev: I mean (0:25:36) Al: to be interested in the new game? Maybe. Yeah. And we obviously have all the baby characters, (0:25:37) Kev: If if it feels like the most obvious dough in the world, right, um, so yeah (0:25:46) Al: so would we get a young Pauline, as well as the babies that we’ve got of the other characters? (0:25:48) Kev: I like it (0:25:51) Kev: How cute (0:25:51) Al: We don’t have Pauline at all. Oh no, we do have Pauline. But also Pauline only has one (0:25:53) Kev: We do it, Paul (0:25:58) Kev: Like a generic racer costume, so there you go (0:25:58) Al: costume. So, you know, the two of them, both in an upcoming game. You know, I will be very (0:26:05) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yeah (0:26:09) Al: disappointed if there’s not. But this makes you wonder what else could be related to things, (0:26:11) Kev: I you know that’s I don’t think you’re being unreasonable (0:26:16) Al: right? Birdo only has two costumes, so that’s an interesting one. Could there be a Birdo (0:26:22) Al: thing coming up? Who knows? Lakitu only has two costumes, and there is an update to… (0:26:28) Al: Why can’t I remember the name? Goodness me. Mario Party. Which Lakitu obviously has a (0:26:34) Kev: Which Mario what okay? (0:26:40) Al: big part in Mario Party. Maybe I’m stretching at this point. Who knows? But we’ll see. I’m (0:26:41) Kev: Yeah (0:26:48) Kev: We we will see I think that’s the end that’s all we can kind of say really um (0:26:54) Al: I’m sure we can say much more, but let’s not. (0:26:56) Kev: Well, well, okay, yeah, you know, I will say this like each his legs still make me very uncomfortable. I (0:26:59) Al: Fair, very fair. (0:27:03) Kev: Don’t like it (0:27:05) Kev: Get in the car. Don’t look at those freak. Yeah, no, no, I don’t like it. That’s (0:27:08) Al: Don’t put him on a bike. (0:27:15) Al: He should be in the cloud cart. (0:27:19) Al: That’s the only one he’s allowed to be in. (0:27:20) Kev: Yeah, you really or you know, I don’t care I (0:27:23) Al: No, I’m just saying. (0:27:26) Kev: Look, I don’t care if it’s like (0:27:29) Kev: Horrendous I don’t care if it’s horrendous like animation clipping just (0:27:35) Kev: Just stick the the dang (0:27:36) Al: The cloud around every cart you put them in. (0:27:40) Kev: Yeah, yeah, when he’s the bike it’s just clipping right to the cloud (0:27:45) Kev: Okay, you make it it’s worth it (0:27:50) Al: All right, so that’s my car. (0:27:52) Al: I’ve also I don’t want to talk too much about this, but I do want to mention it. (0:27:58) Al: I’ve opened Lens Island again and started playing that. (0:28:02) Al: So for context, I originally backed on. (0:28:06) Al: Kickstarter and I started playing it when it first came out, but it had no controller (0:28:11) Al: support and basically was horrible to use on the steam deck. (0:28:16) Al: So I have started playing it again, and it is less horrible to play on the steam deck. (0:28:24) Kev: But that’s always the bar we want less horrible (0:28:25) Al: And I think that’s as far as I’m going to go on this comp on it just now. (0:28:33) Al: I will probably go into it a lot more in the next. (0:28:36) Al: episode, probably, but no promises. (0:28:38) Kev: Okay, fine. Okay. (0:28:43) Al: So that is a thing that is currently happening that I am not going to give any opinions on right now. (0:28:52) Al: But finally, we are recording this on Saturday, the 28th of June. (0:28:57) Al: I have just finished the first day of Pokémon Go Fest 2025 Global. (0:29:01) Kev: Oh, is that what’s going on? Okay. (0:29:03) Al: That’s what’s today. (0:29:04) Al: Yeah. So, uh, I had. (0:29:06) Al: Fun. I got a few hours where I was allowed to remove my (0:29:14) Al: responsibilities from children and just go play Pokemon in Edinburgh. (0:29:17) Al: And yeah, I got a good amount of stuff done and I enjoyed that. (0:29:20) Kev: Cool. What is going on? What are they releasing? (0:29:24) Al: This is the Crowned in Shield form Zacian and Zamazenta. (0:29:30) Kev: Wait they weren’t in there already that’s weird, but okay (0:29:32) Al: No, they had the base forms, but not this Crowned in Shield form. (0:29:37) Al: Uh, because they’ve got to release them separately to make the most money, right? (0:29:42) Kev: - Oh, yeah, yeah. (0:29:46) Al: But yeah, so, uh, yeah, I think they did this one a lot better than the previous (0:29:52) Al: other forms, because with Curum and with, uh, oh, what’s the other one? (0:29:59) Kev: Uh, uh, uh, Nick Asma. (0:30:03) Al: Nick Rosma, thank you. (0:30:05) Al: with both of them. (0:30:06) Al: You have a certain amount of energy you need to get to fuse them, but if you separate (0:30:15) Al: them, you have to use the same amount of energy again to fuse them again. (0:30:21) Al: It’s like a thousand-fuse energy, or whatever they call it. (0:30:25) Al: I can’t remember and I don’t care. (0:30:26) Kev: Yeah, that’s correct (0:30:29) Al: Once you fuse them, you use up that thousand, but you get like a hundred per raid that you (0:30:33) Al: do. (0:30:34) Al: raids to get enough defuse once (0:30:35) Kev: Okay (0:30:36) Al: set of them. And then if you’re like, “Oh, I fused the wrong one”, and you unfuse it, (0:30:37) Kev: Yeah, oh (0:30:42) Al: you then have to do another 10 raids to do it. But of course, those raids were only available (0:30:45) Kev: It sounds like a lot (0:30:48) Al: for one weekend. They’ve never been available again, so you can’t get the energy anymore. (0:30:55) Al: It’s dreadful! (0:30:56) Kev: That sounds like a lot. (0:30:58) Al: Well, the good thing is that Zamasenta and Zacian, once you turn it into crown form, (0:31:04) Al: If you revere its form, you can… (0:31:06) Al: you can then do it again without using any energy. (0:31:09) Kev: Sure, okay. Okay, I mean, that’s that’s definitely nice. I just, man, I just got to say I didn’t go that long at all. But hearing how like, because I think Megas were kind of the first one where you had, you know, special mega energy or whatever. Like, it’s, oh, it doesn’t sound great. Just the oddest. (0:31:33) Al: The the Megas actually I think is a lot better than it was when it first launched. (0:31:38) Al: So like you you can get one free mega for each of your mega Pokemon once a week. (0:31:45) Al: So once you’ve done the initial one, every week, you can do it once for free. (0:31:49) Al: You only have to pay more energy after the first one (0:31:53) Al: if you want to do it faster than that. (0:31:55) Al: And as you get up the power, like once you can level up the mega and once you get (0:32:00) Al: Mega level 3. It matters. (0:32:04) Al: How much it costs so like every if you were to do it every single day, you wouldn’t be using a huge amount of energy so it’s it’s not it’s it’s much better than it was initially launched and I get why you know it is a bit frustrating that you still have to use it energy at all but it’s a lot less annoying you also get energy if you walk with them as a buddy and stuff like that so you know it’s it’s fine it’s fine it’s these fusing ones that are the most annoying because it’s like. (0:32:33) Al: I know have my necrosimas and my cutums fused and I can never unfuse them because I would never be able to fuse them again right like it’s just that’s it if you chose the wrong one tough and it’s really annoying because one of them I did choose the wrong one and but there’s nothing I can do about that I’m stuffed and that’s just what I have to live with. (0:32:40) Kev: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. (0:32:46) Kev: Oh, no! (0:32:50) Kev: Ugh. (0:32:52) Kev: Oh, that’s rough. That’s rough, buddy. (0:32:53) Al: Still. Yeah, that is life but yeah so there’s actions Amazon to was done much better and I got shiny. (0:33:03) Al: And I got my energy and I’ve I’ve powered them up so nice powerful Pokemon looking looking great my shiny shield was it shield form kind of what it’s called and they have new adventure effects so. (0:33:04) Kev: Yeah! (0:33:10) Kev: Yeah, that’s the game! (0:33:18) Kev: That’s cool, that’s good. (0:33:19) Al: There we go. (0:33:22) Al: And they can also be used because they’re when they’re in that form they can be used at power spots, which normally only dynamics Pokemon can be used a pair of spots, but of course you can’t you can’t. (0:33:33) Al: And they can also be used in Dynamax session and Amazon to but when they’re in that form you can use them a pair of spots so that’s fun. (0:33:44) Al: So yeah, I probably do a little bit tomorrow as well because it was Amazon to things action tomorrow, but which is a bit annoying, but if you got the ticket for go fest you do get enough energy to do one of one of the dogs, so I do have enough to do as action, but I probably want to get enough to do another one. (0:34:02) Kev: Sure. Well, I am glad that you’re enjoying it. (0:34:03) Al: Continuing to enjoy Pokemon go despite everything. (0:34:07) Kev: I don’t… (0:34:11) Kev: This, well, that’s kind of, uh, I mean, that’s just a blanket save these days. (0:34:20) Al: They keep trying to ruin the game, but I still somehow enjoy it. (0:34:24) Al: All right, let’s talk about some game use a woo. (0:34:31) Kev: Oh, wait, wait, back up. (0:34:32) Kev: I’m sorry, I just– (0:34:33) Kev: I don’t know why you just clicked something in my mind. (0:34:34) Kev: I forgot. (0:34:35) Kev: I want to follow up my Magic the Gathering thing. (0:34:39) Kev: So as I look, you know, I was dipping my toe in the MTG pool. (0:34:44) Kev: Guess what’s the next secret layer? (0:34:45) Al: I don’t know. (0:34:46) Kev: You know me. (0:34:48) Al: Ah, ah, ah, pressure, um, unicorn over the light! (0:34:53) Kev: Haha, oh, oh, that’d be so (0:34:54) Al: No, ah, no, um, let’s see, so Kevin, something Kevin would like. (0:34:59) Al: Well, it’s not going to be like anything Nintendo. (0:35:02) Kev: No, no it’s just very funny hearing that. (0:35:04) Al: Wait, is it? (0:35:06) Al: No. (0:35:08) Kev: I didn’t intend, I didn’t intend, life log Nintendo Pass. (0:35:09) Al: Well. (0:35:12) Kev: You don’t like Nintendo things, um, but it won’t, uh, MTG, I gotta say, it wouldn’t be (0:35:15) Al: I mean, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that’s the opposite of what I thought, Kevin. (0:35:19) Kev: in there. (0:35:20) Kev: Yeah, okay. (0:35:21) Kev: Yeah, okay, yes, yeah, I know what you’re saying, but the way it came in my ears, it’s (0:35:21) Al: What I thought was, oh yeah, it could be, you know, you like Nintendo stuff. (0:35:25) Al: And I was like, oh no, but they’re not going to do something with Nintendo. (0:35:27) Al: That was my point. (0:35:30) Kev: It’s not too funny. (0:35:31) Al: Trying to accuse me. (0:35:32) Al: Accuse me of not thinking you like Nintendo stuff. (0:35:34) Al: Ah, no, I’ve not got anything. (0:35:39) Al: Nothing’s coming. (0:35:40) Kev: Ow! The lowest hanging fruit! Gotta go fast! (0:35:44) Al: Oh, Sonic. (0:35:45) Al: What? They’re doing Sonic, Magic the Gathering? (0:35:47) Kev: They’re doing- okay. (0:35:49) Kev: Yeah! Dude, they already did SpongeBob! Who cares? (0:35:53) Al: What? This is what one out all these cards look so good. (0:35:54) Kev: Oh, you missed that! SpongeBob’s in magic! Oh, yeah! (0:36:02) Kev: Don’t they? (0:36:03) Al: Oh, no. Oh, no. (0:36:04) Kev: They look- that’s- that’s the exact reaction. (0:36:10) Al: I don’t want this. Well, no, I do want this. (0:36:14) Kev: And you- and- oh, my- like, Shadow- (0:36:15) Al: I managed to not even look at the Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings ones somehow. (0:36:18) Kev: Oh- oh, yeah. (0:36:20) Kev: Shadow looks busted. It’s insane. (0:36:24) Kev: They’re no big the cats, so point against them for that. No cream, either. (0:36:28) Kev: But overall, it’s- it’s in their- (0:36:31) Kev: Ugh, Sonic’s ability, ‘cause you know, when they have an ability, they have a little, like, name for it. (0:36:36) Kev: It- it’s literally “Gotta go fast.” (0:36:38) Kev: You know “Gotta go fast” isn’t even from the games. (0:36:40) Kev: It’s just from the, uh, the- the dub intro of an anime. [Laughter] (0:36:45) Al: Yeah, I’m not particularly surprised. (0:36:48) Kev: Oh, yeah, Sonic’s going to magic. (0:36:50) Kev: It’s- ugh. I don’t like it. I’m- I’m- I’m- oh, dear. I’m cooked, as the children would say. (0:36:58) Kev: You know, Unicorn Overlord, it- wild as it- it’s not in Magic the Gathering, but in- they have one of those- (0:37:04) Kev: What is it? I think it’s, like, the Overlord edition. You know, one of the big fancy collector’s editions. (0:37:08) Kev: There’s actually a whole (0:37:10) Kev: building card game inside that it’s wild (0:37:16) Kev: Yeah, card games are my vice. They’re my legal addiction. Sonic’s coming to magic (0:37:16) Al: And will this be coming and will this be coming to arenas? (0:37:28) Kev: uh good question I don’t know arena is very weird because arena has (0:37:39) Kev: arena is kind of its own environment it has exclusive arena cards it has its own formats (0:37:45) Kev: and i’ll tell you the the bad ones we’re getting a spider-man set in a few months (0:37:51) Kev: that the spider-man set cards are coming to arena but not with spider-man full (0:37:58) Kev: they’re going to replace them with whatever generic magic card characters or whatever (0:38:02) Al: What? What does that even mean then? (0:38:05) Kev: it means they didn’t get the license to use it digitally (0:38:07) Al: What would be the point in adding the cards then, if they’re not the cards? (0:38:11) Al: So they’re gonna have like the same effects, but not use any names for Spider-Man. (0:38:14) Kev: yeah yeah you you get yeah you get pied or arachnid avatar I don’t know (0:38:18) Al: That’s so stupid. (0:38:20) Al: Just don’t do it. (0:38:28) Kev: uh good old magic together I i joined just this year what a good time to get into this game (0:38:36) Al: Update, I have downloaded Magi the Gathering Eraser. (0:38:39) Kev: yeah oh we gotta play some games um all right let’s go to non sonic base oh or is there (0:38:44) Al: Yes, yeah, news, game news. No, no, no, no, there’s obviously not. Research story have (0:38:47) Kev: is there sonic base news maybe not yet one day it’s inevitable (0:38:56) Al: announced that their 1.0 is coming the 21st of July, so it has been a long time coming. (0:39:00) Kev: Okay (0:39:02) Al: Let’s see, when did this first come into Early Access? February 2023 was when this launched (0:39:04) Kev: Yes, oh wait research, so I don’t know I heard something else okay that that is exciting (0:39:11) Al: in early access. (0:39:12) Kev: Research work takes forever to ask Cody. That’s why the 1.0. It’s it’s forever (0:39:14) Al: So, maybe we need to get our second harvest on this after the 1.0 is out. (0:39:18) Kev: It’s the equivalent of getting their PhD congratulations research story (0:39:23) Kev: I’m sure Cody isn’t triggered by this at all (0:39:31) Kev: Okay, so wait we got let’s see what is the date on the oh July 21st there (0:39:38) Kev: It is but it’s available on the on a beta branch. That’s weird. What do you mean? (0:39:43) Kev: 1.0 will be available in beta before one point (0:39:45) Al: No, no, that’s so. So that’s before launch, you’ll be able to play the beta. (0:39:48) Kev: Yeah, I know that that’s very weird to me like (0:39:52) Al: Well, OK, I see what you mean. I see what you mean. I see what you mean. So (0:39:57) Al: it’s not actually that uncommon in software development where you go, this is our beta for (0:40:05) Al: 1.0 or 1.1 or whatever. That is not that uncommon, actually. I think it’s less common in games, (0:40:07) Kev: Sure. Yeah. Sure. And I mean, like, you know, public betas and test servers, (0:40:12) Al: But it’s definitely something that you see quite a lot. (0:40:18) Kev: like they’re common and I’m not saying it’s unheard of, but I don’t know. (0:40:21) Kev: It just feels weird, especially in game dev, like the 1.0 is the big fitting, right? (0:40:25) Kev: So, uh, I don’t know, but whatever, um, but hey. (0:40:28) Al: You still have to pop the game you can’t just play it’s not just anybody can play it like it’s public (0:40:33) Kev: Yeah. (0:40:34) Al: But public for people who have paid for the game, right? (0:40:37) Kev: That’s true. Good point. (0:40:40) Kev: All right. But hey, it’s here. (0:40:42) Al: Tiny garden the content the (0:40:45) Al: Featured game of last week’s episode have released a statement regarding the Nintendo switch version (0:40:52) Kev: I didn’t think I’d ever hear a statement from Tiny Garden. (0:40:56) Al: This is this is great. I’m just (0:40:58) Al: going to read some of the statement because I don’t think I can really (0:41:01) Al: summarize it better than they have done. “We wanted to clarify some questions (0:41:06) Al: that have arisen regarding the Nintendo Switch version of Tiny Garden. We have (0:41:09) Al: been vague and perhaps not communicated with you as well as we could have, for (0:41:14) Al: which we apologize. We did not want to cause you unnecessary concern or bore (0:41:18) Al: you with technical details. The truth is that the Switch version of Tiny Garden (0:41:23) Al: will be ported by an external company. As we are such a small team it was very (0:41:28) Al: hard for us to do everything in-house. The problem here is we’ve not yet found a (0:41:32) Al: company that can port the game with the polish and quality that we feel (0:41:35) Al: comfortable with. Both our publishers Super Rare Games and us want to deliver (0:41:40) Al: the best possible version of Tiny Garden on Switch. However, we did not (0:41:43) Al: anticipate that this porting would be so complicated.” Hey, I could have told you. (0:41:48) Al: We’ve seen this before. (0:41:50) Kev: What are you talking about? (0:41:52) Kev: It’s katrossi katronfi, it’s fuckies! (0:41:56) Al: And then they go into details about complaining. (0:41:58) Al: About their game engine and that’s the reason. (0:42:02) Al: Sure, fine. (0:42:05) Al: It’s funny because it’s like, oh no, we didn’t know it would be complicated to bring it to a (0:42:10) Al: console. Like what did you expect? Like these things are always complicated. (0:42:14) Kev: Well, yeah, I mean anything game dev is complicated pretty much anything dev software dev is always complicated (0:42:19) Al: Yeah, exactly. (0:42:21) Kev: Well, look here. Here’s your free advice tiny garden people call biting studio (0:42:27) Kev: Those are the guys who make cassette beasts that except beasts is on Godot. They brought it to switch (0:42:32) Kev: It’s awesome on switch. There you go (0:42:33) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s the thing. I suspect if you do it in Unity or Unreal, I suspect (0:42:42) Al: it is slightly easier because they are obviously like larger companies use them and so therefore (0:42:51) Kev: They’re established. (0:42:53) Al: need the console support to be as good as it can be, right? Because otherwise there (0:43:00) Al: There would be big problems because Godot is. (0:43:04) Al: open source and therefore more likely to be used by smaller teams, and they are less likely to be focusing on consoles at all more likely to be focusing on just PC because that is the easiest for. (0:43:18) Kev: Uh-huh (0:43:18) Al: I mean, it’s just the easiest to develop for full stop right because there’s no gatekeeper right like that has has been the case for a long, long time. (0:43:20) Kev: Yeah, I mean yes, yes, that’s correct (0:43:26) Kev: And probably will always be the case because just the nature of the beast so yeah (0:43:28) Al: Exactly. (0:43:29) Al: Exactly. (0:43:30) Al: Exactly. (0:43:31) Al: So there’s, they’re probably simplifying. (0:43:33) Al: Things in what they’re saying, you know, these things happen. (0:43:40) Al: I would like to clarify again, please, if you’re backing a game on Kickstarter, if you (0:43:47) Al: want it for console, don’t back it on Kickstarter, right? (0:43:50) Al: Like just, just like it’s the console is always like, it is when the Kickstarter happens normally, (0:43:59) Al: the way that it is happened is there is a working version of the game. (0:44:03) Al: It may not be final. (0:44:04) Al: It may not have all the content, but they have a game and it can run on PC. (0:44:08) Al: There will be nothing running on console at that point. (0:44:11) Al: And it’s very likely, unless they are a team that have ported to console before, it’s very (0:44:16) Al: likely that they have no idea what they’re doing with consoles at all, right? (0:44:20) Kev: Yep. (0:44:21) Al: And this, this isn’t meant to be harsh on them. (0:44:24) Al: This is just a fact that if you have, if you’re not a console developer, you do not know how (0:44:29) Al: complicated it is. (0:44:30) Al: I am not a games developer, right? (0:44:33) Al: I’m a web developer. (0:44:34) Al: And even in web development, there are things that if you don’t know how it works, it is (0:44:38) Al: so much more complicated than you realize. (0:44:42) Al: And there are just certain things that are more awkward. (0:44:45) Al: And if you haven’t started development on it, you don’t know how complicated it is. (0:44:49) Al: And it is likely not going to be done until the game is finished. (0:44:52) Al: That’s the other thing, right? (0:44:55) Al: Even Stardew Valley still doesn’t get updates out day and date on console, right? (0:45:00) Kev: Yeah. (0:45:01) Al: and stardew valley (0:45:03) Al: is one of the biggest indie games, full stop. (0:45:06) Kev: Yeah. (0:45:07) Al: It’s not like he’s only on his own anyway. He has a team that he works with, he worked with (0:45:12) Kev: Nice. (0:45:12) Al: porting companies before, he has done many different things, and even he can’t do it. (0:45:20) Al: It takes so much work, even big companies struggle with that. (0:45:26) Al: It is rare for a game to come out at the same time on PC and console unless you are one of (0:45:31) Al: of the biggest games and they will. (0:45:34) Al: Completely different teams working on the PC version, working on the switch version, working on the PlayStation version Xbox is different because they’re like the Microsoft of well, pretty much Microsoft have done so much work and I, you know, I’m the first to jump on Microsoft a bad bandwagon, but Microsoft have done so much work to make putting games to Xbox so incredibly easy it’s not. It’s still not just as simple as click a button. It does. (0:45:36) Kev: Mm-hmm (0:45:41) Kev: Yeah (0:45:44) Kev: They are a PC (0:46:03) Al: It does it, but it is so much easier than any other console. If you have an existing PC game, especially if you’re using the tools that Microsoft give to make the game on PC. (0:46:07) Kev: Sure. Yeah. Well, I mean, guess. Hi. Hey, I’m still holding out for mighty number nine (0:46:15) Al: All that being said, all that being said, never back a Kickstarter for a switch game. Just don’t do it, right? (0:46:25) Kev: on the 3DS. Uh, but. (0:46:31) Al: I have, I have, when I, when I bought my steam. (0:46:33) Al: Dick, it was so good because it meant that I could go through and like change (0:46:37) Al: all of my kickstarters to use to steam codes instead of switch get codes. (0:46:41) Kev: Mmm, yeah, at least (0:46:41) Al: And you get the game a year before, right? (0:46:44) Al: It’s just every, every, every single one is there’s none of them. (0:46:49) Al: Not a single game that I have backed on Kickstarter has released (0:46:53) Al: on switch at the same time as steam. (0:46:54) Kev: year you’re not wrong not at all ah well you know what though in this (0:47:03) Kev: particular case there’s an easy way to fix this you know what you don’t even (0:47:07) Kev: have to release on the switch tiny garden just so you know what we’re (0:47:11) Kev: canceling it we’re investing everything into the playdate port and we’re all in (0:47:12) Al: Honestly, a Playdate port would probably be quicker, because it would have to lose features, (0:47:17) Kev: we’re good all is forgiven (0:47:24) Al: right? It’s not going to be the same, the graphics are simpler, like honestly, if they started now (0:47:31) Al: from scratch, they could probably get a Playdate version out before they could port their version (0:47:34) Kev: Well, well there you go, Tiny Guard. The path is there. (0:47:34) Al: to Switch. I’m not joking. They would of course get a fraction of the sales, right? There are (0:47:42) Al: Playdates. Yes, it does. I love the Playdate, it’s so good. I just wish I played it more. (0:47:44) Kev: the dozens look I mean I might join the dozens I’ll say that (0:48:00) Kev: Yeah (0:48:05) Al: As far as I can see, the only number I’ve seen on Playdate sales was in May of last year, (0:48:10) Al: They said 70,000 have been sold (0:48:12) Al: But that was one year into it, and we’re now a year later, so who knows

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Ep158: AI's Role in Shaping Global Dynamics

Welcome to Cloudlandia

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 61:32

Today on Welcome to Cloudlandia, Our discussion unravels the surprises of Ontario's geography, the nuances of tariff wars, and the timeless drive for ambition, ensuring you're well-equipped with insights into how technology continues to redefine the global landscape. Discover how NuCom's innovative app is revolutionizing sleep and relaxation. We dive into the specifics of how its unique audio tracks, like "Summer Night," are enhancing REM and deep sleep, all while adding a humorous twist with a comparison to Italian driving laws. With separate audio for each ear and playful suggestions for use, you'll learn how this app is setting new standards for flexibility and effectiveness in achieving tranquility. Finally, we ponder the evolving nature of trust in a world increasingly dominated by AI and digital interactions. Drawing inspiration from thinkers like Jacques Ellul and Thomas Sowell, we discuss the societal shifts driven by technological advances and the potential need for encryption to verify digital identities. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We discuss the intriguing journey from Ontario's cottages to the realm of international trade, focusing on how AI is reshaping trade agreements and challenging the predictability of global politics. Dean explores NuCom's innovative app designed to improve sleep and relaxation through unique audio tracks, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing REM and deep sleep. We ponder the evolving nature of trust in a digital world increasingly dominated by AI, exploring how we can maintain authentic human interactions amid rapidly advancing generative tools. Dan shares a humorous story of two furniture companies' escalating marketing claims, setting the stage for a discussion on capitalism and the importance of direct referrals in business. We delve into the impact of technology on society, drawing insights from Jacques Ellul and Thomas Sowell, and compare AI's transformative potential to historical technological advancements like the printing press. Dean highlights the importance of personalized market strategies, exploring how personal solutions can evolve into valuable products for a wider audience. We explore the concept of ambition and agency, discussing how adaptability and a forward-looking mindset can help navigate new realities and unpredictable changes in the world. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: Mr Sullivan. Dan: Ah, Mr Jackson. General Jackson. General Jackson. Dictator Jackson Dean: Now there's two thoughts that are hard to contain in the brain at the same time. Are you in Toronto or at the cottage today? At the cottage, look at you, okay. Dan: Yeah, all is well, very nice day, yeah, except our water went out and so we can't get it fixed until tomorrow morning because it's cottage country. Till tomorrow morning because it's cottage country. And you know, this is not one of those 24-7 everybody's available places on the planet. Dean: Where do people in cottage country go to get away from the hustle and bustle of cottage country on the weekends? Dan: Yeah, it's a good question. It's a good question. It's a good question they go about two hours north. Dean: It feels like that's the appropriate amount of distance to make it feel like you're getting away. Dan: In the wild. Dean: Yeah. Dan: So we're having to use lake water for priming the vital plumbing. Dean: The plumbing you have to do. Dan: You have to have pails of water to do that and we'll do. Even though it feels like a third world situation, that's actually a first world problem. Dean: You're right, you're exactly right. Dan: Yeah, yeah, beautiful day, though. Nice and bright, and the water is surprisingly warm because we had a cold winter and the spring was really cold and we have a very deep lake. It's about um the depth meters on the boats go down to 300 feet, so that's a pretty deep lake that's a deep lake. Yeah, yeah, so here we are here's a factoid that blew my mind. The province of Ontario, which is huge it's 1,000 miles north to south and it's 1,200 miles east to west has 250,000 freshwater lakes, and that's half the freshwater lakes on the planet. Isn't that amazing? Dean: Yeah, I heard a little. There's some interesting Ontario facts. I remember being awed when I found out that you could drive the entire distance from Toronto to Florida north and still be in Ontario. Dan: Yeah. Dean: Yeah, yeah. Dan: Yeah, If you go from the furthest east, which is Cornwall a little town called Cornwall to the furthest west, which is a town called Kenora Right, kenora to the furthest west, which is a town called canora right, uh, canora. It's the same distance from that as from washington dc to kansas city. Oh, that's amazing yeah I had a good. Dean: I had a friend who was from canora. He was an olympic decathlete, michael sm. He was on the Olympic decathlon team and that's where he was from Kenora, kenora. Dan: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of big. I mean most of it's bugs, you know most of it's bugs. It's not, you know, the 90% of the Ontario population lives within an hour 100 miles of the? U, lives within an hour a hundred miles of the US. Yeah, yeah, you know, I mean that's it's if you go from the east coast to the west coast of Canada. It's just a 3,200 mile ribbon, about a hundred miles high that's really can't. From a human standpoint, that's really Canada. Everything else is just bugs yeah. Dean: So it's very. I guess you've been following the latest in the tariff wars. You know again Canada with the oh yeah, well, we're going to tax all your digital things, okay. Dan: Okay, yeah, okay we're done. Yeah, we're done. That's it Good luck Stay tuned. Dean: We'll let you know how much we're going to charge you to do business. I mean, where does this posturing end, you know? Where do you see this heading? Dan: Well, when you say posturing, you're Well. Dean: I don't think I mean it's. Dan: There's a no. It's the reworking of every single trade agreement with every single country on the planet, which they can do now because they have AI. Yeah, I mean, you could never do this stuff before. That's why using past precedents of tariffs and everything else is meaningless. Dean: Well, here's an example. Dan: If the bombing of Iran, which happened in recent history, iran which happened in recent history, if that had happened 30 years ago, you would have had a real oil and gas crunch in the world. Everything would crunch, but because people have instant communications and they have the ability to adjust things immediately. Now, all those things which in the past they said well, if you do that, then this is going to happen. Now I don't think anything's going to happen, Everybody's just going to adjust. First of all, they've already built in what they're going to do before it happens. You know, if this happens, then this is what we're going to do. And everybody's interconnected, so messages go out, you know they drop the bomb, the news comes through and in that let's say hour's time for everybody involved. Probably you know 10 billion decisions have been made and agreed on and everybody's off and running again. Yes, yeah. Dean: Yeah, it's amazing how this everything can absorb. Dan: I think the AI changes politics. I think it changes, I think it changes everything. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Dean: Agreed, yeah, but, but, but not necessarily in any predictable way, mm-hmm. Right, exactly. Dan: Yeah. Dean: But meanwhile we are a timeless technology. Dan: We are. Dean: I was rereading you Are a Timeless Technology. Yeah, these books, Dan, are so good oh thank you. Yeah, I mean, they really are, and it's just more and more impressive when you see them all you know lined up 40 of them, or 44 of them, or whatever. I'm on 43. Dan: I'm on 43. 43 of them yeah, I'm on 43. I'm on 43. 43 of them, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This one's called Always More Ambitious, and we talked about this in the recent In the free zone yeah. In the free zone that I'm seeing ambition as just the capability platform for all other capabilities. Dean: Yes, you know, you have ambition and you know or you don't. Dan: And then agency goes along with that concept that, depending on your ambition, you have the ability to adjust very, very quickly to new things. For example, getting here and, uh, it was very interesting. We got here yesterday and, um, we had an early dinner. We had an early steak dinner because we were going to a party and we didn't think that they would have the kind of steak at the party that we were right, they didn't have any steak at all. Oh, boy, and they had everything that I'm eating steak. The reason I'm eating steak is not to eat the stuff that's at the party. Right, exactly, yes, I mean, I'm just following in the paths of the mentor here, of the mentor here, anyway, anyway, um, so you know, all the water was working and everything, and when we went to the party we came home and the water didn't work and it's some electrical connection you know, that in the related to the pump and um and anyway, and I just adjusted. you know, it was still light out, so I got a bucket and I went down to the lake and I got a bucket full of water and I brought it up and you know, and I was really pleased with OK. Ok, scene change. Dean: Yeah right, Exactly yeah. Scene change. Dan: Ok, you, you gotta adjust to the new one, and I'm new reality, right yeah, new reality. Okay, what you thought was going to happen isn't going to happen. Something is going to happen and that's agency. That's really what agency is in the world. It's your ability to switch channels that there's a new situation and you have the ability not to say, oh, I'm, oh, why, jane? You know, and you know that long line of things where, maybe 10 years ago, I was really ticked off and you know and, uh, you know, you know, I checked if I had any irish whiskey, just to to dead dead in the pain. Dean: All right. Dan: Yeah, and I just adjusted. You know? Yeah, this morning I took a Pyrex you know, the bowls you use to mix things, the mixing bowls you know, yes and I just filled it up with water, put it in the microwave. It still works, the microwave. Went and I shaved, you know, and. Dean: I shaved Right. There you go. Dan: Yeah, you can do a washcloth bath if you need to. Warm water, yeah, but the interesting thing about it is that I think that you don't have agency unless you have ambition. In other words, you have to have a fix on the future, that you're going to achieve this, you're going to achieve this, you're going to achieve this, and it's out of that ambition that you constantly develop new capabilities. And then the other thing is you utilize all the capabilities you have if something goes you know goes unpredictable. Dean: Yeah. Dan: Yeah. Dean: And my. Dan: Thing is that this is the world. Now, I mean, you know and so, and anyway it's, it's an interesting thing, you know but I'm really enjoying. I'm really enjoying my relationship with perplexity. I'm sort of a one master, I'm a one master dog. Dean: Right, exactly. Dan: Like I listened to Mike Koenigs and he's investigated 10 new AIs in the four weeks since I talked to him last. Dean: He's doing that there. Dan: I'm just going developing this working relationship with one. Dean: I don't even know. Dan: If it's, is it a good one? I don't even know if perplexity is one of the top ones, you know, but it's good for my purposes. Dean: Well, for certain things it is yeah, for just gathering and contextualizing internet search stuff. But you know I look at Mike, as you often talk about Joe Polish, that you know. You don't need to know everybody, you need to know Joe Polish. I just need to know Joe, anybody you want to meet, you just mention it to Joe and he can make it happen. And I'd look at Mike Koenigs like that with AI tools. We don't need to know all the AI tools. Dan: We just need to stay in touch with Mike. Dean: Mike and Lior and Evan, you know we're surrounded by people who are on the. Dan: Yeah. And Tom Labatt do you know Tom, yeah, well, tom has created this AI mindset course that he's doing. And and he he comes to every one of our 10 times. Our connector calls, you know the two hour Zoom calls. So we've got every month I have two for 10x and I have two for FreeZone and and he's in breakout groups and every time he's in a breakout group. He acquires another customer. Dean: Right. Dan: And then I'll have Mike talk about what he's discovered recently. His number goes into chat and you know know, 10 people phone him up and say what's this all about? And it's amazing the, the uh, what I would say the um, um progress in our strategic coach clients just acquiring ai knowledge and mindsets and capabilities just by having one person who I just get him to talk to on a Zoom call. Dean: Yeah, it's pretty amazing yeah. Dan: I think this is kind of how electricity got foothold. Did you get electricity in your house? Yeah, yeah, yeah and you have electric lights. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, and you have electric lights. Yeah, yeah, I do, yeah, yeah, you know, it's, you know. And then all sorts of new electrical devices are being created. Dean: Yes, that's what I'm curious, charlotte about the, the, uh. What were the first sort of wave of electrified uh conveniences? You know that. Where did we? Where did we start? I know it started with lights, but then. Dan: Yeah, I think lights obviously were the first. Yeah, yeah. It would have taken some doing, I think actually. I mean, once you have a light bulb and they're being manufactured, it's a pretty easy. You can understand how quickly it could be adapted. But all the other things like electric heaters, that would take a lot of thinking. Dean: Before what we're used to as the kind of two or three prong, you know thing that we stick into the wall. Before that was invented, the the attachment was that you would plug it into the light socket. Dan: Oh yeah, that was how you would access the electricity. That's right, you had a little screw in. Right, you had a little screw in that you could put in. Yeah, I remember having those yeah. Dean: Very interesting, that's right. Dan: Right, yeah, yeah. And then you created lawn wires that you could, you know you could you know, it's like a pug, but you needed something to screw into the light socket. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah, very, I mean it's, it's so. Yeah, what a. What a time. We had a great um. I don't know if we recorded um. We uh, chad and I did a vcr formula workshop the day in toronto, in toronto, yeah, and that was a really the first time we'd done anything like a sort of formalized full-day exploration. It's amazing to see just how many you know shining a light for people on their VCR assets and thinking of it as currency and thinking of it as currency and it's amazing how, you know, seeing it apply to others kind of opens their eyes to the opportunities that they have. You know, yeah, it was really I'm very excited about the, just the adaptability of it. It's a really great framework. Dan: Have you gotten? Your NuCom yet? Dean: I have absolutely. Dan: I really love it what's your favorite? I have different. First of all, I use the one at night that sounds like crickets. Okay, yeah, you know, it's 10 hours, you can put it on for 10. It's called Summer Night and it's got some. There's a sort of faint music track to it. But my aura, I noticed my aura that my REM scores went up, my deep sleep scores went up and the numbers you know. Usually I'm in the high 70s. You know 79, 80, and they jumped to 86, 87. And that's just for sleep, which is great. So I've had about two weeks like that where I would say I'm probably my sleep scores I'll just pick a number there but it's probably up around 50, 15, 15, better in all the categories and that and. But the one thing is the readiness. The readiness because I play the trackster in the day. But the one thing is the readiness, the readiness because I play the trackster in the day. But the one that I really like to have on when I'm working is ignite okay yeah, it's a. It's a really terrific. It's really terrific, that's right I haven't used any of the daytime. Uh, yeah, the daytime yeah, yeah, and then the rescue is really great. Okay, yeah, and you know For people listening. Dean: We're talking about an app on iPhone called NuCom N-U N-U-Com, yeah, and it's basically, you know, waves, background music. I mean, it's masked by music, but it's essentially waves. Dan: Apparently. We were in Nashville last week and David Hasse is experimenting with it. He says what they have is that they have two separate tracks. I use earphones and one track comes in through your right ear, one comes and your brain has to put the two tracks together, and that's what uh, so it elevates the brain waves or kind of takes the brain waves down. And there's music. Dean: You know the music yeah over and uh, but I noticed mentioned to me that the music is incidental, that the music has nothing to do with it. Dan: No, that's exactly right, it just gives your brain something to hold on to Attached to yeah. And then Rescue is really great. I mean that one. Just you know if you have any upset or anything, or you're just really busy, or you're enjoying anything. You just put it on, it just calms you right down. Dean: Did you notice that the recommendation on Ignite is to not use more than 60 minutes a day? Dan: Yeah, I doubt if I do. I think it's about a 14-minute track. Oh, okay, yeah, interesting, yeah, but that's a suggestion. Dean: Yeah, it is a suggestion. That's right, that's funny. Dan: Now what you're talking about. There is a suggestion. That's right, Now what you're talking about. There is a suggestion. Dean: That's all suggested. That's right. Dan: That reminds me of I was in Italy, I was on the Amalfi Coast and Italians have a very interesting approach to laws and regulations, you know. So we were going down the street and I was sitting right next to the bus driver, we were on a bus and a whole group of people on the bus, and so we come down to a perpendicular stop. You know you can't go across, you have to turn, and the sign is clearly says to the, and the driver turns to the left, and I said I think that was a right-hand turn. He said merely a suggestion. I love it. Dean: That's great. Dan: Merely a suggestion. Yeah, that's funny, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's funny. Have lawsuits, you know, like something like this. I mean, it's a litigious country, the. Dean: United States. Dan: Yeah, and so you know they may be mentally unbalanced, you know they may be having all sorts of problems. And they said why don't we just put in recommended not to use it more than an hour? So I think that's really what it is. That's funny. Yeah, Like the Ten Commandments, you know, I mean the suggestions yeah, there are ten suggestions, you know, yeah, yeah, but break two of them at the same time and you're going to find out. It's more than a suggestion. Yeah, fool around and find out, yeah I think in terms of book titles, that's a good bit. Pull around and find out. That's right, exactly. So what would you say is uh, just going on the theme of pulling around and find out that you've discovered is that there's things with AI that probably shouldn't go down that road. Dean: Anything. Just philosophically, I'm more and more resolute in my idea of not spending any time learning the particular skill or learning the particular tool, because I really, if I look at it that fundamentally, if you think about it as a generative tool or as a collaboration, creating either images or words or picture or uh, you know, sound or video, that's the big four. Right, those are the underlying things. There's any number of rapidly evolving and more nuanced ways to do all of those things and you're starting to see some specialists in them now, like, I think, things like you know, eleven Labs has really focused on the voice emulation now and they're really like it is flawless. I mean, it's really super what you can do with generated, uh, voice. Now even they can get emotion and I think it's almost like the equivalent of musical notations, like you can say, you know, uh, you know pianissimo or or forte. You know you can give the intention of how you're supposed to play this piece. Uh, so you get a sense that they can say you know whispers, or quietly, or or excited, or giggles, or you know you can add the sentiment to the voice, and so you just think, just to know that, whatever you can imagine, you can get an audio that is flawless of your own voice or any voice that you want to create. You can create a. There is a tool or a set of tools that will allow you to prompt video, you know flawlessly, and that's going to constantly evolve. I mean, there are many tools that do like. It's kind of like this race that we're all in the first leg of the relay race here, and so it started out with Sora was able to create the video, and then the next you know, the VO three, you know less than a month ago, came out and is the far winner by now. So any time that you spend like learning that technical skill is I don't think that's going to be time well well spent, because there's any number of people who could do those things. So I think I'm more, you know, I'm more guessing and betting that imagination is going to be more valuable than industriousness in that. Dan: One thing, and I'd just like to get your take on this, that the crucial quality that makes human things work, human activities, human teamwork and everything is trust you know, and that you're actually dealing with something that you can trust. Ok, and I'm just wondering if the constant evolution of artificial intelligence is going to encourage people to make sure that they're actually dealing with the person in person, that you're actually dealing with another human being in person. Well, I see that in contact with this person or you've got some sort of encryption type mechanism that can guarantee you that the person that you're dealing with digitally is actually the person? And I'm just wondering, because humans, the need for trust overrides any kind of technology. Dean: I agree with you. I mean that's. I think we're going to see, I think we're going to see a more. We're going to react to that that we're going to value human, like I look at now that we are at a point that anything you see on video is immediately questioned that might be especially, yeah, especially if you, if it's introducing a new thought or it's counter to what you might think, or if it's trying to persuade you of something is. My immediate thought is is that real? You know, you know, I just wonder. You know what I was? I was thinking about Dan. You used to talk about the evolution of the signs. You know where it said the best Italian food on the street? Yeah, the evolution was in the town. Two furniture companies, yeah two furniture companies Best furniture. What was it? Dan: Yeah, best furniture companies, best furniture, what was it? Yeah, best furniture store on the street. So the other one comes back and says best, you know best furniture store in the town. And the other one says the other one comes back, state the other one comes back country. The other one comes back Western Hemisphere, the other one comes back planet, the other one comes back solar system and finally it's so far out, it's in the Milky Way. And the other one comes back and says best store on the street. Dean: Right, exactly, and I think that's where we're. I think that's where we're. Dan: Yeah. Anything to differentiate anything to differentiate, I mean the other thing is differentiation. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah and yeah, so no. I go back to Hayek. He's an economist, fa Hayek, and he said that he was talking about capitalism. And he said the big problem with capitalism is that it was named by its enemies. It was named by the whole group of people. You know, marx was the foremost person you know and he, you know, wrote a book, das Capital, you know, and everything else, and they thought it was all about capital. And he says actually, capital is actually a byproduct of the system. He said what capitalism is is an ever expanding system of increasing cooperation among strangers. He says it's just constant going out from ourselves where we can trust that we can cooperate with strangers. And he says most places in history and most places still on the planet, the only people you can trust are our friends and family our friends and family. That limits enormously cooperation, eliminates collaboration, eliminates innovation, eliminates everything if you can only trust the people that you know. He said that basically what capitalism is. It's got this amazing number of structures and processes and agreements and laws and everything that allow you to deal with someone you don't know halfway around the planet and money is exchanged and you feel okay about that and you know, there was a great book and I've recommended it again and again called the One-to-One Future. I've read it. Dean: I've read it. Yeah, yeah, this was written back in the 90s, yeah, and that was one of the things that they talked about was this privacy, that, and I don't see it happening as much, but we're certainly ready for it and and going to appreciate having a, an intermediary, having a trusted advocate for all of the things you know. That that's that we share everything with that one trusted person and trust them to vet and represent us out into the world. Dan: It's really interesting. It would have been at a Free Zone workshop, because those are the only workshops that I actually do, and somebody asked. Babs was in the room and they said that you know how many of your signups for the program you know, the last 12 months and you know we had just short of a thousand a thousand signups and you know, and we know what the influence was because we have the contact we have the, you know, we have the conversations between the salesperson and the person who signs up, and somebody asked how many of them come directly from direct referrals. It's 85%. It's not the only thing They'll read books. They'll see podcasts. Dean: Yeah. Dan: Yeah and everything like that, but it's still that direct referral of someone whose judgment they totally trust is the deciding factor. Dean: Yes, yeah, amazing, right, and that's. Dan: I mean, here we are. We're 36 years down. We're using all kinds of marketing tools. We're using podcasts, we're using books. We're using books, we're using social media. And it struck me one day. I said how do people know me on social media? I said I never use social media. I've never. I've never. Actually, I don't even know how to. I don't even know how to use social media. Dean: I wouldn't know how to get on and everything else. Dan: So I went to our social media director and I said um, how am I on social media? He says dan, you're out there, there you're doing every day you're doing 100 things a day you know you know. and he went down the list of all the different uh platforms that I'm in and I said uh. I said oh, I didn't know that. I said, do I look good? He said oh, yeah. He says yeah, nothing but the best, but I'm just using it as a broadcast medium. You know, I'm not using it as an interactive medium. Right Well, I'm not. We're using it as an interactive medium, but I'm not. Dean: Right. Dan: Yeah. Dean: Yeah, that's all that matters, right, I mean, and it's actually you, yeah, it's your words, but you're using, you know, keeping, like you say, somebody between you and the technology. Dan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, always keep a smart person. Right A smart person between yourself and the technology. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dan: Yeah. So yeah, I was at the party. I had this party that was sort of a beach, had this party that was sort of a beach. You know, we have an island, but there are about 15 couples of one kind or another at the party last night, most of whom I didn't know, but I got talking and they were talking about the technology and everything like that. it was about a three person and myself and we were talking and they said, geez, you know, I mean it's driving me crazy and everything like that. And one of them said, dan, how are you approaching this? And I said, well, I'm taking a sort of different approach. And I just went through and I described my relationship to television, my relationship to social media, my relationship to the you know, my iPhone and everything else. And they said, boy, that's a really different approach. And I said, yeah, and I said you know we're growing, you know the company's growing, and you know everybody who needs to find out. what they need to find out is finding that out and everything else. So yeah, but I don't have to be involved in any of it. Dean: Right, yeah, you know, you're proof that it's. You can be in it, but not of it. Dan: Yeah, I think that's part of the thing. Yeah, but there's kind of a well, we're probably on this podcast, we're developing sort of an AI wisdom, because I think wisdom what matters is that you can adapt a particular strategy and just think of it, you know, and just stick with it. There's just something that you can stick with and it doesn't cause you any harm. Yeah, the one thing that I have learned is that the input between me and perplexity has to be 50-50. And the way I do it, dean, is I trigger everything with a fast filter, so I'll do the best result. You have just one box. I put the best result. You have just one box, I put the best result. That becomes the anchor of the particular project that I'm working on with Perpuxy. I'll just take it and stick it in there. Then I'll write one of the success criteria, okay, and then I'll take the success criteria and I said okay, now I want to create two paragraphs. Okay, so I've got the anchor paragraph and I've got this new paragraph. I want to take the central message of this success criteria and I want to modify whatever I wrote down in the lead and bring it back as a 100-word introduction where the success criteria has 50 words. Okay. And then what I'll do is I go to a mindset scorecard and I'll start creating mindsets and I'll take a mindset and I said, okay, I want to take this mindset and I want to change the meaning of the two paragraphs and it comes down and then after a certain point I said okay, let's introduce another. So I'm going back and forth where it's delivering a product but then I'm creating something new and inserting it into the product, and it's kind of like this back and forth conversation. Dean: You're using perplexity for this Perplexity yeah. Yeah. Dan: Yeah, and it has a really nice feeling to it that it's doing some magic. You know it's doing magic tricks. It's carrying out instructions instantaneously. You know three or four seconds. And then I read what I wrote and then it gives me a new idea. Then I write down the idea in the pass filter or the mindset scorecard and then I insert that new idea and say, okay, modify everything above with this new thought, and it's really terrific, it really works really great, yeah, okay, and you know it's, and what's really interesting about? I'll go do this. And then, down at the bottom, it creates a unique summary of everything that we're talking about, and I didn't ask it for a summary, but it creates a summary. Dean: That's amazing, isn't it? Dan: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dean: Yeah, this is. You know. I really enjoyed the new tool that we did in the FreeZone workshop. This time I forget what the tool is called. Dan: I had three. I had the six-year your best six years ever. Was it that one we also? Dean: had. Always More Ambitious, always well, always more ambitious was great too, but yeah, that uh. But that six year your best six years ever is. That's such a good thing that if you just imagine that that's the, the lens that you're looking at the present through that, you're always. It's a durable thing. I try and explain to people I've had this framework of thinking in terms of the next hundred weeks is kind of a the long-term like actionable thing that you can have a big impact in a hundred weeks on something. But it's gonna happen kind of a hundred days at a time, kind of like quarters I guess, if you think about two years. But I've really found that everything comes down to the real actionable things are the next 100 hours and the next 100 minutes. And those I can find that I can allocate those 50 minute focus finders that. I do those sessions, it's like that's really the only. It's the only thing is to the extent that we're able to get our turn our ambitions into actions that correlate with those right that align, aligning our actions with our ambitions because a lot of people are ambitious on theoretically ambitious, uh, as opposed to applied ambition. Dan: They're not actionably ambitious. Dean: Actionably ambitious. I think that there's something to that, Dan. Dan: Yeah. Dean: And it's frustrating yeah. Dan: Yeah. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I think that's a really good, theoretically ambitious, but not actionably ambitious, yeah, and I think that's a really good theoretically ambitious but not actually ambitious, yeah, and I think that theoretically ambitious just puts you totally in the gap really fast. Absolutely Okay, because you have no proof, you're never actually You're full of propositions. Yeah, I'm reading a book. Have you ever read any of Thomas Sowell? I? Dean: have not. Dan: Yeah, he's a 93, 94-year-old economist at Stanford University and he's got 60 years of work that he's done and he's got a great book. It's a book I'm going to read continually. I have about three or four books that I just read continually. One of them is called the Technological System by Jacques Hulot, a French sociologist, jacques Lull, french sociologist, and it does the best job of describing what technology does to people, what it does to organizations, when they're totally reactive to it. Dean: You know in other words. Dan: They have no sense of agency regarding technology. They're just being impacted, and it's really good. He wrote it probably in the 60s or 70s and it's just got a lot of great observations in it. Dean: And. Dan: I've read it. I've probably read it. I started reading it in 1980, and I've probably read it three or four times. One book fell apart because there was so much notes and online Really Wow. Yeah, the binding fell apart. Dean: What's it called again? It's called the. Dan: Technological System. Dean: The. Dan: Technological System. Jacques, you know Elal and there's quite a good YouTube interview with him If you want to look it up. It's about 25, 30 minutes and very, very, very engaging mind. He really gets you to think when he talks about it. But the book that I'm talking about right now, this is Thomas Sowell. It's called Intellectuals and Society and he said if you take all the intellectuals in the world and you put all their sense of how the world works, at best it could represent 1% of the knowledge that's needed for the world to run every day the other 99%, and he calls it the difference between specialized knowledge and mundane knowledge. Okay, so specialized knowledge is where somebody really goes deep, really goes deep into something and then develops. You know, if the whole world would just operate according to what I'm seeing here, it would be a better world. And he says, and he said that's the intellectual approach. You know, I've I've really thought this deeply, and therefore what I want now is for someone to impose this on the planet. So, I feel good. But, he says what actually makes the world work is just everybody going about their business and working out rules of, you know, teamwork, rules of action, transaction work. And he says and intellectuals have no access to this knowledge whatsoever because they're not involved in everyday life, they're off. You know they're looking down from a height and saying you know, I'd like to reorganize this whole thing, have the mundane knowledge are now being able to really get multiply the value that they're just getting out of their daily interactions at an exponentially high speed and that the intellectuals are probably. The intellectuals are just if they're using AI. They're just doing that to multiply their theories. But they're not actionable ambition, they're theoretical. Theoretically ambitious right, yeah, yeah. Dean: Yeah, that's really interesting looking at the uh, you know, I think that there's, you know, kind of a giant leap from proposition to proof. Oh yeah, in the in the vision column is like that's it's worth so much. Uh, because intellectually that that's the. It's a different skill set to turn a proof into a protocol and a protocol into a protected package. You know, those don't require creative solution and I'm finding the real like the hotspot leverage points, like in the capability column. It's ability is the multiplier of capability. Dan: Yeah. Dean: You know, because that then can affect capacity and cash, you know. Dan: Yeah, yeah, I mean, if you take it. I mean never have human beings had so many capabilities available to them but do they have any ability to go along with the capabilities? Dean: Yeah. Dan: Yeah. Dean: And I think that that part of that ability is to recognize it. You know, vision ability to recognize the excess capacity that they have, you know. Dan: And. Dean: I think that that trusted you know. Dan: The leverageable point in the reach column is the you know a heart level, like an endorsed uh being access to somebody else's um, to somebody else's trust level yeah, relationships yeah it's so it's amazing like I just like that I've seen so much opportunity AI introduced chat, gpt, that we're at a major this is a major jump, like language itself almost. I often go back and say I wonder who the first tribe? That was probably a tribe that developed a language so that they could communicate. You know where they could keep adding vocabulary. You know they could keep adding vocabulary and that they must have just taken over everything immediately. They just totally took over just because of their speed of teamwork, their speed of getting things done. And then the next one was writing when they could write. And then you have another jump, because with writing came reading and then the next one came printing. You know, and I thought that when the microchip came in and you had digital language, I said this is the next gem. But digital language is just a really, really fast form of printing actually. It's just fast, but artificial intelligence is a fundamental breakthrough. So, we're right at the beginning. Gutenberg is like 1455, and it must have been amazing to him and the people who knew about him that he could produce what it would take, you know, a hand writer would take months and months that he could produce one in a matter of you know hours. He could produce in hours, but as many as you wanted. Dean: I wonder what the trickle down, like you know the transition, how long it took to eliminate the scribe industry. Dan: Well, I will tell you this that they have statistics that within 40 years after Gutenberg there were 30,000 presses across northern Europe. So it took off like a rocket. You know it took off. And I mean, and you know, and it I mean in the next 150 years, we're just pure turmoil politically, economically, culturally in. Europe after that came and I think we're in that. We're in that period right now. We're feeling it, yeah, I think so too. Everybody's going to have to have a newcomer. Dean: Yeah, that's right. Dan: Probably on rescue all day 60 minutes at a time, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, anyway. What have we gotten today? What have we? What's the garden produced today? Dean: Well, I think that this, I think we had this thought of, I think you and I always come the two types of abilities. Well, the capability and the ability. No, theoretically ambitious and actionability Actionability- Theoretically ambitious and actionably ambitious. Dan: The vast majority of people are theoretically ambitious. Dean: They're not actionable. Yes. Dan: I think that's a good distinction. Dean: I do too. That was what I was going to say that level and I think that the you know, when you see more that the I think, being an idea person, like a visionary, it's very difficult to see that there's a lot of people that don't have that ability. But you don't, because we take it for granted that we have that ability to see things and and have that uh, access to that. It doesn't feel like you know almost like you can't uh, you've got the curse of knowledge. We know what it's like to constantly have vision and see things, that the way things could be, um, and not really realize that most people don't have that, and I think it's we discount it, um, or you can't discount it by thinking, well, that that can't be do you know what I? mean that there's got to be more to. It mean there's got to be, more to it. Well, that's the easy part or whatever, but it's not and that's yeah. I think that the more I saw Kevin Smith, the filmmaker, the director. He was on there's a series online called the Big Think and they have, you know, different notable people talking about just their life philosophies or the things, and he said something that on his, the moment he decided to move into being kevin smith professionally, that that, the more he just decided to double down on just being more kevin smith for a living it's like he's really without using the words of unique ability or those things that that was the big shift for him is just to realize that the unique view, vision, perspective that he has is the more he doubles down on that, the more successful things have been for him. Yep, yep. So there's nothing you know, you've been Dan Sullivan professionally or professional. Dan Sullivan for years. Dan: Yeah Well, 51, 51. Yeah, yeah, uh, it's created all sorts of tools. I mean uh you know, I remember the psychiatrist I went to the amen clinic to receive my um add diagnosis, you know because he's got. He's got about seven different types of ADD. Dean: Yes, which one do you? Dan: have. Yeah well, mine's not hyperactive at all. Dean: No me neither yeah. Dan: I mean it takes a lot to get me to move, Anyway, but mine is the constant being barbaric. It's sort of I'm thinking of this and then all of a sudden I think of something else. Dean: And then. Dan: now I've got two things to think about, and then the third one wants to join the party and everything else, and meanwhile I had something to do this morning and I just blew right past it. Dean: Anyway. Dan: Right, yeah, so anyway, but I had filled in. There's like 100 questions that you have to fill in online before they'll even accept you, and you know what's your day look like. You know mine pretty relaxed, good structure, everything like that. But the test, they do all sorts of brain scans. They test out concentration, they test out how long you can maintain attention on something. They do it at rest, they do it after exercise and everything like that. It's about three days. There's about nine hours of it that they do. And so we got together and she said you know, if you look at how you answered our questionnaire, online and you look at our test. These are in separate universes. They don't have any relationship to each other. To each other. She said I've never seen such a wide span between the two. So well, I'm sorry, you know we just pretty soon we got to what I do for a living and I said well, I create thinking tools for entrepreneurs. And so I told her, I gave her a couple of examples and she said well, I don't know who else you created these for, but you sure created them for yourself. And that's really what we do. Is that what we are best at in the marketplace is what we're trying to figure out for ourselves? Dean: Yes, I think that's absolutely true. Dan: We sell our therapies to others, that's right. We want to see if our self-therapies go beyond ourselves. Dean: Yeah, exactly. Dan: Yeah, yeah, all righty. Dean: Okay Dan. That was a good one, yeah, are we on next week? Dan: Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah, Perfect, perfect, okay, I'll be back. Dean: I'll meet you here. Dan: Okay, thanks Bye, thanks Bye. Thanks for watching.

#1,013: Looking Ahead: __% of the Market Will Go DSO

#DoorGrowShow - Property Management Growth

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 27:55

Kiera is joined by Ryan Isaac of Dentist Advisors to dive into DSOs. They discuss such questions as: Are they the best financial choice for your practice? The best life choice? Are the horror stories true? And so many more. 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 am freaking jazzed for today's podcast. It has been way too long. Me and this guest talk quite often on like life and personal and business, but podcasting it's been a hot minute. I've got Ryan Isaac from Dentist Advisors, my personal advisor, one of my dearest friends. I think we're siblings in another life. Ryan, welcome to the show today. How are you? Ryan Isaac (00:07) Mm-hmm. Thank Thank you. I'm really good. just realized I was trying to hit mute and cough, but I hit like a chapter marker instead. So there you go. To your listeners or your ⁓ editing team, then there's a chapter marker while I'm coughing. So in your intro. Yeah. Tis the season. Kiera Dent (00:35) You're welcome. Yeah, that's fine. I'm okay with it. This is real life. We're sitting on, I mean, Ryan, you're sitting on the couch. I should get like my posh chair. I've been considering changing up my podcasting zone. Yeah, of course. All of us can see it. We're excited for that. Ryan Isaac (00:40) Hahaha Can I show you? Can I just give you a little vibe check here? I mean, it's actually, that's the ocean. I'm on a little summer getaway for a second. So yeah. Yeah. Kiera Dent (00:54) my gosh. That's amazing. So that's Ryan's life. Ryan's living his rich life over there. He's like truly. So, okay. If you're new to the podcast, Ryan is my personal advisor. Like truly he actually works on. We talk about my life. He's helped me make some really good decisions and not make some bad decisions. So I feel like financial advisors. My best advice is you gotta just find someone you trust. And I know Ryan is way more conservative than me, but cares about me as an individual so strongly. And Ryan, huge kudos to you. And so we talk about it a lot, but something we talk often is like, what's our rich life? And I remember Ryan for years, you were like living in your van, truly driving to California all the time to be by the beach, because you love surfing so much. So it just makes me so happy to see that you are living your best life by the ocean. You're doing what you teach all of your clients to do of living their version of a best life. Something that we try to do in dentistry and dental team too, like, hey, let's help your business provide you the best dream life you want. So that's Ryan. Ryan Isaac (01:36) Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, thank you. And there's no there's no right way to do that. I mean, everyone has their own thing that's worth the money or worth spending on. We're just kind of joking around about this, too. There are people who will sit in ⁓ small rentals or apartments on millions of dollars because to them having lots of security and liquidity is more valuable than houses or everyone's got something different. But, you know, we're all we're all chasing it, hopefully. Kiera Dent (01:57) Catch y'all. I think it's called the like emotional ROI and what helps you sleep at night in your financial world. So Ryan and I usually get on the podcast and we'll talk about finances. I mean, obviously dentist advisors, Ryan do a spiel. What is dentist advisors? Just so people know. I think you guys are financial advisors for dentists specifically. I'm not a dentist, but I can speak honestly, but a spiel. And then we're going to actually go like a hard left turn of what we're going to talk about today. Like really. Ryan Isaac (02:26) Ooh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Thank you. ⁓ Yeah, yeah, our on ramps coming up here really soon. We got to get over it. We got to get into the right lane. Dentist advisor started ⁓ almost A Team years ago now with me and Reese Harper. Shout out to Reese Harper. And yeah, we were dedicated to being ⁓ an independent fiduciary fee only ⁓ advisor for dentists to manage investments and give financial advice. Ultimately, Kiera Dent (02:51) Yep. Shout out to Reese. Ryan Isaac (03:17) you know, a dentist path through school and debt and taxes and all the stuff they go through, ⁓ you know, buying a practice, building businesses. There's no reason why all of that should not pay off every it should pay off for every dentist. There is enough money to be made in dentistry. And so our job really and you kind of said this with the you know, in the intro, ⁓ I really do feel like just protecting my clients, you know, and that's a philosophy that we've. built into our business. There's no reason why dentists shouldn't make it to the life they want and to the finish line financially. so, you know, ⁓ it's more about consistent, small, good decisions for long periods of time and avoiding like a few big mistakes that could derail you forever. So yeah, we have a custom financial planning process, ⁓ a lot of like reporting and data, and we just manage and track ⁓ dentist finances and make sure they end up in a good spot, safe and healthy and Happy, hopefully. Kiera Dent (04:15) which I love about you guys, Ryan, and I really think you guys do a great job. And this is something you've taught me. And we have a friend who said a great quote that I feel should be your quote. I can't give it like, so you can take it and like make your version. But they said like regular investing is like vanilla ice cream. It won't make anyone jealous, but it always tastes good. And I felt like that's such a great way to look at how you've taught me how to invest. ⁓ At the end of the day, it's just a small, consistent thing. So I think Dentist advisors does really well. And Ryan, something you've done for me. ⁓ Ryan Isaac (04:24) well. Okay, okay. Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. . Kiera Dent (04:44) Like it's so dumb, but I know you're watching me and I know like when I, like you're really not watching me, but I feel like you're watching me. Ryan Isaac (04:49) Yeah, well, let's hold that disclaimer here for a second. I see your numbers. I see your accounts. I see your emails. Every time you save money, I'm like, Kiera, good job in the email thread. Gold stars. Yeah. Kiera Dent (04:53) Like, I know he's not, like, he watches my account for sure. That's all it is. And I just know having Ryan there where I need to send it in every single month of what we're going to invest. We've talked about the plan has been such a game changer for me. So that's why I love Dentist Advisors. And like we said, we're now like taking our off ramp because Ryan and I want to talk about DSO sales. I think this definitely implies to a financial advisor. We have a lot of clients that we send to Dentist Advisors. We work such hand in hand with both sides. Like we love what you guys do. You love what we do. It's Ryan Isaac (05:19) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (05:30) Truly like the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich or whatever your favorite. If you want this to be meat and cheese, peanut butter and honey, whatever it is, I think it's the best duo. Yeah, exactly. That is the best. Captain Crunch, but would you rather Captain Crunch or Reese's? Or. Ryan Isaac (05:37) Captain Crunch in 2 % milk, you know. No. I would actually say fruity or cocoa pebbles, to be honest with you. Or cinnamon toast crunch. Can we arrive there? Okay. Kiera Dent (05:52) We both disagree on that. So cool. Okay, can handle Golden Grahams or are we like back to the s'mores run? Remember the s'mores Golden Graham? Ryan Isaac (06:00) Yeah, I do remember the scores. How are we like not landing on the same one at all? What about honey butches of oats? Wow. Okay. ⁓ Kiera Dent (06:05) It's okay. That's fine. I'm not like the biggest serial fan and I go through phases. I love Lucky Charms, but I'm not joking. Those marshmallows give me the chills. Like I can't crunch into it without it being like full body chills. So I don't know. weird. But back on this. So we've actually had a lot of clients that are debating of do I sell? I sell to a DSO? And I'm like, talk to freaking Ryan. Ryan Isaac (06:18) Yeah, it's like biting Styrofoam. Okay. All right. Okay. Okay. Anyway. Yeah. Yeah. you Kiera Dent (06:32) I don't know what you want to do for your retirement. I have no clue how this is gonna impact you with your taxes. I don't know all the stuff, but what I do know is I'm a freaking miracle girl, so we're gonna get you top dollar for your cell, but like let's talk DSO. Cause also like DSO to not DSO, like I don't know Ryan, there's a million things. So let's Rift. You wanted to talk about this. I love this. Let's do it. Ryan Isaac (06:41) Yes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, and so you said something a few minutes ago about ⁓ dentist investments. And yeah, like our job is to help manage investment money for people ⁓ in a really long term kind of boring way, if we're being honest. But yeah, it's very yeah, it's just like it'll be there forever. Just let it do its thing. But the biggest investment any owner is going to have is their practice. And that is the thing Kiera Dent (07:08) vanilla ice cream ish. Ryan Isaac (07:18) is why you and a team is so important because the thing they should protect above everything is their practice investment, their business investment. There's nothing more impactful to a dentist's entire life and not just their money, but their entire lifestyle, probably their mental health, their wellbeing, where and who they spend their time with. So it is by far the most important factor in all of this. And so the world that we're in now is that DSOs are an option to sell to, to work with, to become a part of. They are in some shape or form, you know, supposed to become the majority of the industry in the future. I think that's a broad category. think the category is more like group practice will become the majority of the industry. I'd love to hear what stats you've heard and what you actually see. think people talk about, you know, 60 to 70 % consolidation in the industry. becoming some kind of DSO or group practice. ⁓ yeah. Kiera Dent (08:19) Yeah, I was actually at an AI conference with that just literally this last week. And they said that they're estimating 65 % of the market will become in the DSL world in the next like five to 10 years. So I think a lot of people are expecting, which is so funny to me because I remember, gosh, I think I was Mark, this is a long time ago, we were at the dental college. And so we're probably talking like, Ryan Isaac (08:32) Uh-huh. Yeah, okay. Kiera Dent (08:46) 2018, 2019, I remember talking to the students, like, what do you think is gonna happen? And I'm like, I know I'm unpopular, because even Mark wasn't on board with this. And I'm like, I think I'm unpopular, but I'm pretty confident DSOs will be the future. And they're like, you're full of it. They're like, there's no way. And I'm like, I mean, I'm not emotionally invested in this, but if I look at what's going on, my husband's in healthcare. This is what happened to pharmacies. This is what happened to mom and pop shops, like for medical. Ryan Isaac (08:57) Mmm. Yeah. Kiera Dent (09:14) I cannot think for one second the dentistry and with the EBITDA like offers that you're getting, it doesn't matter. And Jason, were talking about this the other night. I'm like, even if doctors want to have a legacy practice, that's great. You sell to this person, but this person now is younger. They have more debt and DSOs is like one bad day and this DSOs right on their doorstep. They're going to sell. Like it's just, I mean, you've got to some really strong guts around you to not think about a DSO. And I think DSOs, Ryan Isaac (09:42) Hmm. Kiera Dent (09:44) can often hit you at emotional times. Like Brian, you know me. There have been times that I told you like someone offered me a buck for Dental A Team, they could have it like one bad day. It's just like shirt. Like everybody has it in business ownership. So I think that that's where the DSOs are super attractive to people. But like I was talking to an office yesterday who's considering working with us and they're like have a one year buyout. And they're like, we're thinking about doing this DSO. And I was like, all right, but like what's your ultimate end game? What are you trying to achieve? Ryan Isaac (09:46) Mm-hmm. yeah. Yeah. yeah. We all have those days. Yeah. Kiera Dent (10:12) you met with other people to talk about DSOs, there are other options and he's like, well, it's too big for these partners to buy. I'm like, well, it's actually not like there's ways for partners to buy you out if you want. think it's just, DSOs feel like the easy button, but I don't know if they're really easy. And I think that that's where I'm a little bit on the fence and I'm super jazzed for us to rift on. Is it really the best financial choice? Is it the best life choice? I don't know, Ryan, you know, the finances more than I do. just. Ryan Isaac (10:14) It's on. Mm-hmm. Same. Yeah. Yeah. Kiera Dent (10:40) I do good job of helping people get their assets where they want them to be. So they have choices and options of what they want to do. Ryan Isaac (10:42) You do. Yeah, so I think, you know, it makes a lot of logical sense, especially the way it started with DSOs, that it would have gobbled up a lot of the industry. Hearing 70 % made a lot of sense to me. Maybe we're just in a dip in a lull, which we totally have become, we've entered into that because of the, you know, the debt and rate situation that happened over last few years in inflation and, you know, just interest rates. Money got really expensive. It was hard for a lot of companies to grow across a lot of industries. And, uh, but, and I, I'm, uh, I want to say these statistics correctly, uh, from smarter people than me in the DSO space. I think there's something like maybe, you know, 350 to 400 technical DSOs in the country right now. And I've heard in multiple sources that up to a third of them are in some kind of financial receivership right now. Meaning, and I know you've seen this with clients too. DSOs have grown and they purchase and they borrowed money and then rates hit them and they grew too fast. They went ahead of themselves and they defaulted. And ⁓ there are some major DSOs, huge ones that I did not ever think would happen that went into default that are going bankrupt that are changing ownership. ⁓ People are losing their equity money, they're not going to get their payouts. ⁓ And they're they don't own their practices anymore. I mean, there, we have some clients in that situation. So Yes to the consolidation in the future of that because of just that's the nature of economy sometimes in industries. And I don't know if it's going to hit 70. I don't know. It makes me wonder. ⁓ Those multiples are down a lot than they than they used to be. And they'll probably you know, they'll probably fluctuate, come back up a little bit more when money gets easier. ⁓ Kiera Dent (12:22) I don't know anything. Ryan Isaac (12:36) Also, I think people are getting a little bit wiser to it. Do you see this? I mean, let's say three to five years ago, it was the most exciting thing to get an offer sheet across your desk and be like, know, some multiple of you, but this is insane, I'm done. I do find people way more hesitant and not as excited about that number anymore. What have you seen with that when people see those initial numbers? Kiera Dent (12:47) Made it. think people are way smarter. think the grads coming out of school have been trained on business a lot more than say dentists 20, 34 years ago are trained and not to say dentists 20, 30 years ago weren't. I just think it wasn't like we weren't talking EBITDAs. You weren't selling like this. So you didn't there was no need for it. ⁓ And I think in the past, I think the reason people are more skeptical right now, Ryan, is because they're hearing the like horror stories coming through. So people are like, hold on. Maybe it's not as like Ryan Isaac (13:12) It's different. Yeah. Kiera Dent (13:28) rosy as it was. I honestly like DSOs might be a little bit of dentistry's dirty secret. Like there's a small piece of me feeling that way and not all DSOs I'm not here to blanket statement it, but I do think there's like, think the dentist is the one getting ripped off in the whole scenario. like, because Ryan helped me, this is where I, guys welcome. This is what Ryan and I used to talk about off camera, but I'm just going to like have the conversation here because I'm curious. So your clients, okay, so hold on. Ryan Isaac (13:43) Mm-hmm. Yeah, let's do it. Yeah, huh? Kiera Dent (13:58) answer your question, no, they're not as excited about it. And also I think that they're being flooded with a bajillion offers. And so almost like overwhelm of who the heck do I have? Who do I trust? Who do I know? 400 DSOs out there. They're being bombarded every single day. I have heard dentists tell me they get four to five offers every single day of a DSO, which is why I'm like one bad day, you click open an email and like bottom, bottom, there you go. So I do think Bron and Man. Ryan Isaac (14:02) Yes. Yep. Yeah. Yeah, you're done. Like, yeah, that's the buyer. Yeah, take it. Yeah. Kiera Dent (14:22) Brandon Moncrief with Dental Transitions is probably the smartest DSO man I've met and I think you and I have circled. He's really brilliant on like who he knows offers that you can get like he kind of knows how to navigate the DSO world of what you want, which I think is awesome. But what I'm curious on Ryan. Okay, so you said you have clients. So when you sell to a DSO, there's lots of different makeups of how they can do these deals for you. But let's say there's I think the most standard one I usually hear is they pay you about 50 % of your practice is worth like you're giving it to them. Ryan Isaac (14:24) Yes. Yeah, I still send people there. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (14:52) You also have them 50 % in equity in their business, hoping like with stock shares, hoping that it builds and that's like basically your payout. So it helps with tax. It helps with like future investments of the EBITDA. Those are the things that they're going to be dealing with. But my question is, so like your clients, they sold, they don't own their practices anymore. They're an associate there now ⁓ and they're getting paid. They don't have to do the management, billing's taken off of them, hiring, all that. But let's say these, so let's say I sold to Ryan Isaac DSO. Ryan doesn't have a DSO just for clarity, but let's pretend I'm dentist. We got to make sure I don't want him getting in trouble. He's a financial advisor. So Ryan doesn't have it. okay, we're selling, okay, lies. We're selling it to Captain Crunch DSO. All right, let's just go safe. Captain Crunch DSO. Captain Crunch buys me. I'm now, I got my 50 % payout. have 50 % equity in Captain Crunch DSO and I'm now working as a dentist there, but I don't own my practice anymore. Ryan Isaac (15:23) Yeah, just so we're clear here. Yeah, yeah. I've highly regulated. Yeah, might be in trouble for that. Kiera Dent (15:49) Captain Crunch DSO is growing, growing, growing. Everything's looking good. I've got my stock in it. Captain Crunch loses its funding. They go bankrupt. What happens to me? Because odds are they go bankrupt. Another like lucky charms DSO is going to come buy Captain Crunch. Like they get a penny, dollar. What happens to me as the dentist when Captain Crunch goes under, but then lucky charms comes to buy me. How does that work for me as a dentist? Ryan Isaac (16:02) Yeah. Yeah, I'm watching that happen right now with a gigantic national specialty DSO with some clients. And what has happened is that their equity money is likely gone. So they got their payout money. Kiera Dent (16:19) Mm-hmm. Even with Lucky Charms coming in to buy it. My equity money's gone because it was with Captain Crunch. Do you love that I did cereal for you? Ryan Isaac (16:28) Thank I love it. It's so good. And I'm trying to like, like who's more evil in this hierarchy, you know? Kiera Dent (16:35) I think Lucky Charms isn't more evil. Lucky Charms is one who capitalized. They saw a dill. They don't care about the dentist. I'm not saying that they don't, but it's like hungry, hungry hippos. One goes out, someone's going to come buy it all. That's what they're going to do. Ryan Isaac (16:37) Who's more well capitalized? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, this would be such a good question for Brandon again, and I'll just second that every time someone has questions about deals, or they want to compare things, ⁓ or get to know the space a lot more, I send them to Brandon. So just find Brandon Monacree, if he's on all over the internet and all of our content. Yeah, there you go. So it depends on the structure of the deal. It depends on the fine print and the paperwork. ⁓ In the ones I'm seeing right now, these dentists Kiera Dent (17:04) dentaltransitions.com. Yeah, he's everywhere. Ryan Isaac (17:17) lot, their practices are not there. So their practices are still gone. And they likely are not going to they're definitely not going to get any return on their equity. Some of them depending on how early they got in might get their equity back or, or parts of their equity back. But a lot of it's just, you know, when another company when a big financial company comes in to save a bankrupt company, it's ruthless, you know, I mean, they're they're cutting and they're scrapping as much as they possibly legally can. they'll do that, of course, because that's good business for them. So what I'm seeing, and again, I'll just say that it's probably different in every single scenario of this. But what I'm seeing is one that happens. ⁓ These dentists are losing their practices, they're not getting any return on their equity money, and many of them probably won't even get their full equity back. Luckily, some of my clients that I'm thinking of were in early enough and the fine print of their deals was good enough that they're going to get some of their equity money back. Kiera Dent (17:48) course. Ryan Isaac (18:15) ⁓ that's it. They're done. So what really happened in that transaction was they got front loaded a certain amount of years of income, paid some taxes, paid off their debts and lost their practices and worked a job for three or four years at a very low salary compared to what they produce. ⁓ many of them got really burned out, bombed out, kind of lost their fire and spark for the work. ⁓ And they're back to square one. Some of them have enough money to be finished. What is interesting though is even the ones who have enough money to be finished are still contemplating starting or buying another practice where they can legally and doing like a really chill lifestyle two day a week thing. Really common. Other people will fully lose their equity. And in a situation, again, back to your point, a lot of people are Kiera Dent (18:54) and Ryan Isaac (19:05) Maybe it's not as excited about this. The multiples aren't what they were. Then they could come back. I don't know. A lot of people just say the longer this goes, the smaller the multiples will become, which is, yeah. No, we're definitely not. And so now we're talking about an offer where someone's coming to you to take away like your main, main asset, your cash cow, the biggest thing in your whole life. They're going to front load five or six years of income. You have to pay taxes and pay off your debt with that money first. Kiera Dent (19:13) which I would agree on that completely. I don't think we're half as high. Ryan Isaac (19:33) The deals that you mentioned, some are 50-50. I've seen them in thirds where it's like third buyout, third earn out where you have to keep producing and then a third equity. I've seen them 70-30, 60-40. They can really be any shape or size. ⁓ Yeah, but they're smaller. And so now we're talking about, you know, five or six years of front loaded income. You pay taxes, pay off your debt, and then you just hope that this company that bought you and essentially what's happening if you think about it. Kiera Dent (19:48) They really are. Ryan Isaac (20:02) You're taking like seven figures of money and you're putting it into a single stock. You're investing into a single stock and it's a very small privately held company. I know it feels safe and secure because it's your field, it's dentistry, know, all these things are, but you're taking seven figures of your money and you're putting into one single company where right now maybe up to a third of these companies are failing. Kiera Dent (20:08) Thank Ryan Isaac (20:30) It's not not a gamble, you know, and the whole kicker in all these deals, as you know, and your audience knows, Kiera is all in that equity piece. Everything else is just front loading your income for the next five or six years and taking away your ownership. And then, you know, really changing the nature of your career and your work. And it really does change people. It changes. And I'm not saying it's always for the worse, but it is change changes, teams changes, the patient experience changes, the culture and the vibe. Kiera Dent (20:34) huh. ⁓ huh. Mm-hmm. Ryan Isaac (21:00) And so if that one little equity piece does not pan out the way that they say it's going to, ⁓ you know, that's the part that everyone's kind of wising up to. And if you're under, let's say, your late 50s, if you're younger than your late 50s, I think it's becoming a tougher decision for people to make. in late 50s or above, it's kind of like, I'm done anyway in three or four or five years. Might as well get top dollar. even if the equity doesn't fully pan out all the way, it might be more than a private buyer. But even then, I've seen the math on a lot of things and like, it's close. And yeah, you've seen it all too. So yeah, it's tough. It's tough to watch the ones that fail. ⁓ Some of these, some of these, and you've probably seen, we're not going to name anybody, but you've probably seen them too. Huge practices, multi-location, huge DSOs that now... Kiera Dent (21:25) Mm-hmm. Agreed. Mm-hmm. Ryan Isaac (21:52) own these practices. And okay, here's a question for you. What do you think is going to happen, let's say 10 years down the road or longer, when all these DSOs have been bought by the next company and been bought by the next company? And then in the end, some like third and fourth party removed private equity firm, international private equity firms holding 10s of 1000s of dental practices around the country? What is that like in the industry? mean, you're in the practice as you know that you're like in the heartbeat of that. What does that mean for the industry? What does that feel like? Does it feel weird? Kiera Dent (22:27) It does feel weird. And I think this is where I've been, I don't know, Ryan, you know me. just sit over here and think of ideas all day long. I've been like, how can we like, hi, I'm Kiera. I live in Reno, Nevada right now. It's like, how can some, I feel like I'm like Dorothy in Kansas right now. It's fine. It wasn't the destination, but it ended up being, it's fine. It's got really great. No state income tax. All right. That's really one of the main reasons we're here. It's not. Ryan Isaac (22:42) I like to write now by the way. Just a little shout out. like to write now. Yeah. Loud and clear. Yeah. Yeah, fine. It's pretty in some seasons. There you Kiera Dent (22:55) But it's okay. We have Lake Tahoe. ⁓ Ryan Isaac (22:55) go. Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. Kiera Dent (22:59) But only half of Lake Tahoe because California owns the other half. So it's okay. But I've thought about it. like, how can, like, it's like I'm Dorothy in Wizard of Oz right now. It's like, how can we somehow influence these private equity firms? And there might be no way. But these are the questions I think of often, because I do think if we're not careful, it will radically shift the way dentistry is done. And it will turn into a business rather than into our Ryan Isaac (23:02) Yeah, you're half. Okay. Kiera Dent (23:24) our healthcare profession. I mean, I look at modern medicine, my husband's in it and it is a freaking drill machine. Like his number one thing was patient productivity and they had to have so many patients, otherwise they were going to fire providers. And their providers worked hard. They weren't getting paid what they like want to get paid. And so I'm actually watching in healthcare, lots of my friends in healthcare, nurse practitioners, doctors branch off and go open up their own practices because they're sick of working in modern medicine. So I'm like, Ryan Isaac (23:24) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kiera Dent (23:51) if we can look at modern medicine and see how the healthcare system has been working and how can we do something now as like you said, third, fourth remove private equity, owning all these dental practices, like is there a path? And I don't know, right? Like this is I feel like I'm like Dorothy sitting in Kansas of like how on earth can we influence it? But I'm like, if enough brilliant people start thinking this way, what can we do now to show that you can be profitable and ethical and still give great dentistry where we're not having to like, Ryan Isaac (24:08) Hmm. Yeah. Kiera Dent (24:21) not running it like a private equity business, but still showing. so Britt was like, we need to become the Wegmans. Like, have you been like up north, like Wegmans is an amazing grocery store. They're not the biggest, but they still are ethical. And I'm like, if we even had a few private equity that's third and fourth removed that would still run practices that way, I think dentistry would still feel the same. Something else though, that I think of like new dentists coming in that I think is really paramount is you've got to look at the future of the industry. I think the current doctors, Ryan Isaac (24:39) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (24:50) that have been in dentistry have like safeguarded and kept dentistry like we're healthcare when we want to be and we're not healthcare when it doesn't benefit us. Like we literally have straddled the spine line. It's still a little bit of the wild wild west dentistry is not as regulated as far as like our fees and like what we're able to charge in every single practice and like insurance is schmuck. get it. But I'm like, you also only have $2,000 of max most of the time that we're dealing with rather than it being like a hundred percent of what your patient base is and like what the patients are paying out. So I'm like, Ryan Isaac (25:11) Yeah. Kiera Dent (25:19) I feel the pioneers of dentistry have actually done a really good job of setting it up to where dentistry is still very profitable. It's still able to be its own thing that I'm like, let's, again, I feel like I'm like Dorothy sitting on my soap box in the middle of prairie fields and saying like, hey, why don't we take a pause and just think of like, what's the future of dentistry as now the future pioneers of dentistry? And what are we going to do to our profession? Yes, there's top dollar. Yes, there's things about it, but is there a way to influence? and make sure that the integrity of dentistry can maintain long-term. I have no answer to that, but again, this is Kiera Dent sitting on my podcast where I think that there is a voice and an influence and like on Dentist Advisors podcast, is there a way that we can influence our industry in ways that will protect and still pay out? Because I'm like, even if you don't get the 10X EBITDA, you still can get a freaking great payout if you do your life right to where you can be financially set up. Ryan Isaac (25:51) Mm-hmm. ⁓ Kiera Dent (26:17) still be able to sell your practice, not have to sell it in ways that could potentially hurt the industry. I'm not saying one's the right answer or the wrong answer. There's no judgment on my side. It's just, let's maybe think and consider how it could influence. Can we get people that could be private equity higher up that could help protect it? Those are things that, and again, I'm just Kiera Dent here in Reno, Ryan Isaac (26:22) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Same, okay. Okay. Yes. Kiera Dent (26:38) Yeah, of course. And for everyone listening, thank you for listening and we'll catch you next time. Ryan Isaac (26:37) Thank you. Kiera Dent (26:42) the Dental A Team Podcast.

After Meeting EP. 165｜美股美債將又大又美？2 大法案箭在弦上

MacroMicro 財經M平方

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 28, 2025 42:54

以伊戰爭暫時停戰，市場慢慢消退戰爭帶來的短期風險，回到持續正增長的軌道，而聯準會也釋出轉鴿的信號，市場再度聚焦審判日的到來以及美國有哪些即將公布的經濟措施與法案？本集邀請美國研究員 Ralice 來聊聊，大而美麗法案的後續、美國金融監管的鬆綁、以及 GENIUS 法案背後的隱藏目的！

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Shocking New Witness Revealed In Court!

Police Off The Cuff

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 6:10

Shocking New Witness Revealed In Court! #doordashwitness #idaho 4 case #anntaylor Shocking new witness may be able to identify Bryan Kohbeeger in a white Hyunda in front of 1122 King Road prior to the murders. This eyewitness testimony from a door dash driver could blow this case wide open. This witness known as MM is the second eyeball witness.

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Scotty Ray and Odie - 6-26-25

Secrets From The South

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 91:37

Shootings continue in Meridain Overnight- Two people were shot in separate incidents overnight. A string of accidents sent several people to the hospital Thursday afternoon. A three-car pile up slowed traffic near Rodney's Muffler, I-20 at MM 124 slowed traffic, a minivan crashed on Walker Bottom Road in the Clarkdale Community, totaling the vehicle. Newton PD is investigating a Death; no details have been released. Quitman welcomed the Groundbreaking Ceremony at Howard Industries, bringing jobs to Clarke County. #scottyrayreport #morning #weather #headlines

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DGS 298: From Crisis to Connection: Building Your Dream Property Management Business and Team

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 51:17

How did you end up in the property management industry? Becoming an entrepreneur is often a difficult and lonely path with many ups and downs along the way. Many property management business owners are miserable in their own businesses. In today's episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth expert Jason Hull sits down with property manager and DoorGrow client Derek Morton to discuss how he was able to build his property management business and team around himself. You'll Learn [01:53] The Entrepreneurial Struggle [09:03] Building a Business Based on Humanity and Care [26:48] The Impact of The Right Company Culture and Team [38:57] Masterminding with Savvy Property Managers Quotables “Property management really is a business of relationships.” “If people fail me, sometimes I don't have a proportional response. So why would I expect anyone else to act differently?” ”Your internal beliefs really, I think, shape the environment that we allow or create around ourselves.” “If you're relying on team members, it's really dumb to think you've got all of the best ideas and nobody else is as smart as you.” Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript [00:00:00] Derek: Sarah was like, "Hey, you did all this stuff, how did you do it?" And I'm like, I don't know. And so we went back and we ran the numbers. 88% of my growth has come from my network and just those relationships. [00:00:13] Jason: They say your network is your net worth, right? [00:00:15] Jason: Okay. I'm Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management business owners. For over a decade and a half, we have brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. [00:00:32] Jason: At DoorGrow, we have spoken to thousands of property management business owners coached, consulted, and cleaned up hundreds of businesses, helping them add doors, improve pricing, increase profit, simplify operations, and build and replace teams. We are like bar Rescue for property managers. In fact, we have cleaned up and rebranded over 300 businesses, done websites for hundreds more than that, and we run the leading property management mastermind with more video testimonials and reviews than any other coach or consultant in the industry. At DoorGrow, we believe that good property managers can change the world, and that property management is the ultimate, high-trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management business owners and their businesses. [00:01:16] Jason: That's our mission statement. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the bs, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now let's get into the show. [00:01:27] Jason: So I'm hanging out today with one of our clients, Derek Morton, over at Net Gain Property Management. [00:01:32] Jason: Derek, welcome to the show. [00:01:33] Derek: Thanks for having me. I'm excited. [00:01:35] Jason: So, Derek, you're doing a lot of unique things there and you've had a lot of success and things have been going really well. I'm excited to to, you know, get into you know, some of this unique stuff that you're doing and chat about this topic of 'from crisis to connection.' [00:01:53] Jason: And so to kick things off, tell everybody how did you get into— when did you first figure out you were an entrepreneur? Like how'd you get into business? And then maybe that'll segue into starting a property management business and so on. Give us some back background on you. [00:02:10] Derek: I still struggle viewing myself as an entrepreneur to be honest with you in that way. [00:02:16] Derek: Like I've done sales stuff growing up and my parents are like, you suck at this. Like, you're not going to be able to make a living. [00:02:23] Jason: They didn't believe in you. [00:02:23] Derek: No, they're very self-aware. Like, I mean, trust me, I understood like they were right. But like, what was funny is like on the sales, like I couldn't close but I could present and I could put on a show and make it entertaining. [00:02:37] Derek: And so, like, one of the things that I did is I sold Cutco knives. Okay. But I couldn't close. But I would have more people like, and I'd have a longer list of referrals of people's friends after the end of each one of the presentations than anyone else. But I couldn't close, so I was getting, I made a decent amount of money, because you got paid per presentation. [00:02:57] Derek: And they couldn't figure it out. And they sat in on one of my things and they're like, "you need to close the deal." And I'm like, "I don't know how to close the deal." I just, you know, and then I ran a snow cone shack, and that was probably one of the funnest things I ever did. And we went crazy with stuff. [00:03:10] Derek: Couldn't make any money, me and my partner, but we had a good time and made an impact. We had came up with all sorts of crazy combinations and all this time I was in the title industry when I was running that and marketing and just built relationships and that was all my sales, was just relationships. [00:03:26] Derek: I can't do hard sales like it makes me sick. Yeah. But the relationships and all that stuff comes naturally. And so, I mean that's— [00:03:35] Jason: and property management really is a business of relationships. [00:03:38] Derek: It is. [00:03:38] Jason: And people that lose sight of that think it's some sort of tech game or like a lot of these businesses have felt failed. [00:03:45] Jason: They just, they don't get it. [00:03:47] Derek: As you say, the deals close at the speed of trust. Yeah. I do say, and so see, I listen sometimes and sometimes, enough to gather a few things. But being able to work on those relationships and just see people has like, been that secret elixir. [00:04:03] Derek: And so when I was looking to start a property management company my parents were like, "you're an idiot. You failed at everything else." Even my wife was nervous. The only thing that convinced her was we were in the process of building a house and we were going to rent out our town home. And she's like, "there's too many property management companies where we're at. I'm not going to pay, you know, who's going to pay 10% or whatever for this, like, when you can do it yourself." And I said, "okay, you're going to do this on your own." And so I just let her do it. And she had asked questions and I said, "Google it." And as someone who's married yourself, you can understand how well that went over. [00:04:39] Derek: And so, and then hearing everyone's stories and different things like that, my wife, by the time we had it rented out was like, "okay, you have my support." And then the, you know, the rest is history. Rough first year, and then we've just been on a rocket ride since. [00:04:53] Jason: So you, how important do you feel like it was to get your wife's support? [00:04:59] Jason: I've been the entrepreneur that didn't have support in a previous marriage, like that was a rough thing. [00:05:05] Derek: Oh it's a hundred percent. Like, I mean, it's the only way I could do like, I mean, so about six months in, so I didn't take, really take a paycheck the first year. We were living off savings. Yeah. It was kind of a struggle. My partner was looking at me like, "you're going to make this work." And once again, like, I struggled one, you know, with hard sales and the hard part that I didn't realize that, you know, I was marketing for title companies, so I had all these real estate agent contacts. But it's a town. It's notorious. When you try something new, they're like, "we know you as the title guy. We don't know you as the property management guy. That's a different thing." And so I was like, "oh they know me, trust, and they sent me all these deals to close for them, you know, for the client. [00:05:42] Derek: So they're going to try. And they're like, it's different. And I'm like, okay. Yeah. So I didn't anticipate that, but I remember one time, my partner had set up with the real estate brokerage he was in the management company or the broker of the business. Were going to start a statewide management company. [00:05:59] Derek: And they were going to have me run Cedar and we had a conversation and my partner was laughing because I was, I had no leverage. But I was kind of belligerent because I'm like, your software sucks. Like, I know I don't have a whole lot of clients, but like why would I ask them to take a step down on the level of service? And with that being said, I'm like, I have a family to provide for, and I'm like, the dream's dead. Everyone's right, right? I can't do sales. I'm not an entrepreneur. I can't work for anyone else either, so I'm like, I'm kind of screwed. [00:06:26] Jason: I'm unemployable. That kind of means you're an entrepreneur if you're unemployable. [00:06:30] Derek: I mean, that's the funny thing is my family's like, "why don't you find a job?" I'm like, "I tried." All these companies, like, "dude, you've done so many cool, amazing things. We love you and everything. We can't hire you." "Why not?" "You just don't fit our culture." And I'm like, "**** you!" Oh yeah that's probably why I don't fit your culture. [00:06:45] Derek: Right. And so like I had at that point decided I was going to sell out and I'm like, okay, I'll work for something else and if not something else, I'll just kind of, this will be the next step. I'll just balance and then figure out where I go to next. [00:06:56] Sarah: Yeah. [00:06:57] Derek: But I woke up at like three o'clock in the morning and I'm just like, I can't do it. [00:07:00] Derek: I can't do it. And told my wife, I said, "I can't sell." And she's like, "okay, but when are you going to make money?" "I don't know. You know, I just know I can't sell." And I went to my business partner and I'm like, "I can't sell." And he looks at me and he is like, "I've seen you do dumber stuff. So, okay. What's your plan?" [00:07:21] Derek: "I don't have a plan." And then I remember. So I'm just like, all right. Like I have to figure this out. Two weeks later, an agent buddy of mine like calls me and he is like, "I am tired of my wife doing property management. Come in, let's talk." And at this point I think I was like at 40, 40 units. And you know, accounting's not my strong point. [00:07:41] Derek: because everyone's like, "oh, 40 units, you should been making money." I'm like, I was just trying to figure out the flow of money. Like that's not my strong point. [00:07:47] Jason: And so this is the crisis. And the crisis to connection is like, you were just like trying to figure out mm-hmm we need money. Mm-hmm. [00:07:55] Derek: And and so he goes, "here's the deal you pay me, you know, one month's management fee and they're all yours. Here's 25 units." We did the math, it was like five grand. And what's funny is my business partner's like "you do not make a deal without talking to me." We were 50: 50 partners and we'd always joke around about like, Hey, I'm going to use my 50% majority and make this decision. [00:08:17] Derek: And we just, you know, this is kind of, we were interacted. So I came out of that meeting and I said, "I'm buying them." And he was pissed. He is, like "I told you—" and I said, "dude, it's $5,000." And he's like, oh yep, nope, we're good. We're good. We didn't tell anyone. Didn't make a big announcement. Yeah. But there was something about that moment like that led to credibility. [00:08:37] Derek: For whatever reason there was just a threshold of units. All of a sudden, now I'm at 65 and I was like, oh, like you're kind of legit. And then it's just kind of has been spiraling since then. And within six months I'd hired my first employee. because we were at a hundred units and I was adding 20 that month. [00:08:51] Derek: But but yeah, so that's just kind of the story and I still laugh because I don't view myself as an entrepreneur. It's just kind of, I view myself as a guy who's really good at relationships and magic happens with that. [00:09:03] Jason: So, and you know, you mentioned at the beginning that you really, that's kind of your area of genius is you're really good at connecting with people and building relationships. [00:09:13] Jason: One of the things that I, you know, that one of the gifts I see in you that I've noticed, you know, as a coach is you genuinely care about people. You genuinely care about your team. You genuinely care about your clients, you care about the tenants. And I think it's that care that's really allowed you to have the success that you've been seeing. [00:09:35] Derek: Oh, a hundred percent. Like we, we laugh all the time. I said people as a whole are awesome and so good. There's so many incredible things. Individuals can be idiots, some, you know, me included. I'm an individual. But by and large, I mean that's, [00:09:48] Jason: That's a very different belief though. And there's a lot of people that are like, "I don't like people, but I like you." [00:09:53] Jason: You know, or stuff like this. My wife's Sarah, she's like, "I don't generally like people, but I like you." You know, she likes Derek, you know, but Yeah. But you have this belief that people are awesome and I think that belief is, you know, that's a unique belief. [00:10:07] Derek: Yeah. And I, you know, and especially in property management, like I, I mean, "oh, you're going to get yelled at all the time." [00:10:12] Derek: And I'm like, yeah. I mean, yeah. You know, sometimes it's deserved, sometimes it's not. And as long as you can separate those, like that's what's amazing. Like sometimes you're like, we failed and I can't control how people are going to respond. because if people fail me sometimes I don't have a proportional response. [00:10:27] Derek: So why would I expect anyone else to act differently? And so we just own it and try to fix it and apologize and, you know. [00:10:36] Jason: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that another attribute, you know, there's generally, you know, the idea of not having to be perfect or look perfect all the time, there's a certain level of humility. [00:10:48] Jason: You joke about yourself like a lot, and you know, you, even from the outset of this, you know this podcast you recognize you're not this perfect unflawed person. And I think there's, that level of humanity, it's disarming, it allows people to feel even safer. And I think a lot of property managers listening could take note is they're always trying to maintain this perfect perception that there is this thing that never has a problem. [00:11:15] Derek: Oh, like, yeah. I mean, yeah, it's life's messy. I'm messy. Like, I mean, like everyone's messy. Yeah. We try to put on this show, you know? And I mean, that's one of the things, like part of the, my background coming into property management has given me the different perspective. I mean, so I served on the board for the local homeless shelter. [00:11:37] Jason: Okay. [00:11:37] Derek: And so, like I saw on a day-to-day basis, like people going through crisises and seeing them and realizing, I'm like I was one or two decisions, or one or two friends from being there. [00:11:50] Jason: Yeah. [00:11:50] Derek: And so being able to recognize like that going, you know, if I would've gone to this, or if I would've done this, or, I mean, I can count on one hand, like times in my life that I'm like, you know, that was divine intervention. [00:12:05] Derek: I had a friend gimme a call at the right time and invite me to go do that before I did something stupid. You know, and it's like, I tell my kids all the time, I said, you're going to make mistakes. You know, the deci the hard part is making sure that those mistakes aren't life changing. And unfortunately, outside of a few, like big obvious ones, you never know when those life changing ones are until you know they're past. [00:12:27] Jason: You know, I really believe we are the creators of our own reality, and I believe that your belief that in divine intervention, belief in God being able to take care of you and that you trusting in that has allowed you to avoid some of those. Because I'm sure when you were talking to people at that local homeless shelter, you're getting this perspective, oh man, they just made one bad decision that led to this. Or they were just like, I'm one step away from this. But they probably, a lot of them you probably picked up, they have a different belief system than you do. [00:13:01] Derek: Yeah. And I mean, what's fascinating though, when you work with those, they're generally trying to change. [00:13:06] Jason: Yeah. [00:13:07] Derek: And this is a perspective of it, and it was eyeopening. So like when we set up our first transitional house for men and women coming out of homelessness and domestic violence, my kids still call it the stinky house. Like it was the stink, it was stinky house, it was a dump. [00:13:18] Derek: And like we fixed it up. Like, I mean, I've told the story like Home Depot, like called and walked off the job. because they were pulling up carpet. There was like dog crap, like somehow shoved underneath the— like, like, it was horrible. They had like 20 people and 15 dogs and 13 cats living here before this owner bought it. [00:13:37] Jason: Yeah. [00:13:38] Derek: And he wanted to do student housing. And we're like, and I was like, all right, let's do it. [00:13:42] Jason: Because all their parents paying the bill want them to be in that property. [00:13:45] Derek: This was not like student housing at the time, but he is like. You know, as far I'm like, and it was still, to this day, it's like one of the best property pitches I've ever done. [00:13:53] Derek: And I'm still kind of a little bitter and I still manage this owner. I'm like, "we've done a lot of good with this house. But remember that pitch?" And it is like, "I know," and that pitch would've cost me a lot of money that I wouldn't have been able to make. It was awesome. It's what sold me on you and trust me. [00:14:09] Derek: because you put a lot of work into that. And so we pivoted because it's, you know, it was funny. It's like going back to divine intervention. Yeah, he spoke numerous times. He's like, "this house was speaking to me." Like, he's just like, "I have to have this house. I don't know why. I don't know what, despite everything," and so, you know, we kind of pitched and we made it up and worked with the homeless shelter going, here's what we think, there's, here's some funding. [00:14:33] Derek: Like, let's just figure it out. And he was on board and you know, so when we moved the first three in, they were so, so ecstatic. Hearing their stories, one of them grew up not far from where I grew up, and I laughed because, you know, he left where he grew up because he didn't want to get into drugs. [00:14:52] Derek: Lo and behold, he came to Cedar City and he got into drugs. So he left where I'm like, "dude, yeah, no wonder like you, you didn't do drugs in that area where you grew up? Like that's impress— but you got into it in Cedar?" he goes, "I know it doesn't track. I left to get away and then it was just. It just, you know," and it goes back to the connections that he made and the friends that he made and [00:15:12] Jason: Yeah. [00:15:13] Derek: And all of that, their ability, [00:15:14] Jason: ... really that's who you are and how you're showing up and your beliefs and what you feel you deserve and what you you feel you're worth. And so really boils down to your internal belief. [00:15:24] Jason: And your internal beliefs really, I think, shape the environment that we allow or create around ourselves. [00:15:30] Derek: Yeah. And these people like with, as their belief group, like their ability to celebrate like small victories. [00:15:37] Jason: Yeah. [00:15:38] Derek: That were just like, you wouldn't think we're that big. I remember they threw a party— [00:15:42] Jason: Things they didn't have that most people would take for granted. [00:15:44] Derek: Yeah. I mean, the one got a job and he was able to hold it for a week, and so they threw a party. They bought a big old huge cake. I don't know how they got the money held. And they're like— [00:15:53] Jason: yeah. [00:15:53] Derek: They're like, "he kept his job for a week. He hasn't done that for years. Like, we're going to throw a party. You should come." [00:15:59] Jason: Right. Celebrate the wins. [00:16:01] Derek: I mean, they had a cake and they were celebrating and like the music was loud, and I'm just like, " you kept a job for a week and you're celebrating?" Like, it was just I'm like, is this real life? Like this is, we're celebrating? I'm like, this is like common sense. Like, you know what I mean? [00:16:18] Derek: But it was a big deal for them. And then, you know, same thing with— [00:16:21] Jason: it's common for you and it's maybe common for others, but for some that's not common. And so, yeah. We got to celebrate progress. [00:16:29] Derek: Like, it was amazing. And just, you know, when you look at their sobriety coins and stuff they get at, those are always huge things. [00:16:35] Jason: Yeah. [00:16:36] Derek: To do and being able to, you know, and they have to fight. Like, holy crap. Yeah. I mean, I wish people fully understood how hard they have to fight. [00:16:45] Jason: Well, I think it was Alex Hormozi one of my former mentors and coaches, and he was also in a mastermind with me. He mentioned that you don't get self-esteem or self-worth by saying a bunch of affirmations in the mirror. [00:16:59] Jason: You get it by getting evidence. And these little wins that they're getting is giving them some evidence that maybe is in conflict with the current identity they've been holding. [00:17:09] Derek: Yeah, I mean. When you look at these people, I mean, they, you know, and I love them. I love that population. [00:17:15] Derek: Like it, it's amazing. [00:17:17] Derek: The insights that I've gotten into life and everything is unbelievable. And it's changed the way I operate my business and understanding to make sure that we can try to find support because you really are, there's these moments as we hinted at that you know, like, I think sometimes we have an inkling that these are moments, right? [00:17:37] Derek: But not always. And there's these moments that if you can get the support or the right person, like they're life changing and they go it makes a huge impact. Way more than it would on my life. [00:17:49] Jason: Yeah. [00:17:49] Derek: But it's huge on theirs. [00:17:51] Jason: Yeah. So I mean, and this goes to your kind of core values that you've kind of built your business and your life around is, you know, related to contribution and making a difference. [00:18:02] Derek: Yeah, I mean, it's something, I mean, my, my parents raised me that way and I laugh like they, they always think that they failed me. because I just I'm different and quirky as you can attest. Yeah. And they just are like, you are not our child. Like we don't know where you came from. [00:18:17] Derek: And I just said, "I am both of your guys' best and worst qualities on steroids. So you struggle because you're looking in a mirror going, that could have been me. And instead we made it and now we can't control it." But I know my dad and mom were always heavily involved in different things and I watched that. [00:18:35] Derek: My poor kids have experienced too. I don't think they're going to be as heavily involved because they've seen more of the bad as opposed to the good. [00:18:41] Jason: Okay. [00:18:41] Derek: Sometimes with being willing to put yourself out there and be involved. And we're in a small town, so my kids can't escape dad. They go over, "oh you're Derek's boy, or you're Derek's daughter," and they just go, "yes." [00:18:54] Jason: right. [00:18:54] Derek: But those values and being involved and realizing, you know, that was something that was instilled. Like, I can make a difference. And just, you know, my parents didn't put it this way. It's what I tell my kids all the time. I'm like, "you can go far in life. Just don't suck as a human being." Like you really just don't suck as a human being. [00:19:12] Derek: Like I said, my kids, my parents didn't put it that way. But they, I mean, it's through their actions and [00:19:18] Jason: stuff. [00:19:18] Jason: Are your parents, I mean, you strike me as pretty extroverted and connect and comfortable with people. Are your parents pretty introverted? [00:19:26] Derek: Actually, my mom after the divorce, like she came out like pretty extroverted. [00:19:32] Derek: My dad was pretty extroverted. Okay. I grew up pretty introverted and it's still like my social battery, like it winds down and it's like, yeah I'm on a battery. When that battery's done, I just like but I've trained myself and I've just had to do so many different things that I'm like, I put myself out there and here's what it is, and that's how I have to get stuff done. [00:19:52] Derek: It's the only way to accomplish it. And then I can decompress and not have to worry about people until the next time. [00:19:58] Jason: So, yeah, I'm very much the same way. I would categorize myself as an ambivert. So give people some context of kind of your journey here. How long ago did you start this property management business? [00:20:11] Derek: I started nine years ago in July. [00:20:13] Jason: Okay. Nine years ago. And how many units are you at right now? [00:20:18] Derek: We're at 650 units. Nice. [00:20:20] Jason: Okay. Yeah, and I generally don't see people break four or 500 units unless they've got really good culture and a really good team. It just generally doesn't happen. And so you've built kind of a, it sounds like a unique culture. [00:20:33] Jason: You had mentioned earlier you didn't fit other people's culture. I. Like it was hard for you to get a job or stay in a job because you just didn't fit. In what way did you not fit that culture and how has that changed the type of business you've created around you? Because you have a very different culture in your business. [00:20:49] Jason: Obviously you fit in it because you're at the helm. [00:20:52] Derek: It's my culture. [00:20:53] Jason: It's yours. Yeah. It's your culture. So you built the business that didn't exist that you could work at. You know? [00:21:00] Derek: So I'm pretty outspoken. And that doesn't always fit with the typical corporate job or working for other people. [00:21:07] Derek: because I'm not afraid to be like, "this is dumb and here's why I think it's dumb." And then with that, I think the other thing is I'm not as risk averse. I was really risk averse at one point in time, and then I got fired. And at that point I was like. Yeah, screw it. Like, like I survived once and so like, let's try this. [00:21:27] Derek: Um, Why not? You know, I like, but I also do a lot of research, so like, what seems risky the most like, is just the next step and it's logical. And I'm like, okay, yeah, we're going to do that. And you know why? Everyone's like, I, you know, I can't believe you're doing that. And I'm like, why? Like, this is the next step. [00:21:46] Derek: Why are you doing what you do? Like. You're selling yourself short. Like this is not risky to me. Yeah. [00:21:51] Derek: And so because I just, you know, you get all the things in place and then you make the leap and you know there's going to be mistakes going back to, you know, the messiness. You're like, okay, I make that leap at 60, 70% certain and, you know, and realize that 30% may kill me off. [00:22:06] Derek: But because there's always stuff I miss, but, you know, life's more enjoyable that way and so those cultures just don't fit. You know, a lot of corporate and working for someone else. And then with us, like, you know, we try to let the girls in my office, I have three full-time employees. [00:22:20] Derek: And then and then a virtual assistant that, you know, they can speak openly and sometimes that is pretty open and honest with both of us with all of us. Yeah. And can be pretty gruff, but that's what we need. And like I tell them all, I said, "if you think I'm being an idiot, you can tell me I'm an idiot. Just, you know, make sure you have the evidence." [00:22:37] Jason: How would you describe the culture then in your business? Like everybody has a voice. You mentioned outspoken, you mentioned basically, it sounds like you're willing to take feedback and you know, and I would imagine that allows the business to innovate and move forward much faster than most companies that don't foster environment of feedback or honesty. [00:22:58] Derek: I mean, there's a lot of times the girls in my office are right. They see stuff that I don't see. Yeah. [00:23:03] Jason: If you're relying on team members, it's really dumb to think you've got all of the best ideas and nobody else is as smart as you. [00:23:10] Derek: Well, and they, and we all balance each other out. [00:23:12] Derek: Like, you know, as you in your coaching terms I'm the visionary, right? The craziest thing you ever told me when we did the jumpstart. [00:23:19] Jason: Yeah. [00:23:19] Derek: And I still laugh. For this past year and I wanted to, I brought it up at DoorGrow Live as part of the breakout session. When we did that, you're like, dude, you thrive in chaos. And I'm like, nah, yeah, maybe like, they're like, no, that's your life. And then as I was going through and putting together that breakout session, I'm just like. Jason was right, like is the girls are all stressed and everything. And my wife's like, what is going on? I'm like, this is amazing. [00:23:45] Derek: Like every said, you know, I got to figure out the student housing thing. And then we got this and we got this. And I'm like, this is fantastic. My mind's on overload. I'm going a million miles an hour, and I'm just like, this is great. All well, the girls are like ready to be balled, you know, baller than me pulling their hair out and, you know, and all of this stuff. [00:24:02] Derek: But that's where the balance comes in. [00:24:04] Derek: And so, because with a visionary, there's certain tendencies that are pretty horrible and self-destructive that I've learned. [00:24:12] Jason: Yeah. [00:24:12] Derek: That have, it's been painful lessons over the years. [00:24:16] Derek: Which is why like, we spent the last three years really just cleaning up. Most of the stuff is still cleaning up our database from like eight years ago. That's like, why is not all this information in the property? I was just running, you know, who has time for that? [00:24:29] Derek: And so having that balance has been huge to kind of tone down those different aspects of my personality. So that we can move forward in a way that works and fit that's much better for us, much better for our owners that we work for, and much better for our tenants. [00:24:50] Jason: Yeah. Well, you know, yeah I definitely can thrive in chaos and I think those that a lot of visionaries that might be like that, that are listening, that, you know, there's a certain amount of chaos that we feel really effective in while the everybody else are like freaking out. Sometimes I call it the Amon principle because like you've got, I was raised Mormon, and in that, there's this story where like, they're running around, freaking out. "We're going to get killed by the king, because the, these bad guys scatter our flocks." And Amon was the one that was like, "Hey. There's chaos. Here's an opportunity. I can create something out of chaos." And that he was able to show up as a leader. And everybody's like, "yeah, we'll do whatever you say because we're all going to die probably." So anything's better than dying. So they're like, let's do what this guy says and instantly is leading a group, even though he is the new guy. [00:25:40] Jason: Those are those in Myers-Briggs that have a P at the end that are listening. Like the raw material of chaos and new ideas and different things allows you to formulate some new thinking and to innovate and to create stuff. [00:25:52] Jason: Whereas those js, they're like, they're the ones that kind of keep us stable and they think inside the box and the box is a nice container and we need those team members that like can keep us a little bit, you know, protected and away from the, a little bit too crazy. And sometimes I jokingly call them the crusher of all hopes and dreams, but they keep us grounded and they keep us connected to reality and they protect the business, and they help us know when we're getting a little too wild, but we're the ones that stretch them outside the box. [00:26:22] Jason: We're the ones that help them lean into new ideas. And so I think depending on what you are as a business owner, we need that alternative. We need somebody that kind of can stretch us into growth or stretch us into maybe constraint and into some guardrails and some protective measures. And having a good planning system eventually and having team members that have a voice, I think is really important. [00:26:48] Jason: So. You built the business and built this culture and in nine years getting to 650 units that's, you know, that's no small feat. That's pretty decent growth. How have you gotten most of the doors up to this point? [00:27:02] Derek: This is what's crazy. So when I was asked to do that breakout session and Sarah was like, "Hey, you did all this stuff, how did you do it?" And I'm like, I don't know. Yeah. And so we went back and we ran the numbers and so 88% of my growth has come from like my network and just those relationships. [00:27:22] Jason: They say your network is your net worth, right? Yeah. So, [00:27:25] Derek: so I mean, current owners expanding their portfolio, which is like awesome, right? [00:27:29] Derek: Because that means you're doing a really good job. They're like, "Hey, I'm comfortable, I want to buy more." [00:27:33] Jason: Yeah. [00:27:34] Derek: Then they refer their friends. And then just kind of my group of friends that I have and then agents relationships that I've had over the years. Yeah. And so really only like 12% of my business has come from Google over the years, which was eyeopening. [00:27:48] Derek: Yeah. You know, because you hate when I say this phrase, but I don't know any other way like. [00:27:53] Derek: You know, the really the ethoses of our companies, we just try not to suck. And I'm like, that was like the most— [00:27:58] Jason: yeah, [00:27:58] Derek: the best validation of that philosophy. I haven't figured out a better way to say it, to make it more Jason approved. [00:28:06] Derek: But it was awesome. Like, I mean, and so, and it was just validation for all the crazy stuff we've done. Like the owner's conference we do, the owner's gifts. [00:28:16] Jason: Yeah, you do some unique things. [00:28:18] Derek: Like just all those different things that it was like, alright, like the craziness worked. Like it was, you know, I have my own way of doing things. [00:28:25] Derek: I have my own way that I view the world. And that was like the best validation ever. Like it was awesome. And it was empowering because it just. You know, it played into my strengths as opposed to making, you know, cold calls and trying to do that way where I'm not as good at. It was a slower growth. [00:28:41] Derek: It was a slower burn. But now it's just— [00:28:44] Jason: now you can build systems for growth and we're working on some stuff with you, which is, which [00:28:48] Derek: is the step that we're, that I'm on now, so. [00:28:51] Jason: So, you know, there's a lot of property managers listening that maybe they have maybe more similar personality to you and they're good with people and they can make friends. [00:29:01] Jason: But one of the challenges I've seen with some of these individuals. They get stuck in this thinking as a business owner, that they have to be a business owner and what that looks like, and maybe it's more that corporate environment and they're like, I got to step out of being the guy that's connecting and networking and creating relationships and friends, and I've got to run this business and do all this stuff that's like not even aligned with their personality. [00:29:22] Jason: And so they really, it prevents them from being able to grow and creates a business that makes a miserable job for them. And then there's those listening that are like, "man, I suck at friends. I don't believe that people are awesome, as Derek says. And I just, I'm not into connecting with people," and they need to maybe. [00:29:40] Jason: You know, get a business development manager or salespeople or that like people, that can connect with people to bring in business and that's not their strength, you know? And so I think it's really awesome that you've been able to focus on building a business that you actually enjoy being in where most business owners think they need to build a business to please everybody else. [00:30:01] Derek: Well, and this is really a credit to you, Jason. So, I mean, I've been with you just over a year now. [00:30:06] Derek: Like I stumbled across you. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it's [00:30:09] Jason: been a while. Little while. I didn't realize it's been that long. [00:30:11] Derek: Yeah. Like, just kind of stumbled across you. because we'd, I had owners tell me like, "Hey, you need to expand up north and manage our properties. It's no longer a question of of if, you can no longer tell me no, it's a matter of when." I'm like, I can't do that, that my mind doesn't work that way. There's a reason I've been telling you no for years. [00:30:27] Jason: Yeah. [00:30:28] Derek: And so like we just stumbled across you and you know, I signed on pretty quick. [00:30:33] Derek: Yeah, because, you know, you spoke to me like you understood kind of at a level that I'm like, yeah, you know where I'm at. I understand, [00:30:39] Jason: I understand your level of crazy for sure. [00:30:41] Derek: I'm still that, like I'm in parts of the business that I'm not good at. I've pulled back so much and I'm in the process of pulling back more. [00:30:51] Jason: Well, what do you feel like over this year, what are some of the changes that you feel like you've made or that have been beneficial? How did. DoorGrow, me, Sarah, team help. Like what's changed? [00:31:03] Derek: So one, trusting those that I hire, like I've had amazing staff, you know? [00:31:08] Derek: Yeah. But I'm also like, I need to do this. I'm the owner. And so being able to offload some of that. And so when you look the biggest thing is, you know, we all have certain ways that we think our business needs to look right, certain positions, we need to do this, we need to do that. And you gave me the freedom, and this is going to be kind of counterintuitive, but the time studies. [00:31:32] Jason: Yeah. [00:31:32] Derek: You know, like was eye opening. because it's like, oh yeah, let's just take that off the girls' plate. Like, they don't like doing that. Why am I having them do that? Like, okay, so where does this need to go? And so being able to shift some stuff and now like now it doesn't matter, like what it looks like. It's based on my current staff. [00:31:51] Derek: And you know what I need and what the business needs. And so now like as I scale, I don't know what it's going to look like and nor do I care. [00:32:00] Jason: Because you feel like you have a system for figuring out [00:32:04] Derek: Yeah. Like, I mean, you, I remember you telling me that you know, each progressive time study, you're going to get more mad at yourself. [00:32:13] Derek: And I didn't believe it. because at first I'm like, oh yeah, like I love doing the showing. It's like, no problem. You know, I'll keep the girls in the office. Like, like I said, I love people. So me interacting with people you know, a lease and everything's like, dude, I love this property. [00:32:25] Derek: Like, cool, what do you do? Like, and just be able to like, I want to rent from this guy. And all of that. And then just certain other things. And so then the second time study I did, I was like a little more aggravated. And then the one I did in January with the girls in my office, because I said, we're going to do one and, you know, and kind of get some stuff into place for as we continue to grow and what that needs to look like. My whole thing was like, why am I doing this? He was all like, I was angry. Yeah. And Shaunna, as we're going through this, she goes, "your whole thing's angry." I'm like, "yeah, I'm shocked." [00:32:53] Derek: Like this was the worst thing ever. Like I was pissed. I'm like, why am I still doing showings? This needs to get off my plate. [00:32:58] Derek: And she's like, you love doing showings? And I'm like, I do, but it's stupid for me to be doing showings. Like it just makes no sense. And so like over time having that and looking at the girls time studies and seeing certain trends, I'm like, okay, like yeah, I've got this. [00:33:13] Derek: I'm like, I have data and we're going to do another one here at the end of June to kind of make our next step because we're looking at another hire that we're trying to figure out exactly. This one will be, honest and frank conversations between me and my staff because I'm like, this is what I think we need and we can have them do. [00:33:28] Derek: And I think this is what they think going to be and well, so it may come to rock paper scissors, we'll see how that how that's decided. But having that time study and realizing. Like systems and people, you know, peoples and processes, right? You can, as long as you have those in place, you can scale. [00:33:42] Jason: So for those listening, they're like, "time study. Like what? Like tracking your time?" Like could you explain to them the time study process and why it's beneficial? [00:33:50] Derek: So it's basically every 15 minutes, here's what I did. And was it, you know, was I interrupted? Is this something I enjoy doing? Is this something I don't enjoy doing? Yeah. And so you can learn, you know, how to minimize the interruptions, you know, if there's certain things. [00:34:04] Derek: And then, you know, how do you get some stuff that you don't enjoy doing as much? You know, there's always the nature of it. There's always going to be things you don't enjoy doing, right? Yeah. But if you can kind of farm those off and then let those focus on. You know, those that are, be good at that be able to take that on because they actually enjoy doing that. [00:34:24] Derek: I think you described it to me like, because it was like, this doesn't make any sense. You're like, how many plumbers are there in the world and they love it. [00:34:32] Jason: Yeah, [00:34:33] Derek: they love swimming in the muck and here's what it is and they make good money with it. And I'm like, that makes sense to me. Like it just, it's, I'm like, oh yeah, there are a lot of plumbers. [00:34:40] Derek: Yeah, there, [00:34:41] Jason: there's people that love doing everything that you don't enjoy doing. There's somebody out there that loves doing that and I think the time study, the purpose of it, isn't just to see where your time goes, there is that advantage, but it's really to figure out, not just time, but it's to figure out energy, like which things are giving you life, which things are taking it away? [00:34:59] Jason: What are the plus signs? What are the minus signs? And I love that you're already having team members do it because if you want to keep team members, and keep them happy and have really good culture and really good team, you want to move them towards their areas of genius, the things that they're naturally inclined to be great at in their personality. [00:35:15] Derek: Well, and it also like the way we did it, I had, I promised the girls, I said, I'm not looking at what you're doing. I know you're doing your job. [00:35:21] Jason: Yeah. [00:35:22] Derek: And they had all come from a corporate environment, so when they're hearing time studies, they like, there was huge fear. [00:35:27] Derek: There's a reason it was took nine months after I hired you, before I was finally like, you need to do this, right? Like, I'm going to die on this sword and you're going to have to trust me that I'm not looking at going, "Hey, like why are you doing this instead of you doing this?" and so when I went to with Shaunna, like I looked at it and we went through, I was like, man, we're taking a lot of phone calls. [00:35:48] Derek: Is there ways we can do that? And not that we had to make out actions on any of that right now, but it's like it started the conversation that now even six months later are starting to come to fruition that, that look, hey, like we are still dealing with a lot of this. We're dealing with a lot of this. Is there ways we can do this? [00:36:04] Derek: Things that I've put on the back burner for years, I'm like, I really need to look into this. That, like, looking at it, I'm like, oh yeah, this is like crisis. Like I've failed my staff, right? [00:36:14] Jason: Yeah. [00:36:15] Derek: And so kind of put some of those solutions in place and get answers for them and make things like that work. [00:36:19] Derek: So it was eyeopening, but it doesn't really. You don't matter how it looks. I mean, so like, I joke all the time, you know, at one point in time my office staff, because you're used to, when you hear property management, like, oh, you have a leasing agent, you have a maintenance coordinator, you have, you know, your office manager and the grocery, oh, you have a regional manager. [00:36:39] Derek: My staff at one point in time was a student life coordinator, a housing advocate, and an office queen. That was her technical term. Right. We even gave her a crown. When I went to London, I found a shirt that had a queen. And so like, we got her that, right. It was, it was on her business cards and everything. [00:36:54] Derek: Okay. But it doesn't matter. Like, and titles don't matter. Like, it's just a matter of putting them in the position to where they and the business can succeed. [00:37:04] Jason: I mean, really a lot of business owners are trying to optimize their team through micromanagement and through KPIs and through metrics and trying to force them to perform better. [00:37:14] Jason: And our philosophy at DoorGrow is quite different. Like we're basically by doing time studies and by setting really good culture and establishing that we're optimizing based on personalities. Which is fundamentally way more effective. And so your business from the ground up is becoming more and more optimized based on your talent and they're able to perform at a much higher level. [00:37:37] Jason: Also, by doing the time studies you had mentioned getting clear on interruptions. Interruptions of that hidden thief in a property management business I talk about. And so by getting your team conscious of these interruptions and taking a fresh look at them. Do they need to happen? Most property management companies give their tenants and their owners a completely blank check to steal their money, steal profitability, and to increase operational costs. [00:38:01] Jason: They're like, call us anytime. And they just think, "we just got to add more staff and more phones and more everything." And so by your team doing time studies, they're becoming aware of interruptions, interrupting each other, interrupting you, like all that. They're starting to become conscious that this— [00:38:16] Derek: or me interrupting them. [00:38:18] Jason: Yes. [00:38:18] Derek: Like that came out. I'm like, [00:38:20] Jason: Derek interrupted me five times on my time study. What the hell, Derek, why? Like, why can't, that came up quite a bit. Let's find another system, right? because there's Derek's sneaker net in the office walking in, interrupting, and you know. Yeah. So taking away Derek's blank check to disrupt his own team maybe. [00:38:39] Derek: Yeah. That's when we build a new office it's mandatory that I have my own space. Right now we have an open concept. [00:38:45] Jason: Right? I've had clients after doing time studies that start working from home and their office performance goes up because they're not screwing everything up all the time. [00:38:53] Derek: That's now that my son's moved out, that's in the works myself too, so. [00:38:57] Jason: Okay. Yeah. So, so it sounds like a big thing that you've gotten so far in DoorGrow is just more and more clarity. And so you can make better decisions as a team. [00:39:07] Derek: Well, and confidence. I didn't know what I was going to be doing like when we were looking to make that leap, I'm like, Hey, I pretty much told I have to, so I have to figure this out, you know, to manage Northern Utah. And now like, we kind of laugh because it's like, okay, we did that and now it's just here's what we require for other parts of the state. [00:39:27] Derek: And having done it once we're kind of like, why the hell not? Like, what's next? That's been eyeopening. And then the other thing that's awesome. I mean, so I mean you got a network of the other property managers that you can use their brain and they can use yours and brainstorm and I mean that was the magic of DoorGrow Live a couple weeks ago. [00:39:46] Jason: Yeah. [00:39:46] Derek: Being able to network and visit with 40 other property managers and be able to just kind of hear their pains and brainstorm and [00:39:53] Jason: Yeah. [00:39:53] Derek: You know, I learned just as much from those that had 25 units as those that were larger. I mean, and everyone had an attitude of learning. I mean, one of the best meetings ever is like, so we had a breakfast that Sunday morning, Ed and Sylvie and I, and all three of us were just like. [00:40:09] Derek: And Sylvie's like, I mean, she's a small, Ed's over 300 and has done it all and seen it all. And I'm at 600 and we're just like sitting there taking notes with what Sylvie was saying, like, we're like, that's genius. You know? Yeah. And and so just learning kind of where everyone else is at and understanding you can learn things from other people like, and it, [00:40:26] Jason: yeah. [00:40:26] Jason: Sylvie's super sharp and I mean, she's just starting her property management business. But she's worked with coaches and mentors that I've been around that like were in high ticket masterminds and different things. Like her mindset is different and so everybody's bringing different things to the table. [00:40:42] Jason: Like you said, you can't just judge them based off door count. Some people are bringing some amazing things to the table. I think also, you know, we at DoorGrow, we attract a different breed of property managers. Like these are growth-minded people. It's very different. They're kind of the cream of the crop of the industry. [00:40:58] Jason: They're unique people that would invest money into their personal growth and personal development and into improving the business and be willing to take feedback and ideas from outside themselves, from a coach. [00:41:10] Derek: And it's crazy at the time they're doing it. I'm like, man, I wish, I mean, that's ballsy. You're like, I'm at 50 units and I'm going to spend this much in a coach. Now it's money well spent. I'm like, I would've saved myself a whole lot of time and hassle had I done that. You know, so it's like it's a genius. We help them get an ROI, [00:41:25] Jason: they can afford us, that's for sure. [00:41:27] Derek: Yeah. I'm like, that's, that's gutsy. [00:41:29] Jason: Yeah. Some people are, they're really gutsy. But I think on the surface it may seem gutsy, but what I've noticed is I also get a lot of people coming to me that have bought into franchises that have really struggled. They've spent tons of money and they've really struggled, and sometimes for years, and I'm like, we could have solved this stuff like in a quarter, like we could have solved so many of these problems or helped them figure out how to grow so much quicker and they've just struggled with bad ideas and bad advice and not growing and, you know, or just so much stress and all of this stuff is so solvable and, you know, and I was that hardheaded guy in the past where I was like I can do everything myself and I'm a smart guy and I can watch YouTube videos and do courses and read books and but once I started investing in myself and realizing I sucked and I couldn't. I was hitting limits because of, you know, just who I was at the time. [00:42:24] Jason: I needed mentors and coaches to help me collapse time. Like it just reduced the amount of time wasting and experimentation because I mean, all of our clients are smart. I think they're all smart. All of them could figure out everything eventually, but, you know, it could take a decade longer. Like you can collapse a decade into a year if somebody just said, "Hey, I've tried that stuff. That doesn't work. Do this." And that's my shameless plug or competitive advantage is I've been able to see inside probably thousands of property management companies and see what doesn't work and what does work. And I'm not in the fire, like I'm objective. I'm not attached to any particular ideas. And so, you know, and I think that's the thing is I'm like, well, I've seen this and this. You could try that, but here's what will probably happen. [00:43:12] Jason: And I'm usually right because I've just seen, I've got so much data to work with. You mentioned confidence and I've, this is something I've noticed in you, Derek. I feel like you've shifted a lot over this last year in terms of confidence, just going from where you were when we first had our first conversation to you presenting to a group at DoorGrowLive and talking. [00:43:32] Jason: What have you noticed in the stuff that you've been working on in yourself and with your team in your own shift in confidence? Or have you seen this? [00:43:42] Derek: I think clarity is what it is. Like. because I mean, I'm a control freak in so many ways, right? [00:43:48] Derek: It's my business and— Yeah. And I laugh because I'm not, unless it comes to my branding, I'm not OCD enough to be a control freak. [00:43:58] Jason: Yeah. [00:43:59] Derek: My branding, it's a completely different thing. Like I am like the crazy stuff I do. I'm like, it speaks, it has to be me. And I'm pretty anal retentive, and it's just a completely different beast. [00:44:09] Derek: Like, but as far as my business, I was such a control freak. And to be able to let that go so that I can be like, oh yeah this is what I enjoy. This is what I need to focus on. I care about that stuff. But that's a Shaunna and I can like, and then like recognizing certain things like now in the employees because— I recognize where we're at, like how do we jump in, you know, to kind of, to help. But the more I've gotten out of the day to day actually, the better the business has gotten because I can focus on the more higher level vision stuff. [00:44:43] Derek: And here's what it looks like. I, like I tell as I explain to people, I say I hate puzzles, but I'm really good at putting together the border and finding the like pieces and going, okay, these are all the pieces that go to the car. This goes to the bush. There may be some tree pieces in there like in the bush. [00:45:05] Derek: because you know you're just going. But I'm really good at that and kind of getting it close and seeing where things need to be. And that's my talent. I'm not good at spending the time to finish the puzzle. I enjoy the puzzle when it's done. Like, because, oh, that's beautiful, right? But getting in there, like, but I love gathering the like stuff. [00:45:28] Derek: I'm going, okay, here's this. Like, here's what you need. You know? [00:45:32] Derek: There's this tech that I think can solve this problem. Holy crap. Like this is next level stuff. I can see that future and I can make those pivots. Yeah. And I can see those more clearly now as I've gotten out of the day to day. And that's where that additional confidence from. [00:45:45] Derek: because I'm like, you know, before I'm like, can I do this now? I'm like, why the hell not? Like it's just, and I've done enough crazy things that I've had some basic confidence, but. I mean, when I came to you, I've had the crap beat out of me for like three straight years. because of the growth and trying to clean up the book, like so much cleanup because I was an like, I was just an idiot and didn't have the systems and processes in place. [00:46:06] Derek: And so now that those are still, and we're still building them and still, you know, tweaking them and figuring them out, but that's where I'm like, cool. I can do a lot cooler stuff for us that I love, you know, that are important to me as opposed to being in the day to day. And I never really, like, I laugh because I told you, I said I do enough research that when I do the crazy stuff, it doesn't feel crazy. For me, when we made that leap up north, it's like there's now just kind of these moments that I'm like, that was crazy. Like I, we went to the Utah Apartment Association or Utah, sorry, rental Housing Association conference. [00:46:41] Derek: And I'm talking to people like, oh, you're in Cedar City. Like, what are you doing up here? [00:46:45] Derek: Oh, like, I had to come, I came up here for a week for this and. You know, I had to work on my properties up here and they're like looking at me like, wait, hold on, you're managing stuff up here and you're based out of there. Yeah. I mean, we have two listings, 300 miles apart and that's all sudden. I'm like, that's kind of crazy. [00:47:00] Jason: Yeah. [00:47:00] Derek: That's kind of insane, but it's just like, it just feels natural to me to where I'm like, unless you break it down like that, it just doesn't feel that crazy for me. Like, here's what it is. We got lucky on a few things and now like putting systems in place that I can continue to expand, know, where I want to expand. [00:47:15] Derek: And it's just like, yeah, we can make this happen. And that's more what we've, where I've gotten out of it. I always kind of had the crazy confidence to do crazy stuff. Now it's just like, oh, my business is no longer beating the crap out of me at the same level. And I can focus on what I enjoy. [00:47:29] Derek: Yeah. [00:47:30] Jason: Well, I think that's maybe a good point to wrap up on is I think really it's been about helping you understand just yourself and helping you understand you so that you can build that business of your dreams. You can build the team around you that supports you. I mean, even from the very beginning and in the onboarding training, this is why I make sure that everybody's clear on the idea of the four reasons. Some of you maybe have heard me talk about on the podcast, I have a video on visionary versus operators, so they can kind of identify themselves and the more clarity we can give you on yourself and then doing time studies and figuring out your personality, then we can start to build the team and the business around you and get you out of those things. [00:48:08] Jason: And I find entrepreneurs make good decisions once they have better information. And the best information you can have is to really have clarity on yourself. [00:48:15] Derek: I a hundred percent agree. [00:48:17] Jason: So I'm really excited to see what you do over the next year or two. Like, I think you're going to have some big changes and some big shifts, and your business is just getting started. [00:48:26] Jason: I think you guys could easily be over a thousand units in the next year or two if you guys really put the pedal to that. [00:48:31] Derek: That's open conversation in our office, which in the past, any of those conversations would've led to any of us being pelted with whatever was on their desk at the time. [00:48:41] Derek: And now it's just this is happening. What does it look like? I mean, and that's what's funny is like it's just really, we're just like, okay, [00:48:46] Jason: there's kind of a new reality floating around in the office for [00:48:48] Derek: the future. Well, it's a reality we already dealt with. Now we've just owned it and we're no longer fighting it at the same level that we used to. [00:48:55] Derek: Yeah. because we're getting stuff in place and you know, trying to minimize the chaos that is always there in property management. Anyways. [00:49:03] Jason: Cool. Well, to wrap up, any parting words you would say to property managers that maybe were dealing with similar challenges of chaos or where you were at when you first came to us? Or, you know, something you want to say those listening that have property management businesses that might be struggling. [00:49:21] Derek: You know, relationships matter. Like, they really do. I mean, like I said, that's how I built my business. That's how a lot of the stuff we've been able to do with the tenants and some of that focus that we've done, like those relationships matter. [00:49:31] Derek: People are people and they deserve to be treated as such, so, and it makes a huge difference. [00:49:36] Jason: I, yeah, I think that would help every property management company's growth is just start to view people through a more positive lens and focus on relationships. Love it. Cool. Great. Parting words. [00:49:48] Jason: Derek, appreciate you coming out and hanging out with us on the DoorGrow Show. Do you want anyone to connect with you in any way or like any social media or anything? [00:49:58] Derek: Best thing? Go to our website, netgainpm.com, N-E-T-G-A-I-N pm for property management.com. Yeah. [00:50:05] Jason: And Derek, you're doing really cool stuff. [00:50:07] Jason: I love that you're kind of out of the box thinking and the stuff that you're doing to make things fun in your business. And like you mentioned, you do an owner conference where you have your owners and you do this virtually and you do some cool stuff. So it's exciting to watch you and I'm excited to see what you do over the next couple of years. [00:50:22] Jason: So it'd be awesome. So, sounds great. All right, thank you. [00:50:26] Jason: So for those that are listening, if you are stuck. Or feel stagnant and you want to take your property management business to the next level, we would be honored to help. Reach out to us at doorgrow.com. Also, join our free Facebook community. We've got cool people in there like Derek, that are helpful just for property management business owners at doorgrowclub.com. [00:50:49] Jason: And if you found this even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a positive or review wherever you found this. We'd really appreciate it. And until next time, remember, the slowest path to growth is to do it alone, so let's grow together. Bye everyone.

The Movie Genre Podcast 2

Productive Conversations with Matt Brown

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 87:12

On today's special episode, we're diving deep into the world of cinema once again and picking the best movies across seven MORE iconic genres. From the most epic sequels to heart-melting romances, gripping crime dramas, unforgettable sports stories, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, jaw-dropping superhero films, and powerful biopics—we're covering it all.Whether you're a film buff or just looking for your next watch, this is the ultimate movie breakdown you don't want to miss. Let's debate, reminisce, and celebrate the stories that defined each genre.

spotify movies sports crime romance superhero sequels thriller www mm genres biopic matt brown magic mind productive conversations genre podcast

#1,011: Case Acceptance: How To Turn Those Nos into Yeses

doctors arizona patients ac tony robbins grand canyon mm preface rim guess who yeses case acceptance grand canyon rim

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 24:40

Tiff and Dana are in the mood to talk about moods — specifically when it comes to setting the tone for patients and case acceptance. The two discuss overcoming objections from a foundational level, including your mindset, effective language, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:01) Hello Dental A Team listeners we are so excited to be here with you today. I have back on the podcast with me Miss Dana. I am so excited to see your beautiful smiling face today and gosh Britt did Rim to Rim, Grand Canyon Rim to Rim recently and Dana I've lived here my whole life. I am an Arizona girl. I love the mountains and I'm like, gosh, people just go out there and it's like, why didn't you bring water? Right? Like you guys are crazy. You've been here for a long time. You hike avidly. Your husband hikes more avidly than anyone I know and knows the Arizona mountains like the back of his hand as if he grew up here. And I'm like, yeah, I could do rim to rim. And then Britt got back and I was like, Dana (00:47) you The Dental A Team (00:48) Okay, Dana, like we should do Rim to Rim, but holy cow. If you guys don't know what Grand Canyon Rim to Rim is, please go look it up. It's like an event that people literally, my boyfriend says to have like, you take it for granted. People literally come here from other countries to see the Grand Canyon. I do take it for granted, that's fair. But hearing Britt's story, Dana, I'm like, holy cow. If we are going to ever do that in our lifetime, I think we need to start today. What do how do you prepare for that? Dana (01:18) Yeah, my biggest takeaway is like the planning of it because I like because I avidly had because my husband like you're right hikes more than any human on earth like I'm just like we can just go do room term and honestly, I'll be like I was like, no, I'm doing rim to rim to rim. Like I'm not loving at the first. I'm not starting at just rim. And then hearing her I'm like, Okay, well, I definitely need to plan. The Dental A Team (01:22) Yes! Literally. Yes! Yes! literally the same. Dana (01:45) more because I'm like I hike in Arizona all the time. I know what the heat is. I know how to hydrate. I know how to do all those pieces. I'm like but maybe I should plan it out a little bit more. The Dental A Team (01:54) Literally what I said, my takeaway was I did not do planning for it and I didn't, I just, I don't know, I'm take it for granted. I didn't think it was necessary. I'm like, I hike, I work out, I run, I do the stair climber, I do cycle, I do spin classes. Like I am pretty okay to just like sign up for a race and do it and whatever and I thought the same thing minus the rim to rim trip. I was not going an extra rim. I thought I could just pop over and do rim to rim like no big deal people do it all the time constantly can't be that hard just kidding just kidding so I think we need it on our bucket list here within the next I would say three years based on the fact that I'm over 40 at this point I'm not gonna lie to myself I'm not I need to get myself three years to get this sucker done ⁓ and probably shorter than that so Dina we just need to prep and plan for this sucker Dana (02:53) Yep. Yeah, we just need to pick a date, right? Because if I don't pick a date, can think I'm going to plan all I want. ⁓ So I just need to pick a date and then I will force myself to plan. Now that I know how much prep I should probably put into it. The Dental A Team (02:55) We need to a Yep. same. Same z's. I agree. I agree. I tell people that constantly. I'm like, gosh, the most fit you'll ever be is when you know vacation is coming. You will have bikini body ready when you know that vacation is coming. But when there's not something planned, you're like, I'll do it. I'll eat this for now and I'll make it up later. I do it constantly. So you're right. Okay. Everybody just congratulate Britt for surviving rim to rim. And that's a real statement for surviving. Um, it's a huge feat. It's massive. So if you are on our Instagram, which I'm sure you are just give her a shout out. If you see her face in there, if you're one of her clients and didn't know she did it, congratulations. Here you go. Text her. Um, but it was super cool. So Dana, we're going to put it on our list. That's our next to do. We'll add it to, uh, our fitness challenge thing over there. channel. Today guys, I wanted to talk about more than the Grand Canyon, but seriously if you don't know what it is, you should look it up. And if you are planning on coming and you don't live in Arizona, like seriously you think we need to plan like prep and freaking plan you guys? There was another hiker this weekend and it's not even our true ⁓ hot season yet and there was another hiker this weekend in Phoenix that did not make it through her hike and she was an avid avid hiker. So it's no joke you guys. ⁓ Please be safe. So on that note, overcoming objections is actually what I wanted to talk about today. So rim to rim is my objection today. I'm not ready for it. I get that. But overcoming objections in the practice, you guys, we really want to talk about case acceptance and what that might look like. And doctors, office managers, I know sometimes we get in the space of like, this is for my treatment coordinator. Doctors, this is for you too, especially when you're chair-side treatment planning. Because sometimes I feel like Dana, feel like doctors get that look of glazed over, like, okay, either this is too much information or I've checked out because I have an objection, but we just talk through it, right? And how many times have we even done that in a personal relationship? That makes me laugh because I'm thinking, even my kid, I'll just keep talking at him and wait for him to catch up. And then he's like, yeah, sure. And then turns around and I'm like, I don't think that's gonna happen. Whatever that was. He checked out. He's obviously no, right? Yeah. Dana (05:24) I'm thinking that, no. The Dental A Team (05:27) Like he checked out and I didn't catch it. So the moment when there's a checkout, like that's your objection. There's an objection in there somewhere. Either it was overload of information or they're just not, they're not on board yet because of a reason. I like to go into everything assuming, yes, I live my life that way. My boyfriend's constantly like telling me that I'm like a golden retriever. Right, I'm just like, yep, life is great, what's next, let's go. Because it's just a detour. Whatever it is, it's just a detour. And it's an opportunity to gain more information, in my opinion. So if there's a no, if there's a roadblock, I'm like, cool. What can I learn from this? What information do I need in order to get around this roadblock? Or should I be taking a different route? So it's a detour. So when I go into a treatment case, when I'm presenting treatment or when I'm training team members to present treatment and doctors, I'm constantly in the yes mindset. Tony Robbins talks a lot about mindset, about mind frame, on where you're supposed to be, and that yes zone is massive. If I assume the yes, I'm leaving opportunity for that. And Dana, isn't it true, like when you go into a conversation with the like, yeah, everything's gonna be fine, you're more optimistic, right? You're not set on an end result necessarily, and if it's not fine or a yes, it gives you that opportunity to create something new. And do you feel like Dana, I have a question, an actual real question, because I live my life this way, but like, I don't always check in with other people. People coming to you with that open mindset, right? That like, yep, this is gonna be fantastic. Does that then set the tone for you on that conversation? Like you as a person, whether it's personal, professional, whatever it is, does that set the tone for the conversation for you being like, okay, well, this is an opportunity? rather than it being like, this is a conversation. Like, how does that feel on the other side, Dana (07:24) Yeah, and I think it's funny that you asked that question. I agree, it does set the tone and I think though it's harder to see when it's from that mindset. right? Like I think we very easily see when someone negative sets our tone negative, right? But I don't think we always understand that like the initiative and the consciousness that the person that is setting the positive tone is doing. And so I think it's harder to relate to or harder to think that it works because it's very easy to spot it when it's the other way, not necessarily when it is the positive outlook and the positivity that breeds the positive. So I love that you specifically asked that question because I firmly do believe it. I think it's just a The Dental A Team (07:33) Yeah. Dana (08:03) little bit harder to see. The Dental A Team (08:05) Yeah, that was a huge massive point because it's like anything we're always going to remember the negative more than the positive, right? So I always tell teams, well, number one, this rolls into case acceptance as well because if you get a no and you carry it, you're always going to remember that no, you could have 10 yeses today and that one person said no to two fillings. And it's like, oh, I suck, right? But I just sold 10 freaking implants, right? But it's like getting your hair done. And I say, you're walking down the street. walking down the street and you're like, gosh, my hair, it's so good. I got bangs today. And you've got like nine people walk by you. And they're like, dang, I really like your hair today. I really like your hair, right? Nine people tell you, you look amazing. And one person stops you on the street and they say, gosh, I like your hair, but I'm just not sure I would have gone with bangs. When you get home or when you get into your car, what are you doing? You're looking in the mirror and you're second guessing your choice on bangs. You're not saying, Nine people and myself love my hair right now. You're saying one person's second guest bangs. Why did I do this? Should I have done this? And I think that's exactly what you just said too, Dana. It's really easy to be like, gosh, they just like came in so aggressive and just totally changed my mood. This person put me in a bad mood. One of my least favorite statements of all time. I get to choose the mood I'm gonna be in. That's my power and my control. ain't nobody taking that away from me. But we say that, right? Like this person just totally changed the mood, but it's not always noticeable when someone comes in with a positive, right, or an open mind and they change that or they keep the mood that you've been in. You're totally right. It's not always noticeable, but it makes a huge impact. So your patients may not notice that you're like, hey, let's go. They may not notice that they're like, yeah, like let's figure this out instead of being in like a gosh, Dana (09:49) Mm-hmm. The Dental A Team (09:59) treatment mood. So huge point there, Dana. I love that you pointed that out because going into it with that mindset, you're not going to reap 100 % of the accolades and the rewards. They're not going to be like, thanks so much for being so positive all the time. You might get that every now and again, but we're looking for that feedback and we're not always getting it. So then we get worn down and we're like, why even try? When you're tracking your results, you're going to know why you try. when you're tracking those yeses, when you're just tracking the conversations even, like you're not always gonna get a yes, that's okay. And that's what we're here about today is those objections. When you go in with that yes mindset of like, I can do anything. It's not always this person's gonna say yes to this treatment. It's this person is gonna say yes to their health and we're gonna get them there. So I go in thinking, this is a huge opportunity to learn more about this patient and to get them healthier. I don't always go into it, which I think is a mindset shift, Dana, for the healthcare field in general. We think like, I'm selling treatment. You are selling treatment, but you're selling someone their health back, right? So I'm selling you back your health. You are unhealthy. You came to me with a deficit, and I'm selling you back your health, right? And so when we put it in that perspective, we put in the perspective of learning and opportunity, it shifts the mindset quite a bit. So. That was a fun tangent. Thank you everyone for following along with us. I hope you gleaned some opportunities there and some mindset shifts. I think it's huge. Now, Dana, when they do come in, they're like, okay, we've got this, we've got this. And then they're like, I'm just not ready. Like, what do you, you train a lot of systems, you train a lot of communication and a lot of ⁓ verbiage, that people like to call it scripts, right? What do you tell your teams is the best path to take? when you do get an objection. Dana (11:54) Yeah, I think that I think first of all, Mr. Preface that right. I always try to teach teams that anything outside of a yes is a no. Right. So but there are no's that are true no's and then there are solvable no's. And so it's it really helps teams to kind of know the difference. Like a true no would be I'm leaving tomorrow to go out of town for three months and like I truly cannot do the treatment. Right. Or ⁓ I just bought a new house and haven't paid my first mortgage payment. Like I want to wait until I make that that's a true no, right? Or there's then they're solvable knows which are, you know, gosh, I don't know if I'm ready or I need to talk to a spouse or ⁓ that's a lot, you know, that's a lot financially or all of those are solvable knows and usually the easiest way to solve them is to ask better questions to find out what is the actual barrier, right? Because driven coordinators, we teach them a lot, you've got a lot of tools, you've got a lot of things that you can offer patients. ⁓ But what I want you to do is hone in on what to offer instead of throwing the book at them, right? Like, well, here are all of my solutions and now you choose. Well, they don't actually know what those choices mean, or they don't actually know what to pick in those choices. So I think it's asking questions to get down to the bottom of The Dental A Team (12:56) Yes. Dana (13:09) what is holding the patient back so that you can provide the right solution for that patient. The Dental A Team (13:15) Yes, I totally agree. You made me think of ⁓ the game Guess Who? Do you remember that game? When we were little? I think it's back around again and they have way cooler pictures, by the way. Ours were like, ours were bad when it was like trending back when we were kids. Anyways, Guess Who is the game where you flip your board up and you've got all the pictures of the different characters and you're one of the characters on the other person's board. You've got your little card down here. and that other person is supposed to try to guess which character you are by asking questions. So you say, do you have dark hair? No, okay, great, we'd mark down all the dark hairs. Then we say, do you wear glasses? Yes, okay, so anyone who doesn't have glasses, we mark down those guys, and it leaves you with a couple of options, and you narrow it down until you're so sure you have the answer, and that's what I feel like treatment coordinating is like. You have this massive board. of options, of opportunities, and you're like, okay, great, what do we need to overcome today? And we're narrowing it down until we get to the actual root cause or the root issue that the person's suffering because... I mean, I'm not gonna lie to you. I've seen so many memes recently and I'm like, that is so me, where they're like, if she says she has to check with her husband, I mean, she doesn't wanna go because she ain't gotta check with her husband. Like, that's me. If I'm like, let me check our calendar. I know what our calendar is. And if I'm saying that, I just don't feel comfortable telling you no in the space that we're in. I'm gonna text you because it's less invasive and it's less confrontational. So I'm just gonna text you later. Right? So when they're like, I need to talk to my husband, right? I have had instances, I do have to, I do have to caveat this. I have had instances where that is a hundred percent true, but I've said to them, totally, I completely agree with you and I would never want you to make a decision without consulting your spouse financially. I never support that. Right? I want you guys to be on the same page. What I would suggest is let's set up a consultation where both of you can be here with us or can he come, is he here? Can he come in? because what I'd hate to do is for you to get home and have to try to reiterate everything that I just said today and everything that you learned from the dentist. That's a lot of information for you to carry. It's a heavy weight for you to carry, and I'd love to help support you in that. So is he here? Is she here? Can we get you guys scheduled? Now, I've got a soft no, a soft no because we're not scheduling the treatment yet, which you Dana (15:44) Thank The Dental A Team (15:49) You still can, you can say, let's schedule this for two weeks out, let's get him in before then, right? Let's hold the space, let's get you and your spouse back before that, so let's try for Thursday, whatever. It's a soft no, but I'm still scheduling them for something, and I'm still providing support for my patient, because I want my patient to be healthy. That's all I want. I want my patients to be healthy. And if it means that I have to have an additional conversation with a spouse in order to get that patient healthy, I'm going to do that. I'm 100 % going to do that. So whatever that objection is, it's finding that space around the objection that's providing the ultimate benefit to the patient. So I've even had it, Dana, you said even like vacation. I've had patients, we have snowbirds in Arizona. Super cool. Phoenix gets a ton of snowbirds. We love you all. Sometimes the roads get crazy, you guys. It's fast driving here. You got to keep up. Anyways, we get snowbirds and these snowbirds come. They're like, gosh, well, I'm heading back in two weeks. I'm like, shoot, like I don't have anything in the schedule for two weeks in the next two weeks. Right. So I'm like, hey, let me see what I can do. Let me see what I can move around. Let me see whatever. If I can get them in, I will. Or we've had snowbirds that are like, hey, I'm only gone for three months in the summer. I'll be back. 1st of September, great. Let's schedule you for the second week in September because I want to make sure this is taken care of. And if for some reason something gets worse while you're gone and you've got to see your dentist back home, tell us. We'll take it off the schedule because I just want you to get taken care of. So if you get it done there, let us know. If not, we're going to put you down for the second week in September because I just want to make sure that they're investing in their health. to the best of their own capabilities. And I have the tools for them to do that. Something I talked with a client about last week, was not everybody knows. Patients don't know to ask the questions they don't know. And I was in office with a practice last week, and we were talking about ⁓ educational overload and confusion. And we often over talk because we're trying to educate past objections we think people might have. And in response to that, we can create decision paralysis and just educational confusion. And something that I said was, if you're giving them this much information, like there's so much information, sometimes they don't know what questions to ask to gain clarity. And so Dana, to your point, us asking them questions will bring that out. Dana with that said, what kind of questions do you train teams to be able to ask either chair side or at treatment coordinating upfront? Dana (18:49) Yeah, so I think that it comes down to just like, ⁓ Asking questions to understand is it is it a like do you understand the actual treatment right? Like do you understand what a crown is? Do you understand? ⁓ Do you remember what the doctor said as far as why you need the treatment? Do you know what will happen if we do nothing right because I think some of the times it is like they may understand the treatment They may know what a crown is they may remember why but they they struggle with How do I put they struggle with like, where do I prioritize this? Right? And so if I've got an AC repair, right? Well, it's 110 degrees out in Arizona. And if I don't have AC, right, like, so where do they put it in their priority list of things to get done? So sometimes it's okay to say, Hey, what other big things do you have coming up? Right? Because you may be able to help them with that priority. The Dental A Team (19:29) Yeah. Dana (19:50) Like, the doctor review with you, if we do nothing, what's going to happen, right? Do you understand the risk of like not doing this treatment, where that puts you? So I think it's just figuring out what part of it they don't understand. Is it the actual treatment? Is it the reason for the treatment? Or is it that they don't know how to prioritize it in all the things because life is busy, right? And things are happening and there's other expenses elsewhere. And so how can you help them prioritize where to put that? The Dental A Team (20:11) Yeah. Dana (20:19) in all of the other noise that they have going on in their lives. The Dental A Team (20:22) Yeah, and to that point of prioritization, Dana, in addition to that, I think a lot of treatment plans are delivered with this is everything you need, okay, goodbye. And there's no prioritization put on the treatment that is next, the next visit. And I had a doctor recently tell me, well, like, it's their mouth. And I said, you are the only person that can make this decision with and for them. You have to tell them what the most important next step is, even if it's like, All of this is about the same. Where I would start is upper right. I don't know, what's the easiest, what's the hardest? What do you want to start with when you don't know the priority? The issue is that patients don't know a lot about dentistry. Most patients don't know a lot about dentistry. So when you leave it up to them, they're making a decision based on not a lot of knowledge. You have all the tools under your belt. prioritize the treatment that needs to be done and then help and assist your patient in prioritizing getting that treatment done. I love it. So I would say in an effort to overcome objections, first and foremost, be open-minded. Go into it as a conversation, go into it as an opportunity, and make sure that your mindset is set. If you just got off of a really hard call, if you just had a patient berate you, if you just walked down the street and someone yelled at you, I want you to be like, okay, how can I shift my mindset right now? And then ask all of the questions. What questions can you ask that help prioritize your patient's treatment? So you place the priority, go in with an open mindset, you tell them what's next, what do they need to do next, and then help ask all of those questions. You guys just get them over the hurdle. Do not assume what their hurdle is. because you can implant an idea and make yourself some big problems there, ask the questions. I love it. I usually say, Dana, be in the why, or be in the what. Be in the question. You guys, if you go into any conversation open-minded, meaning leaving room to ask for more information, whatever that conversation is just became tenfold easier. go do the things, you guys. Dana, we got to put rim to rim. You can do the extra rim if you want. I'm doing two. We gotta put it on our calendar, rim to rim. You can all wait for you at the other side and pick you back up if you're doing that extra rim. But we gotta put that on our calendars. And Dana, thank you for podcasting with me today. I love our time together. Listeners, thank you so much for being here. As always, write in at Hello@TheDentalATeam.com and let us know what you think. Thanks so much, everyone.

387.2 - Muriel's Wedding with Jaime P. Bradley (Part 2)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 40:07

Hey HBs! We're back with part 2 of Muriel's Wedding! Content Warnings: Cancer diagnosis and treatment, suicide of a parent. Check out Jaime's spicy contemporary books! https://jaimepbradley.com/the-books/ and follow her on Tiktok and Instagram! Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! This Friday Patrons and Apple Podcast subscribers are getting a squeepisode on the last book in The Games We Play in Granville series, SEVEN MINUTES IN KEVIN by DJ Jamison! Thank you for keeping Mel sane, fluffy MM romance authors! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail Follow our socials: Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

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#1,010: Quality Leadership is Elusive. Do You Have What It Takes? K

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 31:41

iera returns with the Green Park Dentistry team, Chief Operations Manager Jeff and Dr. Andrew Sugg, to discuss tips for those who want to evolve their leadership. Jeff and Dr. Sugg share their own journey, which included immersing themselves in a new community. 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 this is part two of Dr. Andrew and Jeff talking about, they already went through their expansion, what they did, and now I really wanted to get into the nitty gritty of what makes Andrew so incredible as a doctor and what makes Jeff an incredible leader in his practice to get the growth and the success that they've been able to have. And I'm so excited for you to experience it. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast. Kiera Dent (00:24) Andrew, can you walk us through, what do you feel are some of the things you do so superior? Like, I want you to brag a little bit. This is a moment where Kiera Dent is so freaking proud of you. Tiff is proud of you. Our company is proud of you. ⁓ because I think other people want to know how to do this. So I almost want to peel back the curtain just a little bit on what are some of the things you do really well in assembly? Like I said, Jeff, chime in too. Then we're going to reverse. We're going to talk about Jeff and Andrew, you can chime in on him. So like both of you can just schmooze each other tonight as well. You guys are going to have an amazing night post podcast. You're welcome. All right. But truly, Andrew, what are some of the things you feel set in part? Jeff & Andrew (00:52) Yeah, thank you. Well, that leads into a great, was going to say, like, I feel really lucky to have Jeff, obviously. And I know not everybody has a Jeff or can trust someone as much as I trust Jeff. But I think obviously it can be very hard on our marriage. So that's one side note. And I know like a lot of couples that that happens. But I think I have to always. Right? know. Two years ago, I was worried. And in gay years, that's like 40 years. Kiera Dent (01:19) I'm so proud of you. 10 years in and you still, I think, love each other, which is amazing. I think everybody is. You're like, okay. But it's one of those things also though, I will say, like throwing it out to couples, when couples go through what you have gone through and you're able to like be through the thick and the thin of it, I will also give advice. Like when I watched people go through dental school, and Andrew, I'm sure you saw this, I was so angry at so many of our like friends that went through. Jeff & Andrew (01:33) you Kiera Dent (01:46) Like they went through the residencies, they got to the end and I'm like, you freaking made it. And that's when they get divorced. And I'm like, Oh, if you're to get divorced, get divorced during the hard times, but like you have made it. You've made it. And now it's like, it's a matter of like, we bonded together, we grew together. And I think like making sure that stays a priority in your marriage. You guys remember I was a marriage and finally therapist prior to this. Like that was my thing. I like, Oh, don't give up on what you like. You went through the freaking hardest years together. Now it's like, enjoy this amazing life we built together. Jeff & Andrew (01:50) Yeah. Right, yeah. All right. Yeah. Yeah Kiera Dent (02:16) and don't lose sight of how grateful we are for one another. anyway, like off my tangent, keep going. Jeff & Andrew (02:20) No, that's that one. So I guess that's that's part like that's kind of part of my after always remind myself I need to be very appreciative for everyone around me. So that's probably number one. And I guess that goes into like, you need to kind of check your ego, right? Like as much as everybody wants it to be all about the dentist and all about me. I'm really just the guy that does the dentistry and I enjoy kind of being like that side note, like I'd rather people come talk to him. Right. So I think like the more you can step back and see yourself as that clinician is very beneficial. And then kind of let, again, the people around you lead and be those positive lights that they can be, that's like how you're gonna grow, right? And then I think that goes along with an associate where, ⁓ again, kind of being humble, like, yes, I know a lot, but I don't know everything. And I learned stuff as much from the associates or how they do things differently as much as they may learn from me. And I think when you come to a situation more with ⁓ curiosity and... really trying to find how you can learn and be better every day, then they only want to do the same. So you really have to lead by example, lead with curiosity, really come to work every day, just trying to do better for people around you. And I want to chime in. think you lead from your heart too. You have a passion for people and you have a passion for what you do, dentistry. Like you live, breathe, speak it all the time. Even outside the office. You're always- Too hard, right? Shut it down. You're always seeking new things. You're always at speaking with Dr. Parks about, what do you think about this? Or how would you approach this rather than this point of, hey, I do it this way, you have to do it. You do approach curiosity. And I think the frequency that he's able to, the amount of time they spend together in this office, they share an actual office. ⁓ So they're able to compare. Kiera Dent (03:45) ⁓ And now you look beautiful! Jeff & Andrew (04:14) Everything all the time. So if at any time that they're both in the office together I could walk by they're always talking about a case or how they could improve something or how could we approach this or This is funny. What like what should we do? You know, it becomes this collaboration and less of a like we're having a calibration meeting this day for this time We're going to talk about X. It's kind of a constant Yeah, like I listen in on his new patient exams. He listens in on mine. And yeah, it's just a constant thing. I think, honestly, again, that was a necessity that that started that way. And I think in our old office, it was actually me, Jeff and Dr. Parks all in a room that was really meant to be for me. And we all were crammed in there. And eventually Jeff moved because he got tired of listening to us talk about dentistry. Kiera Dent (05:01) I was gonna say that's why Jeff's not in the office. He's like, I don't wanna hear about this dentistry. hear about it way too much. You two have fun. Jeff & Andrew (05:04) He's like, I gotta get away from Yeah. need some space. Yeah. So that wouldn't have been a decision I probably would have made if we had all this space, right? So I think it is funny, like again, that necessity and just kind of trust in the process and learning what you can. But I'm like, I'm so grateful for those early years and like he and I have such a bond now that we're excited for our next associate and bringing him or her into our office and making them a part of our little dorky dental group. Kiera Dent (05:32) love it. And I mean, Jeff, you're right. But I if I'm to have a dentist, I want the dentist who talks nonstop about dentistry. I know that's not probably so nice at home. Jason has an alarm on our phone for us. So, Jeff, if you want to take like marriage tip from me and Jay, because I will talk about business forever. And he's like, shut down, girl. The alarm goes off at five every night. And that's when I have to stop talking work. And it goes off like it's every single day. Six o five. I know what time and I'm like, OK. Jeff & Andrew (05:40) I'm Hahaha Kiera Dent (05:59) That's my time limit. So you want to talk about like a show? I'm like, I don't even know what I'm about. So it's a really handy thing for me to have to shut it down. But Andrew, I am curious on that. I think a lot of doctors struggle and I love how you talked about like, this isn't how I do it. Like, what do you think and how can we do this? I'm curious. So let's say you saw of a future associate, we'll use Dr. Parks right now, cause that's one you know, you won't know the future one's personality, but Jeff & Andrew (06:01) Yeah. Yeah. Kiera Dent (06:27) Let's say you see dentistry that's not up to your standard with Dr. Parks. How do you go and have that conversation with him to where he feels supported, but at the same time, you don't allow your culture, your brand, the type of dentistry to go out the door without having, like, people don't know how to have this conversation because you're both dentists. So how do you handle that with Dr. Parks? Jeff & Andrew (06:46) Yeah. So I think, ⁓ kind of bring it back to like what he's doing it for, right? So it's not about me seeing a problem, but it's like, hey, here's how this could maybe be a better outcome for your patient, right? Or I would like argue, I would like to kind of always spin and make myself an example. Like, hey, I used to do it this way, right? Like, or I used to do something different, but my old mentor who I love and admire, like she helped show me the way, right? And I've really learned a lot from her. So I think that's also where like for our future associate, need to make sure that that is a key component of their culture is to be open and constantly learning and be curious. And ⁓ I think that is definitely a big goal of ours is to find that in the next person. And that's where we also feel very lucky with our associate. We know that that's not ⁓ very easy to find an associate and kind of have that success with it. So again, as much as I'm appreciative for Jeff. I'm very appreciative for Dr. Parks too, and I think it shows in our relationship as well. Kiera Dent (07:46) Yeah. Well, I think like also though, when you've built a practice to your size, you normally now get to be choosy and picky. I feel like when you're like a little bit smaller, it's kind of like, I got to like help someone wants to come work in this like amazing brown, purple, green popcorn ceiling and share an office with me, my husband, and you get to be in here too, like Harry Potter corners all the way around. But now you get to be even more choosy on who comes forward because you've got this amazing space. You've got the place where someone wants to come. Jeff & Andrew (07:56) Yeah. Right. Yeah. Seriously. Right. Kiera Dent (08:14) And I think that's gonna be really awesome to watch you grow on that next one. So thank you for that. Jeff, I wanna pivot to you. I've watched your leadership. I've watched you grow. I've watched you run a team. I've watched you go from Gilbert to Jeff. I've watched you sit in meetings. It was so fun to see you in person. It has been far too long for me. It was pre-COVID since the last time I saw you. And we met in person and I watched you. You sit there with this inquisitive mind. You sit there with this, you've got a... Jeff & Andrew (08:31) I know. Kiera Dent (08:41) depth of knowledge that's just impressive to me. And also I've watched you grow in your leadership. I've seen you, I talked to Tiffany and you're in your community in leadership courses, you're doing pieces. I just wanna know, and Andrew, this is now where you're gonna like love on Jeff on this, of how have you gone from where you were to where you are today? Like I know that's a whole process and I know that's very broad, but just even thinking of some of the strokes that you've taken, I know you and Tiff have worked super hard. I'm gonna give like mad kudos to Tiffany and I'm sure you will too. Jeff & Andrew (09:08) Yeah. Kiera Dent (09:08) But I'm just curious because I think leadership is so elusive for so many people. And yet I've watched you like take this on this, but you're also a baller. Like you don't get run over. You have hard conversations. You speak up. You're very brilliant in what you do. Andrew, I agree. Jeff's a machine. I watch him. He's like, all right, got my list. I got all these things. I'm going home. Andrew, this is what we're going to do. You think, Jeff, you think Andrew's running the show, but. I know that who's really running it is you. Like you're like, all right, this is getting done. We're getting all this done. This is where the lights are going. Everybody move in on this day. But you do it with poise and grace. so I'm just curious at like tips for people who maybe are trying to evolve in their leadership, things that you've done to be the, like truly, I think you're a huge example of a successful leader. And so it's okay. This is your brag moment. I know it can be awkward, but I really am just so proud of you and excited to hear what you think has been part of that evolution of you. Jeff & Andrew (09:37) Yeah. Well, the first, thank you. That's like, I want to cry right now. Thank you. You don't often hear that. ⁓ So thanks for that. ⁓ Honestly, know, I had a little experience ⁓ in my past career about, ⁓ you know, it was an industry that's off offshore. So it's a difficult industry. Kiera Dent (10:06) You're welcome. I feel tear-eyed, Luke, because I'm just really proud of you. Like truly. Jeff & Andrew (10:27) for me personally to enter into, know, with these rough, greasy, you know, I'm not scared of dirt, obviously it was geology, but, you know, a lot of people aren't socially aware who might be working with them, you know, so, you know, being gay in an industry like that, that's nobody's like, ⁓ did I offend somebody by what I said? That's, you know what I mean? So that's, you kind of get a little bit of a tough skin there, right? So I've had experience. With that, I've had experience managing projects ⁓ offshore. I've had experience managing projects onshore. I grew up in a family that my dad, my parents are business owners and I was put to work for not a legal pay at a very young age. So I just learned like, I've got to work to do this stuff. then, you know, fast forward to meeting you guys when I was unhappy, I was like, what am I going to do? Right? So you guys, you, Tiffany, the collaboration, the tools, the building blocks, the confidence, the empowerment that you were like, you can do it and you're the only one that is, right? ⁓ So that led me on it. And then we went into the catalyst of showing up to that office that day with a different vibe and then seeing that it works. ⁓ So then I think naturally we moved to this county from a very different county in Florida that a lot... Kiera Dent (11:46) Thank Jeff & Andrew (11:55) population was very different and we're in a very different population here. So we did have some fear coming in. So we were cautious about, you know, how we represented ourselves, if we made a big splash. And then as we realized the momentum of the practice and the service of what we were doing, it was gaining momentum and people came to us for our service and our dentistry. So then that gave us confidence to be like, okay, this is what people want. And I think part of my mindset ⁓ in creating the vision and how the business that we want is thinking about past jobs and what did Andrew not like about ⁓ how he was treated by a mentor, previous employers, or how he had to follow a protocol to do this to the patient. And we realized, I kind of just have a challenging mentality, like why? You know, like, can we do it different? Should we do it different? Yeah, we probably should, because that's what everybody wants, right? So then we started to see those little pieces gain success and the community be like, we're going to them because they do that different. Differently. Differently. Thank you. We call them by name, something as simple as that, you know. It's like, wow, that's a big difference. So then. Kiera Dent (12:51) . Mm-hmm. Right. Jeff & Andrew (13:14) I think I'd encourage people to start looking in their area. I didn't realize the opportunities that our county and like had around us, right? So I started to take advantage of that. I to the chamber, we joined the chamber. ⁓ And then that led me to an opportunity for leadership Catawba. We live in Catawba County. I was like, let me try this. was, you know, a small time investment in the big picture. And that introduced me to people in our area that I was like, you're I can lean on you now and I can use you as a resource. How can we work together? Then I was just learned so much about our county and the riches of it, like what sets this county apart. And I was like, I love that. That's what we try to do in our business. So then, you know, as you learn about your surroundings and how like the local government works, you can start to make those contacts and start to go to those people and then you become a source to them as well. ⁓ So in that, I learned about other opportunities. took an HR class at our local, our community college. I was like, I should probably know some like legit HR stuff, right? Right? Like before we build this giant dental practice. So that led me to the community college, which the HR class was in the furniture academy. So that led me to a relationship where in a big furniture area where they were custom building as they were teaching students creating furniture for a dental practice. So. That opened up a community door. Then we started with the building. The whole purpose of buying a building bigger than we need it is so we can put that vision forward and ⁓ create a big collaborative space. But in doing so within our own space, we did create a large conference room, a little kind of event space that we've welcomed Hickory Football Club in. are soccer teams, we've had Girl Scouts in, we've had other nonprofits in. It's kind of become a space that we can host and collaborate with the community and welcome them into our space. I kind of love that. I think it's been the curiosity and kind of just little incremental like, cool, this sounds cool. I'm going to do this. And then that leads to so much. And we were even just saying like the whole like our building is so big. Like we have an area that we actually offer like a nonprofit in the area to come. were they were losing their space and they came here and it's led to so now I feel so fulfilled that I'm helping someone in a way that's not dentistry, which I never thought I would do. And so it just feels good to like given that way that we never imagined and it's led to so much more. So I think that curiosity is led to that. That's where with Jeff, like he really is like so amazing at being good, being, he's living by that example, right? Like he's gonna be here every day. He's gonna be put in the work. He's gonna do all these things and he's inspired now that he did the leadership we've sent. one of our other staff member or team members. And then we've got a third one that's about to go to leadership Katawba. So it's just kind of led to a lot of inspiration for the people around us. And yeah, I think that the more you can kind of be there for others and let others kind of lean on you, it's just really, like that sense of community is there. And I think that's where too, you kind of start realizing you're not there for everyone and everyone's not going to love me as a dentist, but I get, there'll be enough, right? There's enough people. yeah. And we feel good about what we're doing. And we know we're raising people up and it's raising us up too. So, and I think it's really important to ⁓ provide opportunities, like learning opportunities outside the practice, because that's where connections really get made. Kiera Dent (16:41) Yeah. I Jeff, was just I agree with you, Andrew. What I was hearing, I'm like, I always am listening for like, what's the pattern? What's the silver lining? Like what really sets you apart? And I think Jeff, it was truly hearing the curiosity and also the drive to be the best. Like I should go learn HR. Like this is a zone I'm gapped in. And instead of it being like, well, let's just like find some for you. Like, no, I'm going to go learn. I'm going to hunker in. Then I'm going to figure out how I need to delegate this out. And I have a sign over here from Gandhi that we've given our leaders this year and it's Jeff & Andrew (17:15) Mm-hmm. Kiera Dent (17:20) A sign of a good leader is not how many followers you have, but how many leaders you create. And I think, Jeff, that's something you're doing really incredibly well of creating more leaders around you and rising more people up around you. And Andrew, the same thing for you. You're rising these doctors up around you. You're bringing your team up with you. And I think it's so beautiful to see. So I'm just really proud of both of you. And it's like, it's just such a fun thing to be able to give back to both of you and to just highlight how many amazing things you have. My last question for us tonight is where you're wrapping up is what's next? Like what's next on the radar? Like business-wise, personal-wise, like we built this, we had this vision, but I believe like if we stop dreaming and we stop evolving, then we stop growing as well. It does not have to be large, Andrew. You don't have to have like a huge next, like we're building ⁓ a city. I could see you coming up to that big, all right, Jeff, we're like build our own city now. But like what's next? Like what's in the next like one, two, five years? What's it looking like for your practice, for each other, where you guys at? And I'll let anybody take this on. What's next for you guys? Jeff & Andrew (18:21) Yeah, well, think for, well, I did want to say one more thing about ⁓ inspiring leaders, because I we were talking about associates. But another thing that I have to always bring up is my mom was a single mom, four kids, because you were talking about ⁓ our parents earlier. And so single mom, four kids. She was also a dental assistant. So I think I grew up around dentistry. I grew up with a mom that wasn't making a lot of money for what she did. So I appreciate so much our team and my assistants. I don't leave a room without thanking them for what they did in front of the patient. So that's probably the most important thing I've taught ⁓ our associate is to always be thankful for the people that are helping you do what you do. So I think living every day and coming into work with that mentality is super helpful. So I wanna keep that. Kiera Dent (19:08) that and I'm also gonna say Jeff you had no hope when you met Andrew there was no hope for you to get out of dentistry like mom, family, his life, if you were destined for dentistry when you and Andrew met so I love that I'm like wow now hearing your mom I was like ⁓ he he saw you from a mile away not only did he like fall in love with you but he's like ⁓ this his life to be changed forever Jeff & Andrew (19:12) Yeah, I know. Yeah. I should have saw that coming. Yeah, he was. He's going right in. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, need that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I think my, my next goal will be to help us find a new associate. So our daughter parks and I both are super busy now or both feeling like, gosh, it would be really nice to be able to take some time off and not feel like we're putting the other one in our tough pickle. You know? So we also have a lot of great things to teach our next associate and, ⁓ I think what used to scare our team is to think about that growth. And now our team feels empowered to be like, we're not so sure about that person. They speak up and they're our guardians. So I think what's really cool is like, I've kind of let some of this go and now I get to really focus on my dentistry and learning more and what can I improve? What do we wanna bring into the office to offer more patients or how can we be better every day? So, yeah. Kiera Dent (20:18) Amazing. I love that. Okay, that's what it's on for Andrew. Jeff, what about for you? What's next for Jeff's world? Jeff & Andrew (20:24) a vacation in two weeks. We got one planned. got do. We do. Yes. It's our first two week vacation ever in my life. I'm really nervous. Yeah. Kiera Dent (20:26) Yeah, where you wanna go? Like be so excited. You should listen to all the other podcasts. I'm always like, owners, we need leave because if you don't leave, can't find the gaps in your practice. So like, this is the best thing to do. So don't freak out, Andrew. Just realize you're doing your business the best service. You're leaving. You can see the gaps. You can fix them when you come home. Yeah. That's how I justify it. like, no, the business needs me to leave, obviously. Jeff & Andrew (20:39) Yeah. I know. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I like it. Yes, that's great. Yeah. Yeah. And I will say, I feel excited now because I can see people knowing that we're leaving. Everybody's making sure everybody they're looking ahead at the schedule. They're making sure I get people in that I want to see Megan. Sure, everything's going to be OK. And it's just awesome. I used to stress so much about taking a day off and then now to know like we're about to take two weeks off. It's really amazing. Kiera Dent (21:19) Amazing. Okay. Well, I think that's good. Just like we need this. I need this. You need to shut it off and we're not talking about history. Jeff & Andrew (21:25) I wouldn't do it without. I wouldn't have done it without him. That's another big thing, right? So he's pushed me. I'm like, Jeff, are we okay to do this? Like, that's another thing I probably would not have said to I know I need to write. So you kind of need those people to help kind of make you see the other side and say, okay, we're okay. And we do need it. And everyone has told me that like, I know you're thinking you don't need it or that you are going to stress out, but you're going to come back so invigorated and so excited. Kiera Dent (21:49) always tell everybody the best things I do for my business are when I do what I call white noise time. And I check out what I do, Andrew and Jeff, you guys might take my tip. I literally don't turn my phone on at all. So like no one can connect me. If I go out of the country, I do not connect to wifi. It's a smidge creepy for my family. So like Jason usually turns it on. And then I get angry for about two days. So I'm like detoxing of having like everything. And I'm like mad at Jason. I feel like I'm putting time out. I feel so angry that I've just got to sit here and read a stupid book. Jeff & Andrew (22:06) Hahaha! ⁓ Yeah. You Kiera Dent (22:20) once the adrenaline's gone, I'm like, ⁓ and then my best ideas actually show up. So, better or for worse, get ready, Jeff. He'll probably come home with like million ideas, but, and you should probably have alarms that like you're only allowed to talk down the street for like one hour a day. Like that's it, because of course it'll like come up, but it's also shocking when I did that last summer, Jason and I, took a whole month off and I'm like, Jeff & Andrew (22:25) Weird. Yeah, that's awesome. Probably. Kiera Dent (22:44) I don't actually know what to talk to you about if we don't talk dentistry. So I had to like, refine myself, refine our relationship of like, what do we do beyond dentistry? This is helpful. So anyway, okay, going on a week trip, where are going? Jeff & Andrew (22:47) I We're going to Sweden for two weeks. Yeah, we're excited. Kiera Dent (22:58) I'm so ⁓ Jeff & Andrew (23:04) I that. I'll be too. For like a minute. Be prepared. Yeah. So I think we there's a there's something we want to do internally that we've been kind of mulling over and kind of taking a couple steps to we brought somebody on that I think we can actually elevate and help create this. So it's a it's a younger team member and he's got really good skills ⁓ with the lane that we want. him to go down. So we kind of want to empower him to build this, ⁓ not for us, but with us, ⁓ and kind of create this position for himself. And kind of, it would be job sustainability, know, and have him, elevate him to build a team under him as well. ⁓ At the same time, you know, we want to Kiera Dent (23:57) Yeah. Totally. Jeff & Andrew (24:14) We need to fill the rest of our building. We've, ⁓ we're working with some nonprofits. brought one in, we have two more suites to go. And, ⁓ so I want to continue that and make sure, ⁓ one thing that we're not like putting for lease signs out there. want to make sure that, you know, serves our vision and serves the community, the people that come in. and we were also, you know, we have our own building to create something. So I don't know, there's a lot. Kiera Dent (24:45) amazing. I do too. I need to... I was gonna say this is where you need the vacation Andrew and Jeff so you like shut it down all the great but I my best idea the podcast literally came when I was hiking Half Dome Yosemite like I'm not even talking about work and I was like this is a great idea I should do that so here we are like five years later but Jeff & Andrew (24:45) I see a lot in the future. All good things. Lots of dreamings needed. Yeah. That's it. Yeah, yeah They're kind of like just waiting and I think you're right I think this little white noise period could just be like, there they all are. I totally agree Kiera Dent (25:14) It really happens. It's weird. And I feel like as owners, we are in such a grind, like we don't know how to shut it off. But when we do, I'm like, that's when the best ideas show up. Like best ideas hit us in like when we wake up in the morning or when we're in the shower or when we're on a run or when we're on a hike or, I'm like, okay, so clearly I need to schedule more of that in consistently. So that way my best ideas can show up and we can keep evolving. But guys, you should be so proud of yourself. Like go enjoy that vacation. I'm so excited for you to go to Sweden. the chocolate, please. mean, you hear it. But, ⁓ but no, just as as someone who's watched you evolve, I hope you guys just take in like, the kudos. I hope everybody listening, you're hearing like how they went through this, how they built their vision. And the thing I think I really glean from today's podcast are one, you two really lean on each other as a very safe duo of you two trust each other. You're in your lanes, you allow each other to be experts, you allow the like, nerdiness of either side to come out and you love that about the other person. Also like really being true to yourselves, to your vision and building an entire team around you. I think so many people are scared to be themselves. And Jeff, thank you for sharing like agreed being gay, being different, having a different maybe, especially with the town you're in. I think that that was probably a big step and leap for you, but to stay true to who you are and you'll find that you will attract your tribe. You'll attract in the people that want to be a part of it ⁓ and not being afraid to share that. So I'm just so proud of you guys. I am so grateful you came on. It was so fun to highlight you, to share about you. Are there any last things you guys wanna leave as we wrap up today? I'll start with Jeff first. Last thoughts, anything you wanna add to today? Jeff & Andrew (26:48) Yeah, I just want to make sure that ⁓ you, Dental A team and Tiffany are really recognize, like understand your value because at every step of the way, you guys were always there for us. I could pick up the phone, Tiffany will pick it, she'll answer. It could be about plumbing. It could be about team. It could be about operations. You guys are always there for us consistently every step of the way. If you don't have an answer. You know, we brainstorm and we are like, okay, or you'll find it. You know, it's, I couldn't thank you guys enough. You did. I tell you every time, but it's true. You guys changed my life, both of our lives, honestly, ⁓ for the better. And we wouldn't be here today if we didn't have your encouragement, your support, and your backing behind us this whole time. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Kiara. Thank you, Tiffany. Thank you, Den-L-A team. Yes, thank you, Tiffany. Thank you. Thank you both for everything. Tell a team we were like so it like a pretty shit for you guys here. Like I remember we were talking about earlier meeting senior on the plane, giving you the brownie brittle. And I think I go back to like our first couple meetings and I I think you guys were like the first. No, you were the first that helped us not just see like when we were doing like team meetings about dentistry. It also was how does this relate to your personal? Kiera Dent (27:46) Thank you. Jeff & Andrew (28:15) And I think that's where the that could have been the switch you were asking about earlier. Sorry, it took me this long to realize that's what I love. That was the switch because it went from like, what can I teach you about dentistry to like, how can we all just live better lives? How can we come to work and be happy? How can you go home and use what you're learning here with your your house? And I think every time Tiffany comes in, we talk sometimes more about personal things going on at home and how this relates to work. And it's really just made that our culture. And I think whether it's me and my weight loss, that's something too. lost 90 pounds three years or four years ago now. that's, thank you. And that's kind of led to like we did a whole weight loss program with our whole staff. Like we learned nutrition and like we made things not about just dentistry, but like how we all can just live better lives. And I think that's really what's kind of just blown us up. So thank you so much for all of that. Kiera Dent (28:48) look amazing, Andrew, like, amazing. proud mama over here and just huge like thank you because to hear clients, to hear people that we didn't know prior to dentistry, like dentistry is our platform, life is our passion and to hear that you're thriving, that you are these amazing humans that are fulfilled, that is what we want. We don't want just dentistry. Like I said dentistry is our platform, life is our passion and so And like, Andrew, I saw you I was like, my gosh, you look like so great. And Jeff, you just look vibrant and you've gone through so many pieces and yet you're still smiling. You're still happy. You still, like you said, it's life. This is what it is. And we just get lucky enough to find each other through dentistry. So thank you for being a part of our family. Tiff's been incredible. And I'm just excited for like the next level and to continue to watch you guys flourish. Like I said, my biggest passion is making the best people have the best lives and truly win. So thanks for being on the podcast. I appreciate it. Jeff & Andrew (29:56) Thank you. Kiera Dent (29:57) you. ⁓ Jeff & Andrew (29:58) Thank you for having us. Kiera Dent (30:00) of course. And for all of you listening, I hope you were inspired today by Jeff and Andrew. They're people that have inspired me and I hope you saw yourself through the writing in the fabric of their story to see the things that are possible from Jeff not feeling like he even knew how to be into dentistry to running this huge practice and inspiring people to Andrew growing and evolving and bringing on things that he never thought were possible. I hope all of you see the potential within yourselves and ⁓ I'd love to be a part of your story and your journey. So reach out, Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental Team A Podcast. Jeff & Andrew (30:32) Thank you.

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387.1 - Muriel's Wedding with Jaime P. Bradley (Part 1)

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 60:49

Hey HBs! The wonderful Jaime P. Bradley is here to help Mel recap the movie Muriel's Wedding! It may not be a romance, but it's got a stupidly-talented Toni Collette, wild coming-of-age antics, and lots of LADY LOVE!!!! Content Warnings: Cancer diagnosis and treatment, suicide of a parent. Check out Jaime's books! https://jaimepbradley.com/the-books/ and follow her on Tiktok and Instagram! Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! This Friday Patrons and Apple Podcast subscribers are getting a squeepisode on the last book in The Games We Play in Granville series, SEVEN MINUTES IN KEVIN by DJ Jamison! Thank you for keeping Mel sane, fluffy MM romance authors! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail Follow our socials: Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

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Murder In Moscow: Bryan Kohberger And The Doordash Driver Who Claims She Is A Witness (6/23/25)

Beyond The Horizon

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 17:49

A new development has emerged in the case against Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. A woman, identified only as "MM" in court documents, claims she was the DoorDash driver who delivered food to victim Xana Kernodle shortly before the killings occurred. In bodycam footage from a September 2024 DUI stop in Pullman, Washington, she states, "I'm the DoorDash driver. I saw Bryan there. I parked right next to him." This statement suggests she may have witnessed Kohberger near the crime scene on the night of the murders. The authenticity of this claim is supported by DoorDash delivery records and surveillance footage placing Kohberger's vehicle in the vicinity around the time of the crime.However, the woman's credibility could be challenged due to her arrest for driving under the influence of prescription medication during the same incident. Despite this, her statement has garnered attention as a potentially significant piece of evidence in the case. Prosecutors may seek to introduce her testimony to establish a timeline of events leading up to the murders, while the defense may attempt to discredit her account. The trial is scheduled to begin in August 2025, with jury selection starting in late July. As the proceedings unfold, this new witness could play a pivotal role in the case against Kohberger.to contact me:bobbycapucci@protonmail.comsource:Bryan Kohberger murder case: Potential witness appears to say she saw him at the scene, police video shows | CNN

Could This Witness Change The Whole Case.

Police Off The Cuff

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2025 6:16

Could This Witness Change The Whole Case? #kohberger #Doordash #Idaho 4 case Could the door dash driver put the most powerful eyewitness in this prosecution against Bryan Kohberger? MM as the door dash driver is called saw Bryan kohberger in front of 1122 King Road on 11/13/22 in the early morning hours.

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A Soul To Keep by Opal Reyne with Sarah Wendell (Part 2 of 3) | 386.2

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 72:34

Hey HBs! We're back with Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books to recap A SOUL TO KEEP by Opal Reyne! Our duskwalker and captive (?) are just homesteading while they get to know each other, complete with growing their own food, crafting protection charms, and dyeing their own clothes. Is this actually the dream, or what? Except for all the demons who want to eat her. That's not ideal. Since this is a crossover episode, you'll get parts 1 and 2 here like normal and then part 3 will be on Smart Podcast, Trashy Books this Friday! Subscribe to the show it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. This week's sponsor: A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL by Alyxandra Harvey! This delicious historical is just as wicked as it sounds! It's an enemies-to-lovers in which a bookstore owning heroine blackmails the most dangerous man in London to help save her sister AND solve a murder... and that's only if they can get navigate through all that sizzling banter and electric sexual tension. GET IT NOW HURRY DON'T WAIT THE VOICE IS AMAZING. Want more of us? Check out our PATREON! This Friday Patrons and Apple Podcast subscribers are getting a squeepisode on the first three books in The Games We Play in Granville series by DJ Jamison! Thank you for keeping Mel sane, fluffy MM romance authors! Credits: Theme Music: Brittany Pfantz Art: Author Kate Prior Want to tell us a story, ask about advertising, or anything else? Email: heavingbosomspodcast (at) gmail Follow our socials: Instagram @heavingbosoms Tiktok @heaving_bosoms Facebook group: the Heaving Bosoms Geriatric Friendship Cult The above contains affiliate links, which means that when purchasing through them, the podcast gets a small percentage without costing you a penny more.

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A Soul To Keep by Opal Reyne with Sarah Wendell (Part 1) | 386.1