State Of The Union For Orthodontics In 2025

[00:00:07] I am one of your hosts, Zach Dice, joined by Dr. Bryce Gilliam, 2024's 40 Under 40, America's top young dentist, co-host of the TV show Making Modern, available on Macs, and owner and operator of Elevation Orthodontics. Welcome to the show, Dr. Bryce. Thank you so much for having me, man. I'm excited to be here. Dr. Bryce, I got to ask, before we get into the content, what are you most excited about for 2025?

[00:00:37] Dr. Bryce Gilliam Opportunity. Dr. Bryce Gilliam Opportunity for something a little bit different, for growth, to learn, to figure out what I can do better to serve my community. This year, for me personally, 2025 is a year of giving. I am going to give a lot of myself, a lot of my team. I want to make sure that we're giving a lot more than we're receiving. We're talking about the State of The Union, but from an orthodontic style, this is exciting. I'm excited. I hope people ask a lot of questions. This is what we're here for.

[00:01:07] We're here to help out. We're here to give our wisdom. We'll talk through any questions, any problems that you guys have, and see if we can help. Yeah. I'm excited because we're going to talk about last year, how everything kind of wrapped up, predictions for this year. The thing that I'm most excited about, I feel like I'm bringing a little bit to the table, is goal setting. This is something that I really love, and we're going to be talking about setting goals for the new year, for your practice.

[00:01:35] 2024 was a crazy year, Dr. Bryce. We just got some data from Gage on where the industry ended in November of 2024. We don't have December yet. Let's kind of jump into that data. I'm going to bring it up on stage. Dr. Bryce, kind of like seeing this data and everything, what are your initial thoughts on it? Yeah, I think that 2024 was kind of a down year across the board for a few reasons.

[00:02:05] Now, don't get me wrong. There's going to be some exceptions. There's going to be people who really crushed it, which is great. But for the most part, we saw it a little bit down. And I think that there's a couple of main reasons that stand out to why we were down. One of them was the economic uncertainty. You know, you had the presidential election that was causing so much division and chaos in people's minds and kind of scaring them, to be honest with you. But then also, we started to see this consumer trend of the value-driven spending.

[00:02:35] And when you're talking about this, people want to find the best value for them and their needs. And so you started seeing people move away from branded things into more generic things. And I think that we can blame Amazon for this or kind of knockoffs of things that we look at and we're like, oh, well, that's just as good. And then the third thing, which I think is a huge thing, is we've come off of two to three years

[00:03:02] of really powerful and huge growth after 2020. And so I think that there's a little bit of market correction during this time because we are able to – it just can't keep blowing out of proportion the whole entire town. So this is a little market correction. Yeah, and you see this not only in orthodontics. You see it pretty much just industry-wide within entertainment industry to several other things.

[00:03:32] They saw this huge boon of people in their homes. They don't have anything to do. And what are they going to do? They're going to consume more. And now people are back in the real world. Inflation is a huge deal. So there is definitely a correction here. So, Dr. Bryce, I've got to ask you, what does that mean in terms of numbers for the orthodontic industry that you're seeing? Yeah.

[00:03:57] So if we just look at your graph here, you can see that we were producing more, but we were collecting less revenue. And this could be because, you know, we stretched out payments to make people feel more comfortable with moving forward with treatment or any combination of those things. And then as you continue to look down at this graph, you see that the new patient calls and the total new exams were down as well.

[00:04:26] So basically you have fewer chances to start patients, which reflects that economic uncertainty that we were dealing with. When people feel uncertain about things, they're going to not move. Someone said this the other day. It's better to, like if you see a berry, you know, and you're starving to death, it's better to not eat that berry and live another day than eat the poisonous berry. That's absolutely true.

[00:04:56] One thing that I thought was interesting as well is aligners saw a big drop off. Yeah. Yeah. So aligners, there's a few things about aligners that really kind of came to the forefront. And I think that when you think about aligners, you have some people that are going to charge more for aligners. So therefore, if they are, you know, more expensive in these economic times, it's going to be tough for people to sell those.

[00:05:26] Also, providers went to situations where they may be inundated by all of these different aligners companies and may have poor patient experiences with one of the newer aligner companies that they tried and kind of just gave up on them. And so they went back to their basic sort of brackets and wires and higher profitability and less live feed.

[00:05:51] Also, more and more dentists are offering aligners as part of their brand and services. So that's taking a bit of it as well. Yeah. And I think whenever you think about aligners, sometimes whenever we talk to the patient, we talk about a device that's removable. Like you can take it in and out to eat. They equate that to not being very important.

[00:06:14] And so that may give them the mindset of, since this is not that important, I can push it off until, you know, the economics of it make a little bit more sense. Yeah. And that's an interesting way of thinking about it because if something is there and present, like, you know, regular braces or whatever, that's something that they are, they have no conscious choice. It's there.

[00:06:42] But with aligners, they're having to make that decision to take it out when they eat, brush your teeth, put it back in and wear it majority of the day. And when you're busy, different things, it's like exercise. When you get busy, what's one of the first thing that goes? Exercise. You get it. You get it. And, you know, it's like with, you know, the expenses of aligners because it's a lot of lab fees and everything.

[00:07:11] So it's like, okay, how can I make this more affordable for the practice and everything? So I definitely saw a dive last year. Yeah. There's a lot of, so again, we're coming out of 2020 and we were like, oh, we can treat all these patients remotely. So aligners blew up for the last two to three years. And now I think there's a little bit of market correction. And you can kind of see that with some of the larger companies.

[00:07:40] Companies, like they're laying off people now because they've, you know, over kind of committed. Now let's talk about conversion rate. I think that is one of the more telling things for the industry is conversion rate. Yeah. So conversion rate kind of stayed around the same, right? So that means that you were able to successfully convert the patients that actually came into your office.

[00:08:05] Now, to me, conversion rate is the most important thing because it is one of those things that immediately can get your numbers up. Just by going up, you know, 10% of your closer rate, you're going to see a huge profit on those type of things. I think that most people do is they don't make a great value proposition. So what do I mean by value proposition?

[00:08:34] It's what you're providing when you believe it's time to provide it, how you're providing it. It all must meet the why of why they're seeking your services. So you have to meet the patient where they're at. And all of those things have to work for them to say yes to you. Because when they're sitting in front of you, they're warm to the idea. They're not wasting their time.

[00:08:58] No one goes out of their way to, you know, have the scans done and do all of this. Yes, they're shopping around, but they're looking for the value to it. And you, the baseline is being an expert in your field. Let's just be honest. Like you all, every orthodontist has a baseline because you were the top of your class.

[00:09:22] You were super successful and you went through the rigors of everything to get to where you're at. So that is the baseline for every orthodontist out there. What separates you from that? Brian Tracy said this, everybody starts at the bottom 80%. It's the ones that get out of their comfort zone and get to that top 20%.

[00:09:47] So what can we do to get those conversions up and be that top 20%? It's super important. And this is where you want to kind of, you want to provide a place of learning for your TC to make sure that you are maximizing their skill set. But that also helps the office just generate a lot more of those successful wins. Just a quick plug. We have a great book that is just for TCs and it's totally free.

[00:10:17] So if you want to check out that resource, you can. And if you are a partner, we also have our course that is the ultimate treatment coordinator that goes along with that book. And fantastic stuff because sales is a relational thing. People buy off of emotions. They don't buy off of logic as much as we would love to, as much as we would love to be logical about purchasing anything. It's always an emotional choice.

[00:10:47] You know, you don't be like, oh, I got to get gas. You're like, I can get gas in the morning. I'm tired. And then the morning comes, you're like, oh man, I should have got gas last night. Absolutely right. So Dr. Bryce, what can orthodontists look forward to in 2025, the year that we're in right now? I actually believe our best is right out of front of us. 2025 is going to look totally different. The election is behind this, so it's less distraction.

[00:11:14] Healthcare and wellness industries are at an all-time high, especially like the preventative or self-care. I think it's important for you to start forming your marketing efforts and your messaging with this in mind. I want you to start using terms like take action now can be something that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. Those things are what people are starting to identify with more. A little bit of preventative here will go a long way.

[00:11:43] Also, another thing that you should look forward to is if you look back at that number of the chart, contract prices have went up. So your per case fee has went up. And I think that you can actually increase that a little bit more in 2025 to help with your margins. Be careful when you're doing this and add more value to make these prices justified, right? Maybe it's white.

[00:12:12] Maybe it's a retainer program. And then the next thing that I'm really excited about in 2025, and this is in particularly exciting to me because I have an adult-only orthodontic practice, is that we're starting to see more and more adults enter the new exam field, right? This is a great opportunity to build a successful program for your follow-ups because with adults,

[00:12:39] you have to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more persistent. So you lean into your training coordinator and you allow her or him to build these relationships at every interaction and then close those deals. We have been trained that we can have things instantly. And when we don't want to deal with something, we ghost people. You know, that is just the fact, especially millennials.

[00:13:07] I'm a millennial and we hate talking on the phone. So learning how to best reach people, I think, is going to be great. Building those relationships because, again, it's not just about the expertise. It's the relational part, especially for adults because they don't have a mom bringing them in. It's themselves. So their decision is up to them. So I think that is one big thing that we should be looking at for the new year.

[00:13:36] So 2025 is here and we're hoping for a better year. But without a plan, hopes and dreams just don't make the bank account go up. So my biggest thing is concentrating on what matters most and taking consistent action over a shorter time frame. This is our goal setting part of our discussion today. I would like to bring up the 12-week year.

[00:14:06] This is something that has kind of revolutionized my way of thinking about it because you look at any organization, Dr. Bryce, and I'm sure it's the same way for you. November, December, oh, my God, just gangbusters. We're going after those sell goals like everybody's just doing it. It's like, man, we just crushed it. But what if every 12 weeks was like November and December at the end of the year? I think that's a great concept.

[00:14:34] I mean, you know, you start to break the year down into much, much manageable chunks, right? The idea of making these 12-week period is almost like making their own little season, which to me is really awesome because I believe that people's outlook and mindset change every season. So that's why it's important to have a good follow-through and a follow-up program

[00:15:02] that reaches out to these non-committed stars every, you know, I'm sorry, every season. So it falls right along with that 12-week process. Yeah, because things might change within that 12-week. They might have paid off a car loan or something, you know, like everybody goes through that.

[00:15:24] And I think this is such a great way to go about things because when you stop procrastinating and you actually put your goals on paper, things start to change. And not just, oh, I'm going to lose weight in 2025. It's like, hey, I'm going to lose 10 pounds by X date. And guess what? If that date comes and you haven't lost 10 pounds, you can put another date. Like, it's okay.

[00:15:54] So let's kind of walk through this. And also there is a book that is by, let me pull it up. I'll tell you who it's by. It is by Brian P. Morin and Michael Lennington called the 12-week year that this pulls from. So the idea is to treat each 12-week period as a standalone year. That's how you start off.

[00:16:19] You have the short little segment that you can really focus on and get the most impact. So thinking of it as a year, just those 12 weeks. And I think the big thing is to set clear goals. You cannot be vague about your goals with this process. I agree. And I think you need to take maybe one to three high-impact goals for the 12-week period. Because you don't want to get too many. You don't want to reach too far.

[00:16:46] You want to get something that you can be laser focused on to make sure that the goals are specific and measurable and tied to a compelling vision of your success. Like we're just focusing on this 12 weeks. Okay. And the thing about doing any kind of goals, the further you get out, the more assumptions you start building those goals on. And it gets really unstable when one thing gets, it's a Jenga. You know, one little thing gets out of place.

[00:17:13] So the next thing is to focus on the process of this 12-week year. Yeah. You want to break down those goals into actionable weekly and daily paths. I know it's going to feel like it's a lot to add. But if you're focusing on one to three things, you can really get in-depth and focus on executing those tasks consistently. And that will drive successful daily habits. Yeah.

[00:17:42] And I'll just show this on camera. This is my daily task. And this is tied to a 12-week plan. And it's like I have top priorities. Those are the things that have to get done. And then I've got my smaller to-do things. So focusing on, like, the high-value task is way more important than, oh, well, I got to, you know, clean out the Keurig pot or whatever. You know what I mean?

[00:18:11] Like that isn't going to push the revenue. So I think that's really important to understand that. So the next thing, if it isn't measured, nothing is going to move. So tracking and measuring the progress that you're making within these tasks is going to be huge for you. Yeah. I think you're going to have to come up with some type of scorecard to track your weekly progress and performance. And I would shoot for about 85% execution rate on your plan task.

[00:18:39] You're not going to get them all, and that's okay. But what I don't want you to do is not get them all and give up. So if you can hit around the 85% execution rate on the plan task, you're going to be in a good spot. Say one week you got 60%, okay? Next week you're going to aim back for that 85%.

[00:18:59] And something that is a very stark contrast is when you're holding yourself accountable, sometimes it's going to, like, you're going to be like, man, I really don't want to do this because I didn't hit my task, my 85%. And you have to be, you have to level with yourself. That is okay. You can make that up. Um, so just know it's going to be kind of looking in the mirror. You know, when you wake up in the morning, you're like, is that what I look like?

[00:19:29] You know, it's, it's one of those things. So just know it's going to be a little bit of a shock to the system. But I think the, one of the big pieces is weekly planning and review sessions as well. Yeah. I always think that you do better when you plan in advance. So if you can plan, you know, your week in advance, identify the most critical actions for success, those things will go to the forefront of your mind and you'll be able to execute that execution.

[00:19:58] Having some people to do this with, uh, you know, it might be your TCs. They do a weekly session with, and it's like, Hey, we need to have X amount of starts this week. Okay. How are we going to go about that? Well, we need this many new patients coming in. Okay. Like, how can we tighten up the script?

[00:20:18] It could be just little bitty tasks that go into that overall goal of starting more patients and reflecting each week gives you that having that postmortem. It's like, Hey, well, this didn't work this week. Why do we think that? Was it something that we did is the plan, the right plan, or is it how we're going about it? I think that is another thing to think about in these sessions is like, is it me or is it the plan?

[00:20:48] Cause you don't want to throw the plan out just for, Oh, it didn't work the one time. That's right. And I mean, you got to think about it, like how we do orthodontics, right? You practice on a case and you use sound logic that you think will move the teeth in the right position. You look back at every single case and critically review it and say, man, I could have done this a little bit different to move that incisor just a little bit more. And it's the same kind of thing.

[00:21:16] You want to make sure that each week after you've performed your plan, how, you know, I guess how it worked and you want to adjust accordingly. We kind of hinted, danced around this one, but the last part is accountability. And I think this is huge because a lot of people think accountability is consequences, you know? Oh, well you have to be accountable for your actions.

[00:21:43] That's usually consequence, but it's not. This is something that grownups do. And like, I think we have to like change that part of our mind because that's how we've been trained, you know, growing up. You know, I like to say we're all just big four-year-olds. Like accountability, it kind of gives me a little bit of heebie-jeebies. I'm trying my relationship with it. I got to improve as well. That's so funny.

[00:22:08] But I think, didn't we do an accountability podcast so that they can like log into and listen to it? I'm pretty sure we did. Yeah, I think it's something that if we haven't released it yet, it's something that's coming down the pipeline. But accountability is huge. And it really, it gives people the motivation to kind of self-regulate, which is great. But then also, it gets the job done. It has everybody rowing the boat in some direction.

[00:22:35] And you can kind of call out the people that haven't, but then you can also praise the people that have. Nothing is better than having a brag session. You know what I mean? It's like, hey, you know, TC's, y'all been crushing it, you know, the last few weeks. Like our conversion rate is up. You know, we closed 100%. Like, could you imagine if you were able to close 100%? I know that's kind of a far-fetched number. But if you are able to brag on people, it motivates as well.

[00:23:03] But it can be a training moment as well. If you see somebody that is not hitting 85%, it goes back to that spot check that you talk about, Dr. Bryce. What's going on? Why are you not, like, how can I help you be able to reach the goal that you need to be hitting? Like, is there something wrong with the training? Is there something going on in life? Because sometimes people don't show up in the best mindset as well. That's absolutely right. And spot checking, you know, that's my thing.

[00:23:34] You know, with being able to spot check people, you'll be able to hold them accountable. But again, your goal is to set this up so that everybody holds themselves accountable. I love this system. Again, if you want to check out the book, it's called The 12-Week Year. It is great. It's not super dry either. And I think this is a big thing. Even if, like, you can listen to Brian Tracy's goals, you can listen to personal success by him as well.

[00:24:02] Like John Maxwell, whoever you want to listen to, everybody's going to come back to you need to set goals. Because if you don't have goals, you just have hopes and dreams. And that doesn't do anything for you but be disappointed down the road. So, Dr. Bryce, it's time for some Q&A. So, everybody, go ahead, put your questions in the chat. We want to help you, and we're excited to answer any questions that you have.

[00:24:31] So, don't feel afraid. No question is a dumb question. I was a teacher for seven years. So, trust me, your question is going to be way better than a lot of the questions that I got as a teacher. Well, then in the same way, I made all the wrong mistakes, right? So, if I can help by giving advice, answering questions, telling you what I did, and you not have to go through that, then great. Let's do it.

[00:24:59] Yeah, and I think that's something big because if you have, you know, a lot of people pay for coaches. Like Tom Brady, one of the best quarterbacks, some people would call the best quarterback of all time. He had a coach just for throwing. But he's the best in the world before he retired.

[00:25:22] And, like, this is how this works here is we're trying to help people be the best and help them navigate those, you know, situations or things that you might have struggled with. You can fast track them to be more successful, you know, in the short term and hopefully long term. Oh, awesome. We got one from Murdoch Orthodontics asking, do you have a bonus system for TCs? And if so, how is it structured?

[00:25:52] We do. We have a pretty – we have a couple of different bonus systems. We have one for scheduling patients. It's a little bit complex to say it out loud. But basically what happens is we set a goal, and if we reach that goal, every single person who schedules a patient gets five bucks.

[00:26:19] And then if we reach our secondary goal, everyone who singles a patient gets $10. That's one way that our TCs and front desk get bonus. But then we also bonus them on conversion rate. We have a minimum conversion rate.

[00:26:39] If you're less than 65%, then you don't get any of the bonus for that because we think 65% is the bottom of the barrel for us. Once they get to 80%, there is a 20% bonus or whatever it is.

[00:27:00] And then we actually bonus them for things that are helpful to us, whether it's a larger-than-payment, whether it is a retainer-for-life program, those add-ons that I was talking about. So we bonus a lot.

[00:27:21] And with bonuses, you've got to be careful to always bonus for performance, and they have to excel in that performance. It can't just be marginal. Yeah, you're wanting to reward the type of behavior that you want repeated over and over again. And having a benchmark for that, I think, is important as well, where you're constantly getting to that level and everything.

[00:27:51] Great question. We have another question from Dr. Jeremiah Warren. It says, Dr. Bryce, how do you approach your team and talk about seeing individual goals? Were they initially receptive to this? These are very great questions. So everybody's resistant to change. No matter if it's good change or bad change, whenever they hear that you're going to implement something new

[00:28:18] or you are going to start holding people accountable for things that maybe in the past you didn't, people start to climb up. Make sure that you're transparent with them of why you're doing it, how it's going to help the practice, and then also give them time to digest it, right? Don't expect you to go in on day one and then start immediately. Just say, hey, next week we're going to start implementing these things. That way it gives them time to process something.

[00:28:46] It gives them time to think, oh, it's not that big a deal or this is actually going to help. And things start to work a little bit better like that. Yeah, I agree. A good episode to watch of ours is titled Lead Your Orthotonic Team Effectively with These Proven Strategies. That is available on our YouTube channel. And it's a whole episode of us discussing that. And I think it will be a huge, huge help.

[00:29:14] Guys, if you have any questions, please pop them in the chat. We got some bangers already going on, guys. Thank y'all. Instagram's showing up today, y'all. We love getting to answer any questions that you have. Dr. Bryce, as we wait for the next question and everything, what is one thing that you are wanting to set a goal for 2025?

[00:29:42] I know we talked about all those goals and everything, but what is one thing that you want to set for this year? I'm trying to set a couple of things that are intangible, that are hard to measure. So I'm not going to talk about that. I want to have an 80 to 85 percent case acceptance rate.

[00:30:08] And the reason why I want it to be that high, or I think it can be that high, is because since I only treat adults, adults know that they need treatment when they come into the office. They are wanting to start treatment because they've taken their time out of their day to come to the office. So we should be able to close 80 to 85 percent of those patients.

[00:30:33] And so I know it sounds like a lofty goal, but I believe in what we do here and I believe in my team and the services that we provide. I like that goal. And it's always good to have lofty goals, you know, to rise to that occasion, I think is so, so big. We have a question here from Philip. I'm going to butcher your last name. I'm not even going to try it, but we're glad that you're here.

[00:31:03] Philip asked, what were your biggest hurdles with implementation of retainer program and how did you manage those? I'm planning on starting in the next two weeks. Yeah, the implementation of it is pretty straightforward. You're going to start seeing that it's pretty easy to get people to sign up for that because it makes sense. Where it becomes difficult is when you get a bunch of people who are willing to get new tenure.

[00:31:33] And so those are things that you're going to have to work through with your processes. But implementation is pretty straightforward. It is the actual fulfillment of those obligations. And that won't happen until, you know, 6 to 10, 6 to 12 months. I like it. And it's Curl, apparently. Thank you, Dr. Curl, for asking that question.

[00:31:56] And I think that is one of the biggest things with any kind of logistics is making sure that you plan out how everything is going to move. Because a lot of times it is out of your hands as the doctor. You're waiting for the retainers to come in, the trays and all of that. So you have to be very transparent.

[00:32:25] Like, hey, it's going to be between these kind of weeks and everything. So I think that's a big, big thing. Guys, make sure to pop your questions in the chat. We love to get to answer your questions. And if you haven't already, smash the like button. And if you haven't already, follow as well or subscribe if you're over on the YouTubes. We're here with Dr. Bryce. We're answering your questions.

[00:32:54] With setting goals, Dr. Bryce, I know you talked about yours, 85% case acceptance. What would you say to a doctor that is just starting out? Like, how would you guide them on setting attainable goals? That way they don't feel disheartened by, you know, the end of the first 12 weeks. They're doing the 12-week year.

[00:33:21] Like, how would you go about helping them set goals for their practice? Yeah, I think you have to look at goals less numbers-wise. And you have to think of goals like, I'm going to get these systems hammered out correctly. And that's one thing that I feel like most of us forget. Like, we open our pockets. We're so excited to see patients. We need to see money coming in because bills are going out, all those things.

[00:33:49] But we rush the process so much, we don't actually get our systems down. And so then once we start to grow, we're outgrowing these current systems that we've been operating with because we've never taken the time to refine them for growth. And so those days that you are not doing anything, you're sitting in your office twiddling your thumbs, waiting on patients to call, start working on those systems.

[00:34:16] Get in there and figure out how you're going to onboard a new patient, how you're going to get them from the front door to the chair. How that new patient experience is going to go. How you're going to handle phone calls. All of those things need to be outlined in easy, simple, repeatable steps. So whenever you hire the next assistant or you hire the next front desk person, it's so easy and straightforward that they don't even have to think about it. I love that.

[00:34:44] And for anyone that wants some help with that, this is totally free. If you will email help at hipcreative.com, you can get our growth series books totally for free. And I might be shipping, might be shipping. I'm not over that. But email us for those books because the scripts that Dr. Bryce was talking about for front desk, we go in details for that.

[00:35:14] If you're not a reader and you like audio books, we do have that available on Audible as well. And if you like something that's more interactive, you can also have your team take the quizzes and everything. We do have it as a course as well. So if you want those, please email help at hipcreativeinc.com.

[00:35:34] Dr. Jeremiah Warren asked, talking about, you know, setting goals, he said, how about someone who is currently in ortho residency? So where are we at in residency? So let's just talk about it in a couple of years. Let's say that you're first or second year. So you're not right. You're not quite ready to get out and practice. What I would start to do is I would start to learn how to work with an assistant. Right.

[00:36:03] I think that in residency, at least in my residency, we didn't learn how to work with assistants very well. That's the clinical side. Now, how do you look at it from a business standpoint? Well, this is when you start gaining knowledge. You start building relationships with vendors. You meet with him. You talk to them. You say, how could you help me?

[00:36:25] What would you do to outline a six to 12 month process to help me launch a practice? Right. This is when you meet with your rep and try to understand what it looks like to build out your office. Most of the time, if you ask questions, people are willing to help you. The worst thing you can do is just assume that people are going to offer free information without you asking.

[00:36:54] If you ask them, they'll probably help. If you don't ask them, they won't help. Yeah. Closed mouth doesn't get fed. That's right. And, you know, not to toot our own horn, we have a ton of resources here on our YouTube channel. Lots of great interviews with doctors, with vendors. The more you plan ahead, the better it will be because no telling how many times we have gotten called at HIP.

[00:37:23] Hey, I need to do some marketing. And it's like, OK, awesome. We'd love to help you. What's your budget? And they're like, oh, well, I got to like 2,000. And it's like they blew their whole budget because other vendors have like, oh, well, you need 7-Eye Tarot Scan. You know, like you need all of this stuff. And that's the bells and whistles when you need people in seats. Yeah. There's so many mistakes that I made.

[00:37:50] And going back to the residency thing, you know, I'm going to work for someone. I'm going to be an associate. I'm going to learn the process and the systems and things like that. I do think that that was beneficial and it helped me. But looking back on it, I think it just delayed my progress.

[00:38:10] And the reason I say that is because you can watch it being done as an associate, but it's different whenever you become the boss. And everybody's looking to you to figure it out. And so you're going to have to learn that anyway. So why not start when you're broke right out of school? You're not used to having money anyway. So it's actually probably been easier if I did it like that. Yeah.

[00:38:38] And I think, you know, nine times out of 10, when you come out of residency, you know how to move teeth. And Dr. Ben Fishbein talks about it all the time. He's like, the best thing that an orthodontist can do is work on teeth. To excel at the business part of it, you need to start, like you talked about, leveling up the business acumen that you have. You could watch stuff on YouTube.

[00:39:07] You could find online courses. You could do a plethora of things. You can read books. I know y'all probably read a ton of stuff, but the more you consume before you get out, the better off you're going to be because it all relies on you.

[00:39:24] And this was one of the episodes earlier on that we did was, you know, employees, they can come and go, but you've invested so much into your practice that you can't just go somewhere else without it wrecking a lot of things. So you have to be on that up and up. And when you're able to do those things, spin those plates, you're going to be way happier going home because putting out fires all day is very tiring. That's right.

[00:39:53] And I know it sounds like the business part is the most stressful part. The reason why it's the most stressful part is because we haven't been trained in it. You've got to think that you've been trained as a dentist for at least four years and in residency is either two or three years that you've been trained. So seven years of training and then you go out and do something and think that you're going to succeed day one without any training is kind of crazy.

[00:40:19] So, you know, be easy on yourself, but know that it's going to take some time, but there's no education better than I look at this way. One of my friends likes to play poker and, you know, I asked him, how do you play poker? I'm not very sure. He's like, well, just put some of your money out there and you'll learn real fast.

[00:40:41] And so the idea is you just jump out there and you will learn out of necessity and you'll learn much faster than if you aren't put to the fire. I've been watching the show about the Lakers when Magic Johnson got on the team and they had a new coach, Jerry West, just left and everything. And he, you know, his whole thing was like, I want the ball moving.

[00:41:11] I want people moving. I don't want them just standing still. And it's like, well, why don't we just give them like some positions? Like they'll be comfortable. And it's like, no, they need to learn by doing. And I think that's the biggest thing. You know, I was a band director for seven years and I was a good musician. But when I got in front of a group of kids to teach, that moment was so different than when I was in front of peers at college.

[00:41:39] It does change a lot of your perspective because the whole show is on you. But it's also an exciting thing because you get to shape something of your own. You get to create a lasting legacy. And I think that's so exciting for anyone is like, I get to do something that is going to affect people's lives. I get to improve their lives by making their smiles gorgeous. That's right.

[00:42:06] And then with orthodontics, you get to see these people so much that you get to be part of their family. You get to celebrate birthdays with them. You get to celebrate these achievements in their life. And I think that's really fun. But also, this is a really great career just in general. So whether you are a business owner or you decide you want to be an associate ship, you're in the right spot. Yes, there's some challenges. Yes, it can be hard. Yes, sometimes you're going to think, man, I wish I could have just won the lottery.

[00:42:37] But at the end of the day, this is a really awesome profession. And we're all blessed to be able to have the chance to be a part of it. And I think something that Dr. Kristen Ginnett has talked about, she asked questions a lot. She would, you know, talk to other orthodontists.

[00:42:55] And I think that is something that can be utilized a lot more is if you've got questions, if you're in residency or if you're, you know, you've got to practice whatever, it's talking to peers. Because nine times out of ten, they are either going through it with you or they've gone through it and can help you. Like, hey, I went through the same thing. This was my struggle. This is how I overcame it. Or, yeah, man, I'm going through the same thing.

[00:43:23] Let's find somebody together so we can help each other out of this hole. And we've kind of built this community here in Nashville where we're, as orthodontists, we're pretty close. We all kind of help each other out, which seems kind of odd or maybe counterintuitive. But the idea is not that we're all in competition with one another. It's that there's enough. So I think I was going to leave you with this, but I'll just jump right into it.

[00:43:50] And what I want people to do is have a mind shift or mindset shift. And I want people to get away from this scarcity mindset that there's not enough patience, that if this person is being successful, that stops you from being successful. And that's just untrue. I want you to adopt a mindset of abundance where there's enough for everybody.

[00:44:15] You know, there's enough patience, there's enough potential patience for everybody to succeed and reach their goals and do the things that they're trying to do. And so don't be so fearful that there's not enough, because there is, I promise. I'm in a very competitive market and we're successful and so are my other colleagues. And you can be successful as well.

[00:44:38] Yeah, I think that is such a golden nugget of advice is if you see everyone as an adversary, you're always afraid. But if you see everyone as an ally, everyone can succeed because you were iron sharpens iron. As, you know, a book says, you know, I think that's super important because what you know, I might not know.

[00:45:08] You know, I'm not great at math, but I know people that are really good at math, you know, and it's like I'm good at speaking in front of a bunch of people. They're not as great at speaking in front of a bunch of people. It's like everybody has their own thing and the thing that they're good at and we can help each other. I think that's huge. 2025 is going to be an amazing year. We've got a ton of content that we've got in the pipeline. We've got more episodes. Everybody needs to check those out.

[00:45:36] They are available as podcasts and videos on youtube.com slash hip creative. I think it is just look up hip creative in the search bar and you'll find us there. You'll see our smiling faces on the thumbnails and there's a ton of interviews as well over on our YouTube channel. You don't want to miss out on what we're doing here. We've got a lot of great shorts that are going out as well. Dr. Bryce, anything you want to add before we roll this thing?

[00:46:06] No. Hey, listen, guys. I want to thank you for chiming in, listening, and asking questions. Questions are the best thing that you can do. As the resident, as a seasoned orthodontist, ask questions, get different points of view, perspectives. That way it pushes you out of your comfort zone, but it also gives somebody the opportunity to help you. And sometimes just being able to help other people is all we need.

[00:46:34] So, again, that's my whole thing for 2025 is to help and to give more. And so if I can be a resource to you at any point, just let me know. Guys, that is our stream today. Make sure to like and subscribe to our weekly podcast, the Grow Ortho podcast, to hear more content and help you grow your practice. As Mark Twain said it best, the secret of getting ahead is getting started. So get out there and get started making the changes you want to see in your practice now.

[00:47:03] This has been Zach. I'm Bryce. And thank you for listening to the Grow Ortho podcast. It's my big guy.