Mastering Leadership and Building a Thriving Dental Practice (E.278)

 

“Happier dentists create happier teams, which leads to happier patients.” ~Dr. Jared Anderson

Many dentists enter the field with passion but quickly realize that running a practice requires a completely different skill set. In this episode, Dr. Jared Anderson shares how he overcame leadership challenges, refined his decision-making process, and developed a thriving dental practice that prioritizes both profitability and culture.

 

Dr. Anderson dives deep into:

• How mastering leadership changed his practice by removing emotions from business decisions.
• The transition to a three-day workweek and how it revolutionized his career satisfaction.
• Why he started moving out of network with insurance and the strategies he used to make the shift successfully.
• The critical role of KPIs and financial strategy in making smart business decisions.
• How investing in team culture and strategic compensation leads to higher efficiency and job satisfaction.

If you’ve ever wondered how to run a successful, stress-free, and highly profitable dental practice, this episode is a must-listen. Dr. Anderson’s story proves that with the right mindset, coaching, and systems, dentists can create a fulfilling and financially rewarding career while enjoying more personal freedom.

 

Key Reflection Questions for Listeners:

• Am I making objective, data-driven decisions, or am I letting emotions control my leadership?
• What small changes could I implement today to create a better team culture and improve patient experience?
• Would reducing my workdays increase my profitability and career satisfaction?

Listen now and start transforming your practice today!

 

TRANSCRIPT

[00:03:11] Regan Robertson: Welcome to Everyday Practices Dental Podcast. I am your host Reagan Robertson here coming to you, not live because it’s pre recorded, but we’ll say live today from a, um, gray Anacortes, Washington, but there’s nothing gray about the conversation I’m going to have today. I cannot wait to introduce you.

[00:03:28] Regan Robertson: Let’s just jump right into it. Dr. Jared Anderson of Select Care Dental. Dr. Jared. Welcome to our podcast.

[00:03:36] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah. Thank you. Happy to be here.

[00:03:38] Regan Robertson: Absolutely. Uh, uh, listeners, if you notice, I didn’t even give much of an introduction because that’s how excited I am today. I met Dr. Jared a year ago, I want to say in person at a PDA conference.

[00:03:50] Regan Robertson: And, you know, like I talk about you as a listener, you know, I know you’re super passionate about comprehensive care. I know that you’re eternally curious and always looking for [00:04:00] solutions. And, uh, Joanne Miles, our lead IGP advisor actually recommended Dr. Jared for, uh, for this episode. Because, uh, he’s been, you know, he’s been through his own trials and tribulations and come out swinging on the other side.

[00:04:13] Regan Robertson: And I know that that’s a topic that you all are very interested in. So, Dr. Jared, if you could, you know, introduce yourself and sort of, uh, share with our listeners, you know, uh, your background and, and where you are and what you love to practice and what you’re working on.

[00:04:29] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, yeah, I work in central Oregon.

[00:04:30] Dr. Jared Anderson: I was born and raised here in Bend, Oregon, um, and, uh, I had kind of a, another career before I was interested in dentistry. My, my dad’s best friend is a dentist, and so he obviously was an influence on me. So, um, it took me a few years to figure it out, but I finally decided, um, that dentistry was the path I wanted to go.

[00:04:51] Regan Robertson: Wait, what was your, what was your other career? Roller derby?

[00:04:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, I dabbled in, in small real [00:05:00] estate projects. So like I buy a fixer upper house and remodel it, that type of thing. And, um, and in that process I had this landscape construction business that I did. And I think it was just more of a hobby type interest thing that complimented what I was doing.

[00:05:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: So, um, yeah,

[00:05:16] Regan Robertson: you would have been successful either way since you’re in Bend, Oregon, which has exploded in the last, what, decade or so,

[00:05:23] Dr. Jared Anderson: hasn’t it? Last couple decades. Yeah, absolutely. And it’s now it has kind of its own momentum just because it’s such a nice place to live, you know,

[00:05:33] Regan Robertson: so you were destined right from the beginning, you were going to be successful either way.

[00:05:36] Dr. Jared Anderson: I was hoping to. A lot of ambition. We’ll say that. Yeah. So yeah. So I went, yeah. So I went to demo school kind of late in life. I think my freshman year, I was 28 years old. And so, yeah, a little bit, a little bit, uh, late start, but I had a great time and, um, yeah, and then got out and I associated for a couple of months and then I found a practice [00:06:00] that was kind of this turnkey, small practice that was available.

[00:06:03] Dr. Jared Anderson: And because I’m ambitious that way, I just saw that as a great opportunity and went ahead and bought it. And just got after it.

[00:06:13] Regan Robertson: Wow. So what year was that?

[00:06:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: That was 2002. So I graduated in spring of 2002. And, um, like I said, I worked for a few months. And then, uh, And then found this practice and started.

[00:06:28] Dr. Jared Anderson: That was, uh, December. of 2002 that I bought the practice and started up.

[00:06:33] Regan Robertson: I think this is exciting. One, probably because I have, uh, uh, children of my own right now, and they are saying, you know, that, that schooling takes, is going to take too long. So college is going to take too long to become, uh, an optometrist, as one of them is discussing right now with me.

[00:06:47] Regan Robertson: And, and I’m trying to, you know, explain that, you know, time goes by much faster than you think, but also you can always change your mind. You can always shift up and still find massive, massive success. So this, this was a great departure from, from [00:07:00] your previous endeavors. Uh, what were some of the obstacles maybe that you encountered early on as you, as you, uh, you know, purchased this practice and really dove in?

[00:07:11] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, I think the same ones that have been my challenges throughout my career, which is, uh, my leadership skills. I think that really was it.

[00:07:23] Regan Robertson: Tell me more about what, how you define leadership skills. Cause that’s a huge bucket.

[00:07:28] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, it’s, it’s a massive bucket. Yeah. I could, I could talk about that for a long time. Um, you know, I think if I had to summarize it as accurately as I could, I would say learning to remove emotion from the decisions I make and become objective as a leader.

[00:07:46] Oh, yeah.

[00:07:47] Dr. Jared Anderson: So I had, you know, I didn’t seem to ever lack in positive energy or ambition. Um, but I think just because of who I am, I think I, I just naturally had challenges as a leader, [00:08:00] and I think that would be the best way to describe them.

[00:08:02] Regan Robertson: So do you feel like when you were hit with challenges, uh, uh, in a leadership capacity, that could mean financial decisions down to employee decisions.

[00:08:09] Regan Robertson: Do you feel like you let emotions take control when you wanted to be more zen like for, for lack of a better

[00:08:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: term? 100%.

[00:08:16] Regan Robertson: I understand that completely. I’ve seen so many motivational videos where they talk about that space in between and I would say I’ve worked on the space in between for a decade now and I still, I’m going to have to work on it for more decades, that space between when that decision has to be made and the reaction to it.

[00:08:34] Regan Robertson: So something happens and can I control my emotions and be centered in that, that second, that split second.

[00:08:41] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, no, it’s been ever since I started my career. I think ever since I’ve been an employer, I think it’s been this ongoing challenge with myself of kind of deep programming my natural reactions and learning.

[00:08:53] Dr. Jared Anderson: And it’s just, it’s a very insidious and difficult thing to overcome. Um, but that has been my career long [00:09:00] challenge. And it’s still in progress. I think I’ve come a long way. Um, but it’s something I think about almost daily.

[00:09:06] Regan Robertson: Were there certain, certain scenarios or consequences that happened specifically that made you kind of stop in your tracks and say, because I guess what I’m getting at here is you have to be self aware to even understand that it might be something that’s in you that needs to change.

[00:09:22] Regan Robertson: So was the practice being negatively impacted and you had to figure that out? Like you had to turn around and say, okay, maybe it’s my leadership style. Like what led you to understand that, Oh, it’s my leadership. That’s an issue.

[00:09:35] Dr. Jared Anderson: Oh, I’ve had multiple, there’s too many to mention. Client. They, they really are.

[00:09:40] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah. But just suffice it to say that, yes, there were multiple ones that impacted me personally impacted me financially. Um, yeah, there’ve been many along the way. And, uh, yeah. And I’ve just, that’s, like I said, that’s been my ongoing challenge. And so, um, I eventually got to the point, you know, recently where, [00:10:00] you know, I’ve always been introspective about it.

[00:10:02] Dr. Jared Anderson: And that’s another thing about it sometimes, even though it’s almost like I can watch myself making mistakes.

[00:10:07] Regan Robertson: Oh, I hate that. And yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Yes, it’s in slo mo almost and you can’t, for me, I just do it anyway and I’m like, I knew it was not the right thing to do.

[00:10:16] Dr. Jared Anderson: Right, exactly. So, so anyway, yeah, so it’s just been this very incremental, um, process and I don’t think I ever, Stopped circling around and going, okay, how did you screw that up for yourself, Jared?

[00:10:33] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, uh, sometimes it just takes me longer to listen. And, uh, it’s just, like I said, it’s been this ongoing process, but little by little, it’s been getting better and better. And I think I’m, I’m kind of on the other side, so to speak, where I’m making mostly Good zen like decisions and finding that there’s been some true change in myself personally Where my normal knee jerk reactions are more healthy.

[00:10:58] Regan Robertson: For me, I [00:11:00] had to engage support So I I was I’m I can be a stubborn individual and I and I mirror you I think I would call myself ambitious meaning, you know If I wanted if I’m if something is gonna be enjoyable, but I’m gonna go after it no matter what I don’t I don’t want Anything to stop me or get in my way And then there came a point where I realized I couldn’t Overcome my own, uh, leadership challenges by myself.

[00:11:22] Regan Robertson: So I needed to engage some support. What, what tools did you look towards over the years to, to help you, uh, you know, overcome some of these challenges that you had?

[00:11:35] Dr. Jared Anderson: Well, you know, yeah, I mean, obviously one of the first things you start reaching out to people who know how to help, right? So I’ve had help and, you know, I’ve reached out many different areas and You know, some people were more, some situations were more helpful than others, right?

[00:11:49] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, um, but I think more recently, I think coming out of COVID, things were a little stirred up. And, um, you know, we recently, at the end of [00:12:00] 2023, went through a management change. So I hired someone up, promoted someone up from within the office. And it just seemed, You know, it seemed like a perfect time, you know, to kind of regroup and take a close look at the systems and, and, and that’s when I started thinking about, okay, I need to get affiliated with some kind of a coaching firm to help me through this.

[00:12:24] Dr. Jared Anderson: Cause though I do have the ambition, you know, after 22 years of, you know, being a dentistry, I don’t quite have as much physical and mental energy to. To go through each and every one of these systems, along with the fact that I was bringing up and training someone into the manager position. And so it’s just like, this is a great time to bring on a coach and let’s start to look at each and every system and help train this new manager and, you know, kind of revamp we are already already running systems really, really well in the office.

[00:12:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: I see we had a great running office with a great crew. [00:13:00] Um, but you know, if you’re, you know, if that last 10 percent is not quite right, it can be pretty impactful. And so, so I wanted to just basically, okay. I wanted some help in, in, in taking a look at all the systems and make sure they’re good and which ones need to be changed, be changed.

[00:13:16] Dr. Jared Anderson: And then I also wanted help in training manager up. And I wanted to also be able to kind of transfer some of that. to coach to help me with that while I’m still trying to stay focused on clinical, right? So that’s one of those things that was always kind of vexing me my whole career is, is trying to balance out that management and the, and the clinical, you know, cause I want to be able to give as much to myself as I can, you know, to my patients and do the best work I can.

[00:13:44] Dr. Jared Anderson: So, um, at this point in my career, I, I look, I thought about that and it’s like, you know, I really, yeah, definitely I need someone to help me, someone to lean on to help with these systems. And so, um, I happened upon [00:14:00] PDA, I can’t remember which magazine I read. You might be, might be able to come up with that.

[00:14:04] Dr. Jared Anderson: I can’t remember which one it is right now.

[00:14:06] Regan Robertson: Maybe Dentaltown. We’re in a few. I think

[00:14:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: it might’ve been the Dentaltown. Anyway, it was a, yeah, and it was a good article and, and I read about a doctor who kind of, you know. Use the the help of PDA to really revamp things this practice and and I really liked that it really resonated with me It’s like yeah, that’s the type of culture.

[00:14:23] Dr. Jared Anderson: That’s the type of dentistry I want to you know that I feel comfortable doing so it just it just really resonated and I thought okay And so I sought him out

[00:14:32] Regan Robertson: You know, in talking to hundreds of dentists so far over this podcast, which has been my honor to do so, it’s really interesting, uh, when you see, you start to see patterns among productive dentists.

[00:14:42] Regan Robertson: And so when they say productive dentists, I mean, you know, doctors that are, again, very passionate about comprehensive care, but also passionate about running a healthy business. And, uh, and one of those key patterns that I see time and again reminds me of a high performance athlete. So it’s not. Yeah, it’s not necessarily [00:15:00] someone that, that the whole building is burned down and they just have no idea what to do.

[00:15:02] Regan Robertson: Usually things are running good, like solid, good, and they just want to tweak the dial and, and really like, Maximize it. So we like to say optimize it. Those are two like business buzzwords, but really just make it that just as high performance as it can be within within realistic limitations. And I, one of the issues that I see that comes from that is that trust in delegation.

[00:15:26] Regan Robertson: Again, this might be me being a little biased, but I know that I like keep things close to the vest and I should be delegating. So leaders, one of the leadership skills that you need to be able to is let go of the reins and trust. And so what I heard you say, if I just want to reflect to you is you’re bringing in a manager, so you had the training and the responsibility, you know, around that element of it as well.

[00:15:45] Regan Robertson: You’re growing the practice and you’re practicing clinically as well. So just because you can do things doesn’t necessarily mean you should. And I’m throwing age. Completely out the window. Okay. Yeah. You’ve been practicing for 22 years. I think that has nothing to do with it. Maybe, maybe we go [00:16:00] to bed by eight o’clock.

[00:16:00] Regan Robertson: I get that. But even if you’re a super young buck dentist, should you be tackling all of those things at once? And is it the best? Uh, solution for your team and your practice. And so I’m really excited to hear about how you vetted out coaches and what made you say, okay, I trust, I trust this particular team.

[00:16:20] Regan Robertson: Like I hear that you read the article and that was really cool, but what, what, what gave you that transfer where you said, okay, I can really let this go and delegate these pieces.

[00:16:30] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, that’s that is a good point. And delegation is another one of those things that I’ve been, um, trying to learn as a as a manager as a as a leader.

[00:16:39] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, yeah, because I’m one of those. It’s like if you want to done right do yourself type people. It’s I just have this knack for doing that. And, um, And that’s obviously not, not terribly often the case as a leader. So delegation is one of those things I needed to learn to develop for sure. Um, I, you know, I have to say the article that I read in the magazine, [00:17:00] there was enough information there that that alone was, I would have to say most of my motivation for picking PDA.

[00:17:07] Dr. Jared Anderson: I mean, I, I’ve, you know, through the years. I’ve worked with different companies for various different things, and so I have a pretty good feel of what’s out there. And, um, but that article really resonated with me. Everything about that just, it just seemed to match, uh, how I like to practice or how I want to practice.

[00:17:26] Dr. Jared Anderson: And so, yeah, of course, I spent a little time, you know, reaching out to PDA and talking to a couple people and kind of vetting it out. But that was just more to make sure that there wasn’t anything, um, that I didn’t like.

[00:17:39] Regan Robertson: Yeah. I think it’s important to be seen and, and heard and, and to be able to see that show up in a, in another doctor is very inspiring and it definitely can help, help clinch that.

[00:17:50] Regan Robertson: Well, why don’t you walk us through some of the things that the spoiler alert here is, is, uh, I know that you’ve happened to grow your EBDA EBDA EBDA EBDA [00:18:00] quite significantly since 2023, I think. Uh, so I, I’m, I’m excited to get into kind of the data portion of this and talk. Okay. Okay. Your leadership skills sounds to me like the coaching probably helped you, uh, with that area.

[00:18:14] Regan Robertson: What were the other areas that, that were helped? And what were some of the strategies that, that you and, and your coach put into play?

[00:18:21] Dr. Jared Anderson: Well, yeah, I mean, there’s, there’s kind of the cultural, so kind of how everything feels. Um, I can tell you in, in my, my overarching goal, my very first and foremost goal, you know, just as a business owner, as a dental office owner, PDA was to create.

[00:18:40] Dr. Jared Anderson: a culture where we all are happy to be working there on a day to day basis. That was first and foremost, right? So if you can accomplish that, uh, to the best of your ability, if you can really achieve that really well, then, um, the numbers are going to tend to, they’re going to be good, right? The performance of the practice is going to be good.

[00:18:58] Dr. Jared Anderson: If you have a bunch of [00:19:00] happy, motivated people on a daily basis, There’s almost no way that you can screw that up, right? You’re going to do well. Um, so that was first and foremost. Um, and then of course, when you start the process, if you’re a responsible business owner, then you’re going to start looking at all the KPIs, right?

[00:19:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: You’re going to look at all the critical numbers that’s you just have to do that. And, um, so that goes along with the kind of the cultural aspect of it or side by side. So we started doing that, right? So we, that’s one of the first things that PDA does. It’s like, okay, let’s start taking a look at all your numbers.

[00:19:31] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, and that’s what we did. And when you take a look at the numbers, then the numbers don’t lie, they show, you know, they’re the litmus test to show how well your systems are working and how well your culture is working, right? It shows up in the numbers, period, end of story. That’s where you see it. So you start to watch those numbers and you can’t help to see, it’ll help you pinpoint areas.

[00:19:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: Where the systems may not be running as well as they can or they should [00:20:00]

[00:20:00] Regan Robertson: if you can be my eyes and ears for me Walk me through what what that session was like what KPIs were you were you looking at and then Joanne? I believe your lead IGP advisor is that Are you laughing?

[00:20:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, cuz I’ve started to start to remember all of those Yeah, yeah, so so You know, gross productivity, collections, net productivity, you know, we start to break it down into dental supplies, you know, and then we start break those down into implant supplies, things like that.

[00:20:33] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, production per hour for each person, you know, the hygiene team, the associate, myself, um, production per day, you know, things like that. So we start to just look at everything. Every little aspect of, you know, what you’re producing and what it costs you to produce.

[00:20:51] Regan Robertson: Was there any number in particular that stuck out to you and you were like, Oh, I I wasn’t expecting that.

[00:20:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: I think the most, yeah, yeah, yeah. I [00:21:00] mean, for sure, you know, you look at like, what’s the biggest one? What’s the biggest expense? Labor, right? And so, you want to have a handle on that, obviously. So, you want to see where you’re at there. Um, I found that, fortunately, I was pretty good to start with. And so, but you know, but you want to, you know, my theory is, is I want my staff to be paid the very most that they can be paid.

[00:21:24] Dr. Jared Anderson: That it is beneficial to the office, right? And so I try to kind of tweak that number up to the highest level, um, that I can and make it good for the office. Uh,

[00:21:34] Regan Robertson: where does your heart come from? That’s, that’s a unique statement to, to have. There’s two things I just want to point out that I’ve heard. One, you want everybody to be happy and then two, you want to make sure that your team is rewarded as to the very maximum ability that you can to still run a healthy practice.

[00:21:51] Dr. Jared Anderson: Uh, I guess, why not? Um, I think that just makes sense to me. Uh, I[00:22:00]

[00:22:01] Dr. Jared Anderson: mean, I, I feel like they should be. I mean, in theory, you should have the best people in the office that you can good people that you like to work with and that they like what they do. Um, but then they need to be motivated for what they do. They want to, I want them to be rewarded. I want them to find satisfaction in what they do.

[00:22:18] Dr. Jared Anderson: And I want, you know, I feel like they should be rewarded. I think, you know, everyone should be when they show up and I’m talking about the patients as well. You know, um, you certainly can make a win, win, win. You know, if you’re doing it right, everybody’s winning. And so I just want to, you know, I don’t like, there’s so many different ways to squeeze profit out of a business.

[00:22:43] Dr. Jared Anderson: I don’t want. to squeeze it out of my staff.

[00:22:49] Regan Robertson: This is our this is a discontrolling idea. You got my hands going now. So

[00:22:53] Dr. Jared Anderson: yeah,

[00:22:54] Regan Robertson: how did you do it? How did you do that? It’s this is exciting to me.

[00:22:57] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah Well, you know, like I said, I think [00:23:00] I already it’s I think If I had some deficiencies as a as a leader, it is not in how much I pay people That has never been a problem.

[00:23:09] Dr. Jared Anderson: I’ve always felt that I want people to be well compensated Um, so I think when we started looking at the numbers, I think they were all already pretty good And so I just wanted to get a better grip on, you know, how it was regionally and nationally compared to other dental offices.

[00:23:28] Regan Robertson: Okay. So you, so you worked with Joanne to understand that, that, that difference, what, what is so compelling to me is from that place of heart and that place of understanding where, like from your values, where you allocated those dollars mattered.

[00:23:42] Regan Robertson: And you put that, you understand that if you are motivating, inspiring, and And recognizing your labor that will equate to better patient care, that will equate to sales, which is very Dr. Bruce Baird, by the way. Dr. [00:24:00] Bruce Baird always says, uh, and my own dad, shout out to my own dad. Do what you love, the money will follow.

[00:24:05] Regan Robertson: Just focus on, on what makes you happy, what makes you passionate, motivated, exciting, money will follow. So that’s always been like, you know, his mantra, Dr. Bruce’s, you know, take great care of the patients, the money will follow. Uh, so you looked at the numbers with Joanne. You got a baseline and you decided, okay, we’re going to, we’re going to attack these different areas.

[00:24:24] Regan Robertson: What, what areas did you focus on

[00:24:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: to grow in terms of labor? You’re asking me here

[00:24:30] Regan Robertson: in terms of the whole practice, like, cause you said you looked at your production, you looked at your collections, you had your different KPIs.

[00:24:37] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, we looked at. Um, efficiency of hygiene, you know, you just, we just, you start to take a close look at how many fluorides are you doing and how many you’re doing compared to the national average of that type of thing.

[00:24:50] Dr. Jared Anderson: So we started just with a zero in on those numbers, right? So, okay. I mean, it helps to be objective about that, right? Cause it helps you make those decisions like, you know, can I give people a raise? [00:25:00] Let’s know, let’s take a look. That type of thing. And so I, it really helps to get. You know, really objective about the number.

[00:25:07] Dr. Jared Anderson: So I looked at every single number. I looked at, you know, like, for instance, my dental supplies brought the charts, right? They’re a little, they’re above, uh, fairly above the national average. Um, and some of my lab was, you know, so. If you’re not looking at those numbers, you’re getting distracted by other things.

[00:25:24] Dr. Jared Anderson: You’re not noticing it and they’re going to get out of hand. That’s the bottom line. And so I, I looked at everything and, and, but yeah, dental supplies, labs. Those were some of the things that were out of line. Um, I think a couple of the staff members were getting paid great. And then there are a couple that I felt like could come up.

[00:25:42] Dr. Jared Anderson: And so we did that. You know, um, we looked at the bonus systems. We brought in a, you know, a bonus system that works. I’ve always kind of struggled with creating good bonus systems that work long term, um, incentive systems. And so, you know, we started with one conservatively. [00:26:00] And, you know, I’ve been tweaking on that and getting it dialed in and, um, and so that’s been working well.

[00:26:04] Dr. Jared Anderson: So that’s one thing I brought in. Um, but yeah, I mean, Joe, I looked at every single number in the practice room, start to finish.

[00:26:13] Regan Robertson: So the, the end result to this, uh, if you’re comfortable telling listeners, how much were you able to, to grow, um, not just your profits, but your net?

[00:26:25] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, yeah, quite a bit. Uh, 2023 was definitely a dip year for me in terms of profit.

[00:26:34] Dr. Jared Anderson: A little bit in terms of production, but definitely in terms of profit. And I think it, it was really tied into kind of post COVID management change, that type of thing. Um, uh, and, but then I took on PDA midway through, uh, 2024. So I, I’d say the, in the first [00:27:00] year, fiscal year that I brought on PDA. Profit and productivity went up by 22%, which was pretty incredible.

[00:27:14] Regan Robertson: It is, it’s significant.

[00:27:15] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, that was hugely significant. And I will say that one of the goals kind of in the back of my mind that kind of went along with creating a better, happier culture to work in Was to start to slowly but surely get myself out of network with insurance, right? And so if I’d have had my druthers, I would have been out of network completely.

[00:27:37] Dr. Jared Anderson: That’s my ultimate goal is to work in dentistry out of network, completely out of network with insurance companies.

[00:27:44] Regan Robertson: So you still take on some right now, not much?

[00:27:46] Dr. Jared Anderson: I do. We’ve peeled a few of them off over the last year. We try not to be too aggressive, too fast, um, but my ultimate goal is yeah, completely out of network ultimately.

[00:27:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: So I think, I think the insurance companies are making that so much easier for [00:28:00] us now than they ever have, um, to do that. But um, so anyway, yeah, so that was one of the, the goals. And I, I kind of had this vision in my mind where this practice could function even if I wasn’t there and be profitable, right?

[00:28:16] Dr. Jared Anderson: So what’s that? That’s a profitable practice. So what does that mean? That means the. Yeah. That Ibida is replacing, right? Ebida, Ibida. So that’s really the first time I really took, I started to look at the Ibida, um, more closely as a function there, so. So, and, and, yeah, that, that’s, you know, if you got a practice that could run theoretically well without you there, that has a, that’s a practice with a good EBITDA.

[00:28:44] Regan Robertson: So for, for listeners, if you, if you’re curious about EBITDA or EBITDA, depending on where you’re coming from, that, that number helps determine the valuation of your, of your practice. So if you’re ever getting to that point, someday. You will get to that point, not today, but someday, so everybody [00:29:00] will, um, you can transition.

[00:29:01] Regan Robertson: You’re going to have to do something with your practice, either pass it to an associate who becomes a partner or sell it to a DSO, go into a small group partnership, whatever it may be. So, so right now, as of today, my understanding is that number helps determine that multiple that you get at the time of sale.

[00:29:17] Regan Robertson: Correct, Dr. Jared?

[00:29:18] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, that’s correct. And another way of looking at it is the EBITDA is what your practice makes if you stop working and maybe hire someone to replace you.

[00:29:25] Regan Robertson: Oh, that’s another great way of saying it. Yeah.

[00:29:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: But yeah, I mean, that’s, that’s, so that’s the reason that I started looking at it is because that was kind of my goal is like, Hey, I want to, I really want to create a practice like that could serve as an annuity for myself later on in life.

[00:29:40] Dr. Jared Anderson: If I decided I wanted to retire completely step away. But is what’s left over when I do that. Right. So, um, I wanted to create the ability to do that, but not necessarily. Um, pull the trigger, you know? Well,

[00:29:54] Regan Robertson: isn’t it like insurance, like, so obviously I’m not a dentist, but the freedom of not being [00:30:00] constricted.

[00:30:00] Regan Robertson: So I have been to a doctor who I was trying to, it was the weirdest patient experience I have had. Uh, I, I wanted help. And there was a solution for that help and, and the doctor was dancing all this way, that way. It was really uncomfortable and, and he kept saying, insurance doesn’t cover that. Finally, when I realized he was concerned about what insurance was going to cover or how is this going to code it.

[00:30:23] Regan Robertson: And I responded, I’ll pay whatever it is. I, I want this problem solved. I don’t care. It was like you saw a boulder come off of his shoulders and he’s like, Oh, that’s the conversation we’re having. Okay, well then I would do and he like. His body got lighter, his tone got lighter, and he’s like, I do this, this, this, this, this, and I was like, let’s go, let’s do it, and it worked, and I was really happy.

[00:30:43] Regan Robertson: Is that how it feels to you, like, emotionally, one, to kind of be at a network, and then two, to be able to grow that EBITDA number to the point where you don’t, you don’t have to step away, but you could if you wanted to, you have the freedom to do that.

[00:30:58] Dr. Jared Anderson: Exactly right, it’s that freedom. Yep. [00:31:00] It’s that freedom.

[00:31:01] Dr. Jared Anderson: Right? That’s a whole different career.

[00:31:03] Regan Robertson: Yes. Entirely different career.

[00:31:05] Dr. Jared Anderson: It’s a different career. Dental office mired in insurance, driven by insurance, is a completely different career than a dental office that isn’t. If you can, if you can step out of that. So those offices out there that either never were or no longer are in network with insurance, that’s a different career than offices that are.

[00:31:29] Dr. Jared Anderson: There’s no question about it. It’s not saying you can’t have fun and enjoy yourself. while working with insurance companies. If you, you know, if you’re good at it and you create a great culture, I’m sure that can be done, but you know, it’s so much easier on all levels if you don’t have that third party in there taking what they can, you know, it’s just, you take, you take that out of the equation, it’s a whole different career.

[00:31:57] Regan Robertson: How has this, uh, transformed your leadership? [00:32:00] Um,

[00:32:03] Dr. Jared Anderson: the going out network.

[00:32:05] Regan Robertson: Yeah. And growing the EBITDA. Both of those things together, I would say.

[00:32:09] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, I think they were reliant on the transformation, or my leadership. You know, I think it’s just always, I mean, any organization, and myself personally, can benefit from improving leadership skills.

[00:32:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, I’m still on a pathway there. Um, and I, I think I always will be always introspective about it and trying to do better and better.

[00:32:37] Regan Robertson: Do you feel like being at a network, you can show up more authentically or do you just, do you feel like you just have the restraints lifted? Like what?

[00:32:47] Dr. Jared Anderson: What does

[00:32:48] Regan Robertson: that feel like?

[00:32:48] Dr. Jared Anderson: All the above. I mean, I mean, we all know in working with insurance, how difficult it is. I mean, they’re profit motivated companies. I don’t blame them. I don’t blame them for doing what they do, but [00:33:00] it certainly doesn’t make it easy for us to enjoy what we’re doing and to be profitable at it. Um, yeah. So yeah, I, I think the independence, um, the joy, yeah, we, it’s unrestricted, right?

[00:33:17] Dr. Jared Anderson: We can, we can diagnose what we, No is correct, and we can make recommendations based on what we feel is the best thing for patients, right? And I think we all strive to work in an environment like that. I don’t think there’s any dentists out there that don’t. Um, we want to, we want to create the best dental care for our patients that we can.

[00:33:40] Dr. Jared Anderson: And there’s no question that there are quite a few times where insurance kind of gets in between that, or makes it difficult.

[00:33:47] Regan Robertson: You said something a little earlier that was really intriguing and I wanted to bookmark, especially if you’re listening right now and thinking, oh yes, I’ve, I’ve wanted to go out of network for a while.

[00:33:55] Regan Robertson: There is the mentality of, okay, pull the plug, do it quickly, which can have [00:34:00] some lasting negative impacts. Uh, but, but I noticed, uh, Dr. Jared, that you said that you were methodical about it. Like you did it. Over time, and you’re still not completely out, but you’re, you’re doing it in a thoughtful manner.

[00:34:13] Regan Robertson: What was, what has that process been like? Did, did Joanne, uh, at PDA, did she help you with that, uh, at all?

[00:34:20] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, and PDA was, you know, they were very, they’re, you know, they warned me about being too dramatic with it, and it can be so impactful on practice, and that makes sense. Um, but, but I think it just, it just comes back to the numbers.

[00:34:36] Dr. Jared Anderson: You just got to look at those KPIs. You look at the numbers. If you do the math, I mean, there, when you, when you see, you know, there were a couple of procedures that we were doing with a couple of the insurance companies that I was actually losing like five or 10 bucks in the procedure, you know, and then if you add the intangibles to that, you know, and so, so there’s.

[00:34:57] Dr. Jared Anderson: It’s just looking at the numbers. There’s a certain amount that [00:35:00] if you, if you lose, you know, you look at how many patients you have in that particular network, you look at your average, you know, income is for all these different procedures that you’re doing. And then you say, okay, if I’m creating a great service, which hopefully you are, that should be first and foremost, um, so that the patients have a reason to want to stay, then, then you take a look at that and you say, okay, well, if say, 10 percent of these patients leave when I go out of network, you know, what will it do to my bottom line?

[00:35:28] Dr. Jared Anderson: Because now I’m, you know, charging the fees that I want to charge and I have this much less hassle. So there’s a lot of tangibles, a few intangibles there that you can factor in, but it all just circles back to looking at the numbers, do the math, you know, run the scenario of 10 percent leave. What will it look like with my increased fees and my less administrative hassles?

[00:35:47] Dr. Jared Anderson: If it’s 20%, what will that look like? What percentage of those people might circle back? And come back to you after a few months, that type of thing. So absolutely. Yeah. You, so you just, you just, you just get objective about the numbers, [00:36:00] right? That’s not subject to get objective about the numbers. You look at what you have, you look at what you might lose, you run a few scenarios, and when you do the math, it really helps you make the decision.

[00:36:09] Dr. Jared Anderson: It helps you feel better about the decision that you make. And so with that. You know, we saw, I think the first one we started off with was Blue Cross, right? That’s the first one we’d got in, in, you know, uh, that process took about six or eight months to kind of, to start it and to see, you know, let the dust settle.

[00:36:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: And obviously that was one of the first things I did starting with PDA. So during that time, my income went up 22%. My productivity. So look at the numbers and use the numbers to make the decisions.

[00:36:42] Regan Robertson: Wow. Let’s talk about patient flow for this. Cause that’s another kind of chest tight moment. You know, what did you, did you increase your marketing?

[00:36:51] Regan Robertson: Did you have to? Uh, in order to equate like what was so was it you forecast it out? Okay, what does it look like if I lose 10%? What was the, what was [00:37:00] the actual loss? And then, and then how’s your new patient flow as a result?

[00:37:03] Dr. Jared Anderson: Okay, yeah, so I don’t have all these numbers on the timer.

[00:37:11] Dr. Jared Anderson: But I’ve done zero marketing since I started a PDA so far. And, um, and I have been particularly restrictive there because my theory is. is again, I want the culture to be tight. I want the systems to be super tight before I spend good marketing dollars to bring people in. If they come in and the systems aren’t right and the culture is not right, then they have a chance of going right back out the door and or not optimizing what you’re getting when they come in.

[00:37:41] Dr. Jared Anderson: And so I just want to make sure that I had an environment that was conducive to keeping the patients, the new patients when they came in. So that’s it. I’m still perfecting those systems. There’s still a couple of those systems left for me before I really start the marketing, but I’m getting close. So no, I didn’t do any marketing there.

[00:37:59] Dr. Jared Anderson: All right.

[00:37:59] Regan Robertson: [00:38:00] This puts context around it. When I met you in person, you were like my one person. So listeners, we did like a marketing workshop there. So we set up cameras and said, well, we’ll have fun. You can shoot video for social media. And I remember You look so nervous at me, like just, and then you came up and you’re like, I’m not doing this.

[00:38:19] Yeah.

[00:38:19] Regan Robertson: And of course me, people pleaser to the max. I thought, Oh, did I do something wrong? And then I thought, no, no, I don’t think I did anything wrong, but there’s a reason behind it. We just didn’t get into the why behind it. And that helps me put context and understanding how caring You are with your team and and making sure that the people that are coming to that practice are held so well

[00:38:42] Dr. Jared Anderson: And yeah, that’s what I want.

[00:38:43] Dr. Jared Anderson: That’s what I’m working towards, right? And and yeah, I mean I’ve been in this for nearly 23 years now So how many times as a dentist and I know a lot of people can share this experience How many times have we spent money on marketing companies? you know website companies and they’re [00:39:00] expensive and yeah, they do great job and you start getting people in the door, but You know, you get this, you get this like short term pop in your numbers and everything kind of falls back.

[00:39:11] Dr. Jared Anderson: It goes right back to where it was. And it’s, and I just finally took a look at it and said, okay, I want to make sure my systems are in line, not get the cart in front of the horse. I, it’s just my personal belief that

[00:39:24] Regan Robertson: No, I love that so much. Keep going, I need to be quiet. Yeah, that’s right.

[00:39:28] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, it’s just my personal belief that, you know, you got to have the systems in line.

[00:39:34] Dr. Jared Anderson: Before you bring the people in, you spend the money. It’s cause yeah, you get, like I said, you get a short pop, but you’re just going to go right back out. It’s almost like, gosh, I just wasted my money. And in a sense you, you kind of did. It’s like, if you create a great culture, theoretically, you don’t need to market.

[00:39:50] Dr. Jared Anderson: Right. And, and to a certain extent, to a certain extent, right. I

[00:39:55] Regan Robertson: would say doesn’t a great culture market itself, the market is, is a really [00:40:00] vast term. And I have not, I’m not Googled you yet, but I’m willing to bet if I Google you, I’m going to see some big five star reviews. That’s, that’s my guess.

[00:40:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah.

[00:40:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: There’s a few here and there. Um. Yeah, it’s it’s not perfect. You know, I’ve been trying to create this. Why did I want to create this system? Because it wasn’t perfect yet, right? I mean, there were areas of improvement for sure. And, um, so yeah, I just I’ve always been, you know, I’ve been self employed pretty much my entire life.

[00:40:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, and so you learn fairly quickly, hopefully, um, that internal marketing is the strongest marketing and most effective marketing that there is, right? Um, and that said, I’m a big believer in marketing, I think. Absolutely. If you can spend a dollar on marketing and you make a dollar 25 back, then it’s worth it, right?

[00:40:48] Dr. Jared Anderson: There’s no reason not to do that. That makes total sense. Um, but I think there are much bigger gains to be had with each, uh, pull of the lever. [00:41:00] If you have internal systems and culture optimized, right? Yeah. And so, and then that also ties into like, how much do you enjoy coming to work? It did, those things are very.

[00:41:13] Dr. Jared Anderson: Well, you know, tied together. So first and foremost, I want to enjoy coming to work dentistry stressful. I want to make it not stressful. I want to make it to where I look forward to coming to work in the morning and my staff does as well. And, um, by that virtue, the patients will be happy to be there as well.

[00:41:30] Dr. Jared Anderson: And we’re all kind of happy, right? Because in dentistry, there are so many aspects to it that That, uh, that will make it not as happy. There’s so many reasons to get upset about things. There’s, you know, it’s a stressful, sometimes painful, expensive thing for patients. And so it’s easy for things to be kind of generally stressful.

[00:41:49] Dr. Jared Anderson: And more than anything at this time of my career, I wanted that to not be the case. I wanted to create a culture where we’re not stressed. We’re actually happy and stoked to come in. And therefore the [00:42:00] patients are comfortable as well. You do that. And then for the most part, like you said, the numbers will follow, the money will follow.

[00:42:09] Dr. Jared Anderson: Right. And so I, I figure, you know, dentistry is a pretty good career. If you have just that, you’re going to be pretty prosperous. And then you have to ask, okay, how much more prosperous do I want to be? Well, that’s different for everybody. But that’s when you start to look at the numbers and start to change things based on the numbers.

[00:42:27] Dr. Jared Anderson: You can squeeze more out of it or grow or what have you.

[00:42:31] Regan Robertson: I can see why you’re a PDA doctor. And I say that because one of the, I feel like I can speak for any marketing agency on the planet. Boy, that’s a big statement, isn’t it? So grandiose. I can’t tell you though. They might. Well, I’ve been in marketing.

[00:42:44] Regan Robertson: Uh, you know, generally in multiple industries for well over 25 years now at this point. And, but one of the things that breaks my heart in telling great stories, which is what I’m super passionate about and visualizing, you know, brands are being the architect of brands for folks is, [00:43:00] is getting the phone to ring.

[00:43:01] Regan Robertson: Or somebody to knock on the door and nobody to receive it on the other end. And really, that’s what you’re saying. That’s when it becomes when you’re putting paid efforts, which everything really is paid because your team is your sales team, is your marketing team. So you are investing in marketing. It’s just in a counterintuitive.

[00:43:20] Regan Robertson: way. But when you put out for, uh, you know, the Google AdWords, your digital advertising, you put the billboard out, whatever it is that you’re spending money on every single month. And there’s, there’s not good systems in place to receive that person. There is not a great, um, you know, way to handle objections on the phone because you are already, you know, you don’t take, uh, most insurances now.

[00:43:41] Regan Robertson: So you’ve got to train your staff on how to pick up, answer that phone, receive the patient and help them convert over when that might be an objection of theirs. So yeah. Yeah. It is a big waste of money if you’re not prepared on that other end. So the internal and the external really do link together.

[00:43:56] Regan Robertson: And I think that’s a really powerful statement. By the way, [00:44:00] Dr. Jared, you do have 619 five star reviews right now. So you’re doing well and your market, that’s marketing. That is marketing.

[00:44:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah. No, that is absolutely. That is, that is marketing for sure. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I, it’s, it’s, it’s, you, when you start to go out of network, um, it sure is a lot easier to get people convinced to stay.

[00:44:20] Dr. Jared Anderson: If they’re happy coming into the office and they’re getting good service and there’s a good culture there.

[00:44:26] Regan Robertson: I’ll tell you, I, I, yeah, I, I’m part of a independent medical practice, which I, I didn’t know. If you’ve listened to our podcast a lot, you’ve heard me say that before, but I didn’t even know that was a thing.

[00:44:36] Regan Robertson: That’s, that’s how ignorant I was. I knew about independent dental practices, but not medical and, and I couldn’t be happier. And I don’t, I just don’t question anything. I don’t question anything. It’s easy. It’s a great experience. But that patient experience is locked in and tight, really tight. In fact, I mapped it out.

[00:44:52] Regan Robertson: There’s 21 steps in that patient journey from recognition to follow up and each step has to be tight. So it [00:45:00] would be exciting to hear even from your team about your patient experience and how you worked on. So, so did PDA help you mostly with the numbers and the business side or, or did you also go into team development?

[00:45:12] Dr. Jared Anderson: Well, yeah, we, we did and, um, you know, so, you know, we had our, our, uh, clinical representative working with the team and, you know, the, from PDA and those coaches really help with kind of, uh, communicating that type of culture, right? The culture that is, you know, the one that we’re working for here and that very much PDA, I think is a philosophy for PDA.

[00:45:41] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, there was that aspect. So they are constantly working on that with the team. Um, but really most of it flows through me. Um, and so that was one of the things I was most interested in when I talked to PDA, I told him, it’s like, yeah, you know, I want to grow as a leader and how, how [00:46:00] can you guys help me do that?

[00:46:01] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, or at least can you, can you help me do that? And, and so yes, was the answer to that question. And I think when I went to the first meeting in Dallas, um, that’s when I first saw and met Dr Baird. And really that, that was it right there. You know, you, you, you listen to him talk, you watch him interact and, um, you’re like, Oh yeah, I can see why he had such a successful practice.

[00:46:24] Dr. Jared Anderson: I can see why, you know, he was able to do that. Um, he’s a really great example of a motivated dental, you know, dentist and leader really is. And it was just really easy to sit there and just listen and kind of watch how he does things. And I think that was one of the biggest benefits that I had in joining PEA is, is simply.

[00:46:46] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, and so I think it’s really important for us to be able to, you know, kind of dive into that culture, but also mostly, you know, watching Dr. Baird in action. Yeah,

[00:46:52] Regan Robertson: it’s been, it’s been an incredible time with you

[00:46:57] Regan Robertson: so far. I, I want to reflect [00:47:00] one of the ways that I see great leaders show up is they understand I put it into buckets. Uh, the data bucket and the emotion bucket. And if you think Star Trek, it’s Spock and Kirk, obviously. So, you’ve got, yeah, you’ve got the theatrical representation of the both. But a great leader can balance both and understand how to use each one, uh, to their advantage.

[00:47:20] Regan Robertson: But, but not so much even that, but they understand that data and emotion, especially in healthcare, especially in healthcare, but in all business, really needs to be equally balanced. And if you can master that equal balance between the two, You’re cooking with gas. I mean, you are really, you’re really moving forward and it sounds to me like this past year for you has helped you balance but also give equal weight to both of those.

[00:47:46] Dr. Jared Anderson: That is correct. That is correct. That’s what I asked for. That was my goal in joining PDA and that is what has been delivered. Yeah. We’ve been working on both at the same time, for sure.

[00:47:57] Regan Robertson: So what is on the horizon for you? What, what is [00:48:00] your goals, uh, moving forward?

[00:48:02] Dr. Jared Anderson: I think just more of the same, right? We, we’ve upped our annual goal for the year.

[00:48:07] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, um, and I have a few more systems that I’m in the process of kind of perfecting, so to speak. A few more transformations in the office. We’re still, You know, on the path of doing more comprehensive care, you know, my associate and myself, we’re trying to get more aligned on that and, you know, focusing on things like block scheduling and, and just, and setting up the systems that are conducive to doing more comprehensive care for the patients, right?

[00:48:40] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, um, so we’re still, we’re still getting that perfected. So we have some more time to get that done. So, um, and I think in so doing each time we accomplish kind of one of the steps that we’re going to see the productivity. and the net increase.

[00:48:56] Regan Robertson: I didn’t ask you about, uh, about your time. So I noticed that you [00:49:00] said you have an associate and one of those growing the EBITDA numbers was, you know, if you want to take time, you can have time.

[00:49:06] Regan Robertson: Have you reduced your schedule at all? Or do you have plans to do that to maybe go out and landscape on the weekends?

[00:49:14] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, that is, that is, it’s funny because that has become my hobby. Yeah. So I’ve never lost interest in. In the development improvement of real estate. That’s a fun thing for me and specifically I like to be doing the work like my favorite thing on earth is to go out there in my bobcat and, uh, profound and, and improve properties.

[00:49:33] Dr. Jared Anderson: And so, yeah, that has been my hobby. Um, but for sure. Uh, right around, I think a little bit before I brought on PDA, I started going back to three days a week and that has been absolutely transcendental. That I would recommend to every dentist out there right now. All of you right now, go down to three days a week and don’t ever turn back.

[00:49:57] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, you can do in three days very, very [00:50:00] easily what you can do in four and it is a whole different career. That extra day to where you’re like, I’m taking more days off per week than I’m working. It just that 25%. It’s like, uh, 80 percent less stress as a dentist and it’s just amazing for me, that’s how it’s been.

[00:50:16] Dr. Jared Anderson: And it’s taken me a while to kind of get my associate convinced of that, but I think he’s coming around and, and, um, you know, and of course if you’re doing everything in three days instead of four, your overhead just went down. Right. Um, so by that aspect there, so yeah, if you want to add days and bring people on, you can do that.

[00:50:34] Dr. Jared Anderson: But I definitely think if I had to start over again. And I would tell anybody if they can graduating as quickly as possible, go down to three days a week and don’t ever look back. I think that’s a huge part of joy in dentistry. So I don’t know. I might be reducing days as, as things get more dialed in.

[00:50:52] Regan Robertson: Well, I was going to say every kid likes to drive a Bobcat, that’s, and I realize I’m talking to an a grown adult man, [00:51:00] but that you looked that excited. Uh, when did you, when did you drop to three days? What year did you drop to? I’ve been on three days for almost

[00:51:09] Dr. Jared Anderson: two years now. I don’t remember the exact, it’s been about two years and of course the fun thing about three days is like, okay, so you have this like really phenomenal.

[00:51:22] Dr. Jared Anderson: You know, arch case or dual arch case or something like that you want to sit down and do and you can, you know, schedule out half a day and kind of come in on one of your quote unquote off days where you’re not expected to be doing exams. That’s, that’s like nirvana. That’s just a fun way to practice dentistry, right?

[00:51:37] Dr. Jared Anderson: Because you’re not distracted and you’re going in there and it’s completely productive. And, um, and it’s a short little, you know, short little appointment, so to speak, compared to what you’re normally used to. And it’s completely productive and very satisfying. So yeah, every once in a while, I’ll come in a half day on Thursday when I have a case like that.

[00:51:56] Dr. Jared Anderson: And that’s just a cherry on the top. [00:52:00] It’s just fun. I enjoy that. So. Yeah. I’ll

[00:52:04] Regan Robertson: tagline your tagline happier dentists equal happier team equals happier patients.

[00:52:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah. I mean, really? Yeah. All circles back to that. Right. All sorts of that. I think, I think any dentist out there could be more than successful as they need to be.

[00:52:18] Dr. Jared Anderson: Absolutely. If they just accomplish that. Right. And that’s, that’s prior to marketing.

[00:52:24] Yeah.

[00:52:25] Dr. Jared Anderson: You know what I mean? You get all that done, that’s part of marketing. So you’d be completely successful, I think, to satisfy most people out there just by that virtue alone. And then, yeah, if you want to, if you want to reach for bigger, better things, then yeah, marketing is absolutely a key to that.

[00:52:41] Regan Robertson: Well, I think you, I don’t think, I know, you can genuinely tell if someone is happy, if they’re being authentic, if they feel free to, to create the, you know, the solution for you that they want. You can just feel it in a person and, and being here with you today, I can imagine sitting in your chair and, and whatever fun case I [00:53:00] present to you, let’s not present any fun cases by the way, but if you know what I mean.

[00:53:04] Regan Robertson: Uh, you know, I want a doctor that’s, that’s excited about it, that has fun and, and isn’t sacrificing so much of himself or herself, uh, in the process. And it sounds to me like you have struck a balance where you have time for your own wellbeing, your own excitement, your own things, and, and that gives you that lift and that motivation to really enjoy the dentistry.

[00:53:28] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, that is the ultimate goal, right? Because it’s, again, dentistry is a career where it’s really easy to get yourself in a situation where you’re not enjoying it, right? And so after 22 years, that was my first goal. It’s like, Hey, you know, I want to wake up. In the morning, stoked to go in and I want to get to the end of the day and feel satisfied and happy with what’s going on.

[00:53:49] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, I want to enjoy what I’m doing. And so that was the first goal and, you know, and I wanted to be working with people who are enjoying what they’re doing as well. [00:54:00]

[00:54:00] Regan Robertson: So, so how would your, uh, 22 year younger self think about how, what, where you’re at today?

[00:54:08] Dr. Jared Anderson: Uh, yeah, well, I think they’d be pretty, pretty happy about it if they could see that coming, yeah.

[00:54:17] Dr. Jared Anderson: I, I’m not sure I answered your question, but

[00:54:20] Regan Robertson: you did. I think, yeah, there’s no, there’s no wrong answers. I think it sounds like, I mean, I think the, the, the way that the, just the universe works is, is you put out, you put out an intention, you put out a goal. And even if you are subconsciously working towards it, I think you do work towards it.

[00:54:34] Regan Robertson: I think, I think intentions matter. And it sounds to me like your intention 22 years ago was I better well enjoy this. And the story that you’ve shared with us today is, it sounds like you have been successful in that. Doesn’t mean that the road is easy, doesn’t mean that you don’t encounter bumps along the way.

[00:54:52] Dr. Jared Anderson: No, I think, okay, I think that’s the way you put that. I’d say, yeah, 22 years ago. Um, I think the best [00:55:00] way to describe myself, uh, you know, a newborn son, um, moved back to the state after dental school. I think I was a deer in the headlights.

[00:55:10] Oh,

[00:55:12] Dr. Jared Anderson: I don’t think I knew which end it was up. I didn’t know which end it was up.

[00:55:16] Dr. Jared Anderson: I was ambitious. Um, I wanted to have a successful practice. I wanted to do great dentistry. You know what I mean? I think that was my goal. I think I was. I wanted to be successful and I kind of wanted to do great work. I wanted to be a great dentist, you know, so I was interested in, you know, I think like a lot of young and young dentists are, they’re ambitious about, yeah, you know, I’m, you know, move up to doing all on fours as quick as possible because it’s prestigious and it’s glamorous.

[00:55:47] Dr. Jared Anderson: Right. Yeah. Of

[00:55:48] Regan Robertson: course.

[00:55:48] Dr. Jared Anderson: I was that, I was that guy. And, um, and I was. My head was spinning. I was a deer in the headlights. There was a lot coming at me and, um, it was a whole new world. [00:56:00] Um, so I think I was a lot of ambition and, um, and my head was spinning. And so, yeah, there’s been some maturity and some settling down.

[00:56:10] Dr. Jared Anderson: And, um, I, I’m happy with where, where it’s ended up now.

[00:56:16] Regan Robertson: Well, my, uh, my, I never assign homework on a podcast episode, my homework for you. And Liz, there’s you too, because sometimes decades pass, you know, decades pass, it’s, it’s a lifetime goes by and, and for you to articulate, you know, you wanted to be a great dentist and I, I just, I would love for you if you don’t, and maybe you do already.

[00:56:36] Regan Robertson: Spend some time and read your reviews and look through those five stars and, and reflect on how far you’ve come and from deer in the headlights to where you’re at today, mastering this Zen between emotions and data. It’s, it’s been an incredible journey for you, I think, and, uh, I hope you give yourself credit because the self awareness that you are [00:57:00] so humble about is very difficult for many leaders.

[00:57:03] Regan Robertson: And sometimes it’s nearly impossible to achieve.

[00:57:06] Dr. Jared Anderson: Yeah, well, after you get hit in the head with a two by four a number of times, you start to finally listen, you know?

[00:57:14] Regan Robertson: Well, thank you, Dr. Anderson. Is there anything else you’d love our listeners to know before we depart today?

[00:57:21] Dr. Jared Anderson: Um, you know, I’d say, I’d say one of the things, especially to the younger Dennis, um, I would say go to three days a week as soon as you possibly can.