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This Dental Specific Podcast is dedicated to the Dental "Entrepreneur" Michael Dinsio, Founder of Next Level Consultants, delivers #TRUTH when starting up a dental practice. From the very first step to getting the keys of a dental practice, Michael shares his raw & unscripted playbook with you. Not only does this podcast provide you with "What To Do" but more importantly "What Not To Do". With over over 15 years of experience & over 150 past clients, Michael delivers an educational and informative program in a real and genuine way. Start w/ Episode 01 - as we go through a STEP by STEP process.
00:08
Start up unscripted, the questions you have with the truths you need to hear. And now your host, Michael Dinsio.
00:23
All right, right, guys. Welcome, welcome back. This is another episode of Startup Unscripted. Again, this is Mike Dinsio, founder of Next Level Consultants. You guys know that. Today, we have a special, special, special guest. And I say that all the time. But this is special because Chloe was a client of ours and she did such a good job and she went through all the pains and all of the...
00:51
pleasures of the process and I thought today would be really cool to interview you and talk about your journey, what you went through and all the things. So officially, let's get Chloe introduced. Her name's Chloe Mirick. I don't know where you went to school. I know I know this, so you can drop that. She just started her first startup.
01:17
I have a feeling there's going to be many more in the future. Maybe. I don't know. We'll see here in Washington. And welcome to the show. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. So give the audience, the listeners, kind of like you and where you came from and what specialty you are and just all the things so they know who's talking. Yeah, absolutely. Well, my name is Chloe Mirick. I am a dentist here in the greater Seattle area.
01:45
I'm born and raised in the area. I went to the University of Washington for both my undergraduate and dental school. And I graduated from dental school that super crazy year in 2020 where you saw your classmates were supposed to take your licensing exam in a week and never saw half of those people again. So here she is super crazy. But eventually got her license in 2020 and I've worked.
02:11
throughout those couple years before I owned at three different offices as an associate. Each of those had a different demographic. They had different skill sets that I was able to grow in and all of that stuff. And throughout that process, I really just realized that as great as it is being an associate, there's something more that I was itching for and that was to own an office. You can't go there yet. can't go there yet. So yes, and this is special because
02:40
Folks, you guys all know we've got all of these episodes on YouTube and I don't know who actually watches these. I know some people listen to them for sure, but Chloe's in studio, so this is weird for me. Like I'm supposed to be looking at the camera, but then Chloe's right in front of me. So this is a little different in that way, but yes, so check this out on YouTube. You'll meet Chloe and see her. We'll put like her website down there and like.
03:08
if she's cool with this, like your contact info. I mean, I think most of my listeners are thinking about getting into ownership and it's a mind bleep. It's a mind bleep, you know? And I think having others to talk to is really good. So that is my first question. And you are getting into it and that is why you were going there? Why?
03:37
did you want to own so bad? I get this all the time every day on the phone. A new dog calls me and says, I want to get an ownership. And my first question is like, why? And it's the same conversation over and over and over, but I want to hear it from you because there is little twists here and there. Absolutely. Well, I'm sure a lot of the listeners feel the same way. You probably are working or were working as an associate dentist at some point. And although
04:02
you know, the pay is good and your hours are good and you don't have the stresses of ownership. There might be things here and there that you see as an associate that you want to change or you're like, gosh, that, wouldn't that be fun to do this or to try this? And maybe you don't have that flexibility with your job. I know I didn't. And I have that little bit of an itch that like, I want to try to see if I can do something better, more efficient, or just explore different options. So,
04:29
Really kind of what it boiled down to is I wanted to create this culture for my staff and for my patients that I knew I could deliver this exceptional experience. Because it's possible, right? There's all these companies like Nordstrom, the Ritz-Carlton, all these people do this and it's loss in dentistry. Some do, but not many do. And patients hate going to the, all the stuff you hear. And the ones that do it crush too, by the way. And wouldn't that be fun to be,
04:58
that owner that your staff goes in every single day saying, damn, I work at like a super bad-ass office, right? Like that's super cool. And your patients love that. And so I just had that itch to create this culture because I respect those brands. I respect Nordstrom so much. I respect, you know, they do, right? All the leads what they stand for. kind of screwed up all that, but we all know what Nordstrom tries to be walking that silver bag around the counter and,
05:26
and in medical, dental, vet, all these medical type offices can have the same feel. But a lot of you, you know, it's interesting because we, just recorded a vision episode, folks, for those that just kind of jumped into the program, what we're doing on the program is starting from the top of a startup, like what the first step is and working all the way through.
05:55
This episode's gonna be kind of at the end of, let's just call it season one. So we worked all the way through from start to finish and we're calling the, once you're open, the encore series. So Chloe's in the encore series, but we're starting actually episode two, or episode, season two, and we're starting with Vision again. And the reason I bring that up is because what Chloe just described was your vision.
06:23
for what you wanted and it's one of those stupid consulting things that people talk about what's your vision and what's that mean and all the things and it's super clear as you're talking about it, right? It's probably even harder though to deliver that, you're in it. I guess I could ask you hundred questions about that. To be determined, so when you said flexibility of why you wanted to get ownership, does that mean like...
06:50
your own boss, money, did it mean autonomy with clinical or was it more about wanting to create a cool place to work? It's a little bit of all of that for sure. I mean, it is kind of scary being a dentist and it's such a physical job. And there's definitely part, I'm sure in all of the listeners that thinks, gosh, if I hurt my arm tomorrow, like, what do I do? Right. Like you're making good money and shoot your career could be over. So that's not all of it, but that definitely plays a role.
07:17
Also being a female, you I want to start a family and have the autonomy and the flexibility to say, gosh, like I can maybe work this much and that's okay. Like I can live off my income, just have that work life balance, that flexibility. And as an associate, it's like the more you work, the more you produce, the more money you make. But if all that stops or life events happen, that can be tough. It's making me think though, like you did pretty well as an associate. I remember interviewing you and
07:46
having that conversation of like, are you ready for a startup? Because a startup is a reset. But knowing that you're building a strong foundation to do even better. So were you worried about that income drop? I mean, a lot of people just give you a frame reference, make about the same as the average startup makes in their first year.
08:13
you did better, you do better, you did better as an associate. So you were gonna take a hit. And there's a lot of people that are gonna take a hit their first year. So were you worried about that? How did you prepare for that? It's kind of a short-term loss for a long-term gain. So I think mentally when you accept that, it's fine. And just being mindful of normal spending and the startup budget was so important and very hard to adhere to, which we'll talk about, I'm sure. But it's kind of same with life, right?
08:42
when he knows something's gonna happen and big expenses there, you just adapt to it. So I didn't do as much damage at the anniversary sale this year. Unfortunately. We're gonna get Nordstrom's permission with all the time. That's awesome. With that being said, the other question I wanted to ask you is like the scariest part. So not even talking about the startup itself, but like when you...
09:12
What's it feel like, if you can remember, what's it feel like making that decision to get into ownership, specifically a startup? We just talked about the money, that's gotta be a little, but what was the scariest part for you? I think the initials is jumping ship. And I had been thinking about this for probably a year before it actually happened. And when you made something up in your mind, like it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen.
09:39
and then you take action, that's scary. Like it's exciting, but it's super scary at the same time. So that initial jump, just there's a lot of, really have to believe in yourself and have that confidence. you know, even if you do, there's some moments where you have like an, gosh, what am I, what's happening sort of moment. So- you have those moments throughout the process too? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I bet. bet. Okay, Chloe, more questions.
10:08
A lot more questions for the audience. this is totally loaded question. And I mean, the project is so like big, like you've got, you got to prep, you got to go through project management, you got the marketing, getting your team ready and now run a business. So throughout that whole process, like what did you find was the most challenging to get through?
10:38
as someone that never set up a company before and all that. I think, I mean, when it's your startup, you're the quarterback of the operation. So there's a point where you have all of these different people that need your attention and they need it now. And in retrospect, it's a lot of hurry up and wait, but there's these moments where it's pretty intense. Like your builder needs the architecture plans, but the permit's not in with the city and your bank needs this to be done before they give you more money.
11:08
But you need the money now, right? So there's all these different things. And at some points in time, it's just this game of figuring out how to get X to get Y to get Z. And then that was hard. And that was stressful. And definitely, I'd say, like, you know, towards the end, that last month before you open flies by. And even as much prep as you do, there's moments where you're like, oh, my God, there's so much to do. Right.
11:37
getting your team on boarded. again, if you have that strong vision, you know what you want it to look like and you want it to be executed the way that your vision is. again, it's, it is a loaded question, but I think, I think kind of that sums it up a little bit. of the decisions and the different pieces of the puzzle and then the timing of it too is I think that like Chloe,
12:04
you hired us so a little self-selfish plug, but I think a lot of folks that don't get a consultant or maybe advisor, mentor, whatever, I think they, I think what happens is they go through that process and they're talking to the equipment rep and the equipment rep's saying, you need to do this and the contractor's like, need to, and so like the, it's not so organized, meaning like,
12:33
Hopefully you didn't feel that way, but it would have been that on steroids big time because there's a lot of like timing to it all that can be challenging. So it's interesting that that was one of the hardest things for you is like keeping things moving, but still having to make these decisions. Still, even with a consultant telling you, hey, this is the next step, I could imagine that would be like times 20. Oh, 100%. Right. I mean, in every
13:03
decision with all of that stuff. was really punting it off of you to say, like, what do I do here? Right? Because it's, you don't know when you've never done something. It's your first time. We're dentists. We're good at prepping teeth and filling teeth, but not, you know, organizing your contract or an equipment rep and making sure your, you know, prices are fair. And you don't know. Yeah. Yeah. No, you don't. No one knows. Forget the dentist even. Even me the first time when I
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walk someone through that, I didn't know either. It just takes, I think that in general when you hire these team members, you need somebody to be experienced. I think it can really screw things up when someone's not that experienced and it shows through. But having an experienced team will help you guide.
13:58
guide you through that process for sure. Absolutely. Did you think your team was dialed in and knew what they were doing for the most part? Yeah. Well, and you helped a lot with that of building, finding the right people and the right, you know, different professions and stuff. But yeah, once you get a team that you trust, that's all looking out for your best interests and respects your, respects your decisions. It definitely takes a lot of the heat off. Did you feel like throughout the process, like you had to manage people more than you thought you should?
14:28
Does that make sense? No, that's a good question. Not necessarily, but there were times. I think there's times. And when it is a time, it's intense. But most of the time, no. Again, once you built up that trust, that rapport, the plan was in place. People had to do their job. It's interesting because I talk about this, I think, on the program, or maybe it's every day during coaching calls. nobody, even the consultant,
14:57
nobody is gonna care more about this than you. So when you're going through this and you're spending the money, like if you don't take some kind of ownership in that process, it's not gonna work out exactly like it should. And you did, you owned every aspect to it. I remember we, it's one of my favorite stories about Chloe. Maybe you know what I'm gonna say, but.
15:26
I remember her getting on the phone with me and we were going through the bidding process and the architect was picking stuff out for you. maybe you don't want me to share, but I think it's hilarious because she, the, the architect was, was picking out a toilet and, she's like, I forget how much was that toilet?
15:49
So much it was like over a thousand dollars. Right. was like, don't know. Toilets can cost a thousand dollars. You're like, what does that toilet do? I was like, I don't know. It better do a lot because a thousand and she's like I and Chloe was like pulling up Home Depot. I was like at Costco. was like, there's like it's one hundred fifty dollars and probably works just as good. I know. And so like or the mirror. Also, it was like twelve hundred dollars. And you're like, I
16:17
$300 at Wayfair. So like that's a perfect example of like if you just let things happen, it's gonna happen and you're gonna spend more. that other examples of things like that maybe? Oh, absolutely. It's just keep it. It's what you just said of you care more than anybody else. And even though you tell these people, hey, this is my budget, things come up and there's always unexplained expenses or things that went missing.
16:47
But at the same time, when you keep that in mind, you know some of that's going to happen. You've got to just pay attention to even the smallest details. Because sure, saving a couple hundred dollars on a mirror doesn't seem like a lot. But when it's the mirror, it's the toilet. It's all these different things. All of a sudden, that's your comb beam. That ends up being something right. Your sensor. That ends up being something that actually provides value. Totally.
17:12
You can always upgrade your toilet I guess if you want to. Oh that was my, well I remember hearing that I was like, wait the toilet is what? No one's really dug into that, I loved that Chloe did. Awesome, alright so working our way through here. So Chloe now, what are you a month in? Two months in? Almost two. month and a half. A month and a half in, so she's almost two months in.
17:41
She's seeing patients, a lot of them, I might add, so that's super exciting. So, that's for a different episode. We can talk about your success in another year and talk about all the woes of ownership. so if you look back, what would you have done different, if anything? I mean, there's always things that come up, but, or maybe it's perfect. I would have, gosh, it's hard to say. Part of me wishes I,
18:11
I feel like I thought about this for such a long time and I drove myself nuts, right? Like we all can be our own worst enemy. I actually connected with you back in dental school and I remember one comment you made and you were like, cause you were like, Oh, do you want to own? was like, Oh yeah, maybe like five years, 10 or something. And you were like, dude, just own. Right. I was like, I was a scared little dental. So was like, Oh my God, it'll take me 20 years. Like, just, mean,
18:37
I guess my biggest, and it's not even a regret, but I wish I would have done this sooner. Like, there's nothing now that I look back, it's like I have the skillset clinically, I knew that vision, but it's trusting your gut. And you can be your own worst enemy. You can get into analysis paralysis super easy with a lot of decisions. You can waste a lot of time and energy. And I think just going with your gut, being mindful of stuff like that, it's taught me a lot.
19:05
I'm glad. I'm glad. how many years do you think you wasted, quote unquote? You didn't waste them. I know, right. Maybe like a mean, I would have shaved a year or two to make this decision. Yeah. But it's hard though, right? Like you're doing really well as an associate. So it's kind of golden handcuffs. And, you know, I think about like the DSO thing and DSOs are doing well.
19:35
they know how to get you guys to stay and stay comfortable. they're gonna manage the team and manage the collections and negotiate the fees and do the marketing. And you can go in and in and check out and go home. And if that's fine, that's fine. But if you're not going to own this process.
20:04
it might not be such a great story, right? So. Totally. Actually, anything on that, Chloe? like because you did so well as an associate, like did that make, did you think maybe I should just do this for another year two because I'm making good money and this is easier or or did you just always want? I kind of always wanted to own. Yeah. Yeah. No matter what it meant or. Right. Just a passion.
20:30
Right. And I mean, I was doing really well as an associate, but I was like, I was hustling. Like I was running three columns. Like I didn't take lunch. I am for someone else, for someone else. Right. And it was, it was hard. not saying this is, this is a different kind of hard, but it's also a different kind of rewarding. Like when it's kind of day in, day out, you're just grinding, doing that same thing. Like very rewarding. But at the same time,
20:58
I knew, I'm like, gosh, if I can do this for someone else, I can probably do it for myself. Yeah, I did that. I did that for B of A for years. And before B of A was a different company. And sometimes you just have to go through the process of like, dude, I'm making somebody a lot of money. Totally, right. You know your worth. Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, if that's you folks, then you need to get going. Like you just heard Chloe. So that's perfect.
21:26
All right, last question and then anything else we want to touch. any advice, man, maybe that is the advice that you just gave for those that haven't taken the leap or, hell, I try to talk to people out of getting into ownership a lot. Like if it's not a good fit for you, it's not a good fit. If you're having a baby right now, maybe don't.
21:50
do this. But what is the advice for folks that haven't taken the leap if they want to? I would say I'm really glad I focused so hard on my vision in the beginning because it wasn't just this answer. Why do you want to own? Oh, I want to make more money or something. It really I feel like then can be transcribed and understood by your future team members. It helps all the people on your team, your architecture, builder, your lender.
22:19
It helps all of them buy into your, you're trying to do. And you really start to believe in yourself because you created this in your brain. Like it's your baby and you created it. So I would just say, you know, focus on that vision and also demographics. think we didn't touch on that, but it's, it's huge. And I'm so grateful we pause and you know, went through the process of ordering reports and me and my husband drove by all these locations for weeks and really
22:48
Look, gosh, how many cars are driving by how many new developments, all of that kind of stuff. So that's probably my biggest advice is just, mean, trust yourself, go with your gut and think when you're ready, do it. Go for it. Yeah, go for it. That's, yeah. There's so much good in what you just said. Spend that prep time because it does just translate all the way through. It does. Yes, absolutely.
23:17
I mean, that's a good way of getting someone to upsell you on something if you aren't super clear about what you're trying to do. Absolutely. They're going to take you down that path if you don't take them down your path. That's actually the best way of saying it. Yeah, it is. Yeah, because it happens. Even like when you know what you want to do, all of a sudden, here's a thousand dollar toilet, right? And you're like, oh, no, that's not my path. so.
23:44
Yeah, no, because yeah, there's a lot of people and a lot of opinions throughout this process and you have to stand firm to what you know. And if you don't have that vision in place or you don't know what kind of patients you like to treat or what procedures you like to do, if that's not clear, then it's going to be harder and your end product probably won't reflect what you're trying to achieve. Location. You also touched on location. Location.
24:11
Everybody's like, location, location. It's so true. Why did you choose the area that you chose? Because I'm leading the witness a bit because everybody tells me they want to be in downtown Kirkland or Dallas, like downtown Dallas or in the Valley of Phoenix. It's the same conversation. It's the same demographic report every time 1,200 patients.
24:39
1300 patients to one dentist and it's like, okay, here we go. So that was not yours. No, not at all. What was your thought there? It didn't make sense to me. Like I guess I'm not that in love with like one area like Kirkland where I'm like, I need to practice there forever. That just wasn't my vibe. It's also not my perfect demographic. I love doing a lot of procedures. So I wanted to be somewhere where I could do that. And if you're in the Bellevue or the Kirkland or the Dallas maybe.
25:07
You have to refer more or page. There's different expectations. But I I loved this area because it was it was up and coming and growing. And I felt like it was an opportunity to be something big before it was even big. If that makes sense. Now, that's exactly how. OK. Yeah. And I mean, and just driving by, it was an area, tons of traffic, excellent visibility, you know, paid a little bit more for that and paid more. Definitely.
25:34
tripled the signage budget, half of my patients, when we ask, how'd you get a better office? They're saying, oh, I drive by, I saw your sign. That freaking sign, dude. So, I mean, that's probably the most critical thing though. And you gotta know your demographic though to do that as well. back to the vision. Yeah, exactly. You knew what you wanted. yeah, no, every time I talk to a dentist that's got
26:03
way more gray hair than me, if that's possible, way older, tired, but have these just gigantic offices, like monstrous. And you're just thinking, in this day and age, how does that office exist? And I asked them and they're like, oh shit, we did this like before any of this was around. And it's, you know.
26:30
And that's what you did. You went to an area that's, it's not that right now. It's not blowing up. It's a great area. People live there, but in 20 years, there's gonna be so much around you. It's just how it goes. I challenge you folks to do that, to look at those up and coming markets. So Chloe did, and how many new patients did you have your first month?
26:55
We were open 12 days because we're working three days a week and we saw 67 new patients It was busy, but it was really rewarding. Yeah. Yeah that sign paid off then the sign paid off. Yeah All right, Chloe. Well, thanks for your time today. This is totally different folks So I hope you're what you get online check out on YouTube And check out Chloe reach out to her she's she's awesome
27:24
The number one thing that I wanted you guys to hear today was Chloe took ownership of her practice. She definitely took advice from Next Level and Mike and Paul and my whole team, no doubt. But everything we asked her to do, she did. But then she took it Chloe style. And that's exactly what you needed to do. Every client has to do that. And she owned it. She drove the streets.
27:51
had her vision. She did all the things that made sense for her and congratulations. Yeah. It's a big deal. mean, but it couldn't have been done without you guys. Big, role in that. you. I appreciate that. Absolutely. You're going to be a shining star. We'll interview her again in a year and you guys can, we can maybe brag about your top line. But until then, thanks again, Chloe. Appreciate you. Thanks for having me.