Happy Tuesday, ZenFamily! Hope everyone had a relaxing holiday weekend. As we dive into another busy week, I would like to share a recap on our live events and webinars from last week as well as provide a small update on upcoming webinars. So last week here at Zen we had a webinar on Friday, 5/22 with Tiger, Dr. Gina Dorfman, a dentist and fellow CEO of Yapi Dental and Julie Varney, CDA, RDA, COA, FAADOM, CDSO, CDSH, Mentor of Dental Assistants Rock. Both Julie and Dr. Dorfman shared their experiences, tips and advice on reopening your practice. Dr. Dorfman's practice reopened on Monday, 5/18 and she shared with us how her office went through the reopening process and what their quarantine experience was like. Julie is in New York and her office has not reopened yet. They've done a lot to train their staff on new updates, performed a systems check and stocked up on PPEs. Dr. Dorfman also talked about some protocols, changes in the dental world, how to be an effective dental offices and the reasons why and how your team runs the practice. Please find the full webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts2ivcQPGYE Please find the podcast here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/7430adac We are taking the week of Memorial Day to finalize the webinars for the week of June 1st and here's what we'd like to share with everyone thus far: On Thursday, 6/4 at 11 am CST, we will be hosting a webinar on Disinfecting With Cold Fogging? Does it Really Work for Dental? (CE) and we will answer all questions! How do we move forward with a "New Norm"? Well part of that is disinfecting the rooms and I am lucky to have a friend, Dr. Tom Larkin who introduced me to an expert in the field of Fogging - Mike Sands. Here is a short description from Dr. Larkin himself: "Mike Sands is authoritative. In fact, he holds several patents and his company Cloudburst developed the first sideline misters introduced in the NFL in 1994. They were the first misting/cooling system used in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Mike is a serial inventor and holds several patents in this space. I have no idea how I stumbled onto their website, but I am glad I did. I think cold fogging is an integral part of our come back protocol. Search the internet and you will see electrostatic sprayers and numerous fogging sprayers. Many, direct from China. I have been quoted as much as 30K for a system. Mike will break it down and introduce you to a fogger for less than 50 BUCKS! One per Op. Personal fogging protection. " Check out their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CloudburstMS To join this live event, please follow this link: https://livewebinar.com/432-742-712 And on Friday 6/5 at 11 am CST Tiger will host a "15 min Friday Supply Availability Update" for Zen Offices! Please join us Every Friday at 11am Central for a live update on what is going on on the market and availability of dental supplies. All you have to do is login to your Zen account, app.ZenSupplies.com We hope everyone is enjoying the live events and staying safe!
A couple of months ago I had a call with a good friend of mine, dentist, and a fellow CEO of a dental tech company Yapi, Dr. Gina Dorfman, when she casually said: "Tiger, why don't you host something like Smart Inventory workshop?". In November with the help of several Zen clients, we did just that. Special thank you to our amazing ZenFamily Westgate Dental care and Dr. Peter Kicks for hosting us. Tracey, the lead dental assistant at Westgate, was absolutely awesome at leading the workshop. Special thank you for our offices that came to Chicago and attended: Smiles of Virginia Brooklyn Boulevard Dental Schaumburg Smile Studio We look forward to hosting our next Smart Inventory Workshop on January 17, 2020. RSVP will be open soon [URIS id=3168] Resources from the workshop: Budget Allocations Guidelines All other checklists and spreadsheets mentioned during the workshop P.S. if you are just getting started with inventory then our Dental Inventory Makeover Webinar can be a great start!
Dear ZenFamily, we are opening 2 more days in 2020 for ZenSmart Inventory Workshop, RSVP Here: Chicago - January 17th 8am - 5pm Chicago - April 17th 8am - 5pm Each workshop will only have 15 seats available. Look forward to seeing you soon!
Sharing knowledge and creating an environment to get Dental Assistants together is at the core of our passion at Zen. We were thrilled to start 2020 with exactly that. On January 17 we hosted our 2nd inventory workshop with offices attending from Colorado, Florida, Delaware, Pennsylvania and our home state Illinois. We are grateful to all who attended and Westgate Dental Care for hosting such a great event. With 20 people attending this was an incredible event of learning, sharing, laughing, and growing as professionals. During the 8-hour workshop we covered the following topics: Hands-on Dental inventory system/ Restocking Ordering and How to select vendors Team management and getting everyone on the same page Use of Checklists Advanced Features of ZenSupplies Compliance and simple checklist to make sure your dental office systems stays compliant To Register for April 17 Workshop please RSVP here [URIS id=3307] P.S. if you are just getting started with inventory then our Dental Inventory Makeover Webinar can be a great start!
How it all started: Since we stared Zen it was very clear to me that at some point I'll have to combine both passions, organizing physical space and training our officers on how to use Zen. Before hosting any seminars I wanted to learn how supplies are managed, how dental assistants restocking each room and more importantly would a lean methodology ever work in the dental practice software. Our first attempt to help practices was with the post called "Ready, set, Get your Dental Supplies Organized with Tip Out Bins" which details how to select Tip Out bins, order, Install, and fill with dental supplies. [URIS id=2425] Then in March of 2019 my friend Dr. Michael Hardcastle, Village Dental, called and asked to come by to help set up tip out bins and organize the dental inventory system. My obvious answer was "Why Not" and after that "Awbery Dental" and then little did I know it's a separate setup all together with a big and promising name - Dental Inventory Makeover [URIS id=2435] What we are offering: We always wanted to host a seminar/workshop at some of our most organized offices, where lead dental assistants who are in charge of inventory and ordering can lead the workshop with examples, hands-on material, and a walkthrough. An office that we can all learn from how they never run out of things, keep budget below 4%, do not store more than 3 weeks worth of supplies and most importantly keep the entire team happy? Well, we found an office that is just like that, Westgate Dental Care. The team who is in charge of it all, Tracy, Michelle, Kaylee, and Dr. Kics are the best and will be hosting this workshop and will cover the following: Entire Process from treatment room to Main storage/Stocking room Checklists/inventory list Process of ZenOut How often orders are placed How to select Vendors Order Approval Process and How to get the entire team involved Bring your floor plans, images and let's discuss how to customize your storages and inventory flow. Breakfast and Lunch will be served (we promise to surprise you with special Chicago treat). ZenTeam
As technology evolves it’s getting really hard to choose the right provider for your dental supplies and inventory needs. At Zen, we really feel we have a unique perspective on the landscape and potential bumps on the road when it comes to searching, evaluating and selecting the right software. Not to mention the needs of each specialty, type of practice (Private Practice, Emerging DSO or a large scale DSO), and not to mention sorting through the unbiased, unsponsored opinion of dental influences. So what are the scenarios or the steps? Assess Your Current situation and the needs of your practice and then choose which Scenario fits your needs the best Scenario 1 - You're looking for an inventory control system Scenario 2 - You're looking for an ordering software to consolidate all distributors into a single platform Scenario 3 - You want to get full control of the budget and bring to the industry standard of 5% Scenario 4 - You're looking to support the growing needs of your DSO (dental service organization) Bonus - what nobody wants to discuss ahead of time or hidden secrets of software subscriptions Let's get started with this long article (15-20 min read) we break down the process step by step and provide a different point of view for private practices and emerging DSOs. Assess your current situation and the needs of your practice (or a group). From my early days of business (when I started selling cell phones at the age of 14) I learned any problem should be solved from understanding what the actual pain point is. At Zen we hear all the time "I need an inventory software" but what does it really mean to your practice? It's almost as saying "I want to go on vacation" without picking where to go! Most practices start their journey into finding dental supply inventory management software due to 5 main reasons: Running out of products Budget is out of control A person who was in charge of ordering left Spend hours to count boxes and place orders Your practice (or group of practices) is growing and needs better controls When any of the above happen, next you ask yourself or the team the following 3 questions: Are we looking to solve a specific problem related to dental supply inventory management, ordering, or price comparison? Perhaps all 3? How do we currently manage inventory? Does a problem lay in physical space? Do we have centralized storage or supplies are scattered everywhere… Are we a busy practice with multiple specialties, or a startup, or a growing DSO or you simply trying to make it through the month? And that get's us to the MAIN objective of this article - 4 Scenarios How to Choose the Dental Inventory Software for YOUR Practice! Don’t have an Inventory control systems - do you use rubber bands, tags, outdated software or simply yellow sticky notes Ordering is a mess - does ordering take hours and you still forget to put items on the order. Relying on your rep to do it for you? Ordering from 10 different vendors? When products arrive you have no way of verifying and/or comparing to what has been actually ordered? Spend more than 5% on supplies- paying too much for the product? You realize your friend down the road is paying less for the same product? Or simply you like the manufacture brand but not necessarily the distributor? A growing number of locations but each office still place orders individually? The process is not consolidated nor streamlined? Do people order whatever they want without the approval of the main decision maker? Budget is not controlled since the orders are submitted to vendors without approval? After you had a discussion with your team and made the necessary assessment you’ve identified where the problem is. Now we are ready to look at different solutions! Now let’s look at each Scenario individually and with pros and cons: Scenario 1 - Looking for an Inventory control system If you determined that inventory control is an issue, then a simple solution such as airtable or smartsheet will help tech-savvy practices quickly implement inventory control system and be up and running in less than a day. These 2 solutions just like regular spreadsheets but on steroids. They allow you to quickly add products in, write custom formulas to calculate QTYs and connect barcode scanner from your phone. No technical background or knowledge of writing code is required. The only downside, most of it you will have to do manually. Pros: Easy to use Mobile app Less expensive than dental specific solutions Cons: Will have to add all products manually, No dental catalogs No Dental Support Used only for inventory, orders will have to be placed manually or through another application This is a great way to start and see if your team is ready to move inventory management to the next level without paying for setup and implementation of other solutions. A more robust and dental-specific solution in inventory management is Sowingo Dental. Our friends at Sowingo are building interesting things to control inventory, but more importantly, their implant module is gaining popularity. Things to ask during the demo - how does the ordering work, who submits orders, if chat support is available, Sterilization/Compliance record keeping, and dental catalogs availability. Book the demo directly with them to learn more. Scenario 2 - Looking for Ordering Software to consolidate all vendors in one place If ordering is a huge mess, then you need a dental platform to consolidate all of your vendors to one place, more importantly, you need the platform that will allow placing all orders in one place and with one button. It sounds strange but this is a big challenge we are all working on to find a perfect solution for. However, only a few platforms were able to tackle this issue and have a considerable number of distributors to place orders with and I don’t think anybody has a blank cover of all distributor (besides Zen). In this category, we have veterans and new upcoming companies, entering the market to solve this specific issue: Clixon Dental Pros: Place orders with multiple distributors through a single platform (During the Demo ask them what vendors they can submit orders on your behalf) Control budget in a single place Multiple users can work simultaneously on the order Control shipments and orders with a single login Cons: A limited number of distributors, depending on the platform Not able to process payments Some orders will have to be printed/emailed to be placed directly with a distributor No information on the back orders This is relatively a new concept in dental and most dental distributors can’t wrap their minds around it. Therefore most platform in this segment will have a limited number of distributors they can process orders with and will have a challenge with backorder notification. We are hoping distributors will realize soon enough they need to adjust to the needs of their customers, not the other way around. Scenario 3 - you are out of the budget and 5% seems completely impossible to achieve If you discovered that the challenge in your practice is overpaying for supplies then you really need to polish your online shopping skills. Alternatively, you can use below services that offer price comparison: Google Sheets or Airtable - basically spreadsheets where you manually enter prices for 5-6 different suppliers. Easy to operate once setup is completed Manual setup of prices No way of knowing if prices are changed Have to manually submit orders with selected distributor Dental Specific solutions are: Others - way too many Pros: Most products are sold by above marketplaces and you can get the same products for 20-40% less than traditional distributors Ability to price compare exact product before placing an order A single place for keeping a credit card to pay for the orders These marketplaces, at least our friends at SupplyClinic and CrazyDentalPrices.com, are actively fighting against grey market products and working really hard to keep only authorized products on the platform. Cons: Have to know what you are looking for, doesn’t know your order history or inventory Marketplaces usually are limited to smaller and mid-size distributors that can cause shipping, stocking and other challenges. A limited number of manufactures (Brands such as 3M, Kerr, and are not authorized on some of these platforms). Longer delivery times because of a drop-ship model this might take up to 2 weeks on certain items. Most of the marketplaces are getting really innovative with things like delivery times, easy product returns and aggressive pricing. However, the bigger challenge is you are only using this as an alternative option and still need to use your main supplier for some of your Brand items (at least at the time of writing this article), therefore you still have a need to track orders in multiple places. Scenario 4 - how to support the growth of your emerging DSO (Dental Service Organization) Scaling your group from a single location to multiple practices is a daunting task and usually, it’s all about the system. No systems no scale! This is where inventory control becomes even more important. As you are scaling you need to have 2 major controls in place: Products your practices use with an ability to approve any request for a new product from the team/ new associates. A budget that is allocated per month per each location, with the ability to review and approve orders before orders are submitted to vendors and essentially will push you over the budget. There are solutions on the market for scaling: Coupa nondental but very popular among dental groups Pros and Cons: Honestly, I really don’t feel we know enough to give our pros/cons in this scenario. However standard things that will be important: Catalog of products Multilevel control - local/regional/corporate - at least for order approval It has to be user-friendly - at the end of the day, your lead assistants will be using it, so make sure you are not adding an additional step to an already busy day of your most valuable team players. This will be very important, in any scenario listed above: When you are narrowing down your options it’s important to have a solid understanding of the following elements (perhaps even read a copy of the terms and conditions ahead of signup): Length of the commitment Implementation Plan (what’s involved, who is responsible, and what is expected of you and your team); is training provided; is it on-site or web training. Breakup clause and fees involved and detailed plan of data transfer Who owns the data and how is it transferred to you in case of a breakup How is your data being used by a software provider, for what purposes, and who is it disclosed too?
We've always wanted to put together a completely unbiased guide for STARTUPS for your first dental supplies order. I couldn't do it without my good friend Dr. Andy Tran DMD, wh opened a practice in Austin Texas in February of 2019. It's a rather short interview, so get comfortable, take notes and get ready for what could possibly save you Thousands! Interview Notes: Step 1 Gather templates, startup lists from your friends or download what Dr. Andy used below Dr. Andy Tran template is here Step 2 Know your products. Spend time on Clinicians Choice to look for product reviews and assemble a list of items that you will be using at your dental practice software. Dr. Andy's focus was on main procedures such a are Extractions, Fillings, Restorative, Endo. Since it’s your practice it makes sense to do thorough research. Use places like Dentaltown.com and Facebook Dental Group (The Making of a Dental Startup is a great resource). Step 3 Create your own initial list. Then use it to get quotes from supply reps. I usually recommend this step because we have seen (at Zen) prices varying dramatically based on your physical location. So if you are located in a rural area then you might get really good prices even from the reps. Make sure to tell reps to quote EXACTLY what’s on the spreadsheet (you will hear from Andy his story about this step). Also, do not buy into intimidation such as “well doc how are you going to practice without this little plastic that makes everyone’s life easier”. Step 4 While you waiting for supply reps to quote your list (which might take 2-4 weeks) start using a site such are Scottsdental.com Dentalcity.com. Open accounts with buying groups – Synergy group is free and offers great savings with Brand name products Step 5 Make your final decision 3-4 weeks before the opening. You don’t want earlier because construction is still in progress and products can get damaged (unless you ship them to your house). More importantly, you don’t want to wait until the actual opening. Many dental products are back-ordered and if you are purchasing items off of eBay it may be shipped from different parts of the world. You can contact Dr. Andy Tran for more information at DoctorTranDMD at Gmail dot com
ZenSupplies is a lifesaver when implemented and the entire team is on board. In order to understand what does it really take to implement Zen the right way and also provide true feedback from the "trenches", we decided to interview one of our most successful lead dental assistants Brittany Lopez from Castle Peak Dental Tiger Safarov: Okay, awesome. So, I have Brittany on the call today from Castle Peak Dental. She is absolutely the right hand and Dr.Summer always says that she is not only the right hand but the left hand and pretty much takes care of everything at the office is Brittany, right? Brittany: Yes, so I- Tiger Safarov: Did I describe it accurately? Brittany: Ha Ha Ha, pretty much, yes. Tiger Safarov: Yeah, Dr. Summer always tells me about you and she's like I don't know how I can survive without Brittany and I believe that's absolutely true even when I visited you guys, which was probably way too long ago. I need to come back. You were really on top of things. Brittany: I try to be. I mean, we're such a bigger office now than probably when you came and if I'm not on top of things I feel like everything falls apart. Not just me but as a team, but you know, in the back office we've got to keep it together just as much as the front, so. Tiger Safarov: That's true. Well, Brittany let's dive into this, because what I really want to get into your mindset and how do we present this to the Doctors. So, let's just say when we're starting up an office, one of the big questions or worries of Office Managers and Doctors is how the team is going to react to it. What's your take on this? What's the best way to present it? How do we flip the coin so that the Doctor's know how to talk to their team about Zen? Brittany: So, it all just comes down to managing your overhead. I mean, a lot of offices, their team isn't as involved and overhead percentage and keeping it as low as possible as, maybe, some other offices but, you know, in order to gain bonuses and, you know, make your time there worth it, you have to worry about that kind of thing, right? So, in our office, for example, I'm the person who's responsible for making sure overhead is low and if it's not and there are not people contributing with that, then nobody gets a bonus and I feel like that's a huge incentive for people, don't you think? Tiger Safarov: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Brittany: So, go ahead. Tiger Safarov: Yeah, I'll come back to it. You touch on something so important, I always talk about it but I don't want to interrupt you. Brittany: Oh no, you're fine. Tiger Safarov: You know how some offices I go to I know its definitely not your office, but some offices I go to, people say well the doctors are providers or the hygienists are providers too and who are the dental assistants and I feel like if you take over the budgeting for supplies and show the office that you can bring money, you're in the same boat. You're the provider. You're saving money in the budget. That gives so much leverage to the lead dental assistants. Would you agree with that? Brittany: Oh, oh, yeah one-hundred percent. I mean, yes, the dentist are providers as are hygienist but if you're, like, the leader of the back office and, you know, responsible for ordering supplies you're just as important. It's your responsibility to make sure you're getting the right costs, the right percentages, all that stuff in order to function well as an office. Tiger Safarov: That's so true. So, back to that same question. If Dr. Awesome is about to sign up with Zen, and we call him Dr. Awesome because they're signing up with Zen. What's the best way for them to present it to their team and say, like, do it during the morning huddle or what would you say from your standpoint. How did Dr. Summer Kassmel present it and how would you suggest for other doctors to do it? Brittany: Well, she made sure she had enough time to really explain the system and the importance of it during a team meeting where we actually had the time to discuss it and she basically just said, you know, like I touched earlier, overhead's important if you want that extra cash in your pocket. If you, you know, to function smoothly as an office it's important to make sure our supplies are low enough and are running smoothly and with Zen, which is so awesome you're absolutely right, it's just a place where you can make it easier, you know. We have our budgeting on there. Brittany: We have all the distributes on there. It's just an easy system and one go-to place where the front office can order, the back office can order. Whatever you need is in one place and I think that's the most important part because I think that at least for me, it was super stressful to log on to a bunch of different websites and find what I needed and go back and forth to find the lowest price and the best product and, you know, I'm sure its super stressful for assistants that don't have the time to do so and so that in itself was, like, the best benefit to why I first mentioned Zen and your company. Tiger Safarov: Mm-hmm, right there. Let's take the next step. Let's just say you're the lead dental assistant. You're pretty much; you and I are setting up Zen. We're going through this whole product inventory and then we get to the point where I say okay Brittany so now I'm going to give you homework. It's going to be- not moving forward but your homework for the next training to add quantities and you're like “uh-oh, that's an extra step on my plate that I'm not sure if I have time to do.” Tiger Safarov: How do you think we can overcome that? How would you suggest for the team members or if that's something you think we should truly do as Zen, maybe that's the case but when we get to these quantities and setting up the quantities in the dental inventory system, what's your take on that? Brittany: You know, you're right it is a bunch of work on the forefront. That is dedication and making sure you have enough time to do so and I think that's where your other team members and dental assistants, you know, I guess it depends on the size of the office and how many you have but that's why the team works together to give you that time to do the quantities and figuring out the inventory. That's the only way I feel like you can get Zen to work in the first place is if you figure out what you have and how much you need. I mean for me it was more so doing it on my off time, you know, unfortunately because I didn't have the time to do so but, I think that's a great opportunity for other assistants to work together to figure out what's best and that's why we have Dr. Kasmel helped because like you said she's my right hand but it's definitely worth it once it's figured out. Tiger Safarov: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, okay. So, did you guys have anything, like, you know for example you sat down with a team and said okay guys in order for me to set up Zen, I need five-six-seven hours and by the way, that's another question? How long did it take you to get all the quantities into Zen? Brittany: I broke it up into a couple of days, spending like an hour or two each day. So, I would say, like, just breaking it up like a good week, to be honest. Just, like, with an hour to two a day. Tiger Safarov: Mm-hmm. What if a dental practice wants to go cold turkey and just sit down for whatever number of days to get all of this figured out. What would you say? A day or two? Brittany: Depending on the average I would say yeah, a day or two. Tiger Safarov: Okay and so, how did you guys approach it when you sit down with a team and said hey guys I will need an hour or two a day to work on this. Can you guys cover me up on certain procedures or what was the discussion like? Brittany: Basically, I just let my team members know, you know, Dr. Kassmel had already introduced Zen and the importance of it and why we are switching to you guys. So, I just, you know, had to make sure my team members were on board with them taking over procedures for me. Just basically saying, like, hey if we want this system to work and we want the best possible outcome there is, then this is something I have to do and, you know, I just made sure- Rachel, that's our other assistant. I just made sure she was able to cover where she could and then I just used Dr. Kassmel as best I could when needed. Tiger Safarov: Awesome, and you definitely got huge support from Dr. Kassmel, right? Brittany: Oh, definitely. She is my biggest supporter, the offices biggest supporter, she just is amazing. Tiger Safarov: Okay. I do want to touch on this very quickly. From your experience, how much during the implementation or after implementation the doctor should be involved in Zen. What are the touch points that you absolutely need the doctor for? Brittany: I definitely think in the beginning to implement it into the team I think definitely having the doctor have your back or whoever it is ordering whether it be the lead assistant or whoever, having your back and letting the team know, like, hey, this is their system. This is why it's important. This is what we're doing and then just being able to set the budget, obviously. Dr. Kassmel is very hands-on when it came to budgeting, kind of finding the lowest prices and then once it was all set up and all said and done she, kind of, just left it in my hands to, kind of, just play with and figure out and now, you know, its like second nature to me but in the beginning she was one-hundred percent involved in every single piece of it. Tiger Safarov: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Next question is tough. The ZenOut. Every time we do the demo's, or the trainings, or a simple implementation it gets to the point where some of the practices, not all, but some of the best dental practice software practices get to the Zen Out app and see it as one of their challenges, since they need to get the whole team to ZenOut the products, similar to scanning, but on the app. What was your process for this? How were you able to get the team to ZenOut products? Brittany: So, what I did was I got a whiteboard and I put-like we're a smaller office so I was able to put like, you know they had two hygienists so I put each of their names. We only had two assistants so I put each of their names and then I just put, like, Doctor's and front office and I labeled all of that on a whiteboard and just basically told the team when you take something, you know, the last of something I need you to write it on the whiteboard and then at the end of the day go Zen it out. Brittany: I did it daily because I didn't want a few days to go by or it be the end of the week and then somebody forget or it just-I felt like it'd get tossed to the corner and then it'd get left behind so I made sure it was a daily thing and then on the little I-Pad that we the Zen out app on, I put super simple instructions on how to Zen out so that a front office person or a hygienist who has no extra time, it literally- and I timed it, it literally took like a minute if not a minute and a half for them to log-in, Zen out what they needed to and then move on with their day. Tiger Safarov: Wow. Would it be possible for you to take a picture of the ? We can erase the names so that people don't see it. Do you mind if I included part of the article? Brittany: Oh, no not at all. Tiger Safarov: Okay, that would be so cool and then also the instructions for the Zen out. I would love to share it with the rest of the people. Brittany: Okay. Tiger Safarov: Alright, so probably as we're wrapping up one of the last questions is for us at Zen when we think about the valid that we bring to dental assistants, like, it's great that there are a price comparison and budgeting and that you spend less money on dental supplies but one of the biggest things for me personally is the time. I love to think, or I tend to think, that with Zen essentially you're spending less time managing inventory and taking control of the inventory. Tiger Safarov: I want you to ask if that's true or not and how much we impacted the time part of your life? Brittany: Oh my gosh, it's one-hundred percent true and I can definitely say my time spending with Zen as opposed to when I used to order is cut in half. I order bi-weekly and before I used to have to put a block for, like, two hours to, like, stalk everything, look through all my inventory and then order from like I said different websites, different companies and with Zen it literally only takes me like half an hour if that because I know what I'm low on. I know what I have to order. I know the lowest price and it's in one spot. Zen is like a lifesaver so thank you so much. I love it. Tiger Safarov: Wow, that's awesome. I really appreciate it, it means a lot. I just really wanted to get that honest feedback from you because I know you're always honest and it's, like, truly the impact of Zen and if we're moving in the right direction because like I said my biggest thing is time and it’s the only thing we can never get back and one thing I want to strive for is for our assistants to make sure that you guys don't waste time on just things that don't matter. Brittany: Oh, one-hundred percent and I think you guys are doing a great job with what you're offering and I think any kind of office or assistant should definitely use Zen because like you said it's a time saver more than anything. Like the price comparison is amazing, don't get me wrong, but, you know, to have that time to be able to do your other duties or just assist I think being able to use Zen and do it that quickly, as long as its implemented right, then I think it's just amazing. Tiger Safarov: I one-hundred percent agree with you. As we're wrapping up, what do you think would be the final suggestions you have for the offices. Like, as they're looking to implement Zen, what would you say is your one or two or three tricks or, like, maybe short cuts, even though I hate short cuts but what would you say is the thing? Brittany: It would definitely be, be patient with it because I know in the beginning it may feel like its tedious just putting your distributes in one spot and your inventory count and, you know, quantity and all that but just making sure the team implements ZenOut because if you don't do that or, you say, forget or your team's not on board then it puts more work on whoever it is ordering. It makes you have to go back and re-count your inventory and it's just making sure the team implements it just as much as you first and foremost and then you just have to mess around with it. I did a lot of research on it playing around with it and just finding quickest ways and distributes you can to make it that much easier and quicker. Tiger Safarov: You're so awesome. Thank you, thank you so much. Brittany: I appreciate it. Tiger Safarov: Yeah, like, from day one I knew that you guys were going to be awesome, you know. I can definitely say you're one of my top five's, that's for sure and it's so much fun too. Even I know when you go into the chat and ask some questions because when I go back and I listen or I look at the chat messages I know there's going to be some gold there because when you ask questions its probably something we don't have as a feature that we need to look back and maybe build it, you know. That's how I look at it. Brittany: Right, and I love that you guys are so on top of it. Any time I do have questions or concerns you get back to me if not instantly, like, within twenty-four hours so I appreciate your guy's customer service as well. Tiger Safarov: Awesome. Brittany, thank you so much. I don't want to take more of your time. I'm just grateful to have you, that's all I can say. Thank you. Brittany: I am grateful for you and Zen. You guys have saved us so much time and money and what you're doing is amazing and so I'm so thankful for you and your team. Tiger Safarov: It means a lot. Well, keep doing that. Alright, so, thank you so much. We'll be wrapping up and this episode will be available on our blog so subscribe it and Brittany I probably am really clued- I'll just see if anyone has any questions for you if they want to reach out to you I'll just ask them to reach out to us first and we'll coordinate it so you don't get bombarded with questions, okay? Brittany: Okay, that's perfect, no worries and I will send you over the picture of the instructions and the whiteboard. I don't work today or tomorrow but if you need it by a certain time before next week, I can get that to you. Tiger Safarov: Awesome, awesome.
English is a funny language. Words that are spelled the same can have different pronunciations and wildly different meanings. Words that are spelled differently can mean the exact same thing. To complicate things further, we also like to use everyday words in our slang. This can create some confusing and often humorous situations around these words. Avatar. That word likely brings to mean a number of things. The smash-hit Disney movie by James Cameron likely is first, maybe it is the animated character and show by the same name or the electronic version of oneself on Twitter and the blogosphere. There is still yet another meaning and we are not talking about the incarnation beliefs of the Hindu religion. Merriam-Webster defines avatar in the way we want to use it today perfectly. “An embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person” When setting out to determine what makes a Zen-user avatar, this author had some preconceived notions. Through constant feedback, careful listening, and crunching some data those notions were laid to rest. There was no real correlation between office size, storage locations, the age of the doctor, the age of the team, nor current distributors. The factors that create the Zen Avatar are much truer to the definition listed above. These users embody the philosophy of Zen. Purchasing anything without embracing the philosophy behind that product will ultimately lead to shoving it aside on a shelf somewhere. Let’s use a metaphor. Everyone would like to be in better shape than we are now. Most of us know the steps, even small ones, that we could take for little gains. We could drink more water, do some push-ups every morning, or go for a jog after work. Yet, these things often give way to the other things in our lives. We are not truly too busy or too old to work out. More accurately, we have not embraced or embodied the philosophy that fitness is a lifestyle. Much in the same way, when someone subscribes to Zen, their results can vary. The software does not change but its implementation and consistent use in the dental practice management system moften does. This boils down to which concepts are embraced and which ones are not. Here are some scenarios on both sides of the coin. For example, two doctors want to reduce overhead. They both find Zen, take a demo, and sign up. Doctor 1 sends his only their lead assistant in for training, glosses over the change in a staff meeting, and skips the next training session altogether. I can tell you already this team is set up for failure. On the other hand, Doctor 2 engages their team through the entire process. They discuss “the why” at length so that the team does not feel it is a change for the sake of change. Instead, they see how this new process will benefit and make their lives easier. Everyone who is involved with supplies is in for both training sessions. They ask engaging questions and work to understand what they do not know. The doctor stays involved through the implementation process and holds the team accountable for their end of the bargain. Doctor 1’s office will struggle with buy-in at the team level. “I don’t understand it.” “It just creates extra steps in my day.” “I have my own process.” This team will also not be able to make full use of Zen. They will not verify orders in a timely fashion, which will not allow them to restock their dental inventory management software with one click. Now, they are back to their old ways of counting each item and guessing what they would need for the month to come. Then the end of the month comes in emergency orders are being placed and the budget smashed to ruins. Doctor 2’s office will look far different. They put in some leg work at the beginning but now the team is operating better and freer than ever. There is never a worry whether they will have everything because they always do. Orders come in every two weeks and the team hardly seems to notice. There is not a mad dash to the supply order because everyone knows they will have what they need. The ordering process takes less than 10 minutes and they are using that time to more effectively treat patients. These are small examples of the giant impact that a mindset can have. You see, it is not about much more than that. As a leader or THE leader in the practice, it is your duty to guide the team to function at the highest level possible. This ensures that each patient is getting the highest level of care possible. With any change, there will always be push back. The best offices manage that push back from the onset by effective communication and accountability. Those who choose to cut corners, get an incomplete system in the end and no one is happy with that. The ones willing to put in the work to truly establish a process, end up with a real solution that helps them grow. In summary, it is all about the mentality of the office, the end users. That mentality starts at the top. If a team is finding all of the reasons that a system will not work, I can assure you they will find those excuses in practice. The teams that are finding the solutions to integration will find solutions throughout the entire process. This is not to suggest that we like certain clients better. Through hard work and research, this is what we have found to be true, “It can be a great day or not, the choice is yours.” Embodying this philosophy makes a true ZenSupplies avatar.
Providing a consistent and positive patient experience is essential for driving business growth, as satisfied customers are more likely to remain loyal and help your business grow. In addition, the cost of acquiring a new customer is significantly higher than retaining an existing one. That is why, whether you're a startup or a large DSO, building strong relationships with customers is crucial. Also, an exceptional service is not a one-time event: it is an ongoing effort to consistently exceed customer expectations.This means going above and beyond the standard expectations of a dental visit, and actively seeking out ways to improve the overall experience for patients. What’s preventing companies from ensuring top-notch customer service? It's common to have too much on one's plate, and customer service can often be overlooked in the midst of other pressing matters. As a business, it can be difficult to keep track of all the issues that arise, leading to a tendency to view customer requests as a single, overwhelming problem. However, by implementing some dental practice software we use at Zen, you can develop a strategy for consistently providing excellent customer service. We reached out to a few of our dedicated employees who work closely with clients to make them feel special on a daily basis. We are thrilled to share our knowledge and advice with dental practices and other businesses that aim to achieve exceptional customer satisfaction. What does customer experience mean to ZenSupplies? ZenSupplies places a high priority on the customer experience, and it has become a key factor in differentiating ourselves from the competitors. While the growth is important, we focus on treating our customers as individuals, not just numbers. To achieve this, we tend to foster a sense of warmth and familiarity with the customers at every touchpoint, especially in the digital age where the majority of client interactions occur in web based dental software. We take the time to understand each customer's specific needs and preferences, and tailor our product and services to meet those needs. When it comes to building a strong customer support team, it's important to carefully consider the internal HR processes that are put in place to identify, hire, onboard, and train the right people for the job. At Zen, for example, we recognized that having a team made up of individuals with prior experience in the dental field would be key to providing excellent customer care. JILLIAN, CUSTOMER SUCCESS SPECIALIST: "Creating a positive and long-lasting relationship with patients is crucial for any dental clinic. As competition in the industry continues to rise, it's important to understand that having the latest technology and equipment may not be enough to retain customers. It's essential to show patients that the clinic truly cares about their dental health and overall well-being. Here are a few best practices for improving customer service in a dental office: - Never take patient relationships for granted: Regular patients are the foundation of any dental clinic. It's essential to make them feel valued and appreciated at all times. - Empower your staff with positive attitudes: A dental clinic's staff is the face of the business and their attitude towards patients can make or break the customer experience. It's essential to make sure staff members are trained in excellent customer service and are invested in the clinic's philosophy of providing top-notch service. - Remember that small gestures can make a big impact: In today's fast-paced world, small gestures of kindness can go a long way in making patients feel valued. Sending thank you notes or cards can make a big difference in how patients perceive the clinic. By following these best practices and focusing on creating a positive and personalized experience for patients, dental clinics can improve customer satisfaction and build long-lasting relationships with patients." TANYA, CUSTOMER OPERATIONS MANAGER: "Effective communication is a key aspect of providing a positive customer experience in any business, including dentistry. In a dental office setting, it is important to have multiple communication channels available for patients to use, such as phone, email, and online portals or chats. This allows patients to reach out to the office in the way that is most convenient for them and ensures that their inquiries or concerns are addressed in a timely manner. A dental office that can quickly respond to patients' needs and questions will create a positive customer experience, leading to increased trust and loyalty.Whether it is through phone calls, emails, or online forms, patients want to know that their concerns are being heard and addressed. Patients will appreciate the prompt attention and feel more confident in the office's ability to provide quality care. By utilizing multiple channels and timing them appropriately, dental practices can ensure that patients feel heard and valued." LANA, CUSTOMER SUPPORT SPECIALIST: "It's important to regularly assess your customer service practices to ensure you are meeting the needs of your patients. Here are a few questions to consider when conducting a customer service "checkup": 1) Are patients receiving clear and accurate information about their treatment options and costs? 2) Do you keep things fresh and comfortable in your clinic to maintain patient engagement? 3) Are you regularly seeking feedback from your patients to understand their needs and preferences? 4) Does your staff understand and support your mission of treating patients like royalty to foster loyalty? 5) Do you follow up with patients to assess their level of satisfaction with their visit? 6) Do you have a specific protocol in place for promptly addressing any customer complaints? By conducting a checkup, it helps to establish a benchmark for your customer service, which can be used to track progress over time and measure the effectiveness of any improvements made." The Bottom Line Providing exceptional customer service may not be a new concept, but it is vital for maintaining a thriving business. When it comes to customer loyalty, it is not solely about cost and promotional strategies, but rather how a business handles and treats its clients, particularly those with concerns. By providing multiple channels for customers to reach out, having a knowledgeable and friendly customer service team, being efficient, and listening to customer feedback, a dental clinic can set itself apart from the competition and build long-term customer loyalty. Therefore, ensuring that your customer service is excellent will enable you to stay on top of your business game! Book a demo with the Zen Team here: zensuupplies.com/demo
2023 is promising to be an exciting year. Technology is booming and there is so much we can bring to dentistry to help with day to day tasks and stress. From AI to basic tasks automation we are looking at the entire landscape and discussing with our offices what is the path forward. From a customer standpoint, according to Delaney, our Customer Success Manager, one of the most desired and requested features is Bar Codes. Ability to scan a barcode and remove products from inventory (or add them to shopping cart) would make the dental inventory software process a lot easier and more of “I don’t have to think about it”. Alesia, our Product Manager, is looking forward to improvements in the infrastructure, reporting, and reliability. This is a great and short episode that provides a glimpse into our inner workings and how we make decisions at Zen.
As a new practice from scratch, there was no question that we needed to have dental office inventory software. I had worked as an associate at multiple offices, of which none utilized a system that was proven efficient. There were unused, expired products, random lists of supplies needed, ordering from one supplier, never price comparing, and rarely was the doctor or owner involved. I had the opportunity to create my own systems and inventory supply to provide the practice with the most efficiency, as well as profit to invest back in the practice or in myself. Who doesn’t want more money in their pocket? If that’s the case- you, the doctor/owner, need to be involved in the dental inventory system. It takes less time utilizing a system and being involved in the process than it does dealing with misplaced supplies or realizing you don’t have something when you need it. I can look in my supply closet right now, without having to move a single item, and tell you what is running low or is out of stock. The organization of your dental supplies is the key to being able to utilize the software to its true potential. ZenSupplies has allowed us to implement a system with our lean, organized inventory that provides efficiency and savings. Even as the practice grows, almost every month, we are able to stay within about 5% of collections with our dental supplies. This has everything to do with the management system and keeping a lean inventory. I live by the saying that less is more. You do not need to have an overstock of supplies- it doesn’t allow you to spend the money where you might actually want or need to or you overspend without any knowledge of the budget. ZenSupplies emphasizes the responsibility of managing that budget with inventory that is necessary. The system allows for easily checking items out of inventory and keeping a running list of what absolutely needs to be ordered. Price comparison is obviously a huge benefit as well. Who wants to go back and forth between supplier websites, or even direct contact with reps, to figure out what the best price is? Zen is making it easier and easier, with the growth of the system, to price compare and manage your budget to reach your set goal. Like anything in life, there is a learning curve to utilizing something new. ZenSupplies is a great system to manage your dental inventory, but you need to learn how to make the system work for your practice. I cannot emphasize enough, that the organization of your dental supplies is very important. It is easy to stay organized when you narrow down your dental supplies and minimize to only what is absolutely necessary to function as a dental practice. When you can provide Zen with a lean inventory, the system will work for you. Ultimately, what I have learned is that when ZenSupplies is not working (i.e. we run out of a product that was not placed on an order), it is usually due to user error. Your staff needs to be trained on how to utilize the system or it will not work. Everyone needs to agree at what point an item needs to be ordered. As the doctor/owner, I take responsibility for overseeing that my team is utilizing the system correctly by auditing the inventory and approving all orders. With the ease of the ZenSupplies app, I can walk into the closet scroll through the categories, and confirm that they are checking items in and out as needed. It is worth my time and way less of a headache than scrambling to order a product we are running out of and overpaying just so that I can have it the next day. Dental inventory management is well worth the investment to reduce those headaches, improve efficiency, and stay within budget. Dr. Cerdas' bio is here
Those that navigate through 2020 and keep their head above the water deserve huge respect. It’s been a year of really testing everyone’s patience and in order to have some sense of stability, we all had to shift and rebalance our priorities. For most, it was rediscovering family time, for some it was learning a new skill, and for some, sadly, it was learning to live through the loss of loved ones. It’s been an incredibly tough year! Please don’t mind me trying to look at all of it from a positive lens. We are all learning to live in a new environment, but we get to define what this new environment means. We get to fix something that was broken. We get to reassess our priorities and choose a new direction. For leaders and business owners, COVID is really testing our leadership skills and resilience. We are given an opportunity to reassess priorities and perhaps look at what we are building from a new light. Nothing is perfect and nothing is 100% predictable. Sometimes doing our best is all we can control, and letting yourself know that, is a great way forward. Our team is the most important asset we have, and during this time we get an opportunity to be the leaders people want to follow. COVID has given us that opportunity to be humans again, to start a meeting with “How is everyone doing”; “Is your family ok?”; that rare opportunity to look at the person as a human and not “Dental Assistant” or “Hygienist”, but a person with problems, anxiety, and stress. Not everything needs to be solved with dollars, metrics, KPIs, and promotions that are “well earned”. The most human thing is to care and have sympathy. And if one is in the position to help, then let’s genuinely help. We get a unique chance to build an “Island of Stability'', where, perhaps, your practice or business (even if it’s virtual, as ZenSupplies), can be the place where the team feels supported and has certainty. We are also given a unique opportunity to fix something that was broken, on a personal level. COVID and lockdowns have forced us to reassess people around us and ask ourselves the questions that Viktor Frankl, in his book “Man’s Search for a Meaning” calls the most existential question for a human being. And this question is “Who needs me?”. From my personal experience, reconnecting with family and fixing broken relationships has been the most difficult and yet the most fulfilling experience of my life. And it all started with “Who needs me?”. I genuinely hope we learn from 2020 instead of “going through”. I hope we take something, fix something, become something, evolve into something better, and allow people, who we love, to need us even more! Thanksgiving Holiday, in my opinion, is one of the most important family holidays. Hopefully, for many of us, this year will look much different, more enriched with family and joy. We are grateful to every single office and team member! From all of us at Zen, Happy Thanksgiving! Tiger P.S. on the picture is my dad, who I rarely talk about.
Just like many things in this world, work life balance is a complex subject, perhaps with the wrong term/title that forces people to search for answers in the wrong place. What is balance? According to the Oxford dictionary, it’s a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. Meaning Your Work and Your Life, magically, need to be equal and in correct proportions! I have so many questions! What are the proportions? Who determines them? Should work be as important as life or vice versa? Should these proportions stay the same for the rest of your life? Even if we look at the basic math, taking averages it’s already not very equal: 168 Hours in a week 40 hours - WORK 56 Hours - Sleep 72 Hours - Life Seventy two hours for life, that is double of work hours, assuming, at least for the purpose of this conversation, sleep is recharging ability to live and work. If we already have such inequality by pure numbers, why is there so much conversation today on work life balance? I would also assume that most people refer to Life part of the “work-life balance” conversation, that time is running out and at the current pace there is not enough life in the equation. Just like anybody else, I ask myself this question, especially as I’m getting older the time is running at the faster pace each year, “What is work life balance?” Let’s look at it by breaking it into 10 year span terms: “Redbull” 20s In my 20s I wanted to work all the time, weekends, evenings, all the time. I would take 40 Work hours, add 72 Life hours and even try to cut off a few hours from sleep. I was driven. I wanted to prove to myself and my family that I could make it! There was no balance. However, there was happiness. It made me happy that I was pursuing what I wanted. I was building my own company and even when I wasn’t I would drive around rich neighborhoods of Chicago, “working” on my goals, imagining living in one of those mansions! If I had a choice to do all over again, not in a chance I would do anything differently! I call it the “red bull decade”. You can survive on 4 hours of sleep, 2 cups of coffee each hour and a redbull. I’m not advising it, but it’s an option for a particular goal or personal ambition. Even if one is not pursuing ambitious goals to change the world, it’s still important to give it your best in the 20s to mess things up, make mistakes, own up to it and try to correct things. The learning experience is enormously important and the more you gain the more value one can create for future self. It’s more important to give it your best, try a career, business, side project, etsy store, etc. Push yourself to work a little harder and see what happens. Ironically it’s also the best time to go all in on Life and experience things before family. Visit new countries, travel and explore yourself through the uncomfortable setting of being in a different country with a different language. Take unpaid leave for 1 or 3 months and just go. I would call it retreat with your future self as you get a chance to face your fears and look back. Ask yourself “Is the direction I chose is truly mine?” By the way, if your employer is mad and/or not supportive, you are part of the wrong company! When you consider “leap of faith” decisions in your 20s the brain will try to tell you “that’s impossible?” or “how are you going to pay for it?”, don’t listen, get creative and just do it. This is the time in your life to train the brain - "If there is a will there's a way! Don’t miss this important opportunity!" Golden 30s This is my territory at the moment. When I turned 30 I could feel something was different. I was different. More content with what I have, less materialistic possession and on the mission for what I know I want. I wasn’t guessing, I invested in my 20s to explore, wander around, work really hard on the wrong things, businesses and a relationship. In my 30s I understood the difference between arrogance and confidence. I learned the value of being honest, telling how you feel and practicing the “if it’s important do it now” mentality. I was 33 years young when I took my first real vacation, with close friends, on a yacht hopping popular Greece islands. I enjoyed every minute of “Life” time and towards the end of the trip I couldn’t wait to get back to Work life. My energy was restored and I knew in order to see more in life I needed to continue working hard to create life opportunities again. This sounds simple and basic, and it really is. In order to create quality Life moments I need to create resources to allow life moments. Resources are created by bringing value to this world in the form of ideas, hard work, and being able to execute on the ideas. We can’t exactly predict the outcomes in dollar amounts or what our efforts are going to be worth, but at least we can give it our best try! In the 30s you start choosing friends, dropping negative friendships, discovering hobbies, establishing a personal health program that includes diet, working out, and choosing your one favorite activity. Many start running marathons, triathlons, Ironman, etc. It’s important to pick the camp and learn all you can about it. It also provides a certain “escape” from day to day activity. I recently learned, from an Interview Tim Ferriss did with Mark Zuckurberg, that running is a great physical activity but it doesn’t help to zone out from day to day activities. Ideally you need to find sports that take up ALL of your attention. I picked hockey! When I play and practice, 3-4 hours a week, I’m fully present. There is no phone, no smart watch, nothing. Even if my wife is watching the game I rarely notice her. I’m fully in the game. Otherwise I’ll get run over or hit by a bigger guy into the boards (survival element). Most importantly you start re-evaluating close family as it becomes more and more important to stay close with the loved ones and create your own island of stability -your own family! This era is full of investments into your current self but more importantly into your future self. Most people start settling into “Well that’s how it is”, “This is what life is”. I recently started hearing “Who would play hockey at my age?” or “It’s too late to start the business” or even worse “Who do you think you are?”. This is really sad and I can’t help but think that I’m so lucky that I made a lot of time investments in my 20s to remove even the possibility of these thoughts entering into my universe! So it’s hard to imagine equal distribution of work and life up until this point. It always tilts and swings in different directions with an effort to live a full life and work really hard to provide yourself an opportunity to have great life moments in the future. Maybe things start to change in the 40s? Wise 40s I’m not there yet, but I hear from those who are there that it’s awesome to be 40! You are wise, experienced and accumulated a great deal of resources. I do feel most people start tilting towards life and experiencing things that they simply didn’t have time nor the resources to explore prior. One downside of the 40s that I do hear is that your inner circle is closing down. Meaning the number of people you interact with is getting smaller and one has to make a lot of effort to meet new people and maintain existing relationships. I really don’t know anybody in their 40s who thinks about the subject of Work Life Balance, however it seems to me most double down on trying to squeeze the most out of the productive phase of life and build a great future. Most importantly I noticed people are very clear on what “great future” means to them. The saying of “climbing the wrong ladder” becomes a lot more obvious and you still have time to swap the “ladder”. Again this is not my area of expertise and all I can do is observe people and so far it looks promising! Fruitful 50s I have no place contemplating work life balance ideas in my 50s, my gut tells me you are ripping the benefits of all the hard work. One of my fears since I was a kid is what my life would look like when I’m at the retirement age. I care less about driving a nice car today vs when I’m 60. I try to imagine myself being a dad or grandad who buys a nice car for cash and can easily take the entire family on a trip to Italy for a month. Perhaps having a clear vision of what the “end” looks like brings the whole work life balance idea to an actual balance. Balance of time, goals, ambition and where you currently are is what makes sense to me. I know what my life would look like in my 50s/60s and for that I want to work my tail off today. That makes me happy and focused. It also helps me choose the right friends who are like minded and on the same mission. There was a hint of that in 2018 on a yacht in Greece with one my close friend Ivan, who I knew since we both immigrated to the US in 2005 with no money and no friends. We had a great time conversing over life since we immigrated and what the future could look like. Imagine the same place and same people when we are in our 50s and 60s, the conversations we will have? I can’t wait 🙂 So much is ahead of us and a better term for what I see as work life balance is Work Life Zen (or harmony, as Jeff Bezos famously coined the phrase). Definition of Harmony - the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole (according to Oxford Dictionary)
Welcome back to ZenOne podcast. Today I'm visiting one of my favorite offices in Waco Texas, Acre Wood Dental and the team, Dr. Ben Johnson, Allison, Meghan and Dan Johnson. We discuss projects Dr. Johnson completed during COVID, managing during tough times, culture and leadership. We cover so many great topics on desire, what makes one pursue perfection and continue to grow professionally. Dr. Johnson shares a story of a personal failure and steps he took to overcome. As Winston Churchill was working to form the United Nations after WWII, he famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. In our context never let a great challenge go wasted without a growth [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RHo-RnL650[/embedyt] At about 32 minutes into the conversation we change gears from personal growth and business to family and fundamentals of the successful marriage. Show notes and timestamps 14:00 - Changing Practice Management Software 16:40 - How Dr. Jonson evaluates new software options for the office 19:30 - Desire to Grow and add more practices. How to identify strengths and what is the max 24:00 - Daily Routine for peak performance 25:00 - Lights go off but we continue recording 26:15 - Are you born with desire and ambition 30:00 - Steps to overcome failures 32:40 - "How much do you share with your wife?" 40:30 - We mention Dr. Tom Novak (Beacon Dentistry) and his relationship advice To learn more about Dr. Johnson's incredible story, please watch this video: https://youtu.be/Hr6y0SSuv1o Website: https://www.acrewooddental.com/