🎙 Inventive Journey | Real Stories From the Startup Survival Club

I think the biggest thing for me is to not go it alone. Co-founders, even if they're not co-founders, advisory board members, just advisors, or just people that you can consistently check in with are crucial. The key point is consistency. Put something on the calendar for every week, every quarter, to get that third-party, unbiased feedback or even just to bounce ideas off of. Because someone in the business world has been down your path before, even if it's not an exact product match of what you're doing. The way businesses grow, there's oftentimes someone who has walked that path before. It can be so helpful to just shorten your learning curve by learning from others. So, I think that's one of the biggest things, just not to go it alone.

As you're starting out, why are you showing up in the morning and thinking about dentistry? If you're super excited about doing that perfect, majestic filling on a tooth, there's nothing wrong with that. If you want your clinical excellence to be your big thing, and that's how you're going to market yourself, then that's great. You will attract technician-minded people who love supporting.

The lesson I had to learn was that I needed my own product and my own say in things. I just have that independent spirit. I'm not against franchises, like you said; they can be really good. I bought a Roof Max franchise with my son last year, or about a year and a half ago. So that's great because he doesn't have that desire to build his own product and create everything. But he wanted to have his own independent thing, and so we partnered. He handles the day-to-day business, and I help him market it and make decisions as a leader. It's a great fit for him because he's done a really good job at it. He's grown that business quickly, which has been awesome.

Patience. You've got to have patience. It's not necessary to take every client that comes your way. There are such things as bad fits. As a small business owner and operator, it needs to be a good fit on both sides. And too often, you see people forcing square pegs into round holes. It just leads to pain, discomfort, and bad reviews online. Don't do it. Don't take it just for the sake of taking it. That would be my advice to close.

Taking that to an entrepreneur who's starting a business, understanding and having awareness of yourself and the people around you - your partners you're working with, the clients you want to serve - having that sense of awareness and a keen understanding of people will take you really far. Being honest and authentic and really thinking about who you're talking to, what their needs are, and catering to them, I can't stress that enough. As a new entrepreneur, it's something that I'm lucky my parents instilled in me, being a bunch of educators, right? But it's something that takes time. And as you meet people who are really excited about your idea, you'll start to see why those relationships are so important.

I recommend thoroughly going and speaking to as many business owners as possible, especially experienced ones. If you can, try to find a mentor or coach who can support you, because otherwise, it can be a struggle. I had a great business in web design, and while we eventually became successful, it took us seven or eight years of struggle to get there. If I had sought out books to read, spoken to mentors, and involved business coaches in our operations earlier, I think we would have achieved success much faster. I realize this advice may sound clichéd, and I may be biased.