Transcript
Speaker: ADEC's Smart Start program offers first-time practice owners their deepest discounts on equipment and furniture for two years, plus other savings and complimentary services. Ask your ADEC rep for details and start smart with ADEC.
Speaker: Join Drs. Savannah Craig and Renetta Sartor as we navigate life beyond graduation. Real conversations about forging our own paths in our early years in our careers.
Speaker: There's a reason it's called practicing dentistry. Welcome back to another episode of Beyond Graduation. This is a special episode because we are doing it in person. Yay! We're here at the Ignite Retreat in Tampa and we're learning new things. So I am your host, Savannah Craig, and with me as always... Renetta Sartor. All right, so our first guest today is from Bingo. That is I, Damari. Yes. Give us a little, tell the tell listeners all about yourself.
Speaker: Well, hello everyone. i am Damari Hedari and I work with Benco Dental. um I've been a dentistry for over 15 years. um i worked clinically as an assistant, as a hygienist. um I did a little bit of operational management as well to help with a startup. And um I did clinical teaching for hygiene as well before i joined Benco.
Speaker: So I had a whole life, yeah whole career. And then I joined Benco in their coaching and education department, um helping officers find out hidden revenue and ways to be more successful with what they were already doing.
Speaker: um And later on, got a full-time position as a coordinator. And currently, i am the practice lifecycle coordinator. So I work with people who are buying, selling dental practices, as well as people who are trying to find out the value of their asset okay or people who want to be associates. So really just dealing with a full life cycle of a dental career all the way from the beginning, joining a practice or opening a practice to growing that, you know getting an associate inn getting more recruitment for your team or the sunset, which is my transition into retirement.
Speaker: Very nice. Could you tell us more about the associate piece? Do you all help to place associates? We do. So we have a wonderful associate match program at Benco. So the idea is to get in contact with people who are going to dental school, maybe in their last year, starting to look for positions out there and just kind of connect them with the people that we know that are customers and kind of give them that introduction into this people need somebody great.
Speaker: So we think you may match with them, um which helps, right? We always want somebody that somebody else knows. Yeah. versus just somebody who fits checkbox. Exactly, exactly.
Speaker: um what So on the podcast, we're focusing on you know usually the the first 10 years out of dental school. So those are your associates, those are maybe your first-time practice owners, those sorts of things.
Speaker: what um What is your favorite? We asked your Banco counterparts this very tough question last time. What is your favorite stage of dentist?
Speaker: Dental student, new grad, you know first practice, if you had to pick one. I just love all of them. They all have their little quirks that I'm like, oh, my babies. um But I will say one thing that I really, really enjoy is working with people who are doing their startups. okay It's just so such a big journey, such a big undertaking. And I think you have so much information out there, so many resources, but then it's overwhelming, right? So i also- If you own an independent dental or orthodontic practice doing around seven figures a year, pay close attention for a second.
Speaker: A lot of practices think they have a marketing problem, but in reality, they have a leak problem. And most dentists don't even realize where the revenue is slipping away.
Speaker: Missed calls, weak follow-up, patients who never get reactivated, cases that never get accepted, front office systems that quietly break down behind the scenes. That's where thousands of dollars disappear every single month.
Speaker: And that's exactly what Kickstart Dental Marketing helps practices fix. They've spent more than 17 years working exclusively with dental practices, and their 90-day practice growth acceleration program is built around these three things. Increase production, fix the leaks, and build the foundation for sustainable growth.
Speaker: They don't just run ads and hope for the best. They look at the entire patient journey from the very first phone call to scheduling, case acceptance, and a long-term patient value. Okay.
Speaker: Instead of handing you a cookie cutter strategy, you get a dedicated growth strategist plus a team of four dental marketing experts focused specifically on your practice and your numbers.
Speaker: Now, because you're listening to Beyond Graduation brought to you by Ignite DDS, they are offering a free 90-day practice growth acceleration plan consultation call.
Speaker: In about 45 minutes, they'll audit your new patient flow, show you exactly where revenue is leaking right now, and map out a custom 90-day growth plan focused on the moves that create results fast.
Speaker: If you want to see more about what this might look like for your practice, please head to kickstartdental.com backslash ignite. They are only opening a limited number of spots each month for this 90 day practice growth acceleration. So if the page is still alive, there's still an opportunity for your practice. And remember, tell them Beyond Graduation sent you.
Speaker: think that, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, you go to dental school for so long And they go, oh, great, here's your degree. Now go out there and open a business. And you're like, how? in How do I do that exactly?
Speaker: So having the ability to sit down with somebody and say, hey, there is a gallon of water you have to drink every day. But nobody says just chug the gallon of water. right They say, on the first hour, you take an ounce. right On the second hour, you take another ounce. And that's how you go through it. So I love being the person that says, here's an ounce.
Speaker: When you're done with it, I'll give you the next steps. So being able to keep you focused, but still like, here's our goal. Let's just center around that and kind of help them meet have their dream come true. It's really fulfilling. um And it's just an exciting journey. So I love being a part of it. That's awesome.
Speaker: That's awesome. So what would your recommendation be for any listener out there who may be thinking of doing a startup? Like, what's the first thing to do? to first thing to do is just go yeah ahead and give me a call.
Speaker: You give me a call and I will make sure that you have all the resources that you need. One of the beautiful things with Banco Dental is that we are a full service distributor, right? So a lot of people know us for, hey, I'm going to get my cotton rolls and my gauze from you, or I'm going to get this scanner from you. And they don't realize that we have this whole amazing area where it's service. And it's like, hey, we can help you design your best office. We can help you with your branding or what is it that you want people to feel when they see the colors and the logo of your office. We can help you with getting the staff in your office. um We have amazing um areas where you can go and see all the equipment and see all the chairs and touch them and feel them. um And I tell the startups all the time, it's like, sometimes you see something in a magazine and you're like, oh I love that ultrasonic cleaner. I love that autoclave. And then it's like you go and see it in my showroom. You're like, that will never fit my counter. yeah
Speaker: So the idea that you can go and really see in person what the final picture will look like and touch it and feel it and have that opportunity to connect with a team that can say, hey,
Speaker: here's each stage. um That's probably what I would advise is just get to somebody like us who can really guide you through the whole process, not just say, hey, we're going to guide you, open your office, and then we're gone.
Speaker: you know We stay with you through the whole career path that you have. So that's, I think, the best part of it. What's the biggest ownership or startup myth that you would want to bust?
Speaker: Myth. Oh my goodness. I think one myth now is probably thinking that it's not doable. Mm-hmm. I think a lot of people feel like, oh, there's a lot of DSOs taking over. I can't find a practice or starting up is just not feasible. There's no way I'm going to get approved for a loan. Never going to find it. And it's like it happens every day.
Speaker: It's going to be fine. We can try it. But again, you have to surround yourself with people who are believers. You have to surround yourself with people who will elevate you and people who will encourage you. um And people who also will give you transparency and reality, right? Who said that you couldn't do it?
Speaker: Was it just because you didn't try it? Or did somebody say, hey, this is not a good idea right now? um So I think that's one of the biggest things that we try as a company to do is always be transparent. If there's something that you come to us for, if it's not something we can help, we don't want to string you along.
Speaker: We will say, this is what we can do. and this is what we cannot do. um Because being realistic is so important when you're doing undertakings like your whole practice or starting a whole business.
Speaker: We want to make sure we guide you the proper way and set your expectations the proper way. I love that. think one the things that love about Banco is it seems like everyone that we've spoken with have had some ties to dentistry.
Speaker: in some way and you have a wealth of knowledge from your experience in the actual dental office. Can you tell us more about how to helps you with your clients and stuff? Yeah. So I think it's very important to relate to who you're speaking to um from a place of I've been there.
Speaker: And i go I know what you're going through. So definitely being part of the dental office, seeing the dynamics, seeing how it works. you know I've worked in private practice. I've worked in corporations. I worked in different phases of the team. So I do feel like I've had my hand in a little piece of all of it. So it's really helpful when I can speak to a manager and say, well, I know what it's like to have to speak with your team about this. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: or looking at a schedule and telling a hygienist, I know it's really hard to do that in that amount of time. right um And then looking at a doctor and say, i know that not having the proper assistant is sending you back. So being able to relate in a way of, I know what that's like, not just I heard what it's like, or I'm not just sympathizing because, oh yeah, sure, that sounds hard, but more so,
Speaker: I lived it. Yeah. So I definitely think it sets a different standard when I'm having conversations with my clients and it almost like feels like they they say, like oh, you speak by language. right All of a sudden, they don't feel like they need to sugarcoat things.
Speaker: So they feel like they can be more transparent with me as well. um But also it allows them to almost speak their truth because they say, oh, I don't have to use different terms.
Speaker: Oh, I don't have to pretend is this way. They're like, oh, you get it. You walk the walk, you talk the talk.
Speaker: um So we want to be respectful of your time and we appreciate you being our first attempt at this. But what is one piece of advice or one you know little inspiration you would want to leave our listeners with? Okay, I'm going to look straight at other lengths for this. and She said she's never done this before, but I think it's a lie.
Speaker: She's too good. She was born for this. um a star I will say don't be afraid to admit that you don't know what you don't know.
Speaker: It is okay, we understand, and being open to receiving help is just going to make you that much better. Sometimes that help may come from places you didn't even expect it to, and sometimes that help may be on things you didn't even know you needed help with.
Speaker: So just be open to allowing others to help you, but also be open to asking others for help because we understand that you're smart.
Speaker: We understand that you can do it but we also understand that you're smart in this aspect but maybe not in others and there's other people that may have that other knowledge so rely on others to provide that part where maybe we're just a little bit short and that way you can walk that path longer i love that where can our listeners find you so or find their version of you there is only one me let me tell you
Speaker: And that is my design, because two of me will be way too much.
Speaker: But I will say you can definitely find us with reaching us through our email. You can go to practice life cycle at Benco.com. You can also go to Benco.com and anywhere in our practice solutions area. I typically will receive any inquiries through there as well. Or you can reach me directly on my email, which is D-E as in Delta Echo 9546 at Benco.com.
Speaker: Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. All right. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Beyond Graduation. If you enjoyed this week's episode, be sure to share it with a friend.
Speaker: Connect with us on social media at Savannah Craig DBS and at Dr. Sartor. And remember, you are not alone on this journey. ADEC certified pre-owned equipment is a sustainable, affordable choice that makes genuine ADEC equipment available to every doctor. Each package is sold on a first-come, first-served basis. So if you see one you like, contact your dealer. For more information, go to www.adec.com backslash findadealer. Thank you for listening to Beyond Graduation, brought to you by Ignite DDS and Future Dentists. This episode was sponsored by Ignite DDS Coaching.
Speaker: We build self-determined futures. For more information, please reach out to the Ignite DDS team.
