#896: Roadmapping Your Goals

The Dental A Team Podcast

Tiff and Dana talk about setting yourself up for success, goal edition. When you begin to work toward your dreams for your practice, do you take an all-encompassing approach? This episode focuses on creating a roadmap for those goals to make them easier to reach.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.422)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am here with you today with Miss Dana and we are so excited to chat with you. We've got a couple of things we're working on today and chatting future is one of them today. And I absolutely love these kinds of conversations and these planning conversations. And Dana, we were just talking about it yesterday with this content we're gonna deliver today. And I think it was just divine timing.

How are you, Dana? How is your month going? We're rounding out to the end of the year. How are things looking over there in your world? And your hair, by the way, looks amazing if you guys are watching this today. I've told you before, she's a hair genius. Here we are again with awesome hair. But Dana, how are you today?

Dana (00:44.49)

Thanks, I'm doing good. I'm blessing it like my hair takes me two minutes to do because it's so thin. So that's the only reason why it's really ever done is because it's quick.

The Dental A Team (00:50.865)

Fair and same.

-huh. I totally, I totally understand that. Awesome. Well, guess what, guys? We are here today with some incredible, incredible ideas. And I say that because we thought of them and I think we're incredible, but also because we love prepping and planning. We, we live in a reactive world in general, like just the world in general is a very reactive world and a reactive space. But dentistry itself is incredibly reactive. And I explained this to

clients and teams constantly where like our jobs are literally to find the problems that have already happened, right? So we're not always preventative for sure. We love preventative care. We love trophies and you know, paramedicine and fluoride and sealants and yes, that is a space but how often do we push that preventative like I know I'm talking to hygienists and teams constantly about fluoride and adult sealants and like gosh, you guys, these are preventative measures that help but more often than not,

we're in the reactive space where something's already happened, and we're completing treatment, we're diagnosing things that are issues. And so when we have a space of life where we can talk proactivity, I think that's a space that us as consultants at the Dental A Team, we love and we thrive on that because we want you to walk into this world prepared, we want you to feel like you have a plan and like you know where you're going. And that way when the

The little things come in, the little roadblocks, the rock in the road that somebody kicked up and it hit your windshield. When those windshield cracks happen and that rock in the road happens, it's like, okay, this is a small detour, but I know where I'm going. Whereas if we don't have that direction, we don't have that plan, those rocks in the road kicked up and hit in our windshield is like, it's the end of the world. Like, all right, here we go, another broken windshield. I don't know, I live in Phoenix, so.

The Dental A Team (02:48.874)

I've replaced my windshield many times in last three years and so it may hit home for me. It's very frustrating, but I feel like gosh, this is that space where we can really make a difference and make an impact on life and Dana, we're into Q4 now. We're rounding out the end of the year and I know you work with a lot of clients virtually and a lot of the group coaching that we do here at the Dental A Team and how are you helping?

Dana (02:48.96)

You

The Dental A Team (03:15.836)

your clients to really just finish out this year strong right now and then we'll talk about some more preparation stuff but how are you helping them to really finish out this year strong.

Dana (03:26.122)

Yeah, and I think it is similar topic as to where we're going to get to in a little bit and that is where did you want to be? Right? Like where did you want to be by the end of the year? And how can we ensure that all the parts and pieces are getting you there? So really just taking a look at where we are, where we want it to be by the end of the year, and how can we maybe reconfigure some goals, look at our gaps, look at the pieces that will essentially push us to where we want it to be the easiest, the fastest, the

most efficient.

The Dental A Team (03:57.125)

I love that. we just last month wrapped up in September, we wrapped up our webinar series, our four pillars. And Dana, you speaking to that reminds me like those were really our first two days of that free webinar series that we had, which if you guys missed it in September, don't worry, it'll be back around again next year. And we do have free webinars every month. I hope you guys know that. We talked about

those pieces, knowing where you were wanting to go, where do you want to go? What did you want to end that? And where are you currently? So really, you're talking about, you know, with your clients finding that gap, right, like finding where we wanted to end where we are, so we can see what needs to happen in the next three months, two and a half months, wherever you're at now, what needs to happen to ensure that we get to those goals, and then really tracking it. So I know day one of that, you know, webinar says was really that gap and finding it.

And day two is all about the numbers and being able to track it. And I think you're totally right as making sure that we're looking at those, but then making sure that we're tracking it along the way. Because even if today we do the numbers and we see what the gap is and we don't look at it again until the end of the year, you're likely, like in my opinion, you're more likely to still be off and not hit the goal. If you don't look at it in between, then you are to hit the goal. Even though you may have built a plan today for the next two and a half, three months.

If you're not checking it and tracking it, you're likely going to get off somewhere or not know that you took a detour. It's like, it's like driving across the country without having your Google maps on, right? Or your Apple maps and just saying, you know what, this road feels right. And not realizing like now you're at the Canadian border and you are supposed to be in New York, right? And like,

you it's a small detour, but you didn't realize you were on there until it's the end. And you're like, wait, this isn't this isn't the state that I was supposed to be in. Where am I at? So I love that. It's really, really, really brilliant. And we push all of our clients to do that. And we push all of our clients to not only look at what this year was going to be and what that gap is, but now is the time to really start prepping and planning for next year, which sounds kind of weird, I think most

The Dental A Team (06:12.517)

practices, most practice owners and business owners are used to like January, but I learned in consulting, it's really hard to build out those goals when your full team meeting or your full business planning meeting is like January 17th, you're already halfway through the month of January and now you've got a gap to make up.

Right? So I think we learned really, really early on to start those conversations in November and December, project where you're likely going to be and take it off of what Dana said now, like where were you headed? Where's your end of year headed? What was that goal? Build goals off of that. So Dana, I know you work a lot with, like I said, a lot of different clients and right now you're working on that piece of that gap, but now we're pushing.

clients as well to really look at what next year looks like. And we usually say right seven to 10 % growth, I say 10 % is freaking fantastic, right? If you can go above and beyond that, a lot of our early in their stages practices can go way above that. I've seen 25 % even just because you're you're growing right now. But that 7 % is our minimum because of inflation, you guys you have to

have to have to account for inflation. that also, that means your goals need to be bigger. That means your fees need to increase. That means all of those pieces need to change. But Dana, with that, as we're growing, one piece I don't think we always remember or always think about prepping and planning for is the amount of people that it's going to take to encompass that growth, right? So we're pushing it and a lot of spaces we say, gosh,

We need to make X amount of dollars more next year. And that means X amount of hygiene appointments or that 30 % of the production coming from hygiene could mean an entire additional day or half day a week even of hygiene that we're just looking and saying, well, we need to make this in production, but we might not be backtracking. Do you see that Dana with clients too? And as we've learned to grow and build goals.

The Dental A Team (08:31.774)

more and more and more even just in our careers, I think we see that that space too, Dana. Do you see that where it's like, gosh, push, push, push, push, push. And then it's like, wait a second, I didn't even realize to stop and think where that was going to come from.

Dana (08:44.544)

Mm hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I do. And and to like, who it's going to come from, right? Because we can push, push, push that we need X amount of hygiene. But can your current hygienist take on all of that additional capacity? And so I think that when you when you build out goals, or you say, this is where I want to be by a certain point, it's really important to look at it from all of those angles and say, Okay, at what point are we going to need additional technology, additional team members, additional

The Dental A Team (08:49.632)

Mm -hmm.

The Dental A Team (08:54.314)

Yes.

Dana (09:14.518)

supplies, additional whatever that looks like to get to X, Y, and Z seamlessly.

The Dental A Team (09:20.865)

Yeah, I love that idea. So I want to talk today about a client of mine that I've worked with for a little while. They are just an amazing power couple. gosh, three years ago, I would say three years ago, we sat down and we said, Okay, what do want your life to look like in one year, three years, five years, 10 years, right? And we really broke it down and

The most common way to do this is one, three and 10, right? But I wanted that five year mark in there as well, because I think it made a difference for them. And so we really said, gosh, what do you want this to look like? And I, and I speak about them because their story, it just hits so hard for me. And it has been so incredible to watch them take the plan that we developed together, put it into action and create this incredible life for not only themselves, you guys, but

their team and to watch the team participate in this and understand it because the communication was there throughout the full team as we built this out. Their goal was always to expand. And when I first met them, it was like a one year plan. That was as far as we could consider was a one year plan. We can't look past that because we couldn't dream to believe yet. And their one year plan was to if we have to add an operatory, but the building is kind of

it's kind of wonky. So realistically, we only have space to add one more operatory and that was taking away from the patient waiting area, right? The patient lobby. So they did that. I see they, you know, that one year that they were like, we need to do this. said, then do it like, yeah, your production requires it. You're you need another hygienist. Like you've got for what we're trying to gain for even where you are today, you need that room to continue the path you're on.

So that was as far as we could see was how do we continue the path we're even currently on, let alone grow. So they did it, we did it, we got the operatory, it's beautiful, the lobby was redone, it's gorgeous, the practice looks fantastic. And then they said, but now we're in this chokehold, can't do anything more and I want to do more. I want an associate, I wanna do more surgeries, I wanna do surgery days, I only wanna work three and a half days.

The Dental A Team (11:38.462)

per week, which then turned into, that's my three year goal. My five and 10 year goal is like two to two and a half days. So we started peeling it back and we started once they were able to see the capacity for where they were at and see, gosh, that fulfilled where we are and I can sustain that, but I wanna reach the community more. And the passion behind this dentist, you guys, this practice owner is so incredible. He serves,

He serves a community that doesn't have a lot of places to go. His community and his area is a very special community and they love him. And my first visit ever with this team and my first conversations, they were like, Tiff, like we are the at -home dentist and we want to grow and expand to continue providing for more and more people. So we have to get bigger. But our biggest goal is to maintain the relationships, maintain the small town.

feel and be the at home dentist. And they said, we've got this, we can totally do this and we have, and we built these years out. So at that point, we said, okay, what does three years look like? What is five years? What does 10 years look like? And the three years was very, it was simple because it was, you know, an associate and this and the five years and the 10 years got a little bit more grandiose, but we realized we needed more space. So they started looking for buildings. But we,

built out, this is the space that we would need to encompass what you want to do to keep the production increasing in the collections, increasing to reach the community. We need X amount of chairs. Like we need this many rooms, this many hygiene. This is the space we need. So it's time to look for a building. It's time to, it's time to put our, you know, our pedal to the metal and start looking for a building. And in the meantime, let's plan and prep for what this is going to look like from a team perspective.

because what we tend to do is we say, gosh, we need an associate, let's get an associate. And we start vetting associates. And then we're like, shoot, we found somebody, they're gonna start in a month or they're gonna start in two weeks or whatever. And then you're like, shoot, we need assistance, but we don't wanna hire assistance too early. So we didn't think about the assistance and now we're in this space and we're like, gosh, wait, they're gonna need more exams. And we get in this space of frantic hiring and desperate hiring instead of hiring for need.

The Dental A Team (14:02.906)

So what we were able to do and what I want you guys to really take a look at is look at that one, three and 10 at least, but backtrack then in three years, if you're going to have an associate or an additional associate, how many team members need to be there to support that associate? So our plan was at this state, we onboard an associate. At this state, we start vetting associates. It can take time. You guys know that. So we backtracked it and said,

This is the date, this is the year I want the associate to start. We're gonna start vetting associates prior to with that start date still our goal. Just because we're vetting them doesn't mean our start date has to change. It can if you want it to for sooner or for later, but we kept that date. And then we said, as we're vetting these associates, if that's our start date, we're gonna need two more assistants for that dentist, and we're gonna need another hygiene.

for that dentist. So at least one more hygiene, two assistants and a dentist is what we're going to have to hire. So in order to get the dental assistants trained so that they're ready to go when we onboard an associate, we have to hire them X amount of weeks prior to our start date for our associate. So then a month ahead of that, we're vetting and we're interviewing for dental assistants, but we timeline it out in a way

that this practice specifically I'm speaking on and I've done this with a lot of practices, but I speak on this one specifically because it was the biggest, the biggest growth that I've timeline backwards from. And I want you guys to hear me. They found their building, they texted me and they said, Tiff, this is not the building we thought it was going to be. It is very different. It's gonna require a lot of renovation and it's massive. And I thought, okay, we can deal with massive, that's fine.

you know, a massive dental practice, you're like, okay, gosh, like, all right, 12, 16 operatories is what we had talked about. So it is a massive practice no matter what. yeah, like this is massive. And then Dana, tell me how this phone call would go for you. I pick up, I'm like, okay, let's chat. And we get on the phone and they say, we found a commercial building a couple miles down the street. So it keeps us within our neighborhood basically.

The Dental A Team (16:22.839)

It makes it very easy for our patients to come over and for us to grab actually communities that we can't reach yet due to our location. And it's, like I said, commercial and it's got a couple of suites already filled. And I'm like, okay. And it's 16 ,000 square feet. Dana, I was like, okay, 16 ,000 square feet. Like I'm not fantastic at math. I'm not fantastic at like, you asked me what a mile is. I'm like, I know.

I ran three already and I'm at like a quarter of a mile, right? Like I don't, I don't do that well, but 16 ,000 square feet. was like, massive is the right word. You're right. Exactly. 16 operatories and they're all a thousand. It's an apartment for every operatory, right? Exactly. And I was like, holy cow, you guys, this is insane. So then you can imagine that took what we had planned for.

Dana (17:00.074)

Yeah, Alpha square foot operatories, okay.

The Dental A Team (17:21.428)

Right? This is a little bit of a detour. This is a positive detour. Detours aren't always negative. Sometimes I get detoured on the road and I'm like, this is the most beautiful scenery I never knew existed in Arizona. Right? So this was the most beautiful scenery we didn't know existed. We didn't know it was possible, but we knew something was out there. So then we had to revamp. We were like, all right, we've got a small portion of this under control and we know and the practice owner

he came to me and he's like, okay, we know this much and this is fantastic because this is going to build out the dental practice that we need. we had his, we had we've accomplished the one year we've got the one associate on board, we've got we planned and prepped and the team was on board, we onboarded everybody strategically, and it worked really well. So that now they're as current associate, he will vet and help he's going to be the lead associate, like all the pieces are there, they're falling into place. And it's beautiful.

the practice administrator that he was the office manager. He's like out of the practice enough that he can build the business. The dentist is out of the business enough that he can do the dentistry he wants and still grow with the business. Like it's been incredible to watch. But now we've got 16 ,000 square feet and they're like, cool, Tiff, what are we going to do? And I'm like, yeah, we build those suites you guys. So now

Dana (18:40.556)

You're putting in there.

The Dental A Team (18:46.035)

we build a practice management company, like a property management company, right? So now they have a practice and a property management company. And I'm like, okay, now we backtrack for that. And we're to fill it with a salon and a gym. And they had all these incredible ideas. And the endodontist who's there, like, do we do we keep them? Do we not keep them? Let's, you know, we had to backtrack through all of these pieces and build it out so that in their three year, they could get into their practice. And in their 10 year,

they could probably be out of their practice 100 % if they wanted to be, which isn't where they're at right now. They don't want to be, but they want to be very minimal. And so we were able to build that out in that five and 10 year spectrum to be this massive area where their community can be served. And that's the biggest goal with this giant massive commercial building is that it's incredible spaces where the community can come together and just like do incredible things. the point there,

We reached that three year. They just got into their brand new practice three weeks ago as of recording this. It's beautiful. I got to see it almost done. I've seen it through all the stages and you guys, this build out, like I'm telling you, this renovation was massive, just still does not describe this building and the beauty of the practice. And it was a complete overhaul. It was a complete gut. Cause this was not a dental practice. This was nothing. It wasn't even a medical building.

Okay, they completely gutted a portion of this massive building and created this incredible dental practice out of it. That's that was their three year and we nailed it, we got it and they're vetting their next associates right now to reach that next stage of what that growth looks like to reach that five year, right and there and again, their tenure but I want you guys to see in that one dream to believe like freaking a they just like

They did it, they saw it, but they saw it because we could clarify the missing pieces. We simplified what it would look like to get to that stage, because I think we hold ourselves back. And Dana, tell me if you agree with this. I know I hold myself back with this. I hold myself back because I can't see the path clearly. And so I know I want to get somewhere. know I want to accomplish a goal, but the path is so murky. It's like being okay, jumping into a swamp.

The Dental A Team (21:13.312)

And like your goal is to swim across it, but you're like, I'm not dipping my toe in that, that alligator filled swamp. And so when our goals are, are there and we're like, I don't, I can't clearly see the path. We hold ourselves back from doing it. And so what we were able to do, I was able to come in and help clear up the dirt in the water and sift through it so that it became.

clear water that they could see to the bottom and be like, yes, that's safe. I can accomplish those pieces and I can jump into it. And Dana, I know you've been with me for a lot of their journey and you know who I'm talking about and I'm sure they know who I'm talking about. But how, from your perspective, and we'll make it quick because this is getting long, I told you I was long winded, but

From your perspective of being able to watch that side too, and I know you do this with your clients too, but just theirs in general, what are some thoughts and things that you have for some of the listeners on how this has worked for them and how they might be, the listeners might be able to see themselves in it.

Dana (22:21.076)

Yeah, I think honestly the biggest thing right or how it became is because there was a plan there was a road map I love that you said we set dates and we stuck to them and at least you stuck with the start dates, right? You can shift and change those things But you always knew what the next piece was so you could plan and prep for that next piece You knew when their time frame was plan and prep to that time frame you knew all the things that you had to add and it was like

going on a road trip, right with a very clear map. And I feel like that's how it ended up being so successful. And that's how they always found the right pieces at the right time, because there were dates associated with it, there were timeframes allotted for everything. And I'm sure for them, while it was a huge undertaking and a big journey, right, which comes with its own stress, but minimize stressed in this way, because everything was planned, they knew when to start for things they knew

when to make decisions by, they knew when and what they were doing each step of the way. And so it's really been cool to see from the outside too, because it was such a massive growth and development, but it was, I think, as easy as it possibly could be because there was a very clear plan.

The Dental A Team (23:42.593)

Yeah, I agree. I love that. Thank you. I was interested in entering to hear your perspective because I think being in it is different. That's the perspective I was able to give to them is not being in it and tied as closely as they are. So I had that third party view, but then I become in it. So then it's fun to see your perspective as well. And I think you nailed it. It's having a plan you guys so my

Hope streams wishes aspirations for you and Dana's hope streams wishes and aspirations for you is that you have some sort of a picture of where you want your business to go and that you have someone in your life, whether it's us, whether it's a friend, a spouse, a different coach, like whoever it is, somebody who can give a non emotionally biased opinion and help clear that mud and that muck and the murkiness of it to clarify.

the journey and the path that it's going to take to get to your dream because I know for me, I have all kinds of dreams and it takes my coach. have a gal that I talk to every now and again and she's there when I need her and I talked with her last week and I said, I feel it, I see it, I can envision it, but I'm scared because I don't know the step. I don't even know how to take a first step and she said, great, that's what I'm here for and she gave me journal prompts and

She gave me these pieces that's like, this is how you're going to put it together so that you can see it because she is not emotionally attached to what I'm trying to accomplish. And that's what I think we provide for each other and for our clients of all spectrums, virtual one -on -one, the few and far between one -on -one, right? And our group coaching too, because now our group coaching clients also have, and so do our other virtual clients, they have each other too.

but this group coaching aspect for a lot of our newer doctors is the, that's the world that they're landing in and they have each other to lean on as well as the consultants in our company. And I just think it's really cool when you have that. So I hope you guys have that and I want you to go re -listen to this if you need to, but I want you to go look at your dream and like Dana said at the beginning, what is that dream? What is that goal? What's the gap? How are you going to get there for this year?

The Dental A Team (25:59.196)

and start prepping and planning what is next year look like? What do you want that to look like and really dive into working backwards on the amount of people, the people power that it is going to take to get you there. Prep and plan for that added into your overhead pretend like it's already there build a bucket that says my overhead if I have to hire these pieces, my overhead is going to look like this and I need to prep and plan for that. Build a prep and plan bucket you guys especially if you're hiring an associate.

start paying a bucket like you're already paying an associate so that you're ready for it. Dana, thank you so much. It's one of my favorite stories to tell. I hope everyone enjoyed it. I think they will forever be one of my favorite stories to tell and just the most amazing human beings as well. So Dana, thank you for being here with me today. I appreciate you. And guys, if you loved it, tell us. If you hated it, don't re -listen.

But if you loved it, leave us a five star review. You guys, love hearing from you. We want to know that you enjoyed it. I love, love, love these kinds of conversations, but I want to make sure you do as well. And if you need help with anything at all, you guys, there's links and all kinds of stuff for our websites, but bottom line, [e-mail], easy way to reach us. We are all here for you and we will catch you next time.