September 30, 2024 • 31 mins
In this final episode of Season 3 of Dentalish, I had the pleasure of speaking with Arica Davis-Clark, a practice manager for a Dental Service Organization (DSO). We dove into the challenges and rewards of managing a dental practice, especially in the context of the post-COVID landscape. Erica shared her journey from the finance industry to dental management, highlighting the importance of advocating for both patients and staff in a high-pressure environment.
We discussed the evolving landscape of dental hygiene, including the shorter career lifespan of hygienists and the need for flexibility in work schedules. Erica emphasized the significance of representation in the dental field, particularly for Black professionals, and how having leaders who understand the community can foster trust and comfort among patients.
Throughout our conversation, we touched on the importance of communication between hygienists and dentists, stressing that both roles must work together to create a harmonious practice. Erica shared valuable insights on mentorship, the necessity of asking questions, and the importance of advocating for oneself in the workplace.
As we wrapped up, Erica encouraged listeners to never settle for less than they deserve and to continue pushing for better opportunities within the dental industry. This episode was a rich discussion filled with practical advice and inspiration for anyone in the dental field, especially those looking to transition into practice management. Thank you for joining us this season, and I hope you found this episode as enlightening as I did!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, so this season it's just me solo.
The last couple seasons we havelike a group, but you can never
get everybody together on time.
When you're running a businessand you're trying to create a
project, you know if you havemultiple people on it and it
doesn't always coincide witheveryone's schedule.
Sometimes the ship crashesbefore it even starts to sail.
We got to run that back.
(00:25):
I'm gonna have to do it bymyself.
So this season three I wouldjust took the, you know, took
the steering wheel and was likelet me go ahead and run this
real quick.
Yeah, I know I have the time todo it, but I do know everybody
else's time doesn't.
So if you guys have beenlistening to season three, you
notice that it's only me.
Hopefully on another season ornext season we have another host
or co-host, but right now yourgirl gotta get the job done, so
sorry here.
(00:45):
So this is the last episode ofthe season and life has been
life and so I took a littlebreak, but I gave y'all nine
other episodes to listen to.
Okay, it's a funny.
It's a funny thing because theway my life is and the way I
don't have time to do this,everyone's like how do you find
time to record the podcast anddo all that stuff.
I'm like girl.
I got up at 7 in the morningevery 30 minutes.
(01:08):
I got all these interviews andI recorded everybody in one day
and my brain was like jello bythe interview.
The last interview I was done,I was mentally exhausted.
I was tapped out.
My energy was drained.
That's because it was like somuch, you know, pulling the
energy giving right like puttingout there.
I don't know how you find timeto do it, plus run your other
(01:28):
platforms, which brought me toreally wanting to get on here
with you, because I am also inpractice management.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yes, I, was actually gonna ask you like are you still
on the clinical side of RDH orare you like on the like
practice admin side, managementside?
Are you like I'm?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
on right now.
I haven't, I haven't scaled atooth in like two years, but I
still have my license.
Okay, we're on the admin side,the practice okay, you know the
real, the real, real businessright, oh my god, yes if I'm
feeling a little shy, I mightjump back in there and be like
let me see if I still got it.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I know I don't enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, I do not enjoy.
I enjoy a conversation withpeople, right?
I don't enjoy the cleaning ofthe teeth.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
That career is just like it's no longer has the
longevity that it used to have,like it's physically wearing and
tearing on people's bodies,like I mean I think honestly.
I was in your group and I sawsomebody say like they read an
article where now the lifespanof a hygienist's career is like
(02:38):
five to ten years and that'slike ten years is like the long
end and I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I agree, because I graduated in 2012 and I would
say by 2022.
I was like kind of over it but,it was.
It's a good career.
It's a great career, right it'sa great.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
I mean the way that I am literally trying to.
Well, I would say now I'm in agreat space with my you know, my
entire team, but for a secondthere I would say, like a year
ago, maybe even like eightmonths, to like 11 months ago,
oh my gosh, like it was skeleton, like it was so hard to locate,
(03:18):
like people didn't want toaccept full-time positions at.
You know, people want to have,like hygienists want flexibility
.
They don't want, you know, fiveday a week schedules and
they're wanting to have a littlebit more freedom with their
times.
And I feel like that'ssomething that we definitely
have had to be a hard pill toswallow for practice managers
(03:42):
and DSOs across the country,like post COVID is, you know,
the shift in the hygiene, thehygienists, like the lifespan of
the full-time hygienists almostdoesn't exist nowadays.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So right, right, okay .
So we kind of like jumped in.
Sorry, y'all, y'all, oh sorry,we got sidetracked.
Well, let me, let me not berude and let me introduce our
guests the proper way.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Look just like Black folks, Just jump in oh no, look,
don't get me started, because Ican talk all day about this
Right.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Right, it's always a family reunion.
It is.
I actually never met Erica.
She's my Facebook friend andthis is the first time us
interacting, but you would neverknow, right?
So, okay, you guys, I'm goingto start over.
Okay, this is like from thebeginning.
Welcome to Dentalish.
This is season three.
This is episode 10, the verylast episode of this season.
(04:39):
Clark and she is a practicemanager for a DSO and she's
going to jump on here and giveus some insight from the
practice management side, fromthe employee, from the RDH side,
pretty much.
I put a post on Facebook like,hey, I need one more episode,
the last episode, and I need tofigure out what to talk about.
Because I was going to get onhere and talk about how do you
(05:02):
start a podcast, because maybesomebody needs to know how to
start a podcast.
And I was going to get on hereand talk about how do you start
a podcast, because maybesomebody needs to know how to
start a podcast, and I was goingto give you all the details and
breakdowns.
But then you know I wasn'treally itching to do that, it
was.
They wasn't moving me, right?
Y'all want to listen to it.
Y'all don't necessarily want tostart one.
Oh, you're going to be doing it.
So Erica jumped on my post andshe was like, oh, we can talk
about this and this and this andthis.
And a lot of people jumped onthe post and I was like she
(05:25):
stood out.
I was like, okay, inbox me hitme up.
So she got on here and she hadsome really great points and I'm
going to piggyback off some ofthem.
But, erica, welcome toDentalish.
Tell people who you are, whereyou're from and how did you
become knowing about Brown GirlRDH in the podcast in the
podcast?
And then we'll get into what wewere just talking about.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yes, thank you so much, martel, for having me.
I'm so excited.
It is definitely an honor.
I've seen what you've done inthe hygiene space and I think
what you're doing is verybeautiful and it's very
necessary in our industry andit's so rare For me.
I am a small town girl fromJonesboro, arkansas originally,
(06:04):
so I'm definitely from downsouth.
I currently live in St LouisMissouri with my husband and
I've been in dental for aboutfour and a half years now.
I hopped in right at the verybeginning of the pandemic so it
was definitely a chaotic time tohop into the dental field for
me personally, especiallyconverting from a much slower
(06:27):
industry.
I came from the finance field.
I worked in collections as likea account auditor and I
switched careers during thepandemic over into dental with
zero dental experience, so ifyou can imagine how crazy and
how chaotic that was, I went onto manage a practice that was
(06:49):
pretty large.
It was like a 15 op practicethat service a lower economic
community, primarily MedicaidMedicare patients, and it was
probably one of the hardest jobsthat I've ever had, but also
one of the most rewarding jobsthat I've had, and we may get a
(07:10):
chance to touch on that a littlemore but exciting things about
the job is being able to targetthe community of people that
look like me and the employeesthat I worked with changed my
life and being able to reallyadvocate for them and provide
them with opportunities toadvance their career.
(07:31):
While I was doing the samething and also advocating for
better wages for dentalassistants was one of my primary
focuses as a practice manager.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
So your love of your position comes from the urge to
help people like to be 100%.
Yes.
So most of the time, peoplegetting these management
positions and it's like I'm inthis position and y'all just do
what I say and that's adangerous game to play and
there's a thin line betweenpractice manager, office manager
(08:04):
, boss and then being a friend.
And a lot of people don't knowhow to distinguish between the
two, like we're cool, but youneed to still handle business.
We're cool, but it's businessper usual.
Being a practice manager, howdo you distinguish between?
You?
Know that thin line between youknow you're there for the
doctor and the practice and thebusiness and you're also the
advocate for the employee.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
That is such a layered question.
It's it's so many things,especially because at the time I
was definitely much younger andI'm still young, but at the
time you know my, the peoplethat I was managing, we were all
right around the same age andyou know, because of the type of
(08:46):
practice that I've walked into,you know we had a lot of new
dentists, like fresh out of youknow school associate dentists.
We had a pretty young staff andso, like we're in the age of
social media, right, likeeverybody is on there, like you
know.
So that was one of the things Ifelt like I had to establish
(09:07):
early on is boundaries with myteam, like not I'm a big ad and
it's okay if you have those thatcomfort with your team or who
you know, whoever you work with.
Me personally I do not addcolleagues on social media for
so many reasons, and at the timeI felt like it was very
necessary to not have that linecrossed with my team.
(09:32):
Also, at the time I was dealingwith a lot of employees that
didn't have like a ton ofexperience, so this was such a
growing thing for myself andthem.
But what I really saw was that IPeople just simply want it
better for themselves.
And I think we kind of met inthe middle while like, help me,
(09:53):
help you, help our patients.
And if we can figure out how tomeet in the middle and
accomplish that simple goal,then everybody can win and
everybody can succeed, becausewe had tons of obstacles.
Martel, I think like if you'veever worked in Medicare, then
you already Medicaid that arena.
(10:14):
You already know it's volumeover everything and however you
know it's, you want to see morepatients than few and like you
have production to meet and itgets really crazy.
And because of where we werelocated in the city, it was very
difficult.
Like we had bars on the windowsat that particular office, so
(10:37):
it just created that environmentthat felt very hostile and I
think our patients felt a littletargeted in a way, like the
practice that was presented in away that it wasn't meant to
create a welcoming space forthem.
Or comfort or comfort and, likeyou're already dealing with an
industry that people fear, likebecause of bad experiences, and
(11:00):
dental has come a long way.
So it was a lot of pressure,because not only was I, you know
, left with that feeling ofhaving to advocate for the
patients, but my staff wouldoftentimes feel unsafe because
of the high stress environment,because of patients who may have
been running late for whateverreason because of, you know,
(11:22):
transportation and all of thesethings, and then the doctors
advocating for the doctors aswell, things, and then the
doctors advocating for thedoctors as well.
So I'm I'm like forced withadvocating.
I won't say forced, because I Idesire to advocate, but it's a
very difficult position to be inwhen you have to advocate for
every single body in thepractice and you have to find
(11:44):
that soft spot.
It's a challenge and I thinkthat it's something that
everyone is always trying tofind.
Like what is that magic answeryou know.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Yeah, I don't think you get that by jumping in there
.
You get that by you knowexperience.
You get that by being braveenough to do it right, like
you're.
Like, I'm going to take on thatchallenge and part of that is
being a leader.
Right, you have to be a leader.
You have to be able to leadEven if you don't know what
you're doing.
You can be a leader.
You gotta act like.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I listen, I'm telling you there were so many times
where I was like I have no ideawhat they're talking about, but
we're gonna figure this out.
Like and one thing about it,I've always considered myself a
prideful person, but that wasthe job where, like, you can't
really have an ego, like indentistry.
(12:34):
You, you cannot be proud If you, you better find out, you
better figure out a way to asksomebody, find somebody that you
trust enough that won't clownyou for not knowing stuff,
especially for me, not comingfrom that clinical background.
I, when I finally felt like Ifound, like a mentor in the
(12:57):
industry that I could trust.
I cling to them and I askedthem everything because there
was so much to learn and so muchto you know, grasp, who is your
mentor?
At the time, my mentor was aregional manager.
Her name was Robin Howard.
Shout out to Robin.
She was so patient and I thinkthat she knew that I was coming
(13:21):
into a hell of a practice thatreally just needed a lot of love
.
Like I mean that it was anoffice that had been neglected
for years.
When you're dealing with fooddeserts and lower economic
spaces, people are afraid ofthose areas.
People are afraid to show thatthey care enough and really the
(13:45):
patients just want someone tocare.
They want to feel like they arereceiving the care that they
100% deserve, and so I thinkthey recognized my desire to
help people in the community.
It got me a lot further than Ithink.
Coming in with like 10 years ofexperience, I think me showing
(14:09):
that I actually cared about thepatients and I wanted to get to
the very bottom of what the coreproblem was with that practice.
That took me very far.
So, yes, having a mentor thatlistened to you and recognized
your unique talents is what kindof garnished our relationship
and built the relationship thatgot me to where I am today and
(14:31):
she.
We've kind of grown a littleapart and my mentor has changed
as I've grown in the industry,which is something you'll see,
and I think everybody shouldacknowledge that that does
happen.
You can and it should.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You will outgrow your mentors, as you, you know, grow
in your fields, and so now mymentor is a another practice
manager that's been with thecompany for a very long time and
yeah, so One of the things thatI understand and I understood
from you know, just creatingBrown Girl RDH is that
(15:05):
representation matters and if wecan plug, if we can inspire, if
we can create more brown faces,we can help more people.
We can access those communitieswhere they're already afraid to
go to the dentist.
And somebody that looks likethem is very, very important,
especially trust, and it alwaysgoes back to, like the tuskegee
airmen and all of the you knowmedical procedures that were
(15:36):
done on black people.
Yes, they were.
You know they were test animals.
So now they test on rats andanimals and stuff and you can
see the cruelty free not testedon animals on some products.
But if you think about it, nottoo long ago they were testing
on Black women.
They were doing procedures on,you know, Black men.
So it's like you know, we havethat stamp, that seal of you
(15:59):
know we don't test on animals.
But Black people want to testanimals.
So that fear of the dentist,that fear of the medical
profession, that fear of goingto the doctor stems from
somewhere and there was someresearch that has showed that a
mother that went through traumalike that had a traumatic
experience, who was pregnantwhen their baby was born and
(16:19):
they tested, like their DNA,their DNA had some whatever the
markers were for anxiety andfear.
So they're saying, like thattrauma is genetically.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yes, it translates yes, across.
So it's so interesting that youbrought that up, because I've
read so many articles that talksabout how trauma can transcend
generations.
One of the articles that I readthat stood out quite a bit was
(16:50):
one that talked about how Blackpeople, black women specifically
, can recess pain at a higherrate than white women during
birth, and I thought that thatwas very interesting for it to
be a published article.
It was like a health publishedarticle.
I wish that I could rememberwhere I found it, but I just
(17:13):
think that oftentimes, thiswhole idea that Black people
should be able to take, you know, hit after hit after hit and
you know, be considered strongand you got this, you know, very
strong.
You hear that word used quite abit, especially when describing
Black people, black women, andyeah, it's just like people are
(17:36):
allowed to be afraid and thatfear comes from very deep within
.
It doesn't have to be you knowany one person.
I think that we're soconditioned to expect to be
treated badly because of howsociety has painted the
healthcare and how it receivesBlack people in general, that
(17:57):
there is that fear that startsvery, very young, even if you
know we deal with children thatcome in and it's like, oh, this
is their first visit, I have noidea why they're fearful.
But then you kind of thinkabout what you said and like
it's idea why they're fearful,but then you kind of think about
what you said and like it's.
(18:19):
it's something that should beconsidered, which is why I my
hope is that we can continue toeducate other Black people about
careers that are within thedental space and the oral health
space, because we really reallyneed more Black dental
professionals.
That is a heel that I will dieon I have.
I mean, I can't tell you howmany times I've walked into an
(18:39):
office and people are like areyou the dentist?
And you see that like hope andI'm like man I hate to tell you
I'm not, but I am the practicemanager but because they're
looking for a safe haven, theythey're like oh man, you know,
someone that looks like me isgonna take care of me, you know
so it's that safety it's andthat's anywhere.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
You know, if you go to a different country and
you're looking for food, and ifyou walk, went to a different
country and you didn't knowanything else, when you see them
golden arches, you're gonna belike, oh, that's me you know
what I'm saying.
So it's a comfort thing and I'mnot comparing food, but I know
what you mean when you have thatcomfort, like you, you, it's an
instant when you see anotherperson.
(19:22):
Now what happens, what happenssometimes with us, is if we're,
you know, you have two blackpeople in a room full of white
people, or or you know just twominorities in the room and they
don't want to speak to eachother, like it's like, oh, we,
we know, we, we see each other.
Maybe, maybe I shouldn't speak.
So there was it's so funnybecause there was a shirt that I
had bought and it said hey,black people, it's okay to speak
(19:45):
.
Okay, it was, it was, you know,back in the day.
And a lot of older people, whenthey see someone, it doesn't
matter who they are, they speakand they say hello, but nowadays
we don't even, we don't evenacknowledge.
Think about it.
When you're in the coffee shopor, you know, going to the
grocery store, you're not goingto speak to the person.
So I'm making it a consciousdecision to be like hey, how are
you?
Or if I'm in the store andsomeone has a name tag hey, miss
roxanne, how you doing?
(20:06):
Do you know where?
blah, blah, blah yes just tryingto, you know, get back into
being a good human right, justbeing right like we're people
here.
How many times have you walkedup to someone in the store and
be like can you tell me wherethis is?
You see their name tag.
You don't even acknowledge them.
You know how's your day.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Hey, that makes them feel good they light up, makes
them feel good yes, that goes along way and I think just making
sure that you know you havedental professionals that
understand that fear it may comefrom something else, and like
working with other professionaldental professionals, that has
(20:43):
been amazing, a very interestingthing, because most of the time
you're you're pretty much theonly one in leadership that look
like yourself.
So when you have like uniquecases where you have plenty of
experiences where it's just likeyeah, the unspoken word, where
you really have to and I know,like we, we as millennials, like
(21:06):
we talk about, oh, thepressures of having to bear the
weight of every Black personwhen you're the only.
But I do feel like we have aresponsibility in certain arenas
to represent the Blackexperience, to make sure that we
get that across.
Like that we convey thoseexperiences, those patients,
(21:27):
those cases, to otherprofessionals who don't look
like this, so that they know howto treat those patients moving
forward or how we deserve to betreated.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
You know and I wanted to say as far as the rdh and
the doctor dynamic for a lot ofpractice in rdhs we talked about
how the cycles it runs.
You know the lifeline of ahygienist.
As far as in the profession thecycle is getting shorter, yes,
but you guys get into practicemanagement.
Erica didn't know anythingabout any clinical like it you
(21:58):
have a stronger advantage if youare.
I'm telling you, I do it.
You know the page.
You can explain things topatients, you can do treatment
plans, you can do billing, youcan run these offices and then
jump in if they need a hygienist.
You know you can make yourselfso much more valuable if you get
into practice management.
So, erica, you just being onhere as a pop woman in
leadership, like if you guyshave any questions about
(22:20):
practice management, how tobecome in the field, if you need
a mentor, if you need some tips, if you're trying to transition
out of the op, I woulddefinitely, definitely,
definitely hit erica, becausethere's an avenue for that and
then you can, you know, do both.
Hey, I want to do hygiene twodays and I want to do practice
management.
You don't have to be stuck inan operatory unless you
absolutely love it.
(22:41):
But I say, get into thebusiness side of things.
Well, I know you're in thebrown girl rdh and a lot of
times we'll have some dentists,post some stuff and then the
hygienists will go off.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
They will go off.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
I know you'll be in there reading the comments, Girl
.
Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
You guys, please.
I have dealt with this for youknow, okay.
So that was definitely a newarea that I had to kind of
experience because, again, thatfirst practice that I managed
was like we didn't havehygienists.
So shame, shame on some DSOsthat don't offer hygienists to
(23:23):
Medicaid patients, but it wasprobably a pedo office that you
worked in, and it, it wasn't, soit wasn't, but so shame on them
.
But I'm not gonna call anynames right now.
Don't say we don't do that Iknow they exist and they should
do better, but that's neitherhere nor there.
You guys, rdhs, you have towork towards building better
(23:47):
relationships with the doctors,and this is for doctors too.
So I'm pointing the finger atboth areas, because the clinic
cannot survive and, I'm tellingyou, there is no pressure worse
than feeling the thick cloud oftension between a hygienist and
(24:09):
the doctor when a patient goesinto the room.
Because, I'm telling you, Ihave felt it more times than not
and you have to figure out away to meet in the middle.
I don't know if it means maybepulling your practice manager,
document, document, documentsituations.
There has to be a middle groundand both parties have to be
(24:29):
willing to meet somewhere,because the practice cannot
thrive with those two positionsbeing like at each other's head,
and I think that the thing thatis, you know, one of the
biggest issues is both positionsand both providers are bringing
valuable information to thetable, and it's something within
(24:53):
the communication that's notclicking, whether it's a
treatment plan, that the doctorthinks this and the hygienist
saw this on.
The x-rays are like you guys arereally in the gums, so you get
to see things that may have beenmissed and maybe the doctor has
been, you know, a littlestubborn and it's really just is
.
If there was one awesome pieceof advice, it's not profound or
(25:17):
anything like that, but it wasjust taking the ego out of what
you do, because ego is what ispreventing some of these
conversations that really needto be happening.
Some of these conversationsthat really need to be happening
, it's because one or both arenot willing to come down enough
to kind of see where the otherprofessional is coming from.
And really it all serves.
(25:39):
We're all trying to service thepatient at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So I think I agree.
I agree wholeheartedly withwhat you're saying and, I think,
where the issue comes in.
So now it's like I don't wantto be in a practice where I bump
heads with the doctor.
Let me just temp so I can behere today.
I know that kind of messes up.
You know that messes up thebalance in the food chain too,
because now somebody can find ahygienist and everybody, you
(26:05):
know yeah we talk about the pain, assistance, scaling and
polishing and doing all of thisstuff.
But I feel like it's just nothealthy.
You know it's not for ourprofession, it's not healthy for
, you know, the patients.
It's just not healthy overall.
And what goes up must come down.
So we'll come back to that.
But we have to, we have to worktogether, we have to work you
(26:25):
have to work together, everybodyhas to work together.
Everybody, you have to worktogether.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Everybody has to work together, everybody and listen
those.
I know that and I'm going tosay y'all because I know this is
primarily a hygiene space.
Those offices exist out there.
You guys, like I'm telling youI'm going to brag on my office a
little bit because I wantnothing I wanted when I was
(26:49):
really looking for hygienists.
I wanted nothing more than tofind hygienists that may have
come from situations where theyweren't satisfied and I'm like,
let me prove to you that this isan office where you will be
supported, you will be advocated, for we do have a doctor who is
experienced, who is willing tomeet you where you are and is
(27:13):
willing to talk throughtreatment plans and find the
best solution for the patient.
That satisfies what yourfindings are as well, and I
think it creates a perfectharmony.
And also pay pay, fair pay,benefits.
Those offices do exist.
I mean, I'm always blown awayby listening to stories from
(27:39):
hygiene professionals wherethey're coming from practices
where they were 10, 15 years inthe game with zero benefits.
That like blows me away, likeI'm like what?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
How.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
They're loyal.
And those are the older, thoseare the older mentality people
you know, we as, oh yeah, y'all,we out like okay, no benefits.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Okay, right, this is this.
Is this too much y'all doingtoo much?
So, erica, to wrap it up, whatvaluable lesson or life lesson
that you've learned that you'dlike to share?
You know, for the community,for the people, like what would
you a little pro gem?
I had a gem today.
Somebody who envies you cannotbe your friend or help you in
your business.
It's just not going to work.
It's just not going to be there,or is not going to be there,
(28:20):
even though you want that personto do not have a mirror circle.
So what piece of advice wouldyou give?
Speaker 2 (28:34):
in in this industry.
It took me a while to getcomfortable enough to speak up.
So never stop asking questions.
Always be willing to advocatefor yourself.
Don't settle, because I knowtimes are hard.
You literally said it and Ihear it daily life be lifin' and
that does not mean that youshould take less than what you
(28:57):
deserve because of where theindustry is and where the
economy is.
Ask those questions because ifone person is not giving you the
answer, it doesn't mean thatthe the answer doesn't exist,
and I've ran into that quite afew times and, of course, as
plain as it can get is to neverstop advocating for yourself,
(29:21):
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
I was watching a little tiktok or something and
it was Nicki Minaj.
She was like my, my favorite,and she was like if I would have
accepted the pickle juice, Iwould be drinking pickle juice
right now, flippin' yes, becausepeople will give you things
because, that's what you'regonna get.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Exactly.
And people, I'm telling you,people will shortchange you.
You know, nobody is gonna pushfor you as much as you can do
for yourself.
Like I mean, I know we all havesupport systems, but like
nobody knows you, like you knowyou, so you have to go into
those rooms.
Don't take no for an answer.
(29:57):
You know, sometimes you justhave to go in and say, look,
this is what I bring to thetable and this is what I can,
you know, be an asset to yourteam or what have you.
But so much can be said, but Ithink that we just have to make
sure that we are being heard andmaking sure that we're, you
know, knocking down those doors,because they need to be knocked
down, for sure.
Where can people find you?
(30:18):
You can find me on Facebook atErica Davis Clark.
That's A-R-I-C-A Davis, hyphenClark.
I'm also on Instagram.
Feel free to find me there.
I love to travel, eat good food.
I share a lot of otherinformation as well at Erica
A-R-I-C-A dot Faye, f-a-y-e, andI'm also on LinkedIn.
(30:42):
I'm working through LinkedIn.
Linkedin is not my favorite,but we're working through, we're
pushing through.
So if you want to connect onLinkedIn, we can connect on
LinkedIn.
You can find me at Erica DavisClark as well, so okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Well, that was great in a little bit of short time
that was.
That was a fruitful amount ofinformation you need to come to
the Brown Girl RDH conference.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
I, I know and it's in DC, right and I love DC Around
the corner.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
It's October 3rd.
We'll have so much to talkabout, but thank you so much for
being on this episode, ourfinal episode of the season.
All right, you guys.
That's it for this season.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye, bye.
Okay, so this season it's just me solo.
The last couple seasons we havelike a group, but you can never
get everybody together on time.
When you're running a businessand you're trying to create a
project, you know if you havemultiple people on it and it
doesn't always coincide witheveryone's schedule.
Sometimes the ship crashesbefore it even starts to sail.
We got to run that back.
(00:25):
I'm gonna have to do it bymyself.
So this season three I wouldjust took the, you know, took
the steering wheel and was likelet me go ahead and run this
real quick.
Yeah, I know I have the time todo it, but I do know everybody
else's time doesn't.
So if you guys have beenlistening to season three, you
notice that it's only me.
Hopefully on another season ornext season we have another host
or co-host, but right now yourgirl gotta get the job done, so
sorry here.
(00:45):
So this is the last episode ofthe season and life has been
life and so I took a littlebreak, but I gave y'all nine
other episodes to listen to.
Okay, it's a funny.
It's a funny thing because theway my life is and the way I
don't have time to do this,everyone's like how do you find
time to record the podcast anddo all that stuff.
I'm like girl.
I got up at 7 in the morningevery 30 minutes.
(01:08):
I got all these interviews andI recorded everybody in one day
and my brain was like jello bythe interview.
The last interview I was done,I was mentally exhausted.
I was tapped out.
My energy was drained.
That's because it was like somuch, you know, pulling the
energy giving right like puttingout there.
I don't know how you find timeto do it, plus run your other
(01:28):
platforms, which brought me toreally wanting to get on here
with you, because I am also inpractice management.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yes, I, was actually gonna ask you like are you still
on the clinical side of RDH orare you like on the like
practice admin side, managementside?
Are you like I'm?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
on right now.
I haven't, I haven't scaled atooth in like two years, but I
still have my license.
Okay, we're on the admin side,the practice okay, you know the
real, the real, real businessright, oh my god, yes if I'm
feeling a little shy, I mightjump back in there and be like
let me see if I still got it.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I know I don't enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, I do not enjoy.
I enjoy a conversation withpeople, right?
I don't enjoy the cleaning ofthe teeth.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
That career is just like it's no longer has the
longevity that it used to have,like it's physically wearing and
tearing on people's bodies,like I mean I think honestly.
I was in your group and I sawsomebody say like they read an
article where now the lifespanof a hygienist's career is like
(02:38):
five to ten years and that'slike ten years is like the long
end and I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I agree, because I graduated in 2012 and I would
say by 2022.
I was like kind of over it but,it was.
It's a good career.
It's a great career, right it'sa great.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
I mean the way that I am literally trying to.
Well, I would say now I'm in agreat space with my you know, my
entire team, but for a secondthere I would say, like a year
ago, maybe even like eightmonths, to like 11 months ago,
oh my gosh, like it was skeleton, like it was so hard to locate,
(03:18):
like people didn't want toaccept full-time positions at.
You know, people want to have,like hygienists want flexibility
.
They don't want, you know, fiveday a week schedules and
they're wanting to have a littlebit more freedom with their
times.
And I feel like that'ssomething that we definitely
have had to be a hard pill toswallow for practice managers
(03:42):
and DSOs across the country,like post COVID is, you know,
the shift in the hygiene, thehygienists, like the lifespan of
the full-time hygienists almostdoesn't exist nowadays.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
So right, right, okay .
So we kind of like jumped in.
Sorry, y'all, y'all, oh sorry,we got sidetracked.
Well, let me, let me not berude and let me introduce our
guests the proper way.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Look just like Black folks, Just jump in oh no, look,
don't get me started, because Ican talk all day about this
Right.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Right, it's always a family reunion.
It is.
I actually never met Erica.
She's my Facebook friend andthis is the first time us
interacting, but you would neverknow, right?
So, okay, you guys, I'm goingto start over.
Okay, this is like from thebeginning.
Welcome to Dentalish.
This is season three.
This is episode 10, the verylast episode of this season.
(04:39):
Clark and she is a practicemanager for a DSO and she's
going to jump on here and giveus some insight from the
practice management side, fromthe employee, from the RDH side,
pretty much.
I put a post on Facebook like,hey, I need one more episode,
the last episode, and I need tofigure out what to talk about.
Because I was going to get onhere and talk about how do you
(05:02):
start a podcast, because maybesomebody needs to know how to
start a podcast.
And I was going to get on hereand talk about how do you start
a podcast, because maybesomebody needs to know how to
start a podcast, and I was goingto give you all the details and
breakdowns.
But then you know I wasn'treally itching to do that, it
was.
They wasn't moving me, right?
Y'all want to listen to it.
Y'all don't necessarily want tostart one.
Oh, you're going to be doing it.
So Erica jumped on my post andshe was like, oh, we can talk
about this and this and this andthis.
And a lot of people jumped onthe post and I was like she
(05:25):
stood out.
I was like, okay, inbox me hitme up.
So she got on here and she hadsome really great points and I'm
going to piggyback off some ofthem.
But, erica, welcome toDentalish.
Tell people who you are, whereyou're from and how did you
become knowing about Brown GirlRDH in the podcast in the
podcast?
And then we'll get into what wewere just talking about.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Yes, thank you so much, martel, for having me.
I'm so excited.
It is definitely an honor.
I've seen what you've done inthe hygiene space and I think
what you're doing is verybeautiful and it's very
necessary in our industry andit's so rare For me.
I am a small town girl fromJonesboro, arkansas originally,
(06:04):
so I'm definitely from downsouth.
I currently live in St LouisMissouri with my husband and
I've been in dental for aboutfour and a half years now.
I hopped in right at the verybeginning of the pandemic so it
was definitely a chaotic time tohop into the dental field for
me personally, especiallyconverting from a much slower
(06:27):
industry.
I came from the finance field.
I worked in collections as likea account auditor and I
switched careers during thepandemic over into dental with
zero dental experience, so ifyou can imagine how crazy and
how chaotic that was, I went onto manage a practice that was
(06:49):
pretty large.
It was like a 15 op practicethat service a lower economic
community, primarily MedicaidMedicare patients, and it was
probably one of the hardest jobsthat I've ever had, but also
one of the most rewarding jobsthat I've had, and we may get a
(07:10):
chance to touch on that a littlemore but exciting things about
the job is being able to targetthe community of people that
look like me and the employeesthat I worked with changed my
life and being able to reallyadvocate for them and provide
them with opportunities toadvance their career.
(07:31):
While I was doing the samething and also advocating for
better wages for dentalassistants was one of my primary
focuses as a practice manager.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
So your love of your position comes from the urge to
help people like to be 100%.
Yes.
So most of the time, peoplegetting these management
positions and it's like I'm inthis position and y'all just do
what I say and that's adangerous game to play and
there's a thin line betweenpractice manager, office manager
(08:04):
, boss and then being a friend.
And a lot of people don't knowhow to distinguish between the
two, like we're cool, but youneed to still handle business.
We're cool, but it's businessper usual.
Being a practice manager, howdo you distinguish between?
You?
Know that thin line between youknow you're there for the
doctor and the practice and thebusiness and you're also the
advocate for the employee.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
That is such a layered question.
It's it's so many things,especially because at the time I
was definitely much younger andI'm still young, but at the
time you know my, the peoplethat I was managing, we were all
right around the same age andyou know, because of the type of
(08:46):
practice that I've walked into,you know we had a lot of new
dentists, like fresh out of youknow school associate dentists.
We had a pretty young staff andso, like we're in the age of
social media, right, likeeverybody is on there, like you
know.
So that was one of the things Ifelt like I had to establish
(09:07):
early on is boundaries with myteam, like not I'm a big ad and
it's okay if you have those thatcomfort with your team or who
you know, whoever you work with.
Me personally I do not addcolleagues on social media for
so many reasons, and at the timeI felt like it was very
necessary to not have that linecrossed with my team.
(09:32):
Also, at the time I was dealingwith a lot of employees that
didn't have like a ton ofexperience, so this was such a
growing thing for myself andthem.
But what I really saw was that IPeople just simply want it
better for themselves.
And I think we kind of met inthe middle while like, help me,
(09:53):
help you, help our patients.
And if we can figure out how tomeet in the middle and
accomplish that simple goal,then everybody can win and
everybody can succeed, becausewe had tons of obstacles.
Martel, I think like if you'veever worked in Medicare, then
you already Medicaid that arena.
(10:14):
You already know it's volumeover everything and however you
know it's, you want to see morepatients than few and like you
have production to meet and itgets really crazy.
And because of where we werelocated in the city, it was very
difficult.
Like we had bars on the windowsat that particular office, so
(10:37):
it just created that environmentthat felt very hostile and I
think our patients felt a littletargeted in a way, like the
practice that was presented in away that it wasn't meant to
create a welcoming space forthem.
Or comfort or comfort and, likeyou're already dealing with an
industry that people fear, likebecause of bad experiences, and
(11:00):
dental has come a long way.
So it was a lot of pressure,because not only was I, you know
, left with that feeling ofhaving to advocate for the
patients, but my staff wouldoftentimes feel unsafe because
of the high stress environment,because of patients who may have
been running late for whateverreason because of, you know,
(11:22):
transportation and all of thesethings, and then the doctors
advocating for the doctors aswell, things, and then the
doctors advocating for thedoctors as well.
So I'm I'm like forced withadvocating.
I won't say forced, because I Idesire to advocate, but it's a
very difficult position to be inwhen you have to advocate for
every single body in thepractice and you have to find
(11:44):
that soft spot.
It's a challenge and I thinkthat it's something that
everyone is always trying tofind.
Like what is that magic answeryou know.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Yeah, I don't think you get that by jumping in there
.
You get that by you knowexperience.
You get that by being braveenough to do it right, like
you're.
Like, I'm going to take on thatchallenge and part of that is
being a leader.
Right, you have to be a leader.
You have to be able to leadEven if you don't know what
you're doing.
You can be a leader.
You gotta act like.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
I listen, I'm telling you there were so many times
where I was like I have no ideawhat they're talking about, but
we're gonna figure this out.
Like and one thing about it,I've always considered myself a
prideful person, but that wasthe job where, like, you can't
really have an ego, like indentistry.
(12:34):
You, you cannot be proud If you, you better find out, you
better figure out a way to asksomebody, find somebody that you
trust enough that won't clownyou for not knowing stuff,
especially for me, not comingfrom that clinical background.
I, when I finally felt like Ifound, like a mentor in the
(12:57):
industry that I could trust.
I cling to them and I askedthem everything because there
was so much to learn and so muchto you know, grasp, who is your
mentor?
At the time, my mentor was aregional manager.
Her name was Robin Howard.
Shout out to Robin.
She was so patient and I thinkthat she knew that I was coming
(13:21):
into a hell of a practice thatreally just needed a lot of love
.
Like I mean that it was anoffice that had been neglected
for years.
When you're dealing with fooddeserts and lower economic
spaces, people are afraid ofthose areas.
People are afraid to show thatthey care enough and really the
(13:45):
patients just want someone tocare.
They want to feel like they arereceiving the care that they
100% deserve, and so I thinkthey recognized my desire to
help people in the community.
It got me a lot further than Ithink.
Coming in with like 10 years ofexperience, I think me showing
(14:09):
that I actually cared about thepatients and I wanted to get to
the very bottom of what the coreproblem was with that practice.
That took me very far.
So, yes, having a mentor thatlistened to you and recognized
your unique talents is what kindof garnished our relationship
and built the relationship thatgot me to where I am today and
(14:31):
she.
We've kind of grown a littleapart and my mentor has changed
as I've grown in the industry,which is something you'll see,
and I think everybody shouldacknowledge that that does
happen.
You can and it should.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You will outgrow your mentors, as you, you know, grow
in your fields, and so now mymentor is a another practice
manager that's been with thecompany for a very long time and
yeah, so One of the things thatI understand and I understood
from you know, just creatingBrown Girl RDH is that
(15:05):
representation matters and if wecan plug, if we can inspire, if
we can create more brown faces,we can help more people.
We can access those communitieswhere they're already afraid to
go to the dentist.
And somebody that looks likethem is very, very important,
especially trust, and it alwaysgoes back to, like the tuskegee
airmen and all of the you knowmedical procedures that were
(15:36):
done on black people.
Yes, they were.
You know they were test animals.
So now they test on rats andanimals and stuff and you can
see the cruelty free not testedon animals on some products.
But if you think about it, nottoo long ago they were testing
on Black women.
They were doing procedures on,you know, Black men.
So it's like you know, we havethat stamp, that seal of you
(15:59):
know we don't test on animals.
But Black people want to testanimals.
So that fear of the dentist,that fear of the medical
profession, that fear of goingto the doctor stems from
somewhere and there was someresearch that has showed that a
mother that went through traumalike that had a traumatic
experience, who was pregnantwhen their baby was born and
(16:19):
they tested, like their DNA,their DNA had some whatever the
markers were for anxiety andfear.
So they're saying, like thattrauma is genetically.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yes, it translates yes, across.
So it's so interesting that youbrought that up, because I've
read so many articles that talksabout how trauma can transcend
generations.
One of the articles that I readthat stood out quite a bit was
(16:50):
one that talked about how Blackpeople, black women specifically
, can recess pain at a higherrate than white women during
birth, and I thought that thatwas very interesting for it to
be a published article.
It was like a health publishedarticle.
I wish that I could rememberwhere I found it, but I just
(17:13):
think that oftentimes, thiswhole idea that Black people
should be able to take, you know, hit after hit after hit and
you know, be considered strongand you got this, you know, very
strong.
You hear that word used quite abit, especially when describing
Black people, black women, andyeah, it's just like people are
(17:36):
allowed to be afraid and thatfear comes from very deep within
.
It doesn't have to be you knowany one person.
I think that we're soconditioned to expect to be
treated badly because of howsociety has painted the
healthcare and how it receivesBlack people in general, that
(17:57):
there is that fear that startsvery, very young, even if you
know we deal with children thatcome in and it's like, oh, this
is their first visit, I have noidea why they're fearful.
But then you kind of thinkabout what you said and like
it's idea why they're fearful,but then you kind of think about
what you said and like it's.
(18:19):
it's something that should beconsidered, which is why I my
hope is that we can continue toeducate other Black people about
careers that are within thedental space and the oral health
space, because we really reallyneed more Black dental
professionals.
That is a heel that I will dieon I have.
I mean, I can't tell you howmany times I've walked into an
(18:39):
office and people are like areyou the dentist?
And you see that like hope andI'm like man I hate to tell you
I'm not, but I am the practicemanager but because they're
looking for a safe haven, theythey're like oh man, you know,
someone that looks like me isgonna take care of me, you know
so it's that safety it's andthat's anywhere.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
You know, if you go to a different country and
you're looking for food, and ifyou walk, went to a different
country and you didn't knowanything else, when you see them
golden arches, you're gonna belike, oh, that's me you know
what I'm saying.
So it's a comfort thing and I'mnot comparing food, but I know
what you mean when you have thatcomfort, like you, you, it's an
instant when you see anotherperson.
(19:22):
Now what happens, what happenssometimes with us, is if we're,
you know, you have two blackpeople in a room full of white
people, or or you know just twominorities in the room and they
don't want to speak to eachother, like it's like, oh, we,
we know, we, we see each other.
Maybe, maybe I shouldn't speak.
So there was it's so funnybecause there was a shirt that I
had bought and it said hey,black people, it's okay to speak
(19:45):
.
Okay, it was, it was, you know,back in the day.
And a lot of older people, whenthey see someone, it doesn't
matter who they are, they speakand they say hello, but nowadays
we don't even, we don't evenacknowledge.
Think about it.
When you're in the coffee shopor, you know, going to the
grocery store, you're not goingto speak to the person.
So I'm making it a consciousdecision to be like hey, how are
you?
Or if I'm in the store andsomeone has a name tag hey, miss
roxanne, how you doing?
(20:06):
Do you know where?
blah, blah, blah yes just tryingto, you know, get back into
being a good human right, justbeing right like we're people
here.
How many times have you walkedup to someone in the store and
be like can you tell me wherethis is?
You see their name tag.
You don't even acknowledge them.
You know how's your day.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Hey, that makes them feel good they light up, makes
them feel good yes, that goes along way and I think just making
sure that you know you havedental professionals that
understand that fear it may comefrom something else, and like
working with other professionaldental professionals, that has
(20:43):
been amazing, a very interestingthing, because most of the time
you're you're pretty much theonly one in leadership that look
like yourself.
So when you have like uniquecases where you have plenty of
experiences where it's just likeyeah, the unspoken word, where
you really have to and I know,like we, we as millennials, like
(21:06):
we talk about, oh, thepressures of having to bear the
weight of every Black personwhen you're the only.
But I do feel like we have aresponsibility in certain arenas
to represent the Blackexperience, to make sure that we
get that across.
Like that we convey thoseexperiences, those patients,
(21:27):
those cases, to otherprofessionals who don't look
like this, so that they know howto treat those patients moving
forward or how we deserve to betreated.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
You know and I wanted to say as far as the rdh and
the doctor dynamic for a lot ofpractice in rdhs we talked about
how the cycles it runs.
You know the lifeline of ahygienist.
As far as in the profession thecycle is getting shorter, yes,
but you guys get into practicemanagement.
Erica didn't know anythingabout any clinical like it you
(21:58):
have a stronger advantage if youare.
I'm telling you, I do it.
You know the page.
You can explain things topatients, you can do treatment
plans, you can do billing, youcan run these offices and then
jump in if they need a hygienist.
You know you can make yourselfso much more valuable if you get
into practice management.
So, erica, you just being onhere as a pop woman in
leadership, like if you guyshave any questions about
(22:20):
practice management, how tobecome in the field, if you need
a mentor, if you need some tips, if you're trying to transition
out of the op, I woulddefinitely, definitely,
definitely hit erica, becausethere's an avenue for that and
then you can, you know, do both.
Hey, I want to do hygiene twodays and I want to do practice
management.
You don't have to be stuck inan operatory unless you
absolutely love it.
(22:41):
But I say, get into thebusiness side of things.
Well, I know you're in thebrown girl rdh and a lot of
times we'll have some dentists,post some stuff and then the
hygienists will go off.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
They will go off.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
I know you'll be in there reading the comments, Girl
.
Oh my God.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
You guys, please.
I have dealt with this for youknow, okay.
So that was definitely a newarea that I had to kind of
experience because, again, thatfirst practice that I managed
was like we didn't havehygienists.
So shame, shame on some DSOsthat don't offer hygienists to
(23:23):
Medicaid patients, but it wasprobably a pedo office that you
worked in, and it, it wasn't, soit wasn't, but so shame on them
.
But I'm not gonna call anynames right now.
Don't say we don't do that Iknow they exist and they should
do better, but that's neitherhere nor there.
You guys, rdhs, you have towork towards building better
(23:47):
relationships with the doctors,and this is for doctors too.
So I'm pointing the finger atboth areas, because the clinic
cannot survive and, I'm tellingyou, there is no pressure worse
than feeling the thick cloud oftension between a hygienist and
(24:09):
the doctor when a patient goesinto the room.
Because, I'm telling you, Ihave felt it more times than not
and you have to figure out away to meet in the middle.
I don't know if it means maybepulling your practice manager,
document, document, documentsituations.
There has to be a middle groundand both parties have to be
(24:29):
willing to meet somewhere,because the practice cannot
thrive with those two positionsbeing like at each other's head,
and I think that the thing thatis, you know, one of the
biggest issues is both positionsand both providers are bringing
valuable information to thetable, and it's something within
(24:53):
the communication that's notclicking, whether it's a
treatment plan, that the doctorthinks this and the hygienist
saw this on.
The x-rays are like you guys arereally in the gums, so you get
to see things that may have beenmissed and maybe the doctor has
been, you know, a littlestubborn and it's really just is
.
If there was one awesome pieceof advice, it's not profound or
(25:17):
anything like that, but it wasjust taking the ego out of what
you do, because ego is what ispreventing some of these
conversations that really needto be happening.
Some of these conversationsthat really need to be happening
, it's because one or both arenot willing to come down enough
to kind of see where the otherprofessional is coming from.
And really it all serves.
(25:39):
We're all trying to service thepatient at the end of the day.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
So I think I agree.
I agree wholeheartedly withwhat you're saying and, I think,
where the issue comes in.
So now it's like I don't wantto be in a practice where I bump
heads with the doctor.
Let me just temp so I can behere today.
I know that kind of messes up.
You know that messes up thebalance in the food chain too,
because now somebody can find ahygienist and everybody, you
(26:05):
know yeah we talk about the pain, assistance, scaling and
polishing and doing all of thisstuff.
But I feel like it's just nothealthy.
You know it's not for ourprofession, it's not healthy for
, you know, the patients.
It's just not healthy overall.
And what goes up must come down.
So we'll come back to that.
But we have to, we have to worktogether, we have to work you
(26:25):
have to work together, everybodyhas to work together.
Everybody, you have to worktogether.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Everybody has to work together, everybody and listen
those.
I know that and I'm going tosay y'all because I know this is
primarily a hygiene space.
Those offices exist out there.
You guys, like I'm telling youI'm going to brag on my office a
little bit because I wantnothing I wanted when I was
(26:49):
really looking for hygienists.
I wanted nothing more than tofind hygienists that may have
come from situations where theyweren't satisfied and I'm like,
let me prove to you that this isan office where you will be
supported, you will be advocated, for we do have a doctor who is
experienced, who is willing tomeet you where you are and is
(27:13):
willing to talk throughtreatment plans and find the
best solution for the patient.
That satisfies what yourfindings are as well, and I
think it creates a perfectharmony.
And also pay pay, fair pay,benefits.
Those offices do exist.
I mean, I'm always blown awayby listening to stories from
(27:39):
hygiene professionals wherethey're coming from practices
where they were 10, 15 years inthe game with zero benefits.
That like blows me away, likeI'm like what?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
How.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
They're loyal.
And those are the older, thoseare the older mentality people
you know, we as, oh yeah, y'all,we out like okay, no benefits.
Speaker 1 (27:59):
Okay, right, this is this.
Is this too much y'all doingtoo much?
So, erica, to wrap it up, whatvaluable lesson or life lesson
that you've learned that you'dlike to share?
You know, for the community,for the people, like what would
you a little pro gem?
I had a gem today.
Somebody who envies you cannotbe your friend or help you in
your business.
It's just not going to work.
It's just not going to be there,or is not going to be there,
(28:20):
even though you want that personto do not have a mirror circle.
So what piece of advice wouldyou give?
Speaker 2 (28:34):
in in this industry.
It took me a while to getcomfortable enough to speak up.
So never stop asking questions.
Always be willing to advocatefor yourself.
Don't settle, because I knowtimes are hard.
You literally said it and Ihear it daily life be lifin' and
that does not mean that youshould take less than what you
(28:57):
deserve because of where theindustry is and where the
economy is.
Ask those questions because ifone person is not giving you the
answer, it doesn't mean thatthe the answer doesn't exist,
and I've ran into that quite afew times and, of course, as
plain as it can get is to neverstop advocating for yourself,
(29:21):
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
I was watching a little tiktok or something and
it was Nicki Minaj.
She was like my, my favorite,and she was like if I would have
accepted the pickle juice, Iwould be drinking pickle juice
right now, flippin' yes, becausepeople will give you things
because, that's what you'regonna get.
Speaker 2 (29:37):
Exactly.
And people, I'm telling you,people will shortchange you.
You know, nobody is gonna pushfor you as much as you can do
for yourself.
Like I mean, I know we all havesupport systems, but like
nobody knows you, like you knowyou, so you have to go into
those rooms.
Don't take no for an answer.
(29:57):
You know, sometimes you justhave to go in and say, look,
this is what I bring to thetable and this is what I can,
you know, be an asset to yourteam or what have you.
But so much can be said, but Ithink that we just have to make
sure that we are being heard andmaking sure that we're, you
know, knocking down those doors,because they need to be knocked
down, for sure.
Where can people find you?
(30:18):
You can find me on Facebook atErica Davis Clark.
That's A-R-I-C-A Davis, hyphenClark.
I'm also on Instagram.
Feel free to find me there.
I love to travel, eat good food.
I share a lot of otherinformation as well at Erica
A-R-I-C-A dot Faye, f-a-y-e, andI'm also on LinkedIn.
(30:42):
I'm working through LinkedIn.
Linkedin is not my favorite,but we're working through, we're
pushing through.
So if you want to connect onLinkedIn, we can connect on
LinkedIn.
You can find me at Erica DavisClark as well, so okay, okay.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Well, that was great in a little bit of short time
that was.
That was a fruitful amount ofinformation you need to come to
the Brown Girl RDH conference.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
I, I know and it's in DC, right and I love DC Around
the corner.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
It's October 3rd.
We'll have so much to talkabout, but thank you so much for
being on this episode, ourfinal episode of the season.
All right, you guys.
That's it for this season.
Thank you so much for listening.
Bye, bye.
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