June 11, 2025 • 32 mins
Practice ownership doesn’t have to mean running an office or signing a lease. Dr. Jennifer Haddad designed her practice around a hybrid model that keeps her schedule and clinical decisions all within her control. In this episode, she shares how it works inside an existing practice, the benefits of this non-traditional path, and how she began building a brand before ownership. Tune in to find out if this model is right for the career and lifestyle you want!
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Struggling with work-life balance as a new mother
- Logistics of the co-working hybrid model
- Balancing responsibilities and patient care
- Starting a brand before ownership
- Building a brand based on referrals
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Paul Etchison (00:02):
What if you could grow your patient base, make
your own schedule and practiceon your own terms, without the
stress of practice ownership?
Today, you're going to learnabout a new hybrid practice
model that makes all thatpossible.
It's not a partnership and it'snot an associateship.
It's a flexible setup that letstoday's guests build a brand
almost entirely on referrals,stay in full control of our
(00:22):
business and avoid the burnoutof traditional ownership.
Stick around to learn more andsee if this model is for you.
You are listening to DentalPractice Heroes, where we help
you to create a team and systemdriven dental practice, one that
allows you to practice less andmake more money.
I'm Dr Paul Etcheson, a dentalcoach, author of two books on
dental practice management andthe owner of a five doctor
(00:44):
practice in the South suburbs ofChicago.
I want to show you how beingintentional about ownership can
create a practice that supportsyour life instead of consuming
it.
So if you're ready to create atrue business that runs without
you, you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Hello and welcome back to theDental Practice Heroes podcast.
(01:05):
I'm your host, dr Paul Etchison, and I got a very awesome guest
today.
We got Dr Jennifer Haddad onand she's a practice owner in a
hybrid sort of different sensethat you might not have heard of
, and it's really interesting.
So I'm excited to interview heron that.
But welcome to the podcast,jennifer.
How are you today?
Jennifer Haddad (01:22):
Thank you so much for having me as well.
I'm really excited to kind ofshare what it is that we've been
discussing behind the scenes,so looking forward to it.
Paul Etchison (01:31):
I think the listeners are going to love this
, because it's something I'venever heard of and I was super
interested in it.
Let's start with just talkingabout 2013, until you stepped
into practice ownership, andjust give us a little backstory.
Jennifer Haddad (01:44):
I graduated in 2013 from USC as a female
dentist.
You are now walking into theworld and obviously you're
looking at your options.
You're looking at residencyright, agd programs, fellowships
something to kind of add towhat it is you've learned in
dental school because youlearned the basics in dental
school, and so I was kind oftoying with the ideas of, okay,
(02:07):
do I get additional years ofexperience or do I just go
straight into dental practice?
I was very fortunate that I hadthe opportunity of coming
across a dental practice wherethe doctor was also faculty at
USC.
I was one of the top studentsin my class and so he was
looking for an associate, andwhen I was talking to the doctor
(02:30):
, he said listen, why don't yougo ahead and join me and I will
really take the time and invest.
This is kind of like a miniresidency where I basically
focused on biomimetic dentistryand this is where what I learned
in dental school through USC,we have our mentor, dr Pascal
(02:53):
Monnier, and that was the coreof the dentistry that I loved.
I loved the art of it.
That's what I knew.
That's kind of the niche Iwanted to go into, so I wasn't
much of the surgery type ofdentist, I wanted to do more of
the art, cosmetic aspect of it.
So, lo and behold, seven yearsinto this practice, I focused on
really honing down, on learning, learning, learning.
I was working five to six daysa week and that's a lot when you
(03:18):
are in the dental field.
It's a lot of time, it's a lotof and you do.
You could get burnt out fastforward.
I get married and my husbandsays okay, you have to cut down.
We need to spend time together.
I want to go to breakfast withyou on the weekends.
So I ended up cutting down fromcorporate dentistry.
(03:38):
Now I am four days a week atthis very unique practice where
I am just doing qualitydentistry.
And now I have a family.
Now I had my first son in 2019.
I became a mom, and what's thefirst thing that you think about
when you are a female?
(04:00):
Is that okay?
What if I just want to stayhome and be a mom and take care
of my family?
What if I don't want to go backto work?
And I had this discussion withmy husband.
He said listen, why don't youtry going back and see if you
like it?
If not, then you stop.
I go back six months laterafter maternity leave, and I
(04:23):
love my craft, I love what I doleave and I love my craft, I
love what I do.
The only thing that was reallyholding me back from really
going full force was the factthat I was having a hard time
commuting, so then I startedhaving to.
I was forced to look for analternative option.
Paul Etchison (04:39):
How far were you commuting?
Jennifer Haddad (04:41):
It was about like an hour and 15.
By the way, I'm in LA.
We're not even.
I was not even that far, butbecause of the traffic it killed
me.
I'm just.
I was probably like 30 minutesaway, yeah, but it just the time
.
Paul Etchison (04:56):
It's frustrating In.
Jennifer Haddad (04:57):
LA is a lot.
So that was really, I think,the turning point of okay, this
is the situation, now what do Ido?
I was so close to getting myown practice and at that point
the one thing that I wasthinking about was well, I still
want to have another child.
(05:17):
So having a practice isliterally having a child, it's
having a baby, you know.
So then, now am I going toreally be a good mom?
And this is, I think, somethingthat a lot of female dentists
are torn with, because they wantto be very successful in what
it is that they do.
They want to be an owner, andthere is a really kind of a, I
(05:41):
would say, stigma of like, as adentist, to be successful, you
have to be a practice, owner ofa physical practice, of an
office, right, and you have youremployees and you know, now you
are the boss.
But then there's the other side, where you have a family.
So how do I balance all this?
Anyways, during COVID, I get intouch with one of my colleagues
(06:03):
, the office that I'm at now.
I'm like listen, I have my bookof business.
He was kind of skeptical, like,really, you know, you don't
need anything from my office.
I'm like, ok, well, why don't Irent a chair?
So we started talking about that, I started looking into that
and, at the end of the day, thereality is is that you
essentially want to go into apractice.
(06:24):
You, the reality is is that youessentially want to go into a
practice.
You want to feel supported.
Both practice owners want tofeel supported.
Right, and what would bebeneficial for the both of the
owners in a situation like that?
So we talked about it and wesaid, ok, let's, let's create
this arrangement where you bringyour book of business, I come
in, I will give you a percentageof what it is that would cover
(06:46):
the overhead supplies.
We will share assistance.
I will take over certain days,he will take over certain days.
If there are days that we wantto overlap, we'll arrange that.
We have our hygienist that weshare and essentially it's like
a lowkey partnership, right,without having that commitment.
And what's nice is that thepractice owner is sitting here
(07:09):
and not having to market, nothaving to bear the additional
costs of trying to have anotherdoctor in the office, and then,
on my end, I'm here, I'm able to, I have a home for my patients
and I'm able to work hand inhand with someone else in the
office, where you know practiceownership to me is could be a
(07:32):
lonely environment.
And that was another thing thatkept running through my mind is
I do not want to be alone, I'drather be.
I love collaborating, I lovebeing with others, because I
think you're stronger withanother person, you're stronger
when you collaborate.
You put two brains instead ofone and that's what I have
(07:53):
realized has helped me grow,because I had my mentor right
when I first started and if Ididn't have him and if he didn't
invest all the time in me, Iwouldn't be where I am today.
Invest all the time in me, Iwouldn't be where I am today.
So at the end of the day, weended up arranging this where if
I was gone for a week, or Ineeded to go or I couldn't see
my patients, he wouldessentially be the referring
(08:14):
doctor or dentist and vice versa.
So it's been really, reallygreat because we've been able to
really support each other.
We both have families, so weunderstand the value of being
able to pull away from yourpractice and really having the
ability to kind of take yourmind and your efforts and your
energy away from that so you canreally be present on what it is
(08:35):
that you are doing elsewhere.
So that's a huge, huge thing.
The other cool thing is that Icome in my specialty is
biomimetic dentistry, hisspecialty is airway dentistry
and so we can sit andcollaborate and we could sit and
exchange information and talkabout cases together.
So it's really a cool situation.
Paul Etchison (08:57):
Yeah, I've never heard of anything like it.
Now, logistically, how large isthis practice that you're
working out of that you'rerenting?
Jennifer Haddad (09:03):
So this practice has four chairs, four
dental chairs.
Paul Etchison (09:07):
So it's difficult for you guys to be there at the
same time seeing patients.
I imagine out of four chairs.
Jennifer Haddad (09:12):
Is it possible?
It's possible.
We are not a high volume typeof a practice, so we're not
sitting and trying to see asmany patients throughout the day
.
It's more of a concierge typeof a high quality dentistry
practice, and so my range ofpatients are between one to
seven at most, I would say, forthe day.
Paul Etchison (09:33):
Okay, so if you're there, how many days a
week are you there?
Jennifer Haddad (09:36):
I'm there Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There are some days that I amthere three days a week.
Some days I'm there four.
It just depends.
Paul Etchison (09:44):
I guess it's not a partner, but you're the
practice owner.
Jennifer Haddad (09:47):
My teammate, my colleague, so the practice
owner of the office, right, Iknow, because this is a
different model.
Anyways, he's there Monday,wednesday, fridays.
There are times where weoverlap on a Tuesday or a
Thursday as well.
Paul Etchison (10:00):
Okay, so you found an arrangement that works
out for both parties, which isgreat.
It's essentially I mean, it'skind of like he has an associate
to some extent, but it's likevery independent.
Jennifer Haddad (10:10):
My title is an associate, if you want to look
at really like the terminologyof it all.
Paul Etchison (10:14):
So what happens as far as, like?
I'm just curious about, like,the phone number, the branding.
How do you keep those thingsseparate, or are they more
intertwined?
Jennifer Haddad (10:30):
So this is very interesting because we've been
really toying with this ideasince we've started up until
this point, and the biggestthing is that we have our own
branding.
Essentially, we have our ownentities.
We are completely separate,because we also are focused on
our specialty as separatedentists.
So the thing is is that I'm noteven on his website.
He's not on my website, butwe're in the same location.
Paul Etchison (10:53):
I could see this working very well If somebody
was in my office doing this andI liked them.
And they treat patients good,correct.
Have you guys ever ran into asituation with an upset patient
where maybe your upset patientis tarnishing the image of his
practice or his upset patient istarnishing the image of your
practice?
Jennifer Haddad (11:09):
You know what.
Thankfully, that really hasn'tbeen an issue.
I think one thing that we'vecome across as an issue that's
been a little reoccurring is Ihave my book of business.
They were used to one practicebefore.
Now they come to a new practice.
Things are a little different.
There's a lot of comparison oflike, hey, well, you know, the
(11:33):
other office used to do X, y, z,why don't we do it this way?
And the cool thing is is thatyou really evolve as a practice
owner, I would say when, again,you are collaborating with each
other and you could literallypick at each other's brains and
say, okay, this is something Ireally like about how you did it
(11:54):
, this is something I reallylike about how you did it.
And you kind of mesh the two andyou say, okay, this is how
we're going to do it here.
You want to keep it consistent.
You want to keep it so that itdoesn't you're not having two
different systems for the samestaffing.
But the biggest thing here isand this is where I took the
time is really getting to knowwho it is that you're going to
(12:14):
be joining, if you're going tobe doing some type of a model of
this sort, because you alsoneed to have certain things that
are common ground.
You can't be completelydifferent, but if you have an
overall basis, the foundationsof very similar practices, and
you're intrigued by yourcolleague and he's intrigued by
(12:35):
you or she's intrigued by you,then it'll work beautifully and
you basically learn from oneanother.
You support one another.
Paul Etchison (12:41):
Now you said you share staff.
Yes, how does that work?
How did this transition intothis?
Because possibly these peoplewere just working three days a
week and now they're workingfive.
I mean so all the staffing ishandled by the other doctor.
Jennifer Haddad (12:54):
The original practice.
When I had come in, they wereworking four days a week and
obviously if he worked justthree or four days, right then
he has his staff there.
We did have to hire anotherassistant, and so that was a fun
little exercise we got to bothdo because we were both involved
in that.
I was looking for an assistant,he was too, and then both of us
(13:15):
decided, ok, this is who'sgoing to be part of our team.
We basically cross train themso that they are familiar with
the way that I like a setup aswell as his setup, and so if,
for any reason, one is out, oneis sick or on vacation, then we
could utilize the otherassistant and they're
comfortable Hygienist.
He had one and then once Ijoined, we were like, okay,
(13:38):
we're going to need another.
So that's where we hiredanother hygienist and because
now I have entered my practiceinto his, essentially grows his
practice and it's really coolbecause it's a win-win for both.
Paul Etchison (13:53):
Do you foresee any time that possibly he would
want the space back where thatcould be problematic, where,
like, his practice grows, wherehe's like I'm ready to open
these days now?
Jennifer Haddad (14:03):
You know, what's really cool is we've been
together now for four years andnow we are talking about
partnership, and so I thinkwithin the time span we've
really I am a people person.
I like to work with people, andas much as I like to be the one
in charge, I also like to be theone who is such a team player,
(14:25):
because, at the end of the day,if I were to take myself out of
this equation and put myselfalone, I could do it, and I have
no problem stepping awaytomorrow and owning my own
practice.
I am very, very comfortablewith that.
But now, when I do think aboutbeing on my own, I feel like
it's not as advantageous for me,my patients, my practice
(14:49):
compared to being with someoneelse and really working with
others.
And he's always said too, like,if you are happy, you know, or
if at one point you decide to goout on your own, I will support
you.
So there's really a level ofrespect and enjoyment of work
because we're therecollaborating together, but you
(15:11):
have to find that.
You have to find that it's notsomething that's very common.
Paul Etchison (15:15):
Because I love this model, but then, at the
same time, I feel like itrequires two people, just two
cool people Like just be coolman, Just be like normal.
Jennifer Haddad (15:24):
You know, don't get the big ego.
You gotta be cool.
No, that's right, you have to.
You have to go hand in hand.
You have to think about okay,you can't have an ego, and
that's something that depends onthe person's personality, the
person's wants and needs.
What are they trying to achievehere?
At the end of the day?
For me it works out beautifullybecause I have work-life
(15:45):
balance.
Paul Etchison (15:46):
What is different from I mean, as far as your
responsibilities go, it's likeownership responsibilities, okay
, Like your management of theteam, ordering supplies,
anything like that.
What is different in thisarrangement?
That is different fromassociateship?
Jennifer Haddad (16:01):
So associateship is everything's
provided to you.
You have the patient overflowis provided to you, the supplies
you basically use what it isthat's at the office, whatever
the owner is willing to provideas an associate.
I remember there were certainthings that I absolutely needed
when I was practicing, and sothat was something I had to
provide myself, or I wouldrequest right and that would be
(16:24):
the responsibility of the owner.
In this situation, I came in, Ibrought what it is that I
typically work with.
I am supplying the certain tools, instruments, materials that I
like and what we've done overthe years, because we want to
make it, we want to simplify thesystem.
We essentially have thefoundational similarities and
(16:48):
we've come up with a list ofthings that we want to keep
consistent on both ends.
If there's something that Ineed, I order it and call it a
day.
If there's any replacements orwhatnot, I do that, but
essentially we have the similarmaterials that go in our rooms.
I actually have my own room, hehas his own room, but when we
(17:09):
are not working together and Ihave the office to myself, we've
made it comfortable to where,if I go to his room, I'm able to
use his room if I need to see apatient there and we've set it
up similarly.
It's very collaborative at theend of the day.
Paul Etchison (17:23):
Yeah, it sounds like.
I mean, you guys are very goodat working together with each
other, which is not surprisingwhy you might want to partner in
the future.
You guys are demonstrating Imean, it's like a trial run
partnership that you're showingyou can work well together.
Now I want to talk aboutexpenses, so labs.
How does that work with you?
Jennifer Haddad (17:41):
Okay, so labs, basically we use one common lab
and with the lab fees, he is theone Basically my percentage
that I give to him covers thelab fee, so your only expense is
the percentage that you pay.
Correct.
It's an all-inclusive packageof hey, this is the percentage
(18:02):
included in that that I give youis the assistants, the front
staff, the rent right for theoffice space, the materials, the
lab.
So there's all of thatinclusive.
Whatever else is part of thatlist.
You're leasing the digitalequipment as well.
I mean there's all of that funstuff.
Paul Etchison (18:23):
So when you're running your books at the end of
the year, essentially it's just, I mean you know exactly where
your overhead is.
Jennifer Haddad (18:29):
Yep, I know exactly what my overhead is.
Paul Etchison (18:31):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Tell me about how.
About like with team membersand I'm not sure this has come
up with you guys or not, but Imean running a practice there's.
We've we've got team memberswhere people, we have emotions
and things sometimes happen, youknow, and have you had
(18:53):
situations where you've had tobe more of the boss or had
issues with team members thatreally aren't under your, I
guess, jurisdiction?
I don't know what word I'mlooking for, but do you know
what I mean?
Jennifer Haddad (18:59):
You know.
So there's an understandingthat he is the owner of the
practice and I am another ownerof being a dentist there who
sees my patients.
Whenever we have any issueswith employees, we will actually
sit together and discusswhatever the issue is and so
(19:21):
that we come up as a teamtogether to resolve whatever the
situation is.
Again, luckily, everyone in ourpractice I think we're both
very understanding as the bossesand so our team members are
very much the same.
We're all such a family.
There has been obviouslyconflict, but the nice thing is
(19:43):
is that you're not having tobutt heads with someone.
If you're the owner and you'rethe one in charge of always
telling someone what to do,guess what?
Now you have a partner in crimewith you.
It's kind of like you'reneutralizing the situation right
.
There's more than one otherparty that could sit there and
really bring the reality to thesituation, I would say, because
it's not one perspective, it'stwo.
Paul Etchison (20:09):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, totally, if there's alistener listening and they're
an associate right now andthey're like I feel the same as
Jennifer here, where there'spart of me that feels like I
should own a practice.
But I just want to keep my timeand my balance and I don't want
the headache of it, but I'm notsure I want to continue to
associate.
Where does this fall in linesbetween ownership and
associateship?
Is this like right in themiddle?
How much more advantageous isthis to you versus being an
(20:32):
associate?
This arrangement?
Jennifer Haddad (20:34):
I've been told that, hey, I wish I was in your
position versus being a practiceowner, because as a practice
owner, you have an office, youhave staff that you are
constantly having to make surethat you are able to pay and
cover those expenses right,whereas on my end I come in, I
(20:57):
practice, I do the dentistry Iwant.
I don't necessarily have toworry about that.
You just get a portion of whatit is that I am providing, and
so it's a win-win because it'san added, I would say, source of
revenue for the practice ownerand then for myself, who wants
work-life balance.
(21:17):
I'm making more than anassociate, but I'm also.
It relieves the stress ofhaving to look at the numbers so
much.
I don't care what business youget into, it's all a numbers
game and that's what peoplefocus on.
What I love about my position isthat I am not focused on the
(21:38):
numbers.
I'm really focused on mypatient, because I don't have
that stress of, hey, I have tohit these numbers.
Or else, in terms of thatposition, though, for the
associate, like for someone whowants to go to that route, you
really have to have created yourbrand, you have to figure out
what it is.
That is your niche, what's yourpassion?
(21:59):
Because if you have a following, you have a group of patients
that like, love you and adoreyou and they just want to be
with you and they refer you toother patients then, beautiful,
you now have created your ownpractice within another practice
and you could take that.
That's golden.
I could go anywhere with it,which is really cool.
Paul Etchison (22:16):
Yeah, I think that's an interesting part of it
is because, you mentioned, whenyou came over, you brought a
book of business where typicallyI mean in an associate
agreement you're not allowed tobring any patients with you or
solicit them.
So talk about how that worked.
Jennifer Haddad (22:34):
I'm interested to hear this.
I have been very fortunate tobe in practices that have
supported me and I've supportedthem, and when it was time for
me to part my ways because of mygrowing family, the owner did
inform, sent out a newsletter tothe patients and told them hey,
you know we're going to be,we're going to miss Dr Haddad,
she's going out on her own.
And he told me like, go ahead.
(22:55):
You know, whatever patientsthat you want to tell you can
tell.
Just do me a favor, don't tryto pull patients away, you know.
So there was a again, a mutualrespect, and is that very common
in dentistry and in dentalpractices?
I don't think so.
Again, I'm a little of a uniquesituation and it has to be,
again, an understanding of bothparties.
(23:17):
At the end of the day, the waythat my business runs is based
on referrals, so that's thebiggest way for me.
Social media has been another.
My website is very basic, to behonest.
That's something I need toupgrade, but I did it so simply.
Paul Etchison (23:35):
So most of your new patients you're getting from
referral.
You're not running a whole lotof marketing, so are you saying
that you're just Instagramfollowing Things like that?
Jennifer Haddad (23:44):
Instagram and internal referrals, really.
Paul Etchison (23:48):
Yeah.
Jennifer Haddad (23:49):
Specialists, you know.
So I think that little familyis such a strong network that
essentially will provide Again.
I am a different owner, likepractice owner, right, because
at the end of the day, I'm notsitting here trying to feed
associates.
I am trying to grow my practice, don't get me wrong.
However, I'm not sitting heretrying to fill five days a week,
(24:12):
right, I'm here focused onquality dentistry.
I want quality patients becausewith that I'm able to.
I'm in Beverly Hills, I'mproviding the best of the best
for you, and so the fee reflectsthat as well.
So it's all a balance of allthat ownership.
Paul Etchison (24:30):
So this sounds like this is for somebody who
knows what their brand is, ishoned in on it and talk about
what is your brand?
What are some things about yourbrand that you portray that
you're showing the patients viasocial media?
How do you differentiateyourself being a doctor that's
working within another practicebut under your own brand?
Jennifer Haddad (24:49):
So I am all about quality.
I am all about providingnatural looking results.
There is the whole cosmeticworld of dentistry and we know
it very well from Instagramespecially and a lot of times
people frown upon veneersbecause they look fake.
Not every case is a veneer case.
(25:10):
So, again, that's where thebiomimetics comes in.
Biomimetic dentistry is reallyconserving tooth structure and a
lot of times I get referralsbased on the fact that I won't
sit there and say, oh, you need10 veneers.
Oh, you're a 10 veneer case.
You want to look prettier?
You're a 10 veneer?
No veneers.
Oh, you're a 10 veneer case.
You want to look prettier,you're a 10 veneer.
(25:31):
No, that's not the way that Iactually will care for my
patients.
Every case is different, youknow, and there are different
options, there are differentoutcomes.
So that's really my brand.
My brand is my passion in myart for my patients.
But really, I just had apatient yesterday and she goes.
I really love.
And really I just had a patientyesterday and she goes.
I really love coming herebecause you really love your job
(25:52):
, you love what you do.
I'm sitting and taking a photoof her smile and she's sitting
there and saying this to me andshe tells me, now that I've done
my teeth, I'm looking at otherpeople's teeth and now I get to
conversate with other people whosaw other dentists and even my
temporaries look natural.
So again, it's my brand is allabout natural, conservative,
(26:17):
quality.
Cosmetic dentistry is reallywhat it is.
Paul Etchison (26:21):
It's interesting because, like when you're an
associate, sometimes people willbe like, well, I don't really
want to work on like my socialmedia presence right now because
I don't own my own office yet,but it's almost like you can
start building your personalbrand as soon as you get out of
school and in a situation likewhere you did, where you've got
a following, where people willfollow you to whatever office
(26:41):
you go to.
Now, if someone listening issaying you know what, I think
this kind of sounds interestingto me and something I might want
to try, how would you suggestthat they approach or find
somebody to work thisarrangement with?
Jennifer Haddad (26:58):
So the biggest thing here is really networking,
getting to know your community,your support system, because,
at the end of the day, everydentist is not just alone.
You're going to CE courses,you're going to different dental
events, and that's really whereyou can connect with others.
That's how I found my teammate,because we have CE that we need
to complete.
You're kind of killing twobirds with one stone not only
(27:20):
are you furthering youreducation, keeping your license
up to date, but now you'renetworking and you're getting to
know who's out there, whatthey're all about.
Do they own a practice?
What is it that they practice?
And that's really a big, bigpiece of advice that I would
suggest.
But the most important thing isreally understanding your niche
(27:40):
in dentistry.
Do you want to be the jack ofall trades in what it is that
you do?
Because, yes, you could goahead and you can place implants
, do extractions, you have oralsurgery, endo, do the cosmetic.
But I think that you have tofigure out yourself first.
And once you figure out what itis that you are wanting to
focus on, and you really honedown on that and you make it
(28:03):
your passion, because really youhave to be passionate about
what it is that you do, becauseI don't think it'll really work
if you're just doing it formonetary reasons or whatnot.
So passion has to be there,money will follow.
Figure that out, network andthen from there you could see
what the opportunities are thatare out there and you can create
(28:23):
that arrangement.
But it takes time.
It does take time.
I had to sit there and connectwith different colleagues.
I took the time outside of mywork schedule to visit their
practices, to have meetings withthem to see how things run, and
really there is such a goldenticket in each practice and it's
amazing what's out there.
(28:43):
And, by the way, no workenvironment is perfect.
I think you have to understandthat Whether you've created your
own office space or whether youjoin someone, or whether you're
an associate or whatever it maybe, there's pros and cons and
when you get that understanding,you have more of a realistic
expectation of the other partnerin crime right, the other
(29:06):
person, no matter what titlethey have, and then that's when
you can work together.
Paul Etchison (29:12):
Yeah, I think all of us doctors could use a
little bit more flexibility.
Jennifer Haddad (29:16):
We all need that.
Paul Etchison (29:17):
In our attitudes.
Jennifer Haddad (29:19):
We all need that.
You can't, you cannot have anego.
You have to be open to learning.
That's the biggest thing youknow.
Paul Etchison (29:25):
so it's so true.
Well, Jennifer, thanks so muchfor coming on and sharing this
model.
I think this is really cool and, who knows, maybe this would be
the future of dentistry at somepoint, where there are these
dental WeWorks where you providethe whole staff and you just
have you know privatecontracting dentists come in.
It's really interesting.
Jennifer Haddad (29:41):
I've been thinking about this as a
business model actually.
So, no, it's been fun and Ilove it.
It's been great, so I hope thatwhoever's listening, this has
been something that could giveyou maybe an idea, and you can
run with it because it's beengreat for me.
Paul Etchison (29:59):
Awesome, dr Jennifer Haddad.
Thank you so much.
Jennifer Haddad (30:00):
Thank you so much.
What if you could grow your patient base, make
your own schedule and practiceon your own terms, without the
stress of practice ownership?
Today, you're going to learnabout a new hybrid practice
model that makes all thatpossible.
It's not a partnership and it'snot an associateship.
It's a flexible setup that letstoday's guests build a brand
almost entirely on referrals,stay in full control of our
(00:22):
business and avoid the burnoutof traditional ownership.
Stick around to learn more andsee if this model is for you.
You are listening to DentalPractice Heroes, where we help
you to create a team and systemdriven dental practice, one that
allows you to practice less andmake more money.
I'm Dr Paul Etcheson, a dentalcoach, author of two books on
dental practice management andthe owner of a five doctor
(00:44):
practice in the South suburbs ofChicago.
I want to show you how beingintentional about ownership can
create a practice that supportsyour life instead of consuming
it.
So if you're ready to create atrue business that runs without
you, you're in the right place.
Let's get started.
Hello and welcome back to theDental Practice Heroes podcast.
(01:05):
I'm your host, dr Paul Etchison, and I got a very awesome guest
today.
We got Dr Jennifer Haddad onand she's a practice owner in a
hybrid sort of different sensethat you might not have heard of
, and it's really interesting.
So I'm excited to interview heron that.
But welcome to the podcast,jennifer.
How are you today?
Jennifer Haddad (01:22):
Thank you so much for having me as well.
I'm really excited to kind ofshare what it is that we've been
discussing behind the scenes,so looking forward to it.
Paul Etchison (01:31):
I think the listeners are going to love this
, because it's something I'venever heard of and I was super
interested in it.
Let's start with just talkingabout 2013, until you stepped
into practice ownership, andjust give us a little backstory.
Jennifer Haddad (01:44):
I graduated in 2013 from USC as a female
dentist.
You are now walking into theworld and obviously you're
looking at your options.
You're looking at residencyright, agd programs, fellowships
something to kind of add towhat it is you've learned in
dental school because youlearned the basics in dental
school, and so I was kind oftoying with the ideas of, okay,
(02:07):
do I get additional years ofexperience or do I just go
straight into dental practice?
I was very fortunate that I hadthe opportunity of coming
across a dental practice wherethe doctor was also faculty at
USC.
I was one of the top studentsin my class and so he was
looking for an associate, andwhen I was talking to the doctor
(02:30):
, he said listen, why don't yougo ahead and join me and I will
really take the time and invest.
This is kind of like a miniresidency where I basically
focused on biomimetic dentistryand this is where what I learned
in dental school through USC,we have our mentor, dr Pascal
(02:53):
Monnier, and that was the coreof the dentistry that I loved.
I loved the art of it.
That's what I knew.
That's kind of the niche Iwanted to go into, so I wasn't
much of the surgery type ofdentist, I wanted to do more of
the art, cosmetic aspect of it.
So, lo and behold, seven yearsinto this practice, I focused on
really honing down, on learning, learning, learning.
I was working five to six daysa week and that's a lot when you
(03:18):
are in the dental field.
It's a lot of time, it's a lotof and you do.
You could get burnt out fastforward.
I get married and my husbandsays okay, you have to cut down.
We need to spend time together.
I want to go to breakfast withyou on the weekends.
So I ended up cutting down fromcorporate dentistry.
(03:38):
Now I am four days a week atthis very unique practice where
I am just doing qualitydentistry.
And now I have a family.
Now I had my first son in 2019.
I became a mom, and what's thefirst thing that you think about
when you are a female?
(04:00):
Is that okay?
What if I just want to stayhome and be a mom and take care
of my family?
What if I don't want to go backto work?
And I had this discussion withmy husband.
He said listen, why don't youtry going back and see if you
like it?
If not, then you stop.
I go back six months laterafter maternity leave, and I
(04:23):
love my craft, I love what I doleave and I love my craft, I
love what I do.
The only thing that was reallyholding me back from really
going full force was the factthat I was having a hard time
commuting, so then I startedhaving to.
I was forced to look for analternative option.
Paul Etchison (04:39):
How far were you commuting?
Jennifer Haddad (04:41):
It was about like an hour and 15.
By the way, I'm in LA.
We're not even.
I was not even that far, butbecause of the traffic it killed
me.
I'm just.
I was probably like 30 minutesaway, yeah, but it just the time
.
Paul Etchison (04:56):
It's frustrating In.
Jennifer Haddad (04:57):
LA is a lot.
So that was really, I think,the turning point of okay, this
is the situation, now what do Ido?
I was so close to getting myown practice and at that point
the one thing that I wasthinking about was well, I still
want to have another child.
(05:17):
So having a practice isliterally having a child, it's
having a baby, you know.
So then, now am I going toreally be a good mom?
And this is, I think, somethingthat a lot of female dentists
are torn with, because they wantto be very successful in what
it is that they do.
They want to be an owner, andthere is a really kind of a, I
(05:41):
would say, stigma of like, as adentist, to be successful, you
have to be a practice, owner ofa physical practice, of an
office, right, and you have youremployees and you know, now you
are the boss.
But then there's the other side, where you have a family.
So how do I balance all this?
Anyways, during COVID, I get intouch with one of my colleagues
(06:03):
, the office that I'm at now.
I'm like listen, I have my bookof business.
He was kind of skeptical, like,really, you know, you don't
need anything from my office.
I'm like, ok, well, why don't Irent a chair?
So we started talking about that, I started looking into that
and, at the end of the day, thereality is is that you
essentially want to go into apractice.
(06:24):
You, the reality is is that youessentially want to go into a
practice.
You want to feel supported.
Both practice owners want tofeel supported.
Right, and what would bebeneficial for the both of the
owners in a situation like that?
So we talked about it and wesaid, ok, let's, let's create
this arrangement where you bringyour book of business, I come
in, I will give you a percentageof what it is that would cover
(06:46):
the overhead supplies.
We will share assistance.
I will take over certain days,he will take over certain days.
If there are days that we wantto overlap, we'll arrange that.
We have our hygienist that weshare and essentially it's like
a lowkey partnership, right,without having that commitment.
And what's nice is that thepractice owner is sitting here
(07:09):
and not having to market, nothaving to bear the additional
costs of trying to have anotherdoctor in the office, and then,
on my end, I'm here, I'm able to, I have a home for my patients
and I'm able to work hand inhand with someone else in the
office, where you know practiceownership to me is could be a
(07:32):
lonely environment.
And that was another thing thatkept running through my mind is
I do not want to be alone, I'drather be.
I love collaborating, I lovebeing with others, because I
think you're stronger withanother person, you're stronger
when you collaborate.
You put two brains instead ofone and that's what I have
(07:53):
realized has helped me grow,because I had my mentor right
when I first started and if Ididn't have him and if he didn't
invest all the time in me, Iwouldn't be where I am today.
Invest all the time in me, Iwouldn't be where I am today.
So at the end of the day, weended up arranging this where if
I was gone for a week, or Ineeded to go or I couldn't see
my patients, he wouldessentially be the referring
(08:14):
doctor or dentist and vice versa.
So it's been really, reallygreat because we've been able to
really support each other.
We both have families, so weunderstand the value of being
able to pull away from yourpractice and really having the
ability to kind of take yourmind and your efforts and your
energy away from that so you canreally be present on what it is
(08:35):
that you are doing elsewhere.
So that's a huge, huge thing.
The other cool thing is that Icome in my specialty is
biomimetic dentistry, hisspecialty is airway dentistry
and so we can sit andcollaborate and we could sit and
exchange information and talkabout cases together.
So it's really a cool situation.
Paul Etchison (08:57):
Yeah, I've never heard of anything like it.
Now, logistically, how large isthis practice that you're
working out of that you'rerenting?
Jennifer Haddad (09:03):
So this practice has four chairs, four
dental chairs.
Paul Etchison (09:07):
So it's difficult for you guys to be there at the
same time seeing patients.
I imagine out of four chairs.
Jennifer Haddad (09:12):
Is it possible?
It's possible.
We are not a high volume typeof a practice, so we're not
sitting and trying to see asmany patients throughout the day
.
It's more of a concierge typeof a high quality dentistry
practice, and so my range ofpatients are between one to
seven at most, I would say, forthe day.
Paul Etchison (09:33):
Okay, so if you're there, how many days a
week are you there?
Jennifer Haddad (09:36):
I'm there Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There are some days that I amthere three days a week.
Some days I'm there four.
It just depends.
Paul Etchison (09:44):
I guess it's not a partner, but you're the
practice owner.
Jennifer Haddad (09:47):
My teammate, my colleague, so the practice
owner of the office, right, Iknow, because this is a
different model.
Anyways, he's there Monday,wednesday, fridays.
There are times where weoverlap on a Tuesday or a
Thursday as well.
Paul Etchison (10:00):
Okay, so you found an arrangement that works
out for both parties, which isgreat.
It's essentially I mean, it'skind of like he has an associate
to some extent, but it's likevery independent.
Jennifer Haddad (10:10):
My title is an associate, if you want to look
at really like the terminologyof it all.
Paul Etchison (10:14):
So what happens as far as, like?
I'm just curious about, like,the phone number, the branding.
How do you keep those thingsseparate, or are they more
intertwined?
Jennifer Haddad (10:30):
So this is very interesting because we've been
really toying with this ideasince we've started up until
this point, and the biggestthing is that we have our own
branding.
Essentially, we have our ownentities.
We are completely separate,because we also are focused on
our specialty as separatedentists.
So the thing is is that I'm noteven on his website.
He's not on my website, butwe're in the same location.
Paul Etchison (10:53):
I could see this working very well If somebody
was in my office doing this andI liked them.
And they treat patients good,correct.
Have you guys ever ran into asituation with an upset patient
where maybe your upset patientis tarnishing the image of his
practice or his upset patient istarnishing the image of your
practice?
Jennifer Haddad (11:09):
You know what.
Thankfully, that really hasn'tbeen an issue.
I think one thing that we'vecome across as an issue that's
been a little reoccurring is Ihave my book of business.
They were used to one practicebefore.
Now they come to a new practice.
Things are a little different.
There's a lot of comparison oflike, hey, well, you know, the
(11:33):
other office used to do X, y, z,why don't we do it this way?
And the cool thing is is thatyou really evolve as a practice
owner, I would say when, again,you are collaborating with each
other and you could literallypick at each other's brains and
say, okay, this is something Ireally like about how you did it
(11:54):
, this is something I reallylike about how you did it.
And you kind of mesh the two andyou say, okay, this is how
we're going to do it here.
You want to keep it consistent.
You want to keep it so that itdoesn't you're not having two
different systems for the samestaffing.
But the biggest thing here isand this is where I took the
time is really getting to knowwho it is that you're going to
(12:14):
be joining, if you're going tobe doing some type of a model of
this sort, because you alsoneed to have certain things that
are common ground.
You can't be completelydifferent, but if you have an
overall basis, the foundationsof very similar practices, and
you're intrigued by yourcolleague and he's intrigued by
(12:35):
you or she's intrigued by you,then it'll work beautifully and
you basically learn from oneanother.
You support one another.
Paul Etchison (12:41):
Now you said you share staff.
Yes, how does that work?
How did this transition intothis?
Because possibly these peoplewere just working three days a
week and now they're workingfive.
I mean so all the staffing ishandled by the other doctor.
Jennifer Haddad (12:54):
The original practice.
When I had come in, they wereworking four days a week and
obviously if he worked justthree or four days, right then
he has his staff there.
We did have to hire anotherassistant, and so that was a fun
little exercise we got to bothdo because we were both involved
in that.
I was looking for an assistant,he was too, and then both of us
(13:15):
decided, ok, this is who'sgoing to be part of our team.
We basically cross train themso that they are familiar with
the way that I like a setup aswell as his setup, and so if,
for any reason, one is out, oneis sick or on vacation, then we
could utilize the otherassistant and they're
comfortable Hygienist.
He had one and then once Ijoined, we were like, okay,
(13:38):
we're going to need another.
So that's where we hiredanother hygienist and because
now I have entered my practiceinto his, essentially grows his
practice and it's really coolbecause it's a win-win for both.
Paul Etchison (13:53):
Do you foresee any time that possibly he would
want the space back where thatcould be problematic, where,
like, his practice grows, wherehe's like I'm ready to open
these days now?
Jennifer Haddad (14:03):
You know, what's really cool is we've been
together now for four years andnow we are talking about
partnership, and so I thinkwithin the time span we've
really I am a people person.
I like to work with people, andas much as I like to be the one
in charge, I also like to be theone who is such a team player,
(14:25):
because, at the end of the day,if I were to take myself out of
this equation and put myselfalone, I could do it, and I have
no problem stepping awaytomorrow and owning my own
practice.
I am very, very comfortablewith that.
But now, when I do think aboutbeing on my own, I feel like
it's not as advantageous for me,my patients, my practice
(14:49):
compared to being with someoneelse and really working with
others.
And he's always said too, like,if you are happy, you know, or
if at one point you decide to goout on your own, I will support
you.
So there's really a level ofrespect and enjoyment of work
because we're therecollaborating together, but you
(15:11):
have to find that.
You have to find that it's notsomething that's very common.
Paul Etchison (15:15):
Because I love this model, but then, at the
same time, I feel like itrequires two people, just two
cool people Like just be coolman, Just be like normal.
Jennifer Haddad (15:24):
You know, don't get the big ego.
You gotta be cool.
No, that's right, you have to.
You have to go hand in hand.
You have to think about okay,you can't have an ego, and
that's something that depends onthe person's personality, the
person's wants and needs.
What are they trying to achievehere?
At the end of the day?
For me it works out beautifullybecause I have work-life
(15:45):
balance.
Paul Etchison (15:46):
What is different from I mean, as far as your
responsibilities go, it's likeownership responsibilities, okay
, Like your management of theteam, ordering supplies,
anything like that.
What is different in thisarrangement?
That is different fromassociateship?
Jennifer Haddad (16:01):
So associateship is everything's
provided to you.
You have the patient overflowis provided to you, the supplies
you basically use what it isthat's at the office, whatever
the owner is willing to provideas an associate.
I remember there were certainthings that I absolutely needed
when I was practicing, and sothat was something I had to
provide myself, or I wouldrequest right and that would be
(16:24):
the responsibility of the owner.
In this situation, I came in, Ibrought what it is that I
typically work with.
I am supplying the certain tools, instruments, materials that I
like and what we've done overthe years, because we want to
make it, we want to simplify thesystem.
We essentially have thefoundational similarities and
(16:48):
we've come up with a list ofthings that we want to keep
consistent on both ends.
If there's something that Ineed, I order it and call it a
day.
If there's any replacements orwhatnot, I do that, but
essentially we have the similarmaterials that go in our rooms.
I actually have my own room, hehas his own room, but when we
(17:09):
are not working together and Ihave the office to myself, we've
made it comfortable to where,if I go to his room, I'm able to
use his room if I need to see apatient there and we've set it
up similarly.
It's very collaborative at theend of the day.
Paul Etchison (17:23):
Yeah, it sounds like.
I mean, you guys are very goodat working together with each
other, which is not surprisingwhy you might want to partner in
the future.
You guys are demonstrating Imean, it's like a trial run
partnership that you're showingyou can work well together.
Now I want to talk aboutexpenses, so labs.
How does that work with you?
Jennifer Haddad (17:41):
Okay, so labs, basically we use one common lab
and with the lab fees, he is theone Basically my percentage
that I give to him covers thelab fee, so your only expense is
the percentage that you pay.
Correct.
It's an all-inclusive packageof hey, this is the percentage
(18:02):
included in that that I give youis the assistants, the front
staff, the rent right for theoffice space, the materials, the
lab.
So there's all of thatinclusive.
Whatever else is part of thatlist.
You're leasing the digitalequipment as well.
I mean there's all of that funstuff.
Paul Etchison (18:23):
So when you're running your books at the end of
the year, essentially it's just, I mean you know exactly where
your overhead is.
Jennifer Haddad (18:29):
Yep, I know exactly what my overhead is.
Paul Etchison (18:31):
Yeah, that's amazing.
Tell me about how.
About like with team membersand I'm not sure this has come
up with you guys or not, but Imean running a practice there's.
We've we've got team memberswhere people, we have emotions
and things sometimes happen, youknow, and have you had
(18:53):
situations where you've had tobe more of the boss or had
issues with team members thatreally aren't under your, I
guess, jurisdiction?
I don't know what word I'mlooking for, but do you know
what I mean?
Jennifer Haddad (18:59):
You know.
So there's an understandingthat he is the owner of the
practice and I am another ownerof being a dentist there who
sees my patients.
Whenever we have any issueswith employees, we will actually
sit together and discusswhatever the issue is and so
(19:21):
that we come up as a teamtogether to resolve whatever the
situation is.
Again, luckily, everyone in ourpractice I think we're both
very understanding as the bossesand so our team members are
very much the same.
We're all such a family.
There has been obviouslyconflict, but the nice thing is
(19:43):
is that you're not having tobutt heads with someone.
If you're the owner and you'rethe one in charge of always
telling someone what to do,guess what?
Now you have a partner in crimewith you.
It's kind of like you'reneutralizing the situation right
.
There's more than one otherparty that could sit there and
really bring the reality to thesituation, I would say, because
it's not one perspective, it'stwo.
Paul Etchison (20:09):
Does that make sense?
Yeah, totally, if there's alistener listening and they're
an associate right now andthey're like I feel the same as
Jennifer here, where there'spart of me that feels like I
should own a practice.
But I just want to keep my timeand my balance and I don't want
the headache of it, but I'm notsure I want to continue to
associate.
Where does this fall in linesbetween ownership and
associateship?
Is this like right in themiddle?
How much more advantageous isthis to you versus being an
(20:32):
associate?
This arrangement?
Jennifer Haddad (20:34):
I've been told that, hey, I wish I was in your
position versus being a practiceowner, because as a practice
owner, you have an office, youhave staff that you are
constantly having to make surethat you are able to pay and
cover those expenses right,whereas on my end I come in, I
(20:57):
practice, I do the dentistry Iwant.
I don't necessarily have toworry about that.
You just get a portion of whatit is that I am providing, and
so it's a win-win because it'san added, I would say, source of
revenue for the practice ownerand then for myself, who wants
work-life balance.
(21:17):
I'm making more than anassociate, but I'm also.
It relieves the stress ofhaving to look at the numbers so
much.
I don't care what business youget into, it's all a numbers
game and that's what peoplefocus on.
What I love about my position isthat I am not focused on the
(21:38):
numbers.
I'm really focused on mypatient, because I don't have
that stress of, hey, I have tohit these numbers.
Or else, in terms of thatposition, though, for the
associate, like for someone whowants to go to that route, you
really have to have created yourbrand, you have to figure out
what it is.
That is your niche, what's yourpassion?
(21:59):
Because if you have a following, you have a group of patients
that like, love you and adoreyou and they just want to be
with you and they refer you toother patients then, beautiful,
you now have created your ownpractice within another practice
and you could take that.
That's golden.
I could go anywhere with it,which is really cool.
Paul Etchison (22:16):
Yeah, I think that's an interesting part of it
is because, you mentioned, whenyou came over, you brought a
book of business where typicallyI mean in an associate
agreement you're not allowed tobring any patients with you or
solicit them.
So talk about how that worked.
Jennifer Haddad (22:34):
I'm interested to hear this.
I have been very fortunate tobe in practices that have
supported me and I've supportedthem, and when it was time for
me to part my ways because of mygrowing family, the owner did
inform, sent out a newsletter tothe patients and told them hey,
you know we're going to be,we're going to miss Dr Haddad,
she's going out on her own.
And he told me like, go ahead.
(22:55):
You know, whatever patientsthat you want to tell you can
tell.
Just do me a favor, don't tryto pull patients away, you know.
So there was a again, a mutualrespect, and is that very common
in dentistry and in dentalpractices?
I don't think so.
Again, I'm a little of a uniquesituation and it has to be,
again, an understanding of bothparties.
(23:17):
At the end of the day, the waythat my business runs is based
on referrals, so that's thebiggest way for me.
Social media has been another.
My website is very basic, to behonest.
That's something I need toupgrade, but I did it so simply.
Paul Etchison (23:35):
So most of your new patients you're getting from
referral.
You're not running a whole lotof marketing, so are you saying
that you're just Instagramfollowing Things like that?
Jennifer Haddad (23:44):
Instagram and internal referrals, really.
Paul Etchison (23:48):
Yeah.
Jennifer Haddad (23:49):
Specialists, you know.
So I think that little familyis such a strong network that
essentially will provide Again.
I am a different owner, likepractice owner, right, because
at the end of the day, I'm notsitting here trying to feed
associates.
I am trying to grow my practice, don't get me wrong.
However, I'm not sitting heretrying to fill five days a week,
(24:12):
right, I'm here focused onquality dentistry.
I want quality patients becausewith that I'm able to.
I'm in Beverly Hills, I'mproviding the best of the best
for you, and so the fee reflectsthat as well.
So it's all a balance of allthat ownership.
Paul Etchison (24:30):
So this sounds like this is for somebody who
knows what their brand is, ishoned in on it and talk about
what is your brand?
What are some things about yourbrand that you portray that
you're showing the patients viasocial media?
How do you differentiateyourself being a doctor that's
working within another practicebut under your own brand?
Jennifer Haddad (24:49):
So I am all about quality.
I am all about providingnatural looking results.
There is the whole cosmeticworld of dentistry and we know
it very well from Instagramespecially and a lot of times
people frown upon veneersbecause they look fake.
Not every case is a veneer case.
(25:10):
So, again, that's where thebiomimetics comes in.
Biomimetic dentistry is reallyconserving tooth structure and a
lot of times I get referralsbased on the fact that I won't
sit there and say, oh, you need10 veneers.
Oh, you're a 10 veneer case.
You want to look prettier?
You're a 10 veneer?
No veneers.
Oh, you're a 10 veneer case.
You want to look prettier,you're a 10 veneer.
(25:31):
No, that's not the way that Iactually will care for my
patients.
Every case is different, youknow, and there are different
options, there are differentoutcomes.
So that's really my brand.
My brand is my passion in myart for my patients.
But really, I just had apatient yesterday and she goes.
I really love.
And really I just had a patientyesterday and she goes.
I really love coming herebecause you really love your job
(25:52):
, you love what you do.
I'm sitting and taking a photoof her smile and she's sitting
there and saying this to me andshe tells me, now that I've done
my teeth, I'm looking at otherpeople's teeth and now I get to
conversate with other people whosaw other dentists and even my
temporaries look natural.
So again, it's my brand is allabout natural, conservative,
(26:17):
quality.
Cosmetic dentistry is reallywhat it is.
Paul Etchison (26:21):
It's interesting because, like when you're an
associate, sometimes people willbe like, well, I don't really
want to work on like my socialmedia presence right now because
I don't own my own office yet,but it's almost like you can
start building your personalbrand as soon as you get out of
school and in a situation likewhere you did, where you've got
a following, where people willfollow you to whatever office
(26:41):
you go to.
Now, if someone listening issaying you know what, I think
this kind of sounds interestingto me and something I might want
to try, how would you suggestthat they approach or find
somebody to work thisarrangement with?
Jennifer Haddad (26:58):
So the biggest thing here is really networking,
getting to know your community,your support system, because,
at the end of the day, everydentist is not just alone.
You're going to CE courses,you're going to different dental
events, and that's really whereyou can connect with others.
That's how I found my teammate,because we have CE that we need
to complete.
You're kind of killing twobirds with one stone not only
(27:20):
are you furthering youreducation, keeping your license
up to date, but now you'renetworking and you're getting to
know who's out there, whatthey're all about.
Do they own a practice?
What is it that they practice?
And that's really a big, bigpiece of advice that I would
suggest.
But the most important thing isreally understanding your niche
(27:40):
in dentistry.
Do you want to be the jack ofall trades in what it is that
you do?
Because, yes, you could goahead and you can place implants
, do extractions, you have oralsurgery, endo, do the cosmetic.
But I think that you have tofigure out yourself first.
And once you figure out what itis that you are wanting to
focus on, and you really honedown on that and you make it
(28:03):
your passion, because really youhave to be passionate about
what it is that you do, becauseI don't think it'll really work
if you're just doing it formonetary reasons or whatnot.
So passion has to be there,money will follow.
Figure that out, network andthen from there you could see
what the opportunities are thatare out there and you can create
(28:23):
that arrangement.
But it takes time.
It does take time.
I had to sit there and connectwith different colleagues.
I took the time outside of mywork schedule to visit their
practices, to have meetings withthem to see how things run, and
really there is such a goldenticket in each practice and it's
amazing what's out there.
(28:43):
And, by the way, no workenvironment is perfect.
I think you have to understandthat Whether you've created your
own office space or whether youjoin someone, or whether you're
an associate or whatever it maybe, there's pros and cons and
when you get that understanding,you have more of a realistic
expectation of the other partnerin crime right, the other
(29:06):
person, no matter what titlethey have, and then that's when
you can work together.
Paul Etchison (29:12):
Yeah, I think all of us doctors could use a
little bit more flexibility.
Jennifer Haddad (29:16):
We all need that.
Paul Etchison (29:17):
In our attitudes.
Jennifer Haddad (29:19):
We all need that.
You can't, you cannot have anego.
You have to be open to learning.
That's the biggest thing youknow.
Paul Etchison (29:25):
so it's so true.
Well, Jennifer, thanks so muchfor coming on and sharing this
model.
I think this is really cool and, who knows, maybe this would be
the future of dentistry at somepoint, where there are these
dental WeWorks where you providethe whole staff and you just
have you know privatecontracting dentists come in.
It's really interesting.
Jennifer Haddad (29:41):
I've been thinking about this as a
business model actually.
So, no, it's been fun and Ilove it.
It's been great, so I hope thatwhoever's listening, this has
been something that could giveyou maybe an idea, and you can
run with it because it's beengreat for me.
Paul Etchison (29:59):
Awesome, dr Jennifer Haddad.
Thank you so much.
Jennifer Haddad (30:00):
Thank you so much.
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