“The Dental Marketing Mix” Podcast – Season 1, Episode 1
“The Dental Marketing Mix” kicks off with an exclusive conversation with Dr. Grace Yum, a board-certified pediatric dentist and founder and CEO of Mommy Dentists in Business — an international organization serving over 10,000 member dentists. Drawing on her extensive experience as a practicing dentist, practice owner, and CEO of a multi-million dollar dental networking and education company, Dr. Yum shares her best advice for the next generation of dentists. In a wide-ranging, no-holds-barred conversation, host Dan Brian and Dr. Yum discuss the importance of professional networking, mentorship, and “just going for it” in building a career in dentistry. They also discuss online marketing for dentists, including Dr. Yum’s thoughts on the most promising digital channels for generating referrals and building a profitable practice. This episode is a must-listen for dentists of all ages looking to chart a professionally and personally fulfilling journey in oral health care.
For more information on “The Dental Marketing Mix,” visit the podcast page. To learn more about Mommy Dentists in Business, visit MommyDIBS.com.
Transcript
PROMO (00:01):
Welcome to “The Dental Marketing Mix,” online marketing know-how for dentists, with your host, Dan Brian, brought to you by Dental Scapes, a full service digital marketing agency for dental practices.
Dan Brian (00:18):
All right, all right, all right. Welcome to “The Dental Marketing Mix.” My name is Dan Brian. I am the co-founder of Dental Scapes. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency for dental practices, and I am so excited to kick off this podcast. And actually we are truly kicking it off as this is episode number one. And to that point, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be joined by a real pioneer in the dental industry. Dr. Grace Yum is joining us today. And Dr. Yum is the founder and CEO of a really cool organization called Mommy Dentists in Business, and they are an international organization now. I believe they’re working in multiple countries. They have over 10,000 members — all moms, all dentists. And it’s just an awesome group for networking and professional development and collaboration. And I just, I can’t say enough things about what you’ve built Dr. Yum. I think it’s amazing. And I just wanted to, you know, give you an opportunity, first and foremost to kind of introduce yourself. And if you wouldn’t mind, just tell us a little bit about how you got to where you are today. I know that you’re a pediatric dentist by training, but how did you get involved with Mommy Dentists in Business and what led you to this point in your career?
Dr. Grace Yum (01:30):
Well, hi Dan and listeners, thanks for tuning in. I’m very honored to be here as your first launch episode, so I’m honored. Thank you for having me. What a treat. I get to share my story with everybody. For sure. For those of you listening, I would say, especially if you’re just starting out, it is so exciting. And it is, I remember when I first started, blood, sweat and tears, so much work and effort and excitement all wrapped in one. And especially if you are starting your own practice, it’s very much an entrepreneurial route and pathway and one that is tumultuous. My best piece of advice for those starting out is to take it a little easy. I think when you’re first starting out, you go gung ho and you’re, you’re just really kind of super excited. I would say just pace yourself because it is a marathon, it’s not a sprint, and you are going to want to sprint. You are going to be in that mode of, I need new patients. What am I gonna do to get more new patients? I need to book my schedule. What am I gonna do to fill every hour? What am I gonna do to have the A team? What am I gonna do? There’s a lot of to-dos and it can be really overwhelming. And I have to say, if you wanna be in it for the long haul, a decade or more, you have to pace yourself.
Dan Brian (03:12):
Yeah. It’s such great advice. And, you know, you put me to shame, Dr. Yum, because I didn’t even get into what exactly I wanted to talk about today with you, but that is exactly that. It’s what you just offered. It’s advice for younger dentists just getting involved in the profession. And I really wanna focus on that because it’s interesting to me. You know, I think there’s a lot of younger dentists out there, and actually my husband is a dentist and a professor at UNC Adam School of Dentistry. But you know, we see so many younger dentists that get out there and don’t necessarily have the support system and don’t yet know where to start or even necessarily what type of practice model they want to pursue. And so you know, I wanted to ask you, you know, kind of upfront, maybe a little bit more personal question related to Mommy Dentists in Business, the organization that you started, what do you think new dentists can do and should be doing really to develop a professional network and that support system that is so important to succeeding in their careers and really laying the foundation for their practice, but also their personal and professional fulfillment?
Dr. Grace Yum (04:20):
Great question, Dan. And I wanna tell all the doctors young and older and experienced — your net worth is your network, hands down. And if you can understand that concept and you can understand it’s about the relationships and who you know, you will be successful. Of course, you have to have very good skills, and you need to be a great dentist, and you need to know your boundaries and limitations. You cannot please everyone, every day, all the time. You cannot be the oral surgeon, the orthodontist, the prosthodontist, the endodontist — pick and choose your heart, and then excel at it. There’s riches in the niches. I really want everyone who’s listening to focus in on you cannot be the jack of all trades and do everything. Pick what you enjoy, whether it’s Invisalign, whether it’s implants, whether it’s cosmetics. Pick something or two things and be the best at it. Be world-renowned at it. Master that skill. Don’t try to do a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a little bit of this. You are gonna burn yourself out, and then you can also get yourself into trouble.
Dan Brian (05:49):
Yeah. And it’s interesting, you know, that you say that, you know, really focus in on being the best because, you know, I have a background in the startup industry and you know, so many entrepreneurs are discouraged from getting started because they see others out there in the space that are doing amazing things, and they think, you know, I can never measure up to that. And I would imagine, I’m not a dentist, but you know, you can tell me, I can imagine that there’s a similar feeling, you know, especially when a dentist may consider specializing and thinking, you know, there are so many others out there that are already doing this so well, how can I possibly measure up? But, you know, I had a great mentor who once told me, you know, it doesn’t matter that other people are doing this. It doesn’t matter that you have competitors. I mean, you just need to do it better yourself. You just need to, you know, do what you do best. And you do. What do you think about that? Is that fair game?
Dr. Grace Yum (06:36):
It is fair game. And going back to your first question about how you get plugged in, it’s very important who you surround yourself with. It’s very, very important. Whether it’s for networking reasons or your own comradery or friendships or colleagues who you spend your time with and who you learn from is very important. And rule number one, cut out the toxicity. You cannot be around people that can’t support you or be happy for you. That’s rule number one. Rule number two is, like I said, focus and hone in on being excellent and providing excellent care and service, but know who you are. It goes back to knowing who you are. If you know who you are and you know who you want to become and build yourself up to, that’s half the battle. And comparing yourself to others does you a disservice.
(07:37):
Because there’s so many things in the world that you can compare yourself to and not just what you do, but it goes, it goes without saying, for example, eyelash extensions, or it could be a hairstylist, or it could be somebody who makes sunglasses. It could be there are a gazillion luxury designers, and they have their own voice and they have their own following, and they all have their own brand. So figure out who you are and who you wanna be and who you wanna portray, and what that image is. And people who support you and love you for who you are, that is the most important.
Dan Brian (08:16):
Absolutely. Absolutely. Now, I’m gonna ask if you don’t mind, I’m gonna invite you to step into my time machine and we’re gonna go back in time to when you were first getting out of dental school and you were embarking on your journey. And I know you ultimately decided to open your own private practice, and you had a two-location thriving pediatric dental practice which is amazing. But what were some of the initial challenges that you faced getting out of school as, you know, a dentist new in the workforce? What were some of those challenges that you faced and how did you overcome them? And what would you, you know, suggest to the next generation of dentists now as to how they can approach those challenges?
Dr. Grace Yum (08:58):
Sure. I’m old. So when I graduated, it was a different time. There was nothing really like Google and SEO, and it was just about the time when websites were just starting. And so my challenge is when I came out, and listeners are gonna have a different challenge, but to make it more relatable, I couldn’t find a space, a physical group of colleagues to connect with. And more importantly, being young at the time, 27, 28, and female, at the time, it was majority male dentists. There weren’t as many female dentists, and I wanted to learn from both. But if I went to a meeting, let’s say Chicago North Side, and I’m just making that up, but like, if I went to some kind of meeting, I would feel intimidated by all the senior doctors there.
(09:56):
And they kind of stayed in their little clique and would give advice to the younger dentists. But then the female, the women, I would say colleagues or doctors I would try to plug in with were, they would give you limited information, but then there were also boundaries in which they would have their own study clubs where they would say, oh, well, we already have a pediatric specialist, so we can’t let you in. It’s only one specialist per, or there was not enough time. Other women, you know, they were having babies and families, and they were not interested in study clubs or meetings, and there were no online chat forums. There were no, you know, DentalTown wasn’t even a thing then. Yeah. So it was very difficult to build a community where you can get peer review and study clubs going. It was very, very difficult. This is before study clubs. So I would say now it’s different for young dentists in a way. I feel that younger dentists or, and I’m not saying young as an age, I mean in experience or just coming out, I’m saying that you all have a plethora of resources. There’s no excuse. You have no excuse not to get plugged in because I wish I had all of what you have now back then.
Dan Brian (11:17):
Yeah, yeah. That’s great. I mean, beyond getting involved in the study clubs and well, joining Mommy Dentists in Business, but beyond plugging in professionally like that, you know, mentorship is such a key and important thing within dentistry, but also within, you know, any industry for that matter. How would you suggest a young dentist, and like you said, in terms of experience, not necessarily age, but how would you suggest that dentists approach identifying and then, you know, maybe asking a potential mentor for guidance and help. You know, that can be intimidating. Like you said, you know, there’s, when you get out of school in particular, you know, a lot of these senior dentists that you see, they just almost seem untouchable. How do you approach something like that?
Dr. Grace Yum (12:04):
Well, first and foremost, I think mentorship works really, really well for a younger generation dentist to be in proximity or close to an another dentist with experience, because you can go to their office, not necessarily shadow, but I mean, I always do think shadowing’s great, but having that rapport and that relationship, it has to come naturally. It needs to form organically. And I think being in physical proximity kind of helps that organic relationship. Otherwise it’s an online Facebook group or whatnot. But sometimes organizations have the new dentist programs, right? Like the ADA or maybe your state dental society might have that. I definitely think when you’re new, I would, I would start first probably by looking around in the area and then also online and attending your state dental society meetings and getting plugged in. I really think it’s important to be involved with organized dentistry. Many people are disenchanted with organized dentistry, but I think we lose the big picture. The big picture is that organized dentistry helps keep our profession protected and have a strong lobby and not deteriorate like it did for medicine. So I think it’s really important to stay involved in organized dentistry to some capacity, but also form those relationships.
Dan Brian (13:34):
For sure. And it’s important I think you know, for dentists to be advocates for themselves and the profession. And I love what you’re saying about that.
Dr. Grace Yum (13:40):
But you also, I mean, just to step in here, you know, the 20/80 rule, 20% of the population will do 80% of the work. Don’t be the 80% that does nothing. And stand by, don’t just sit there and let the other 20% take over. You complain about not having X, Y, Z. Well, where are you? What are you doing to make a difference? Don’t complain and don’t say, oh, this is happening to our profession. If you yourself aren’t a part of that change.
Dan Brian (14:10):
100%. Now, you alluded to changes within the profession, you know, in general, and certainly, you know, this is a fast-moving and ever-evolving industry. And you know, that presents, you know, some new questions and new challenges when it comes to newer dentists deciding, you know, what is the right practice model for them? Are they going to join an established practice? Are they going to start their own? Are they going to explore corporate dentistry? I mean, what would you say to a graduate just out of dental school as far as how to really determine where your niche is and where to really dig in? I mean, some people understandably don’t necessarily have that completely decided when they graduate.
Dr. Grace Yum (14:52):
I think really the best thing for you to do as a dental student is to go and observe, shadow or work — even find a part-time job. I was a dental assistant all through college and dental school. And that really helped because I got to see so many different practices. Every practice has a different personality, and every practice has a different way of doing business. And if you don’t see that, it’s like dating. If you don’t experience all these different personalities, then how are you gonna know what’s best for you? And you don’t wanna waste time and you don’t wanna make those mistakes after the fact. If you wanna be successful at a younger age, the more homework you do, and the more you are proactive about investigating and figuring it out, the faster you will be successful. Sometimes it’s luck and sometimes it’s a fluke that you land somewhere, but not all the time. You hear so many, I guess, newer doctors saying that they were in a terrible associateship, that they should have never worked there, or they’re disappointed. Well, how much time did you spend investigating your options before graduating? It’s like applying to colleges. The more time you spend and invest and figuring that out, the better fit you’ll have and the better the situation you’ll be in when it’s time to go to work.
Dan Brian (16:20):
Yeah. Now, I’m gonna put you on the spot for a moment. So, you know, we’re living in an era in which, you know, the rise of DSOs and that model is indisputable. Do you think there’s still, you know, as much room as there once was for younger dentists to start their own practice and be entrepreneurial? And what would you advise students who may be on the fence thinking that, you know, is there really space for this approach anymore? I mean, I talk with a lot of dentists through proximity and it is a concern, I think, at the top of many people’s minds. What does the industry look like to you right now? And do you think there’s still opportunity for those dentists who do want to be entrepreneurial and open their own practice?
Dr. Grace Yum (17:03):
There’s always opportunity, and I’m gonna start with this story, the brand Aesop soap. They just sold for 2 billion. It’s a soap company. How many soaps are on the market?
Dan Brian (17:19):
Yeah. True point.
Dr. Grace Yum (17:20):
Right? A gazillion. There’s no barrier to entry. There’s so many soap companies, yet they just sold out for 2 billion. My point being, who cares? It doesn’t matter. You need to create your own lane. You want something, you do it, you go after it, you make it happen. It doesn’t matter. You make your own opportunities. That is my full belief. And if you work hard and you’re good at it, you will be successful. And that’s the thing. It isn’t overnight, and you can’t sit here and be afraid and be paralyzed. And you can talk yourself out of every situation. You are hardwired to avoid risk. Dentists especially.
Dan Brian (18:04):
We’re our own worst enemy.
Dr. Grace Yum (18:05):
Our own worst enemy. So you really can’t just sit there and worry about it. If you want something, then do it. You know? And if it’s not going as well as you hope, then go get help to help you. But don’t not do something because you don’t think there’s an opportunity. There’s always opportunity. We live in a land of opportunity. Women in other countries can’t even go to school. To be a doctor is farfetched. Like ludicrous. It’s in another orbit or stratosphere. And we live in a country where women can do anything. You can do anything. So my wholehearted answer to that question of is there space for me? Of course, there’s space for you. It doesn’t matter if there’s corporate dentistry, it doesn’t matter if there’s another dentist on my street. On my side of the street alone, there were five dental practices. And we all did great. And we all helped each other.
Dan Brian (19:11):
Yeah. So true. Now, you know, as a quick follow up, a lot of dentists they come out of school, school prepares them so well clinically but we all know that most dental schools don’t offer much generally speaking in the way of preparing you to run a business. What would you suggest younger dentists out of school do to kind of hone those skills and prepare for potentially owning, or in any case, managing a practice? What would you recommend there?
Dr. Grace Yum (19:41):
I’ve thought about this a long time, Dan, and this comes up a lot everywhere I go. Every podcast, every webinar, every live event, every practice management speaker. Oh, dentists don’t learn this in dental school. You don’t learn this in dental school. And I’ve been hearing it for 20 years and I’m fed up with it. I’m fed up with it. You know, it’s an excuse. Okay. You know, okay. You know. If you listen to all these things and you go to events and you hear it over and over, then what are you gonna do about it? Just sit there and be like, oh, I didn’t get taught, so I’m not gonna know it. What are you gonna do about it?
Dan Brian (20:22):
Yeah. You have to take your own destiny into your hands.
Dr. Grace Yum (20:25):
No, but you know, listeners, listen to this. You have Google, you have Ask Google, you have Ask Alexa.
Dan Brian (20:35):
We even have ChatGPT now.
Dr. Grace Yum (20:36):
Whatever. I don’t even know what that is. But you can just easily teach yourself. My children ages eight and 10 teach themselves how to use a fricking iPad. I don’t know. Like, I didn’t teach ’em how to do it. They learned how to do it on their own. They’re eight and 10. If you really, really wanna learn something and you really, really wanna know something, you can do it on your own. You don’t even need to go to business school. I didn’t go get an MBA. I don’t need an MBA to do what I want to do. Like, so listeners, get on Amazon, audiobooks, whatever. Get your hands on every business material, how to be a leader, leadership, you know, business for dummies, whatever. Get your hands on anything and everything. And start reading and start listening and start teaching yourself because it’s not gonna be given to you on a silver platter. I’m really sorry to say that. No one’s gonna be like, here, here’s the curriculum. Here you go.
Dan Brian (21:38):
Yeah, yeah. That’s so great. Shifting gears here a little bit. You know, this is “The Dental Marketing Mix.” Obviously I run a marketing agency for dental practices. And I know you mentioned at the outset that, you know, the world looked a lot different when you started your practice. There wasn’t the emphasis on SEO, you know, search wasn’t really the thing that it is now. The internet was in its infancy. What though, you know, as you grew your practice and now as you talk with other business leaders in dentistry and other dentists in the field that are running their own practices, what are some of the key opportunities that you would suggest dentists dig into to promote their practice and generate new patients? What do you see as particularly promising right now?
Dr. Grace Yum (22:24):
Social proof. Social proof.
(22:27):
Your digital platform is your business card. And I hate to say it, social media has a time and place for everything. And it just really depends on how you use it. But everything from YouTube to TikTok, to Facebook, to Instagram, it really depends on your practice, right? So you shouldn’t do things willy nilly. Strategize with your expert marketing agency such as yourself. What is your, are you treating geriatric patients? Well, if your practice is 80% 60 and above, chances are they’re not gonna be on TikTok. You know, like, you might have to really double down on Facebook or wherever they might be. If your practice is all about celebrity, smile makeovers and young cosmetics and a lot of Invisalign, hey, the TikTok world and the Instagram world might be your jam, but it just depends on what you’re offering.
(23:21):
Like, if you’re offering a smile makeover and it’s all about pictures and images, then you need to use that to your advantage. And then also, not just social media, but LinkedIn as far as a professional platform. A lot of doctors don’t have LinkedIn, and that’s really important real estate, and not just from a patient acquisition standpoint. But as a position of setting yourself as the expert, right? You want to stand out in your community as the expert dentist. So you need to use all the modes of communication to set yourself up as the expert dentist in your community. And that means having a LinkedIn profile, because chances are your corporate patients are all on LinkedIn. Whether you are updating them on the latest CPR techniques or the techniques you’re learning, or maybe you have a new laser machine, whatever it may be, technology and procedures are always really well received, but also organic in your team. Team culture is another thing I want to emphasize.
Dan Brian (24:35):
100%
Dr. Grace Yum (24:35):
Because it’s very important. And not a lot of dentists and business owners put emphasis on the team culture. And you really need to focus on your team culture because it’s a competitive world we live in right now, I would say, versus the world I came from. Nowadays, everyone wants to be self-made and everyone wants to be their own boss. Everyone wants their own job. That’s in their control, meaning they clock in and clock out. They don’t wanna be micromanaged. If you go and look on all those social media, there are people like, oh, well you can, you know, drive Uber and turn this on and this off and do it on your own time. You can sell cosmetics and still be a mom. I gave up teaching because I can have a million-dollar business selling lipstick. Oh, I can sell hair products and I’m a student and I just paid all my tuition and I’m loan-free. You’re gonna get bombarded with that all over social media. So now where are all these people that would want a nine-to-five job? They’re not coming knocking on your door applying, that’s for sure.
Dan Brian (25:46):
Yeah. Well, recruitment is such a huge issue right now in, in oral health care. It’s so hard. I know at least here in North Carolina, I mean the shortage of dental hygienists and hygienists that have exited the field and even dental assistants, it’s just, it’s a very challenging environment right now.
Dr. Grace Yum (26:01):
It’s very challenging. It is very challenging. And so you have to treat your team well. You have to pay them well, okay? And you really need to work on team culture because the patients see it too. The patients will will see it as well. And they don’t wanna come into an environment that’s hostile. They’re already feeling scared and nervous to be there. So you want to create a warm, welcoming, loving, roll out the red carpet, I am here for you environment if you want people and patients to seek you out. What are the services? It’s a feeling. It’s an emotion. It’s not, oh, Dr. Yum can put on a crown and it is perfect because the margins are right. They don’t know.
Dan Brian (26:52):
It’s about personality.
Dr. Grace Yum (26:53):
It’s about how you receive them and how you take care of them. And the people that feel that you take care of them, they’re gonna always emotionally connect with you and they will never leave you.
Dan Brian (27:04):
Yeah. Well, we’ve talked a lot about what it means to practice dentistry and what it means to run a business. And you know, I have really enjoyed this conversation. I wanna shift gears one last time before we wrap up and talk about work-life balance. And that’s something that I know you are particularly passionate about. I know you’ve spoken on this topic, you’ve written on this topic. What would you advise younger dentists or really, quite honestly any dentist, to put into place, you know, strategies and tactics they can use to really protect their own mental health, to guard their time, to preserve that important “me” time and family time. What have you learned over the course of your career and what do you suggest to folks in Mommy Dentists in Business that they should do to safeguard that?
Dr. Grace Yum (27:49):
Dan, the answer isn’t cut and dry. Really. It isn’t. It really depends on who you are. But I’m going to share some perspective and ideas. It really depends on your personality. What one person can handle, somebody else might not be able to. So, like for me, I’m all fire. I will ski down the mountain backwards with my hair on fire and I’ll still be okay.
Dan Brian (28:11):
I would love to see that.
Dr. Grace Yum (28:11):
You know what I mean? Like, it just depends on your personality and how much you can take on. But I wanna say that one again, going back to don’t compare yourself and your life happens in seasons. Every day isn’t perfect, right? And every month isn’t perfect. Every season in your life isn’t perfect, and you have to have a little bit of ebb and flow. You can’t be so rigid, and you need to give yourself some slack, right? At work, we’re so perfect from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM or however long your workday is. As a dentist, we have to be a perfectionist. We have to perform to the hundredth degree, to the hundredth level we are on. So anything that happens outside your operatory, outside your office, you will be imperfect. And you have to be okay with that.
(29:03):
Being present, being aware, drawing boundaries, saying no, saying no to people, and not just, I’m not talking about negative and toxicity, I’m talking about tasks. If people are constantly asking me, oh, can you come to this gala? Can you come to this fundraiser? Can you come to this event or this rock and roll marathon? Can you come do the… I have FOMO too. I wanna do it all. I wanna go everywhere. And I would do everything, but I have to put some boundaries and say, I’m sorry, I can’t put this on my calendar, maybe next year. And having a little bit of that and knowing that your people who surround you like your husband or maybe your kids or whoever, who are the most important people and pillars in your life, and making sure that those connections are solid before you start giving yourself away to others.
And you have to embrace that. Are you gonna drop the ball? Yes. Are you gonna show up at your trainer on the wrong day and wrong time? Yes. Are you gonna send your kid to the birthday party with your husband on the wrong day and wrong time? Yes. Are you gonna mess up the schedule and you’re 30 minutes late to a Zoom call? Yes. Because you’re not perfect. And you can’t put that on you all that stress, because at the end of the day, all of that stress, it breaks down your body, it breaks down your cells. That’s how you get sick. Right? So yeah, balance is really what you make of it. Nobody’s perfect. But trying to achieve a healthy lifestyle, for me that’s most important. Trying to be healthy in my life and showing that to my kids, eating right, sleeping right, working out, and then turning off the phone when I need to.
(29:55):
Dan Brian (30:53):
A hundred percent. That’s so smart. You know, we’ve covered so much here today in just, you know, 30 minutes, but what would you, at the end of this conversation, want to leave with dentists, most particularly those that are just getting into the field and maybe are not quite certain about what direction their career is going to take? What would you wanna leave those folks with?
Dr. Grace Yum (31:16):
I would say if you are on the fence and you need help and advice, be careful who you get that from. You can’t listen to everyone in the peanut gallery. You have to really discern who’s giving you sound advice. And so align yourself with experts and people who know what they’re talking about. If you need marketing help, go talk to Dan. Don’t, you know, you’re not gonna call, you know, your college best friend who works in the pharma company at Pfizer, you know that doesn’t align so…
Dan Brian (31:57):
Well, there’s a lot of snake oil salesmen out there.
Dr. Grace Yum (31:59):
Well, yeah. But I’m just, yeah, exactly. So be careful who you’re getting your info, your 411 from. And be discerning and go for it. And don’t let fear hold you back. Because if you, two years from now, look back and you think, ugh, I could have done that. What was I doing? You know, that’s what I’m talking about. I’m talking about don’t wait so long out of fear, because again, you’re gonna talk yourself out of it, not being ready emotionally because something happened. Like, you know, maybe a parent passed away. That’s different, right? That’s again, that’s a different season. But just really kind of discern and don’t be so afraid and reach out to people to get help. And you need to spend money to make money. I have come to see that dentists are penny pinchers and sometimes to their detriment.
Dan Brian (32:53):
I have no comment.
Dr. Grace Yum (32:53):
It’s not helpful. Don’t do that. Please don’t pinch your pennies and don’t offend people. Okay. People don’t work for free.
Dan Brian (33:02):
What do you mean by that?
Dr. Grace Yum (33:03):
I think it’s very offensive when dentists try to get advice from other people and aren’t emotionally aware that this expert advice is something you pay for. It’s not for free. And I don’t think it’s fair, and I don’t think that it is professional. Remember, we are all professionals. How would you feel if someone always constantly stopped you asking for teeth advice. Your time is your time. Their time is their time. Respect other people’s time. An hour is an hour. So if you want help and you want professional help, then pay for it, but don’t expect it for free.
Dan Brian (33:42):
Yeah, absolutely. Well, so many good takeaways here. And the one thing that you know, I’m really struck by that you’ve dug into in so many ways today is, you know, the importance of just taking that first step and taking that leap and, you know, there are so many opportunities in dentistry and any field for that matter where, you know, we’re not ready. And, you know, at some point you just have to go for it. You just have to take that first step and go for it. And I love your advice on really just seizing that opportunity and moving forward. So Dr. Yum, I cannot thank you enough for being on this first episode with us today. And I sincerely hope that I’ll be able to have you back on sometime in the future. If you’ll have it.
Dr. Grace Yum (34:24):
My gosh, I’d love it. I’d love to be back, but thank you for having me. And, you know, awesome. I’m sure that your listeners, I’m a mom, so I’m all about the tough love and I am a tiger mom. Yeah. My poor kids. And it’s sometimes about tough love, and you may not want to hear it, but someone’s gotta say it, someone’s gotta tell you. But it all comes from a place of love, and that’s what’s really important.
Dan Brian (34:48):
So, before we wrap up — Mommy Dentists in Business. What can you tell our listeners about that and how do people get involved if they’re interested?
Dr. Grace Yum (34:57):
Mommy Dentists in Business is an online, private Facebook group. And we’re happy to have anyone that fits the bill. Technically, when I started five years ago, you had to have to be a practice owner, but we saw that many practice owners would sell and then become associates, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t have value. So the “in business” part is in loose terms, but you have to be a mother and someone needs to call you mom and you need to be a dentist. So those are the two qualifiers that we require in order for you to join.
Dan Brian (35:36):
Cool. That’s awesome. And where do folks go to find out more or sign up?
Dr. Grace Yum (35:40):
You can find us everywhere. Facebook and Instagram particularly. Those are our two most used channels.
Dan Brian (35:49):
Okay. Cool. Well, thank you so much, Dr. Yum. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it and how much I’ve enjoyed this conversation. And again, to our listeners, this is episode number one. I hope you’ll join us again. And I hope, Dr. Yum, you’ll join us again. And I just can’t thank you enough. Thank you.
PROMO (36:08):
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