- Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Ans: Our school is designed to give potential students an opportunity to pursue a new career by taking classes every Saturday over a 10-week period. This allows the student to work a full-time job during the week and still earn a living while going to school. The school is located in St John’s County right off CR-210 just a ½ mile from I-95.
- Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
Ans: I have committed myself to excellence in dentistry as a student, practitioner, and industry leader. I earned my dental degree from the University of Oklahoma, after earning my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton. I have served as president of the Jacksonville Dental Society and the Florida Academy of General Dentistry, as well as serving as a Board members on these organizations over the years. I am an active member of the Florida Academy of General Dentistry, Florida Dental Association, Jacksonville Dental Society, and Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.
- I am also committed to lifelong learning in order to provide you the best that modern dentistry has to offer. I have advanced training in root canals, one-visit crowns, dental implants, oral sedation, invisible braces and laser dentistry. This allows me to offer you comfortable, fast transformation to the smile of your dreams.
- I stay active in the community by educating children at local elementary schools about their dental health, and I also have participated in Give Kids A Smile, where I provide free dental care and education to the underserved. I also coordinate a Halloween Candy Buy-Back program, giving trick-or-treaters a dollar per pound for extra candy. This candy is then mailed to our troops overseas.
- What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
Ans: The dental office was using the facility Mon-Fri. It seemed practical to use facility on a Saturday as well. Also, it is hard to find good dental assistants, so why not teach them the way I want to.
- What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Ans: 1) Work hard; 2) Believe in yourself; 3) Be nice to people
- What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: 1) Strong work ethic; 2) Great communication skills; 3) Ability to be likeable
- How many hours do you work a day on average?
Ans: 10
- To what do you most attribute your success?
Ans: Hard work and improving communication skills
- How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Ans: Word of mouth and social media
- Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Ans: Working capital came from Bartram Dental Center 😊
- What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Ans: Treat people well, hard work and stay under budget!
- Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Ans: I see BDAS in a larger facility that can hold 15-20 students per session.
- Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Ans: Design Extensions 😊
- How important have good employees been to your success?
Ans: Probably top 3 on my list as what is secret to my success.
- How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Ans: 1 month
- What motivates you?
- Ans: Challenges
- What are your ideals?
Ans: Creating raving fans for my business
- How do you generate new ideas?
Ans: Read and ask other successful people
- How do you define success?
Ans: Healthy, happy and great relationships with people in my life
- How do you build a successful customer base?
Ans: Integrity, positive attitude, caring
- What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Ans: I have control of my destiny and future
- What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Ans: Changing someone’s lifethru the work I do (smile makeover)
- What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ans: Entrepreneurs embrace change more often than those who work for someone else. Entrepreneurs never want to become complacent in what they do
- What kind of culture exists in your organization? How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture?
- Ans: Positive attitude (no negative vampires) and having respect for each other. I want to practice what I preach.
- In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.
- Ans: Rewarding
- If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Ans: Take the Dale Carnegie training early in my career
- How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Ans: It has provided a nice living for my family without being away from my family that often.
- What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
- Ans: Complacency
- How did you decide on the location for your business?
- Ans: Researched the area we wanted to live
- Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
- Ans: Goal setting, ambition and hard work
- If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Ans: Steve Jobs. I would want to ask him what his challenges were incorporating his ideas.
- Who has been your greatest inspiration?
- Ans: My wife
- What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
- Ans: The Energy Bus
- What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Ans: Lack of communication with people/patients/team members
- How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
- Ans: More Communication
- What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
- Ans: Spend time with family, play golf and basketball, Crossfit
- What makes you happy?
Ans: My family
- What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?
Ans: Taking out lots of loans and going into a lot of debt
