THE MILLIONAIRE DENTIST PODCAST

EPISODE 12 TRANSCRIPTION

Announcer:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Millionaire Dentist podcast, brought to you by Four Quadrants Advisory. On this podcast, we break down the world of dentistry, finances, and business practices to help you become the millionaire dentist you deserve to be. Please be advised, we do speak with an honest tongue and may not be safe for work. Now here's your host, Alan Berry.

Alan Berry:

Welcome back to another episode of The Millionaire Dentist podcast. Today we're going to talk about all things Yankee Dental Congress Convention, going on from January 24th through the 28th at the Boston Convention Center. To help us discuss this topic is our very own national sales director, Casey Hiers. Thanks for coming by, Casey.

Casey Hiers:

Thanks, Alan. Good to be here.

Alan Berry:

And via cell phone, we have a very, very special guest: the general chair for the Yankee Dental Congress, Dr. Traci Portnoff. Welcome to the show, Traci.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Thank you, Alan.

Alan Berry:

So Traci, tell me a little bit about yourself and how you became the general chair for the Yankee Dental Congress.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

I am a general dentist, and I'm a volunteer for the Yankee Dental Congress. It's really easy to volunteer for Yankee. There's really a lot of opportunities to get involved, and whether you have an hour to give or an hour a week, there's a lot of opportunities. And I got started really just doing that. I was a ticket taker, I was a room coordinator, a ticket taker for classes, and I noticed that the more I became involved, the more I really enjoyed meeting the other people who were involved, so I began to network and ask for more responsibility. And it's like anything else: The more you put into something, the more you get out of it. As I became more involved in planning of the courses through the program committee, I grew to really enjoy not only the work that we're doing, but there's a lot of great people involved, and it's really just become a great network of people, and really, a family for me.

Alan Berry:

You said at the beginning that you volunteer for all this, so it must be a great thing to be a part of, to volunteer this much time. How much time do you got to put into this?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

That's a good question. For myself, it's really not too bad. We are currently planning our 2020 congress, so I would say two-and-a-half years ago, we started for 2018. And at that point, it was really just maybe a monthly meeting, maybe two hours a month. I will tell you that there's a really strong support network. There is a lot of staff, people at the Mass. Dental Society that are the backbone of this program, so there's a lot of dental volunteers. We have hundreds of dental volunteers that do all different aspects throughout, and that's made Yankee Dental huge. But it's the paid staff people that really do the grunt work. But certainly during weekend of Yankee, we're all hands on deck. So I would say my feet are going to hurt that week, and we'll be tired, but it will be a lot of fun.

Alan Berry:

It's probably a good hurt, though. You know you've accomplished something.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Yeah, I don't know. You know, the blisters on your feet.

Alan Berry:

Oh, I couldn't imagine what your phone says at the end of the day of how many steps you take. Like last year, do you remember how many steps you took?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

I think I was doing nearly 20,000 a day.

Alan Berry:

Wow. That's a good workout. You need some calories. I'm sure you take care of your volunteers and throw them out some prizes or whatever. Maybe there could be a big prize for whoever has the most steps taken.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Whoever most steps taken. There you go. That's a good one.

Alan Berry:

In preparation for this podcast, I was talking to some people around the office, and they were telling me that a lot of dentists talk about that the Yankee Dental Congress is one of the top dental conventions in the nation. What do you think separates Yankee from... Because there are a lot of dental conventions out there. What do you think separates you guys?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

First of all, our city is great. The city is a great draw. Of course, we have to do more than just offer you the city, because how can you convince people to come here in the middle of January? I would say we have about four groups of people that we need to keep happy. We need to keep our exhibitors happy, our world-renowned speakers, our attendees, and also our volunteers. We take the feedback each year to heart and make changes in our programming to reflect current trends and what people really want to hear, and we'll also make room for last-minute updates. If there's a change in licensure requirements, something like that, we'll be able to add that on, because like I told you, we're planning two years in advance, so it's hard to know what the current trends are going to be, so we leave time for that swing. But I would also say Yankee Dental's a big social event. A lot of people are connecting with colleagues, making new friends, meeting up with old friends. Really, where else can you meet up with 27,000 of your closest dental friends?

Alan Berry:

You guys are expecting 27,000 people?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Correct.

Alan Berry:

Wow. That must be a huge boost for the city as well. I mean, that's something that the city leaders must really love: the opportunity to take care of all these people that are coming in.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Yes, and the Wednesday before the kickoff convention that we do, the city of Boston does a welcome event for Yankee and thanking us for being present. So yeah, it's a big group, and bringing 27,000 people into the city in the middle of January, that's not too shabby.

Alan Berry:

No, that's pretty impressive. I know you can't tell us everything that's going on there coming up, but give us an idea of what people could expect.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

So I'll tell you, we're proud to host over 300 courses. We've got outstanding speakers from all over the country, and each year we try to outdo the previous year, and we've been very lucky by taking good care of our speakers and giving them great audiences. So we have lectures, we have workshops, we have hands-on classes, and we have a lot of social and cultural events as well.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Another trend that we noticed this year is, a lot of our vendors, in addition to just wanting to sell their merchandise, they've taken an interest in sponsoring and providing their own educational courses. So we've partnered up this year with Henry Schein, with Dentsply Sirona, with KaVo Kerr and Planmeca, and we are co-sponsoring half an educational day in our ballroom upstairs. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out, because I think that it will be a win-win all around with some great speakers, great opportunities for people.

Alan Berry:

You said something about you guys offer a lot of CE classes. That's correct, right? This is a couple hundred. Is that right?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Over 300.

Alan Berry:

Right, and dentists have to get these CE courses every year, so this is very convenient for them to do it while they're there.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Oh, it's not just dentists that are required to get CE. At least in Massachusetts, or in all states, hygienists are also required to get CE, and also, dental assistants are required to get continuing education every year, so they're required classes we offer here every year. And it's a great opportunity for... I know even for myself, I bring my whole office team, and everyone takes courses to learn and then comes back to the office to teach each other. So there's something for everyone.

Alan Berry:

Well, speaking of CE classes, I actually know someone that's going to be presenting there. I think this is a good time to bring in Casey on this. Casey, you're scheduled to present some CE. What will you be talking about?

Casey Hiers:

Well, that's right, Alan. My presentation is going to be about what they don't teach you in dental school. This course is going to address the number one challenge in dentistry today, which is the business side of dentistry for dental owners.

Alan Berry:

Now, I know you're out of the office quite a bit. Sometimes it's for golfing, but other times it's for work, traveling around the country. And I know you present to a lot of dentists. What are some of the things that they're asking for? What are they asking about?

Casey Hiers:

Well, regarding the golfing, I'm going to leave my clubs behind when I head to Boston at the end of the month, only because it's cold.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

No, you don't need them. You won't need them. Unless [crosstalk 00:07:11] could chop the ice.

Casey Hiers:

But really, Alan, the number one question that I'm asked when I travel around the country and speak is: How can I know if I'm maximizing the profitability of my practice? More dentists than I can count, they tell me that their income just doesn't reflect all of the hard work that they're putting into their practice.

Alan Berry:

What do you attribute that to?

Casey Hiers:

Well, Alan, that's what I'm going to be discussing at the continuing education course at the Yankee Dental Congress. But poor cash flow is a big part of it. And to put it into clinical terms, an acute issue that dentists face is being told by their CPA that they owe a $40,000 tax surprise. A chronic issue that we see a lot is something more like an insurance challenge, but there are many, many more that I'm going to address that ultimately affect the dentist's income, retirement savings, and overall net worth.

Alan Berry:

All right, Casey. Let's give you a plug. So if someone is in our audience, and they want to hear more, where will they be able to see you present this course?

Casey Hiers:

So I'm going to be giving my continuing education presentation on Thursday, January 25th. It starts at 10 a.m., and we'll go to around noon. So go to the Yankee Dental Congress website or their app and register now. My course number is 212TL, and you can search "Four Quadrants Advisory how to succeed in business." Now, the actual course, once you register, it will be on the exhibit floor, Classroom I, BCEC, and that's just right next to the Dental Office Pavilion, just near the food court. I'll also be at booth number 2416, talking to dentists during the entire conference.

Alan Berry:

Don't worry about writing that down if you didn't have a pencil. I will put that in the podcast show notes, and you'll know exactly where to go to find Casey.

Alan Berry:

I know you go to a lot of these conventions, and this is probably... Would you say this is the biggest one that you're going to?

Casey Hiers:

This is one of the biggest ones, and I'm really excited and looking forward to seeing it, because the reputation of this convention and conferences is so high. You know, Traci touched on it earlier: To get 27,000 people to voluntarily go to Boston at the end of January is no small feat. And so it's a real testament to the type of conference that's there, the caliber of people, the level of opportunities with continuing education, the fun networking, and social opportunities in the evening. So really, it's a combination of all those things that's really going to be a big draw and an exciting time. So really, really looking forward to it.

Alan Berry:

Traci, you touched on a couple things that are going on at the Yankee Dental Congress. Is there anything personally that you're looking forward to?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Well, yes. After I take Casey's class, I'm excited-

Alan Berry:

Nice. Good plug.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Yeah. Well, you know, as I'm listening, saying, "Yeah, they didn't teach us this in dental school." As a business owner, it sounds like a good thing we should all listen to. But really, as much as Yankee is such a great opportunity for continuing education, really, I'm looking forward to connecting with colleagues and the social events that are going on. A lot of the dental schools have gatherings, the hygiene schools have gatherings, and we have our big Thursday night boardwalk party. So it's a big party. It's a lot of fun.

Alan Berry:

Talking about Boston, do you have any travel tips for people that are coming out of state? Maybe they don't know their way around. Is there any must-sees? Because come on: They want to go to the convention, but while they're in a great city like Boston, I'm sure there's some must-sees. What insight can you give us on that?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Well, first thing I'll tell you is, it's very easy to get around. The airport's very close to the convention center, and so you can take the train right to the Seaport. Public transportation's very, very easy. If you do choose to drive, it's actually really easy at the convention center as well. And there's a lot of local hotel [inaudible 00:10:50] lot of different rooms and different price points, and there's shuttles from all of the rooms. So don't let the weather frighten you from coming to Boston, because we will get you covered. Unfortunately, with the snow, some of our Boston history is a little bit tougher. Even if you look in the Yankee program book, we do offer some local tourism and fun things to do around the city.

Casey Hiers:

All of the planning and the preparation is evident, because the program books and the communications that I've received as an exhibitor, it's really fantastic. They've really spoon-fed to us every aspect of this trip and all of the different places to eat or enjoy socially, so they've done a really nice job spoon-feeding all of the attendees.

Alan Berry:

I would recommend to everybody to look at the program guide, because there's lots of information in there. Now, I may be showing my age, but is there an actual Cheers from the Cheers TV show? Wasn't that in Boston?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Yeah.

Alan Berry:

So is there an actual Cheers?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Of course.

Alan Berry:

Oh, there is?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

A good place to go. Yes, there is, but the actual restaurant is there, the Bull & Finch Pub, and it's right on the Boston Common. That's a good idea. If you haven't seen it, it's a good photo opportunity to take outside. But don't be alarmed. They have great burgers inside, but it doesn't look the same inside. But the photo opportunity outside is worth it.

Alan Berry:

What should a dentist do if he or she wants to sign up? I'm imagining that a lot of people are already signed up, and they do this year after year after year. They always find great things at the convention. But maybe somebody that's new to the area or not in the area, but wants to attend: What should they do to find out more information?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

I think the best thing you can do is to go to our website, yankeedental.com. And from there, even if you wanted to volunteer for an hour, there's a link right on that website to volunteer, but also all of your courses, and you can search it. It's a very easy website, and you can also download the app. If you go onto your app store on your phone or your iPad or your Android, and Yankee Dental will come up. The app is very easy to use. But as far as signing up for courses, I would go to yankeedental.com.

Alan Berry:

Yeah, it looks like you guys are all in with technology. I checked out the app. It's very cool. Is this the first year with the app, or have you guys been doing that for a couple of years?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Yeah, we've been doing it for a few years, but we do try to encourage a lot of our attendees to download it. For some reason, people still really like the book, but I'll tell you, the app is really easy to use. And this year, we're doing a prize pursuit. So for all participants who do download the app, you can win a $500 American Express gift card each day, and there's also lots of other prizes that we'll be giving out just for downloading the app and following scavenger hunts throughout the floor. But there's a lot of prizes, so we wanted to make it fun.

Alan Berry:

Wait a minute. So you guys have games, too? There's games going on, along with learning and finding new products? You've got games going that you can get a prize for?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Just for downloading the app. You can get it [inaudible 00:13:34] just for downloading the app.

Alan Berry:

Since you guys are into technology, and you've got the app, I've got to believe that you have some type of hashtag for social media, for the people on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. What are you guys telling people to use as a hashtag?

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Of course it's #YankeeDental.

Alan Berry:

Oh. I should have guessed that one, right? Traci, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

Dr. Traci Portnoff:

Thank you for having me, Alan.

Alan Berry:

And Casey, thank you for coming by. You can go back to your office now.

Casey Hiers:

I enjoyed it. Thank you.

Announcer:

That's all the time we have today. Thank you to our guests for their insight and for sharing some really great information. And thank you to you, the listener, for tuning in. The Millionaire Dentist podcast is brought to you by Four Quadrants Advisory. To see if they might be a good fit for you and your practice, go on over to fourquadrantsadvisory.com and see why, year after year, they retain over 95 percent of their clients. Thank you again for joining us, and we'll see you next time.