The Making of a Dental Startup

The Making of Smile & Co. – Episode 1

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Show Notes


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Dr. Ashley Joves is building her own dental practice, SMILE & CO., from scratch. For weeks she has been recording and publicly broadcasting her experience all over the internet. The journey has been difficult, rewarding, and revolutionary all at once. Although the path has been tough so far, she is determined to create the startup of her dreams. Join Dr. Ashley Joves and Michael Arias as they document the whole entire process of creating a dental practice, the areas to watch out for, and the emotional connotations of being a female entrepreneur.


Time-Stamped Show Notes


  • [0:40] ��� Michael reminds us about Ashley Joves and her departure from working as an associate to creating her dream practice from scratch.
  • [01:43] ��� Ashley describes what has happened since episode 58. Her permits were accepted while she was attending a dental convention in Vegas.
  • [3:25] ��� Ashley discusses Dave Olsen, her wonderful contractor, in addition to how she found a contractor and how she began the processes of building her own practice.
  • [4:10] ��� The life of a contractor: With information found on chron.com, Michael explains how contractors bid for jobs. The process involves investigating the project, pricing out materials, comparing the project with past work, working out licensing and other factors, and presenting the resulting estimate to the potential client.
  • [06:50] ��� Check out markupandprofit.com to calculate how much you should pay for a contractor. Michael suggests that you shouldn't go cheap or choose contractors based on price.
  • [8:33] ��� Ashley describes her building and some pricing factors involved in building her practice.
  • [10:32] ��� ���Every day,�� Ashley responded when asked whether she questions the scope of what she's doing.
  • [12:30] ��� ���A lot of the time, you don't what kind of patient base you're getting.�� There's definitely a lot of risk involved in startups.
  • [13:10] ��� Learn about how Ashley found her dream building!
  • [15:00] ��� #DoYourResearch: Cole Sweatt, Ashley's real estate broker from tricommercial, has fantastic experience and skills. His client list and affiliations are also impressive. Always research before you hire!

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