Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life from an Orthodontic Business Consultant

An Interview with Michelle Shimmin, with Mike Gusching with The Moment.

1. What advice would you give your younger self entering this industry?

   I always wanted to be a counselor, and my background is actually in psychology. However, in college, I got married, had a family, and started in orthodontics.And I see a lot of success in merging those two industries. There is tremendous psychology behind the ability to influence people and effectively communicate with them, and I truly feel that it's an intrinsic talent I have.   I don't think there's a secret sauce to the business of orthodontics. I think there is a secret sauce to the business of people. I started my firm 13 years ago. I did have a passion for people, and I knew that I wanted to go in that direction. The business of orthodontics made sense to me. If I could give myself advice back then, I would really be my true, authentic self, know who I am and what I want or what I want to represent, and not feel as though I had to follow a trajectory that anybody else had already done or had been doing. People can look around and see what others have done that might be successful and say, "I need to do that so I can be successful."  

   Just be yourself. I have core values of integrity, authenticity, and humility. And that's what I hope that I can always bring. I know I'm an expert in this industry. I know people. And if I can partner that with integrity and humility, I feel that's a win, and hopefully, I can continue to be successful with that recipe.

2. What book, or books, do you give most as a gift?

   We all can be effective leaders through practice, so that's something I'm always very passionate about. I want to inspire passion and train on influence. So, the book that I am really excited about is John Maxwell's The Five Levels of Leadership. It’s practical and applicable to a wide range of leadership roles, from new managers to seasoned managers to orthodontists. The hardest part for orthodontists, business owners, or even those in operations management or management positions is to recognize that there is always room for improvement. We always recommend this book, but it's a matter of whether they feel the need or desire to read it.  

   
   

3. What’s the best value for under $100 to spend at a practice?

   Customized thank you cards. Have each team member write a personalized handwritten thank you card for one patient a day. I think it's even more powerful today than it ever was. Nobody mails anything, nobody types mail, but to have a patient, a parent, or a sibling as a family member to really be able to receive a handwritten note? It goes a long way in showing patients that we've thought about them and care.

   Our actions reflect what so often are our words, whether on our website or in our letters.

4. You get to put up a billboard that everyone will see on their way to work; what’s on it?

   Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life: What Are YOU Grateful for Today?

    I'm going to share a personal story with you. One time, I was going into practice, and each morning, in the morning huddle, they all went around and said what they were grateful for. I didn't know they were going to be doing that – and the next day, on my way to the office, you better believe I was thinking—okay, what will my answer be today? What am I going to say that I'm thankful for? It shifted how I think for the day. And it turns what we have enough, if not more.

   It's about shifting our daily thoughts and focus to what we have rather than what we lack or, currently, what might be challenging.  It aligns with what I think and strongly feel about the importance of our words in life and communication.

5. What is the best investment you made in this industry?

   My team. I can't do it alone. I know it sounds cliché, but I truly cannot do it without them.

   With the number of clients we have, the number of events, interviews, articles, and just what it is for our message and our training to get out there, I cannot do it without my remarkable team members. Building my team and investing in my team of experts so that they feel empowered and understand their value not only to our firm but also to our clients is the best investment that I hope I can continue to make.   Again, there is no secret sauce to the business of orthodontics.  The secret sauce is people. That's something that I feel very passionate about, and I will always give credit to them for how I got to where I am today.

6. Last year was hard for orthodontic growth; when should a practice consider a consultant, and what can we encourage practices to do today?

   Yes, 2024 was a terrible year for growth in general. Some did great, but most did flat; if not, they declined. The first thing I advise, which is probably the easiest and least expensive effort to make in growing the business, is to understand what's going on with the practice financials.   That is typically a massive hole in our industry.  Are we starting the patients already coming through your door? Do we understand your current processes, whether it's your growth and development patients, or is that a leaky bucket? Whether it's your conversion or your financials, are you collecting all the money that’s owed to you?

   I had a meeting last week with my team, and it is still shocking how many doctors don't understand what's happening with the financials. They see the amount being deposited into the banks and the collection. But they don't truly understand what's being left on the table.   That’s usually one of the easiest ways an outside consultant can immediately bring value to practice.

   Last year was the year of “the cautious consumer.” Every business experienced it.

   This year, assess your business, determine what you're currently doing, assess every part of it, get it solid, and get it strong to support the growth coming in 2025. There is probably nothing more valuable to your business than having somebody look at your practice and help identify areas of opportunity.

7. What new beliefs have you adopted in the industry?

   The sky is not falling. I am very driven and committed, which can be a strength … and has proven to be a tremendous fault. 

   Nearly three years ago, after spending a decade building my business and our clients' business well, I didn't feel like I just had one business. I take ownership and feel like I have all our businesses and all of our clients at any given time.  I had a medical emergency that was very scary and caused me to understand what my doctor had been saying to me: you've got to change your lifestyle. You are going to have a stroke, and your level of stress is affecting you physically.   I realized that the sky is not falling today, not only with what I was doing but also with helping orthodontists with that message.

   Data and information can arm us with the understanding that our current path or trajectory needs to shift a bit to get different results.

   But today, the sky is not falling. 

   I'll get a text message in the middle of the night saying I only have 12 exams this month, and I’m halfway through the month, and I would always take such personal ownership of that that I felt that the weight of that sky is falling mentality took its toll on me. So that's what I learned – let's be strategic, not reactive, take the data, and understand how to adjust and pivot to get a different result.  That’s where we can have success.

8.  What’s one thing that is so intuitive to you yet the hardest to convey?

   There’s a great book in business, the Six Types of Working Geniuses.  I feel that a practice that has people on their team, encompassing those six working geniuses, can have great creativity and come up with thoughts and ideas about changes in the practice. The team can have the intuition to know if something's going to work or not and then have the implementation to bring it to fruition and look at the metrics. If I have a team entirely of creative minds, but we're not strong in areas of implementation, we're going to come up with all these great ideas and do a lot of dabbling, which is the most expensive place to live in business. It's costly and painful to look at what another practice is doing and say, well, I have to try that here without a strategy. Let’s make sure that whatever we are doing in our practice aligns with our values and mission statement. All of that creates successful practice. Let’s work backward to build the foundation for why we want to change and what's in our practice. Then, let’s get our team on board and get them on their way. Too often, we say, “I'm going to try it out”; to dabble in something is painful for your team; it doesn't work; it's expensive; and it's the most difficult space to live in.

9. Let’s say you visit a practice; you can’t leave until they do this one thing…? 

   I need the team’s buy-in. 

   Buy-in to me and to what our true partnership looks like.   Our industry has a reputation as a consultant who is a “Dictator of Change.” That’s the reputation.  The initial pushback is fear and concern, and the barriers are so high.  We get zero results out of this.

   But if I don’t get every single person’s buy-in, we won’t get the results.  I want each team member to feel that I know them, feel them, and that I’ve lived in their shoes.  I’m a resource coming alongside them.  I’m not a dictator of change. Because that gets shallow results, if any. 

10. What’s your advice for anyone in the industry over the next year?

    Don't be afraid. The sky is the limit. Think about if you had a magic wand. What would you want in three to five years? Fear and insecurity can paralyze us. This sounds corny, but fear can paralyze us from becoming our best selves. You will run up against people who don't want you to succeed. You're going to run up against people who, out of their own insecurity, want you to fail and don't want you to feel successful or don't want you to feel secure. So don't be afraid; don't let fear paralyze you from getting outside your comfort level and reaching out to people. 

    Surround yourself with people doing what you want to do and learn from them.

    Glean from every resource and possible way to become the best you. Take it from us... your official Orthodontic Business Consultant.