The Making of a Dental Startup

The Making Of Smile & Co., The Art of the Yes Part 2: Presenting Treatment, the Buying Equation, and the SMILE FrameworkAshley and Collin pick up the communication series with the second half of Ashley’s team presentation. This time it’s about what happens once the patient is in the chair: how to present treatment, what a patient is calculating while you talk, and a five-step framework for case presentation.What You’ll Hear in This Episode:The Psychology of Saying Yes Ashley shares the story behind her mantra that everyone deserves the chance to say yes to the best. Why she believes assuming what a patient can afford is a disservice, and why it so often comes down to our own bias about what “expensive” means.How to Present Your Options Ashley walks through how she lays out treatment choices, from doing nothing to the gold standard, and why the order matters.The Buying Equation What every patient is quietly calculating while you talk:Outcome × Certainty − (Price + Risk)How raising the outcome and the certainty can outweigh the price and the risk.Selling the Invisible Why Ashley doesn’t use the word “small” with patients, why she explains the problem before the solution, and how photos, scans, and AI tools help patients see what they can’t feel. Collin and Ashley also talk about the case acceptance numbers they heard at a recent CE course.Patients Want a Transformation, Not Dentistry How Ashley opens her new patient exams, the one-to-ten smile question, and why she asks before she lays anyone back.The SMILE Framework Ashley’s five steps for case presentation: Set the stage, Make it clear, Illustrate it, Lay out the investment, and Enroll. She also talks about why silence is the hardest and most important part.Profit and Purpose Why Ashley doesn’t want this series to feel like it’s only about selling, and how strong communication makes room to be generous with your patients, your team, and your community.What’s Coming Next A part three on how the whole team supports the patient conversation. Ashley and Collin also plan to cover objections and the role-playing exercises from the presentation, and to share more of the slides.Where to Find AshleyInstagram: @ashleyjovesdds, @smileandcompany, @themaking.ofFacebook Community: The Making Of a Dental StartupThank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8: Dentistry’s story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.CallSally: AI front office support that answers your practice’s calls, including after hours. start.callsally.ai/tmoSupport the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Wellness Starts With We: A Message to Our Profession About Mental Health in DentistryIf you’re in a dark place right now, or having thoughts of suicide, please pause this episode and call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.This episode is heavy. If you’re driving, you may want to save it for later.Why Ashley Is Sharing This Now In the last three weeks, our profession lost two dentists to suicide. Ashley chose not to name them out of respect for their families, and she couldn’t record another episode as if nothing had happened.A Letter to Brian Ashley shares a letter she wrote to her husband, Brian, and read on stage exactly as she wrote it. It’s about cancer, guilt, faith, and looking fine on the outside while falling apart in the car. She left in the references to slides so you hear it the way it really happened.Four Things Ashley Asks of You After the letter, Ashley shares four things, friend to friend.If you’re struggling, tell someone today. Tell a spouse, a friend, a therapist, a pastor, or a colleague, and do it right after this episode. If you’re having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988.Be the call. Reach out to the strong ones who always seem fine. You don’t need perfect words, and it’s okay to ask directly. If the answer is yes, stay with them and call or text 988 together.Redefine what a high performer is. Your worth is not your production, your follower count, or your margins. The highest performing thing you can do is take care of the person doing the work.Don’t do this alone. If you don’t have your people yet, borrow Ashley’s. The Making Of Facebook community is almost 20,000 people in this profession who will pray for you, cheer for you, and tell you the truth.One More Thing Think of one name, someone who came to mind while you were listening. Before your next patient or before you start the car, send them a text. It can be four words: “Thinking of you. Coffee?”If You Need Support Right Now Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.Where to Find Ashley Instagram: @ashleyjovesdds, @themaking.of Facebook Community: The Making Of a Dental StartupSupport the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Dental Startup Ask Me Anything: Insurance, Virtual Assistants, Staffing, and Build RegretsAshley and Collin work through questions from The Making Of community, then get into the build regrets Ashley would fix in her Folsom and Roseville offices.What You’ll Hear in This Episode:Learning Dental Insurance How did Ashley learn insurance, and where can you start if you’re still figuring it out?Virtual Assistants Are virtual assistants worth it for a dental practice? Ashley shares what Smile & Co. considered and what she’d use them for.Staffing a Startup and Using AI for Admin Work Who should you hire first, and where does AI fit into the front office?Whitening Which in-office and at-home whitening systems does Smile & Co. use, and what else is worth a look?Handling an Unprofessional Team Member Early On What do you do when you can’t afford to lose someone but they’re not the right fit? Ashley talks through when to coach and when to let go.Nitrous, Parking, and Build Budgets Should you plumb every op for nitrous? How many parking spaces do you really need? And what do you do when the build runs over budget?Ashley’s Build Regrets Flooring, furniture, a missing laundry room, storage, outlets, and checkout privacy. Ashley shares what she’d do differently, and one regret about running two offices that might surprise you.Protect Your Peace A hard week for Ashley’s team and her reminder to anyone feeling burnt out.What’s Next Part two of the regrets from the community is coming. Send in your own questions and regrets for future episodes.Where to Find Ashley Instagram: @ashleyjovesdds, @smileandcompany, @themaking.of Facebook Community: The Making Of a Dental StartupThank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8: Dentistry’s story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.CallSally: AI front office support that answers your practice’s calls, including after hours. start.callsally.ai/tmoSupport the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Dr. Nate Jeal and Dr. Bao-Tran Nguyen have opened seven dental practices, and on their newest build, the only original hire still on the team after 13 months is their AI agent, Sally. In this episode, Ashley talks with them about designing The Smile Formula after six previous practices, why they make team decisions faster now, and how Sally went from answering after-hours calls to texting new leads and verifying insurance. Nate also shares a simple formula for calculating what every missed call costs a practice.In this episode: ✅ How they found and expanded their Vancouver space ✅ The front desk and waiting room non-negotiables behind The Smile Formula ✅ Why six original hires turned over and what experience taught them about fit ✅ How to choose AI tools your team will actually use ✅ The missed call math every practice owner should run ✅ How Sally responds to Meta, website, and CRM leads instantly by text ✅ How to build and test your own AI agent in about ten minutesA Seventh Practice and a Second Space Nate and BT were dental school classmates in Winnipeg, where they built and bought practices before selling them during COVID and moving to Vancouver. After a few years focused on coaching and consulting, they opened The Smile Formula at the end of May 2025. Midway through permitting, the space next door became available, so they took it and went back to the drawing board on the design.Non-Negotiables from Six Previous Practices BT wanted a small front desk that seats one person at an elevated counter, so patients check in at eye level, inspired by the hotel check-in experience in Las Vegas. She also kept the waiting area small, because patients are seated on time. Nate built the practice around elective and cosmetic dentistry in a mostly non-insurance model, which has attracted a consistent patient avatar.Six Hires, One Left They opened with six team members and 13 months later, the only original employee still there is Sally. BT shares that after 15 years, they no longer give someone three chances when it isn't a fit. Their advice: expect the unexpected, and keep your sense of humor.Choosing AI Your Team Will Use Dentists tend to bring new tools home from a conference and hand them to the team. BT recommends picking the three or four things AI can do right now that save your team time, then letting the team tell you what they need instead of the other way around.Building Sally Nate started building Sally more than a year before The Smile Formula opened, applying what they teach about case acceptance and communication. She was answering calls a month and a half before opening day. She's built to be empathetic, confident, and clear on the next step, and to steer a wandering conversation back toward booking.The Missed Call Math To find the value of an average patient, divide your total annual revenue by the number of unique patients seen that year. Across the roughly 300 practices Sally works with, that number lands between $1,000 and $1,200, and about half of missed calls are new patients. One mid-sized DSO group dropped its missed call rate from 25% to 3% after adding Sally.Instant Response to Every Lead Sally now texts new leads from Meta, website forms, and the CRM the moment they come in. Since the feature launched at the end of August, Sally has booked more than 40 patients by text at The Smile Formula in August and September alone. Nate admits he used to tell his team that texting patients was unprofessional, and he was wrong.Insurance and the Human Touch Sally can also verify insurance, so teams can present treatment with the breakdown in hand instead of calling patients back weeks later. Even when Sally books the appointment, BT coaches every office to have a team member call and welcome the new patient to the practice.Try Sally for Yourself Through the new Agent Builder, any dentist can build a custom AI agent in about ten minutes by answering questions in a chat, then have it call them to test the experience. Listeners get seven days and 100 minutes to try it.Links: Try Sally: start.callsally.ai/tmo Use code TMO at checkout for $339, a rate available only to The Making Of community and the lowest price anywhere. Call Sally For More Patients.Connect:Dr. Bt Nguyen - @dr.baotran Dr. Nate Jeal - @drnatejealCallSally - @callsally.aiSupport the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

What's Happening Behind the Scenes: A Life Update from Ashley and CollinAshley and Collin skip the business talk for a catch-up on what life has looked like behind the podcast lately, from Ashley's return to full-time dentistry to the habits both of them are using to find balance after long days at the office.What You'll Hear in This Episode:Back at Smile & Co. Ashley is working four days a week after 10 months away, catching up on the schedule, and feeling it in her back and neck. Why she doesn't want TMO to get her leftovers, and why she thinks so many practice owners feel the same.A Heavy Few Months Collin shares what the summer was like, why September felt like waiting for the next shoe to drop, and what it did to her routines. Both hosts talk about why community matters and why you should reach out even when it feels like bothering someone.Tracking, Walking, and Being Kind to Your Body Ashley is logging her food again after nine months off, has stepped back from the marathon so Brian can run it for himself, and is in what she calls her walking era. Collin shares what has worked for her, including lower-intensity walks and hikes.Wind-Down Routines and Phone Boundaries Ashley's evening routine, including a dark bathroom, candles, and Kindle quiet time with the whole family. A 15-minute daily social media timer, notifications turned off after work, and why Collin ditched her Apple Watch and took off her Oura Ring.Working From Home vs. the Office How Collin structures her days when she's not in the office, why she gets more deep work done at home, and why she still loves being around the team.What's Next Part two of the communication series is coming next week, and Ashley's Dentist Money Summit talk is releasing tomorrow.Thank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8: Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Moving the Goalpost: Ashley's Talk at the Dentist Money SummitAshley shares the talk she gave at Dentist Advisors' Dentist Money Summit. The team asked for a talk on having your business under control and not moving the goalpost. She gave the opposite one, and this is it. Recorded live, so you'll hear her reference slides you can't see.What You'll Hear in This Episode:How the Talk Almost Didn't Happen Ryan Isaac invited Ashley to speak after they recorded a podcast together. She drafted an email telling the team to find another speaker, but Brian read it first and told her not to send it. Why she scrapped the talk she planned and gave a different one.Becoming a Practice Owner Ashley's path from associate and new mom to practice owner, including the year in LA when she wrote the Smile & Co. business plan during nap times, and the vacant 1970s building in Folsom she almost deleted from her inbox.The Day She Got Fired and Went Live The story behind the May 2017 Facebook Live announcing Smile & Co. Folsom: she was let go from her associateship the same day, sat in her car for 45 minutes, and went live anyway. The video passed 11,000 views.Hitting the Number and Moving the Goalpost Early practice chaos, a surprise pregnancy, a trademark dispute, and the milestone that kept moving after the first million. Ashley shares what therapy in 2020 helped her see about what she was really chasing, and why she built a second office when the first was already doing well.Why Moving the Goalpost Isn't Always Bad Ashley's case that moving the goalpost is a sign of growth, and that a goal doesn't have to be a revenue number. Hers last year was a three-minute interval on a treadmill.What Do You Want? The question she left the room with, plus a perspective-shifting story about her youngest son's hospital stay in 2021 and why she believes that if a problem can be solved with an action, you don't have a problem.A Note from Ashley In her new intro, Ashley reflects on how re-listening to this talk hit differently after Brian's cancer journey over the past year.Learn More About Dentist Advisors Thank you to the Dentist Advisors team for hosting the summit and letting us share this talk. If you're looking for help with financial planning or investing as a dentist, visit Dentist Advisors or listen to their podcast, The Dentist Money Show.Thank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8: Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

The Making Of Smile & Co. — The Art of the Yes: Communication, Selling, and Reading the RoomAshley and Collin catch up after a busy stretch away from recording, starting with Smile & Co.'s first full team meeting in a long time. What follows is a deep dive into the communication framework Ashley built and taught to the whole team, why "selling" isn't a dirty word in dentistry, and how to read a patient before you ever sit them in the chair.What You'll Hear in This Episode:A Four and a Half Hour Team Meeting Ashley walks through her first solo-run team meeting, a 72-slide presentation built for 17 team members, including many new hires who didn't know Smile & Co.'s backstory. Why she used the time away from the practice during Brian's health scare to reconnect with the "why" behind the business.Smile & Co.'s New Core Values: CHIC Ashley breaks down the simplified core values she landed on with help from AI and a review of years of podcast transcripts and Google reviews, Create unreasonable hospitality, Honor, Inspire growth, and Cultivate a thriving team and community.Why Selling Isn't a Dirty Word Ashley's exercise asking the team who believes selling is bad, and who wants to earn more money, and the discrepancy it revealed. Her reframe: selling in dentistry is an exchange of conviction, not a hard pitch.The 80/20 Rule in Practice Why 20% of patients drive 80% of production, Ashley's "Chanel of dentistry" mindset for knowing your worth, and her permission to the team to dismiss patients who drain more energy than they're worth.Mirroring and the Four Patient Types How Ashley reads a patient's energy and adjusts her own, the difference between how people want to be treated versus how they want to be sold to, and a breakdown of the four patient types Smile & Co. trains around: the warm talkative patient, the analytical quiet patient, the fast moving professional, and the nervous deferential patient.Why the Nervous Patient Matters Most Ashley shares how winning over anxious, previously underserved patients built Smile & Co.'s Folsom location with zero paid marketing, and why that patient type often becomes a practice's biggest referral source.What's Coming Next This conversation is the first in a multi-part series, with more to come on the buying equation and Ashley's Smile Framework. Ashley is also compiling a community-sourced list of startup regrets for a future episode.Catch Ashley Live Ashley is speaking at the Wellness Dental Forum, hosted by Dr. Katie To, on October 17th and 18th.Thank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8 — Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

The Making Of North Star Implants & Periodontics with Dr. Paula Cohen SchlemmerDr. Paula Cohen, a periodontist opening North Star Implants and Periodontics just outside Dallas, joins Ashley to talk about the winding road from dental school to specialty practice, and the first steps of building her own office from scratch.What You'll Hear in This Episode:From General Dentist to Periodontist Paula's path through a general residency in San Antonio, several years of associate and corporate work during COVID, and the moment she realized specialty practice was the right fit. Why she believes doctors who practice first make stronger residents, and the mentor who first showed her what periodontics could look like.A Research Win Worth Bragging About Paula shares her Balint Orban Award-winning research on wound healing in older patients, using single cell RNA sequencing to understand why bone quality lags in patients over 65, and what that could eventually mean for patient care.Finding the Right Space Why acquisition and associate opportunities didn't line up with Paula's timeline once she moved back to Texas, and how a broker's demographic report led her to a space three minutes from her own house, with strong growth numbers and specialist-friendly neighbors already in place.Working With a Broker How Paula's broker was paid, what he caught in her lease and LOI before it reached her lawyer, and how he negotiated her tenant improvement allowance up and her rent down.Naming North Star Implants and Periodontics The story behind the name, a joke from her husband that stuck, and the surprise she found on Instagram after committing to it, another nearby startup with a nearly identical name.Building for Growth From Day One Why Paula built out seven operatories and plumbed for two full-time doctors and two hygienists from the start, even though she's opening solo, and her five-year goal to bring on an associate or partner.Referral Marketing as a Specialist Paula's approach to building relationships with 40-plus general dentist offices in her area, including office visits with local snacks, a referral folder outlining her communication process, and why she's prioritizing lunch and learns with her marketing budget.Hiring and Opening Timeline How Paula found her surgical assistant and patient care coordinator, her plan to stay flexible with scheduling in the early days, and her target opening date in early October.Asking the Community Paula's open questions for TMO listeners: how far in advance to bring on staff before opening, and reception chair recommendations that hold up to real patient traffic.Where to Find Paula  @thecraftydentist North Star Implants and Periodontics @northstarperio and www.northstarperio.comConnect with Ashley: Instagram: @ashleyjovesddsThank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8 — Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Ashley shares a personal update recorded on a quiet Sunday evening, no clinical talk, just life.What's In This Episode:Brian finished radiation and is back at work. His follow-up PET scan came back with a possible cancer recurrence scare that lasted over a week of waiting. Ashley shares the toll that wait took on her, a girls' weekend in Napa, a hard conversation with Brian mid-run, and the relief when his results came back normal.She talks openly about anxiety, faith, and leaning on community during hard seasons, whether it's health, business, or life in general.If you're in a season of waiting right now, this one's for you.Thank You to Our PartnersNet32: The dental marketplace that helps practice owners stop overpaying for supplies. Compare and save at net32.com/themakingof.Studio 8E8 — Dentistry's story-driven growth agency for startups. s8e8.com/vslKasper Opportunity Finder: Fill those empty chairs and reclaim lost revenue with one click. Get it free at meetkasper.com/register.Support the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!

Back Where It Started: Ashley Reunites with Michael Arias of The Dental MarketerBefore Smile & Co. existed, before The Making Of existed, there was Michael Arias. He was the first person to ever interview Ashley about her plans to open a dental practice, recorded when Folsom was still just an idea and a construction timeline. That conversation, and Ashley's decision to keep documenting the build in public, is what became The Making Of.Ashley sits back down with Michael on his show, The Dental Marketer, to catch up properly for the first time in a while. The question driving this one: what happens when the practice you built is forced to stand without you? What starts as a catch-up between two old friends turns into personal conversations, covering the decade since that first interview, the second practice, a family health scare that changed everything, and what she's chasing now that "more" isn't the goal anymore.What You'll Hear in This Episode:Where It All StartedAshley and Michael revisit their first interview together, recorded before Smile & Co.'s Folsom location opened, and how documenting that build in real time became the foundation for The Making Of and its Facebook community. Ashley admits she was so nervous before that first recording, she had to run to the bathroom ten times.What 2017 Ashley Wanted vs. What 2026 Ashley WantsA look at how Ashley's priorities have shifted since opening her first practice, from chasing independence and building a brand to redefining what growth actually means to her now.Brian's Health ScareAshley shares the story of discovering a lesion during a routine check on her husband Brian, the biopsy that initially came back benign, her decision to push for a second opinion, and the diagnosis and treatment that followed. She speaks candidly about the importance of oral cancer screenings, for patients and for the people closest to us.Building Smile & Co. #2Why Ashley opened the Roseville location in 2023, how its first year outperformed Folsom's numbers on a fraction of the patient base, and the backup plan Ashley had in place if she'd needed to step back entirely.When Growth Stops Being the GoalHow Smile & Co.'s systems and team held steady when Ashley had to step back from day to day practice, what that transition revealed about the difference between being a boss and being a friend to her team, and why she now measures success by how little the practices need her.What Actually Builds LoyaltyAshley's take on why hiring for core values matters more than any technology or design investment, and the low cost habits that have created more patient loyalty than anything else at Smile & Co.Redefining SuccessAshley reflects on what success has and hasn't fixed, why "more" stopped being the goal, and what she's chasing instead: practices that run without her, more white space, and a life where the people who matter most still want to be around her.Where to Find AshleyInstagram: @ashleyjovesdds, [@smileandcompany], [@themaking.of]Facebook Community: The Making Of a Dental StartupWhere to Find MichaelInstagram: @thedentalmarketerPodcast: The Dental MarketerSupport the showFind Out MoreThank you for listening to The Making Of podcast. If you enjoyed it, please share with anyone you think will gain value from the show by clicking on one of the sharing tabs above.SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER HEREAlso, please consider leaving an honest review on iTunes. It helps other listeners find the show, and I would be forever grateful.Questions or comments? Feel free to contact us at - [email protected] us on Instagram or Facebook and improve your dental practice every day!Have you subscribed? Don't miss a single episode!