The Alimond Show
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The Alimond Show
Ben Liu: From Psychology to Pediatric Dentistry- Building the Super Kids Legacy
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My name is Dr Ben Liu . I'm the founder and owner of Super Kids Pediatric Dentistry . We've been serving the communities in the DMV for the last 12 years . We have five locations pediatric and orthodontic dental services .
Speaker 2Awesome . Now take me back to the very beginning . What about you started on this whole journey In dentistry , in dentistry .
Speaker 1Yeah , so specifically with pediatrics . From a young age I knew I wanted to work with kids . I remember my parents would invite family friends over and they had little kids
Meet Dr. Ben Liu
Speaker 1and they would know how good I was with kids and just make me babysit them and just say , take care of these kids and we're going to do our own thing . But I enjoyed working with kids from a young age and then throughout high school , when I had to figure out my career , I would volunteer at different child-based organizations and once I got into dentistry it was a no-brainer that I would need to pursue the pediatric route . Dentistry came about primarily because , for two main reasons I liked working with my hands , I wanted to be active . I worked with my hands . And I also wanted a career that would give me the work-life balance that I was seeking for my life , that's amazing , yeah .
Speaker 2So let's talk about the fact that you studied psychology at Johns Hopkins before becoming a dentist . How has that background influenced the way you connect with kids and parents today ?
Speaker 1Absolutely so . I started as a biology major when I first entered college , but it was a freshman course in intro to child psychology . That pretty much changed everything for me . It was a fascinating course just understanding , I mean , you know , how the child brain works , how the child mind works . It's amazingly complex , in some ways even more complex than the adult mind , and so learning about that and again with my background , you know , wanting to work with kids I said this this is great . So I changed my major over to psychology and , you know , went , went deep in and it's helped me a lot at many steps
Psychology Background and Child Connection
Speaker 1throughout my career . I'm a child dentist . Kids don't really want to come and open their mouth freely for me to stick metal instruments into their mouth . So having to convince them of that and work with them and negotiate with them , that's where all the background in the psychology has really kicked in and helped me a lot .
Speaker 2Well , and you have a friendly face and demeanor .
Speaker 1So I think it makes it easier . I tried , I tried .
Speaker 2After dental school and your pediatric specialty training , you started as an associate . What lessons did those early years teach you about running a dental practice ?
Speaker 1When I first graduated I worked at four . I accepted four job offers when I first graduated and that was intentional because I wanted to get out there and kind of see what was out there different practices , different kind of people , and also I was heavily in debt so I needed to make a lot of money . So I worked six days a week for the first two years of my career but throughout my time and I worked at different temp offices . So I probably worked about 30 different offices and each one I tried to learn something a little bit different , whether it's about the operations , about
Early Career and Market Research
Speaker 1the , about the people , about the team members working there and different patients , different demographics and try to pick a little bit of each one . You know little tidbits of information from each one , with the knowledge that later on , when I opened my own practice , the goal was just take the best of each practice that I worked at and kind of meld it into my own practice .
Speaker 2so I think that is so brilliant . Yeah , did your own market research Pretty much . Yeah , did your own like specialty schooling .
Speaker 1Kind of yeah , just knocking on doors asking for jobs , can I get in there and work for a little bit ? I'll see what you're doing , so but yeah , that's genius .
Speaker 2Family Super Kids in 2013 was a big leap .
Speaker 1What gave you the courage to start your own practice and what were those early days like ? So it's a long story , but long story short . I was put into that role sooner than I thought for a variety of reasons , but I ended up . I actually started with two offices , not just one . I started with two offices and the early days were slow , very slow . There were days where go through all day and you saw two patients or three patients , so it made it . I was nervous , I didn't know whether this would work or not . I remember telling one of my key people at the time that you know this is going to happen and she encouraged me and said this is going to , you're going to be fine . But I wouldn't say it was necessarily courage . It was kind of well , let's just do it and just dive right in and let's see what happens .
Speaker 1That's amazing yeah , scary yes .
Speaker 2Today , Super Kids has grown to multiple locations , more than just the two .
Speaker 1Looking back , what do you think has been the biggest factor in that growth and success ? I think people ask me all the time like , how do you do this , how do you manage five offices and all the operations and all that ? And I always tell them , like , just don't worry about the little things , focus on the big things . And I've always said that business isn't about people . Think it's about money or accounting or whatever it's . Business is really just about people . It's about everyone . It's about the people that work for you , it's about the clients that you serve .
Speaker 1And so
Growing a Multi-Location Practice
Speaker 1my culture and my entire philosophy has revolved around well , let's do the best by the patient . But then also secondarily , no-transcript , and I can tell you firsthand , I've had patients say to me like I don't know how you have such happy team members , like they enjoy working here . We don't see that a lot and that makes me happy because that validates what I initially thought in terms of running a business . Because you know , when I first started I was like , oh my God , I don't know if I can do this . It's all about numbers and this and that , and you know compliance and law stuff . But if you just focus on the people and have integrity and do things right . You should be okay .
Speaker 2Do you think that's brilliant ? Do you think that a lot of that has to do with the multiple jobs that you had when you were learning ? Like did you pick up on maybe some experiences that you had ? And you're like , I got to make sure I do better than this .
Speaker 1I think it was just again . Working in so many different places and interacting with so many different people , you kind of learn . You know what it takes to . What motivates people . Why are they there , what makes them want to come to work , what makes them happy at work ?
Speaker 2Because you had to feel that yourself . You were the one that was coming into work for these people .
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , I was the new guy . Right , the manager's been there for 30 years and I'm the new guy coming in and I have to work my way in . But I think you know I just got to stay humble . You know , yeah , you're the dentist , you're with a degree and everything , but at the end of the day you're just , you're part of the team . I think team , the team culture and the team concept is really big in my practice and I think that's contributed a lot to our success .
Speaker 2It's beautiful . You often have said fun , patience and a gentle touch are the keys to earning a child's press . Can you share a specific story where you saw the philosophy change a child's experience in a chair ?
Speaker 1I think for me the most rewarding experiences are you know , you have the kids come in for the first time to see me and they're just scared , they're holding on to mom and they just don't want to sit in the chair . And you know you have to coax them and convince them . But you can see , having done this for so long and work with so many kids , I can see true . Just , they just don't want to be there , they just want to cooperate .
Patient Philosophy and Parental Partnership
Speaker 1They that are willing to give you a shot . You can see it in there .
Speaker 1It's those that you get in the chair . You're able to convince them and talk to them and say , hey , I know you went to somewhere else and they were not as nice maybe , but we're going to be different here . And then you can see them give you that opening , that chance to okay , show me , how are you different than the previous dentist ? I savor that , I love that and I can't name how many patients I've seen where that's happened . And then , when they come in six months later and they plop in the chair , sit back , watch tv and the parents you see the appreciation of the parents .
Speaker 1For me that's the most rewarding part of my job 100 as somebody who has three kids yeah it's always a nightmare when you're like , okay , we're going to dentist and they're like , versus , if you get a different reaction exactly okay , one of my favorite favorite compliments from patients who get this all the time at our offices is that they can't wait to come for their next cleaning and checkup , which is great to hear . Yeah , can you record that ? Yeah , exactly .
Speaker 2What role do parents play in building healthy oral habits and how do you see your role as a parent ?
Speaker 1Yeah . So it's a triad . It's basically it's me , it's the parent and the child . I yeah , I'm the one you know , the expert , if you will , with the education to you know say , okay , this is what's best for your child's health , Okay , and then telling the parent that and then telling the child like we need your help too , we need your contribution , Do this , do that . We can toy here , we can watch TV here , stuff . But I think , seeing myself as part , you know , on equal footing with them as a partner is what my philosophy is .
Speaker 2Yeah , to scare them out a little bit , yeah . Yeah , you don't want the whistle rush . Yeah . Running a business while being a parent yourself must shape your perspective . How has being a dad to three kids influenced the way that you lead super kids ?
Speaker 1Yeah , I think when before I had kids , it definitely think when before I had kids , it definitely changed once . Once I had kids , you know before you know just okay , this is a patient , this is what you must do . But then , after I had kids , this isn't a patient , this is , you know , so-and-so's child . You know the dad's child sitting , dad's sitting right there , and so you need to understand that . And you know , before I'm like , oh my gosh , he's spoiled or this and that . But now that you have your own kids and you spoil your own kids , like , okay , he's not spoiled , he's just . You know , he has certain expectations . You got to work with him on that . So it has changed a lot of my behavior management with children who are anxious , but then also my interactions and speaking with the parent as well .
Speaker 2It's kind of like the fitness trainer who doesn't have any kids and talks about like don't eat your kids , like leftover fries , or it's like wait until you have kids ?
Speaker 1Yeah , exactly , exactly , exactly . Looking back at your journey from Chapel Hill to Johns Hopkins , to Columbia , to starting your first practice , what do you feel that you are the most proud of ? I'm most proud of my family , personal family , professionally , sure , I mean , you know , created a good office and you know , hopefully people are coming and bringing their kids Offices . Offices , yes , but you know it's , it's , I do everything , obviously , for them . And how I do that is you know , I try to create the best business I can . I'm grounded on no-transcript .
Speaker 2It's beautiful . What advice would you give to young dentists , entrepreneurs or even parents who are just starting their
Building a Lasting Dental Legacy
Speaker 2own journeys ?
Speaker 1It's three words Just do it , don't think too much . I've said this to friends of mine who have thought about opening a practice and are scared about what's going to happen . I say just do it , you'll figure it out . You're smart , you got a degree in dentistry . This is not as hard as you think it is . Find people that can help you , definitely . I've gotten so much help along the way . But I would say , you know , don't think too much about it , don't think about the consequences of you know what may or may not happen . Just do it , just take a chance on yourself and the magic should happen .
Speaker 2So don't just research it and read about it .
Speaker 1Yeah , to be truthful , yeah , I mean first few . You asked that question , which is that first few . First year or two of when I was opening my own practice . I was online every night . How do you run a dental practice ? How do you get billing done ? How do you get scheduling done ? How do you listen to that ? I was putting in a lot of that time , but I enjoyed it because , at the end of the day , like you're doing this for yourself , like you're doing this to improve yourself , and that's for me . It's always about how can you be better today than you were the day before , and if that's just focused on that , you should be okay .
Speaker 2Yeah , I think it's kind of like the whole like how do you get six-pack abs ? You can break it out , you just have to start doing the actions .
Speaker 1Exactly , Liposuction . That's easier way . Forgot about that .
Speaker 2Yeah , finally , when you think about the future of Super Kids , what legacy do you hope it leaves for families and the community ?
Speaker 1I just hope that one day Super Kids can be synonymous with excellence , if you could kind of phrase it . I would say , the legacy I want to leave is when someone moves to the area , someone says to them go to Super Kids , they're the very best . If I can achieve that legacy , then that's what all this is all about .
Speaker 2That's perfect . Is there anything else that I didn't ask you about that you would love to just add in ?
Speaker 1No , I'm okay . Our advice , oh , I would say , like I said earlier , it depends on the audience that's listening . But if you're looking to open your own business whether it's in dentistry or podcasts or marketing just take a chance on yourself . More often than not , you're looking to open your own business , whether it's in dentistry or podcasts or marketing . Just take a chance on yourself . More often than not , you're going to do fine .
Speaker 1Even if you're nervous , even if you're nervous . Yeah , yeah , I've been there . I know all about that , but just got to work through those nerves .
Speaker 2Thank you so much for being here . Thank you very much .
Speaker 1I appreciate it , thank you .