Speaker 1: 0:30

My name is Susie Silva and I'm the co-founder of C1C and I'm part of an amazing team that opened up Loudoun County Orthodontics here in Leesburg.

Speaker 2: 0:41

I'm Jen Sullivan. I'm the other co-founder of Customer First Consulting orthodontic consulting practice, and then we also opened Loudoun County Orthodontics and we're on that team as well. That's amazing.

Speaker 3: 0:57

So tell both of you guys, bring me back to the beginning of this whole journey, like of the practice. How did you guys get there?

Speaker 1: 1:06

Well, it goes way back, honestly. I've been in the dental and ortho field for about 30 years now. I'm originally from California. I moved here in 2011, where I eventually met Jen. Jen and I started working almost about the same time. She got hired, maybe two months prior to me, and so at that practice it became super successful. We saw the amazing growth of that practice.

Speaker 1: 1:30

Jen and I love to give back to the community. We volunteer at church and we're like once we capped out our growth there at that practice, we're like okay, what's next for us? We're very driven and outgoing and we're like, okay, let's figure out what's next. And I will say it does matter who you hang out with, because when we were having this conversation, jen's husband happened to be nearby and he's like why don't you start a business? And so we did so.

Speaker 1: 1:57

That night, c1c was actually born. We started talking about, like, what we could do, what we wanted to do, how we wanted to impact not only our clients but also their business, and so C1C was born in 2019. In our journey with C1C, at some point, another orthodontist, one of our clients planted the seed. Again, someone amazing planted the seed and said, hey, we should open up a practice together. He saw the success he was having and really wanted to open a practice, but we weren't quite ready at that point. Although it was tempting, we weren't ready, and so at some point, jen, and so at some point Nebraska.

Speaker 2: 2:54

Chicago, yeah, all over the place, and we want to hire and train consultants to work alongside us or work as part of our team. But it's a tough. I mean it's a tough job and you have to have that experience, that hands-on experience working every position of an orthodontic office to really be like. We hold ourselves to a high standard and so we would hold our team to a high standard as well. And so we were thinking, okay, what if we did open a practice here in Leesburg with the community that we love so much? We both live in Leesburg and our kids grew up here, so we're very passionate about that. And we were like, okay, let's open a practice. We can hire team members. They can work in the office, really know like everything there is to know. We can train them our way on how we run orthodontic practices and then eventually they can become a consultant after they reach a certain level of experience and expertise we can. Then they can come out and to the field and be a consultant with us.

Speaker 1: 3:58

So it's a brilliant model.

Speaker 2: 4:00

Yeah, and that's you know, we're it's. Seeing it come to life is really cool and exciting. The practice we just celebrated our one year anniversary there we opened in August of last year.

Speaker 3: 4:09

Congratulations.

Speaker 2: 4:10

And you asked her. Thank you, our patients are amazing and I will say I think I can speak for both of us.

Speaker 1: 4:19

We missed interacting with patients on a day-to-day basis.

Speaker 2: 4:20

So that is really cool that we're able to do that now and like really implement everything we help all of our clients to do here, like in our own office. So that's really exciting.

Speaker 3: 4:30

That's brilliant. I love that. So you're not just like teaching from afar, you're like in the we have to practice what we preach. Yeah, you're in it. You both said that patients are buying experiences over things. What does creating an unforgettable patient experience mean to you? You know?

Speaker 1: 4:48

what? For me, what it means is we honestly, the secret sauce to being successful is rolling down the red carpet for your patient and for us, for me in particular. I think both of us were on the same page. We want our patients feeling better walking out than they walked in, and how you're going to do that is just building rapport, connecting with them, making them feel something, and I think that really is what sets us apart is that we know every person, all of our patients. We know them personally. We feel like they become a family member, and it's just really cool to be able to do that in our own hometown. We did it for many years with our clients as a consultant, but to do it in our own town with our own people that we know and love.

Speaker 1: 5:33

It's super rewarding.

Speaker 2: 5:35

I'll give you an example of what, how we do it in our office. We, we know everyone's names. Everyone that comes in is like a part of our family. We know what's going on in their personal lives. We are excited, genuinely excited, to see them when they come in. I always say, like a front desk can make or break an office, that is your sales force. I hear from my friends all the time like, oh my gosh, I love the dentist, he's amazing. But man, the front desk, you know they want to come in. They don't look happy to be there, they're in a bad mood, whatever it is. So we, you know, we stand up, we greet them. It's more of like a concierge, like experience. We offer them beverages. We have special treats. We have a baker that makes a signature cookie for us. Right now it's a snickerdoodle cookie, which I should have brought you one of those.

Speaker 3: 6:22

They're delicious. I'm glad you did not.

Speaker 2: 6:27

And then every new patient gets a tour of the office so that they feel like, you know, they're going to their friend's house, they're walking into somebody's living room. That's the other thing. The aesthetic, the feeling of the office. It's, like you know, just very modern, but calm, not sterile. We have something for everyone, patients of all ages. So we treat patients that come in starting at age seven, you know, up to 70, really. So we give them a tour of the office. We, you know Susie is so hands-on, she's gentle, she's comforting, she makes them feel like it explains every step of the way throughout the each appointment and, I don't know, by the time they leave there. They are a part of our family and we genuinely care and are excited to see them.

Speaker 3: 7:14

That's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 7:16

It's pretty amazing. So I'm the treatment coordinator at the practice. So by the time Jen does the tour, gives them at the end of the tour, by the time they come and see me, they're like what, what kind of office?

Speaker 2: 7:28

is this this?

Speaker 1: 7:28

is amazing. I've never felt like this before. It's almost like a spa. Here's a restroom, here are your towels. It's so like a spa. Here's a restroom, here are your towels. It's so very tailored to everyone and I feel like by the time they come to me, they're already. So they're like okay, this is like something I've never experienced in my life and we take pride in that. We really want them to feel like we're putting them first, they we value. If they choose us, we're honored, and so we want them to feel that way. And so, again, they become family once they choose us.

Speaker 3: 7:59

It sounds like that's part of the customer experience brand right. Yes, how is that like a game changer in the orthodontic dental world and why is it a game changer for growth?

Speaker 1: 8:09

I think that nowadays, customer service just doesn't really exist. And if only everyone knew that. If we treated everyone with kindness and I want them to feel like man they're really passionate about what they do, and I can tell by the way they're greeting me, by the way they're walking me through everything, and we make them feel like they're the only person in the room. And when you do that, when you make them feel something, then it really truly sets you apart from everyone else, because a lot of the times you walk into an office and they're not even looking up at you. They're continuing to work and they're typing and they're answering a phone call, and we want to make sure that the second that they walk, they open our door, we have eyes on them and we're standing up, we're showing them where they're going, we're walking them through everything and it just it like elevates the patient experience and I feel like that's what's missing and really, if you choose us, we're super grateful. So you should be treated like and put on a pedestal.

Speaker 1: 9:08

But aside from being treated like, you know we're rolling on the red carpet. One thing we're really proud of is that both our doctors are board certified. Sometimes the orthodontists are not. And, aside from being board certified, some of our patients are now completing treatment. To see the beautiful smiles that we're creating there, oh my gosh, I'm just like. I just love what I do and more than anything, I'm like okay, I feel like I love going back to my roots and seeing the transformation and the patient and the confidence that they're getting, and we're a part of that. We're a part of that, and so it's very rewarding.

Speaker 3: 9:46

I can't tell that you're passionate about this at all. I'm so passionate about it.

Speaker 1: 9:50

And honestly so. I've been in the field for about 30 years and a lot of the times the patients come in for the first time, they're uncomfortable in their own skin. They don't like to smile. Imagine not being able to smile for your graduation celebrations, wedding the fact that I've seen our patients just transform into this amazing person where they have swag. Now I'm like we did that. We did that. You were so shy and uncomfortable in your own skin and now, um, you feel complete and you feel like you could reach the stars and it's super rewarding.

Speaker 2: 10:20

It's more than just a smile yeah, it is yes, and you asked about why it's a game changer, like rolling out the red carpet, and it's because then, like, if you, from the moment that you have seven seconds to make a first impression and so if you fail when they walk in the door, you've lost. You know, you've just lost that opportunity. And what we want is you know our patients to go out and refer their friends and family, because we already know and love our patients and we want them to send you know all of their friends and family that they really care about to come see us. And so we're just that word of mouth is what you know. You can go spend all this money on marketing, but what we really love to see is our patients that already know and love us out there telling their friends like, hey, you got to go see my orthodontist. He or she is amazing, they're the best. Go see.

Speaker 1: 11:10

Yes, and every time I go there they make me feel like a million bucks.

Speaker 3: 11:20

That's the feeling I want when they come in to see us every single time.

Speaker 2: 11:22

Feels like this whole experience has been very well thought through. Yeah, yes, yes, yes. Every detail, we say every detail designed with you in mind. Yes, yeah.

Speaker 3: 11:27

That's beautiful. You often say the most valuable asset in a business is its people. What qualities do you look for when helping offices recruit top talent? That's a good question, that's a great question.

Speaker 2: 11:39

Usually what we'll do is we'll sit down with a doctor and come up with core values so what's important to them and what are they passionate about? And once we have those core values in place, it makes hiring so much easier. We will have specific questions when we're recruiting, like hey, you know that go along with each core value. That way we find candidates that are like-minded, that we know are going to be a great culture, fit for the practice. But Susie, I'll let you explain. She has a great question that she asks every single candidate.

Speaker 1: 12:15

You put me on the spot here, and honestly, because Jen and I love to give back to the community. We're very passionate about just making others feel amazing. One of the things that I ask is tell me how, in the last couple of years, you've impacted the community, whether it was your neighbor when they were sick. Do you volunteer anywhere? And if someone tells me that they've never volunteered, I just feel like they're very self-centered and they're not. They're not.

Speaker 1: 12:46

We want to be able to give back, no matter if we're getting paid for it or not. We want to just impact people in such a positive way and the people that are already volunteering and giving of their time, imagine what they're doing If they're doing that for free. Imagine what they're doing for you when you're paying them. They just go above and beyond. And so I basically that was a trick question I hired them. If they said they didn't volunteer or give back in any way, I never hired them. They had to somehow impact, whether it was helping a family member because they were sick. If you're giving back, you're just a good, wholesome person, and that's what we want. And, honestly, another thing we tell our clients never hire based off experience. Hire based off of personality, Because personality you can't change, but you can train just about anyone. And so for us we're getting ready to hire, for our practice and even the consulting business, and we really want to hire someone that is like-minded, outgoing, passionate, just like us.

Speaker 2: 13:47

It has to be a great fit, not a good fit, and a lot of the times the great fit is someone that just aligns with your personality and your morals and standards, which is why we wanted the practice to be able to hire and train from scratch, because everyone's like, why don't you just hire someone that's been in the ortho field for a long time? Well, it's not always that easy. We do want to hire somebody that's a rock star, hard worker, you know, great work ethic, amazing personality, solution focused. Somebody that's you know. We want to see them in action, like how do they act day to day working in an orthodontic practice before they can go out and be a consultant?

Speaker 3: 14:28

Yeah, I align with what you said about hire for personality, because a lot of the technical things can be taught.

Speaker 1: 14:34

You can train just about anyone on any job. Really you can, but you can never train or change someone's personality or work ethic.

Speaker 3: 14:42

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 14:43

And so for us another part we want someone that is kind of like an entrepreneur thinker as well. We want someone that's going to help us think outside of the box because we've been doing it for a while now and bring new ideas as well, versus just an employee.

Speaker 3: 14:57

Yeah, yeah. Speaking of which, how do you help leaders create a culture of accountability without creating fear or burnout you?

Speaker 1: 15:05

know, I think, for me is the culture starts at the very top and it starts with the leaders.

Speaker 1: 15:11

It starts with the doctor, it trickles down to management leadership, and so if we're not leading by example, you're never going to have a great culture, and so you have to be outgoing. Recognition goes a long way. I feel like a lot of the times the doctors aren't constantly recognizing what the staff is doing and how hard they're working, and so at some point there's burnout and they're like oh, why am I working so hard? No one's noticing this, and so for me, I think, just always shout outs recognition, positive feedback really creates an amazing culture For me.

Speaker 1: 15:45

I've been in the field for 30 years and I can truly say that there is five amazing women in my career life that really helped pour into me, and that's because of them I am who I am, because they believed in me, and so sometimes we have to believe in other people before they believe in themselves. And so if you have that platform where you're the owner or you know you're in management or leadership, you have an amazing platform to really pour into your staff, and when you do that, man, it's a game changer for the culture.

Speaker 2: 16:19

I was just going to say. We also create accountability and like clear roles for the leads that we work with. So we have weekly leadership meetings where they know exactly what they're responsible for. I feel like a lot of times in dental practices specifically, somebody gets thrown into a leadership role just because they've been there the longest or they, you know for whatever reason they have the most experience and they kind of get thrown into a role that they're maybe not prepared for and that can create that burnout, stress, anxiety, just the unknown, not knowing what to do. And so we really work alongside them, make sure that they know like, hey, these are the stats I'm responsible for, here's how to have difficult conversations, here's how to do reviews with my team members properly. All of that that knowing what your job really means and what you're responsible and accountable for just helps so much for these leads that you know they're so much expected of them. But like maybe not always the clear expectations.

Speaker 3: 17:19

Yeah, and I think that's so helpful, what you guys provide on the consulting end, because a lot of dentists, doctors, they are in the field, they're working with their patients. So even for them, when they have to be a leader and now guiding a whole team and holding people I don't know holding accountable or giving them responsibilities and making sure, that's like a whole different job.

Speaker 2: 17:46

Yeah, exactly, and that's what I say, this all the time. But what brings me so much joy is hearing our doctors that we work with say I'm enjoying what I do now for the first time in 10 years Because we build up their leadership team to be so strong and so confident day to day that they don't need to constantly interrupt. That's. The other thing is the constant interruptions is the constant interruptions. You're working on a patient and you're focused on you know your patients, that you have that day and you're just constantly interrupted with things, stuff throughout the day, and so I would say that that really like fulfills me to hear and we hear it all the time Like we get the text messages. I'm like really enjoying what I do, like for the first time in so long and that means a lot and that's our goal.

Speaker 1: 18:31

Yes, that is our goal.

Speaker 3: 18:33

Yeah, that's perfect. Okay, so many practices struggle with turnover. How does your recruiting and training process reduce that challenge? I know you talked about the interview process a little bit, but is there anything else that you guys consider to help with that?

Speaker 1: 18:49

I think one thing that really helps is making sure that you're incentivizing them well.

Speaker 1: 18:55

Ultimately, everyone is there to make money and so, being in the dental field, sometimes you're capped out at a certain amount of a dollar sign. However, if you place incentives to help the practice grow, goals to help the practice grow, and if there's an eagle that is like constantly talking about your services and really selling everything, that person should be incentivized to be able to make extra money. That way she's helping your practice grow and when they're making that extra money, then they feel like then they become really loyal and they appreciate that you're going the extra mile and acknowledging that they're doing a great job, selling the services, really talking highly about you, endorsing everything that you're doing there. And I think when you're paying them well and incentivizing them for different types of goals, I think that really helps turnover. But if it's just set on the hourly rate, you're going to get an hourly employee and a lot of the times they're not going to go above and beyond, they're just going to do the bare minimum to kind of get by.

Speaker 2: 19:59

And also I hate to say it, but weeding out the people that don't fit the culture. There's nothing more frustrating for great team members is letting the not so great team members stick around and drag everybody down, so like getting rid of anybody. That's toxic. Just really making sure you're protecting your culture in the practice is really important.

Speaker 3: 20:23

Why don't you think they do that Like what's the number one thing that you've seen for why they're?

Speaker 2: 20:27

always the best at whatever it is that they do. The best assistant, but you know, doesn't play well, play nice with everybody else, or they handle all the insurance, and I just don't know how we'll do it without her. I hear that a lot. That's probably the main reason. I'm sure you guys have ways to overcome that, though. Right, yes, Don't have that single point failure.

Speaker 1: 20:53

And sometimes it takes someone else to be like you know what you're going to be, fine, yeah, we just acknowledge someone else on the team that could be just as good, if not even better. So let's start moving some of her, what she's accountable to this person and see how she does, and then, before I know it, it just, really just takes someone else to be like you know what you're good, you're going to be good with her.

Speaker 2: 21:13

And usually that type of personality likes to hoard all the information. So that's where, always, like, we try to get all that information out, but somebody you know they'll just be like I'm not going to train anybody else, because I need job security.

Speaker 3: 21:26

Yeah, they want to be super valuable as women who have led teams and built a business. What kind of leadership legacy do you?

Speaker 2: 21:38

want to leave in the orthodontic and dental industry. That's a good question. That's a good question. I will say I think it's the best job, I think it's so fun, and so I want everyone to feel that I know my experience in the ortho world. I, right after college, I went into government contracting and what you know was not the place for me. And when I started in the ortho field I started as a records technician and I always say like that was my favorite job. I loved it. I loved seeing the patients when they first came in.

Speaker 3: 22:10

What is a records technician? I should explain that.

Speaker 2: 22:13

So basically you take all the pictures and x-rays of all the new patients when they come in and then you also take them again at the end of their treatment. So you're really seeing patients when they come and when they're finished and I just I mean I loved it and and I just I want it to. I want everyone that's in the field to feel that way. I want it to be a positive workplace. It just it's such a rewarding job, it really can be. It can be a lifelong career. It's all what you make of it. And so when I go into offices and it doesn't feel that way, it makes me sad and also excited because we can work with him and help it become that. But I would say that, like I just it's such a great career. I want people to feel that.

Speaker 3: 22:59

You see the befores and the afters, whether it's with teeth or with practices that can be improved right Both Exactly. You're both there every morning honestly and that's our why.

Speaker 1: 23:09

Like working in the ortho field, it's super rewarding because you get to see the transformation in the patient and the confidence no-transcript, and so to see that they're like oh, this feels good, I love what I do now. So they're both really rewarding.

Speaker 3: 23:46

It's so funny. I always see everything in metaphors. It's just the way that my brain works. We're in like pictures or random stuff. So I see like, as you guys are talking to these orthodontists, where you can say, like sometimes you have to like, remove certain teeth in order to fit everything in and sometimes you have to like you know, like you could speak in orthodontic speak, talking about how you've got to like, align and fix the culture. I'm going to use that. How do you balance being moms, leaders and entrepreneurs while still pouring into your community? Speaking of community from earlier.

Speaker 1: 24:20

Well, I guess it's not easy. It truly isn't easy. I know Jen has young kids and it is tough. We do fly all over the United States Monday through Tuesday, and then we're in the office Wednesday through Friday. Then we also do events for the practice and then, you know, we volunteer at church, and so it's very demanding but at the same time it's very rewarding. But it is tough, it's not easy, and I feel like that's why a lot of people don't do it. They don't want to put in the work.

Speaker 2: 24:53

Yeah, I try to involve my kids whenever I can. They come to events with us. They like coming to the office and just helping with little odd jobs as much as they can. It is hard. Yeah, it is rewarding. I have my husband and my mom who help me tremendously. I wouldn't be able to say it all the time. I wouldn't be able to. I say it all the time. I wouldn't be able to do it without them, that's for sure. But you know, it is cool to set the example, especially for my daughter. Like, hey, you can have it all. You can have whatever you want. You can have a career that's demanding and be a great parent at the same time. Or you know whatever you choose. You know the sky's the limit. But yeah, it is also exhausting.

Speaker 1: 25:35

You do need support, and Jen has amazing support with her mom and her husband and just family, and so without that support she again wouldn't be able to do it.

Speaker 3: 25:43

So your husband doesn't regret saying you guys should start a business. No, he doesn't.

Speaker 1: 25:47

He's actually our biggest supporter and honestly, throughout the whole journey he's been our biggest cheerleader, Because when we started the business, the consulting business, it was just maybe four months prior to COVID, and so we were like, oh my gosh, what have we done? But he's always, like you know, spoke highly of us and really believed in us, and he doesn't know this, but because of his, like, positive endorsement and always speaking highly of us, we just kept pushing forward.

Speaker 3: 26:15

And you said that sometimes you need people to believe in you before you believe in yourself. Right, that was him for us.

Speaker 1: 26:18

Yeah, love that guy.

Speaker 3: 26:24

Last question, looking ahead, what's your vision for C1C Customer First Consulting? What impact do you hope to make on practices and patient experiences across the country? Which is crazy to me, that you guys are like flying. You said Monday and Tuesday, you're flying out.

Speaker 2: 26:40

Yes, we'll be in Utah on Monday.

Speaker 1: 26:43

Sunday yeah, Sunday, yeah, typically we do fly on Sunday night and then we're there Monday, Tuesday and we fly back Tuesday evening, If it's close enough. Like I just went to Chicago this week. I flew in the morning, but I still have to get up at three o'clock in the morning. You just need your own private jet. I know that's on the list.

Speaker 3: 27:04

So yeah, looking ahead, what's your vision for C1C and what impact do you hope to make on practices and patient experiences across the country? To make on practices and patient experiences across the country.

Speaker 1: 27:12

I mean, I just, if anything for me, I want people to know. I want them to be branded in the community Like wow, if you really go there, it's something like I've never experienced. And if you want to be treated well, that's where you go. Not only are you treated well, but the end result your beautiful smile is just as great. And so I'm really confident in what we're doing for local ortho and I feel like it's just going to validate what we're doing with C1C, like hey, we're telling you what to do, it's working for us. It worked in the past where we worked, and so just tying it all together and just feeling very excited about transforming offices but then also being able to be very and super impactful- in our own community and for C1C specifically, we plan to start and that's another great thing about having the office is we want to bring our clients to us.

Speaker 2: 28:10

We have amazing clients, amazing leadership teams, and so the plan for the future would be to have some workshops here in Leesburg as well, so where we're bringing our leads in bringing the doctors in and we can host conferences here in town. That's amazing.

Speaker 3: 28:27

Look at how it's done to the highest degree type of experience.

Speaker 2: 28:32

Yes, exactly, and you can see it in action. We did have at the early days people would ask us like okay, we hear what you're saying, but like do you have an example? Do you have? And that kind of planted a seed in us too, like do you have an office we can go to and actually see this in action? And we were like no but.

Speaker 1: 28:50

But we lived it, so we know it can happen yeah.

Speaker 2: 28:52

So you know, it's just it's other people too along the way, just kind of planting seeds in us that we're like. Oh, you know what that is?

Speaker 3: 29:01

That's there's a need for that. Yeah, is there anything else you guys like to touch on or share with our audience before we wrap it up?

Speaker 2: 29:10

Other than we love what we do and we're very passionate and we're just super grateful to be where we are today, um, and so, yeah, we're excited we're excited what for the future and very hopeful and optimistic and I think, just no matter what, like we're, I just think we're a good example of like whatever you dream or whatever you put your mind to, can become a reality.

Speaker 1: 29:32

Yes, and aside from that is you don't have to know all the steps. And a lot of the times people are scared to move forward with their dreams because they don't see the how how am I going to fund this? What do I have to do? And so a lot of the times, well, in our case, you don't have to know the how. You just take a step forward and for us, having faith and God in our life really helped us be grounded and just know and just give it to God and have the faith to just take that step forward, Because it is scary if you don't know what the next step is.

Speaker 3: 30:08

But you know it counts. Isn't it amazing how it always reveals itself in some way, shape or form, and you're like.

Speaker 2: 30:14

I know I trusted her recently.

Speaker 3: 30:17

You guys both have amazing energy and it's funny because you guys are kind of opposite, at least from my first initial feeling here we have very different personalities, but it's like the perfect balance. A hundred percent. Yeah, thank you so much for being on the podcast and sharing so many pearls of wisdom. It was an honor talking to both of you thank you pleasure.

Speaker 2: 30:38

Yeah, this was fun.