Transcript

(from Riverside.fm)

Hey guys, this is Sean and Dr. Allison House with the Authentic Dentist podcast. And here we are, finally, we are actually on camera instead of just hiding in the studio where you can only hear our voice. So, hello. Today we're gonna talk about the evolution of a personal brand. And, you know, your personal brand, it's all about who you are in practice, evolves, your brand also needs to evolve, but yet still stay true to who you are. So how on earth do we do that? Dr. House. Well, the reason we're talking about this is because I was listening to Megan trainer and she just dropped a new video on I am your mother. And I like her. Her message is a little not my style, but I like the catchy. I like the retro, but it was interesting because her new one is I am your mother. about that bass, which is when she was a teenager. So her brand has evolved over time, obviously, but it's still her, you know, and how do you do that in your business? How do you do that in your practice where you mature and your brand matures, but you're still you the whole time? And you might think that that's maybe like simple with musicians, but honestly, it's not because you have to evolve the musical style, You know, she still she has us like edgy I'm counterculture. I'm different. I'm like kind of mad at the world and yet You know 20 years ago, she was relevant 10 years ago. She was relevant. She still comes up with music That's relevant even though she stays on brand with like this is who I am in music And I'm sure that's not just who she is But that's the way that she has branded herself and she's been consistent with that and I think that's the important is probably the most important element of a good brand is consistency. So, okay, so starting with you in practice, how long do you, like what was that journey of, I'm now a dentist, I own my practice, I feel like I have to be a certain way versus here I am now 20, 21 years later? 23 years later. Oh gosh, 23 years later, and I think you exemplify an authentic dentist, It didn't start this way. And no, it didn't. When I graduated, I didn't really have an idea of who I was or when I wanted to be. And I worked for a lot of different practices. But one of my favorite dentists that I worked for, his name was Dr. Utzinger. And I was going to buy his practice. And he was a wonderful dentist. But he was 70 years old when I was 26. So his brand, his style, I mean, just even, it didn't fit me at all. I thought that's who I needed to be. And, you know, it didn't come across as what wasn't, it was very fake. And so I had to evolve into, okay, so what is it that I really love about dentistry? What am I showing patients? And there's a lot of aspects to me, and not all of them work, but there's a lot of pieces that patients like about me, and then you keep developing them, and that becomes your brand. But I think, like you used the word fake, and I don't know if that's completely fair, in the beginning, you don't actually know who you are as like a dentist. So it's not like, you know what I mean? Like somehow being authentically yourself at that time is kind of like you're modeling and what you do is typically all of us, we have heroes, we have people we look up to and we start off by, okay, this is what I think a successful dentist is. This is what I think a happy dentist or a likable dentist is to patients and do you start realizing, okay, where, where's this not in alignment with who I am and what brings me fulfillment? Can you actually start evolving into something that is more of who you are? But I don't know if it's, I mean, I'm sure parts of it might have been fake because like you said, you feel like you're playing a role. But at the same time, I feel like that's like you can't skip that, you know? Who I am is much more interactive. Dr. Ed Singer, because of the time, he was very the way I spoke, which wasn't me. And so it didn't feel good to the patient and feel good to me and yet I didn't really know how to be different. So I guess that's what I mean by fake is that I had that very authoritative sounding, very authoritative look, but it wasn't actually who I was. I'm much more of a collaborator. You know, I know for me in business, and I don't know if it's because of like the Enneagram, I don't know who's familiar with that, but. Oh yeah, I like that. Originally, I tested and I think I tested that like as a nine and the nine is the one that It's agreeable, right? Yeah agreeable. It's almost like the idea of like when in Rome, you know how to Communicate with this person, you know how to communicate with this person you know how to relate and in some ways you're kind of like I don't know who I am, but I can understand a lot of different people so because of that all of a sudden I'll see an influencer I'll see a speaker I'll see an entrepreneur and I'll connect to a part of what makes them unique. And I'm like, oh, is that the way that I should show up? Like, is that the way that I should, you know, whether it was the intellectual or whether it's, you know, Simon Sinek and the way he delivers lines and he sounds so sophisticated. Whether it's Gary Vee that's just like off the cuff, swearing and, you know. But all those people are passionate. And so that's your brand really, is that passion. So passion can be expressed differently, right? So I guess what I was saying is like, I would get confused thinking like, I could almost see those different expressions of myself. So that's why like my wife knows, anytime if I listen to someone too long, like YouTube videos or books, I start kind of, even like Jordan Peterson, if I listen to even two or three days of Jordan Peterson debates or whatnot, I talk to her differently. You know, I start asking different questions and I sound a lot more heady and intellectual. when it comes to my voice and who I am in business. And that's one of the things that Dr. Haus and I were talking about before we went live was, you have so many different expressions of who you are that are true, but which ones of those do you package and consistently show up with professionally in practice? So your brand is still an amalgamation of who you're listening to and who you are and what your practice looks like. When I first started practicing, I was a lot more techie. I was young, I loved to do all that. As I got older, I wasn't as interested, so that couldn't be my brand. So as, and now I'm kind of back into techie, I like it. But I wouldn't say that that was my brand. I think it's still, that always looking for information, always looking for collaboration, that's more who I am. That stays consistent, but like what exactly you're saying and doing, it's gonna change over time because you're changing over time. being an advocate, really caring about legislation. Do you agree, do you feel like that's been pretty consistent over the last decade? Oh yeah, but of course I've gotten better at it too. Over time, because you just, you learn. You learn what you're good at, what you're not good at. I know that I can make a passionate speech. I know that some things I say don't make any sense to people and I have to, and so I can't say those kind of things, that's not, even though that's who I am, that doesn't resonate with others. I feel like it can be really not very concrete. Like people might use the word brand often, like, oh, we like that person's brand. But when it comes to a dentist, it's like. So I have some examples that I keep thinking about. Dr. David Yang, great guy, great dentist. He is definitely the techie dentist. He has every gadget known to man in his office. And he's also the, I'm going to say whatever I think, kind of dentist. And that's how he's branded himself. that patients are looking for him. That's what they want. So you attract whatever your brand is. So you have to be careful, okay, so who is that for other people? There's the pinky brand, which is very much a high end, very patient centered, maybe two or three patients a day. It's not typical for most of us, but that is a brand. And that's if that's who you are, that's how you market yourself. This is, I'm, I'm a spend a lot quality Gucci kind of dentist. And that's who you are and that's who you represent. You probably shouldn't show up in shorts and a t-shirt if that's who you are. And that's what you're marketing because that's not your brand. Can I see what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The brand artifacts need to be in alignment with that. So if you are that high end, you are that sophisticated, well, you know. You can't show up in your Toyota Camry. No, but also the music, if you have music in your waiting room needs to sound that way, you know, It can't just be crap coffee because that's that's not your brand like everything needs to be elevated That has to be you then you have to like those things and pay attention to those things if you don't then that's not really your brand These aren't your people and you're not gonna resonate with them So it's important that you're attracting patients that like you so that your brand is expressing that And I think that's one of the main things that we love talking about here Is that like if you want to find success and fulfillment? authentic voice, that authentic brand, because then you don't have to... Sorry, I just lost audio. Then you don't have to... I don't know. It's exhausting faking it. It's exhausting faking it. If you don't know anything about coffee and you have to buy gourmet coffee and you don't like it, that's miserable. Don't do that. I remember dating. This is a long time ago. And I remember thinking, like, I kind of know the role you're supposed to play. Like, I know you're supposed to show up. You're supposed to, like... this is because my brother was that guy. He was the, the jock as a freshman that got the senior girls. And he kind of just showed me like, this is how you can really like make like shock and awe a girl. And this is how you treat him right. You know, he had like, you know, three restaurants always planned and then he'd cancel the two if depending on what they wanted. And I just remember thinking, okay, so it's almost like he's Bill Gates, but he's showing people he has money. And I'm like, what if he was Bill Gates, but didn't show people he had money. liked him for him. You know, so I just remember thinking like early on in college, like, man, if I just am who I am and can show up that way, if someone falls in love with that, I don't have to perform a day in my life, but then I can still give it my best. I can still be the best version of myself, but I don't ever have to feel like I'm so drained because I hooked someone into thinking I'm someone I'm not. And then now I'm wondering when she's going to realize that's not who I am. And I think it's a- For Dave Brown talks about this all the time. I just think it's hilarious. as a young woman, you get invited on a date, and the guy says, so what do you want to eat? I don't know, what do you want to eat? Oh, I like Italian, great, let's go to Italian. What kind of music do you listen to? I don't know, what kind of music do you listen to? I don't know, the doors, great, I love that too. So then you marry this guy, 20 years later he's like, let's go to Italian food and go to the doors, and you're like, I hate all this stuff. This is not even remotely who I am, but you've been pretending for 20 years. That's miserable, that's, then you're not in sync. You can't just pretend to be somebody you're not. You stop to be professional. You stop to be your training, but you have to be you. So I think of like a Venn diagram, right? And one circle is like completely who you are, what makes you come alive, you know, who you are with your best friends. And then the other circle is like the marketplace. And now this is where the evolution happens. Now, of course you're evolving too, because you're reading, you're learning, you're meeting new people and new experiences, but it's trying to find that lining up with something that the market still wants. Because if you are into bugs and you just absolutely love bugs, I don't think it's a good idea. Insects. Insects, yeah, to just put pictures of bugs all over your practice. Tattoo them on your arms so that when you're, like I don't think that's a good idea just because that's who you are. That would be a very niche market of people that would be interested in that. And that doesn't mean it couldn't happen, but that would be a very, it would be hard to market that. there prove me wrong. But if you love music, you love rock and roll, I have a friend who's Marty Margatus, whose whole office is filled with guitars and rock and roll music. And that's who he is. I mean, that's not rejected. People like that. They're probably not picking him because of that. But that is his what he likes in his brand. So yeah, I think it has to be something that you can attract enough people to keep you in self and So maybe bugs are not the best. Yeah What were some of your favorite examples when you were thinking of just like people that you feel like because you mentioned Sorry, what's the artist name again you mentioned Megan trainer? Yes kills me. You don't know who that is I thought that was so modern. Um, I don't know because she's not Beyonce Beyonce is a very different brand she's not retro or Beyonce is kind of pushing the limit every time so we like her thought of, it's old, I know. But he was very much about his presence and who he was and being strong. And it resonated for lots of people. You know, one of the things I was just talking to Dr. House about was that for me showing up with my voice, I struggled because I felt like there was lots of different expressions that I could have. And it was only when I really started listing them out, kind of with a hierarchy that I realized like, okay, and passion are more important than my playful and fun or my intellectual and analytical sides. And it's not about which ones compete for the top. It's like, I know which one needs to be preeminent. And then the other ones can just almost take supporting roles. So even as you're thinking about like what makes you come alive or the way that you interact with patients, you know, try to think of like the people that know me or my style when I'm just being me. And even if some of those more professional aspects need to be secondary or supporting, as long as they're there. And they are there, absolutely. Yeah, I think you have to come back to your story. Why did you become a dentist in the first place? There's something that you love. If you don't love it, maybe it's time to go do something else. But if there's something that you love, what is that? Why is that? And then how do you bring more of that into your practice?

Summary

In The Authentic Dentist podcast, Dr. Allison House and Shawn Zajas talk about the evolution of a personal brand in a business or dental practice. They discuss how personal brands must mature but still stay true to who the person is. They highlight the importance of consistency in a brand and how passion can be expressed differently. The speakers talk about how they have evolved over time and how their brands have changed with them. They also emphasize the importance of being authentic and how it helps to attract the right patients to a practice. They explain that a personal brand needs to be in alignment with the brand artifacts to ensure consistency.

Blog Post

In the world of dentistry, personal branding has become increasingly important. As a dentist, your personal brand represents who you are, your values, and your unique approach to dental care. But how do you evolve your brand over time while still remaining true to yourself?

In a recent episode of the Authentic Dentist podcast, hosts Shawn Zajas and Dr. Allison House discussed the evolution of a personal brand. Using musician Meghan Trainor as an example, they explored how a brand can mature and change over time while still remaining authentic.

Dr. House shared her own journey in developing her personal brand. When she first graduated from dental school, she didn't have a clear idea of who she was or who she wanted to be as a dentist. She worked for different practices, including one where the dentist she worked for was 70 years old and had a very different style from her own. Dr. House felt like she had to play a certain role to fit in, which she now describes as feeling "fake".

Over time, Dr. House realized that her personal brand was about collaboration and always seeking out new information. This remained consistent even as her interests and focus shifted. She also emphasized the importance of consistency in personal branding, noting that it's one of the most important elements of a good brand.

Shawn and Dr. House also discussed the challenges of personal branding and finding the right balance between being true to yourself and appealing to the market. They stressed the importance of finding a middle ground that allows you to be authentic while still attracting enough patients to keep your practice successful.

One of the key takeaways from this episode is that personal branding is not a static process. Your brand will evolve and change over time as you grow and develop as a dentist. It's important to stay true to yourself and your values while also being open to new ideas and experiences that can help you refine and improve your brand.

Ultimately, a strong personal brand is about authenticity, consistency, and a willingness to evolve over time. By staying true to yourself and focusing on what makes you unique, you can create a personal brand that reflects who you are as a dentist and helps you connect with patients who share your values and interests.