Balancing Practice Ownership with Being a Parent

Being a dental practice owner doesn’t exist in a vacuum and it isn’t the only aspect of your life that requires your attention. This is especially true for practice owners with children. The challenge of balancing parenthood with owning any business is hard enough, but it becomes even more complex when you are a dentist who owns your practice. In addition to taking care of your patients, you also have to master the business and leadership aspects of your practice… all while making time for your family.

Dr. Grace Yum understands these challenges quite well. Dr. Grace Yum is the founder of Yummy Dental and Orthodontics for Kids in Chicago and the owner of Mommy Dentists in Business Facebook community. She has worked in the dental field for more than 20 years and has been consulted by media outlets such as Chicago NBC and The Today Show for her expertise in pediatric dentistry. She is also the host of the Mommy Dentists in Business Podcast, and she is first and foremost a mom.

For this episode of the Progressive Dentist Podcast, Grace shares the important skills and best practices she has developed to better manage her time and run her dental practices while still making plenty of time for her kids. She discusses her Mommy Dentists in Business Facebook community and the role it serves to support other moms who run practices. And she shares her best time-saving tips and strategies to help keep all the chaos in balance. I hope you enjoy hearing her wisdom.

The Importance of Time Management

A key strategy Grace employs to better manage her time and reduce the amount of pressure she deals with is to delegate responsibility. As Grace said, it is important to focus on the things that only you can do, and delegate the things others can do. Hiring a personal assistant, even part-time, can be a tremendous help. It’s surprising how much time you spend in your day on the phone or doing tasks like shopping. Minimizing time spent on those tasks will free you up to focus on the truly important work.

However, there is a caveat. As Grace explained, it’s important to be careful when delegating tasks related to finances. While we all want to trust that our teams have our best interests in mind, things like payroll and signing checks should have strict oversight. There’s no good reason to create an opportunity for an unscrupulous person to take advantage of our trust, and that’s why Grace maintains careful oversight over her practice’s finances. Trust, but verify.

Outside Support Can Be a Tremendous Asset

Part of the reason Grace created her Mommy Dentists in Business Facebook community was that she saw a need for support for other professional moms like her. Her community provides people a safe space to share dental information, provide emotional support and resources, and mastermind strategies for dealing with the shared challenges they face.

During the episode, Grace also stressed the importance of having great mentors in your life. These mentors don’t necessarily have to be dentists, they just need to be supporting people with knowledge and skills to share that can support your efforts, in all aspects of your life. Having the right support to turn to can turn challenges into opportunities and can help you better manage the many hectic aspects of your life. Communities like Mommy Dentists in Business can be valuable resources to find relevant support from others.

Dr. Grace Yum has learned to balance the many competing aspects of her life, and I hope you find her wisdom and strategies useful in your own efforts. If you’d like to connect with Grace, you can find her on many different social media platforms or by visiting //mommydibs.com. And, as always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative podcast episodes with other remarkable guests.