by Two days of inspiration, innovation, and connection.
By Laura Bowles, DEO
This year’s DEO Growth Summit, held June 8-10 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, brought together dental entrepreneurs, dental leaders, and industry partners from around the country. It was an incredible time of learning and connection. Despite the daunting economic and labor climate, there was an undeniable air of excitement about the future of group dentistry. The event offered ample networking opportunities and 15 stellar sessions, jam-packed with actionable content.
Each year the Summit brings the country’s top dental entrepreneurs together to focus on how to successfully grow a dental company. Attendees learned about trends to plan for; gained impactful strategies for recession-proofing their business, leveraging AI, optimizing associate relationships, out-of-the-box solutions for the labor shortage, KPIs that drive productivity, managing the inherent stress of being a dental leader, etc.; heard from successful dental entrepreneurs about what to and not to do; discovered innovative dental industry solutions; and much more.
Dr. Ben Winters – AKA “The Bentist”, the No. 1 dental social media influencer in the English-speaking world, told his amazing story about being one of the first professionals on TikTok in January 2019, 2 months after it launched; and how he amassed over 20 million collective followers on TikTok, Instagram, and Youtube, garnering over 1 BILLION views per year. He shared his formula for leveraging social media to drive more business, with insights like: “Short-form social media content is everywhere. It’s king”; “Paid ads force people to look at your content, but that doesn’t mean your content is good”; and “Good social media content will bring in better patients and keep your cost per click drastically lower because you’re adding value to the social media platform.”
DEO Partners Josey Sewell and Dr. Eric Roman took a deep dive into DEO MAP, sharing its blueprint for dental company growth through systems and processes and a happy, healthy team.
Peter Sheahan, Founder & Group CEO of Karrikins Group delivered a standout presentation that resonated deeply with attendees about finding opportunities amidst the challenges, sharing wisdom like: “You should be as interested in what it’s like to work for you as you are in your clinical practice” and “An aligned leadership team with full acceptance of the current reality and a burning ambition to progress their patients’ and customers’ lives will outperform the limitations of capital.”
It was a powerful weekend with lots of “aha moments” and fun enjoyed amidst the Hyatt’s gorgeous ocean views and incredible activities southern California offers.
The DEO team thanks all the generous speakers and panelists who gave their time and expertise: Emmet Scott; Dr. Eric Roman; Josey Sewell, RDH; Tiffany Fleisch; Andrew Tralongo; Jackie Brown; J.W. Oliver; Patrick Nelson; Dr. David Juliani; Dr. Dave Janash; Elliot Zibel; Florian Hillen; Adam McDaniel; Dr. Michael Acierno; Wes Judish; Amber Collins; Peter Sheahan; Dr. Chris Martin; Dr. Yooson Kim; and Dr. Gregory Toback.
Also, the Summit would simply not happen without the support of incredible sponsors and industry partners! The DEO is grateful for their continued support.
Planning is in full swing for next year’s Summit! Save the date for DEO Growth Summit 2024, Gaylord Palms Resort, Kissimmee, Florida, June 13-15, 2024, and stay tuned for more details.
