The Power of Authentic Connections: Callie Ward’s Journey in Dentistry and Consulting

Callie Ward  00:00 

It gave me the strength to know that I can be independent that I don’t have to have answers that everything doesn’t have to be pretty. It doesn’t have to fit into these parameters. And that there aren’t any guarantees. And so why not take the risk? Why not, you know, be willing to do something different and see, 

 

Shawn Zajas  00:19 

the future of dentistry belongs to the innovators. Welcome to innovation in dentistry. I’m your host, Shawn Zajas. And I believe that the future of dentistry is going to be unbelievably great over the next decade in two decades. But the question isn’t that the question is, are you going to be part of what makes dentistry great? Okay, so today, I am super excited that I have the opportunity to interview Callie Ward of Dash dental consulting. And Callie before I set you up, let me just say, seriously, thank you so much for joining me today. 

 

Callie Ward  01:01 

Thank you. I’m beyond excited. I love getting to know you and your beautiful wife and excited for the opportunity to chat. 

 

Shawn Zajas  01:10 

Okay, so here we are innovation in dentistry, the podcast. And innovation in dentistry really takes on two different forms that I see. I see. There’s lots of clinical innovation that ends up happening. And I see there’s a lot of technological innovation that happens. But before any of that happens, there’s some crazy person that says, What, why not me? Why can I step up? And lead what you know, in them. There is some either mindset or belief set that says like, yeah, I can do this. I can pioneer the passion of my heart, whatever that is. And I think that is so unique. And I think so wonderful. And I think that’s what makes dentistry great. So I’m curious, Callie, how did you even get into this crazy industry called dentistry? 

 

Callie Ward  01:56 

Well, it was over 30 years ago, and I at the time, was a flight attendant and had a friend of a friend who owned a dental practice and needed somebody to come in. So that was back in the day that it was a paper book. So talk about innovation, I was the innovator taking their paper charts, turning them into the software to track like the accounts receivable, that sort of thing. And I’ve done every job up front, I’ve managed single location, multi location, I’ve been a consultant for many years. And I think when he when I think of innovation in dentistry, I think of it every single time I go to a dental practice, like every dental practice has similarities, right? We’re all trying to solve the same problems. But when we talk about innovation, it’s that every dental practice has solved those problems in different ways. And I love I love the learning and I love the amount of helpers that go into dentistry. We want to help people and we want to make an impact in people’s lives. And being a growth mindset person is where my heart is. I love always learning and and being open to opportunities. And I think that the people who are willing to try something different are absolutely the key leaders in this world. 

 

Shawn Zajas  03:19 

So you got into dental dentistry originally. And you’re just doing like what you said assisting or front office 

 

Callie Ward  03:25 

stuff. No, I was a receptionist back in 1982. And I have done financial coordinator I have done recare specialist. You just name it, the Costco girl. Everything. 

 

Shawn Zajas  03:42 

So what are those early years look like? Meaning? Was it something that there you were, you’re happy to be part of a team. And then all of a sudden you just try to see how you can continue to add value. Oh, interesting. Like, was it something that you were driving? Or was it the dentist going like, Kelly like you’re amazing. I love that you solve that. But let me see if you can help here. Like how was that? How was that growth happening? 

 

Callie Ward  04:06 

Right? Um, honestly, everything that I’ve learned was self taught until I became a consultant. I worked for one doctor, I loved him. He had the most integrity out there. But he was hard. He was a hard case. And so I was doing collections and I showed him in a year here’s how much I improved collections and over 90 days is X, Y and Z and all of these different things and he just looked at me like well that’s what I pay you for. And my do he was paying me minimum wage which was sign of though at the time eight bucks an hour or something. And that spurred in me like I loved that challenge. I love to seeing things improve. But it also became a challenge for me of how else can I show my value and I wanted to grow so if there was an interruption in my my 30 plus years I did go back to school, get my master’s degree was a two Each year for about two years, and then came back to dentistry because it just the passion was that it really fills my heart to really be in this industry. And I think that I think continuing education now really is focusing much more on the front office. But for so many years, there were there weren’t any courses for front office. I go back to Jennifer, DC and George, I had cassette tapes of how to answer a call and how to convert a call. And I was thrilled when I got to meet her in person a couple of years ago, just made my day like, made my career because she was really the first and only direction that I had gotten that was specific to dentistry. Everything else, I just kind of winged it by my heart and my mind of, hey, this could be a better metric. And I know that that drives this. And so I love that kind of challenge. And that’s also how I became an office manager, I did an independent hygiene study, like my hygienist wanted more time with the patients. And, you know, their numbers weren’t quite where they thought they were. And so I just started tracking the data on my own. And then presented it to the doctor of hey, I noticed this. And if we do this, we can hire another hygienist, which means I wouldn’t have patients waiting to get in. And you know, that’s kind of how I dipped my foot into the consultant manager. And it’s just, every office is different. And it’s like a puzzle. And I love that puzzle. 

 

Shawn Zajas  06:41 

Now, when, when in that journey, did you just say, Okay, I want to go and get a master’s degree, what was happening? And what even led to that? 

 

Callie Ward  06:50 

Well, I was still with that same dentist who really wasn’t willing to share it a piece of the pie, who was really wanting to keep you in that lane. His office manager is still with them. I love them. Like they’re 

 

Shawn Zajas  07:04 

so sweet. How long were you there  

 

Callie Ward
I was there like 10 years?
 

Shawn Zajas
Wow. Okay, so that’s like loyalty, that’s commitment, right? And you kind of felt like you couldn’t fully express yourself, or really bring the true value that you had or get compensated for there. So you knew you had to make a change. 

 

Callie Ward  07:22 

I knew that I I had more to give. And I knew that I could achieve more than what they were willing to do. So that’s kind of where I went back to school. And I went to school, I had four kids at home. I mean, they were all, I think probably middle school to elementary school age, when I went back and got my master’s degree. And I think that’s, like, the greatest accomplishment in the world is to get that degree, magna cum laude and, and have four kids that were still alive, we still do birthday parties, like I still was able to do both. And I think my word of encouragement to anybody is, is don’t let somebody label you and put you in a container that maybe fits them really well, if it isn’t fulfilling for you. And I made the leap from dentistry into consulting, when my youngest was graduating high school because I was bored. I was unbelievably bored. I have done everything that I could possibly do where I was at, and I wanted more. So I, I kind of made that next step happened for me, just as I made the step of opening my own consulting business. 

 

Shawn Zajas  08:34 

So Callie, like, I can’t wait to get there, by the way, like, I’m super excited to like, talk about the consulting and everything. But I’m so curious, like, most people, like conventional wisdom would say, Hey, this is a really bad time to leave a certain position that that you have, I don’t know. You, you have security in like, you’re you’ve been part of this practice. You know, right now you’re being a mom at the same exact time. You got these precious children. And yet, why don’t we just mix it up? Stop doing this and do something crazy by going out and getting your masters? Like, I know. I feel like what stops people sometimes is they wait for perfect timing or what they think perfect timing is right. And I mean, the whole point of this podcast. Callie is that I believe dentistry is going to be great in 10 years. I’m just curious if all of our listeners were going to be part of what makes it great. Are they just going to be on the sidelines watching it happen? Because oftentimes, you know, when we’re about to make a decision and step out into some area of our strength or some area where we can shine brighter. There’s all those doubts. Why now? Why you What if it doesn’t work out? What if there’s no guarantee? Like what if I can’t find that guarantee or that certainty that I’m going to find success? And I look like a fool or I lose lots of money, or, or I don’t have the bandwidth because my kids are young, and I’m exhausted all the time. How am I going to make it? Like there’s always those voices? And yet at a time when it didn’t seem obvious, hey, Callie, you should go back and get your master’s degree. You decided to do it, and you absolutely crushed it. Okay, what was your master’s degree in? 

 

Callie Ward  10:22 

Education. So I have a K to eight, education master’s degree, undergraduate and technical writing minor in French. And my why I don’t think there’s anything that makes me any different than anybody else. Like I had all of those reservations, I had all those worries. But I also early in my 20s. In a year, I lost like six people really close to me. And at that moment, I knew that life was short. And I knew there weren’t any guarantees. And when I went and got my master’s degree, I had four kids, two of them are mine biologically and two are my stepkids. But we’ve been married for 25 years. So they’re all my kids. But I say that because I went through a horrific divorce that I that forced me to do uncomfortable things, and I was successful. So for me knowing that changing a job is scary, but it’s nowhere near like stepping out with an infant and a three year old on your own. So I know that I could do that. Which means I know I can do anything I put my mind to. It may not be pretty, it may not be smooth. But it’s, it’s at least moving in that direction. And so it’s like, I think I gave my mom more heart palpitations in anything in every every change that I’ve done, because she likes things safe and neat and clean. And I kind of, I kind of shared an analogy of you know, I was in a car, and I had a huge blowout, like, my tire is just obliterated. And I pull over and I don’t really know what I’m doing. But I’m just going to do it like I’m going to figure it out. As I’m doing it, I get the tire change, and I get back on the road. Now, do I know if I’m on the right road? No, but it feels right. And at least I’m moving towards something instead of being stuck in a place and, and I coached to that uncomfortable. Like when we’re in a little bit of an uncomfortable zone, not panic. But we’re when we’re leaning into change, it isn’t comfortable. But what we know is that we grow we grow as humans, we grow as opportunities we grow in so many ways that that feels that uncomfortable with us feels better for me than being what I think is safe in my my comfort zone. Because comfort zone doesn’t mean you’re safe, right? Like I’ve been crushed in my comfort zone. So I’d rather be the one in control of that, that lean and, and push a little bit just to see if I can do it. It’s like I told myself for years, I couldn’t run a mile. And then I started to program and I ran a mile and I’m like, what else did I tell myself? I couldn’t do that. Maybe I could do? And why do we put those limitations on ourselves? Because it only makes us feel less about ourselves. Because now I’m living in here and post COVID mid 50s My kids are out. I’m a grandma. I don’t I don’t want to live in that comfort zone. I want to know that I’m doing everything that I was put on this earth to do and I really don’t know what it is yet. Right? Like I love this. This is my wheelhouse. Is this what God said? This is Callie’s gift. I have no idea. But I’m pretty good at it. I love it and I’m just gonna roll with it. 

 

Shawn Zajas  13:49 

Okay, so Callie, you said so much there. Man, where do I go from? Okay, so first off, I have to say I don’t think I realized you went through a season when you were a single mom. And I just need to honor you for that because the courage it takes to be a single mom and just get through that time period. It is so difficult being a mom with help with support. Like I see it every day with my wife like it is the hardest job in the world hats off to every mother out there but a single mom oh my gosh so here you are. And this is this is what I picked up from every high performer that I’ve ever talked to a find a way to look back on the difficult times those those tragedies those low points and that’s where they end up discovering some gold about who they are like you discovered this resilience of like, hey world, I just got through that you can’t stop me now. Like I can’t keep going. When the when it gets a difficult I know. I can lean in. I have the strength. I have the resilience I have the support work around me within me. And I will continue to rise. And that is powerful. Like, that is beautiful. So thank you even for sharing that, like, thank you. Yeah, that was that was that was amazing. I think 

 

Callie Ward  15:13 

it’s grit, right, like I have that grit and that perseverance and that determination. But I also think the biggest lesson for me is that I had to learn to give myself grace. So in being a working mom, being a partner, being a great employee, like I want to be 110% for every one of those roles. And it’s nearly impossible, right, it’s not realistic to think I can give 110% to everybody at the same time. However, I had to learn that some days, my great, my best, is 110%. And other days, the best that I can give us 40%. And I have to love myself equally, and appreciate that that was the best that I could do. And 

 

Shawn Zajas  16:00 

Callie Hold on, this is like a therapy session for me now, because this is so, so difficult. So difficult, because I want to stay at that place where I have the potential in my giftings in whatever greatness I can occupy, I can be at that 110%. And I like it, it feels amazing, it’s this high. But when I met that 40% I’m like, What the heck is wrong with me? 

 

Callie Ward  16:25 

It’s not cuz you can’t, you can’t continue to do that all the time. And you can’t continue to do that for all of those roles. So you have to be you have to give yourself time to listen to yourself to go, I need to take a few hours, I need to go for a walk, like I’m not benefiting anybody, if I don’t feed my cup, if I don’t fill my cup first, and give myself that grace of knowing, gosh, I didn’t handle that really the way that I wanted to. However, it was the best I could do at that moment. And so to know that your best can fluctuate, and to allow yourself, you can make up for it. Right, you can come back. And I think 99% of that is just owning, if I messed up. So if you come to me as my, as my supervisor, my peer, anybody who said, Gosh, Callie, you know, I’m really disappointed in X, Y, and Z. I’m not gonna go, I’m not gonna argue with you. Because I probably know that I did that as well, I’m gonna go, you’re absolutely right. And it was absolutely not my intention to be there. Here’s what my game plan, like, I’m going to give you a solution to where maybe I was lacking. And I’m going to be willing to hear from you of what I could do differently to be better in the future. But if you’re just going to pass judgment, and you’re not willing to give me any of that feedback. Now, I don’t understand and I can improve from it. So for me, every failure is not a failure if I learned something from it. And that takes the ability to self reflect. And then to put things in place not to do it again. That’s all we can do. 

 

Shawn Zajas  18:05 

Okay, so again, like you’re super inspiring right now. So you said something about the comfort zone. And it’s so crazy, because it’s one of the things that I feel like is, um, I don’t know, like every now and then there’s just truth that emerges. And when you find it, you’re like, Oh, my God that I’m laying hold of that. And one of the things for me is that safety is an illusion. So whether I’m on the sideline, or whether I’m in the midst of the game, and it’s there is no safety either way, like there is no safety on the sideline in our so called comfort zone either way, because we can’t control all those external factors. So you might as well just live large and go for those dreams. Because the safe 

 

Callie Ward  18:51 

control is an illusion. And the sooner we realize that we think that we have control and really it life happens. It’s what we have control of is how we perceive the challenges and what we choose to do with our emotions. And there was a period of time after my divorce that I really felt life is happening to me, what was me, you know, nobody else in the world knows how I feel all these things. And it was this this whole slippery pit that I just kept going in self pity, and I decided I don’t have to feel that way. I mean, yeah, it sucks. I was eight months pregnant. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. However, I it was the greatest gift of my life. And when I was able to shift my perspective and go, this was the greatest gift of my life. I am infinitely blessed. I am married to the greatest man now. I have two bonus children. I didn’t have to birth. I didn’t have to diaper him like I got I won. I won on all of those accounts. They’re amazing. And I wouldn’t have them if I would have stayed in here and not ever had another relationship, if I would have stayed in that dental practice and never pushed myself, I’d still be there, I’d still be there and be bored, and be miserable. Because I wasn’t challenged, I wasn’t fulfilling what I knew I was capable of. I don’t know what I’m capable of like, I just keep leaning into that. And I know that I have more. And I know that I can give to people. And my hope is that people can look at me and go, gosh, she’s in her mid 50s, she started her own consulting business, because she wanted to walk in core values. And, you know, that wasn’t happening in my last couple of jobs. So that’s my goal. I want to help people be real and genuine, to their passions, and help them find a way to just wonder what if we experiment? Because that’s all it is, it’s, you know, are you willing to try something a little bit different to see a different result. And if you’re not, no judgement, if you want to stay there, that’s great. But if you want to make changes, you have to be willing to do the work. 

 

Shawn Zajas  21:15 

You’re just a natural. I mean, there’s such a brilliance in you, that comes out, Callie. And that’s why I feel like, I don’t know, it’s just this connection of your passion, your heart for helping others, and it just comes together. And it’s just this power, I don’t know, it’s it’s incredibly inspiring to behold. Okay, so before we go to the transformation, before we go to more about, like, why you’re doing consulting and what you’re doing, I want to go one more moment back into the struggle. Here you are, you said you’re nine months pregnant. And now so in this moment, nine months pregnant, is this when you receive the papers, you give the papers, they get become official, what what’s happening here, 

 

Callie Ward  22:02 

nine months pregnant, I have a baby shower, and I come home and just know something is wrong. And it took probably three weeks to get it out. And he wasn’t willing to go to therapy wasn’t willing to do anything. To save our seven year marriage, we’ve been together for 10, we had a three year old. And I’m not willing to accept that. So that was it. That was the beginning of the end, it took probably a year and a half to you know, dis disentangle to emotion 

 

Shawn Zajas  22:34 

with a newborn, you literally have a newborn, right? 

 

Callie Ward  22:39 

I mean, I shown I could go on and on, there was so much drama, I could write more than any housewives of anything. But I don’t want to, to me that struggle. was a gift. And it was overwhelming. And so I remember getting through day by day, like literally, I advocate for therapy. Absolutely. I had some very, a very good relationship with my therapist to get through the day. But he also challenged me, my therapist is like, Hey, there’s this program called impact. And it’s taking control of your life. And it’s doing things and I always saw that light. And I was always driven to that kind of a thing. And I didn’t want I didn’t want to be the mom who was sad. I didn’t want that for my kids. So it, it was it was a lot. But I look back on it now. And I think you know, it’s unfortunate that that’s what my children had. I don’t remember my son’s first six months of his life. But I’m sure there’s lots of moms who had phenomenal support systems who don’t remember their kids for six months of their life because they were overwhelmed. Like we put we put so much pressure on moms and dads now I can’t imagine being a parent in Instagram, ah, like I, I keep saying to my daughter in law and my daughter of you are doing a great job. And if you don’t post on Instagram, it doesn’t make you less of a mom like you are more of a mom to be present with your children than trying to keep up with the Joneses. And so I think social media has just put even more layers of pressure on parents to be perfect and I don’t there isn’t perfect, right? My kids don’t remember the memories that I tried to create. My kids remember the memories that happened? So they remember when we put the tent up and we’re at the campsite. And then that storm blew in and the tent fell on us and and we never had a tent again. I’m like, yep, we never had attempt after that can’t be you know, it’s how you react and how you handle it. 

 

Shawn Zajas  24:54 

So here you are, though, and there’s every sort of reason legitimate reason for you to just be like, I could just pitch a tent and stay as this victim, because of what has happened to me because of how the world is against me. Like, what do you think was one of the main mindsets that you actually got out? I don’t know. Okay, that helped you emerge from the ashes. 

 

Callie Ward  25:19 

I live there in that probably for longer than I should have. And I would say probably 15 years. And it was due to the things with my ex, my husband’s ex wife, like we had all this tumultuous. It was never there was never happy co parenting, ever. And I was perpetually stirred in protection of my children. And at some point, I realized I was missing out on being with my children in a happy place. Because I was still stirred up from the events. And so it took it. My husband, God bless him is just the constant. He is just flat content. And I’m like, man, we can we’ve been we’ve been reading all over. And he’s like, Callie, you can’t control what’s happening. But you can control how you react, you do not have to get keyed up when this happens, because you’re missing out on the kids being home right now. And it was like, You’re right. And I knew my time with my children was limited, like our time with our kids at home was not finite. And when they’re gone, they’re gone. Like that page turns, you’re still there, Mom, you’re still it’s never the same. I don’t, we do not prepare as a society for how hard it is to let our children go. It is it’s the hardest thing in the world to you want to raise them as independent, you want to do all these things. But when they fly, and they leave, you’re just like, oh, well, what Wait, were, what am I supposed to do? Right? And I think that’s why I knew I needed another challenge in my job. Because my children were leaving. And I, all the time that I put on my kids was now back to me and what what was I supposed to do with that? Like, what? I don’t have 15 sport events to go to you what? Well, I can go work out that. I mean, there were some really good things that came out of it. But I think I think we have to normalize. It’s okay to have a pity party. And we all probably deserve them at times. But is that what serves us and is not bringing us happiness. And it wasn’t. And I knew that I was missing out on moments that I would never get back. Because I was caught up in that turmoil. And, you know, wife is a very interesting journey. I’ve, I’ve extended olive branches to my ex, I’ve extended olive branches to my husband’s ex wife. We’re all on speaking terms at this point, which is miraculous. And I’m grateful for that. Because that puts my children in a better position that they don’t have to feel like I can’t say that because it’s, it should be always about the kids. And I’m, and I’m grateful for that. And if I look at my life, historically, with work and the changes and the evolution that I’ve gone through, I think it parallels on so many, so many levels as well, because it gave me the strength to know that I can be independent, that I don’t have to have answers that everything doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to fit into these parameters. And that there aren’t any guarantees. And so why not take the risk? Why not, you know, be willing to do something different. And see, because maybe it’s greater than where I was and if it isn’t, I can always pivot and go back like, I’m taking this leap and opening my own consulting was, you know, if I don’t get enough clients, I can always go back to being a manager in a dental office. It’s not what I want to do, but I’m good at it and I couldn’t do it. So I just, you know, I’m grateful that I have my husband and he supports me 110% And I’m grateful for the network of people in dentistry because I think really the relationships that I have for the past 30 years is what has enabled me to be able to you know start up from scratch 

 

Shawn Zajas  29:31 

Okay, so I love what you were just saying about again your mindset on why why it’s okay because it kind of made me think like wow, that’s a lot of people in the dental profession Callie that could say, Look, I have a good job right now that pays the bills whether your hygienist, office manager, dentist, so if I ended up trying a side hustle that say starts as that, right like, I can afford to start a passion project on the side or or even completely leave the OP if your hygienist because, you know, if something flops or somehow doesn’t work, you’re in need, like you can still make money with your hygiene degree. And I feel like that’s a, I don’t know, it does alleviate some of the risk of stepping out. But I loved it this whole time what I’ve been seeing, how is that you’re on this journey of how do I align who I am, my giftings my strengths, my passions, with, with my vocation, so I can serve with greater purpose, be more on mission more on point, just for fulfillment sake, when you’re doing something that you know you’re you’re created to do. And again, like you said, Maybe this isn’t even still the fullness of that, but you’re still in process, you’re still along the journey. And everybody I talked to, says, Shawn, I, when I first took that first step, I never would have known where it was going to lead me. Like you don’t have to perfectly architect and blueprint, this strategic course of your life, you just need to take the step, when it’s in front of you, you know, because it’s like I hear you have immense value to serve people in the dental space. And yet at the same exact time, you have immense power to transform women’s lives in the way because of what you went through. Like there’s a whole world out there of single moms of divorced women of people that are stuck in trauma and pain. And they don’t know what to do with it. So yeah, maybe there is an intersection there with right relationships, pain traumas and dentistry. Or maybe that’s a another evolution of of where things might might go. But yeah, I honor you just for the fact that you keep going. And you’re like, Hmm, this doesn’t feel as fulfilling right now. Let me keep going. Let me keep exploring, let me keep seeking, instead of just being like resigned, because right, that’s your option. 

 

Callie Ward  32:02 

But that is your option. And that that is not an option for me. And the other thing is, you know, working with people in the dental community, how many entrepreneurs are there, I have been surrounded by entrepreneurs, for so many years. And I did not like being controlled by their parameters of them telling me this is your value, this is what you’re worth. And I knew, I knew that I could bring more to the table than what they were willing to delegate. And I knew that my value was greater than that. And so it it pushed me to continue to learn and be open minded and, you know, absorb everything that I possibly could. But then at some point, I was at the crossroads of I have to be my own operator, entrepreneur, I can’t, I can’t continue to teach that. And not do that. Because once again, integrity is huge for me. And if I’m going to talk to talk, I have to walk that talk. And so that’s where, you know, did was it perfect timing? No. Is it ever going to be perfect timing? No, it’s like planning a child like, please, it’s gonna it’s gonna happen when it’s supposed to happen. And, you know, I think we’re pretty bold thinking that we’re the ones in control because, haha, life life is in control. Whether you believe in God, whether you believe in it, whatever it is, control is an illusion. And I just know that it’s not the end of the world if things don’t happen the way that I want them to. It just makes me go. What am I supposed to learn from this little challenge? I need to own what I need to own? And then what can I do now to pivot and do something different? And so I, I thrive in challenges, I love to ask team members, you know, rank these five words in order of importance. So money, respect, challenges, growth and purpose. And when they rank those words, I now know what motivates them and what fills the cup. And if I can help them fill their cup, they’re going to be better at their job. And just naturally, more money is going to come like that’s a consequence. I don’t I we focus too much on money, as opposed to how do we feel at the end of the day? And is that repeatable? That’s my goal. My goal is to help people feel great at the end of the day, and how do we take how do we take control of what we have to make that happen? 

 

Shawn Zajas  34:40 

Okay, so I’m so impressed that you were like, here I am. I’m hearing you know, like, you’re seeing these entrepreneurs, you’re you’re witnessing it. The seeds are getting birth in you and you’re like, I believe that 100% like I am now I am an entrepreneur, and I’m telling people what they need to do. And yet The same exact time as a, it’s almost like, I don’t know, as it rises up within you and gives you wings. It’s scary. It’s like, Well, God put those wings back down. Well, no, but then they keep rising up. And at some point, you just gotta, you just gotta jump and take flight. And the reality is compensation and wealth are directly proportionate to the amount of risk someone’s willing to assume. And that’s where, when you’re a great teammate, and someone’s already taken that risk, it’s hard. It’s hard to share in the spoils, because you know, right now, starting your own consulting company, there’s no guarantees that you’re going to, like, be able to cover your expenses, right? And then let’s say there’s all of a sudden three or four people on your payroll, well, guess what, they automatically get paid. Every single month, they get paid, but you maybe don’t. So it’s like, the idea that the owner, you know, keeps too much. It’s one of those things, it’s like, Hey, I’m so proud of you, Kelly, for just taking that risk. And stepping out. And I 100% know, as it already is that this is going to continue to be wildly successful. I want to know more about just dash dental consulting, like, what is it you do? Who’s perfect for you? You know, in that ideal world, who are the people that you can help the most? 

 

Callie Ward  36:23 

Right? So, Dash is a two fold name, Dash is the greatest name I was ever given. So my grandson named me dash, how he came up with it, I don’t know. But I love it. I’m dash, like I love dash. But Dash has a double meeting. And that double entendre is, you know, we’re born one day, and we die. And the dash is what we do in the middle. And so when I think of my impact, working with dental practices, is I want to help the dentist, be able to create the practice of their vision of that they feel great at the end of the day, that they’re able to take great care of their patients and great care of their team. And so how do they want that data? How does it what’s their work life balance, and I think when I was working for other people, there was no work life balance, I was not in control of that piece. Whereas now as the consequences are mind of the choices that I make as the business owner, and so being intentional with acknowledging, hey, I’m capped out, I need to take the afternoon off, I, I can pull a double shift in the morning, right? Like I now have that ability. And that affects my mental perspective, because I’m able to feed my soul as well. And I really want I mean, if I look at my wheelhouse, I’ve worked with tons of startup practices. I’ve worked with tons of middle, you know, where they’ve plateaued and kind of don’t know what they don’t know of, why am I not doing what I thought I could do? Those are really small, really great, fun things to work with. And it’s just like I mentioned about raising our children, right? Like, my goal as a consultant isn’t for them to need me forever. I don’t want them to be dependent upon me, I want them to think of me as a thought partner. And what if, and are you willing to do, you know, experiment. And so I see success as working with them, getting them where they want to be where they’re comfortable, and then letting them go. And if they come back, they’re always going to learn something different, right. But the goal is not dependency. That’s, that’s not solving the problem. And that’s not empowerment, and I’m all about empowerment. And so, you know, in, in dentistry, dental front office, we don’t have that many resources for education, or skill set or systems and training. And we’re starting to get there, we’re seeing many more, you know, really great groups and trainers and that corner, kind of a thing. But my consulting isn’t cookie cutter. Mine is, Hey, what is working? Where do you have opportunities? And what are you willing to do differently? So I can work with anybody if they’re willing to experiment and play. But if they want to do the same thing, and think they’re gonna get a different result, they’re not for me. 

 

Shawn Zajas  39:24 

That’s great. I feel like dentistry is in such a strange place right now. Because there’s so much pressures, you know, from what is it the insurance companies, you know, lowering reimbursements. And I just feel like there’s this like pinch. I mean, even just with, you know, that crazy inflation that we’re all going through, in what ways do you still feel like there’s opportunities? I don’t know for practices to, to continue to be on a trajectory of growth.  

 

Callie Ward  39:54 

Oh, you can’t even begin to label them. I mean, you know, you pull up, you pull up the data and they get counted on the data. And I love numbers. And it’s ways that we can measure. But if we don’t change a behavior attached to that KPI, we’re not going to see things change. And it’s like the dentists that goes to the continuing education, they get all fired up, we’re going to we’re going to do this, come back Monday morning, we’re going to do this. And their team hasn’t been present with them. They don’t know really what the doctors talking about. The doctor really doesn’t know how to implement it, but they want it because they bought some bright, shiny new toy, and it sits there. But nothing changes. And now the team got excited. Because like, Yeah, let’s do something different. And now we didn’t do anything. So now it’s like the little boy who cried wolf. And every time the doctor comes back, like, yeah, right, we’re gonna do something different, because nothing ever changes. So you have to have a game plan, then you all we have to communicate. And I think that’s the piece that misses how many how many dental practices, say they want all these things and growth and changes, but they’re not willing to cut it cut out two hours a week for training, or they’re willing to spend time one on one as human beings outside of the dental practice so that I know you as a friend, because when I when we’re connected in relationships, we tend to take better care of each other. And so it’s really my my huge focus is intentional communications, intentional, clear expectations. Where are we going? How do we how do we want to get there? And do we agree that we’re all going to do our effort arch our share of getting there, and then we need to celebrate, we need to live in that positivity. Not focus on Suzy, who didn’t do what I told her to do. We want focus on Mary who did it and she kicked it like yay, that’s we were reinforcing, then pointing out the negative. And I’ve been in practices where we did not celebrate, where we had no opportunities where you were, you were beaten down. And I still loved my patients. And I still wanted to take great care of them. But it made it hard to go to work. And I don’t want that I want I want to work with people who number one want to feel great at the end of the day. Number two want to keep their team for a long time, and are willing to let them share their ideas, let them win, like share that piece of pie make the pie bigger. So we get skin in the game. And we all look at those patients as our patients, not just a patient. And we do that by relationships. And we we build intentional relationships, and we have open and honest conversations, and sometimes they’re great, touchy feely conversations and other times it’s ownership of, yep, I absolutely could do that better. And I hear you and here’s what I’m gonna do. 

 

Shawn Zajas  42:53 

At the heart of everything you’re saying, because I love that at the base that at the heart of it is relationships, like you said. And when it comes down to it, there’s all the I don’t know, the the hacks, the little shortcuts people are looking for. But the long term strategy for success in any area is simply to like treat people the right way. It’s like humanizing just people. You know, your team has hopes, and dreams and fears. And they want to be able to express themselves and feel like what they’re doing matters and that they’re part of a team that’s aligned and connected, so that they are excited to go to work. And I think that is still one of the most challenging parts of just a dentist being a great leader. So it’s like, it sounds like if a dentist right now is like, Okay, I know there’s greater potential for my practice. I’m stuck in some areas. I don’t exactly know how to get unstuck. It would be perfect for them to reach out to you. Absolutely. Where Where do you want them to go? When it comes to reaching out? 

 

Callie Ward  43:58 

I have a great dental website dashdentalconsulting.com They can call me. Callie or my phone number is 303-720-5016. Email is dashdentalconsulting at Gmail. So simple, simple, easy ways. I’m on Facebook, I’m on LinkedIn. And I I want to leave the the thought of anything is possible. I think in today’s world with the turnover that we’ve seen post COVID. And the impact the financial impact on losing team is astronomical. And we can put a stop in that. If you’re willing to look at your team as your partner. And as really, they’re not another tool. They’re not something that we can throw away. They really impact our patients and our patients really look to them as well. And it’s, it’s really fulfilling and exciting when I do it with a dental practice where we, we have people that are long term, because I know that they’ve done something right on that end of taking care of them. But change is really scary. We talked about how it’s scary changes, and yet, we’re seeing a lot of people change jobs, which should be a red flag to all of us that are employers of, okay, what what’s my role in every situation with my team? And what can we do, to set out on this journey together to reach the same agreed upon goal and to feel great at the end of the day? 

 

Shawn Zajas  45:44 

Okay, I just love what you’re doing. So are you ready for this last question, you know what it is? I’m ready. Okay, so Callie, here you are, you’re walking down the street. And often the distance you see 18 year old Callie. And you know, you only have one moment to communicate a brief sentiment, what do you share with her? 

 

46:03 

Never give up. 

 

Shawn Zajas  46:11 

Wow, that is unbelievably powerful. Um, I just love what, not just what you’ve been saying. But not just the talk. I love the walk. Like I love what you embody. And I think it’s just, it’s perfect, because it’s exactly what I want my listeners to hear. I want them to know that whatever they’ve gone through in their past, like now is a perfect time to just step into what makes them come alive. Without the guarantees without the reassurance and the certainty. And it’s super helpful for them to know even that that comfort zone that they think is keeping them comfortable, that safe. It’s not it’s not safe anyway. Right. So there’s no better time than now to step up. And just get to shine that light that is uniquely theirs. And that’s exactly what I feel like you have been doing, Callie, it has been so easy to honor you, as an innovator, like I love what you’re doing. I love the light that you shine. I am 100% in your corner. i i Love dash dental consulting. And I just want you to know like, I support you completely. So thank you so much all for letting me interview you today. 

 

Callie Ward  47:27 

Well, I appreciate it, you do the same thing. And the excitement that you bring is really, it was a breath of fresh air. First time I met you it just it made me smile. I love the idea. It’s so unique. And I think what what makes both of us stand out is our authenticity, that we are who we are and there’s there we own good and bad. And there’s no there’s no secret sauce. There is perseverance there is just being you and you just keep trying. And some days, some days you’re gonna kill it. And other days, it’s gonna suck and we just gotta roll with it. 

 

Shawn Zajas  48:09 

Sorry, I that’s what’s so encouraging though. I love that there is no secret sauce, like, I screw up so many times. And I’m not. I’m not special or brilliant. Like across the board, I have certain areas where I can serve in a greater capacity because it’s what I’m gifted to do. And that’s exactly what I see you doing along this journey. Kelly, you keep being like, Okay, that was a great experience. But this is the part that I want to take. And this is the part that really made me come alive. Now let me iterate. Okay, so that wasn’t as fulfilling this part is and you just keep going. And now you have the ability and the autonomy to fully express who you are, and elevate dentistry. And that’s exactly what you’re doing. I love it. 

 

Callie Ward  48:55 

Thank you, I, I love my job. And it feels so good to be back in the saddle and back doing it. And if there’s one person that takes away one thing from today, and it makes them go, Hmm, I wonder and what if I try this? It’s a win, right? Like we’ve we’ve then made the world a better place. And that’s ultimately like all I ever knew I wanted to be was a mom and that that I still am but that ended in a very short period of time. So what’s next and I think this is where my calling is helping people. Be positive. 

 

Shawn Zajas  49:35 

Amen. Well, hey, Kelly, thank you so much. 

 

49:37 

Thanks, Don, you have a fantastic day. 

 

Shawn Zajas  49:41 

Thanks for listening, and be sure to follow so you never miss an episode. To learn more about what’s going on in dentistry. Check out innovation in dentistry.com