Dr. Henry Ernst- Grow What's Really Important

ABOUT:

The Every Man Entrepreneur, Dr. Henry Ernst, went to the University of Alabama for Undergrad and was an athletic trainer for the football team for 3 years. He went to dental school at Nova Southeastern and practiced in south Florida for a few years before moving to North Carolina and starting a practice. After working through 2008, he vowed to be ready for the next recession. He opened Pleasant Plains Dental in November 2014 and now has 14 chairs, 4 doctors, and 30 employees.

I’ve always found you to be very coachable and willing to learn. Why is having an ego a detriment? It’s very common because they are very smart and went through school, but many seem to be poor business owners. Everyone needs a coach and to fight becoming complacent. 

When someone says they want to figure these things out on their own, I want to ask how much it really cost them. Instead, vet someone you believe in and use what they know and be open to learning.

THE ENTREPRENEUR BIG 3: 

What is your productivity tip? 

The Best Self Book focuses on mentality. You should be able to accomplish a lot in 90 days. Every day you need to do something small as a minimum step to accomplish your goal. Each book is designed for 90 days.

Share a tool that has helped you as an Entrepreneur.

I don’t know if it classifies as a tool, but the EOS system has been very effective. It builds traction and makes things less stressful and more easily replicable. There are also coaches that can help teach you this approach and call you out. You become the last line of defense instead of the first. 

What is your favorite business book? 

“Good to Great” has so much good material that he has used. “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is a great one for mindset when it comes to money. “The Cashflow Game” is a great tool to teach yourself and your family. My practice operates by core values. If you don’t fulfill those values, you shouldn’t stay.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST:

What’s a mistake that you made that you learned a good lesson? 

Never get complacent, always have a startup mentality. When our practice was growing, I had two associates and I got complacent and stopped auditing. I ignored a bad review or two as well as staff complaints. I had to lay her off and found myself having to pick up all of the slack on top of my current schedule. I also found I had to redo about 25 crowns that were poorly done by her for free during that time as well. Check in with your staff on issues, look at your reports and use EOS to prevent a disaster.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Find your teenage self and give them the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series and find good mentors. Find your why, and don’t listen to the media. Participate in Mastermind groups and hang out with winners and good people. If you don’t find what will make you happy, you will be miserable. 

Reverse Engineer Your Business or Side Hustle

Start by building your primary business to it’s best first. Get a coach and maximize it to leverage to other things. Once you get that, you can look to invest in things you understand. I don’t keep anything in the stock market because I don’t understand it well. I look for recession resistant things like lending, storage facilities, and affordable housing options. Use what you can to lower your taxes as well. Figure out how much you need each month and figure out how much you need to invest to make it happen. What’s the shortcut to what you do? Find a group, such as Same Page Mastermind or High Speed Alliance. Most of the people in these groups are made of dentists and other healthcare professionals. It’s not about the deal so much as who you are doing the deal with that will guide your success. Being in a mastermind group puts you in those circles already. It will save you so much time and money. 

To reach Dr. Ernst, please email: [email protected]