 Welcome back to why in the morning if it's Tuesday, it's entrepreneurship Tuesday at Y244 Channel is where you can find us across all our social media handles at Michelle Ashira is where you can find me across all my social in this particular session We dive into an interview that looks at the business of dentistry. Look here I am joined by a gentleman who helps us have these beautiful smiles all the time you and I right cool Right, so I'm joined by dr. Martin Mosheera who is the chief dentist at the elephant dente dental clinic Thank you very much Martin for creating Martin Mosheera for creating time to be with us. Thank you. How are you feeling this morning? Well, uh, well I'm partly at broken loading. No, it's cause you smile It seems very perfect I'm wondering where's my space What do they think to be a dentist Martin? I would say first takes passion. Okay, and uh, like for me, I would like to thank my uncle Mahirast in peace You see when you grow with the Identiced in the family But then they were just doctors not dentists. Yeah, you just know you used to know him as a doctor He was just to look at him and I'm like, wow Ben Carson in the family So since scratch I've always wondered yes Oh, I need to be in his shoes. Okay. And well, I pushed myself Through school and through you know campus and everything and finally well, I can't say yes Okay, here we are. I'm gradually All right, do they make most young people who want to get into this Same industry that you're in when you come to dentistry They have the same passion compared to Currently compared to back in your days considering the the situation that's happening in the country our health sectors. We have We actually importing, you know, medics outside the country, uh, do you think that it's it's You know, it's the industry being a doctor. Is this is going to still be on that pedestal level? Well, uh, I'll speak of our times and uh, I Remember when we graduated there was that big strike And we you know, I was hoping back then that after the strike it would open a whole new Chapter in the health sector in the country But I'll say sadly as time goes by I'll speak of what I'm seeing Of my own understanding and interpretation of how things are Things are getting worse When it gets to a situation whereby we are importing doctors, but still My colleagues and I we've never seen The inside of ministry of health You finish your internship the government just wipes Its hands and it's done You will apply apply apply And with the county system, it's harder I will not speak of the details But with the county system getting employment in those Distrito hospitals and provision hospitals. It becomes harder So sometimes you just sit and you you see on tv the importing doctors and you they are seated watching them being imported and you wonder What's really happening? So like just answer your question as time moves by I would say the attraction that was there back then To the medical field we will gradually just decrease. Okay Martin use is an interesting story. Dr. Martin This is a very interesting story from employment starting your own practice. How was that transition? Let me just say There are times you I would just sit somewhere in traffic and yes I would ask myself whether tomorrow is assured or Ensured You're just there. You have the idea. Yes. You've done all the mathematics but sadly You you're giving yourself all sorts of excuses. There is a financial aspect You're telling yourself. You still don't have 20 years of experience You're telling yourself. You just don't have enough clients And you go talk to people out there. How will you get the supplies? They're telling you are dentistry getting these materials is really expensive And you're there looking at them and you're like, yeah, I know it's expensive So trust you me the transition from being employed When you're employed, there is the insurance or assurance of salary of the month You don't really clear how things are whether clients come in or not You just know that other than one something will check into your bank. Yeah, it's not my business I did it, you know, whether whether even a client comes in and you even treat them for free It is not your business You just know that at the end of the month There is rent for you. There is food stuff. There is zero the good life But the transition there is that first phase whereby to be told you have to Change your lifestyle. I'll speak for myself Change your lifestyle from the lavish lifestyle that you used to just live Aimlessly carelessly knowing at the end of the month things are just checking in But at that time now you're forced to do mathematics You're forced to not start from what they call. Yes financial discipline And some of those things or concepts are not taught anywhere. All right You get me. Yes. And do you feel like that helps you build character? Considering when in employment, it's sort of comfort. It's a comfort zone. Now you're in a space whereby you jump, right? Were you scared and did it help you build character? To be told yes, you have to have discipline Not just financial discipline because well Truth be told finances affect majority of not all areas of our lives So if you're having financial discipline You're having virtually all aspects of discipline are being checked in. So yes, it builds character You have to stop some of those Funny funny areas that you are indulging in you just now just have to focus And best like for me, let's just say had someone that I worked with someone that they tell you yes Dog things are going to be a bit tricky and I'm not going to be spoon feeding you Okay in talk. I'm just going to tell you things. Yes Even I for myself the person that the You know, I'm talking to you. They're telling you yes Those back years things are not as they are right now. I'm not where I am Yes, I was employing you you lavishly doing things for you But yes for you to get where I was or I am You have to just sit with yourself Put pen to paper ask yourself Where do you want to see yourself in the next few years and what will it take? All right, and it's quite important. We mentioned that someone held your hand along the journey It's very rare to find that your employer holding your hand Showing you the path considering that you know the profession of you being a dentist Now the business aspect of it management supplies financing It's very rare to have someone who's actually employed hold your hand It rarely happens. So how did that even happen? Well, uh, truth be told again, uh, like you said it it's No, no one, uh, I believe it's just nature that no one wants just to hold a competitor or to build a competitor And then bring them to your level. Maybe they even overtake you But yes Someone held my hand They they they I remember the statement they made and I Forever be thankful. They asked me dr. Ashira Nairobi has four million people I cannot treat them alone And I was there thinking wow That's true If he sees four million people alone He's done There is no way he's standing after treating four million people He held my hand took me to all the dance that no one will show you Told me that yes if you want to buy this buy here first One day you you you'll get the cash to come and get from these other areas But for now get from here import from here do this and all and yes Just get a foundation first One day I think you know the current language is with our mocha And you'll have the money to just knock on someone's door. Yes. I want this and that But for a start, it's always good to get someone who can hold your hand reason being In school, you're not taught managerial aspects of our career Okay, I wasn't taught not that I miss some classes or anything We're not taught managerial aspects of the finances. Yes If you miss using your own salary you can imagine running The finances of a company Okay There are things that you don't know what What is done about Paying people how to negotiate salaries and all that how to even negotiate when you're buying things Because you've just been lying low When you're employed, you okay, not not everyone will also welcome you to the managerial table That's very true. You get very true. Yeah, not everyone will welcome you and just tell you that these are how things are run They'll just be letting you to stay to to just do your cleaning aspects of yes And I love to take you back on the aspect of when you were creating excuses, you know at a point where you scared to just you know Jumped that's something that It's new but it's something that you want to get into So in that space over Creating excuses you mentioned earlier before we started this conversation then corona came and you're like, you see I was right, you know, what if I started a business right now and here's corona trust you be It was in March When corona hit Kenya and you're they are telling yourself. Yes, god I knew I knew you just start, you know, interpreting the bible in your own way now. Yes Okay, so what made you get into it now full-time? You mentioned earlier that you had guys working for you When started when you started so What decision made you like which decision did you take to just get into it full-time? Nothing motivates you again. Like I said to you earlier like then when you see someone that you know, okay someone who's Either able to just open up to you and give you things in black and white A colleague a classmate or someone that maybe you used to work with You've seen them from scratch. You've seen them build you even went for their opening ceremony Then now you go to their facility a few months later And you're like, yes, this can be me You go they talk to you and they tell you what you're doing And then you sit there in the evening, you know, and like if daughter x made it He's someone that I've seen, you know, they even have to sell their cars or whatever And now they're importing cars day in day out and you tell yourself if they made it I can do it There is nothing so special about them that I don't have It just takes a lot of determination You have to for for a lot of other aspects of your life And yes, you can be in that position They explained oh, it's important to run a successful dental office. I believe you require quality equipment Was that a challenge for you when starting off the business? I would say financial the financial aspect financial aspect. Yes Again, you see you do your mathematics Figures just keep rising rising rising. You look at your bank account You tell yourself Then the problem again is If you've never had a loan in your whole life, you hear stories Yes, you're like you take alone. What are the stories you had? You take alone brother. They'll come for you They will because then one keeps telling you the first one. I think two years of any business Are not so upwards So you keep telling yourself now I take a loan of whatever amount what will I do? So trust you me the financial aspect is a challenge. Yes majority if not all equipment and materials that are used in medicine are quite costly So sometimes There are things you just when you employed the things you just misuse You're there. You're just using five pairs of glass of one client because well They're there and you don't know how much it costs But now when you go to your place now you start realising. Yes Things don't really go the way Things don't really go the way they were used to be behaved someone's clinic at your place. You have to you have to really be Disciplined totally change majority if not all these things. They're important They are bit too costly and then again You there's some things you do you can just transfer the entire cost to all your clients You go charging some of those things you will just be treating yourself And I think the clients don't really understand sometimes we like treating people Not not only we're not like we wish you to be sick, but we like seeing our work You get me the irony in there you get me. Yes We like to see you happy and you were smiling and we are seeing the 32 teeth intact So for us to do all that we have to use some of those things. Yes, but we have to use them in a Disciplined way. Yes. All right. And what are a couple services that you offer in your dental office? At our facility currently, let's just say we are The only thing that I had to go at least when polish up on was implantology And thanks to one of the companies around they offered us Assessions and yes, we are offering implantology. We offer. What is that? Thank you Implantology is when well When you come with some missing teeth I always say implants are the Mercedes Benz of teeth replacement As opposed to when people say You get me? So currently we are replacing teeth. We do extractions for kids and all that we do feelings root canals and crowns and Yeah Should there be a challenge? We the good thing with our field And I I'll speak of my career dentistry. That is you you can always talk to your colleagues out there If a case comes and you feel This is a way way Above you it requires theater. You can always Move forward. So let's look at how profitable is a dental the dental practice Generally People say the dentist is expensive. I don't know for whichever reason. I always say neglect is expensive If you neglect your teeth when you come to the facility is not just mine any facility Things might be a bit costly. Yes a dental practice I would say it's quite A good business to establish not just for dentists We have enough people who finance dentists to establish dental clinics. It's a very profitable clinic practice that is and The only cost that sometimes goes a bit too high is the initial cost Because majority like the dental chairs Majority they're imported if you buy locally they are a bit too expensive. Yes I'm not trying to cartel your market in any way. So The initial cost is a bit too highest And but once things level up It can really Pick and once you have your clientele and all the insurances are on board It can really be profitable. All right In my next visit to a dentist How do I ensure that they are credible and certified to actually Conduct a procedure on me? Well, uh like in any medical or dental facility First of all, there is the certificates They should be on the wall And should you require any verification? There's a number on that certificate. You can always just take it And there's a way you can check from the board either from the site From the website the board site. You can just input there to the session number of that doctor But again, I always say It's about a relationship you create with someone And trust you me it doesn't really take much to know that someone is credible or not Are you sure? It's like take the example of drivers around here. How do you know someone is how do you question someone? They are ahead of you, but they just do something And you'll be there you'll even take the number Can you see? Yeah, this is all The same thing you get to me. So it's just my instincts Are you sure? Don't even doubt or delidally. It's your health Exactly You get me? Yeah Don't wait to, you know, wait. Is this right or wrong? Is this right or wrong? Yeah, that's why I'm asking this question so that we can know the better way to go about it You get me? Mm-hmm Everything should be on the wall Including all the academic certifications So that it should there be any need for verification You can either just call the institution call the board and just verify It's your health Don't just belittle your teeth and just you know, sometimes we apply it so just say it You know, you can either remove it or just do something funny funny with it Don't do that to your health if you can do that to your teeth It's just part of the the entire body You get me? So just everything should be on the wall When you look into this business you were interacting quite closely with your clientele It's more of service And how do you ensure that your your staff they are well equipped when it comes to communication skills? Let's just say every now and then we do have some forums We call in someone who can not just for My staff even I myself It's a learning process There are things that we assume that we are good at Until you in a class somewhere and you wonder wow, that's how it's done So for us it's a continuous process every month. We have sessions. I won't say weekly monthly We have a session at the beginning of the month as we just strategize for the entire month We just sit we just try to check Before you leave off acidity you have to you have to fill a feedback form And give a suggestion box should you feel like there is something that wasn't Addicted to you properly whether you know communication or inaction We always encourage you to feedback You give us that at the end of every week We analyze them and at the end of every month now we call in someone To get an external eye Because sometimes when you're judging yourself, you are a bit too lenient You'll see something and you start saying That one But when the patient was wrong So we always try to get someone from outside who can come and criticize us And but you say we also build us Because once they correct us, we will not do the same same mistake again. Okay, so how do you show you?