A Plan Based on Growth, Not Profit

I officially started my business plan, or lack thereof, in 2001; although I was a technician prior to that, it was not until that year that I decided this was the career to which I wanted to dedicate myself. I knew then that I wanted to learn as much as possible, grow as a technician, and find success in this business. At the time, however, I certainly did not have any real concept of what it took to be successful in business profitability, marketing, sales, or management. I was not even sure of how to start. Instead, my plan at this early stage of my career was a kind of "anti-business" plan. It was a fairly simple one (in theory). I would invest the zero dollars that I had in something that could evolve throughout the years and become an established and successful business. I had to invest in something that would not fail. At that point in time, the only thing I felt I could invest in was me.

I began my youthfully unsophisticated plan by mustering up some money and beginning to seek ways to best learn about being a dental technician. I sought out teachers, programs, courses, and any opportunities that would allow me to gain more knowledge and insight about what it takes to become successful as a technician. I searched for the help I needed, first locally and then throughout the country and eventually abroad, to find the leading figures of the industry who would help me not only to expand my own techniques and skills, but also to understand how and what made them successful. Many became my mentors but more importantly my friends. The plan was enthusiastic and optimistic, and of course I could not have prepared back then for all of the challenges and ups and downs that come with starting, running, and growing a business.

Despite the struggles and, perhaps, imperfections of my plan, I find my business today exactly as I hoped it would be. It is founded not on an interest in rapid success or profitability. In fact, in the very beginning, profit was not a primary focus at all. I knew that I wanted to be the best that I could be, and to do that, I needed to learn, to experience. This did mean that, at times during those early days, I needed to work for lower fees than perhaps I should have accepted. But I felt that I was getting paid to practice. New work offered me the opportunity not only to make money, but to build another restoration, to photograph it with greater perception, to observe it intraorally and understand even better what improvements could be made.

My plan may have been slightly naïve, but I also believe that the passion and drive that lie at the heart of it and the teammates who have been a big part of it over the years are what made my business what it is today. Twenty years later, I am still learning, still growing, and still getting paid to practice.

Peter Pizzi, MDT, CDT
Editor-in-Chief • ppizzi@aegiscomm.com