Navigating Growth and Legacy: Dr. Todd Sala on Dentistry, Family, and Business Expansion

Welcome to this episode of the Private Practice Playbook with Jay Geier. Today, we dive into the remarkable journey of Dr. Todd Sala, a dentist whose story spans four generations and over a century of family practice. From buying into his father’s practice and continuing to build alongside his family to expanding from a modest eight-operatory clinic to a bustling 34-chair practice, Dr. Todd Sala reveals the lessons he learned along the way. We’ll hear about the challenges of earning patient trust, embracing mentorship (even when it’s hard to hear), managing finances and capital expenditures, and, perhaps most importantly, learning to delegate and become a true leader. Dr. Todd Sala opens up about balancing business growth with personal life, coaching others in the field, and the mindset shifts that unlock true potential. If you’re seeking not just growth, but lasting impact in private practice, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Timestamps: 00:00 Todd's professional journey and insights 04:22 Discussing their close friendship 08:32 Decision to retire after vacation 12:22 Discussing business growth challenges 15:39 Understanding capex in business growth 19:08 Paying off the building 20:09 Expanding dental practice team 24:31 Balancing work and family life 27:06 Understanding others' perspectives on business 31:42 Preparing for leadership transition 32:48 Reflecting on early struggles 36:54 Reflecting on personal growth process 40:55 Building a dental clinic abroad 45:16 Turning point: focusing on others 47:30 Discussing time and money freedom 50:34 Thinking about saving money 54:09 Haggling story at Sam's Club 55:49 Discussing client ranking and feedback 58:57 Discussing the company's operational strategies Quotes, Hooks, & Timestamps: "Allowing a coach to tell you the things that maybe you didn't want to hear and being receptive of them and also sometimes not wanting to hear them and then also understanding that you got to hear that." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:00:18 → 00:00:28] "Doctors do like to hear from another doctor, but then they're also. They have a heightened judgment. I've noticed." — Jay Geier [00:03:32 → 00:03:38] "I didn't know anything about cash flow and then it took me about four years to really get into like actually understanding what is it and not just going to the operatory to solve all the problems but actually looking at a profit and loss statement. That was a huge turning point." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:14:41 → 00:14:57] "Yeah, you went to school to be a dentist, but if you're really going to grow your dental pract, you have to capitalize it, which is what you were describing. And that is usually done through a vehicle of borrowing and then amortizing it over time." — Jay Geier [00:16:32 → 00:16:46] "We're on the, you know, we're nearing the freebird stage at home. So my daughter's driving, she's a sophomore in high school. So we're kind of glomming onto her because that's like the end of that phase, which is great." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:23:07 → 00:23:18] "I think that if they can realize that if they could offload some of the stuff to somebody else, they can actually get to the things they want to do more. Right, interesting. And still be consistent with that precision of dentistry, because it's a weird thing, right?" — Dr. Todd Sala [00:29:18 → 00:29:31] "In the next five years, he needs to run this division and. And he doesn't need me in it, and I should be the consultant and I'll go do practice growth institute and you know. You know what I mean? Like, I made that." — Jay Geier [00:32:04 → 00:32:16] Building Success from the Ground Up: "trying to get good at what you do when you're smaller translates exactly the same to doing good at the small stuff when you're bigger. Because if you don't have the foundation has to be there right." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:33:09 → 00:33:21] "A bunch of extra money and a bunch of extra time, you know, that's more attractive than 5 million bucks, you know, you'll take that all day." — Jay Geier [00:48:11 → 00:48:18] Invest in Your Own Team: "the truth is, is I would rather have that money to invest in my own team than somebody else." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:54:56 → 00:55:00] "How come it doesn't feel like it and it's such an easy negotiation, right?" — Jay Geier [00:56:24 → 00:56:29] "It's like fire the bottom 10% today, right? Everybody be like, no chance, no way. I'd never do that. But if you can save some money on supplies, it's like, yeah, just green light. It's super easy." — Dr. Todd Sala [00:57:53 → 00:58:02] "If you never ask for a better price or you never do a comparison or you don't get a second quote, they're just going to keep raising the price, no problem. And their margin is going to go up and yours is going to go down." — Jay Geier [00:57:08 → 00:57:21] “Disclaimer: Informational only. Not medical advice. Consult your doctor for guidance.”