Why Dentists Need a Personal Brand More Than Ads | Dr. Tyler Hales
43 min
•Feb 6, 20262 months agoSummary
Dr. Tyler Hales discusses how personal branding has become more critical than traditional advertising for dentists, sharing his journey from conventional dental marketing to building a distinctive personal brand as 'The Bow Tie Dentist.' He emphasizes the importance of authenticity, cosmetic dentistry quality standards, and launching a course to teach dentists personal branding strategies rather than relying on marketing agencies.
Insights
- Personal branding creates competitive differentiation in dentistry where traditional marketing (SEO, PPC, paid ads) fails to distinguish practitioners from competitors
- Marketing agencies commoditize dentists by applying identical branding strategies across multiple clients, preventing individual practitioners from building unique identities
- Cosmetic dentistry lacks formal specialty standards, creating quality variance and patient dissatisfaction that creates opportunity for premium practitioners with strong personal brands
- Dental insurance has become a liability for quality practitioners due to outdated fee caps (unchanged for 50 years) that force in-network dentists to compromise on quality or volume
- Going all-in on personal brand building requires commitment and belief before seeing results, with celebrity clients and social proof accelerating growth exponentially
Trends
Shift from insurance-dependent dental practices to direct-to-consumer cosmetic dentistry modelsDentists leaving insurance networks to build premium personal brands and control pricingRise of dentist influencers and celebrity clientele as primary patient acquisition channelsIncreased focus on patient experience design (noise-canceling headphones, comfort amenities) as brand differentiatorPost-COVID supply chain inflation forcing dental practices to increase fees while maintaining affordability perceptionEmergence of dental personal branding courses and education as new market opportunityCollaboration between dentists and specialized ceramists for premium cosmetic outcomesYounger dentists rejecting traditional dental marketing in favor of social media and personal brand buildingCosmetic dentistry becoming aspirational luxury good (similar to Rolex positioning) rather than commodity serviceIncreased employee compensation demands in dental field post-COVID creating margin pressure
Topics
Personal Branding for Healthcare ProfessionalsCosmetic Dentistry Quality Standards and SpecializationDental Insurance Industry Limitations and PricingSocial Media Marketing for Medical PracticesDirect-to-Consumer Healthcare Business ModelsInfluencer Marketing in Professional ServicesPatient Experience Design in Dental OfficesDental Lab Collaboration and Veneer ArtistrySupply Chain Cost Inflation Post-COVIDEntrepreneurship and Partnership DissolutionPersonal Brand Building StrategyCelebrity Client AcquisitionMorning Routine and Daily Habits for SuccessFamily Values and Legacy BuildingLuxury Positioning and Affordability Perception
Companies
Hales Aesthetic
Dr. Tyler Hales' cosmetic dental practice and business brand, primary focus of personal branding strategy
People
Dr. Tyler Hales
Cosmetic dentist and personal branding expert discussing his journey from traditional dental marketing to building 'T...
Joe Shalaby
Host of 'Coffeez for Closers' podcast conducting the interview with Dr. Hales
Daniel Yang
Ceramist and lab partner who collaborates with Dr. Hales on premium veneer design and execution
Madison LaCroix
Celebrity client from South Carolina who found Dr. Hales through Instagram and received 20 veneers
Dr. Hales' Grandfather
Anesthesiologist who influenced Dr. Hales' philosophy of 'if you want to be the best, you look the best'
Dr. Hales' Father
Anesthesiologist who influenced Dr. Hales' career path and provided mentorship on values and legacy
Quotes
"If you want to be the best, you look the best"
Dr. Tyler Hales (referencing his grandfather's advice)•Early in episode
"Every dentist that's underneath this marketing team, they're just pushing the same brand for every dentist, right? It's not unique at all."
Dr. Tyler Hales•Opening discussion on marketing agencies
"I strive to be the best cosmetic dentist in the world and my veneers need to represent that"
Dr. Tyler Hales•On veneer quality and artistry
"Today is going to be the first day of the rest of my life"
Dr. Tyler Hales•Describing moment of confidence before Madison LaCroix appointment
"If you don't look back at the last year then what are you learning then?"
Dr. Tyler Hales•On journaling and self-reflection
Full Transcript
One, dentists aren't great businessmen initially, right? And so they need help. But what they're doing is they're telling dentists, they're saying, hey, let me take over marketing for you, make these trending videos, right? And what's happening is these dentists aren't actually creating a brand for themselves. They're buying the marketing team's brand because their brand is just pushing all of it throughout it. So every dentist that's underneath this marketing team, they're just pushing the same brand for every dentist, right? It's not unique at all. And it's not actually building their own personal experience. Welcome to another episode of Talkings. When I first met you, I'm like, this guy looks cool. He's got a bow tie on. He's got a mullet. You know, like he's just got class. He's got style. I got to ask you, what is it that motivated you to have a distinguished look like that, a unique look like that in the world of dentistry and just run with it on social media? Yeah, growing up, I was always into fashion. I like shopping and things like that. But really the biggest impact for me was actually my grandpa. So when I was in dental school and I was about to graduate, he was one that always set an example for me. So he was an anesthesiologist. And what he would do is he actually got dressed in the morning in his suit and he would drive to work and he would get to the hospital and then he would change into his scrubs and he'd work all day, he would finish his day, and then he would change back into a suit and drive home, right? And his whole representation was like, if I'm going to be the best, I'm going to look the best, right? And that was really the, the, what he recommended for me when he sat me down and when I was graduating dental school, and he told me that, that was his advice. He's like, if you want to be the best, you look the best. And so that was the initial thought is, okay, well, what am I going to do to really stand out and be who I want to be because dentistry is kind of boring. You know, when you think about dentists, uh, you kind of think nerds or you think about, you know, just kind of, uh, this guy in some scrubs that's going to dig into my mouth and make me go through hell for an hour. Yeah. So it's the way that I can really show my personality, right? I love bow ties as something my grandpa was big into. Um, and that's evolved into really being the bow tie dentist and then as you learn from branding, what's important. I love it. You know, I love obviously personal branding. I'm a big personal brand guy myself. And for me, personal branding has totally changed the landscape of my entire business, especially, and we were just talking about this, like for my own personal growth. How has personal branding helped you, helped your business and helped you personally? Yeah, it's definitely the most important aspect that's really gotten me to the level that I'm at now within dentistry. At first, when I joined my practice initially, I started taking over the marketing and I looked at all the different aspects. And I actually stopped looking at dental marketing because all the marketing companies just suggested the same thing over and over again, right? Paid per clicks, like we've got to get SEO, we got to get your website. And to me, that wasn't really the answer that I was looking for. I was Like there's no way we're going to really be able to beat anyone else out with this type of marketing. And so I started actually looking at other aspects, other businesses and what they were doing. And really influencers, this was really when influencing started to take off. And I was like, why are these people so successful? Why are influencers like people trust influencers, right? They ask for their suggestions no matter what. They care about their opinion. And I was like, what is it about these people that are so relatable but also so trustworthy? and it's really their branding. Influencers are amazing at branding themselves where people trust them. And so for me, I saw that and I wanted to try to create that within my own brand. And so once I started getting into that, right, it's about letting them see who I am and they understand and then building that within the professional of dentistry, really. That's so cool. What year was that when you started building your brand? so this was like 2019 was probably when i really started uh focusing on my my personal brand nice i barely started in 2023 2022 2023 but i went all in i went all in on personal brand it was like i quit my regular job built my brand yeah you know but then that obviously we were talking about you know how that the business has been just exploding as a result of me building my personal brand investing my personal brand and i'm personally investing in it the company's not investing in i'm personally investing because i see the opportunity that's going to be outside because i live now and breathe as my own entity because of personal branding so the opportunity opportunities just knock all the time and i feel like that's what it's doing for you because we're meeting at masterminds i'm sure there's collaboration opportunities gonna be more collaborative opportunities every podcast you go on yeah and i i think like going all in just like you said is one of the big aspects of what's made you so successful at it, right? Because most people don't want to do that. They want to, you know, dip their toe in and kind of feel it out and be like, okay, is this worth it? Is it working? And really, it's not going to be successful. And you don't see it. You don't see it. You're like, why am I building my personal brand? And then you'll get, like, your spouse will be like, why are you so egocentric just in front of a camera or whatever, you know? yeah and it's like no this is like what personal brand he is you know like it's not ego it's like this is what it takes yeah and and it's interesting like i've learned a lot throughout these years and i think if you actually would go back in high school and you would tell people like hey dr hale or tyler hale is gonna be right this big cosmetic dentist who's treating celebrities like no one would have believed you right um because at that time like i i was very uh just like conservative like I didn't care to be you know the most outgoing person I didn't need to be the life of the party you know I enjoyed my friends and and we kind of did our thing and as we kind of grew this brand right it's it's changed definitely changes on who you you need to be and uh being this type of dentist like I love it I love what I do I love showcasing that I love being you know in front of the camera more now than ever before uh because it is your brand and you're excited about that and you do have to go all in it's risky but when you do it it's passionate and everything you do is driven towards that now we talked about this and you're launching a course and you're like well my course is not going to be a traditional dentistry course my course is going to be how to teach dentists how to brand themselves which is a course that's never been done and a lot of people if you talk to a dentist five years ago they'd be like that's the most useless course ever. Now you tell dentists, I'm launching this course. They're going to be like, I'm buying that course because they need that course. Yeah. Or else they're going to be extinct. This course needs to happen for dentistry, right? The, what we're seeing trending within dentistry is all the marketing people. Honestly, there's a ton of money in dentistry. Like if you actually look at a lot of marketers, salespeople, like they're all trending towards dentistry and getting involved because one dentists aren't great businessmen initially right and so they need help but what they're doing is they're telling dentists they're saying hey let me take over marketing for you make these trending videos right and what's happening is these dentists aren't actually creating a brand for themselves they're buying the marketing team's brand okay because the brand their brand is just pushing all of it throughout it is so every dentist that's underneath this marketing team, they're just pushing the same brand for every dentist, right? It's not unique at all. And it's not actually building their own personalized brand. So what my idea in this course that I'm going to create is how to take it individual and change the mindset around dentistry and create the brand for themselves. I love that. Now, before the cameras, before all the clients, what what is it that drew you to dentistry why don't you do anesthesiology why don't you do you know some other medicine yeah so I actually wanted to do anesthesia all growing up my dad was an anesthesiologist my great my grandpa was an anesthesiologist so I was gonna follow in their footsteps I loved the idea behind just the medicine and how being able to help people and when I was in college I finally actually started to think for myself and be like you know what am I actually passionate about? And it wasn't that my dad or my grandpa pushed me to do this. It just, I love the idea of like kind of being a legend and then like following in the footsteps of my, my, my family. Um, but when I thought about it, it was like, that wasn't interesting to me. Um, I was only doing it because of that idea. And so when I went and researched all the different professions within like medicine, which I enjoyed medicine, I knew that's something I wanted to be in. dentistry was something where you're working with your hands, you're working with individuals, you're creating relationships. And that was really important to me. I love to learn by doing things. I love working with my hands. And so this profession really just kind of fell into my lap when I figured out this is exactly what I want to do. You know, it's, uh, of all, I mean, of all the medicines, I feel like, you know, but you specifically went into cosmetic, which is i don't know is that an extra two years so with cosmetics it's interesting there's not really a specialty within cosmetics so technically every dentist can say they're a cosmetic dentist they don't need additional training to do that right they're trying to push now that there is going to be additional training that needs to be done to have the title of cosmetic dentistry right like you you have to go to special training if you want to be an endodontist or an orthodontist or periodontist. These are all specialties and it's a certain degree that you get from it. And then an oral maxillofilial surgeon, it's like another four years. Yeah, four to six years, right? So you've got to have all this extra training to be able to get that. And to be honest, I see it as a problem because the problem is we're seeing a ton of dentists now just doing cosmetic dentistry without really the right training, one. And I think it's a disservice for our patients but also a disservice for dentistry there's a ton because there's a variance in veneers now you see somebody like oh he went to a cheap doctor yeah and unfortunately i see it right like i become known to like be the fixer right i have to go and fix all those problems from what other dentists are doing And so again with my course it like I want to help these doctors understand real cosmetics and how to take and level up of the expectation to where the cosmetics is, you know, just becomes the standard, you know, instead of kind of the poor quality that we get. Now, I want to talk about a topic that's near on my heart, near on your heart, and that's insurance. A lot of people aren't happy with insurance. You said something about insurance earlier today, and let's just dive into insurance. What are your thoughts on insurance? Is it helping the general Americans out there who have dental insurance? Is it worth getting? And can you use it on veneers? Yeah. So that is one of the questions I get asked the most is, can you use my insurance towards the veneers? right or cosmetics and the answer is no no like there's no way any dental insurance of what insurance you get regardless of what insurance you have I've yet to see a insurance company that does have money towards cosmetics now there the problem is that a lot of dentists will be what's called in network right with these insurance companies now that insurance company doesn't cover cosmetics right so that they say well we don't cover nothing's gonna go to it but what they're doing is they're saying but as a dentist you can't charge whatever you want you have to charge what our fee is so some dentists right are stuck charging 500 600 dollars for a veneer right when the lab costs to get really high-end cosmetics is anywhere between like 500 to a thousand to maybe fifteen hundred dollars just for the lab costs right so that means that dentists they're having to go to China and get some cheap, cheap veneers just to be able to cover that cost. Right. So insurance, honestly, I think is a huge disservice to that's a one off veneer if they broke it, too. That's one off. Right. That's not. And at the end of the day, insurance, if you buy insurance, dental insurance. Right. You put all this money towards it. They're only going to maximize usually about a thousand dollars towards your treatment. So let's say you need a crown at the end of the day this year you pay dental insurance every month right well that crown is worth it cost $1,800 you know to get it done but insurance is only cover $1,000 so their coverage doesn't even always include what an entire amount of treatment plan would be and that insurance companies they haven't increased that amount it's been a thousand dollars for like 50 years right so inflation right everything's going up, but dental insurance is refusing to actually put any more towards what your coverage would be, but they're charging you more each year to cover their. So we feel inflation with our insurance costs, but they don't adjust for inflation to their providers. Yeah. So, and you're seeing more and more dentists where they're leaving, they're going what's called out of network, right? Where they're stopped going to network. The problem is dentists that are in network, they're getting, uh, the fee that insurance company is demanding for services. So general dentistry, like a filling or crown is so low that dentists are having to overpack their schedule just to kind of get by, you know what I mean? And so it really, for the patients, if you're going to someone that's trying to pack, you know, 30, 40 fillings in a day, like I wouldn't want that on my mouth. so man no one wants that so I would rather pay more get the service and get a filling that's gonna last then try and like get just the cheaper option 30 40 filling some dentists are doing a day yeah that is a brutal job yeah so out of dental school I went and worked out of a Medi-Cal office and you had to do that you're only getting paid $50 per filling right and then people would come in and they've got a full mouth of cavities because they again haven't seen the dentist in forever and so we're filling that schedule full and we're just doing a ton and ton of fillings so initially i was just doing extractions fillings all day long fun yeah on a bunch of people in uh long beach in the ghetto well this was this was over in colorado uh yeah and i loved it honestly i learned a ton and i tried to be as create the care that i could right like i tried to do the best work I could. And I learned so much being able to do that at that time. And I learned that's not the way I wanted to do it the rest of my life. I wanted to do it differently. And that's really the stepping stones that have taken me to where I've created, what I've created this brand for. What's, what's your vision with the Bowtie Doctor? Like, what do you envision with it? How is this brand going to impact dentistry and, you know, your overall growth strategy? yeah I want to represent I want to be a representation for dentistry right I think that dentistry has a bad bad rap right when you think about your dentist everyone's like well pain bad smells usually a fish tank in the front office right and usually not nice the offices aren't that great so I want to really change the mindset behind dentistry because what we do can actually be beautiful and can actually make a huge impact right like getting your cleaning can actually be a comfortable, enjoyable experience. Ah, I don't know about it being comfortable and enjoyable. How do you do that? Do you put, like, Netflix on or something? Well, yeah, so we have TVs now, right? We have blankets. We have, you know, there's new machines that aren't as painful where you're having to scratch and claw and poke your gums, right? There's different topicals or numbing agents that we can use that aren't shots anymore that we can use. So there are processes that we can use to make it enjoyable and not have to be just that terrible experience. You know, every cleaning I've ever done has not been fun. I would love to be just, you know, chilling, numb, watching Netflix. But the sound alone is like, you know, annoying. Yeah. We just actually, interestingly, say that yesterday I went and bought some Apple headphones, right? And the idea is, right, you've got noise-canceling headphones now. Okay. There's so much new products out there that, again, we don't think about these things. People fear dentistry because of sounds and pain. So if we can eliminate sound and pain, well, how does that experience all of a sudden change? Game changer. Yeah. So exactly. Noise-canceling headphones, right? Blankets, comfortable chairs. Yeah, just the way that we take care of them. Yeah, Netflix, right? So all these things, we can create this process where it's not the same thing that we've had for the past 50 years. That's awesome. That's awesome. Now, what was your – when you were a kid, did you decide like – I know you were thinking that you wanted to be a doctor in medicine. Was there a moment that sparked your love for helping people feel more confident? I mean, I've always enjoyed like leadership as a kid. Like, so I was big into sports and always being like a team captain and like what and helping other kids grow and helping develop. Right. That was always a huge passion of mine. And I think that that just kind of continued into my professional career where when I started doing dentistry, fillings are fine, but no one finishes the filling. It's like, that's the best experience I've ever had. and like I feel so much more confident because this feeling's done right so when I started doing cosmetics and I saw how it changed people's lives like these are the stories that that I have from like when someone started with me to like a year later and like their business went from like struggling for five years to all of a sudden doubling booming booming right in one year and not saying it was all due to the fact of the smile transformation but they come back and they go my confidence and the ability to go speak to people in sales like is life-changing and that was one of the factors that just completely changed it right and the psychology behind okay what does a smile do for people if you are having a bad day and you just smile right it does it changes the chemistry within your brain within your body to spike certain things to give you confidence to to give you happiness, joy, right? And so when people smile more, there is this, there is a chemical balance that really changes, you know, who they are. And so the more I learned about it, the more like impact I could see that I could bring when I'm able to give these beautiful smiles and the artistry behind it. Like that's where I love getting crafty and like doing all these little things to make it look real. and to be able to change the look that people can have in their lives. Artistry. I want to dive into that. So you're saying how much artistry is really involved in veneers? I thought it's like you send it to the lab. They give you your veneers. You pop them on. Do you got to be an artist to do that? Are your veneers better than the next guy's? How do they differ? Yeah. So, right, again, with dentistry, cosmetics has always been where dentists didn't really have a say in much of the veneers. They would send a case to the lab. The lab designs it. The lab does what's called a wax up, sends it back. The dentist will prep the teeth and then send it to the lab to then design the veneers. And there's not a lot of communication on like what is actually needing to be done. We get them back and we seat them. So early in my career, I did the same thing. I sent it to what I thought at the time was the top cosmetic labs, which they say, right? And I would try to give them feedback on like here's what I want But I get the cases back and they were never exactly what I wanted It was always kind of if you looked at all the cosmic dentistry, everyone was doing pretty much the same thing There was no variety And so I finally wanted to make a change. I was like this is not I'm not happy with what I'm getting and I need more control And so I went and found a ceramist His name is Daniel Yang and we started to work together and I was like Dana. We've got to do this differently And so he showed me how porcelain works He showed me how he makes every veneer And then we looked at the natural teeth and we pushed the limits on how do we create that natural characteristics but do it within porcelain and it's not just a one block one color thing it's actually layering hand layering porcelain to get that that depth and that reality to it but it comes with a knowledge between a dentist and than the ceramist. And so for us, that's really what makes me different than everyone else and why we've been able to grow so quickly is like the attention to detail but also the effort that we put into making our veneers better each and every time. So now Daniel, his lab is actually next door to my office. We've created this process where it's just so unique and different than anything that's being done out there. That's so cool. So then your veneers are better than the next guy. I mean that's that's the goal like I strive to be the best cosmetic dentist in the world and My veneers need to represent that And you're the coolest personal brand and cosmetic dentistry in the world So, you know, you got to match up to that course. It's all got a match Um now can you walk us through the biggest turning point that led you to building your own personal brand? Biggest turning point And hopefully the audience doesn't need a big turning point. Like maybe this, this episode is enough. Yeah. I mean, I think it came down to my mindset, to be honest, there was, I really was loving cosmetics, but there were still like doubt in my mind a lot where, where I felt like I could become somebody, right? I always felt like there were better cosmetic dentists out there. and I'm still kind of new and I'm young, right? And I finally realized, just switch that. Take away the words of like, oh, I'm anxious, I'm young, I'm inexperienced, and realize that I'm as good as I want to be and as long as I believe that, right? And to be honest, I remember I did this celebrity, Madison LaCroix, I did her teeth. I remember going to work the day that she was coming into the office and we'd done a couple big big name people before that but I remember walking out my front door walking to my car and I was like today is the I thought to myself like today is going to be the first day of the rest of my life like and that was the first time I see I felt super confident in like who I was as a dentist and that what I was doing was incredible right and maybe it took seeing a celebrity to kind of change my mindset but the reality was I was creating that for a long long time and she finally saw that and that's why she came to me but I as soon as I changed that like really started booming because I finally felt confident in myself how'd she find you was Instagram yeah on on social media um but again it was that's the branding celebrities are finding you yeah so where'd she drive in from la no she's from south carolina she flew in yeah she flew in from south carolina flew in and then how many veneers did she do so we did 20 veneers on her so we did top and bottom uh on her and really turned out six figures up yeah it's a big one yeah but uh yeah it was fun to kind of work with her. She's an incredible person. And, you know, at the same time, a lot of pressure, like, you know, she's on TV, she's a beautiful girl, like, you don't want to screw it up. And I think about that with all my patients, I want them to have this beautiful smile. And, you know, the details we put into her veneers, you know, that was an exciting day, because I was like, okay, like, I got this, right. And that was the confidence that I needed in myself, that pushed me to really focus on myself and my brand. Now, we talked about something that I think the audience should know about, which is the impact that COVID had on material costs. And this is across the board in every industry, but how much have we seen material costs go up in the world of industry in the last five years? Yeah, COVID is rough. I mean, it's rough for everyone, right? I remember I was on a ski trip with my family, and we're literally driving back, and I'm getting messages about everything breaking out. And they're basically saying like, we're every medical office has to close down. Right. And I'm like, man, we are in big trouble. Cause we had the unknown of what we were supposed to do and how long were we being closed for. So literally came back. I think we got back on Sunday and like Monday we closed like with COVID and we were closed for a long time. And it was crazy. The dental in the dental world, our supplies went up for X. like there's things that like at the time cost a dollar are now close to like five six dollars a piece um and it's across the board nothing stayed the same after covid and to me i think they're yeah everything good went up in the world but at the same time it's like people took advantage of that opportunity as well i think that just like they're like okay great now we can push everything up and, um, and that hurts us because how do I try to give my patients what they want without, you know, my goal is not to increase my fee. My goal is to always be affordable for as many people as possibly can. But when the underlying cost soars, then everything else has to go up. Um, and then that spiked also, uh, employee pay. So after COVID the dental field, especially for whatever reason, a lot of those employee payments went up. So we paid them a lot more to do the same job. And I love my staff. They're the best in the world. And my goal is always to have them be successful. But it's tough when you're trying to, how do you do both, right? How do you make it affordable to patients, but also support a staff? You know, I don't think veneers are affordable. Like three grand a tooth is not that affordable. Yeah, the good ones, definitely right um like if they break a tooth and they gotta get a veneer is that is there a difference between a veneer and veneer quality if they break a tooth versus the veneers that they put in for um not for me so again there are some doctors they'll be like okay a crown's gonna be cost different than a veneer right or an onlay there's all these different aspects to it um but insurance covers the one veneer well they they'll cover a crown but they won't cover a veneer right no the difference is a crown covers the back side of the tooth the veneer covers the front side but it's both made of porcelain. It's both, the process is exactly the same. So why is it one versus the other? It covers the backside? Yeah, so like it covers the whole tooth. So the inside of the tooth as well as the front side. Okay. So veneer only covers partial of it. But, you know, I think, you know, at the end of the day, what is affordable, right? I think that's an important concept because, you know, is a Rolex affordable? No. But how many people have Rolexes? Millions. Right? Because Rolex does a very good job at branding. Yeah. I mean, it's affordable if you get it from Rolex. Well, because people want a Rolex. A Rolex is not a watch. In reality, you're spending potentially $100,000 on a timepiece, right? When you can get one at Walmart if you want. But why do people want Rolex, and why do people spend the money to buy Rolex? because what Rolex has branded themselves as is it's like this accomplishment right so like and I felt this when I opened my office I was like okay I feel like I need to go get a Rolex because we worked so hard for this like that's that's my goal right and Rolex has done so well at doing it but people can go and afford a Rolex because that's their it's accomplishment it's something that they put their money towards and they want that so if it's a want, then they're going to go and find a way to make that work. Now, let me ask you, um, what did it feel like when you, when you emotionally had to walk away from your, from your partnership and then you had to go solo? A lot of people, especially cause this is an entrepreneurship show. A lot of people right now are struggling with their partners and they're like, do I go solo? Should I go solo? Should I stay in this partnership or this bad marriage or whatever? it is like what's what did it feel like to go solo yeah that's one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make when when I join something I want to be all in the reality and and when I make a commitment I want to make sure that I fulfill my commitment that's that's you know I like to live up to my word and that's important to me and the partnership was great for me for a while and things slowly began to change right like I really wanted to focus on the branding of the business and I wanted to focus on the branding of myself. When that differs and all of a sudden your partners don't really care about the brand of the business, then how am I supposed to grow that? There's limitations when partnerships don't agree. And if you're building a personal brand, unless he has partners on the Bowtie Doctor. Yeah, right. I mean, yeah, so I had expectations for myself and I wanted to exceed those. and there's money and time that I wanted to put into that that weren't you know funds that resources weren't available they weren't willing to put those resources so you've got to decide whether it's how good it is for yourself right and me leaving that partnership was the best decision for myself yeah you went yeah it just and and to be honest when I was finishing up on that partnership, it was, it was hard that when I, I've actually been reading my journal, uh, these last couple, uh, since the beginning of the year back from two years ago of, of like that experience. Cause I want to remember like, what was my mindset going through all this? And you journal every day. I journal almost every day. Uh, so usually only like maybe 15, 20 minutes. So I get up my schedule, I get up at four 30, uh, wake up, I go meditate and I, and then I journal and I read my Bible. and then I get ready for my day and go work out. I think that your morning routine is so important. I'm not saying everyone has to wake up at 4.30, but you've got to have a system that works for you that gets you ready for your day. And whether that's morning or whether you're a night person, there's got to be consistency there. Otherwise you just living life and you going through the motions Yeah and I didn ask you but is that your morning routine Wake up 4 do your Bible reading do your journaling do your workout do I go to the office Yep, so I do that every single day. I can't tell you, honestly, I can't tell you the last time that I missed the day of doing that. So every day of work, that's important for me to start my day. Morning routine is clutch for me. I have to have a morning to not. And I'm, I'm updating it all the time. I'm like always studying stuff. Like what can I do? Like today, you know, I, I, uh, I dip my face in ice water. That's awesome. And then I was reading the benefits of doing that. I'm like, I just added that. I'm like, Oh, that, that's a quick one. You know, like 10 seconds. Well, it's hard. Like, so I used to get up at like 530, right? Yeah. No, I got up at 432. And, and it's funny cause I had a long morning routine today. As I add things to my schedule, my morning routine, it's like it gets early and earlier. Yeah. And so, yeah, I mean. I still don't have enough time to journal. And, you know, I'm on a Bible study while I'm doing a bunch of other stuff. So I'm like, there's a live Bible study that I'm attending. But it's not focused, dedicated Bible reading. It's hard to do everything, right? I think you've got to find what's really impactful in your own life. And then really make that time for it. And then when there's other things that you want to do, right? And like you said, try something new. Add that to it or take away and give and take with what you see is working. Yeah. I would have to incorporate a night routine where I prep all my morning stuff, like the vitamins and the protein shakes. Yeah. It's funny you say that because that's what I do. Literally before bed, I get up, get my blender out, get my pre-workout, my protein shakes. Everything's on the table right before I go to bed. Yeah. Because that will save me the time in the morning. Yeah. It saves you, honestly, like 15 minutes. Yeah, that's what that's the time I need then I can incorporate journaling. Yeah, there it is. Yeah, so that's what I got to do I just realized that Now my morning routine go faster. Yeah, that's true It's the morning. You can't waste time. Yeah worth it. I'm literally like there's my gratitude journal just I didn't have enough time. Yeah, well, and I think it's important to go back and read it, right? Yeah I kept I keep a journal for a long time, but I never read it and then I was like, well, what am I learning then? and again my kids can read it in the future but no if you don't look back at the last year then what are you learning from and so I've really taken the concept of like looking back and and learning from everything I'm doing and then how do I improve each time if I get better one percent every day where are you going to end up after a year yeah yeah you're right now a couple questions I have for you. What's a personal goal that you have for yourself, a family goal you have for your family, you got four kids, and a business goal you have? Yeah, that's a good family goal. My goal for my family is actually I really want to travel with my kids. I really want them to see the world and so my goal is to do you know take them out of the country at least once a year have you done that ever yeah we took them to New Zealand last year okay we we lived in a van for two weeks and it's the best trip I've ever taken like best experience and my everyone always says you took four kids in a van in New Zealand for two weeks and like honestly I love spending time my kids like it's it's my life right that's what i work for that's what i do and like to give them that opportunity like we had no one watching tv no no shows and they never once asked for it right and it was taking us out of this orange county bubble and putting us in this environment where we spent time together but they were so involved in like all the little things that we were doing and it was so intentional and it was amazing and like the time we were able to spend in the two weeks was just incredible and I felt like so impactful for them and we worked on things we worked on every day we talked about our Hales values right so what does it mean to be a Hales and what kind of person do we want to be when we show up and you know these aren't conversations that we get to have every day when school and sports are going on and so now we refer back to that of like hey you know are these decisions you're making are the Hales values and so it's taking the time to get away to be able to like really prep for the whole year and what you want them to be that's you know that's beautifully said and how often do we talk to our kids about their values and like what's it mean to be you know your legacy name and that's like that dawned on me like i need to do that more you know like i always say this and i told this to you earlier in And, you know, like if anyone's benefiting from this podcasting, it's me. Like I just, you know, I'm receiving mentorship. I'm receiving, you know, wisdom from another father. And parenting is hard in Orange County. We're in a bubble. And our kids are growing up, you know, affluent. You grew up anesthesiologists. So both parents, you come from a lineage of anesthesiology. So basically you grew up in abundance. Yeah. But you turned out great. how did your family keep you so grounded and how are you keeping your kids so grounded? Yeah, my parents did amazing job. I mean, parenting is hard, right? Um, and I think all of us parents think we're doing a terrible job for the most part. Right. We're always like, Oh, we're screwing up our kids. Um, and what I realized is like our parents, all parents are just doing their best. And I, I really did look up to my parents. They did a phenomenal job of just loving me and like supporting me. all growing up. And like, you know, putting pressure on me to like, they succeed and to work hard. And, you know, they, they made opportunities where I could play sports and I learned teamwork, I learned leadership. And my dad, I remember a lot of times, at least once a year, not a, not a ton, right. But he would sit me down in his office, like, Hey, let's talk, let's have a chat. right and um he just really would talk about life and like what's important and i just love those meaningful talks like it's just the time he spent uh really kind of helped me evolve and grow up with the idea of like having an idea of legend right becoming a legend and making sure there's a legacy behind Hales or our family and respecting, you know, my elders and my grandparents and like seeing how hard they work to provide this life. Like I saw the hard work that they put into giving me abundance. Right. Um, and I wanted to give back. I wanted to create that for my kids. And so just their example, uh, has allowed me to become hopefully an example for my kids that hopefully they turn out well yeah i mean i'll tell you they definitely see me working you know they they see that happening and uh but they see because i you know i get to work remote and uh as a ceo i could i'm on the i'm on the go so i'm i'm one of those parents that's hyper involved in all their sports and activities and in between you know recruiting calls or business development deals i'm just involved in every single sport they're in i like to be like involved like they're in basketball i'm playing they're in a basketball league i'm in a basketball league they're in jujitsu i'm in jujitsu yeah your hobbies are their hobbies yeah like every single hobby they got i got you know they collect sports cards i collect sports cards you know we go to basketball games together you know like so i'm in the weeds with them just like i am in my business yeah uh Last question for you. When you're in front of the pearly gates, what do you think God's going to tell you? I hope God says, you know, that good and faithful servant, right? I hope he sees that I'm just not necessarily a puppet, but I'm here to serve him and to do his work. I always and I try to always think, you know, what does God want me to do? and how can I impact his children here on this earth. I think I strive to think about, you know, Jesus Christ and his life, and, like, he served so many people and was hated for it, and all he did was just show love and kindness and charity. And so it's easy to get into the mindset of comparison and, you know, anger or these things that put people down. Yeah. But when we realize, you know, that we can, if we're just let God take the reins and control our lives, you know, we will always end up better than we could have ever imagined. And so I just hope at the end of the day he's that good and faithful servant, you know. Well done. I love you. hey Tyler you've been an absolute blessing to have on the show I hope that you hit every single one of your goals um I hope God continues to bless you abundantly beyond measure you're an inspiration to many if people want to connect with you how do they find you yeah so uh Instagram is I love Instagram I'm always on there uh so you can dm me uh it's drtylerhales just at d-r-t-y-l-e-r-h-a-l-e-s and you can also look at my website so hailsaesthetic.com that's my my business my dental business come and see the smiles that we give there and but at the same time just I love chatting on Instagram and communicating and creating friends love it guys especially if you're in the medical field make sure you check out Dr. Tyler Hales this guy is crushing social media as a doctor that some of the most boring work on the planet but the most needed work on the planet god bless you thanks for tuning in guys thank you