A Plan Based on Growth, Not Profit
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
August 1, 2022
Volume 13, Issue 8, August 2022
Page(s): p. 2
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.
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
