Dr. Grace Yum is the founder of Mommy Dentists in Business - a group of mom-bosses who share best practices and support one another in their journey as entrepreneurs and moms. She is also the owner of Yummy Dental & Orthodontics, a leading pediatric practice in the Chicago area.

It was so great to hang out with Dr. Yum, A.K.A. “the kid magnet” this week and learn more about her life as an entrepreneur and mother. The journey to pediatric dentistry began when she was sixteen, landing her very first job at Gap Kids. She quickly realized she was a selling machine. There was no leather bomber jacket for a 4-year-old that she couldn’t sell. The job helped define her love for sales and working with children. She grew up in a strong, loving Korean-American family where her father played a role in encouraging her to get an education and become a business owner. This mindset shaped her pursuit to become an entrepreneur, to provide for herself and her family, and to be her own boss. 

After working as an associate for four years, Dr. Yum took the leap and launched her startup practice, Yummy Dental. She aspired to become the “Michael Jordan of dental practices” and, despite the naysayers, grew her practice to one million in the second year of being in business.

“I’ve always had to prove people wrong. I wanted to build a Yummy Dental empire, but I was the kid who got the deflated answers, the kid who commonly heard, “well you can try”. 

Those negative voices that gave her deflated answers as a child, and even as an adult are the very ones that fueled her motivation to win. 

Mommy Dentists in Business is a thriving Facebook group that Dr. Yum created out of need. She found herself asking questions that none of the other Facebook groups were addressing for women. Questions centered around work-life balance, juggling kids' schedules, nursing your baby as a working dentist, etc. She created Mommy Dentists in Business with fifty of her close friends and family as a way to support one another as moms in juggling all-the-things.

This niche, safe environment began evolving to a growing community when members began requesting to add their friends. The group to date has attracted thousands of women with the same goal of empowering and supporting one another. During the COVID-19 crisis, the MDIB group was able to provide their entire online community of dentists with the facts, education and resources needed to create effective return to work plans after quarantine. 

“I was real with my mommy-dentists. I cried. I laughed. I cussed. I was real through the whole process during quarantine. What you see is what you get.”

Dr Yum explained that vulnerability and honesty is truly what has bonded their group together. Part of the reason the women trust her is she never lies. They walk through life together. In case you are wondering, the Facebook group is not the only part of the MDIB community. Dr. Yum is now the host of The Mommy Dentists in Business podcast with over 100 episodes and also hosts annual events for the working, mommy-dentist sorority of women.  

We ended discussing how Dr. Yum balances working full-time as an entrepreneur and being a mommy to two beautiful little children. 

“It’s really hard. You can’t do it all and that’s okay. It’s okay to ask for help and I’ve learned to delegate really well”. 

Dr. Yum and her husband are a team. Asking for help, delegating and being resourceful are truly the keys to finding some type of balance in it all. Sharing the load has been a big part of figuring out how to thrive at work and on the home front. 

To learn more about Dr. Grace Yum, check out her Facebook group or podcast called Mommy Dentist in Business.