Perch Dentistry opened their doors one year ago. Little did they know they would be experiencing a public health crisis in the middle of their first year. I sit down LIVE with Dr. Cua and Dr. Patel to talk about how they navigated their way through COVID and what they're doing now to prepare for reopening and expectations for the rest of 2020.

Starting as partners in a startup and working toward the surprise proposal at Disney - Dr. Cua and Dr. Patel dive into the intricacies of building a team not only personally, but professionally in their practice.

“Not all partnerships work well, but fortunately this one does”

They worked well together as partners of the practice getting through shifts, stressors, and changes as a united front. They were on the same page to grow slowly as a team - preferring to assist one another on procedures or set up their own rooms as opposed to hiring a full team too quickly. This helped to create a positive, engaging culture within the practice from the get-go. They also chose to grow safely, saving up before even paying themselves and waiting to hire team members until they were ready - foresight like that has helped Dr. Cua and Dr. Patel keep their dream up and running through COVID-19.

“The culture is good and I think that’s why we don’t have lows because everyone is helping us succeed”

Having high expectations for a team creates a successful culture, staff respect leaders who take the time to build a healthy and positive work environment. Perch Dentistry started off strong - setting their brand apart beginning with the staff at the front desk and working it into their presence on social media (they’ve got quite a presence!) and during COVID-19, it has set a focus and direction for their marketing. Creating an experience for their patients based on what makes them unique has proven to work better than expected. The personality and fun they bring to the table is creating a new normal from what patient typically experience from the dentist. Dentistry can be fun, who knew?

Their advice to startups during this time?

Start off slow - save and hire carefully to lay the foundation for a profitable practice and create your brand early on - spend the time to build it from the ground up.