Episode 7: I knew I wanted to be the boss

Dr. Ellis is a current client and was not provided with any compensation for her participation in this podcast. Kyle: Welcome to Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It's a podcast with Moneta's Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters, advisor on the team, and I am joined on this podcast by Danton Troyer, a partner on the team. Danton, a very energetic conversation today. We have Dr. Holly Ellis here of Ellis Dental and Ellis Sleep Center joining us on the show today. And I think what everybody's going to hear here is a lot of passion, a lot of energy, and the exact way that you can get onto a game show while being a dental student. Danton: There's definitely step-by-step instructions, so if anything else, you want to make some money on the Wheel of Fortune circuit, we can help you there. But yeah, it's great to get an interview with Holly in here, just how she kind of grew over the years in her business, and I'm sure people will be able to get a lot of takeaways from that. Kyle: For sure. Well, without further ado, here's our conversation with Dr. Holly Ellis. And now joining us here on Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most, perhaps one of the most lucky guests, and not just because she's a guest on the show, but because of some of the things I found out about her in doing some research. Joining us today, Dr. Holly Ellis of Ellis Dental and Ellis Sleep Center. And Holly, before I kind of dive in, I know you maybe froze a little bit when I said that, because I did my homework for this interview. But number one, how are you doing? And you're coming to us from your office, your dental practice, is that correct? Dr. Ellis: Yes. Yeah, I'm in my dental practice right now. It's a busy day, but I'm excited to be here on the podcast. Kyle: Hopefully it's more fun than filling cavities. You just have to let us know at the end. That will be for us as well. Dr. Ellis: Yes! Kyle: So Dr. Ellis is someone that Danton and I know, a successful entrepreneur, a wonderful smile if you go to ellisdental.com, you happen to notice everybody has a great smile, so it's wonderful marketing. But what I wanted to lead into here was, where did your love of Wheel of Fortune come from? Dr. Ellis: You know, that show's been on my entire life, Kyle. It's been around so long. So I think I just grew up with it in the background. And then as I got older, I realized I was good at it, you know, but it's kind of fun to play when you're good at something. Kyle: Right… Dr. Ellis: So it could be on, Wheel of Fortune's on in the background, so you could look at the TV and like, oh, solve a puzzle, then go back to making dinner type thing. But I love word games, stuff like that. And so yeah, I love that game. Kyle: And you were actually on the show. Dr. Ellis: I was on the show over 20 years ago, I think. But I had gone online when I was in dental school to look up how to get on there. And they had a form you could fill out for them to contact you if they came to your city for auditions. And at the time, I was in Kansas City. So, I filled out the form. And you know, maybe six months later, I got an email that said, you're invited to an audition at the Marriott, downtown Kansas City. So, I skipped class because it was during class. Kyle: The attitude of limitations is gone. Yes. Dr. Ellis: Yeah. I wore my dental school scrubs. You know, I wanted to play the whole poor student aspect, got down there, ended up running into one of my instructors who was also positioning for Wheel of Fortune, and we both had a good laugh over that. Yeah, I got down there, they had about 250 people, they gave us paper tests and things on paper we had to fill out - like hangman almost, and had like a info sheet to fill out. And then they narrowed it down to 50 from that. And you had to write some interesting things about yourself, stuff like that. And then we had to play some mock games. And then they told us if you're selected, you'll be on the show within the year and you'll get a letter. And sure enough, about three weeks later, I got a letter in the mail saying you're invited out to record and yeah, it was a lot of fun. It all just kind of worked out perfect. You know, all the stars aligned, I guess. Kyle: That they did. Oh my goodness, that's cool. And when you were on the show, what was, and we're going to get to the rest of the story here, but I really kind of want to hone in on this because I think this is really interesting. What was that experience on the show like? Dr. Ellis: Super fun. So they record six shows in a day, and I was the first show and they just kind of get you out there and you're in the recording studio meeting Pat and Vanna and you just start playing, just like it is on TV. They don't make you take a lot of breaks, just for commercials and, you know, I hit bankrupt a couple times, but I solved two puzzles. I won a prize and about $3,600 in the end, I came in second. So it was a ton of fun. Kyle: Not a bad haul for a dental student. Not a bad haul, right? Dr. Ellis: It was great. So fun! And when I went, my class at dental school wished me off well and gave me all kinds of goody bags to go. So it was fun. Yeah, I highly recommend it, Kyle. Danton: We have Kyle on the Wheel of Fortune next. Dr. Ellis: Yeah. Kyle: We'll have to make sure we give you a call. I don't think I can use a lifeline on that show. You know, so what I wanted to go into that story and you had kind of mentioned Kansas City, but native of St. Louis, went to Missouri State and then over to the University of Missouri, Kansas City for dental school. So, let Dan and I kind of dive in here just a little bit, but what made you, what would foster the interest in wanting to go into the dental field? Let's start there. Dr. Ellis: Well, I'm an odd bird; most dentists are. We have something about us that's a little off, but I knew I wanted to be a dentist since I was very young and I was fortunate enough to have dental care when I was young. My parents took us every six months. So what I witnessed in the office was my dentist walking around whistling, having so much fun. I knew he had his own practice. And I remember just telling my parents when I was young, you know, this looks fun. Like I think this would be great, right? And of course, my parents were like, yes, you should do that! They were very encouraging. And it's funny because I look back and I didn't even know that like dental hygiene was a career opportunity I could have gone. I just went right to, I want to be the dentist. And my parents were very encouraging. So they would point out, yeah, how great would that be? If you could own your own business, run your own practice, you could take care of people and you like to talk to people… And it really just was a good fit and I knew that. And as I got older, I knew I wanted to be the boss. And I think that's played out really well for me. But I knew my personality that I just wanted to lead something and have my own thing. And this was an opportunity and a career that I could actually do that. So I shadowed a lot of people in high school, college to make sure. But everybody I talked to was so kind and they all really enjoyed their job. So it just made sense to keep going down that track. Danton: So even from a young age, I mean, not only a dentist, but you knew you want to own your own practice on top of that as well. Dr. Ellis: Yeah, and I think that's what's a little different for me is when I talk to younger dentists now, they don't go into it for that reason. You know, they want to do the dentistry; it seems like a good career. And I wanted all that too. It's just I also knew I needed to do something where I was in charge. And maybe that's just my personality. And I wanted, you know, the buck to stop with me at some point, whether I was managing people in a role or working towards being a manager. This one just panned out perfect, though, for my personality and my interest. Danton: And how does, you know, running your own business, I mean, it seems like, you know, that's obviously very important to you. But the flip side is the buck does stop with you, so you got to make all the decisions and the day to day can be a little bit more stressful. So how are you managing that with…you've got family now, you've got a dental practice and now multiple businesses, really. So, I mean, how has that been for you guys? Dr. Ellis: Well, the good news is I didn't graduate and walk into this big business. It was an evolution over time. If you would have asked me when I graduated 19 years ago, if this is what it would look like, I would have had no idea that this was possible for myself. Danton: Sure Dr. Ellis: It evolved over time. And I just luckily leaned on the people who had done it before me and who did it well, and took their advice when they would tell me, hey, you need to hire this person to help you with this, or you need to hire this person to help you with payroll, accounting, financials, because you don't have to do it all by yourself. So even though I am at the top of the pyramid, and I make the decisions, the support team I have right next to me is probably equally as important to making this successful. So yeah, I started out small, I was an associate, I worked for another dentist at first, because you don't get any business acumen in dental school. And I was green, very green, when I graduated, and I met a woman who said I could come work with her in her Kirkwood office in St. Louis. And she would teach me things she loved to teach. And she said, I don't have a ton of patients for you, but come and you can build up your patient base here. And I did that, and she was so kind and taught me more than I could have imagined. She knew ultimately I wanted my own practice, so she was super supportive three years later when I decided t