Anne: Hi everybody, it's Anne Duffy, and here we are at the Just DeW It podcast. Welcome. I'm so happy that you're here. I've got such a lovely guest. She's a new fast friend of mine and just an absolute dear person. But before we get started. I'm gonna tell you a little bit about her. Ashley Bond is the co-founder and Chief Dental billing officer of Wisdom, a full service dental billing company that helps practices streamline billing and maximize collections.
Passionate about business growth and efficiency. She enjoys empowering practice owners and office managers in dentistry. Fun fact, she has never eaten a pickle. What? It's a personal competition to see how long she can go 35 years and counting. Wow. She also is highly competitive in all areas of life, if you could not tell. Please help me
welcome the amazing Ashley Bond. Hi Ashley.
Ashley: Thank you so much for having me. I just, second I met you. I knew like you're my people, so thank you for having me on the podcast.
Anne: You are so welcome. You're my people too. But I am curious, what's it with the pickle?
Ashley: You know what it is, honestly, it's my, I'm stubborn and competitive and I just went so many years without eating one because I think in the beginning I didn't like when they would go onto my fries when I got a burger.
Anne: Oh yeah.
Ashley: And then as an adult, I almost ate one of on my 30th birthday as just a sign to like get over it and I couldn't do it because now I'm like, how long can I go?
Anne: With the Guinness Book of World Records is just waiting for you.
Ashley: A hundred percent. Yes. I'm gonna a hundred percent till
Anne: you and Menal san.
But you know, She launched her marketing business in the Guinness Book of World Records. Oh, yeah, that's right. She did. Yeah. Oh my gosh, you're so funny.
I love that. But I, really love your story you're one of the. Few people that I know that has actually built a business and been extremely successful. then I think you sold it, right? Yeah. Okay, so let's just start it.
What inspired you to transition from working your father's dental practice to building a full service dental billing company? And what challenges did you face as a young entrepreneur, I might say.
Ashley: And I will tell you this was not in my plan. I have always had the entrepreneurial bug like, you know, at a young age when you have it.
I still remember at 12 years old, building out these business cards for Ashley's babysitting club it had like a, B, C, and my dad helped me laminate them and then put a magnet on the back and I drove around my riding lawnmower and would put them in people's mailboxes.
Anne: Oh my gosh.
Ashley: I knew I wanted to build something to do something.
I just didn't know what, and I. Tried many different avenues of like competitions to kind of just keep that spirit going was thrown into dental, not on my plan, not on many people's plan when they're thrown into dental. And it was 'cause my dad needed help and I was. young, I was 20.
And basically he said, I'm still paying for your car insurance and you need to help me. And I'm like, all right, I don't have a job, so let's do it. Thrown in, didn't know what I was doing. But grew and grew from the mentors in my life, which was the biggest impact. And then coming to starting my own company again was not on purpose.
It was an accident I left my dad's practice. I saw a need that he had. He was going through so much turnover and instability, and seeing him burnout out in dentistry broke my heart. So it was just, Hey, let me do this from home. I don't know what or how to do it, but like, let me do it. And then I decided well, you know what?
Let me just. Make a logo and I made my own logo and I don't even know how I made it. I think it was Canva, and I made a website on Wix. I'm like, lemme just throw this out here, put it up. Got my first client a few months later, and it snowballed from there. So it was all about just rolling with it being okay to pivot, being okay to fail and just saying yes to things that scared me is what just helped me push forward.
Anne: so was a dental building from the very beginning. Is that what you started to do?
Ashley: So this is the funny part. I thought I was gonna be a dental consultant because that was my experience is dental consultants helped me get to where I wanted to be. I wanna be a dental consultant. So my first company name was Bond Dental Consulting.
Anne: Okay.
Ashley: And then Covid hit. So I started my company December, 2019 is when I did my LLC Covid hit, of course, a few months later, which turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise. I had my first client besides my father start in February, shut down in March.
Anne: Mm-hmm. But then
Ashley: that gave me time to think about. What do I wanna do? Had a lot of people speaking into my life and I got advice that said, okay, you're trying to build these two companies at once. I was trying to build a consulting company. Mm-hmm. But I had two clients for billing. But I thought like, that's not my plan.
I'm not gonna do billing, I'm gonna consult. So like, let me build both at the same time. And I got great advice to focus on one first.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Ashley: I made the decision, you know, I have clients on this side of it. Let me just see where this road takes me. So it was not my original plan, but it's the plan that there was a clear path forward.
So I took it and I pivoted, changed our name to Bond dental billing, changed our logo and all of that. Changed the website and then just followed the plan.
Anne: Wow, that's amazing. I mean, Just the fact that you kind of fell into it, but actually you knew you were good at it. and you're actually consulting in a sense, anyway, the debt billing is such a huge vacuum of where the money goes and where the money doesn't go.
And you're really helping dentists be able to sleep better at night, I mean, Isn't that the goal?
Ashley: A hundred percent. And the fascinating thing that I learned was the issues my father had were not isolated to him. I thought it was a him problem.
Anne: Yeah.
Ashley: And then I am even this year, have had conversation with doctors that are telling me the same things my father was saying to us, and it's, they can't sleep at night.
They're waiting for that text message that someone's not gonna show up to work. They can't even enjoy family vacations because they're worried about what's gonna happen when they come back. Who's gonna call in sick? Who's not gonna be there? you know, a lot of offices, doctors still, they're not making payroll a lot of it has to come back to these insurance billing processes.
And so it, it was just so interesting that. I was kind of trying to run away from what I was really skilled at, which is the dental billing.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Ashley: But God had other plans like, Nope, this is what you're meant to do. And thankfully I just followed the path that was the most open and the most clear at the time.
Anne: I mean, I think on, accidentally, you also followed the path that you felt the flow. You felt like you were into your strengths into that, and also helping. Dentist, especially having that personal experience with your dad. It not only sounds like it made you appreciate your dad more, but also you can give other dentists that are in the same boat the same empathy and say, Hey, you are not alone.
This is typical. This is normal and I know how to get you out of it. That's like a gift.
Ashley: Yes, And I think your. Story is what is so unique about you. And I was trying to like not use my past story as what I wanna do now. Like sometimes you wanna run away from who you are, like how you grew up and like that's my biggest strength.
I'm just realizing that now, like still probably need to be in the therapy, but if you can embrace your story for the good and the bad, because that's where you have learned and have probably created that empathy, that's how you're gonna relate to people who are maybe still in those situations.
So that's been very eye-opening to me of like. dental practice owners in office managers. I was in that shoe of being overwhelmed and my father had very high expectations, like a lot of dentists. Yeah. So it's like being able to see both sides and be like, we have a better way.
Anne: Yeah. Well, and plus, I mean, it's, it reminds me of the spouse group that Beverly has started because think about it, you're his daughter and you can see that the money's not coming in and you gotta pay payroll. And I mean, that's just like taking on so much more than if you just walk away and you're gonna go home to your own family and not even worry about it.
That's like a family affair and taking on that kind of, stress. and now you have confidence I mean, if you can help your dad, you can certainly help. Anybody out there?
Ashley: I'm telling people, if I can help my father, there's hope. And that's what I wanna give offices office major and dentists, there's hope.
There is a better way. And I want to prevent burnout like I saw in my father.
Anne: Yeah.
Ashley: And if I can do that with one person in the industry, like it's worth it because dentist went into dentistry to help people. Not all the headaches that comes with being a practice owner.
Anne: You know what I love about this too?
It's, the fact that you wanna help people, right? You think it's gonna be through consulting? Yes. but it's actually through your business of dental billing and you just never know what is gonna provide your purpose because that's just as important. And people think, oh, dental billing's so boring.
And it's just like, it's not really that, big of a deal. It's huge. Yes. I know a lot of our dues they all have ideas about how they wanna help. don't think anyone goes into their own business just for money. It always has to be bigger than that. So what advice would you give to some of the women here that are just wanting to start their own business and are afraid to jump in?
or just face being an entrepreneur, which, you know, that is a rollercoaster.
Ashley: Oh, it's a rollercoaster. fun facts. I left my father's practice in 2015. I was gonna be a stay-at-home mom. Love my children to death. I have four children. They're the best thing that's ever happened to me.
I was not made to be a stay-at-home mom. I was doing too many house projects around like my poor husband. I just knew that there was something inside of me that needed still to be fulfilled, and there was like that entrepreneurial spirit I was looking every direction, but dental, I started a dog watching business through Rover.
Anne: Okay.
Ashley: I have dogs. I'm not someone that my dog is like my child, but like, I'm like, oh gonna be the business. I made business cards a Facebook page. I'm like, eh, the passion wasn't there. Mm-hmm. It was strictly, I wanna create a company and financial. But the passion wasn't there.
So then I said, okay, I'm gonna create a dog poop, picking up service.
Anne: Passionate, passionate about it.
Ashley: I thought that was, I'm like, oh, there's nothing like that in the marketplace Now. There is, but there wasn't.
Anne: Yeah.
Ashley: But I'm like, my passion's not in dog poop. So that is when, again, like the accident of my dad needing help.
It was supposed to be, let me temporarily see what I can do, and then a light bulb went off that was like. Why am I running away from what I'm good at? Like, Especially this step is taking some time by not getting information. So like, I love to research, but sometimes that stunts my creativity.
Anne: Mm-hmm. And
Ashley: it, It doesn't allow my mind to do what I need it to do.
Anne: Mm-hmm. So
Ashley: I would say turn off the distractions. And this might be more than a day, but like, really write out your story. What was your story growing up? And then I think the strengths test that you do at do is so important. what are your strengths?
Focus on those, not your weaknesses. I'm really good at not focusing on my strengths. And then what are you really good at? And it's a combination of like your story, what your strengths are, what you're good at. But then the final piece is what? brings you passion. Yeah. What, when you think about doing it like lights you up inside and like it's something you can't describe the core of all those, that's what you need to put your energy into.
Anne: Yeah, that's beautiful. And sometimes you need somebody to help you to, see what you're good at. I couldn't, we love strength finders. I mean, that just comes up so much like, just to give you the confidence and also just the God-given talents. When you think about those are the talents you've been given, why would we bury those?
Yeah. and the other thing that you've mentioned that's so powerful is just find your purpose in all of that. And if it doesn't. Give you joy or be somewhat easy. I mean, It's not easy to be an entrepreneur, but it could be easy to do something that you believe in. I mean, And I think women especially can do anything if they believe in it.
Ashley: A hundred percent and
Anne: we can sell anything. We can sell our babysitting. I mean, my daughter used to run out the door with the raffle tickets. I mean, you know, Sell the chocolate. She's an entrepreneur we can do anything that we believe in is a cause for the betterment. I think that's what makes a strong reason to start your own business.
Ashley: A hundred percent. And I think it's key, what you said of having people in your life that can speak truth into you. Because a lot of us women. what we're telling ourself isn't what we need to hear. I have the worst inner voice, and that's something I'm working on now is being kinder to myself.
Yeah. if you find yourself that you are doubting yourself because of your inner thoughts, have other people tell you what your strengths are
Anne: mm-hmm. Have other
Ashley: people tell you what, they think you're good at, and then it kind of takes away that doubt that you're putting on yourself.
Anne: but it's just chatter anyway.
Ashley: I've trained my brain now, like that's the chatter that's automatic. So I purposely have to change that chatter. So if you are in doubt, talk to other people and then just know if you have it on your heart to be an entrepreneur. Just know you're gonna fail and that's okay.
Thankfully, I was at the mindset of like, I can be impulsive like my a DH, adhd.
Anne: Mm-hmm.
Ashley: Be very impulsive. But for me, that actually helped me not think about consequences, did not help me as a child, as an adult. I make a decision. I go and if it doesn't work, I pivot. And so that's where I think getting that doubt away and just being okay if you mess up or make a mistake because that's how you're gonna grow, you might pivot.
What you're doing today might not be what, your business is tomorrow. And that's okay because there's learnings throughout the journey.
Anne: Yeah. It doesn't happen to you, it happens for you. But you have to have that mindset like you said, you just have to keep getting back up. Yes.
And then well, you know, I love also call aew, you need some help or you know, call your sister. But you know, You've trained your sister and you're so young, Ashley, I didn't even know anything like this until I was in my. Early forties that, it was even possible to have a mindset shift or whatever.
I can't wait to see, how you develop and grow what you're doing right now. And tell us a little bit about that. how do you navigate growth and you're delegating now because you can't do it all. When you first start out as an entrepreneur, you're wearing every hat.
I'm sure those first two clients, you didn't have anybody working for you. You even made your own garden. Website and major, cards and all that sort of stuff. what would you recommend to other women that are trying to do the same thing be successful?
Ashley: it's still the hardest thing for me, but what got you to start your company, which is gonna be bootstrapping, everything's on your shoulders, is not gonna be what gets you to grow. you're gonna hit your ceiling and that you have to know when that is. And when it's time to delegate and I could have been fine doing things on my own, my vision was growth.
So knowing my vision was growth, I had to delegate. And it's hard, but it is just something you find a good team member. And for me, My team is why I'm here today. If you don't have good people that you can go to and that can support you and that you can trust, then it is so hard to make it there. So I found my team on Facebook. Never met them, but you know, when you just you meet someone, you just know that like they're your people because they have integrity. One of my first team members was Darla and still like one of the nearest dearest friends to my heart. the biggest impact in my life to just allow me to delegate.
So find one person. That gives you the security to delegate and then it gets easier. My delegation still, you know, it's not the best. I could delegate more. It's hard though when you have the owner mindset
like you can't stop thinking about work. Yeah. Like, I wish I could actually care less about work that's, I want to work on like this next phase of my life is where.
My worth is not in my work.
Anne: Mm-hmm. But
Ashley: I'm not there yet. Like we all are on our journeys. But just the reminder that we can't push past any ceiling without delegation. Mm-hmm. So if I wanna get to the next level, I have to do it. So let's just, make the decision and start delegating to one person and then it gets easier.
Anne: That, and we have to say too like, I've had quite a few people that are, I've worked with, and then when it doesn't feel like a good relationship or you can grow into something that, just didn't quite feel like it jived. Don't be afraid to find somebody else that might be able to fill that role, because everyone grows in different directions, and I think sometimes, especially when you're hiring people.
know, Initially they are in a great spot, but they might wanna do their own thing, or they might find that they didn't want to, pick up poop for the rest of their life and they decided they'd want a different career But that's okay. Yes. As long as we leave, always everybody whole and um. some of the, changes that I've made, and they've been hard because I think with women we just wanna love each other and frankly we wanna do it all for free anyway. I mean, I'm sorry, but you know, it's just one of those things I don't particularly care for asking for money, but you know, you gotta do it.
'cause if you're not making money, you're losing money and that's not a very good business model. Right. You know that from dental practices. But I think sometimes we have to make those decisions and I think make them with kindness and respect and then, just celebrate your team when you get, sometimes you just feel like just everything's working in the right direction and we're all rowing in the same direction and we're all, celebrating each other and those kinds of things.
Ashley: it is funny. Darla was my first employee that I hired and I. No idea what I was doing. Hiring employees? But the hardest part for me was keeping people accountable. I'm not good at conflict. Yeah. I run from conflict because I really don't wanna hurt anybody.
Mm-hmm. So, But I know that about myself. So the first person I hired, I'm like, you gotta fire people because I can't, that's not my,
Anne: that's right. She has, She has other gifts, right?
Ashley: Like, Yeah, I can't do it. So I think it is like, what is the hardest thing for you to do? what is your weakness?
that's the first person that you need to bring on your team to delegate to, because then you can be, she was a yang to my yang. Then you can balance each other. So I think just embracing that we're all built different and that's okay. And this might not be a forever thing together, and that's okay.
As long as there's that respect and love and integrity towards the people that you're working with, that's what really matters at the end of the day.
Anne: that is what really matters. And then there's not that many visionaries out there and a visionary is somebody that know, just has this dream and this goal.
But you also need people to execute. And for me, I need people that are not only executors I'm not a bad executor, but I wouldn't say I'm, the best, I know that my, my weaknesses strategy. And so that's why I, when I hire. I'm looking for someone that has this strategic domain so they can offset some of my woo and, positivity and yucky yak.
It all works together and just so great to be able to see people grow that come on board and I can't wait to see you continue to grow. Tell me about wisdom. wisdom? Is a partner. Tell me about that.
Ashley: Yeah, there were, about 18 months ago, a very trusted colleague introduced me to a company that wanted to, build.
Technology to service a dental billing world. And the funny thing is, I was trying to build that myself. I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm like, I can do this myself and take very long and not know what I'm doing and spend a lot of money or let me get to know these people. Fell in love with the culture of the team.
like people hear the word acquisition and alarms go up. 18 months now, the best team can't even describe in words. I am growing more now than I ever have, and I love that. And at the root of it, there's integrity, love, and support. So I just feel lucky that I'm along for the ride. But that's what we're trying to do is empowering our human experts.
To be more efficient through technology, not to replace humans, but to make them better and faster because dental billing is so manual. I don't, I don't see a future where it's software only and I don't see a future where it's. Humans only. So we're building the bridge between both worlds.
Anne: Building the bridge between both worlds.
that's so powerful because you know, I did hygiene for 46 years, and my picture of the, front office is having the phone on hold with their insurance company for an hour. Why they're answering the phone why, they're doing other answers, why they're making appointments, why they're talking to the doctor, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
It's just. there's a better way.
Ashley: Insurance, it's gotten harder and it's gotten worse and then to be on hold for an hour and then get hung up on, oh, the anger, and then I'm supposed to put on a happy face for the patients
Anne: it's again, that's just eliminating so much stress. Not only for the doctors who can sleep better at night, but for the whole team that they know that their checks are gonna clear and that the patients are gonna get reimbursed because we wanna help our patients. I mean, There's so many things that dental billing does for the patient, the practice, and will never take the people out of dentistry.
Ashley: A hundred percent. We are
Anne: relationship business. The beauty of dentistry, I was thinking about this, Ashley, I miss hygiene so much 'cause I miss seeing a new patient every hour. I got to visit and learn so much about their lives or careers and so enriched me in my life. and that's what dentistry is.
we really build relations. With your patients and your team members and all of those things. So we wanna keep it as smooth sailing as possible, and you are a big part of it. So, Any parting words on, anybody listening here today? Like, what's the one thing you just wanna, what let everybody know today before we leave,
Ashley: even if you don't know how say yes in
Anne: the beginning.
Ashley: I said yes to so many things I had no business saying yes to because I have never done it before and didn't know how. Say yes, you'll figure it out and don't be scared to mess up. So that, my biggest advice is say yes. And then once you get there, learn to say no because now that's my struggles.
I keep saying yes. So learn when in the beginning, I feel like that's a lot. Say yes. And then there is a shift to say no.
Anne: And be strong in it and confident in that decision. I, I love that. Remember that No is a complete sentence. That's what I'm still learning. I love it. Ashley, how do we find you. Anyone listening here today?
Ashley: anyone can email me at any time. So it's gonna [email protected], but then Facebook Ashley Bond, you can probably find me on there. Instagram, Ashley Bond Speaks LinkedIn, Ashley Bond. So any of those, you can find me. But. Email me if anybody has any questions or just wants to talk.
Like I love talking to people that are starting a company and giving any support that I can.
Anne: well, I'm so proud of you're gonna be on our panel at, the Nachos. Can't Wait. Paul Goodman. I hope you're listening to this. Shout out to the Nachos Dental Boost. Ashley Bond's gonna be on our panel and I can't wait to hear more of the story that got you where you are and the story of where you're going.
Ashley, I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to just, you know, be a sidekick of your journey. Thank you. So thank you so much, and everybody that's listening today, don't forget, we got a retreat coming up in November. November 13th through 15. Actually, we added a day on the 13th. We're gonna do an all day thing, a workshop.
For how to do a workshop. That's gonna be very cool. And if you're a platinum member, you get to come to the House party and Ashley's gonna be at the house party. It's gonna be so fun on Wednesday night. But just remember that, everyone's welcome to sit with us and we'd love to have your, presence with us and wrap our arms around you, as you will wrap your arms around me and all of us sitting there.
So guys and gals, remember, if you're listening to this to keep doing you. Thank you very much and I'll see you the next time. Bye everybody. Bye Ashley. Bye. See you later, alligator.
