One thing that’s certain is that we all start out in life in a different spot. Different, meaning very different. There are those of us that come into this world born into every need and luxury imaginable in this world. Then there are those that are born with so little they go through life without it takes their older sister to point out to them that not everyone lives every day without shoe’s on their feet. The focus in this article is about a person behind a brand that started life on the very far end of the spectrum mentioned last here. True story, as a child Dr. Michael Tran often went without shoes without even knowing that so many others in the world take the shoes on their feet for granted. As a journalist, this article is a joy to write because it’s about a level of independence that only those whose stories are hard to believe are capable of fully living. In other words, when someone starts with almost nothing, they can be the most fearless and the best at doing things for themselves. When given just enough opportunity, people like this look up one day and see they felt they had so much stacked against them to succeed that their efforts grew something that extends well beyond themselves. All of a sudden they are making decisions about how to cover their favorite hygienist when she calls in sick one day. That same hygienist relies on his dental practice to pay her salary and provide full medical and dental benefits for her and her children. And so the story goes.
Independence is a great thing when harnessed correctly, and Dr. Tran is carefully leveraging the advantages of remaining an independent company while growing a national retail brand. Although the plan has evolved over the past few years, the original goals that Michael had for FLOSS Dental when he set out have never changed — grow a large family of professionals committed to being the best in dental, and provide a fresh, comfortable, always new experience for patients. Growing the brand has never been about making exorbitant amounts of money. Rather, it’s been about doing dental better and then sharing that with as many people as possible so that so many others receive better dental care overall. Typically, people don’t get into a business for themselves just to put their name on the door. Some do, but those businesses don’t last long. Those willing to go through all that comes with launching their own version of what so many others have done before usually have a strong desire and belief that they can to do it better. Michael attempts to breathe his fearless, independent approach to life into the services developed for FLOSS Dental patients. By learning what’s involved with any procedure and essentially ‘going first’ before his clients have to endure it, he is able to identify where the mental challenges are and make them better for clients. It’s surprising that his childhood friends didn’t call him ‘Mikey’ while growing up, an old pop culture reference for the kid known to fearlessly try just about anything before his friends.
Great Dental Brand, or a Band of Independents?
The previous question above is meant to cause you to ponder — well, which is it? Can a great brand still maintain an independent-minded nature? FLOSS Dental believes so. And this really is what the company would argue is the juju behind the entire approach to growing a national dental brand. The FLOSS brand has been meticulously crafted to be the best dressed brand in the industry. The office spaces are not only warm, inviting and comfortable by design. They are also fresh, open, new and even a little edgy. The materials hand-selected to finish out the offices signal patients that they deserve the best. According to any of the team members at a FLOSS Dental, this is because patients do. Every FLOSS Dental owner has a desire to run a practice that is adored by peers and patients alike. When people are receiving services related to their health, they want to feel they are bringing their car in to the nicest, most well-run service shop, so to speak. Environment plays a big role in regard to whether or not patients are comfortable, and even more-so, how comfortable they are or ever will become while at their appointment. The staff’s attitude, vibe, put-togetherness or not, all play in to this too. Born out of the brand’s focus on all of these things, FLOSS staffers actually coined a term for it all — Flossy. Today they strive to go to work and ‘be Flossy’ every day.
Dentists who choose to own or operate a FLOSS Dental franchise get all of this. It isn’t just a slogan or a cool logo, although the FLOSS Dental brand has won awards for its aesthetic in marketing in the dental industry. They realize when joining the brand they are signing up for a promise they know is valuable, and want to keep with patients. Creating a dental practice based on stodgy old tradition isn’t really going to cut it in today’s world. These doctors have the same independent nature that Dr. Tran did when he started his own dental practice. Only with FLOSS Dental, an independent spirit is not only welcomed, but desired, for those chosen to carry the torch for the brand from city to city. Although FLOSS has brand identity standards that are strictly enforced so that all those in the network one day will receive the powerful benefits of strong national brand awareness, owners are encouraged to put their own spin on FLOSS. Franchise owners are buying in to a brand concept that they want to build and shape — delivering ‘A New Experience in Dentistry’ and what that looks like day to day. The growing brand’s doctors are thought of as the front lines in a laboratory that is ever-increasing in knowledge, sophistication and size. The efforts of every doctor across the network allow each unit to try and perfect new techniques as they become available, and usually well before any single-unit dental practice is trying them now. As the network of FLOSS locations grows, and Dr. Tran and other doctors continue to pour time and energy into continuing education and further perfecting and honing the craft, he is noticing that the company seems to be creating a collective competitive edge on any individual successful practice operating today. Using new techniques and creating new services prior to hearing about them being offered at any other practice is becoming the norm at FLOSS Dental. That was always a goal. This is only inspiring the company as a whole to work harder.
About FLOSS Dental:
FLOSS Dental is the fastest growing retail dental brand with headquarters in Houston, Texas. Their success is underpinned by the brand’s promise to always provide A New Experience in Dental. With almost a dozen units operating in north Texas and beyond, the company has been making consistent investments in growing the brand nationwide. New FLOSS locations are currently being developed in Georgia, Ohio, and the US Virgin Islands. For information on Floss Dental visit flossdental.com, and FLOSS franchising visit flossfranchise.com.