Marianne Cohan

Learning the basic concepts of business can help those who plan to have their own practices.

 

In order to be successful in the field of dentistry, one must be ready to endure a long and challenging education accompanied by a very demanding career. Unfortunately, some people find that doing so goes beyond their capabilities and they eventually find themselves short of their goals. Marianne Cohan DDS, however, is not one of them. As the lead dentist at the Summerlin Dental Solutions, she built a reputation as one of the hardest working professionals within this industry in Las Vegas. Now, her patient list is about as long as the list of her accomplishments thus far.

Dr. Cohan graduated from the State University of New York with both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She was an above-average student who went as far as winning multiple awards while still in school. These include the periodontics award as well as the operative dentistry award.

Where did the idea for your company come from?

I wanted to help people smile and stay healthy. I wanted to offer not only dental care but a concierge service to my patients. Essentially, I wanted to be there for them no matter what time of day or night. Besides dental care I wanted to provide cosmetic dental care as well along with Botox treatments that would help my patients feel beautiful again. I like to believe that I am the foremother of concierge dentistry.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My average day starts pretty early as I go to workout before eating breakfast and heading to work. So, I normally wake up no later than 6 in the morning. To compensate for this, however, I also go to bed around 9 o’clock every night. That way, I can still get enough hours to be efficient during the day. After that, I eat and then go to work. Depending on the type of day that I will have, I might be at work for 5-6 hours or as much as 12.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I write them down and let my mind develop them over time. I never expect to have it completed immediately as my creative process is pretty lengthy.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am very excited about all the new technological tools that we are getting in the field of medicine. These include many dental assets that are being developed to make our jobs a little easier while improving the patient’s experience by a notable margin.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Unlike most people, I never stick with a routine. The average day that I described is just what commonly takes place but I could spend an entire week or two handling things differently. I do not like repetitiveness and I think that switching things up will help with motivation.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would most likely advise myself to spend some more time learning the basic concepts of business. Although I know them now, getting familiar with the basics before starting my career would have been helpful.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I think that humans are slowly going to be replaced by tools that are less prone to mistakes and we will all have to work in the field of asset management instead of hands-on jobs.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Exercise. When you have an office job where you may not be extremely physically active during your shift, it is hard to maintain the inspiration to get a workout from time to time.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I treat every client the same way that I would want to be treated. I include them in the entire process and let them choose how they want to proceed. This makes them feel empowered and much more relaxed which, in turn, helps me maintain high satisfaction and retention rates.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Look into starting an online brand that will allow you to help existing businesses. For instance, I know some individuals who handle our marketing just do it as sole proprietors. When you have a company for those types of services, however, the ventures become much more scalable and revenues increase fast.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Quickbooks is one of the tools I have relied on for years. It helps me track my patients, recent procedures, expenses, and more.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

If you would like to become a dentist, I think that you should read “So You Want to Be a Dentist?: What You Must Know if You Want to Succeed in Dentistry” by Marcus Neff, Troy Stevens, and Ryder Waldron.

What is your favorite quote?

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is a success.”

Key Learnings:

• Starting a day early and exercising helps maintain higher efficiency.
• Learning the basic concepts of business can help those who plan to have their own practices.
• Treating patients the same way that one would like to be treated helps bring them back.

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