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Why Your Business is Failing.

Sarah Beth Herman Season 2 Episode 34

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Do you ever wonder why your business isn’t taking off, no matter how hard you grind? Why does it seem like everyone else is thriving while you’re stuck, barely hanging on? In this episode of Dentistry Support: The Podcast, Sarah Beth Herman, a 5x CEO, opens up about the harsh realities of chasing success and what it really takes to get there.

Drawing from her own experience—losing 60% of her company during the pandemic and facing countless rejections—Sarah Beth gets real about why most people give up before they’ve truly begun. She challenges you to confront the excuses holding you back and shows you how to build the resilience and grit it takes to break through.

It’s not about talent, skill, or luck—it’s about having the mental strength to push forward when everything around you says stop. In this episode, Sarah Beth shares her personal stories of grit, perseverance, and the mindset shifts needed to transform setbacks into fuel for success. You’ll also get a free download, Your Guide to the 8-Figure Dental Office, ( Use CODE: podcast to get it for free) full of actionable strategies to elevate your business and leadership.

If you’re tired of wondering when it’s going to click, this episode is for you.

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The content provided in this podcast, including by Sarah Beth Herman and any affiliated guests, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice, including but not limited to medical, legal, or business consulting services. Listeners engage with the content at their own risk and are responsible for any actions taken based on the information presented. No guarantees are made regarding the accuracy or completeness of the content. For any questions, clarifications, or crediting of sources, please contact us directly, and we will make necessary adjustments.

  Have you ever felt like you're just stuck in the same place? Like no matter how hard you push, how many late nights you grind through, or how many sacrifices you make, it's just not clicking?  You're working, but the results aren't there. It feels like you're chasing something you can't quite grasp. Like success is just always out of reach. 

You look at other people and you wonder, why do they have what I don't? How do they make it seem so easy?  Why does their business take off while I am barely keeping mine afloat?  You think, maybe I'm just not cut out for this. Maybe I'll never be like them.  But let me tell you something. That voice in your head, that's the voice that's holding you back.

That voice is the reason you're not moving forward. It's not your skills. It's not your talent and it is certainly not your potential. It's the belief that you can't.  I know what that feels like because I've been there. There are times that I question and I still question if I was even on the right path. 

I've questioned if I had the grit to push through, if I've had what it takes.  But here's the truth, every single successful person, every eight figure earner that you admire has had those same thoughts. The difference? They didn't let that voice win.  You see, most people don't make it, and it's not because they aren't capable, but because they've convinced themselves they're not.

They give up before they ever truly begin. And giving up looks different. Giving up looks like I'd rather just scroll social media. I'd rather watch this series or this season of this episode or this season of this show.  Giving up looks different. I'd rather just go take a job somewhere else. Simplify my finances.

Then I don't have to stress like this.  I'm too tired from my job, so I'm not gonna do it. You might be saying to yourself right now, Sarah Beth, it's easy for you to say. You're already successful.  But the truth is, the only reason I'm here today, speaking to you, talking on this podcast episode, is  It's because I faced the same moments of doubt, the same times that I didn't want to do it.

I just didn't feel like it.  And I didn't just survive all of those moments. I chose to push through them to believe in the possibility of what could be.  Even when I couldn't see it. Even when the cards were stacked against me. Even when I lost clients. Even when my business did worse that quarter than any other quarter. 

So if you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling like you can't move forward, I need you to listen closely because in today's episode, I'm going to tell you exactly what it takes to build an eight figure business and not just in strategy, but in mindset.  We're getting into some personal stories, including how I lost 60 percent of my company during the pandemic and why I didn't let that define me.

And today I'm going to help you see that your success is closer than you think, but you have to be willing to do what others won't.  You ready?  Let's go. Hello, and welcome to Season 2 of Dentistry Support the Podcast, with your host, the kindhearted and infectious Sarah Beth Herman. We're back for a new season, and ready to pack a punch!

In every episode, we'll be sharing you quick, impactful insights into the challenges our dental community and leaders in all industries face. Expect a little bit of flair, a few laughs, and you might even recognize a friend or two. Because of you, we are the number one podcast in dentistry and number one in management and business.

And we couldn't be more excited to keep bringing you practical wisdom and leadership with a servant's heart. All delivered in just enough time for your commute or morning team huddle. We're glad you're here. So let's get into it. Please welcome your host, Sarah Beth.  And let's start with willingness to do what others won't. 

Here's the reality. If you want to get to an eight figure level, you've got to be willing to do things that most people simply won't. And I know you've heard that quote before. You have to be willing to get uncomfortable, to risk failure, to risk uncomfortableness, to risk your comfort, to step out on faith, even when the odds are stacked against you. 

When I started Dentistry Support, I did whatever it took.  The first thing I did was call every single person I'd ever known in the dental industry. People I worked with, people I barely talked to, and yes, I was begging. They didn't know I was begging, but on the inside, I was desperate. I remember emailing two people that looking back it makes me cringe because I was so desperate for my first client. 

That I reached out to them because I believed they were strong in the industry and they would connect me based on the merit that I carried.  One of those people, it was definitely a mistake to contact him, and I remember now sending that email thinking, Oh, he's not going to worry about all of our past or how I didn't like someone he interacts with. 

He never even responded to the email that I sent. Another person I emailed them, telling them a different story, hoping that Me just emailing them, checking in with them would result in them asking me what I was doing so that I could then pitch them.  All silly things I did.  Even though all of those things were so silly,  that's what I want you to know. 

That's what I want you to think about. That's what I want you to be imagining when you are looking at moving forward. You have to be willing to be uncomfortable.  I drove six hours one way to a town. I used to live in meeting with dentists, hoping they'd just give me a shot. And after six weeks I finally landed my first client.

They were paying me $8,000 a month and I thought I had made it because to me, $8,000 was making it.  But that same client eventually dropped my services, didn't pay me, and to this day still owes me $16,000.  They took my work ideas I had, and intellectual property of mine.  So what do you do in that moment?

Do you give up?  Do you let that be the reason you stop chasing your dream? No!  You learn, you grow, and you move forward. Because those setbacks, they're part of the journey.  I remember even after I lost that big client,  I remember losing several others. In fact, one day I had a terrible loss, and I talk about that in one of my very first episodes of this podcast. 

But I remember having such a big loss day thinking, gosh, maybe I shouldn't offer those Because  my team is just not doing it right. My team just can't get it, so maybe I just shouldn't even do that. But instead, I revamped our training, I made things better, and I got new clients that trusted us to move forward. 

Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx. She started her business with 5, 000 of her own savings. She sold fax machines door to door for years, and every time she faced rejection, she didn't let it stop her. Instead, she used it as fuel. And that's exactly what I want you to do. Use every obstacle as an opportunity to grow.

Are you willing to do that? And when I say obstacle, I mean every time you get shut down. Every time you don't get a client after a series of emails you sent out. Every time you lose a customer, are you using those obstacles as reasons to push forward or are you letting them totally cripple you and you're spiraling out of control? 

Personal development on overdrive.  In 2020, I learned this the best.  Personal development is the foundation of success at every level, but at the eight figure level, it's a non negotiable. You have to constantly be growing, learning, and evolving. And not just as a business owner, but as a person. People are always asking me, why are you reading that?

Why are you researching this? Why are you listening to that podcast? Why are you doing all of these things? You're wasting your time. You should be building your business. You should be focusing on making money. But what they don't realize is that's exactly what I'm doing.  Let me take you back to 2020.

Like so many others, my business was hit hard by the pandemic,  especially because I was in the dental industry.  I lost 60 percent of that company. Every single day brought another message or an email with bad news. It felt like everything I had built up to 2020 was slipping away. I was completely debilitated. 

In those moments, it would have been easy to quit. It would have been easy to say, I'm done. I'll go work for someone else. I'll simplify my life and my finances. I'll avoid all of this stress. But then I thought about the people that I'm here to help. I thought about the impact that I'm meant to make in dentistry and in business.

And with men and women all over the world. What about the people who need me to keep going so that they can achieve their dreams too?  You see, I have to think that far ahead. I can't think about just me. I can't think about just the money I want to save, the retirement I want to have. There's so many other people in this world that are building those same dreams that need what I have to actually make all of that come true. 

That's what personal development teaches you. How to think bigger than yourself. It gives you the strength to push through even when it feels like everything's falling apart. And here's the truth. You're going to have these moments. There's going to be days when it feels like everything is crumbling around you or nothing is moving forward even though you're working really, really hard. 

And that's when you dig in and you say, I'm not done. In addition to personal development, I've pushed myself to do more. I've gone back to school. I've started mentor programs, I do speaking events, I'm writing a book, I've built other businesses like Support the Desk, Dentistry Support Academy, I've expanded services for Dentistry Support, my largest organization, and that's what sets me apart.

I'm willing to keep going.  And the question is, are you willing to also?  Here's something that most people don't talk about.  The pressure to sell. As you grow and scale,  there is this constant pressure from outside forces, family, investors, people who think you should just cash out and move on.  They tell you to sell.

They tell you to take the easy win.  But here's the truth for me,  building something great, it takes time. It's not about cashing out quickly. It's about building something sustainable.  I've had the opportunities to sell multiple companies that I own,  but I know it's not the right path for me right now. And that's okay.

Every day, I'm still motivated to give my best.  I heard a quote that said, your competition thanks you for not giving 100 percent today.  And that's how I think.  If I'm not showing up, if I'm not giving my all.  Someone else will. Someone else is. In fact, when I'm doing market research on what my blogs are going to say or what podcasts I'm going to record, oftentimes I'm stumbling upon other professionals.

Either in the same or similar industry as me and they've already thought of the blog I just thought about and I'm like man Then I read theirs and I'm like, oh I can do this so much better. What's happening here?  You see every time you see someone trying to do what you're doing. You just got to do it better Just keep going stop thinking about how everybody else is doing it Or that you could take a break or that you just want to rest right now.

I'm not saying it's not good for you to rest. I'm not saying it's not good for your mental health to take a break. But what I am saying is all the times that you convince yourself to just sit there and mindlessly scroll and be a vegetable on the sofa,  you could have already achieved every dream.  Every day I'm motivated to give my best.

It takes a different mentality to keep moving forward when the path isn't clear. But that's where faith comes in. I trust that I will accomplish everything I've set out to do. I believe that just around the bend is the success I'm working for. And I'm not willing to sell my vision short for a quick win.

It's not just about making money, it's about building a legacy for me, about helping others, and about leaving something that lasts.  So I keep moving forward.  My question for you,  will you do it? Will you keep moving forward for yourself? For the dreams you have? Because there's a reason you feel called in this industry.

There's a reason you feel called in this space. There's a reason you're listening to this very episode.  Another thing that's not talked about enough. Is being seen all the time.  When you're building something at this level,  you are constantly visible.  People are watching your every move, questioning your decisions, judging your path. 

Being an entrepreneur at this level requires mental fortitude. You have to be okay with the fact that people won't always understand what you're doing, but you can't let that stop you.  I'm going to go back to Sarah Blakely. She faced this too. She was told no over and over, but she didn't stop believing in her vision.

That's the kind of resilience you need to develop. And you don't build that overnight. It comes from showing up day after day. Even when it feels impossible.  For me, visibility has always been a double edged sword. On one hand, I love what I do. I love sharing it with the world. But on the other hand, it can be exhausting knowing that people are watching me, judging me, and waiting for me to fail. 

I am learning every day that people's opinions don't determine my success. My belief in myself does.  Here's something I want you to remember. It's not about whether people get it or not. It's about whether you believe in what you're doing enough to keep going.  It's about, hey, do I want to be able to have the freedom every day to choose my schedule, to choose how hard I work, how much I believe in my future?

Is it something that I want?  Step two,  is it that you want to make the industry you're in better, or you just want to cash out and make a lot of money? Because I'm telling you, when they say more money, more problems, they're not lying.  And if you're not there where you understand more money, more problems,  Let me put you onto something. 

More money, more problems means I pay more taxes.  I have higher bills because my house is bigger.  I have more expensive car repairs because I have more expensive cars.  I have more payroll because I have more staff.  Those are more problems, right? They're more things you have to address.  Are you strong enough to withstand those? 

Because if you think making more money means you get to do less, I have a really big, rude awakening for you. Making more money means you work a lot harder.  You have more and bigger decisions to make.  But there is a freedom that comes from that. And the legacy you leave behind you for future generations is so beautiful and you have effectively changed and transformed an industry.

And maybe you just have a small corner of your industry, like me. I have small corners. And I love it. I love learning, growing, and making others better.  What a gift that I am given. What a gift you are given to be able to exist in this kind of capacity.  This mentality, these things you're learning right now, this is what takes you to that eight figure level.

This is what's getting you there.  Let's take a moment to reflect on what we've covered today. We talked about the mentality that it takes to reach the eight figure level, and it's not just about strategy. It's about showing up when no one else will, and about having the mental strength to push through adversity, and about doing what others aren't willing to do. 

And when I say those words, I think some of us just love quotes that are like, yeah, I'm willing to do what others won't do. But when you get down to it, and when you think about really what it takes, that mental fortitude I keep talking about, I  want you to go back to your days when you want to do the least.

And I want you to think about what it takes to turn that mentality around.  Again, I'm not telling you that you shouldn't take a rest. I'm not telling you that you shouldn't work hard.  I'm not telling you  that rest isn't good.  What I am telling you is pushing through all of the moments that you want to take the break, that you want to not do something, that you just want to relax instead of working hard because it's easier to go to a nine to five job every day.

Or it's easier to give up and just go work for someone else that can pay you six figures.  There's a different way.  That's what I mean about being willing to do what others won't.  You've heard some of my stories. Starting my largest dental company, practically begging for clients and driving hours just to meet with potential leads, many of which never amounted to anything. 

I pushed through that rejection. I stood tall in those meetings.  I acted like it didn't matter that they rejected me because I had to keep going.  I pushed through the loss and having my intellectual property taken from me.  But that didn't stop me, it fueled me. I had faith in myself that I could do it. 

Don't even forget for a second 2020 because so many of us lost that year.  When my company lost 60 percent of its business, I could have given up, but I didn't. I pushed forward. I expanded my services. I kept growing my businesses. I created new additional businesses. I saw something better, an opportunity for something different.

And that's what I want you to take away today.  Building something at an eight figure level isn't about a lucky break or a perfect strategy. It's about resilience. It's about showing up every day, even when it's hard and trusting that your success is just around the corner.  The path to success isn't linear. 

So your that's good moment for today, your TGM,  the path to success isn't linear, and it isn't always clear. But if you keep showing up, keep believing, and keep pushing through, you will get there.  And I'm right here with you on that journey. I want to be your biggest cheerleader. In fact, I already am because I'm assuming that position in your life. 

Before we close out this episode today, I want to make sure that you know about something that I've created just for you. I've put together a digital download for dental professionals who are ready to take their leadership and business to the next level. It's called Your Guide to the 8 Figure Dental Office.

Now, if you're not in dental, You can still download it and check it out. I am working on one for any industry or that's applicable all over the place, but I started with dental. That's the most of my following and I wanted to make sure I created something for you.  When you look at this guide, I'm going to take you through four key categories that I think you need to focus on.

They're the ones that strike a chord with me first. The ones I think dental offices and professionals don't think of. And maybe while you'll read it, you'll think, well, some of this is rudimentary.  But it's not. Every eight figure earner started somewhere, and if you're not mastering those things right now, we're missing something. 

I'm going to take you even further than that in a couple weeks with another book I'm writing.  I want you to think long and hard as you read each of those pages.  And for my listeners  This guide is 20, but I wanted to give something back to you.  So in the show notes of this episode is a promo code you can put in when you go to check out and it will be free for you. 

A free download just for you. Insights and wisdom I have that I just want to give to you. Things I want you thinking about. Checklists and awesome things that You've got to put into place and you need to have the tools and the wisdom behind how they work. So it's free just because you listen to this episode. 

So check the show notes for the link to that download and the promo code. You'll get immediate access to the resource. No strings attached.  So go check it out. Get the download and start applying these principles today and trust me these are the fundamentals that can change everything for your dental practice. 

It's backed by a ton of leadership, too. Because even if you want the fundamentals, if you're lacking in leadership, it's not going to go the way you think it is.  As always, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Sarah Beth Herman.  Keep pushing forward, keep believing, and remember your success is closer than you think. 

Your competitors. Never, ever, ever need the space where they're thanking you for not giving 100 percent today.  I'll catch you on the next episode.  Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Dentistry Support the Podcast. If you want to get in on the conversation or have something to share, join us on our Facebook group, The Dental Collaborative.

Looking to connect or to be a guest? Head over to DentistrySupport. com. Or if you'd like to learn more about your host, Sarah Beth, or maybe you're thinking of starting your own podcast  opportunities. Well, just Just visit sarahbethherman. com. If you've got just a sec, remember to rate, subscribe and leave a review for the podcast that helps us keep growing.

Thanks for supporting the show. And we hope you'll join us again in the next episode of dentistry support the podcast. 

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