???? EPISODE 6 — “Marketing, Mishaps, and Making It Happen”

In this episode of The Making of Podcast, Dr. Ashley and Dr. Toni Torres dive deep into what it’s really like to get new patients through the door in the early days of practice ownership.

Dr. Toni opens up about her third week of seeing patients at Bloom Dental Co., the tech hiccups she’s troubleshooting behind the scenes, and the (sometimes hilarious) reality of being alone at the office late at night. From unexpected visitors to AI integration issues, this week’s episode covers all the highs, lows, and laugh-out-loud lessons of building a business from the ground up.

???? What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• 00:00 – Lighthearted This-or-That: Hamburgers or hot dogs? Gym or at-home workout?
• 04:00 – Recap of Toni’s first patient days and the importance of a friends-and-family soft launch
• 06:00 – Instapot fails and crockpot wins ????
• 08:00 – A late-night office visitor… and why Toni’s husband says: never open the door again
• 10:00 – Reflecting on the first real patient week — with real procedures and systems tested in real time
• 14:00 – Tech frustrations: AI software that doesn’t integrate, X-ray workflow issues, and Open Dental hacks
• 17:30 – Toni’s game-changing choice of a dry heat sterilizer: CPAC’s RH11
• 22:00 – Loving Flex and Open Dental for seamless integration and support
• 27:00 – Bloom Dental Co. is officially open — and booking into next year!
• 30:00 – Now Open signage and Toni’s plan for more local visibility
• 31:00 – Marketing overview: Studio 8E8, Google ads, mailers, tracking ROI by zip code, and Chamber mixers
• 37:00 – A throwback to Toni’s branding website and the snowball of social media success
• 42:00 – Mailer specials: $89 NP offer, whitening product giveaway, and free clear aligner consultations
• 45:00 – Budget hacks: Whitening freebies on a startup budget
• 48:00 – Bloom Dental Co. merch with MerchLoop.com ????
• 50:00 – Tracking reviews
• 52:00 – How local chambers and old-school marketing still move the needle
• 54:00 – What’s next? A growing schedule, growing buzz, and growing team