45 based on personality traits, skill sets, and work experience. Richelle over- saw marketing, public relations, training, customer service, and the hiring process, as these roles were in alignment with her energetic and extroverted personality. I, on the other hand, oversaw operations and growing the company. We respected each other’s authority, and there was never a power struggle between us. This also created a harmonious and very effective work environment for our employees. RP: Our team understood that performance would always supersede seniority. In other words, if someone new to the company outperforms a senior team member, the promotion would be given to the person excelling in performance. Will and I held ourselves to the same standard—the best person for the job. We always said that when we could no longer best serve the needs of our patients and team members, we would step down and hand off the business to someone else. After 10 grueling years of building seven offices from scratch and man- aging a team of 100+ employees— including 18 dentists—we reached a point where we would have to sacrifice too much time and energy to continue growing the business. WP: The most gratifying aspect of building and owning our business was the ability to provide an awesome place Left: Richelle and William Peña recently made an appearance on Good Morning America. Right: The Peñas always strive to balance their professional responsibilities by spending quality time with their three children. to work for our team members devoid of egotistical behavior. Our aim was to create a work environment where ideas could be shared freely, and people could speak up when they were concerned about something. This fostered an environment where team members felt happy and connected to each other and to our company’s mission. Ultimately, since team members were content, patients would receive the best service and treatment possible. RP: We learned so much during the decade we spent on our entrepreneurial journey, and we felt the need to teach other entrepreneurs the foundations of running a healthcare business by establishing an online course. Most health care professionals learn the technical intricacies of their respective professions, but the business management aspect is seen as an afterthought. Will and I consider the business aspect to be just as important as the technical knowledge of a healthcare profession. Luckily, I had extensive business training from working at Target, which Will and I leveraged to build systems and processes in our own company. Otherwise, we would have had to rely on trial and error, and we may not have had the success we did. We want to teach other health care professionals business basics through our on-demand, interactive business course and online healthcare business community. WP: After we sold the dental business, we were in our early 40s and eager to continue giving back to others, but in a different capacity. Richelle has always wanted media exposure to teach business and lifestyle tips to other entrepreneurs, and I really love the work I do as a pediatric dentist. Furthermore, we continue our active involvement in our former company by serving as mentors and guiding the management team toward success. We also coauthored a book about our business journey while raising a young family, which we named The Power Couple. WP: We believe that anything meaningful will require a degree of sacrifice and lots of hard work. This is true whether you are pursuing an advanced degree, building a business, or raising a family. There is a certain level of apprehension when facing the unknown, but that is why we feel it is important to lean on your faith, not only to help take that first step, but to help during the turbulent periods everyone inevitably faces. We also believe that having a clear purpose for anything you do is crucial, since it will help guide you when you start questioning your decisions. Knowing your “why” will ultimately help you with your “how.” o
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