Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tony Jackson . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

We begin our first practice with very little money, but we were driven by our belief that healthcare clinics should provide high quality service, along with positive health outcomes. We began with no home locations, traveling 5 days a week to different hospitals often commuting 4 hours round trip in a day. The travel was challenging but, we knew it helped our mission to provide high quality service because are patients continually expressed their appreciation for willingness to come to them.

The main steps we had to take to get started was to decide why we were doing it. We found that a strong why will provide clarity in what to do. Once we decided why we were starting a practice the rest was the details of building a team, finding professionals (lawyer, biller, accountant, etc) and getting credentialed with insurance companies.

Some key challenges we faced in the beginning was our underestimation of how long credentialing takes. We did not get paid by insurance for the first 3 months because of the delay in credentialing requiring us survive off of copays. However, because our expenses were low ( only 4 staff on payroll, and low rental expense) paying the bills from copays was manageable.

If we had to do it all over again we would start the credentialing process sooner.

My advice for a young professional starting their own practice is the following:

1) Know your why (autonomy? financial freedom? a belief you can do it better, etc) this will guide you on what’s right for your practice.

2) Beware of the trap of keeping up with the Joneses. Remember if everyone else is doing something it may be a sign you should not. This applies to expensI’ve build outs, buying expensive equipment, and over hiring staff

3) Providing great service coupled with great relationships (consistently showing you care about your team and your patients) is one of the few long term competitive advantages for a practice because it is difficult to duplicate. Other firms my provide similar or identical products and services, but they will not easily duplicate a culture of excellence and service.

4) Remain flexible and open minded. Our economy and world are changing at an accelerating rate and as technology advances we are required to adjust. You will need to pívot away from traditional approaches and toward new innovative ideas in order to thrive in today’s market.

My background is in competitive and professional sports. I was a student athlete at University of Iowa where I earned my degree in Economics and Business. I was later drafted in the NFL and played for the Seahawks, Giants and Raiders.

I parlayed the team building and results driven skill set I learned as an athlete into a sales career working in various roles as sales professional and sales manager. I gained leadership and management experience during my time in sales.

Next, I earned my law degree from Purdue Global Law School which added executive skills to my sales, leadership and management skills.

My wife is a dermatologist and wanted to start a practice but had little interest in the business side of the practice, so we partnered together and have been working together ever since. It is very rewarding to work everyday with my wife who is my best friend and one of the smartest people I know.

The name of our practice is Lilly Dermatology (named after our oldest daughter) and we provide Dermatology services with a focus on surgical procedures, cosmetic services/products, and skin cancer treatment. Our headquarters is in Marquette MI. We have other clinics across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan including Escanaba, Munising, L’Anse, and Manistique.

We treat everything from common concerns like acne and eczema to more complex issues like skin cancer removal and treatment. We also help our patients feel and look like their best self with cosmetic procedures such as light chemical peels, injectables, lasers, liposuction and surgical eye rejuvenation. Our aim is to combine 5 star hotel level service in a dermatology clinic environment

We are most proud of the team we have built. All of our staff are leaders in their own right and they show up to work everyday with a passion to positively impact our patients.

We want our current and future patients and customers to know that we compete everyday to get better individually and as a team so we can improve the experience we provide for them.

To be the leader and maintain high morale you must be the biggest servant, this is biblical. (Luke 22:26). My wife is a Moh’s surgeon with several degrees, however she will clean the bathroom and take out the trash. Even though I am the “boss” my focus is to listen more than I speak, give more than I receive, and demand only what I demonstrate.

The only effective strategy I know of to grow your clientele is to consistently provide a better experience, not simply focusing on products and services.

We found that competing on price (we are the cheapest) or quality of products/services (we have the best equipment/products) does not lead to growing a loyal clientele. It is a short term strategy that may result in lost of profit even as revenues increase.

However, if your focus is to create the kind of experience that your patients cannot help but share with a friend you are certain to retain that person and, via word of mouth, gain more loyal clientele. This helps create an enduring competitive advantage.