We had the privilege to interview the founder of CBC Dental Studio, Dr Tim Meskhi. He was one of our oldest clients, and he shares how he was able to grow his practice through the services provided at Elena Meskhi & Co.
Dima (EMCO): Welcome to the Client of the Month segment for the month of March 2023. We want to learn more about you as a business owner of CBC Dental Studio and more about running a dental practice.
CBC Dental Studio's website seems like a one-stop shop for all the patient's dental needs. There’s a free telephone consultation, about 17 dental services, and a journey planner that helps people get there, not to mention the dental shop with all the dental hygiene essentials and even a blog that answers the most common dental questions.
Was CBC Dental always designed to be this way, and how did it get to this point?
Dr Tim Meskhi: I'm glad that you noticed all these things. It’s now optimised for website visitors but it wasn’t always this way.
Being a private dental practice that started with zero clients, we opted to provide a basic cover—the basic needs and treatments the community would need. But as we grew and developed, we started to listen to our patients and understand what they needed. Here we are, nine years later, with highly experienced specialists on our team that are able to provide any treatment in-house.
Dima (EMCO): That's a great way to develop. And what are the three most popular dental services at CBC Dental Studio?
Dr Tim Meskhi: It's different now and definitely was different 20 years ago. Now there’s a need to have a healthy smile that is associated with success and confidence. However, that was not the case 20 years ago.
In terms of the popularity of dental services at CBC Dental Studio:
-Strengthening cosmetic and aesthetic treatments.
-Implant treatment, which is basically replacing the missing teeth with an implant which feels and looks like your own teeth.
Dima (EMCO): CBC Dental Studio gives patients high expectations and ensures they will get nothing less than the best dental services.
In one instance, on your website, you promise to restore their confidence and ensure they leave the clinic with more beautiful teeth. Is that your motto? Is that what makes you stand out?
Dr Tim Meskhi: Nowadays, going to a dental practice is more than just having dental treatments. It's more about the customer experience. For us, it’s not about what makes us stand out; it's more about who makes us stand out. And I would like to highlight it’s the team of people that I work with because we all love what we do.
Dima (EMCO): Absolutely, I totally agree. It’s all about the team. For new patients who are getting to know CBC Dental Studio for the first time, is there a standard procedure?
Dr Tim Meskhi: The entire customer experience starts before you visit the practice. It starts with the first phone call or the first email, and then as you're having a discussion with the administrator about the basic needs, set an appointment with our treatment coordinator, who will explain the procedure of the treatments and eventually receive the treatment from your dentist.
It's very important to mention the after-treatment care. That’s another way that could
make us stand out from the other practices. We are holding the patients’ hands throughout the treatment.
Dima (EMCO): You basically covered all customer touchpoints! That’s one great way to stand out. What’s the story behind CBC Dental Studio? Was it always in your mind to start your own practice?
Dr Tim Meskhi: When I moved to London, I had the joy of working in NHS dental practice, and so I experienced what it can be done and what the NHS treatment provides and dentistry. However, there is a limitation on what you can or cannot provide to your patients. The only way I could implement more services to the patients in my community was to open my own practice.
Dima (EMCO): It’s always interesting to learn the story of how and why something started.
Let’s move on to the next section of the interview, where we talk about the triumphs of running the business, the goals and some challenges that you face. So I just want to ask you, what is your proudest moment as the owner of CBC Dental Studio?
Dr Tim Meskhi: Well, the proudest moment is probably when you realise how far you’ve come as a business. I’m so proud to see my patients out there smiling and having a shiny, lovely smiles. Another proud moment was when I got the after-treatment feedback. Simply put, realising what you do makes people happier and more confident. That makes me absolutely happy and makes my day every day!
Dima (EMCO): Wow, That's amazing. And for the future, what's your vision for CBC Dental Studio?
Dr Tim Meskhi: We are looking forward to it. Now is a challenging time because we are working on our new goals. Hopefully, in the next few months, we will be opening another practice and welcoming new patients in that and existing patients.
Our vision for CBC Dental Studio is to serve the community, deliver more, and make people happier and healthier.
Dima (EMCO): All the best with your new branch, congratulations! And as a business owner, what have you found to be the biggest challenge in your industry?
Dr Tim Meskhi: Challenges come at different stages of the business. And the first challenge hits you when you just open the practice, especially if you open the practice when you have we starting with few or no patients at all. Statistics usually don’t look that great for new businesses. And surviving these first years would be the first challenge while you are working to grow your business.
The second biggest challenge was when the COVID pandemic hit. The lockdowns have caused many businesses to shut down, and people were scared to go anywhere, including the dentist as well, even though a lot of people needed dental help. The private sector was largely impacted as it was not backed by government funds, unlike the NHS.
Dima (EMCO): Surviving the first few years as a new business is challenging on its own, let alone during a pandemic. Many traits are very important for a business owner. What's the importance of accountability as a business owner?
Dr Tim Meskhi: The dental industry is competitive, and in order to stand out, many things should come together at the right time and in the right place.
I think what makes one of the big differences is talking to your team because your team might be seeing something that you don't. They probably have closer contact and more frequent contact with the patients (clients), which you might be missing. Our responsibility as business owners is to take care of our team, to take care of the people who work with us.
Dima (EMCO): When it comes to the financial element of running a business, how valuable to the business is your business-accountant relationship, and how does having financial guidance impact your business performance as a business owner?
Dr Tim Meskhi: That’s one of the most important relationships as a business owner to have, and you should have, if you don't, with your accountants and financial advisors.
As I previously mentioned, taking care of your team is essential if you want to succeed as a business. One way to take your team is to be a profitable business. Having an accountant will provide you with financial advice, look into your figures, and can give you all the financial understanding and confidence to take your business to the next level.
Dima (EMCO): I totally agree. Have you worked with business coaches to improve the performance of your business?
Dr Tim Meskhi: I had experience working with business coaches, including general business coaches as well as dental business coaches. And I've been working with them throughout different stages of CBC Dental Studio.
I’ve learned that the business strategy should be different at every stage of the business. You cannot apply the same rules and the same strategy to all stages of business. People don’t realise that working with a business coach involves a lot of work and commitment.
Simply put, business coaches can be a great help for you as a business owner and can be pointless if you're not committed to the process.
Dima (EMCO): It’s a process that requires commitment and consistency, after all. You’re right. And lastly, but certainly not least, how was your experience with Elena Meskhi & Co?
Dr Tim Meskhi: I've been or been lucky to be the client of Elena Meskhi & Co, and we have a years of experience relationship, so overall, we are absolutely happy, but it's more than that.
We started with the basic services the company was providing as we were very small. As I mentioned, business coaching is one of the things that Elena Meskhi & Co provides, which helped us scale the business.
Understanding where the business is from a financial perspective was essential for CBC Dental Studio’s growth and success. With Elena Meskhi & Co, we developed the business plans, and we now use all sorts of services the company provides, and that gives us the motivation to grow because we know the advice we've been given was by highly experienced professionals tailored to our needs as a business. Simply put, working with Elena Meskhi & Co is a highly personalised experience from financial analysis to business coaching and business plans.
Dima (EMCO): These were all my questions for this Client of the Month segment interview for the month of March. Thank you so much for your time. It was great to get to know you and the business that you run.
Dr Tim Meskhi: Thank you very much.
Visit CBC Dental Studio's Website.
Dental Treatments at CBC Dental Studio
We hope that you have found the successful journey of CBC Dental Studio inspirational and want to obtain a personalised financial experience for your business. At Elena Meskhi & Co, our team of accountants are more than happy to assist you with scaling your business. We want to learn more about you and your business. Get in touch with us by filling the contact form or booking a discovery call.
