The Marketing 32 Show

This is the Marketing 32 Show, a podcast that connects with leading dentists, influencers, and experts to explore strategies and innovations that help dental practices grow and thrive.

Blog By:
Braxton

In this podcast episode of The Marketing32 Show, host Brett Allen interviews Doug Fettig about the critical mindset shifts that separate thriving dentists from those stuck in survival mode. They explore why dentists need leadership training as much as clinical training, discuss practical tools for developing an abundance mindset, and dive deep into retirement planning strategies that leverage the power of compound returns. The conversation covers everything from the importance of vulnerability in growth to why trying to time the stock market fails, while providing actionable steps for both personal development and long-term financial success.

Feeling trapped on a hamster wheel despite clinical success, or struggling to lead a team without any formal business training? Many dentists face the unique paradox of becoming CEOs at 32 without ever learning leadership skills, creating a cycle of stress and reactive management that limits both personal fulfillment and practice potential. What if the key to breaking free isn’t just about business systems, but fundamentally shifting how you view challenges, opportunities, and your role as a leader?

According to Doug Fettig, a CPA and mindset coach who specializes in the dental industry, most dentists operate from a scarcity mindset that treats every situation as a zero-sum game, limiting their ability to grow both personally and professionally. Drawing from his own profound loss of his son Parker, Doug demonstrates how choosing abundance over scarcity—celebrating life and helping others rather than becoming resentful—can transform not just your practice but your entire approach to challenges. His practical approach combines simple tools like gratitude and generosity journals with fundamental financial wisdom, emphasizing that building wealth requires starting early with consistent investing in broad market index funds, letting compound returns work their magic over decades. 

Click Here to Listen to this Podcast  Or listen on:  Apple    Spotify   Amazon

Resources mentioned in this episode:                         

    
• Brett Allen on LinkedIn
                                        
• Marketing32 – Performance-based dental marketing with growth guarantee
                                        
• Doug Fettig – Speaking and coaching for dental professionals
                                        
• The E-Myth – Book mentioned about transitioning from technician to CEO
                                        
• Peter Drucker – Management consultant quoted on culture vs. strategy
                                        
• Tony Robbins – Mentioned for gratitude and brain wave research
                                        
• S&P 500 Index Funds – Investment strategy discussed for retirement planning
                                        
• Dr. Jeff Grove episode – Previous guest who introduced Doug
                                        
• Shelly Van Epps episode – Previous episode about training and hiring
                                        
• Alex Hormozi – Entrepreneur mentioned regarding Goldman Sachs investment study

Quotable Moments                 

    
• “Dentistry is kind of backward in the sense that a dentist gets out of school, maybe they even take over their parents’ practice. They become a CEO at the age of 32 and don’t even know they’re a CEO, right? They’ve had zero business training, zero leadership training.”
                                        
• “Culture eats strategy for breakfast. You have to focus on culture first if you want to maximize the potential of your practice because that’s how you maximize the potential of your team.”
                                        
• “The abundance mindset is totally different. It’s like you and I can work together, Brett, and we can expand the pie. My slice can get bigger and your slice can get bigger. It’s a completely different mindset.”
                                        
• “If you’re 35 years old and you throw $100,000 into the stock market, average return of 8%, that 100 grand by the time you’re 65 will turn into a million dollars. If you wait till you’re 50… it won’t even average 300,000 because it has less time to grow.”
                                        
• “The biggest wall you have to climb is the one in your mind. It all starts and ends right here. And if we go through our day and our life with a negative mindset or with a scarcity mindset, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Action Steps                         

    
1. Invest in formal leadership training immediately—recognize that becoming a CEO requires different skills than clinical dentistry and commit time and money to developing these capabilities
                                        
2. Start or enhance retirement investing now using broad market index funds like the S&P 500, understanding that time and consistency matter more than timing the market
                                        
3. Implement daily gratitude and generosity journals, writing down three things you’re thankful for and three acts of generosity you committed each day to shift toward abundance mindset
                                        
4. Find a leadership coach or mentor you’re comfortable working with, accepting that vulnerability and growth require stepping outside your comfort zone
                                        
5. Focus on building practice culture first before strategy, recognizing that as the culture keeper, your mindset and leadership directly impact every team member and patient interaction

Sponsor for this episode…

This episode is brought to you by Marketing 32 the only dental marketing agency and team with a performance guarantee that is truly invested in the growth of your practice.

If you’re not growing in that first month they work together with you, you don’t pay. They really try to find practices they know they can help and partner with you for a win-win relationship.

If you need help with your marketing, visit Marketing 32 and hop on a discovery call to see if it’ll be a great fit.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

                                        
• [01:52] Doug introduces his unconventional journey from college dropout to dental industry speaker
                                        
• [02:16] The incredible backstory: hitchhiking across Europe and selling encyclopedias door-to-door
                                        
• [03:14] How he fell into accounting and eventually discovered the dental niche 10 years ago
                                        
• [05:25] The CEO paradox: dentists become business leaders at 32 with zero training
                                        
• [07:21] The shocking reality: only 10% of dentists have formal leadership training
                                        
• [08:16] Peter Drucker’s wisdom: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”
                                        
• [09:36] Why vulnerability and coaching are essential for growth
                                        
• [11:22] Defining scarcity vs. abundance: zero-sum game vs. expanding the pie together
                                        
• [12:21] The profound personal story: losing son Parker and choosing celebration over resentment
                                        
• [15:23] Practical abundance tools: gratitude and generosity journals
                                        
• [20:34] Retirement planning fundamentals: compound returns as the eighth wonder of the world
                                        
• [22:08] The power of time: $100K at 35 becomes $1M by 65, but only $300K if you wait until 50
                                        
• [23:35] The Goldman Sachs revelation: best-performing accounts belong to people who forgot their passwords
                                        
• [28:25] The ultimate mindset shift: “The biggest wall you have to climb is the one in your mind”