Attracting Top Talent In An Entrepreneurial Industry

More and more entrepreneurs race into their industries with a fearless attitude, strategies in mind and a work ethic that they believe cannot be matched. It’s true – work ethic and talent is incredibly valuable.

I’ve seen and spoken with many individuals who go into entrepreneurship because of their passion and a desire to make a difference. In the field of dentistry, it is more common than not that a recent-graduate would open his or her own practice instead of going to work at an existing dental office.

So how do you attract these entrepreneurs to come join your team and work for you, rather than building their own company and brand? Below are some tips on how to continuously attract top talent.

Let them focus on their work

Give entrepreneurs the opportunity to do what they love and leave the tedious tasks to someone else. New entrepreneurs often believe their careers will allow them to truly pursue their passions, but the truth is, entrepreneurship brings a lot of responsibility that take away from the time you can spend on you work. 

“It can be hard to consistently identify and recruit the top talent you want, especially in fields that are primarily entrepreneurial.”

A big reason entrepreneurs fail at opening businesses is they are not able to juggle everything that comes with opening and running a business. You have to wear all the hats – especially at first. Not only are you the CEO, but you are also the CFO, CMO and COO. Performing these responsibilities well is critical to success.

At DECA Dental, we give dentists the ability to only focus on their craft. We take all administrative roles, tedious tasks and maintenance out of our practices and leave them to the corporate office. All insurance and payment matters are handled by a specific team so that each practice can focus on what matters the most: their patients and their craftsmanship.

Remove financial stressors and add value

As stated by Forbes, one of the top reasons entrepreneurs fail is they cannot find enough or the right kind of funding. In our field in particular, you must attend eight years of school before you can begin practicing. Dentists come out of school with piles of student loans that need to be paid off and opening their own dental practices will only add to that debt.

Removing the burden of investment into a company also reduces the stress associated. To attract entrepreneur minds, you have to understand their needs and wants. It is also critical to educate these individuals on the risks associated going their own way and highlight the value of working at your company instead. Those who choose to work at DECA Dental aren’t required to put money into the company, allowing them to focus on making a solid salary and paying off those student loans.

Build an enviable company culture  

To attract top talent, you have to have something attractive. There are companies in every industry that offer potential employees the similar salary, benefits and clientele as their competitors. So what makes one person choose one job over the other? Culture.

There is a reason culture has become a major point of conversation in business. Some companies have done an excellent job in developing a reputable culture, while others still view this as a low priority item. Fostering a culture that makes team members feel valued and showing them the opportunity to growth is essential. It is our goal that employees know we are investing in their careers to not only gain new talent, but retain old talent as well. You must scale culture to ensure it sustains the test of time.

It can be hard to consistently identify and recruit the top talent you want, especially in fields that are primarily entrepreneurial. More and more people are branching out and starting their own business as resources continue to grow. Focusing on these efforts has allowed my team to continuously attract top-notch talent over the past 10 years.