Meet Jason Cellars | Cosmetic and General Dentist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Cellars and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, how do you think about risk?
I think that risks are required to excel in any industry or company. When you don’t take risks you are fearing making mistakes or doing something wrong and you will stagnate your progress. Whenever I am about to take a large risk, I think of the worst possible outcome, think of a few possible ways out of that outcome and force myself to move forward knowing that I will be able to bounce back even if the worst case happens. Taking risks also gives you the confidence to grow, the more risks that you take, the more you realize that the worst case scenario rarely happens and it gives you the courage to think more freely, creatively and to act less constrained.

At 17 I took the risk of moving to the United States from Canada without knowing anyone. After high school I took the risk of taking out loans to go to college and graduate school accumulating debt instead of making money. After graduate school I took the risk of purchasing a dental practice immediately instead of working in the industry for a few years. And currently I am taking the risk of purchasing my second dental practice. Risking you time, money, and reputation will always force you to adapt and become better and is a key to growth in any career.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One idea that I loved from the book Good to Great is the idea to pick one thing that you can be the best at and to focus on that one thing above all else. In my business that is the customers or patients experience. If a patient walks into a dental office of mine, whether they are their for a cleaning or a root canal, I want their experience to be painless and pleasant. Too many people have dental anxiety and avoid the dentist because of it, so we are changing the experience for people to get them to enjoy going to the dentist. This wasn’t something that was easy and is something that we will always have to consciously work on. In my experience, the way to get my team members to embody this mentality is to give them a reason “why” that they can relate to and get on board with. For my team, they are passionate about their patients oral health, and truly want them to be as healthy as possible. So we remind them that when the patients enjoy their experience that they are less likely to miss cleanings or less likely to be scared to come in for a filling that they need, etc., and that connects with my employees purpose and aligns it with our mission.

It is then important to tie everything together to be in line with that overarching mission. So when we bring it back to an amazing experience for the patient that means that the actual dental work we do must be the best so that no issues arise. So we use the best techniques, get the best training, hire the best people, and use the best supplies and materials to make sure that our work is the best. If we just gave our patients the best experience without doing the best work, our office wouldn’t be able to buy in as hard and the initial goal wouldn’t be achievable. So pick your goal, make sure it is something that you think you can realistically be the best at, and get the team on board. People innately like to be apart of something, so having these focused goals not only helps your business and your customers but makes you staff also feel better about the work that they come in to do every day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being that it is Huntington Beach, you can’t not see the beach and pier. There are endless activities and things to do the entire length of the beach and if you leave the beach on Main street there are plenty of activities, shopping, and food all along that road. My personal favorite places to eat are the HQ Gastro Pub and Sandy’s Beach Shack that have great atmosphere.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The dean of my dental school, Nader Nadershahi, deserves a lot of credit for a simple thing that he asked me in a meeting once. “How can I help you?”. I was merely telling him my future goals and aspirations and to have the dean ask me that took me aback and was an amazing lesson in leadership the I make a point of remembering every day.

Another mentor of mine, Bill Dorfman, gave the great advice to “copy genius”. It was his answer to every question I had which is an incredibly simple and very valuable lesson. Even if your company is doing something completely novel, it will be comprised of smaller aspects that have been done over and over again. And to excel at each of those smaller things, don’t reinvent the wheel, just copy what the best do. And to find out what the best do, send them a letter to ask, you’d be shocked by how many people respond to help when asked and are happy to share their knowledge.

Lastly, if I had unlimited time I would give a shoutout to every book that I have ever read. I can’t underestimate the value of reading books. Reading someone’s book is like going to coffee with them to pick their brain about the topic they know most about, but they spend countless hours organizing and consolidating it for you. OG Mandino’s Great Trilogy and Thinking Fast and Slow would be two of my favorite books for leadership.

Website: JasonCellarsDDS.com

Instagram: DrCellarsDDS

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncellarsdds

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jasoncellarsdds

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jason-cellars-dds-sea-cliff-dental-huntington-beach