Our Clients
Don’t just take what we say about Breathe Business – the unique, leading dental consultancy – from us!
Here is what some of our clients have to say about their experiences working with Breathe Business.
"“Having worked with Breathe since its inception, I can honestly say that each quarterly meeting has been better than the last. The information and content delivered has been top notch and highly relevant. Working with Breathe has helped us maintain momentum and confidence through turbulent times. As a result, we continually improve the service that we offer to our patients and enjoy an improved work-life balance as practice owners. Unlike many courses, where you leave motivated and enthused only to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of work that faces you, the team at Breathe help you to think strategically and get organised to achieve maximum results. As the pace of change in dentistry continues to accelerate, Breathe helps us to stay at the leading edge which is good for us, our team and our patients. Would we work without Breathe? Absolutely not!”
Dr Fraser Hendrie - Craigentinny Dental Care, Edinburgh Member, Breathe Business Club, Edinburgh
“Wish we could do it every month !!! Breathe Business is inspirational and very motivating. Thanks to you all.”
Harley Street Dental Studio, London
Members, Breathe Business Club, London
“I am writing to give our appreciation for the last year we have had with Breathe. You have given us so many ideas of how to bring our business forward and help us keep ahead of the game. Our business has been considerably strengthened and we feel more secure in these difficult times, due to the many projects we have introduced through your help. We now have a mindset for continual self-assessment and ongoing development thanks to Breathe, and this will benefit us in every way we move forward with our business in future years.
On a personal level, I feel I now have a much clearer idea of where I'm heading, what I really want to achieve and how I'm going to go about it. Before, I just wanted to be successful, but never took the time out to think why I wanted that, or what exactly that was. I'm no longer chasing success blindly. Now all my decisions and actions have a clear purpose to achieve my goals. Thank you for inspiring this in me!
Furthermore, we will continue to highly recommend your services to colleagues in search of such advice.”
Bert Hay - Aviemore Dental Practice
Members, Breathe Business Club, Edinburgh
“I arrived wondering why I was spending this time and money, when I was looking for a change of direction. I left re-energised and inspired to make my business work. I’m already putting in place the ideas I discovered during the meeting and I want more! Watch out Banbridge!”
Adrian Stewart - Adrian Stewart Dental, Banbridge, N. Ireland
Member, Breathe Business Club, Edinburgh
“5 years out of dental school I had come to a crossroad. I was working 3 days a week in a large denplan practice and 2 days a week at a private squat that I had started within an established orthodontic practice shortly after qualifying.
I was working clinically 45 hours a week and I had had 4 weeks off in two years. Although I was very much 'into' my work, something needed to change. I was doing very little of the kind of work that inspired me, and my relationship with my pregnant wife was somewhat strained as I was taking very little time off. The situation wasn't dire by any stretch, but the signs were there that all was not well….if I could only see them!
What I did know was that my work/life balance was up the creek, but what I didn't know was what to do to change my future for the best. A chance meeting with a dentist who was having coaching with Simon Hocken changed all this.
The first thing Simon taught me was how to become master of my own time instead of being a slave to it. This way I was able to devote more time to family and perhaps most importantly spend time actually thinking about how to structure my dentistry to work for me in the long term instead of merely turning up bleary eyed every morning to rejoin the same train I'd left the night before. I know what you're thinking, but actually the opposite was true: the transition occurred over about 12 months and during this period, my earnings actually increased by 30%, while my clinical time reduced from 45 hours down to 30. I took six weeks off rather than two.
This is the magic of working with a good coach. When Simon created Breathe I stayed on as a client because there was still a long way to go for me. With Breathe, Simon has expanded his own skill base to include other professionals with unique abilities and experience in our industry. People like Mike Hutchinson, who is that rare kind of 'visionary' accountant who can bring both realism and aspiration to your business at the same time.
The Breathe Team represent an ever widening wealth of experience of UK private dentistry (what is working and what is not working) and their Business Clubs bring together like-minded forward-thinking dentists who get to experience significant personal and business growth, while learning how to enjoy the journey at the same time.
I am grateful to Simon and the Breathe Team for helping me to choose the right path at the crossroads. This was achieved not by some didactic formulaic 'recipe for success', but by nurturing my self-belief and self-confidence to the point where I now have conviction in my own ability to make the right choices for me, and my business. Finally, I would add that Breathe help to light up previously unseen opportunities in sharp relief.
I now work at my own private practice full time and our year on year growth for the last 3 years (to August 2008) has been steady at 35%. I am planning 8 weeks off in 2009.”
Andrew Fennel – Winning Smiles, Essex
Member, Breathe Business Club, Bristol
“Inspirational and I always feel enthused after our conference calls with Simon. He is practically experienced and a gold mine of information in the business industry as well as linking us into a great network of contacts. Straight talking: he will always tell it as it is: I really value his honest opinion and direction. I find him unnervingly accurate in his ability to assess both people and situations. Simon’s impact on the turnover of my business has been substantial.”
Jeremy Isaac - Smile Specialists, Port Talbot, Wales
Member, Breathe Business Club, Bristol
“Simon has helped us both in reaching the initial decision to leave both our current jobs in order to establish a new life and business, and subsequently with a lot of the difficult decision-making in the project itself. He has also helped us maintain, repair and restore our personal relationships when the stresses of two full time jobs and a major change project have put us both under serious pressure. We think it fair to say that without his help, the whole process would have been much more stressful, and might have failed. Throughout our relationship, Simon has treated us in a thoroughly professional way, and fully met the demands we have placed on him. At the same time he is personable and sympathetic, so that our work with him is not only helpful, but also agreeable. We have no hesitation in commending him as setting a consistently high standard.”
Dugald and Wendy Sandeman - Dental Practice Owners, Dorset
Members, Breathe Business Club, Bristol
“Simon is an organised guy who can listen and then feedback accurately, whilst summarising and cutting out waffle. His knowledge of his market is wide and deep. He remains interested in the people around him over an extended period of time, not just as short-term clients / contacts. He is approachable, friendly, at ease with people and wants to understand how you feel. He is open about your way of working and being. “
Andrew Lee – Andrew Lee Dental, Leamington Spa
Member, Breathe Business Club, Birmingham
"Working with Simon has helped us make our targets and reach our vision much quicker than we would have done on our own. It has really made a difference having an outside point of accountability: he has a nice way of making sure that we do what we say we're going to do! We love Simon's positive, energetic attitude and the fact that he is passionate about making what you want happen. He always approaches situations with empathy and is an excellent communicator. His experience is invaluable: we see him as a massive "resource centre". This has saved us a lot of time and effort, as we have been able to miss out much of the research stage because Simon has done it himself before or knows someone who has. We are impressed that he is not "possessive" of us as a client: if it's more appropriate to get advice from somewhere else, he will tell us and help us get it. Simon has the upmost integrity and treats situations with the confidentiality that they require. He has become a friend we trust, not just our coach. “
Andy & Becky Denny, Twenty 2 Dental, Weston-Super-Mare
“I have just had some of the most inspiring days of my life. I had little idea of what to expect and I’m amazed at what I’m taking home. The days of sporadic planning are over. I have a clear professional and personal vision and have been given the tools to take control and implement it. I have met some warm, talented and witty people and feel the most incredible bond with them. I love being coached and am keen to develop my coaching skills. This week really has changed my life.’
Dr Richard Hellen, York Place Dental, Carlisle
“The Breathe Retreat has clarified my thoughts, cemented my personal and business relationships, and given me an appetite and enthusiasm for the future which was lacking a week ago! Thank you for a fantastic week and all your guidance.”
Dr Charlie Fox, Hartley Dental, Plymouth
“Thank you for an inspiring presentation. We all took away a huge amount of useful, practical information and have been putting a lot of what we learned into practice. We appreciate that you took the time to travel to our practice and made your presentation 'tailored' to us. It was also inspiring to get so much positive feedback from you that gave us all a good bit of helium. All practices that want to succeed in customer service should come and talk to you.”
Michelle & Geoff Sterland and their team - Distinctive Dentistry
PS: Did you know that you are able to claim back at least 40% of your investment in Breathe services from the taxman, and that all of our services count as verifiable CPD?