The Orthopreneurs Podcast with Dr. Glenn Krieger

What if doubling your take-home next year has less to do with working harder—and more to do with removing the limits you’ve placed on your own practice?

Too many orthodontists set goals based on what feels comfortable instead of what might actually be possible. In this episode, I want to challenge you to stop asking, “What do I think I can grow by next year?” and start asking a much bigger question: What would have to change for me to double my take-home, take more time off, and enjoy my practice more?

💬Quotes

“It was a self-imposed limitation that you put on yourself.”
— Dr. Glenn Krieger

“I want you to come up with a way that next year you’re going to take off more time, you’re going to double your take-home, and you’re going to be happier.”
 — Dr. Glenn Krieger

🎯 Key Takeaways

Intro: Double your take-home and take more time off (00:00)
The rope maker story: How self-imposed limits hold us back (00:38)
Why a $3M practice may be capable of much more than $3.4M (01:49)
Your inability to imagine growth may be the real constraint (03:13)
Growth vs. scale: Why they’re not the same thing (03:43)
How technology and remote monitoring can create leverage (04:16)
Real orthodontists who dramatically changed their practices (05:11)
The challenge: Envision doubling your take-home (05:36)
Why the goal is more income with less stress and more time off (08:14)
How badly do you actually want the result? (08:42)
Building a practice that gives you the freedom to walk away younger (09:14)
Your homework: Build the plan instead of dismissing the possibility (10:04)

🟦 Additional Resources

I don’t want you working until you’re 85 because you have to. I want you practicing because you love it—or having the financial freedom to walk away when you choose.

So here’s your homework: sit down and figure out what would need to happen for you to double your take-home next year while taking more time off and lowering your stress. Think about your marketing, your technology, your systems, your training, and every assumption you’ve made about what your practice can handle.

Don’t start with why it’s impossible.

Start with: What would have to be true for this to work?

You’ve already proven you’re capable of doing difficult things. Now it’s time to stop measuring against the same nine-foot wall.

- Airway Meeting:
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https://orthopreneurs.com/

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For years, I’ve talked about working on your practice instead of getting buried in it. But the truth is, even the most successful orthodontists waste hours every week on tasks that someone else could do better, faster, and with less stress. In this episode, I sit down with someone who has completely transformed the way I work: Falyn Golub, founder of The Invisible Assistant.

Falyn isn’t your typical virtual assistant. She’s an executive assistant, project manager, strategist, and problem solver who helps entrepreneurs reclaim their time by taking ownership of the countless details that steal their focus. We dive into what an executive virtual assistant actually does, why delegation is one of the most valuable skills you can develop, and how protecting your time allows you to become a better leader, doctor, and business owner. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the never-ending to-do list that comes with running a practice, this conversation will completely change the way you think about productivity.

💬Quotes
“I help many entrepreneurs execute. Whether it’s a personal task or corporate operations, I help organize my clients, give them peace of mind, and free up their mental load so they can focus on what they do best.”
 — Falyn Golub
“The most exciting part of my job is preventing problems my clients never even know were going to happen.”
 — Falyn Golub

🎯 Key Takeaways

Intro (00:00)
Meet Falyn Golub and The Invisible Assistant (00:30)
What an executive virtual assistant actually does (01:26)
Why delegation creates more time—not more hours (03:20)
Trading money for time as your practice grows (05:12)
Real-life examples of how executive assistants remove stress (07:56)
Managing personal and business projects seamlessly (09:38)
How hiring support protects your time and energy (15:28)
Why entrepreneurs struggle to delegate—and how to change it (20:06)
How executive assistants use AI without losing the human touch (21:36)
Pricing, onboarding, and what to expect (24:17)
Why the best assistants become long-term strategic partners (31:02)

🟦 Additional Resources
If you're spending valuable clinical or leadership time managing travel, scheduling, hiring, research, projects, or countless other administrative tasks, it may be time to rethink how you're using your most valuable asset: your time.
To learn more about The Invisible Assistant, visit:
🌐 https://www.theinvisibleassistant.com
📧 Falyn@TheInvisibleAssistant.com
Whether you're looking for executive-level support or simply wondering if a virtual assistant could help your practice run more efficiently, Falyn and her team are a great place to start.

- Airway Meeting:
https://web.orthopreneurs.com/arizonasleepandairway2026 
- For more information, visit:
https://orthopreneurs.com/
- Join our FREE Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/

In this episode of Five Minute Friday, I’m challenging one of the most common tendencies I see among orthodontists: taking a proven system or technology and immediately trying to “make it our own.” We’re highly educated, driven, and clinically capable—but those strengths can become weaknesses when we assume we can redesign every workflow better than the people who built and refined it.

As staffing becomes more difficult, the practices that thrive will be the ones that implement technology before they are forced to. My goal is to help you build a more efficient, resilient practice—one that allows you to spend less time working inside the business and more time leading, growing, and enjoying it.

💬Quotes

“Don’t be too smart for your own good. Be intellectually humble and recognize that there are better solutions out there than you can come up with—and maybe you should embrace them.”
— Dr. Glenn Krieger

“Will you begin working on your practice instead of in your practice? Absolutely.”
— Dr. Glenn Krieger

🎯 Key Takeaways

Why orthodontists try to outsmart proven systems (00:00)
The importance of having a written practice plan (00:41)
When intelligence becomes a business weakness (00:52)
Why you should not immediately customize established technology (01:16)
The Michelin-star lesson: trust the expert process (01:43)
Clinical expertise does not automatically equal business expertise (02:10)
Homework: identify the systems and policies that are not working (03:42)
Why the staffing crisis makes automation more urgent (04:07)
The wrong way to implement remote monitoring (05:17)
Follow the recommended workflow before making changes (06:17)
How inefficient customization increases doctor and team workload (07:03)
Preparing your practice to operate with fewer team members (07:15)
Using digital concierge and AI-powered solutions (08:28)
When a virtual assistant is—and is not—the right solution (09:17)
Why outsourcing can increase freedom, productivity, and profitability (10:08)
The financial case for outsourcing repetitive clinical tasks (10:29)
Final challenge: practice intellectual humility (11:21)

🟦 Additional Resources

I’ve seen firsthand how the right technology can reduce stress, protect your team’s time, and help you build a more profitable orthodontic practice—but only when you stop trying to reinvent it.

Review the systems and policies in your practice that are creating frustration, delays, or unnecessary doctor involvement. Then ask whether a proven solution already exists—and whether you are willing to implement it the way it was designed before attempting to customize it.

Reach out to me anytime if you’d like to continue the conversation.

- Airway Meeting: https://web.orthopreneurs.com/arizonasleepandairway2026

- For more information, visit: https://orthopreneurs.com/

- Join our FREE Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/

In this episode, I sit down with Lindsay Quinn, founder of Heartwise Collective, to explore how orthodontists can move beyond basic ChatGPT prompts and begin using AI as a true operational partner. Lindsay has spent 20 years in orthodontics and the last decade helping practices improve their systems and efficiency. In her own business, she used AI to double growth for two consecutive years without adding team members—and now she’s teaching orthodontic practices how to create that same leverage.

We discuss how AI can support every department of your practice, from marketing and financial analysis to treatment coordinator training, lead nurturing, and policy development. Lindsay also explains the difference between simply asking Claude or ChatGPT a question and building an AI system that understands your practice, brand, patients, and goals. You’ll walk away with practical ways to reduce stress, improve predictability, strengthen accountability, and spend less time rebuilding the same systems from scratch.

💬Quotes

“Don’t be in search of a problem because there’s an answer for it. Always start with: Do I have a problem, and how can I partner with AI to help solve it?”
— Lindsay Quinn

“The biggest advantage with AI is not us just building the thing, but you learning the skill set.”
— Lindsay Quinn

🎯 Key Takeaways

- Intro: Using AI to fill operational gaps in your practice (00:00)
- How Lindsay doubled her business without adding team members (01:38)
- Building AI systems instead of relying on isolated prompts (03:01)
- Creating an AI-powered marketing department (04:13)
- Using AI as a financial and overhead analysis tool (05:05)
- Avoiding AI overwhelm and shiny-object syndrome (06:11)
- Building an AI conversion coach for treatment coordinators (07:36)
- Why many orthodontic practices are leaving revenue on the table (08:36)
- The difference between a generic Claude prompt and a trained AI system (13:28)
- How AI projects, instructions, and knowledge bases work together (13:58)
- Understanding agentic AI and automated workflows (16:51)
- A real example of AI researching every meeting automatically (19:06)
- Why foundational systems still matter before adding AI (21:13)
- Warning signs that your practice systems are not working (22:13)
- The KPIs every orthodontic practice should begin tracking (23:33)
- The ACRE framework for writing better AI prompts (23:46)
- Using AI to reduce no-shows and improve lead follow-up (25:06)
- How AI can help practices build their own internal tools and apps (27:19)
- Why learning AI now may put your practice years ahead (29:02)

🟦 Additional Resources

If your practice could run more efficiently, predictably, and profitably—but you feel overwhelmed by where to begin—this episode will show you how AI can help close those gaps.

Lindsay’s AI group coaching program teaches orthodontic practices how to build their own systems, automate repetitive work, and develop the skills to keep improving long after the program ends.

To learn more about Heartwise Collective, email:
hello@heartwisecollective.com

- Airway Meeting:
https://web.orthopreneurs.com/arizonasleepandairway2026

- For more information, visit:
https://orthopreneurs.com/

- Join our FREE Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/

In this episode of Five Minute Friday, I’m breaking down the different financial stages most orthodontists move through, from struggling with student debt and survival mode to having enough capital to access investments that may not have been visible earlier in your career. I share my own experience of rebuilding financially during orthodontic residency, the investing mistakes I made, and the lessons that changed how I think about preserving and growing money.

This is not individualized financial advice, but it is a challenge to become more educated, ask better questions, and surround yourself with experienced professionals and peers. The goal isn’t simply to earn more—it’s to use the income orthodontics provides to create greater freedom, security, and opportunity for yourself and your family.

💬Quotes

“Poor people see money as a means of survival. Middle-class people see money as a means of getting credit to buy things they can’t afford outright. And rich people see money as a way of making more money.”
— Dr. Glenn Krieger

“Until the amount you’re putting in is earning at least one-to-one interest, capital preservation matters. Rate of return doesn’t matter at all.”
— Dr. Glenn Krieger

🎯 Key Takeaways

Intro (00:00)
Why traditional retirement projections may deserve closer scrutiny (00:22)
The three financial stages orthodontists commonly experience (01:46)
Dr. Krieger’s personal experience with survival mode (02:43)
How joining an OSO introduced new investment opportunities (03:31)
Commercial real estate, private equity, and access to capital (05:00)
Why new investors should prioritize capital preservation (06:46)
Understanding the one-to-one investment ratio (07:22)
Why orthodontists have a strong opportunity to build long-term wealth (08:58)
The financial argument behind earlier OSO affiliation (09:18)
Understanding the three-to-one investment ratio (10:01)
When it may be time to enjoy more of what you’ve built (10:40)
Learning from experienced investors and trusted peers (11:05)
Balancing stronger returns with responsible risk management (12:12)

🟦 Additional Resources

I’ve seen firsthand how dramatically your financial opportunities can change when you preserve your capital, educate yourself, and connect with people who have already traveled the path ahead of you.

Take an honest look at your current stage. Are you still building your foundation? Have your investments reached the one-to-one threshold? Or have you reached the point where your money is producing significantly more than you’re contributing?

Reach out to me anytime if you’d like to continue the conversation.

- Airway Meeting: https://web.orthopreneurs.com/arizonasleepandairway2026

- For more information, visit: https://orthopreneurs.com/

- Join our FREE Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/