Episode 777: The Female Experience in Dentistry

 Kiera is joined by Victoria Hughes, CFP and financial advisor with Dentist Advisors, to talk about women in dentistry. They talk about challenges/trends in the field; financial health as women’s number one stressor; imposter syndrome; and perfectionism. They both share their own challenges and how they’ve overcome (and are still overcoming) them today.

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:01.026)

Hello, Denali team listeners. This is Kira and oh, I'm so excited because normally when I have Dennis advisors on the podcast, I'm speaking with the one and only Ryan. But today we have Victoria Hughes. She is, I think the only female financial advisor on the team. Is this true? Hmm. Well, I definitely, but we were actually chatting because when she joined the Dennis advisors team, she reached out and said, Hey, I want to get to know you. I know.

 

Victoria Hughes (00:17.727)

This is true. Unfortunately, I guess.

 

Kiera Dent (00:29.394)

We share a lot of mutual clients together and I wanna say hi and we just started actually chatting all things like women in dentistry and men dentists. This is for YouTube because I know you hire a lot of associate dentists that are females and I'll probably do a special podcast for like what it's like to be a man in dentistry. But today we're gonna actually dive into female dentists and some of the challenges that female dentists face because as you guys might know, I used to have a company called Women Dentist Connect and it was because I noticed that

 

Women just face different challenges in dentistry than others. And so Victoria and I were chatting about, well, how fun would it be to actually talk about the finances behind being female dentists and some of the challenges that they come up with and things she's noticing from stats. So Victoria, that's a little bit that I'm just like jumping in and jumping the gun, but please, why don't you tell them who is Victoria Hughes? Welcome to the show. Hi, nice to have you here, but kind of just tell them a little bit about who you are and how you got into financial planning and join the dentist advisors team.

 

Victoria Hughes (00:59.754)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (01:14.424)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (01:23.09)

Yeah.

 

Yeah, totally. Thank you so much for having me, Kira. I'm so honored to be part of this. So like you said, I'm Victoria. I'm the only female advisor at Dentist Advisors, but I came into the financial planning space a few years ago and was kind of brought up as that traditional financial advisor that we tend to speak badly of. But I quickly noticed that because of how...

 

Kiera Dent (01:47.998)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (01:51.542)

that traditional space is structured and kind of how that career path goes. That wasn't what I really wanted. So I actually jumped into the women's wealth space for quite some time and worked with hundreds of women. So that's part of why I'm very excited to have this conversation today because in our initial meetings when we were first talking, I noticed that there were quite a bit of similarities between our industries. And so I think this is an important conversation to be had and shared.

 

So I came on to dentist advisors maybe like six months ago. So I'm still a little bit newer to the dental space, but very familiar with more of like a women's wealth background. So I'm excited to have this conversation.

 

Kiera Dent (02:31.77)

I am too. Well, selfishly, I'm a female. So thank you for appealing to that. But something I really loved on your bio online, I love something so much. I think this just speaks volumes about who you are. You said, Victoria believes that it's called personal finance for a reason your money and how you approach it is a deeply, it is deeply personal. And I love that because I'd never thought about that. Like they call it like financial planner, but it's personal finances. It is your personal journey.

 

Victoria Hughes (02:34.562)

Hehehe

 

Victoria Hughes (02:51.011)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (02:54.423)

Hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (02:58.252)

Yes.

 

Kiera Dent (02:59.97)

And every person is different. And let's face it, men and women are different and masculine and feminine energy are different. And so really we're going to talk about like, what are some of the unique challenges and concerns that female dentists do face and, um, are there trends? So Victoria, I know you have like a lot of stats and I have a lot of data. So, um, kind of kick it off of the things that you think are most prevalent on this topic, and then we're just going to riff through it all, um, to go through it. So it kind of kicks off of where you're at.

 

Victoria Hughes (03:03.575)

Yes.

 

Correct.

 

Victoria Hughes (03:12.65)

Mmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (03:16.994)

Ha ha ha.

 

Victoria Hughes (03:23.435)

Yeah.

 

Yeah, totally. And like you said, I really believe that it's deeply personal and you can't really judge anyone's financial journey because there's not a correct way to do it. I know there's lots of articles and content out there about, you know, you should do this or you should do that and don't make this mistake or whatever. It's not going to be perfect. It's going to be your personal journey and your financial advisor is just going to be there to guide you and hold your hand through the winds and maybe some of the lows.

 

And so that's truly why I love this business and I love my job so much is because it's like one of the most meaningful things you can do to like add to somebody's life is really get them in a place where they feel good about it because money's such a stressor, and especially for dentists, right? You all are managing a family, a practice and trying to have a personal life on top of all of that. And money is like a very, very powerful tool to make that.

 

a great experience or maybe more of a stressor. So like you were saying, the female experience is absolutely different. And like I said, like I've been working with mostly women in my career, not dentists specifically, but a lot of what I hear too, and I feel like this can relate to some of some folks in the dental space is like, this, like, I don't know enough. Like I, this kind of like lack of confidence.

 

Kiera Dent (04:26.442)

Totally.

 

Kiera Dent (04:48.604)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (04:51.806)

But at the same time, I feel like women also are very good at doing their due diligence. So it's like almost like this, I'm doing all this research and I'm doing all these things to prepare, but there's also this like, I don't know enough, and this kind of like analysis paralysis type thing. So I love when I can help women kind of come over that and just feel confident and good about taking the next step.

 

Kiera Dent (05:04.15)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (05:14.826)

Unless like let's dive into that a little bit more because I agree. I see it all the time. Um, email doctors call me and one of the biggest things when they're asking to consult with us is here. I just want to, I want to feel like I know more. I don't feel like I know enough about this. Like what's your, I mean, we're just going to like speculate a little bit. Do you have any ideas as to why that's the case? Like what has caused, like, what is the conditioning to make women feel that way because I don't feel it. I mean, men do still call and say the same thing, but it is a constant. Like

 

Victoria Hughes (05:17.078)

Sure. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (05:26.411)

Yeah!

 

Victoria Hughes (05:30.577)

Mm.

 

Victoria Hughes (05:41.079)

Sure.

 

Kiera Dent (05:42.918)

I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know about this. I mean, I still remember I had a call with a client and she said, Kira, I just want to feel like I can be a more confident business owner. I feel like I'm a fraud all the time. I feel like I don't know. I don't know money. My husband knows the money. His family knows the money. I don't really know that. Like, why is that? Do you have any ideas around why? Because I mean, I love the why I've got my ideas around it. But this is literally just we're gonna be up in the clouds. There is no founding like you're not judging her on her financials, guys. Just curious.

 

Victoria Hughes (05:54.003)

Oh, yeah. Totally. Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (06:12.378)

No, I think a lot of it also is this like pressure to be perfect and get it right every single time. I mean, from like family upbringing to like society, right? Like we get a lot of messaging that you have to like look a certain way or have the perfect career or the perfect family life or whatever. So I think there's this constant pressure to like never make a mistake and making mistakes is like such a big like terrible thing to do. So I think it's like this fear like you're going to get it wrong.

 

But with that, it's like, you know, mistakes is where you learn the most. And I think once you kind of get over this idea that you are going to make mistakes, the sooner that you can make progress, right? Because that pressure to be perfect and get it right the first time is actually like hindering your growth a lot. And we see this a lot with investing kind of more specifically, like men, they will invest at higher rates than women. But.

 

when women do invest, we actually do a lot better in our portfolios. So that's kind of like a, like a funny little example of like, see women, like you're going to do great. You're going to crush it. Just like, you know, do your research and feel good about it, but like do it. And it's okay if you fail and you're not going to know everything and that's okay.

 

Kiera Dent (07:13.744)

Interesting.

 

Kiera Dent (07:25.438)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (07:30.102)

sure. I like the idea because the perfection illusion, like to me, I remember I heard a quote and they said, I think it was Tony Robbins and it said like, perfection is the lowest standard, because it's not real. Like if you sit here and think you're going to get it perfect, like that's just a total illusion that's not even real. And so giving yourself that space and grace. And then I heard another one, gosh, I wish I could give credit to this person, but they said, it's not winning. It's not failing or winning. It's winning or learning. And like,

 

Victoria Hughes (07:34.159)

Mmm. Mmm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (07:41.174)

Hmm, it's not.

 

Victoria Hughes (07:46.946)

Right.

 

Victoria Hughes (07:59.338)

Ooh, I like that framework.

 

Kiera Dent (08:00.622)

Yeah, we're about to I mean, I'm about to make a decision that I was like, Oh, gosh, I called Ryan yesterday, then like, whatever, I'm just gonna go for it. And I'm like, damn, just gonna learn and I think with but finances feel, at least for me, so I'll speak as a client else because I am truly a dentist advisors client. Um, I think there is this fear of like, well, what if I get it wrong? That's my future. And then I'm gonna have to work forever. And so I want to get this right and get it right now.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:06.606)

Thanks for watching!

 

Victoria Hughes (08:10.066)

Yeah. Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:17.536)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:23.996)

Mm.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:28.606)

Yeah. Right.

 

Kiera Dent (08:30.574)

And so I just am curious, like, let's talk about investing, because that's like what you guys do. I'm, I feel like I've sat on the sidelines forever. Something, no, I'm going to keep money in the bank. Ryan knows this about me. No, Ryan, he's gonna keep it in the bank, because then I can see my dollars. But that's so silly. But it's so scary to invest. So let's talk about like, why don't women invest? Why is it a fear? Like, I love the perfectionism idea. But also, I feel a lot more confident knowing that women's portfolios tend to trend better than men's.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:36.187)

That's right.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:42.444)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:48.052)

It is.

 

Victoria Hughes (08:59.135)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (08:59.682)

We can talk about that, especially with investing, because it feels downright terrifying to me.

 

Victoria Hughes (09:05.022)

Yeah, I mean, I think there's a lot of pressure also on women to like take care of their families. Like there was a study done at one of my old jobs where they kind of were trying to figure out like what women's top priorities are and women's number one priority is supporting their family. So they're not just thinking about themselves, they're thinking about their partner and their children. And so there's like all that other pressure to get it right, because in their mind they're like, oh, if I don't get this right, this is what it means for my family.

 

Kiera Dent (09:34.25)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (09:34.51)

And fun fact, for men, their number one priority is not supporting their family. It's actually saving for retirement. So it's actually just, yes. So it's actually a different, there's an, that's an example of like differences and experiences and what they care about. So when it comes to investing, there's all this like added pressure, right? But I have heard it so many times, Kira, where, oh, like a female client will be like, oh, I just, I just don't know enough and like, I need to know more.

 

Kiera Dent (09:40.894)

really interesting.

 

Kiera Dent (09:59.466)

Okay.

 

Victoria Hughes (10:01.762)

So I think it's a really good thing that women, they will actually tend to do more research and they're actually more likely to use professional resources like an advisor instead of like listening to their buddy or whatever. So they will tend to do spend more time doing research and have an advisor. But where I think men do a better job is they tend to take action a little bit faster. So while women will do more research, what hinders them is...

 

you know, and taking more time with that, you're losing out on investing returns. And so that's kind of the danger there is because the longer you let that go, like the more that your like long-term financial outcomes are not gonna look so great. So it's just this idea, yeah, like, I just don't know enough. And so I've had so many interesting conversations on like, well, why do you feel that way? Oh, well, my family and my kids and this and that. And I'm like, well,

 

Kiera Dent (10:34.634)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (10:59.39)

let's just get started and do a little bit at a time. So I've had to do a lot of like easing into it and there's nothing wrong with that. Like you don't have to, you know, put the whole cash account into investing. Like oftentimes that feels like, whoa, like way too much. But I'd rather get someone kind of building the habit of it and just to show them like, hey, this isn't scary. You know, just putting a little bit of away and kind of ramping up to that. Like that's a win in my mind.

 

Kiera Dent (11:04.603)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (11:13.979)

I'm sorry.

 

Kiera Dent (11:27.322)

No, and as you were saying that, I think there's a piece to that of, is it fair? I'm just going to throw out some ideas that we might, it's almost like we are consuming knowledge without taking action, thinking that we're making progress. And to me, there's a fine line between progress and actually like procrastination. And so like, let's not fool ourselves that maybe what we're doing is

 

Victoria Hughes (11:41.614)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (11:48.396)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (11:53.63)

We're researching so much because we want the information, but we're truly procrastinating because we're afraid. And so just having that honesty within, because I know at the end of the day, I'm just downright scared. Perfectionism, I think, is fear-based. I think there's so many pieces to it. And I know with Ryan, I was like, I thought, do I even need a financial advisor? Ryan's the worst salesperson on your guys' team of everybody because he tells everyone, you can do this without me. He says it all the time. He's like, Kira, you don't need me. You don't need this.

 

Victoria Hughes (11:59.903)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (12:04.696)

Yeah.

 

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (12:15.352)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (12:21.11)

Hehe.

 

Kiera Dent (12:23.334)

which I do actually appreciate that he has confidence that we can do it on our own. But I remember I was at a conference and my friend sitting next to me, he said, Keira, the purpose of a financial advisor is to be that person to consistently get you to invest. And I think that that's where like coaches and advisors come into play. Like people hire us to hold them accountable, to hold their team accountable, to follow through. Same thing with a financial planner, financial advisor is like, where do you want to be?

 

Victoria Hughes (12:36.524)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (12:42.282)

Yes.

 

Kiera Dent (12:49.286)

And then I'm here to help you like at least start the ball rolling. And it was crazy because when I look this year, I told Ryan, I was like, okay, fine, your job is just to make sure that I consistently put money into my investments. Like that's what I have you for. You're a real person. It's not just like Vanguard or someone that I can like break up with when I want to not do it if I don't want to. Um, but it's crazy to look back at like the small investments really do add up over time. Um,

 

Victoria Hughes (12:53.099)

Hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:00.465)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:06.72)

Right.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:10.707)

Right.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:15.562)

Yes. Oh my gosh, yes.

 

Kiera Dent (13:18.114)

So yeah, she's interesting, but to hear that there's the fear of the family, I could see why women wait so long because I'm like, no, I got to get the kids out of the house. I got to do this and then I'll invest. What's the cause like, I don't know, Victoria, what is the cost of, like you hear about compounding all the time and it feels scary. And guess what? Like no one's going to get it right. That's the other thing with investments. Like there is no right. There is like, it's not, it's not this thing that you can even guess. Like there is no right with it. It's just like,

 

Victoria Hughes (13:29.333)

Mmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:33.055)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:39.598)

Correct.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:43.755)

Right.

 

Kiera Dent (13:44.422)

just keep putting money in because then it will be there when you get there based on how things work out. So what is the cost, I guess, because I always like to say choose your hard. So what's the cost of investing now and not having all the information versus waiting until I feel more like stable or established to start? What is that gap cost? Like hit me with like how hard that's going to be because I think that to me is, is that a risk or a loss I'm willing to take long term by needing to be perfect today?

 

Victoria Hughes (13:49.771)

Right.

 

Victoria Hughes (13:54.434)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (14:02.11)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (14:12.054)

Right. Yeah, yeah. What you're talking about is compounding and it's like often referred to as like the eighth wonder of the world because the more the earlier you invest, the better. And like you said, you don't have to get it right. We can always adjust the portfolio and make it more meaningful and valuable to you. But really, you hear the cases of people who started investing like

 

right out of college, even if it was just like a minimal amount, that money is going to grow like crazy over the decades. And the longer you wait, the less that you're going to benefit from it. And the cost can truly be astronomical. And you know, like, obviously you want some level of liquidity in cash to support you there. So there is like...

 

definitely a spectrum with this. Like I wouldn't recommend someone go straight into investing if they don't have an emergency fund, right? Like there, I say like invest early and often, but there's absolutely some like guidelines with that too. Because we don't want you to risk your current self for the sake of just investing. So when the time is right, I always recommend early and often. And the best thing that you can have as far as investing goes is time. Time in

 

Kiera Dent (15:15.886)

Thank you.

 

Kiera Dent (15:21.96)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (15:32.77)

and also not timing it. And that's another thing too, women are far less likely to try to beat the market. Women's mindset is more so like, tell me what the plan is and I'm gonna stick with it on average and that's what the studies show and that is part of why women's portfolios tend to do better. I think they outperformed by like, I wanna say it's like one to 3%. I need to refer to that study, but it's.

 

Kiera Dent (15:40.106)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (15:46.387)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (15:58.555)

Oh, yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (16:00.222)

And that sounds small, but you have that over the course of your investing journey, that can be extremely meaningful. So with women, once we put a financial strategy and investment strategy in place, they're just like, they're kind of like, I'm so busy. I've got all these things going on in my life. I'm trying to run a practice. I'm trying to manage my family. Just tell me what to do and let's stick to the plan.

 

Kiera Dent (16:07.725)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (16:24.97)

Mm-hmm. Hi. Hahaha.

 

Victoria Hughes (16:25.11)

So it makes my job a little bit easier when we're not, there's like a down market and they're like, no, it's okay. Like this is part of the plan. And versus some, like another mindset is like, no, I need to beat this benchmark and whatnot. Women don't care so much about the benchmarks. They're like, just tell me what to do and we'll stick to the plan. So it makes my job easier. Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (16:32.742)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (16:45.146)

I think it's actually like a beautiful thing, right? So like once women make the decision, I feel like they're more consistent. It's not this like up and down ride. It's just like making that initial decision, which I mean, hearing the different pieces. Like we talk about it all the time. It's interesting, like when I'm in office, like let's just throw out some differences. A female dentist, so like a male dentist can come in and say like, hey, I need a burr. And if a female dentist says, hey, I need a burr, we're like, well, what's wrong with her?

 

Victoria Hughes (16:50.345)

Yes!

 

Victoria Hughes (16:54.636)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (17:00.518)

Mmm. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (17:08.658)

Mmm.

 

Kiera Dent (17:11.89)

like it says tone and this undertone and women read tones. And so female dentists, I know so many of them are like, Kira, I have to like really walk on eggshells with my team and I have to be careful of how my tone is. Where men are like, I don't even know what you're talking about. I can just tell them that I need this and it gets done. And I'm like, yeah, but there's the rule. Like it's like the written code. And so I think with that stress and that concern, just realizing like, I think one of the coolest things is when we, when we learn more about ourselves, then we can actually, in my,

 

Victoria Hughes (17:16.181)

Yes.

 

 

Victoria Hughes (17:31.03)

Yeah!

Victoria Hughes (17:39.255)

Yes.

Kiera Dent (17:41.734)

opinion, like beat the system. Like, cool, if I know I'm going to be a slower decision maker, like history shows, historical trends show that women are more like they're later investors, they don't invest. But like, once we get there, we stay consistent, then cool, I can cheat the system. And I know that this is a flaw that I already have, or like a tendency I already tend to go towards. Let me not do that. And let me just start to invest, especially when I feel like it comes to your personal investments. And that was something that I just feel more

 

Victoria Hughes (17:51.658)

Yeah. Oh, yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (18:00.522)

Yep. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (18:08.396)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (18:10.25)

confident now. So speaking from a female, I mean, Jason and I started investing, we had to have it all set up, right? We had to have our loans paid off, we had to have our house money in the bank, we had to have X amount for the business. And in hindsight, I think for me, so I'll just speak as a female business owner, I felt like and Victoria, maybe you hear this, maybe you don't, I felt like I had to have and I don't even know where this came from, like X amount to feel like I was worthy enough to start investing like when I was qualified, like it was this weird thing because otherwise like

 

Victoria Hughes (18:16.585)

Mm-hmm.

 

Yep.

 

Victoria Hughes (18:26.402)

Sure.

 

Victoria Hughes (18:36.05)

Yes, yeah, yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (18:40.282)

like, no, I'm just Kira. I don't need an advisor. That just feels too, I don't want to say bougie, but it feels like out of my league. No, no, no. That's for other people. That's for men dentists. That's how I felt. And I was almost...

 

Victoria Hughes (18:42.368)

Yeah!

 

Victoria Hughes (18:51.426)

I, yeah, no, I totally get where you're coming from. And I like feel it in my insides because I hear that so much, Kira. Like you're not, yeah, you're not the first person to share that, those feelings with me because yeah, I've heard it all the time where it's like, oh, like I'm not ready for an advisor. And I'm like, well, are you on a financial journey like the rest of us? Then you're ready for an advisor. Maybe that doesn't mean like,

 

you know, full service, like private wealth, but everybody needs like some sort of financial professional in their back pocket, right? Like how are you supposed to know what to do with this? Like none of us like, you know, we're born like knowing the differences between Roth IRA and traditional IRA, right? Like, but you, I don't know, I almost think it like when you're younger and earlier in your career, I think it's more meaningful because you have the advantage of time. Like I said,

 

Kiera Dent (19:31.156)

Yes!

 

Victoria Hughes (19:47.854)

and you are in a position earlier in your career where you're making really important long-term decisions. And I'd so much rather work with someone in that space and help them feel good about it versus more of like a reactive approach. Like, oh crap, this is like my situation, Victoria. Like help, and of course I'll help and we'll do everything that we can. But no, you don't need like a certain.

 

level of wealth and you quite literally don't need to know anything about money in order to start working with an advisor. And I think if you don't, that's more of a reason to, right? Because you need the help and early and often and that's honestly what I love about like dentist advisors is we're always trying to like, you know, structure ourselves and pricing model and all of that to be able to help people early and often. And those are often like some of my favorite clients because I just love bringing people into like the financial space and showing them that.

 

Kiera Dent (20:21.994)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (20:35.073)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (20:42.198)

You know, yes, it's a lot and there's, you're going to have to make a lot of decisions and we'll do that together, but it's not scary. And I promise, and it's just like baby steps and getting into it, even if you know nothing is better than like avoiding it, right?

 

Kiera Dent (20:51.167)

Right.

 

Kiera Dent (20:58.658)

I completely agree. That's why I loved this. When we were talking and we met, I'm like, I feel so many women feel that way, but it's not talked about. I feel like money is taboo and sex is taboo and your marital problems are taboo. But yet, if you go back in time of who we used to be, we were community creatures and you had a community. We didn't live in our beautiful homes with our fences that separated us from other people. We truly were community. If there was a problem or an issue, it wasn't that you had an issue, it's that you had

 

Victoria Hughes (21:05.342)

Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah.

 

Right.

 

Victoria Hughes (21:18.263)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (21:27.896)

Mm. Yes.

 

Kiera Dent (21:28.042)

shared it with your community. And so I also think like, if I look at trends of masculine and feminine energy, like, let's just go with that. Feminine energy is more creative. It's more it's more flow and money is more structure. And I've wondered if that's why women feel that we're not as qualified or equipped for it. But I want to think of money as a flow. Like money is a fun game for me to

 

Victoria Hughes (21:35.364)

Mm.

 

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (21:42.412)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (21:47.675)

Mm.

 

Mmm.

 

Kiera Dent (21:52.814)

experience to enjoy to see like what are they Yes, it is more rigid and there's more structure. But I'm like, this is the flow of my life, like money makes my life go around. And so why not invest in that sooner? Why not talk about it? But it is interesting. For some reason, I did feel like there was this cap of qualifying to be able to qualify for an advisor. And I wish that I would have broken that earlier on. Like, I still think I'm young. But I mean, my little sister, her and I were talking, she's in college right now. And I said, Oh, girl, like,

 

Victoria Hughes (21:59.678)

Yeah. Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (22:05.547)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (22:15.702)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (22:21.842)

let's put this money into this spot. Like they're, they're having a 4% like APY APR on it. Like right now, like just put your money that you're sitting there waiting for tuition here and it will accrue. And she texts me like, here, I just made 20 bucks doing nothing. And like she's already making money and she's already investing and already doing like, I'm like, what was I thinking giving people Christmas presents? I should have just been investing in their Ross for them. Like that would have been a better gift than what I'm giving them.

 

Victoria Hughes (22:22.678)

Mm. Oh, girl.

 

Victoria Hughes (22:29.067)

Yeah!

 

Victoria Hughes (22:35.69)

Yes!

 

Victoria Hughes (22:45.502)

I know. Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (22:51.842)

especially for women, I think there are men listening that this applies to you too, because I think, dentist, I think, like, not only are you a female, but then you're also a dentist with a doctorate degree, like, you should know this, quote unquote, with massive air quotes around the should. But there is no should, like, where does that come from? And where did those rules come from? There is no should. And the sooner you can realize, like, I'm here to learn. And the more I can, like drop that ego, the more help I'll get, and the better my life will be all the way around, the better you'll be. So really just dropping that like,

 

Victoria Hughes (22:55.831)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:00.215)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:03.762)

Mmm... yeah... no.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:10.956)

No.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:17.159)

Yes. Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (23:21.586)

Just because you're female means you're qualified. Just because you're a human means you're qualified to have a financial. That's why I loved what you said at the very beginning of your bio of it. It's your personal finances and you deserve that. Like you as a person deserve to have a great future financially. So those are kind of my thoughts, but I don't know, Victor, I'm sure you've got others and stats and whatnot, so thoughts on that.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:24.126)

Yeah. Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:31.703)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:35.774)

Yes. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (23:43.99)

No, I think like financial health is like so important and in this one study that I kind of referenced earlier, like money is like women's number one stressor, but when they finally like again go back to like making those decisions and finally taking the leap, it can actually be like it is actually their like number one source of strength.

 

So a stat that I have is 86% of women say investing actually makes them feel powerful, makes them feel like the sense of security and peace and that they're in control. So it's interesting kind of this idea of like they spend a lot of time in this like, oh, I don't know enough and this like anxiety and fear-based space. But then when they actually do it, they're like, oh, okay, this is great. You know, it's so interesting.

 

Kiera Dent (24:31.758)

Yeah, and not even, not even knowing the stats, like speaking for myself, I do feel a lot more confident, like the decision I make today, like, I'm about to make a pretty big decision later on today, I messaged Ryan, I was like, Listen, I'm about to spend this amount of money. I'm gonna think finally was like, I know that I'm good. And I know Ryan's gonna stamp it up. But I've also had the confidence of a financial advisor for I think he and I have been together for 11 months, like actively coach, I make him get on with me every single month.

 

Victoria Hughes (24:36.043)

Yeah.

 

Yeah, like you said.

 

Victoria Hughes (24:48.264)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (24:58.474)

Yeah, sure. Yep.

 

Kiera Dent (25:01.53)

And sometimes I'm like, I don't even know what I'm going to talk to you about, but it all just spews out of me. And like, I need this and I need this, and this is where I'm thinking of going. And for me to have that confidence to make this decision, because I'm like, I know what my finances are. I know what my investments are. I know what areas I can go. I don't know everything. I don't know everything within, but I'm like, Ryan doesn't, Victoria doesn't, nobody. Like, what I'll be all is you can just be an average human and do really well.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:05.421)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:09.195)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:16.203)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:21.954)

Sure. I don't know everything. I don't claim to know everything.

 

Kiera Dent (25:28.774)

And that's what I think is so empowering for me. So it's like, great, I now know what decisions I can make. I know where my money is. I feel more confident. And what I have found from consulting and from finances is when you know your numbers, you make smarter decisions more confidently.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:28.959)

Yes.

 

Totally.

 

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:39.382)

Mmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (25:44.098)

Yes. And I think that's where that like those feelings of power and control really like and peace and security all really come from. It's like, okay, now I know where everything's at. And like, I'll even see it in like clients faces and like literally even in their shoulders, you can like watch it drop. And I was like, oh wow, like we did it. We got you got you to a better place. But I want to highlight something that you said that I think is unique about women is like.

 

talking about it. So we all know money is like such a taboo topic and unfortunately, but in spaces where I've seen women like talk about it or even like talk about their practices, it is like fireworks. It is such a beautiful thing to see and experience. Like even if I'm not in the conversation, just like watching it. And I've been in a couple of different like female dentist spaces and it's like I'm like a golden retriever there. It's like,

 

Kiera Dent (26:34.694)

Hahaha

 

Victoria Hughes (26:38.506)

Like, does your P&L look like this? Mine looks like this. Oh girl, like you need a new CPA. Like let me hook you up. Like I think once you like find that core group of women and people to kind of make up your personal and professional board of directors, like your progress just skyrockets.

 

Kiera Dent (26:43.747)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (26:56.67)

You know, and even like you were saying with your sister, it's funny, I kind of did the same thing with mine and she's like way better off financially than I was when I was 21. Because I told her about high yield savings accounts and now she's like making, you know, 5% in there and I wasn't doing that in college. Like I needed an older sister, you know. But it's true, like once we like finally like talk about it and you find just like people to be in your corner, I find that women are just...

 

Kiera Dent (26:56.691)

Mm.

 

Kiera Dent (27:04.043)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (27:13.62)

I mean... No! That's not even...

 

Victoria Hughes (27:24.958)

a little bit more likely to be open about it. Once you have that like level of trust within each other. And like I said, when you have those spaces, like cherish it. And if you don't have it, there's so many like places for you. Like I've been, like I said, I've been to a couple female dental conferences and it's so beautiful. So the resources are definitely out there and it is just, like I said, a beautiful thing to watch and get to be a part of when you kind of like see that flourish.

 

Kiera Dent (27:27.636)

Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (27:51.23)

Yeah. And I think about my little sister and I have two little sisters. So this isn't the one that I helped get the money, but a different one. And she said, Keira, it's 10 seconds of courage for a lifetime of happiness. And I just think like what's holding you back is 10 seconds of courage to like make the call to talk to a financial advisor. And like I go to conferences intentionally to scare myself. Like I'm about to go to a conference where we're going to do fire walking.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:00.939)

Mm.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:07.782)

I love that! Yeah!

 

Victoria Hughes (28:13.206)

Yep. Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:20.208)

I love that.

 

Kiera Dent (28:21.734)

I go there because I'm downright terrified of burning my freaking feet off. That scares me to death. But I also know that if I can train myself to take the courage step of 10 seconds of courage for so much happiness. I went to the financial class and I felt like an idiot. I remember sitting next to all men. Why didn't I? I purposely didn't sit next to the girls. Sorry ladies, because I knew I wouldn't get the same type of help where men would be confident. They would tell me like XYZ.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:34.135)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:37.77)

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:46.467)

Mmm.

 

Kiera Dent (28:48.67)

where otherwise it's gonna be me and some girl like swimming in a boat swirling in circles because neither of us know. But then to be a female now that feels confident walking into a room, if someone's got questions on their PNL, if someone has questions on their financial advice, if they have questions on this, like, if I don't know, I'm going to send them to resources. But like you said, it's crazy. So I guess like to get into that crowd, it's the 10% of courage to make a call in to find out because you're worth it, you deserve it. And I feel like you're finding-

 

Victoria Hughes (28:48.845)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (28:52.29)

Hahaha!

 

Victoria Hughes (28:59.614)

Mmm. Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (29:10.826)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (29:15.905)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (29:16.934)

dependent upon it. So if nothing else, women are such caregivers. The way I overcame that fear was I realized two things. One, I had to make sure, like it's weird. It's so crazy that you said what you said because I didn't realize I did this, but I was so concerned if anything ever happened to me, like what would happen to Jason? And I was in business protected because I thought like, well, if I die, this should be an asset, not a liability for him. So that was number one was to make sure like...

 

Victoria Hughes (29:18.572)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (29:23.746)

Hmm

 

Victoria Hughes (29:36.19)

Yeah, right. Yep.

 

Victoria Hughes (29:42.378)

Yes. Mm-hmm.

 

Kiera Dent (29:44.666)

me and him are financially secure, which I still don't understand why I care so much about this, but I do. And then the second thing was making sure that my team and my business were set up. And so I feel like I can't do it for myself. To me, I felt like as a CEO, I had a moral responsibility to my team to make sure that I was investing that I was preparing the business in a way. I mean, Ryan's helped me figure out like my trust and all this like shenanigans that I didn't even know I needed to do.

 

Victoria Hughes (29:54.125)

Yeah!

 

Victoria Hughes (30:01.835)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (30:08.706)

Sure. Right. Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (30:11.302)

If I die, what happens to this business and what happens to all of my team members? And so that's just where I felt I can take the 10 seconds. Like whether I feel like I qualify or don't, you might as well make the call and ask because you do. And then you're going to be able to be confident in those realms. And then learning your PNL, learning those things, shoot, the confidence that comes with knowing your numbers is something that I wish every woman could experience because it's

 

Victoria Hughes (30:14.816)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (30:19.455)

Mm-hmm.

 

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (30:26.452)

Yep.

 

Victoria Hughes (30:34.946)

could feel. Yeah, oh, absolutely. I have been told all the time, and kind of something that helps me get through those hurdles, because it's not just money, right? There's plenty of instances in life where you're just like, ah, I know I need to do this thing, but I'm scared of it, I don't know enough, the 10 seconds of courage. But really, it's when, I feel like when you lean into the discomfort of it, and just accepting the fact that

 

You don't know everything. I don't know everything. And I think that perfectionism and imposter syndrome, it gets us all. It gets me every day at my job. I feel like I'm not a good enough advisor, or they deserve someone better for them, or whatever. But being okay with where you're at. If you don't know enough, or whatever that means to you, relative, right? That's okay. Just...

 

admit it and accept where you're at. It's again, like what I said in the beginning, it's your financial journey and yours alone. There's like no space to really even like judge that, right? Like I've talked to some women in like the quote unquote, like worst financial positions with like high debt and they just, they get so down on themselves about it. And I'm like, how is this serving you? Right? Like how, like you already are dealing with so much. Why add?

 

Kiera Dent (31:48.94)

Mm-hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (31:53.066)

the additional layer of negative self-talk. Like how is that lowering your debt? How is that improving your portfolio returns? You know, it's not, it's not. And so again, just like accepting where you're at, leaning into the discomfort and just saying, you know what, like I know I need to be doing these things. It's going to be uncomfortable for a little bit, but I know, and I can rest easy knowing that once I get over this hurdle, I'm going to feel so much better. And so I try to anchor people in that.

 

Kiera Dent (31:57.618)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (32:21.186)

Mm hmm. For sure. I just really loved the lean into the discomfort. I guess I could just and all of them like to me I'm sitting. Okay, let's maybe I'll skip that conference. Like it's still TBD. We'll see. I'm like, this feels stupid. Like there's a line of like, but at the same time, like hundreds and thousands of people, whatever, back on track. Where, where do these like, shoulds come from?

 

Victoria Hughes (32:21.458)

Easier said than done, of course.

 

Victoria Hughes (32:27.094)

Yes. In all areas of life, right? Like burn your feet, Kira.

 

Victoria Hughes (32:44.914)

Yeah. Hehehehe.

 

Kiera Dent (32:50.746)

I think is a question like where should I be like, where does that even come from? And where is that founded? And is that truly founded in something that you want to believe in? And then where is like conversation of I'm not good enough. Like where is that founded in and where is it founded in that life should be comfortable all the time? Like these are the things that I think about when I'm challenging my little beliefs in my head because if I break that belief and realize that it's not serving my highest good, like for me,

 

Victoria Hughes (32:51.278)

Ugh.

 

Hmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (32:58.876)

Mmm.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:03.038)

Yeah. Ugh.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:08.233)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:13.447)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:18.604)

Yes.

 

Kiera Dent (33:19.142)

rules are and standards are that this is only allowed in my life if it's serving my highest good. And so, if he's not going to talk to a financial advisor because I don't feel worthy, like where is that coming from? Number one. And number two, is that really serving my highest good? For me, it's not because should be taking care of that. For me, not feeling like I'm confident enough to go speak to these other women, where is that coming from? Is that truly founded in truth? And is that serving my highest good? And so, just realizing like

 

Victoria Hughes (33:24.478)

Ooh, I love that framework.

Victoria Hughes (33:35.094)

Hmm. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:41.024)

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:45.851)

Ugh, I love this.

 

Kiera Dent (33:48.018)

Where do these things come from? I mean, we did a podcast with me, Ryan and Ashley the other day and it just is this epiphany of really like success, like the first three letters are suck. Like there's a suck portion of success. There's a discomfort portion of any new thing we try, but for some reason we fooled ourselves into thinking that it should be easy, that it should be natural because we've become so educated, but in my opinion, we've also become so dumb, not realizing that like children are not afraid to fail.

 

Victoria Hughes (33:59.186)

Yeah. Yep. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (34:09.959)

Yep.

 

Victoria Hughes (34:14.185)

Mmm.

 

Kiera Dent (34:16.786)

But we as adults who are so quote unquote smart are so afraid to even try for the fear of failing that we often fail by not trying. And so really just like challenge those beliefs I think is where I'm coming from and ask where is that at? And if it doesn't serve us good, like let's say thank you, move along because you deserve it and you're worthy of it.

 

Victoria Hughes (34:16.876)

Yep.

 

Yeah.

 

Right. Well, it.

 

Yes.

 

Yep.

 

Victoria Hughes (34:34.394)

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I like what you've been saying a couple of times. Like, you deserve this. You really do. Like, you deserve to have like a financial professional in your corner that can help you here make these decisions. And it is part of like the financial journey. You're going to make mistakes. Like setbacks are part of it. And not just relating to like money, right? Setbacks are part of like everything, right? Like your journey with anything isn't like

 

linear. It's like up and then oh crap and then oh way when and then deeper crap. But the fact is like you're gonna get up like that you're going to try again like the world's not gonna burn down just because you have a setback and the sooner you can like stop being so hard on yourself and I'm gonna steal this from Matt Mollcock our CEO stop shitting on yourself. Like all and he tells me that like all the time because I'm a huge shitter like I should be um

 

Kiera Dent (35:10.075)

Hahaha

 

Kiera Dent (35:26.384)

Yes, agreed.

 

Victoria Hughes (35:33.094)

a better advisor, I should be a better person, whatever I could, should on myself all day long. So stop shitting on yourself. That's his quote, not mine. But truly, I mean, to your question, like, where does it come from? I mean, I don't know, I believe it comes from just like early on and how like women or girls are tend to be raised differently and then boys that just the message, the messaging and how we're wired. And I feel like women tend to just be like more emotionally intelligent.

 

Kiera Dent (35:40.169)

I don't agree with that.

 

Victoria Hughes (36:02.986)

Lots of pros, but also lots of cons as well. But yeah, I feel like from a young age where we have all this messaging to be like perfect student, like have the perfect beauty standards and get into the perfect school, have the perfect career, find the perfect partner in your life, like raise your kids a perfect way and it's.

 

Kiera Dent (36:06.083)

Great.

 

Victoria Hughes (36:22.686)

So unnecessary because like life's not meant to be like checklists and like certain steps and stuff. It's meant to be lived how you want to live it and money allows you to do that.

 

Kiera Dent (36:24.538)

Thank you.

 

Kiera Dent (36:33.502)

Hmm, Victoria, I think that that's a wrap up, like, you're supposed to live the life you want to live and money allows you to do that. So I just appreciate having the candid conversations, like, it's very fun for me to have these conversations, like, let's stop having a taboo. And let's talk about it, like, money shouldn't be taboo. And like, the confidence of going in, like, whenever people are like, these are my numbers, I'm like, cool, but what's your profitability? And like, how are you investing and teach me and learning from them? And money is going to do it. So Victoria,

 

Victoria Hughes (36:36.29)

Hahaha.

 

Victoria Hughes (36:40.268)

Yeah.

 

Totally.

 

Yes.

 

Yeah, no.

 

Victoria Hughes (36:56.682)

Mmm. Yeah. Yes.

 

Kiera Dent (37:02.506)

I adore you. Every time I talk to you, I just feel more confident about myself. I feel like I can do this. And I've never been to like girl power. I just feel like I'm going by girl power because I'm like, whatever, we're just human beings here. But I do love that you understand because I believe that men and women are different and there are differences and society has different roles and responsibilities. And so just you understanding that I think brings a level of confidence for me as a female investor.

 

Victoria Hughes (37:05.59)

Ditto.

 

Victoria Hughes (37:09.31)

Yes. Yes you can.

 

Victoria Hughes (37:15.078)

Yeah, I feel ya.

 

Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (37:30.282)

Yeah, absolutely.

 

Kiera Dent (37:31.326)

So if people want to reach out to you specifically, men, if you have associate advisors, Victoria would be great. Because I also think associates don't feel like their owners. So why should they be discussing it when that's not true? They should, they have a financial capacity. And team members, like educating your team members on things. So Victoria, if people are interested, how can they connect with you specifically? Because I do believe like you deserve this life and money is the way to help you get there. So how can they connect with you?

 

Victoria Hughes (37:37.393)

Hehehe

 

Victoria Hughes (37:42.239)

Mmm, it's not true. Yeah.

 

Victoria Hughes (37:54.606)

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, they can always schedule a free consultation on DentistAdvisors.com and we can get them connected with me or they're also more than welcome to reach out to me personally. It's just Victoria at DentistAdvisors.com. Happy to help any way that I can.

 

Kiera Dent (38:13.002)

Awesome. You guys, I truly can't say it enough of how much having a financial advisor has blessed my life this year. Like the confidence I have in making larger decisions on knowing where I can spend my money, how that is going to impact my future financials. And to just also have the confidence, like I literally have, I feel like the little Jiminy Cricket on my shoulder of like, yes, Carrie, you can make these choices or hey, you can, this is just going to be the impact has been.

 

Victoria Hughes (38:20.632)

Yes.

 

Victoria Hughes (38:35.328)

Yeah.

 

Kiera Dent (38:38.33)

a blessing that I'm so appreciative of Dennis advisors giving me this year. So Victoria, I appreciate you. I'm so excited to work with you more to see more of you. For all of you listening. Thank you for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

 

Victoria Hughes (38:44.79)

Yes.