This is Entrepreneurship: Dr. Grace Kerr on Perseverance and Making Cincinnati Smile
It was a bit surreal walking into an empty waiting room at Grace Kerr Orthodontics. Usually full of teenagers trying not to make eye contact, COVID had rendered it – like so many places – quiet and bare. But it was the perfect backdrop to talk with Dr. Grace Kerr about her thriving orthodontics practice.
With her staff occasionally popping in with patient questions, Grace – always reserved and ever hesitant to talk about herself – shared with us how she started her practice as a single mom, how she has managed growth through uncertainty, and why she continues to be passionate about giving her patients the gift of a smile.
There is no single definition of an entrepreneur or the obstacles they face. As part of our year-long series sponsored by Main Street Ventures, our community chose 12 of the biggest obstacles female-identifying entrepreneurs face, and we found 12 women who spend their days conquering them. Explore the whole series here.
Interview by Judy Zitnik. Photography by Chelsie Walter.
Tell us about your business.
I'm an orthodontist. That means I was trained as a dentist, then took extra training to become an orthodontist. An orthodontist is someone who, in layman's terms, straightens teeth. I like to think that it's more about giving other people self-confidence about themselves and their smile. Have you ever met anyone with really crooked teeth? It affects their whole outlook on life. They cover their mouth; they can't look someone in the eye; they don't like one-on-one interaction. I think it's really important when you talk to someone, that you're able to look them in the eye and feel good about yourself.
What’s your start-up story?
I was living in Boston and working there. I was married at the time and had a baby. Then, well, my first husband left me, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, what do I do?” So, I came home – I'm from Cincinnati – and I looked around for jobs. But I had this baby.
I had no idea what to do, so I just opened up my own place. I don't know how in the world I had the guts to do that. But I did. I rented a space where the old dentist had passed away unexpectedly. I got a really good deal on it. It's shocking to tell you this, but my outlay of money to start my own practice was $56,000. That was in 1996. When I look back at that time, that was so much money. But now? I had a dentist come show me her plans, and she said, “It's going to cost us a million dollars.” That’s crazy, but with the advent of so much technology – with all the computers you need now – I realize how fortunate I was to be able to start a practice so inexpensively.
The benefit for me was that I started really small. I had few patients. I would take naps during the day on a little couch. I would spend so much time with my daughter. She was only two at the time. It was a blessing. If I had gone in with somebody else, I would have been really busy from the start, and I wouldn't have had time to spend with my daughter. I was able to be a mother and start my own practice. I was able to live with my parents, so I didn't have many expenses. It just worked out really well.
What I always say about bad things that happen to you: it ends up being the best thing that ever happened. When my husband left me, I was so crushed. I thought I couldn't get myself through this. And I look back, he did me the biggest favor. Because I was able to move back to Cincinnati, and I met a wonderful man. God just got me through all these steps where my life has been really good since my ex left. And at the time, it was the worst thing that ever happened to me. So, whenever people say this is the worst thing, I'm always thinking to myself, “If you just wait, you're gonna find that if you make the best of it, God will see you through it.”
How did you end up in this location?
I grew up in Hyde Park. I was looking at West Chester. And then I thought to myself, “Oh, golly, I have a baby. How am I going to drive out there all the time?” People said, “Don't go to Hyde Park because it's so limiting here. It's a very small community.” But I made that decision, and I probably grew more slowly. But for my life, it was better.
How did you build the business?
I only had one employee. And I remember like, three months in, I had seven patients. Seven patients! Back then we had hard copies of our patient files, so I told her not to leave the file cabinet open [laughs] because we didn't want people to know that we didn't have many people coming in.
I didn't know what I was doing. I don't think anybody does. You go out there and put your name up and nobody teaches you how to do it. They teach you the skill of orthodontics, but they don't tell you how to start your practice.
I made a lot of mistakes; I still make mistakes. I really feel like the only thing I can do is my best. I put everything I have into it, all my resources and all my heart into it. I don’t skimp when it comes to things. I want it to be the best quality.
My second husband is in corporate finance, and he is hugely helpful. He gives me a ton of advice. He has a full-time job, but he is here all the time with me. He is so humble, so giving, and he always puts others first. He just stands beside me a lot and says, “You can do it.” I don't think I could have done it without him. So probably the only thing I can say is I got really, really lucky.
When did you know it was time to bring another orthodontist into the practice?
I was really stressed about 10 years ago – extremely stressed – and I said, “God, I cannot do this anymore. I just can't.” And then I got this phone call. I thought it was a prank call. She said, “I'm an orthodontist. I live in Argentina, and I really just want to come to the U.S. for two weeks, four or five times a year. I was trained in the U.S., but my husband brought me to Argentina, and there's not a lot of work here, and I just really miss working.”
I thought she was kidding. Who would travel to Cincinnati from Argentina four or five times a year to cover for me? So, I thought, if you want to come up from Argentina to meet me and I can interview you, then come on up. And she did, and it worked out really well. She had to get as close to Nashville as she could because she and her husband come up every time he comes up for his job. So, she covers for me every two months for two weeks. It’s worked out really well. We’re a nice balance. Unfortunately, I have not seen her for a year now because of COVID. That has been stressful.
How has COVID impacted your practice?
We slowed down. And of course, now we socially distance everyone. Where I would normally see 70 to 90 patients a day, I was only seeing 35 to 40, which really was tough. But then we opened up more days. I had only been working three days a week. I actually like going slower. It's a lot less stressful.
But to be honest, it was so scary. How do you do everything differently again? At one point, I broke down to my husband and said, “I cannot do this. I'm quitting. I'm out of here. I'm too old for this.” [laughs]
What I always say about bad things that happen to you: it ends up being the best thing that ever happened.
Of course, he is always calm. He just said, “It's gonna be fine, Grace. We're going to get through it.” Of course, I did. And why? Why did I get through it? Because I have my staff and they're great. We just worked through everything. We worked through all the protocols. We actually came in and ran through it several times. What would it be like to treat patients? It's just natural now. I didn't do it; they did it. So, that's the truth of how I got through it. I can't micromanage everything. I don't have the time for that. They're just really good at doing it.
How did you lead through COVID?
Well, first of all, I thought, it's really important to let my staff know that I care about them. So, we took money out of our own savings to pay them. Because I wanted them to know that if I expect them to be committed to me, I need to show I'm committed to them. And then I made sure that I was always touching base with them. On a weekly basis, we did a Zoom call. I always asked them, “What do you need from me?”
At first, they were really fearful to come back, which I understood. It's funny because when we all first came back, they wouldn't get near each other. But now we are practically on top of each other all the time. Of course, we're all wearing masks, and we’re always in personal protective equipment (P.P.E.) because that's what we do on the job anyway. So, I'm personally not very nervous about COVID because I'm so overprotected.
You said you were working three days a week? How did you make that choice?
I had parents who were both physicians, and we never saw them growing up. My father wouldn't come home until 9 or 10 at night, and my mother would come home at 7 or 8. We wouldn't eat dinner till 10 or 11. I love my parents so much, but they worked all the time. I don't want that life. I want to be there for my kids. I want to be at their games. My parents were so busy. They were great role models in terms of working hard – just incredible role models – but their lives were so crazy. My mother had four children, and she was working full time. It was crazy for her. I didn't want that.
Are there other decisions you've made to help you feel balanced with what you do?
I try to take vacations so I can stay balanced. I really need downtime. I'm an introvert, so I need alone time. My job is so extroverted, and I'm always with people. Sometimes what I do if I really need to be by myself during the day is: I'll go into the closet and just take a deep breath. Then I go back out there again. So, yeah, I make sure I have downtime or I'll be completely stressed.
You are patient- and parent-facing all the time. How have you learned to adapt as an introvert always putting yourself out there?
I think my saving grace is that I'm a really warm person. I'm not a natural “small talker.” What comes naturally to me is being warm and being genuine.
COVID has been really hard because I'm a toucher. I tend to hug everybody. I use touch as a way to connect with people and show I care. So, now I have to express my care for you in different ways. I try to do that by looking people in the eye, but a lot of teenagers don't like to look you in the eye. So, it can be very difficult to connect with them.
What are your growth plans? Where do you want to take the practice?
About three years ago, we grew 30% and it completely overwhelmed us. We weren't ready for that kind of growth. It was extremely difficult for me to manage that. So now, if we’re going to grow, I need to do it in a different way. I need to be more prepared for it. Right now, we have an amazing staff. I think I just had to get the right staff in place and train them to be people serving.
Believe it or not, my daughter is a fourth-year dental student. She just got her first interview for an orthodontic program. Hopefully, she'll join me. And my son is in his third year of college, and he wants to go into orthodontics too, so that's super exciting.
What do you like best about what you do?
It sounds so goofy, but just giving a gift of a nice smile to people is really lovely. Just two days ago, a girl who had gotten her braces off came in, and she brought me a card and jar of honey and she said, “I just want to thank you for my smile.” That’s the best gift anyone’s ever given me.
What advice would you give to your 13-year-old self?
I would say: Be courageous. Be humble. Believe in yourself.
And you know what? Those are the same things I say to my 56-year-old self! I don't think that line in your head changes. One of the things I’ve learned is when I have to confront something difficult, I go into a private space, and I say, “I can do this.” It's called a power pose, and it makes me feel a little stronger. It actually helps because you just head into the situation with a little bit more confidence.
But, I’ve got to be honest with you: I'm a people pleaser. I want people to be happy. I will bend over backwards to make them so, and when they're not happy, I carry it with me. For years.
It sounds so goofy, but just giving a gift of a nice smile to people is really lovely.
One of the most difficult lessons I'm learning is that I cannot make everybody happy – no matter how hard I try. No matter how much I want to. That is hard to accept. And maybe that's the biggest thing I would teach my 13-year-old self: Learn to accept that you cannot make 100% of people happy.
Tell me about an influential woman in your life.
I have a Bible study with a group of women who are really strong and really Christ-based. When I'm feeling weak, it's really a good place to get advice. What I like about all of them is that they're all humble. If you have a problem, you can share it, and you're not going to feel patronized; you're going to feel like they're really just building into you. I hope they feel the same way about me. But those are the women I really respect and admire the most.
There is no single definition of an entrepreneur. Check out our year-long series, "This Is Entrepreneurship." Sponsored by Main Street Ventures.
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