#7 Tech Tools To Start Your Myo Business

In this episode of The Myo Life Podcast, Carmen shares her journey of setting up the essential tech tools for a myofunctional therapy business. She breaks down what’s truly needed to get started, from choosing the right computer to investing in the best scheduling and client management software. Whether you're just beginning or looking to refine your setup, this episode will help you navigate the tech side of your business with confidence and ease.

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Transcript

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Introduction

Carmen 1:11

Hey , I'm Carmen and welcome to Mayo Life . That's short for my outrageous life , which is exactly the kind of life I get to live since I found the courage to ditch dental hygiene and build a life I'm bonkers about as a Mayo functional therapist and entrepreneur . Here you will find all the things Mayo business and how to build a life that you , too , are bonkers about . I'm very happy you're here . Shall we dive in . Well , hey there , and welcome back to the Mayo Life Podcast . I'm your host , Carmen Woodland , dental hygienist , myofunctional therapist and founder of the Ditch Hygiene Academy . If you're feeling bored , burnt out and unfulfilled in your dental hygiene career , then , my friend , you're in the right place . This is where we talk about how to build a life that you are absolutely bonkers about working less , earning more and having the freedom to live and work on your own terms . Today , we're tackling something that can make your pits get real sweaty , and that is tech . Now , before you panic , let me assure you that you do not need to be a tech wizard to start your myofunctional therapy business . I absolutely was not . When I began , I knew very little about technology , but I made it work , and so can you . So in this episode , we're going to break it down and simplify the essentials so that you can get started confidently . All right , first let's talk about my tech journey . So we're going to rewind back to when I first started my myofunctional therapy business .

Carmen 2:56

Now , many of you guys assume that just because I had a master's in business , that I had all the tools and knowledge to build my business seamlessly . Let me tell you , it couldn't be further from the truth . Sure , I had a lot of high level business knowledge , but the basic day-to-day entrepreneurial stuff absolutely not . So from the start , I knew that I wanted an online business . So even before being online was cool I always say I was online before COVID made it cool I knew that I wanted to build an online business . Part of this was because at the time I was living north of Denver and anybody who's been in the Denver metro area knows that traffic is terrible and at the time I was a single mom and I just knew that the likelihood of me being able to drive my daughter somewhere maybe 45 minutes or an hour one way to get to an appointment for 30 minutes to turn around and drive home I knew that that wasn't going to be very sustainable for my business . So I knew that I wanted to be online . I wanted the flexibility to be able to work from anywhere . I also love to travel , so that was , you know , in my big picture plan . So having a brick and mortar setup just didn't fit that vision .

Carmen 4:22

So here's what I started out with when I started my business . So I had a 27 inch Mac desktop . Now I chose this because I love having the big screen . I had had 27 inch Macs for years , so that I was probably on my oh I don't know second or third one , so I love having that large screen for better visibility and for multitasking . Not going to lie , I have tried working on a MacBook , but maybe I'm showing my age here . I could not stand the smaller screen . I am totally spoiled by my desktop setup . So I will tell you this if you're working on an old , tiny , crappy computer , upgrade to something that is more comfortable for you to work with , especially when building your website . Now , also , I am all Mac . I have at times gone back and forth to try an Android phone and I'm all Mac . That is the easiest thing . So if you have an iPhone , I definitely encourage you to look into getting a Mac If you are not familiar with Apple computers , there is a little bit of a learning curve , but I think once you do it , I love the AirDrop feature so I can just work seamlessly on my computer and then pick up my phone or pick up my iPad and it's just kind of like an extension of the same thing . So , all right .

Carmen 5:51

So I started with the 27 inch Mac . Then I started with a Logitech camera I think it's a 922 . So my Apple computer . The camera was fine , but it wouldn't capture the detail that I needed for closeup demonstrations . So I like to pick up my camera and bring it in close to my mouth if I'm showing something or if I need to , you know , have an up close demonstration or something . So I like that ability . For about a hundred bucks I don't think it was much more than that . This Logitech camera was great . It's been the one that I've used all along .

Carmen 6:33

Then I also invested in a Yeti microphone . So again , my computer's built-in microphone was okay , but the Yeti was going to give me clearer , more professional sound , so I went with that . Again , I don't think it was much over $100 . And then last I had an iPad that I used as a second screen . So before I invested in a second monitor , the iPad was nice . So if you are inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy , you know I teach , I give you templates , so we have therapy templates . So I would have all that information on my iPad so that if I was working with a client on the computer I was able to follow my notes . I was able to see everything that I needed to on my iPad . So that really helped my level of confidence because I wasn't just trying to pull it all from memory , which I still to this day don't operate on anything from memory , it's always from my template . So that's what I started with the 27-inch Mac , the camera , the microphone and then an iPad .

Carmen 7:41

So eventually I upgraded to a second screen that I would say is easily the size of my Mac desktop or maybe a little bit bigger , so it connects very seamlessly and then I'm able to just use it as a second display so I can just drag windows back and forth , which multitasking . I love it . Or it allows me to look at something on the left screen and type on the right screen when I do a comprehensive exam . I love it because , of course , my client will be on the camera and then on the right screen , I'm typing on my report . On the left screen , I'm looking at their discovery paperwork or I'm looking at their pictures or their videos . So I absolutely have handicapped myself now by needing them . But it is so nice , I bet you . I have 20 windows open right now , or 20 tabs , which I'm sure my computer is like good gravy lady , but it just allows me to be more efficient . I have my Google calendar , and then I have my website stuff and maybe Canva , and then some spreadsheets , and then maybe there's my social media planning . So lots of different multitasking going on , but I honestly cannot work without it . So that's what I have now . I got rid of the iPad and then I just used that second screen , and then I just use that second screen .

Carmen 9:19

Okay , so let's talk about essential must-have tech tools that I think every online myofunctional therapy business needs . So you're going to need reliable internet and computer , so you just have to have good internet , especially the upload speed . This is going to be critical for smooth video sessions with your clients . As for a computer something that you are familiar with , that you can use and that can handle multitasking so if you're working just on a little laptop , you have to be really good at how do you alternate between all the open windows . When I had a MacBook laptop and I would try and work on it , I really struggled , because I would be trying to look at my client's therapy template and then I would be like , oh my gosh , where's my Skype window gone ? So I wasn't very good with it and I think that's probably just because I avoided it . I always thought it would be cool to be able to work from anywhere with my laptop , but I'll be honest , once it got to that point , I didn't like it . So another thing is that if you get a new computer , make sure you know how to run it before you get online with clients , Because I get online with students and they're saying , oh my gosh , I just got this new computer , I don't even know how to do ABC , Okay . So make sure that you're familiar with running it and that you can multitask with it . Okay , but good internet , good computer .

Carmen 10:55

Next , scheduling software . So inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy there is a five lesson program called Ignition Implementation Lab , and the whole premise of this lab is for you to build a what I call a minimum viable product and get started , and then you just kind of keep getting things better and better . Now one of those things is scheduling software . So this is actually the fourth thing in that . You know I teach you three other things in that program . The scheduling software is really the fourth . But I really think it should really be a necessity and so you can use a tool like Acuity or Calendly . And the nice thing with these programs now , I've never used Calendly . I was married to Acuity for the longest time . I now use 17 Hats because that's the software that I use for everything in my business and it's also the one that I have in the tech library and I train all my students on . So it made sense that I move over to that . But I used Acuity for years .

Carmen 12:07

And the nice thing with the softwares is that it allows your clients to pay for things like exams or pay for sessions . If you do per session I don't in my practice , so but just collecting for that exam , it automates your process . It helps set clear boundaries . So also , you don't have to pay , play the role of bill collector . So what I mean by that is , say , you do a complimentary assessment with somebody and they want to know what the next step is and you're telling them that the next step is the comprehensive exam . Well , you know , oftentimes they might ask how much , or something like that . So that's when I would say , well , it's 200 or whatever it is .

Carmen 12:54

And then your system , you have it automated so that you don't have to say , okay , well , if you give me your $200 and I'm going to get you an appointment , no , you want to be as much hands-off , because , as your business grows , the last thing that you want to be doing is manually making appointments for people . And this is even more important if you work , like I do , in a global practice , when you're considering different time zones and you know there's a couple of places that don't do daylight savings . Nope , I am absolutely hands off . And it is so nice because there's clear boundaries , meaning , hey , here's the hours that I'm available , and it is very automated . When somebody books an exam , it tells them exactly what they need to do . Okay , so that's your scheduling software . Yes , it's going to cost you some money , but I think it is better to get those systems and processes set up at the beginning so that when you're busier , you haven't handicapped your clients and I have heard that from several colleagues . Is they started out being cheap and not wanting to spend the money on scheduling software . And then , by the time it was time to implement it , their clients were like no , I kind of like it when you do it , so a lot of hand holding , you can do it , Just figure it out . Everything is figureoutable , Okay .

Carmen 14:25

Next thing that you need to have is a client management system . So this is a CMS , and so there are systems like Simple Practice is really popular amongst myofunctional therapists . There's lots of other ones that are suitable for organizing client records . You don't need to invest heavily right away . You can do a paid Google Workspace account . That can be a budget-friendly option . If configured correctly , it can also meet HIPAA requirements , so that is a great way to do it . So Google Workspace , I think at the time of this recording , is , you know , $14 , $15 a month , I think . Simple Practice is maybe $100 a month .

Carmen 15:12

I will tell you this that when I first started , there were several really cool client management systems that were available and they were free or very cheap , and I thought , oh my gosh , this is too good to be true . It really is too good to be true , because what happens with a lot of those startups is they give you a beautiful price , like a free , and then , once they are ready to start selling the product , then suddenly it's a couple hundred dollars a month , and that's what happened to me . So here I had hundreds of clients that I had already built up in my practice in that software that I now had to figure out how to get those records out of that software because I wasn't going to in a position to pay the $200 a month . All right .

Carmen 16:03

Next you need a communication tool . So you can use Zoom . You can use Skype for Business . There's Google Hangouts , which I've never used . I've only ever used Skype or Zoom . Totally up to you . You can dive into the different things . Just ensure that you're using a HIPAA compliant version . If that is something that you're concerned about or if you're handling super sensitive information , All right .

Carmen 16:33

Next is the website builder . So your website isn't just a digital business card , it is a tool . So I chose WordPress when I started . It was flexible , it seemed simpler , but a lot of people have opinions about WordPress being difficult . Even my management team in years past have said they hated my website . I absolutely don't understand how they could , because I thought it was so easy to create . I bought a theme from a company called Elegant Themes . I paid a small fee . I have lifetime access . It is so easy . So that's what I did . But there are simpler platforms like Wix or Squarespace .

Carmen 17:18

The thing I want you to remember is that your website needs to serve clients as an education tool , but it also needs to serve you in helping you be more efficient . So your platform needs to be able to embed schedulers , host downloadable forms and it needs to be able to grow with your business . And sadly , I have had several students in the past who found out after putting all this effort into their website that it wasn't . It was just very , very basic and they weren't going to be able to use it as a tool for themselves . I know and I can appreciate this . I understand that you're trying to bootstrap and start your business without any debt or very small , but just know that no business gets started , Nobody gets out alive . So you have to make some investments and I encourage you to be thinking long-term down the road and thinking about things before your business needs them , because then you can have systems and organizations and stuff set up All right .

Carmen 18:31

Lighting so lighting , I think , has been the hardest area for me , because the lighting in my house isn't the best Currently . As I'm recording this , it is a super sunny day , which is nice , but it casts a lot of shadows . So if I was seeing clients today , then I show up really dark . The room shows up really light , but I show up really dark . So lighting has been the hardest . I am currently using Elgato key lights . They're not super cheap . I spent about $300 on two of them . I also don't absolutely love them and the biggest reason is they connect to the internet . They're constantly coming disconnected . I'm constantly having to set them back up . But the other thing is is they are so bright Sometimes I just feel like I'm sitting under a tanning bulb .

Carmen 19:28

The important thing is is that you do need to have plenty of light . So I have lots of smaller little handheld lights . I really like the loom cube light . I have it on a small little it looks kind of like a selfie stick so that I can set it or I can pick it up if I need to . So when in doubt practice , you have to make sure that the exercise demonstration that you're doing shows the inside of your mouth . Okay , we all have phones that seem to be attached to our hip at all times the same with your client . So there's plenty of times where I will just use my phone to shine into my mouth the same if I'm doing an exam . So that is nice too , but you do have to have some sort of lighting . I also do think you'll end up making a couple different purchases before you find what you are happy with . All right .

Carmen 20:26

So the thing about these tools is I think it's important to choose your tools that are going to simplify your life , help you save time . Like , really the biggest thing with the scheduling and the website platforms is you are going to automate repetitive tasks like scheduling , like payment collections . So having these tools and investing in them from the beginning is going to help you save time . It also helps you look professional . I think a well-organized website and you know something that accepts payment , that kind of stuff it really looks professional . It also saves me time . I am hands off , I set it up once and that's all I have to worry about . Therefore , it's also going to help reduce stress . So setting that up allows you to focus on providing excellent care for your clients and having time to do other important things in your business . So the tools really matter .

Carmen 21:24

I think the biggest thing that you could do to get started today is just start simple .

Carmen 21:30

Okay , you can start with free or low cost , but then just remember I don't want you to do that with your client management system because , like I was saying , they might give you a flashy short-term pricing but it's going to get costly later and then you have the burden of moving this . That's also the big reason that I use 17 hats and I will be talking about that in a different episode , but it's kind of my all-in-one . It does everything that I need , so I'm okay paying the price for it . So just remember that you can start . You can start pretty simple . I think you have to make sure that you're comfortable running everything and then , you know , just think long-term so that your tools can grow with your business . So that is it for today , my friend . Remember you don't need a fancy setup to get started . All you need is a clear vision , some big , scary goals and the basics . Thanks for tuning in today to the MyoLife podcast and I will see you next time .