Good Teeth × Zhou Jianhui | Good relationships make each other successful

The Way is paramount, the methods follow.

Since their inception, private dental clinics have stood on the balance between medicine and commerce:

What is the balance between medicine and business?

This is a fundamental issue faced by every dental brand and every dental professional.

This episode's guest speaker: Zhou Jianhui

Zhou Jianhui: Founder of Dongguan Angel Dental Clinic and Chairman of Dongguan Angel Medical Investment Co., Ltd. Born into a family of dentists, he has 20 years of medical experience and 10 years of experience in dental clinic investment and management. He currently focuses on investment and management in the dental industry, having invested in and managed 20 dental hospitals and clinics.

Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

We arrived at Zhou's office around 9 a.m. A heavy wooden executive desk stood in the center of the office. The tea set was sparse and not particularly exquisite. The office was usually used to entertain guests with bottled water bearing the Angel brand logo or custom-made ceramic mugs. Zhou didn't actually drink tea or discuss business in his office much; instead, he kept a whole case of Coca-Cola. He said, "'Sweet drinks' keep me young and 'passionate'."

For him, a traditional executive desk is perhaps just standard equipment.

The office decor was generally traditional, with various medals and awards displayed on the shelves. I don't remember much about the other items, but the green plants next to the floor-to-ceiling windows looked fresh: from that spot, they could greet the new sunshine of Dongguan every morning.

Zhou isn't someone who immediately makes a strong impression, much like his office. But beneath his unassuming exterior, we discover a delightful haven:

On the day of our visit, Zhou arrived a little late, having just returned from running errands elsewhere. His skin was still damp with sweat from the long journey, even after he removed his mask. He didn't choose the tea-making station opposite us, but instead chose a spot closer to us. Suddenly, Zhou, sitting by the window, seemed to blend into the greenery beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, accustomed to the sunlight that occasionally streamed in from outside.

Even established dental clinic owners in Dongguan, who have built their businesses on their own, have achieved remarkable success. Initially, they were quite formal, so we suggested they set aside all outlines and just chat casually.

Zhou put away the notebook he had just taken out. The notebook was densely filled with notes in different colors, containing the questions he had sent Zhou earlier. The handwriting wasn't great, but it was neat and tidy—a testament to his diligence. He thought to himself that Zhou was truly endearing in private; many details that others overlook revealed a person's most authentic self.

Zhou Qinfen did his "homework" before the interview.

"Family Learning"

"The Zhou family has three generations of dentists. Let's start with the grandfather."

My grandfather, Zhou Chi, opened the first clinic in Nancheng, Dongguan during the Liberation period (it wasn't called a clinic back then).

“My father’s generation had four brothers and two sisters. All four brothers worked with my grandfather in Nancheng.” At that time, Nancheng had a population of about 30,000. In Zhou’s memory, his father would sometimes reminisce about the past: “The whole ‘pond’ was only so big, and our family produced five dentists.”

In the early 1980s, Zhou Yurun, the father, left home and came to Guancheng in Dongguan City to start his own business. That year, Zhou was born, and Zhou's father had two "children" at the same time: one was the brand "Zhou's Dental Clinic", and the other was the chubby little Zhou.

Daily life of three generations of the Zhou family today | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

Back then, "Zhou's Dental Clinic" was a husband-and-wife business, and dental technology was very primitive. This small "Zhou's Dental Clinic" was actually a complete industrial chain: from the upstream handmade dentures to the downstream medical services, everything was done by Zhou's parents' hands.

Zhou recalled that when she was a child, she was often woken up by the sound of "grinding dentures," and she would see her parents busy with their dental work until the early hours of the morning. Her childhood memories during the day were frozen on the backs of her parents as they treated patients at the dental chair.

Family life was filled with each and every tooth. Almost all of Zhou's childhood memories were "memories of sitting next to a tooth".

In his subsequent career, Zhou naturally chose dentistry. While Zhou was "going to see the outside world," his father also continued to study in various places. By the time Zhou graduated and returned, his father's "root canal treatment and tooth preparation skills" were already quite good. This professional and cutting-edge skill won him many patients in the small city. "At that time, people from surrounding towns and villages would come to him to queue up for dental treatment."

"Successor"

After graduation, Zhou first interned at the Guangdong Provincial Stomatological Hospital, and later returned to Dongguan to work at his father's clinic for about a year and a half. At this time, his father had just turned forty, which was the "golden age" of his dental career. Zhou's parents were highly respected and had a very good reputation in the local area.

Overshadowed by his father's achievements, Zhou said, "I feel it would be difficult for me to follow in my father's footsteps and go through the same process again. Every dentist probably has their own 'dream shop'."

Zhou's subsequent studies at higher education institutions and practical experience at provincial hospitals, which involved specialized professional procedures, differed from traditional understandings. In particular, "I learned four-handed dentistry, which I believed improved patient experience and doctor efficiency. But my father and his colleagues were used to using only two hands, and these ingrained habits were difficult to change," Zhou said. "At that time, I also began to think about a 'management process more suitable for private dental clinics.'"

Times have changed.

In 2002, Zhou decided to leave home to start his own business, just like his father had left home to explore new territories. He also wanted to own a brand that he created himself.

"At that time, the dental department of the outpatient department of Dongguan Guancheng Hospital was in a bad location, and no one wanted to go to that dental department, so I decided to go there."

The three generations of the Zhou family are all dentists with a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Zhou, receiving dental treatment at the chair | Image provided by Angel Dental Clinic

In this space of twenty or thirty square meters, Zhou began to put his new dental operation philosophy into practice: standardized four-handed dentistry, proactive telephone follow-ups, and a greater focus on the patient experience...

“Back then, I often told doctors that our service doesn’t end after the bill is paid. For example, the real service only begins after the dental treatment is finished.” This revolutionary concept quickly won the trust of patients in an era where “doctors were king.” As he spoke, he refilled his Coke and neatly arranged the three Coke cans on the table in a row. The angle was perfect; some dentists’ “obsessive-compulsive disorder” had taken root in Zhou’s subconscious.

Even when drinking a Coke, you have to be perfectly neat and tidy.

“

When you truly desire something, the entire universe will conspire to help you achieve it.

When you open-armed longing seeks the word of some kind of thing, whole universe can rise jointly help you finish.

”

—Paul Corleone, *The Alchemist's Journey*

Dr. Wu Yuelong arrived during the SARS outbreak. Initially, Wu worked at Zhou's father's "Zhou's Dental Clinic" for a few months through a friend's introduction, and later went to work in the dental department of the outpatient department of Dongguan City Hospital, which Zhou was running at the time.

This marks a "new milestone" in Zhou's career. The two have now been partners for eighteen years. Zhou describes his "old buddy" as a "comrade-in-arms."

At lunch, we met Dr. Wu (now the director of the main branch of Angel Dental Hospital). Dr. Wu is from Chaoshan, comes from a military family, has a high ponytail, clean skin, and moves very efficiently. During our conversation, we occasionally made eye contact; Dr. Wu's eyes were clear, like a still lake.

Wu had just finished an operation and rushed over. Zhou naturally offered Wu a seat, served him food, and handed him tissues. During their casual conversation at the table, Zhou and Wu occasionally teased each other with laughter (mostly Zhou was the one being teased). When they talked about their entrepreneurial history over the years, their words were in perfect harmony, and they showed a great deal of mutual respect.

On the "Angel" ship, Zhou and his partners | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

“When I first met him, I bluntly said, ‘You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, why are you working so hard?’ He was quite angry at the time, but even though he was angry, he still argued his point and passionately explained, ‘We will make our own key.’”

When talking about his time at Guancheng Hospital, Wu vividly recalled, "He really had the style of a lecturer. He loved to talk and told me about the Amway model, how to lead a team, and how to free up his own time very early on."

"She was my first listener."

"I get annoyed with him sometimes too."

The two chuckled.

With Wu as his partner's support, Zhou An went to Tsinghua University to pursue further studies and began transitioning from a clinical dentist to a true manager. Zhou knew that "the long-term success of Angel's business requires 'replicating' a team with the same initial aspirations."

Zhou and his classmates from Tsinghua University | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

Before they knew it, it was 2007. Dongguan relaxed the restrictions on dental licenses, and they became one of the first private dental clinics to obtain a dental license that year. Zhou and Wu founded "Dongguan Angel Dental Clinic" together. On February 14, 2008, Valentine's Day, Angel Dental Clinic began its "Angel Journey" on Dongping Street.

The captain and first mate finally have their own ship.

"Angel"

Why is the brand named 'Angel'?

"Angels are warm and full of love that can be passed on. They can bring warmth to patients and also take care of the career development of employees."

The "Angel," filled with anticipation for love, set sail.

The core deans of "Angel" Dental Clinic | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

Zhou and Wu also began a detailed division of labor: Wu oversaw medical technology, while Zhou focused on management. The clinic, spanning over 200 square meters, also hired three to five additional dentists and reserved ample space for a meeting room. At the time, this spatial planning was quite unusual.

"The clinics we open later will generally reserve at least a quarter of the space as meeting rooms. When our internal team needs to communicate, we will also invite other teams and industry experts to come and exchange ideas."

"Internal and external communication within the team is very important."

"I also enjoy exchanging ideas with my peers; sharing is one of my hobbies," said Zhou, who also made time for the Sun Yat-sen University Xingzhi Dental Medical Management Class on the afternoon of our visit. This was his second time being invited to give a lecture as a lecturer for the class.

Zhou said his two most desired professions are "dentist" and "teacher".

Zhou shared insights with his colleagues on "Building a Talent Pool for Dental Clinics".

Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

However, "communication" can only solve the problems of information exchange and consensus building; a business still relies on specific individuals, built step by step. "Angel" chose not to take shortcuts. Zhou believes that training dentists is similar to business development, generally requiring "three two-year periods":

• In the first two years, we lay the foundation; the company would rather lose a little money than engage in short-term behavior.
• In the second two years, I started to replicate my own doctors and had a relatively stable team;
• In the third two years, we will gradually further specialize the dental staff trained in the previous years.

“During this period, we conducted a lot of training, with a small training session every month and a large training session every quarter, covering both technology and management. Now, we have also built a 500-square-meter digital training center at the forefront of technology, bringing employee training to our ‘neighborhood’.”

A six-year clinical training cycle is too short-sighted and won't work.

Angel team members undergoing daily training at the digital training center | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

"Angel Expansion"

In this way, talent was cultivated little by little, and new faces always appeared on the "Angel" ship. By last year's annual meeting, there were already more than 300 "crew members," but one shop couldn't accommodate them all. "Every dentist has an entrepreneurial dream." Human nature should be followed, not forcibly suppressed.

The companions and friends on the "Angel" have grown stronger year by year | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

With the head office saturated with staff and those who didn't want to work together leaving in disappointment, "Angel Dentist," who wanted to start his own business, expanded again with Zhou's support.

How to expand?

"Don't expand a soulless shop. The original cultural accumulation of a clinic is very important."

In its expansion plan, "Angel" adopted a three-store format combination: the main hospital "Sun Store"; the central town "Moon Store"; and the small community "Star Store". Designed with the company's strategic plan as the top-level framework, it uses a hierarchical and zoned approach to meet the needs of internal entrepreneurial "Angel Dentist" teams with different strengths.

“Dongguan is a city with a large migrant population. Many doctors from neighboring provinces come here to ‘work and gain experience,’ and eventually, when their wives and children grow up, they all go home.” Born and raised in Dongguan, Zhou has a deep understanding of the local culture.

So Angel Dental prepared a "Returning Home to Start a Business" plan: "In 2011, we had a dean, head nurse and clinic manager who were really outstanding. They were all from Hunan and said they wanted to go home. We felt it was a pity, so we said why don't we go back to our hometown in Hunan with them to take a look."

The impromptu trip to Zhuzhou for research went smoothly. "The reason we decided to open a clinic was very simple. When we went to a clinic run by a fellow professional, we asked him for his business card before leaving. The doctor said he didn't have one. When we asked for his phone number, he still said he didn't have one."

The reason for not leaving contact information with patients was that local doctors were afraid of being disturbed. This was also a true reflection of the low service awareness ten years ago. It was precisely in such details of communication that Zhou captured the opportunity for humanistic care. Together with three colleagues who "returned home", he brought the concept of "friendly care" of Angel to Zhuzhou and started the road of cross-city replication.

Dental clinics under the "Angel" fleet | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

However, the "Angel's" inter-provincial voyages are not always smooth sailing.

Five years after the successful replication in Zhuzhou, Zhou invested in Angel Dental Hospital in Qingyang District, Chengdu. "There is West China Hospital in Chengdu. At that time, we hoped to bring advanced talents from the Southwest region to Guangdong."

Later, we discovered that regional cultural differences existed, and we also faced the issue of management scope. The employees recruited locally in Chengdu also brought with them a strong sense of the city's relaxed atmosphere.

Sun Yat-sen University Dental Class visits Angel Dental Clinic in Chengdu | Image source: Angel Dental Clinic

They discovered cultural barriers, difficulties integrating into local customs… too many approaches didn't work, so they sold the hospital in Chengdu. This cross-regional "in and out" experience yielded many lessons in the post-mortem analysis. "In Zhuzhou, we sent a management team module, while in Chengdu, we only sent a concept. We learned a valuable lesson from both experiences: 'Replicate the team' first, then expand."

"A management and operations team structure consisting of a hospital director, head nurses, and outpatient managers forms a stable 'golden triangle,' which can be transplanted to another city like a module to increase the chances of success." This is the "original cultural accumulation" and "team building replication" of Zhoukou Zhong Angel.

Wu picked up the thread: "Now when I interview employees, I also talk to them directly about whether they want to open their own business in the future. If they want to start their own business, they can bring it up from the beginning, and the subsequent training will also be in that direction."

"Share Reform and Growing Pains"

Empowering internal dentists to start their own businesses has yielded numerous methodologies through continuous surprises and reflections. Seeing the success stories of pioneers, an increasing number of internal dentists are choosing to become angel partners.

Angel Dental Clinic Main Branch | Image source: Provided by Angel Dental Clinic

“With more investors and partners, new challenges arise: the first is accounting, the second is the legality of equity, and the third is that tax planning based on the mindset of a sole proprietorship is no longer feasible,” Zhou said. “But everything is resolved transparently.” So, in 2016, he took the initiative to start “equity reform,” which took a year, putting him ahead of some of the leading brands in the industry.

"Transforming from a limited liability company into a joint-stock company is an essential step for angel investors to become public companies. This systematic work, which began a few years ago, has continued to influence the subsequent development of angel investors." Recalling this, Zhou said with some emotion. "Thanks to this shareholding reform, the initiative of every 'angel investor' has been fully mobilized, the team is more united, and management is much easier."

The share reform started with mixed feelings.

In fact, it has reduced a lot of trust costs.

Zhou, however, felt it was "very worthwhile."

But Zhou said he was neither a "qualified" dentist nor a "qualified" businessman.

“I’m a ‘lazy person’ who advocates ‘governing by doing nothing’ and is willing to ‘contribute and give’ to the angels around me and continue to be altruistic. I think about sharing more power and benefits with everyone, so that everyone can work for themselves, and I will have more time, and the whole business will actually get bigger and bigger. It’s just that we started a little earlier and have the experience of success and failure to share with the clinics that have been established, so that they can avoid some detours. We also welcome more young people to join us.”

Everyone says

Good relationships are always mutually beneficial.

An Easter egg