Starting any business from scratch is tough at the best of times and dentistry is no exception, but opening a private practice in Preston, in the face of the worst recession for many decades would seem to most too much like hard work. But when Nadim Majid opened the doors of Lifestyle Dental just over a year ago in September 2008, he considered the fact he didn't have a single patient as just another challenge.

Now 12 months later he has a thriving private practice where he is offering patients an approach to dentistry that encompasses more than just good oral health and a beautiful smile and his story is one of inspiration, perspiration and sheer determination.

Nadim qualified in 2001 and despite beginning his career as an Associate, he quickly became disillusioned with his position and "lack of control" and recognising his need "to be his own boss" he began to work towards his first career goal. A man with a very strong work ethic, Nadim had a desire not only to learn more clinically, but to also understand how to run a practice like a business and he embarked on a course of evening classes at Blackburn College which resulted in a Diploma in Business Management and another in website design.

"I could see that in order to operate a successful dental practice my ability to gain skills in business efficiently would be as important as my ability to deliver high quality clinical services and felt I needed to educate myself in this area.

The courses Nadim enrolled in involved attending classes, one evening per week for 2 years and cost him around £1000 and he has no regrets whatsoever.
"The way I look at it is, I was working for someone else 9 to 5, so investing one evening per week in my future was a small price to pay."

Nadim has always seen the value of setting himself personal and business goals and is a great advocate of NLP (Neuro-lingustic Programming) and has attended a number of courses in the field including a nine-day course in London led by Paul McKenna. The technique, he says, has taught him how to control his emotions and has helped him develop excellent interpersonal and communication skills, which in turn help him to interact positively and build rapport with his patients on a personal level.

For Nadim, success in dentistry goes hand in hand with being 100% physically and mentally fit
"You can't do your best for your patients unless you are able to function at a very high level - it's a holistic approach; a healthy mind and body help you to perform well in every area of your life."

He continues this mantra for his patients, Lifestyle Dental - as the name suggests - is all about encouraging patients to see their dental health in the context of their overall well-being rather than in isolation. To this end, Lifestyle Dental offers general dental care, cosmetic treatments and now hypnosis. Along with a network of other healthcare professionals, patients can access information and treatment and receive a more holistic approach to dentistry by receiving advice on diet and general health and how these factors can impact on oral health and vice versa.

Nadim himself has lived through something of a roller-coaster in the last 12 months, firstly opening the practice, then becoming a father to twins and more recently taking on a part-time Associate to cope with his growing business. Currently, he is running the business side of the practice himself, but in the future knows that he will have to employ a dedicated business manager if he is to take advantage of the many opportunities he sees.

Although Nadim provides general dental care his personal interest lies in cosmetic treatments, he already provides orthodontics in the shape of Clearstep and Inman Aligners and although he currently refers for implant placement he has this on his list of clinical techniques to study in the near future.

Nadim has spent a lot of personal time recently, working on website optimisation as a method of attracting new patients and uses many of the latest techniques for communicating such as blogs, social media marketing, viral videos and making sure his website is listed on all relevant directories. The success of this approach is clear and Nadim reports that the practice website is currently responsible for around 60% of his new patient referrals:

"Website design is just something I am genuinely interested in, but I like the fact I have control over my practice website and it has more than paid for itself in terms of attracting new patients. I prefer to choose a few select things that I think will work rather than by just doing everything. I have learned a lot by trial and error, but I have a good idea as to what works and what doesn't."

Nadim is a man of immense enthusiasm, a drive which he feels comes from within himself and he admits to having been heavily influenced by Viktor Fankl's book "Man's Search for Meaning" and its consideration of the importance of attitude to success. He has a clear five- year plan that underpins his personal and business goals and his intent is to open a second practice as soon as is feasible and ultimately to work clinically 3 days a week and manage the business for the other 2 days. Having achieved so much in the first year, the next five look easy.

"I would say that many people have helped me over the years and I would like to thank both friends and family for all their support, especially my wife Nosheen who has supported me through everything. I would also like to thank the dental companies and Arun Mehran at Samera and of course my team at Lifestyle Dental; Sophie, Susan and Jade."