Posted by Kristin on June 27th, 2009 — Posted in Uncategorized
Kristin Nickells, CEC
Executive Coaching
Business Training & Services
Business Bootcamp for Dentists (TM)
Keynote Speaking
I assist professionals and business owners in acquiring the business skills to manage and grow their businesses. Executive coaching can help you to feel passionate about your work again! Really!
Unlock your inner entrepreneur
Articles of interest will be posted regularly on this site - they are all listed in “Recent Posts” in the column on the right of this page, or scroll down for them, and please don’t be shy about posting comments and giving feedback!
Posted by Kristin on June 3rd, 2010 — Posted in Uncategorized
Feedback is an important part of my job – both giving and receiving!
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” Kristin’s straightforward approach to problem solving and business solutions has been invaluable to me as a new business owner, but would be beneficial to even the most senior doctor” Dr. Bryce Tremblay
” Kristin has extensive business knowledge but truly excels with her people management skills” BT
“The executive coaching was my first coaching of its kind and a I had a very positive experience. Kristin made the process from the beginning very interesting and professional. She explained the process every step of the way and her calming direct manner was very much appreciated. The sessions were always related to situations I was experiencing at work and by the end of the session I was clear as to what I had to do or accomplish to reach my goals . The process would have been effective in person however it worked well over the phone as well. As a result of coaching I have become more aware of my own location in the process of management and crisis, realizing I can take a step back and process before making any decisions. Definitely more sessions are required I felt it by the time we both got used to each other we had to end but no doubt Kristin was very thorough in each session. I would most definitely recommend coaching to associates and colleagues and specifically refer to Kristin. Kristin’s coaching style is very respectful and non-judgmental she works with you from your perspective keeping in mind all your skills and achievements in the field. I greatly appreciate the work we did together and hope we can one day work more in depth. Thank you Kristin for making the process unique and enjoyable” I.T.
Posted by Kristin on May 23rd, 2010 — Posted in Uncategorized
Nickellsilver Business Solutions Inc. brochure in printable form:
Nickellsilver Brochure
Posted by Kristin on May 8th, 2010 — Posted in Uncategorized
Daniel Labonte, Melanie Spencer, Karen Fudge-Jensen, Kristin Nickells, Cathy Comber
The following link takes you to a story written by my dear friend Thelma Fayle, a freelance writer in Victoria. My RRU team and I celebrated completing our Executive Coaching program by zip-lining at Adrenaline in Sooke, BC. I have enclosed a photo (the helmets are definitely NOT a fashion statement!) and Thelma’s story, which was her gift to us. Enjoy….
Intellectual Midwifery T.Fayle
Posted by Kristin on May 8th, 2010 — Posted in Speaking Engagements
Tags: Business Bootcamp for Dentists (TM), Business coaching for dentists, Business Training for dental professionals, Keynote speaking
Kristin Nickells, Certified Executive Coach
Kristin Nickells
Nickellsilver Business Solutions Inc
Kristin has over 25 years of experience providing business training and services to professionals and small business owners . Her educational background in business administration and accounting forms the basis of the services she offers and a post graduate Certification in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University rounds out her ability to coax out the inner entrepreneur, inspire leadership, and impart grass roots business fundamentals to professionals and entrepreneurs.
Kristin is an entrepreneur herself; founder and CEO of Nickellsilver Business Solutions Inc. and has managed her own company for nearly three decades. These years of being self employed enable her to relate first hand to the challenges faced by budding entrepreneurs. A large part of Kristin’s business activities involve management services and business training for dental professionals, including her trademarked Business Bootcamp for Dentists (TM) program; Kristin is very well versed in both the unique challenges a dentist faces as well as specifics of the business of dentistry.
Under the umbrella of Nickellsilver, Kristin’s services include administrative & accounting system setup, business management services, Executive Coaching, business training, team workshops and keynote speaking engagements.
Kristin grew up in Victoria, B.C. and currently lives about two hours north of there in the ocean-side town of Parksville, B.C. She is an avid golfer, a competitive curler, and grandmother to two little girls.
Associations and Affiliations:
Member, International Coach Federation
Member, Mid-Island Coaches Association
Director, Oceanside Women’s Business Network
Business Partner (Consultant), Simply Accounting by Sage
Member, Toastmasters – Arbutus Chapter
Volunteer, Alumni Coach, Royal Roads University Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching program
Printable version of bio: KNickells Bio pdf
Posted by Kristin on May 5th, 2010 — Posted in Speaking Engagements, Uncategorized
Are you planning an event and require a speaker able to speak on a variety of topics? I have a “menu” of topics that I am passionate about and which have been carefully chosen to appeal to dentists at every stage of their careers, whether it is a learning session, association meeting or study club gathering. As well, these topics would be of interest to hygiene or dental assistant groups. If you have a business or coaching related topic that is not on my list, send your suggestion my way and I would be glad to accommodate your needs. have a lighthearted approach and impart good basic information, passion, and humour into speaking – I guarantee you will be entertained, even with the most mundane of topics! Please contact me by email or telephone for cost quotes. The menu….
Understanding Financial Statements – The Whole Story (a fun, easy way to understand how your accounting system works, the story that your financial statements tell, and what you can do about it!)
Staff/Employer Issues – Getting to the Heart of the Matter Fast!
Elements of the One Page Business Plan – Learn the short cut way to creating a solid plan!
Creating a Coaching Culture in the Dental Office – the secret to harmony and excellence in the workplace. (Walk away with a good understanding of what Executive Coaching is and how it can trasform your work-a-day life).
The Business Model and You – How does the round peg of the dental practice fit into the square hole of the traditional business model? Understand why your challenges are unique and what systems are at play within the practice (and how to recognize them!).
I look forward to being part of your meeting!
Posted by Kristin on April 20th, 2010 — Posted in Royal Roads U Journey
The long and winding road to earning my Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching has finally led to the end of my Royal Roads program. The hours and hours of anticipation and studying since this time last year are over and I have received my new designation! I am now a Certified Executive Coach and already the possibilities for what that means and how I can use my new skills to help business owners increase their effectiveness are just beginning to unfold. I have so many great things to say about the incredible instructors and program at Royal Roads. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to learn my skills in the embrace of some incredible mentors! Stay tuned for how I plan to make the business world a better place!
Posted by Kristin on December 29th, 2009 — Posted in General, Uncategorized
It was always my assumption that finance was the area my clients struggled with the most and where my services as educator would be the most useful. I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Because my background is business administration and accounting, I focussed on my clients’ struggle with understanding their finances, making sense of financial statements, planning for the best use of their funds, knowing where and when their businesses are profitable.
Earning my designation as Executive Coach requires that I provide a large number of pro bono executive coaching hours so I have been coaching a number of dentists, business owners, and executives since October. In every case, the number one focus for them was to become better at managing human resources issues! Dentists in particular all struggle with how to manage their staff effectively, how to build better teams, how to discipline and correct, how to maintain harmony in the office, how to settle disputes, difficult staff members, and how to work amongst the array of different personalities.
Working with dentists as an Executive Coach has opened up my eyes to just how much coaching can assist dentists and business owners towards being the people managers they want to be. What is wonderful about having an executive coach is that you have an ally who is able to help you build upon your existing strengths while allowing you to look closely and honestly and examine areas where you need a stretch. All this in a safe, trusting, confidential environment, where immediate action is part of the process and procrastination is not an option. Wow!
Posted by Kristin on October 12th, 2009 — Posted in Business Quick Tips
I have had a lot of requests for my Performance Review forms, thanks to a loyal client who posted a link for me to DentalTown. I hope the forms are helping those who have chosen to use them.
One important thing to remember……although your official performance review may take place once per year, it is not as useful as it could be without leadership all year round. I am a firm believer in a ‘learningful’ workplace, where inquiry, discovery, feedback, and affirmation take place every day. Seize opportunities for growth and development as they occur and do it in positive, supportive ways. Accept feedback from your staff, too. In this kind of environment, the annual performance review takes on a new life and becomes a continuation of positive interaction between you and your staff. Once (per year) is just not enough!
I am reposting the forms in this article as well for your use. I would love to hear feedback about whether you found them valuable. Also, please feel free to change the form to suit your needs and I would appreciate hearing what you added, what you took away and why!
Perf Review 1B Perf Review 2
Posted by Kristin on October 4th, 2009 — Posted in Royal Roads U Journey
Well, here I am in week #2 of my Graduate Executive Coach Certification at Royal Roads University. I have been teaching and guiding business people for 25 years and I thought I knew something about what a business coach was. Wrong! In the stages of a learning curve, we move from knowing nothing and not realizing that fact (unconscious imcompetence) to KNOWING that we don’t know anything (conscious incompetence). I am most definitely in stage 2.
A business coach is infinitely more than I imagined and it is no wonder to me that so many executives and entrepreneurs enlist the services of a coach. A good coach uses a learned skill to facilitate bringing the knowledge, answers, insight and resolutions out in their coachees. They are not experts at business principes as much as they are experts at establishing a collaborative relationship with their clients, which connects at a deep personal level of beliefs, values and vision. It is very powerful stuff, and most important…………….it works!
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our chief want in life is for somebody to make us do what we CAN!” That is what business coaching is and after spending an intense 6 days in residency, coaching and being coached, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am in exactly the right program at exactly the right time in my life.
Look out world!
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Posted by Kristin on August 27th, 2009 — Posted in Uncategorized
The cash you take into your practice is your Achilles heel. It is the cash receipts collected in your practice that are most vulnerable to fraud. With the advent of Point of Sale machines, most receipts are not easily manipulated by less than honest employees. However, your cash receipts are. Most dental practices realize less than 4% of their receipts in cash (the average is 2 to 4 % for practices with POS systems). That doesn’t sound like much, does it? Think about it for a minute; if your practice produces $500,000 per year, and your cash receipts are 2%, that is $10,000 that could be vulnerable to dishonest employees. My experience in the management of dental practices is that dishonest employees are few and far between, but it only takes one. Here are a few business coach tips to ensuring that the small portion of your receipts that are vulnerable are safeguarded:
- Balance your receipts EVERY day to the reports that your dental software produces detailing the day’s receipts. These reports generally detail how much cash, POS and cheques make up the day’s take. Ensure there is a reconciliation between the reports and the banking information.
- Ensure that whoever is balancing the cash is NOT the same person who is doing your books. Dividing the job of reconciling and recording your receipts creates a system of checks and balances.
- Make sure that your bookkeeper is reconciling your daily production, collections and banking information together. For every one of my clients, I create a monthly spreadsheet whereby the day’s production and collections are followed by a detail of where those collections went; bank deposit, Visa, MasterCard, Debit, Amex. I then use this information when reconciling the bank statements. There is no room for error and I know immediately if the day’s collections showed up in the bank!
Remember, with airtight systems in place, you are protected, and your employees are too – they can rest assured that their honesty and integrity is not ever in doubt. As a practice comptroller, I have always told my clients that I want to ensure that they trust me, but not on blind faith – rather, because systems are in place whereby they can KNOW that their hard earned money is accounted for.
