Success In Their Own Words: Dave Andrus, CDT

Dave Andrus, CDT, has a short commute down the stairs to get to work at Diamond Dental Studio in Byers, Colo., and that’s just how he wants it. The two-technician laboratory is a family affair and he has worked to build a client base at his self-described boutique laboratory who expect quality and are willing to pay for it.

“There was a point in my life that I wanted as much as I could get, you know, everything the we always think will make us happy. None of it made me happy,” Andrus said. “The change came in when I realized stuff does not do it for me but the simpler life of being content with what I could afford and was comfortable handling was enough.”

Success for Andrus is living his life according to the guidelines found in the Bible. This has led him to operate his laboratory according to the golden rule.

To get to that point he had to learn to stop trying to please what he calls the old guard and to start working toward his personal goals. The next thing was to overcome the entrepreneur's curse of trying to do it all himself. Then he had to accept that others could do as well as he could. Finally, he learned to enjoy life and spend more time with his family.

It sounds simple, but Andrus had to work to get to the point he’s at now with his laboratory. The five most important things he has done at his laboratory to achieve success is to:
 
Learning to prioritize, including placing God and his family ahead of work.
Concentrating on improving the quality of the laboratory’s work.
Concentrating on others’ happiness more than his.
Realizing that family, home and his job were some of the real blessings in his life.
Getting involved in his local dental laboratory association and the NADL.
 
“I wound up getting much more from the associations than I have invested,” Andrus said.