One of the very first questions that customers, family, friends, and business associates ask me is why I started my business in the Illawarra.
As a nationally qualified orthodontist, I can open a practice anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. I am also qualified and registered to work in the United Kingdom. With additional studies, examinations, and administration, I could even consider practicing in the United States, Canada, and other countries around the world.
A little closer to home, many people ask why I didn’t open my practice in Sydney or Melbourne’s central business district or in a high net worth town on Australia’s east coast, such as Byron Bay or the Gold Coast.
The answer is both simple and complex, and both long and short. For the purposes of this post, I’ll keep it simple and short.
Family History
Where we are individually raised plays an important role in where we choose to live as we get older. Sure, there are those expats who need to travel and discover themselves and their professional potential on the other side of the world. However, most of us tend to live and work in areas where we were raised. Some upgrade to better postcodes, some downgrade, but most tend to remain in close proximity to their childhood neighborhoods to stay close to parents, lifelong friends, and communities.
So, why did I choose the Illawarra? Firstly, my parents owned a farm in Picton, an area outside both Sydney and the Illawarra’s regional limits. One day I’ll share stories of my youth on the farm and how my love for animals directed me into a career in the medical industry. However, long story short, I often “hung around” the Illawarra, especially Wollongong, in my youth and became familiar with the region’s culture, dynamics, vibrancy, lifestyle, and opportunities.
Professional Network
After graduating from the University of Sydney in dentistry and later specialising in orthodontics, I worked at dental clinics across Sydney and the Illawarra. I even co-founded and co-led a dental practice in Fairy Meadow. Therefore, I was familiar with the local business community and fortunately built a strong network of business partners, associates, and a client base. All these people helped shape my paths as both an orthodontist and an entrepreneur. Therefore, starting my first solo business in the Illawarra was not a sudden dramatic move. It was a natural progression. The seeds that I planted throughout my earlier years serving the Illawarra helped me to harvest rapidly once South Coast Orthodontics was fully established and operational in July 2023.
Steadfast Rules about Work and Life
Although many doctors and dentists establish their practices in the suburb or area where they live, I decided not to. This is both a demarcation of work and home life, as well as an act of protecting my mental health. Many people with office jobs, especially during this post-pandemic era, are working from home. They’re usually always attached to their phones and work beyond their paid hours, cutting into family and rest time. When I started my career, I decided to follow the cardinal rule of separating where I work from where I live. Not all of us have the same fortune or even desire to do so. It’s simply what works for me. I enjoy the drive from my home in Sydney to the Illawarra on weekdays. It’s my time to zone out, enjoy music, podcasts, and dream about the future. However, once I cross Helensburgh into the Illawarra, I am mentally in work mode and planning the day ahead. This boundary has become my saving grace in maintaining a healthy work and family life.
The Practical Truth
An essential part of business is being practical. The 80/20 rule applies to everybody, even orthodontists. On a daily basis, I spend 80% of my time placing braces and Invisalign on kids, and the remaining 20% of my time placing them on adults. There are some percentage variances, but generally, that’s my work percentage split. My job doesn’t afford me the ability to work from home, and there’s no gorgeous view of the ocean or skyline from where I work. I basically look straight down into people’s mouths all day. No matter if I worked in Woollahra, Woolloomooloo, or Wollongong, a mouth is a mouth. I’m pretty sure that the same level of job satisfaction can be enjoyed from looking down the mouths of anybody from any postcode.
Future Vision
As much as my family history and past professional network were vital to my decision to establish in the Illawarra, it’s my future vision that guides me to make key life and business decisions. I’ve grown to love the people of the Illawarra and everything they represent. It’s a piece of Australia that is very Australian. The residents are outgoing, outdoorsy, sporty, social, friendly, and inclusive of people from other cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds. I certainly see myself working and running my orthodontics practice well into my sunset years. My past and present clearly reveal my professional investment in the Illawarra, and I certainly see that trend heightening in the future.
There are many other reasons why I established South Coast Orthodontics in the Illawarra. Most reasons are never far from my stomach… For example, the Big Greek Feast at Litani’s Mediterranean on Corrimal Street… The Fragrant Thai Laarb at Wildginger in Kiama… The Halloumiboy burgers at Joe’s Milkbar in Albion Park… and let’s not forget the butter chicken from Tandoori Junction in Shellharbour.
The question shouldn’t be why I established my business in the Illawarra. The question is, what shall I have for lunch today?
And by the way, what do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Kamal
