Cultural Identity, Entrepreneurship, Parenting and Divorce with Dr. Calvin Tham

Dr. Calvin Tham is a dentist based in North Delta who has twenty years of experience. He has been an entrepreneur for nineteen years, and is also a professionally trained Co-Active Coach. 

Throughout the episode, we dive deep into his background growing up as a Chinese-Canadian, building and purchasing private practices, parenting young kids, dealing with separation and divorce, self-development, and more.

Calvin’s parents immigrated to Canada in the early 70s from Hong Kong, and Calvin spent his childhood being shaped by both Canadian and Chinese cultures. Calvin dives into the conversation with stories about the way he grew up, how Chinese traditions were practiced in Canada, the mindset his parents and peers had about education, language, fitting into the Canadian culture, and more. 

When Calvin graduated from dental school, he was good at fixing teeth but lacked the knowledge and experience in business, accounting, investments, and other things related to business. Despite all that, he purchased a private practice and started to continue working there successfully. We talk about the key tactics Calvin utilized to surround himself with people who had the skillset that he lacked and how it helped make his business successful.

Buying a dental practice, similar to buying any other business, calls for a lot of assessments, evaluations, and effort from the prospective buyer. We talk about what young dentists should keep in mind when doing the due diligence for purchasing a dental practice. We also talk about Calvin’s experience of selling his first practice, moving to another area, and starting his current practice.

Despite all the success, Calvin has had his fair share of challenges in life, including going through a divorce. This experience inspired him to become a coach, which was something he enjoyed throughout his life. He shares with us how he managed to maintain healthy relationships with his children and former spouse post divorce. We also talk about some of the parenting best practices he uses to inspire them with his life experiences. Wrapping up the episode, we talk about how Calvin got his children involved in his YouTube channel to create amazing video content educating other children about dental hygiene.

Resources:

Smiling-Sam and Cavity-Free Kid Talk About Sugar Bugs and Back-to-School Snacks:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6h3cNCtwaE

Connect with Calvin:

northdeltadentist.ca
instagram.com/northdeltadental

https://www.instagram.com/vancouverfoodiedentist
youtube.com/channel/UCrphNHcZ0NkyRPaALlvIapw