Money & Me: ‘I have had money but lost it all and had to start over again’

Dr Jaco Smith is a South Africa-born family and cosmetic dentist, and owner of the Dental Studio group in Dubai.

After early fighter pilot and sporting aspirations, he graduated in his home country and completed a master's degree in the US before practising dentistry in the UK and then Bahrain, during which time he was a preferred dentist for the kingdom’s royal family.

Dr Smith, 47, is a father to three boys and lives in Dubai Motor City.

How did money feature in your upbringing?

I was born in Johannesburg and moved to Cape Town. My dad worked in the timber industry, [he was] one of the core managers of the business. Money was never a thing that we lacked, but also nothing we aspired to.

We had a nice place. I was a keen tennis and cricket player and grew up in a part of South Africa where money was not a big issue, not a competition.

We never talked about money. Dad took care of the savings, my accounts. You received some pocket money if you washed the car or even if we did not wash cars. It was probably a bad thing if I look back because you have to learn fast when you become a student.

I was not brought up with the notion of money, how to make or to manage it … when you have parents that are pretty much trying to protect and roll away all the obstacles.

When I had a student loan, my dad was still behind the scenes. I started to think about money when I began to work in England. Then I had loans to pay back, everything shifted on to me and I became a man.

Did you work as a teenager?

I had holiday jobs. I was a waiter but I was not there for the money. These were things we did basically to be with friends and as a young man of 16 or 17, I was there for the food. It was more of a social thing.

I was a very good sportsman and lived for sport. It was not the money aspect because in those times rugby was not even professional. The sport side unfortunately stopped when I broke my neck in a game.

So dentistry beckoned?

I was accepted to study medicine and changed to dentistry after a couple of years. I wanted to go to England and joined a practice as an associate dentist and was paid a salary of £1,500 (Dh7,536).

I spent seven years in England, went into private practice and then felt it was time to leave. I had spent a number of weeks working in Bahrain and wanted to have different adventures. While in Bahrain, I met a gentleman who wanted to sell a practice in Dubai. We took that over in 2003 and I opened this clinic in 2006.

No one taught me the business side of dentistry, so over time I have withdrawn myself from clinical work to be more on the business side, to make sure everything runs according to plan; you cannot do both.

How did Dental Studio come about?

Dentistry is a difficult profession. People do not like to come, it costs money, they become nervous, so we created a brand. We have established a multispecialty dentistry model, without them [patients] having to be referred to other clinics.

It took a number of years before we came to the position to expand. Now, we have five, soon to be six, dental centres in Dubai. We are looking further to Abu Dhabi and opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

It is about giving people the best experience and keeping that in-house. It is not simply about the dentist and the specialist you see; it is also the service around that. People are looking after themselves, have the money to spend. In the hands of the right people using the right technology and having the right attitude, dentistry is great. For us, it was an opportunity.

How do you view spending and saving?

When you start to earn money – your money – you have to take care of yourself, so I was really into a saving mentality. I ultimately developed a balance.

Today, I am more of a spender – on my family, on experiences that we can remember and enjoy, away to safaris and skiing if we have time.

It is not about material stuff. I am lucky that all three of my sons are pretty gifted sportsmen. For me, also being a sportsman, it is great to be alongside the field along with their journey. Luckily, what business has afforded me is time to spend with family, which is precious.

How do you grow your wealth?

There are savings for easy access. We have some government bonds, some shares in Google and these types of companies that probably will forever be part of our lives.

I am not a big risk-taker. I have properties in South Africa and the UK. I have invested in other businesses and invest a lot in my own business … the investment I am most proud of.

I did not have much business schooling. I had to learn on the fly and we are pretty successful. I now have more than 90 people working at our businesses and want to take the brand as far as I can.

Any financial milestones?

When I wrote my business plan when I was 30, I said by the age of 40 I would like to be financially independent – not for retirement, but to be able to take three months off if I wanted to. I managed that; my business afforded me the luxury to, in essence, do with my time what I really wanted to do.

Others are negative milestones. I invested in blindly or took on a business that I did not know much about; what I call the schooling money.

The big lesson I have learnt is to do your due diligence and to understand what due diligence means when people ask you to invest. I simply saw the numbers and I lost money. I have learnt to stick to what I know, to truly understand what you are putting money into.

What is your most cherished spend?

I took my (now) wife to Verona. I asked her to marry me at Juliet’s balcony. My most valuable purchase was that ticket to Italy because she said “yes”.

Also experiences … my first ski trip, to play golf at Pebble Beach (in the US) and Valderrama (in Spain).

How do you feel about money?

Money does not define me. I have had money, I have lost it all and had to start again. Money is a game; try to play it as well as you can.

When I was starting to make money as a young dentist, I wanted more. You tend to grab something that you were not used to. I probably became greedy and burnt my fingers. Thanks to those experiences, I came back to who I truly am. I do not care for money. If I do not have it, I will go out and try to make it again.

Without money, it is also difficult. In everybody’s life, its importance is different and we have a different relationship with it.

I have worked out what is enough in my life. When you come to that place … then I think you have a happy relationship with money.