Brian Burns is the President and Founder of Ads Next, the parent company of Dental Revenue. With a background in sales and marketing, and a drive for venture creation, it was only a matter of time before Brian took his vision and turned it into a successful business. With years of hard work and an unparalleled imagination, Brian created his first company, Ads Next. Over time, growing theory into practice, Brian started a new company, Dental Revenue, focusing on a more specified market of Fee for Service Dentists.
What did you do before you got into the marketing business?
Nothing! (he jokes.) I Snowboarded. After college, I traveled out west to explore the country. I boarded in Sun Valley, spent a summer in Alaska at a fish cannery, spent 6 months in San Francisco working as a cook at an Irish Pub… I had a lot of fun.
How long and for whom did you start your journey into the world of Marketing?
I worked for the Baltimore Sun for 2 years as their first Internet sales person. This was at the beginning of the commercial Internet. I left to join the XI group – a design software company focusing on website and marketing services for the auto industry. It was when they were bought out that I decided to start a marketing company of my own.
What was your motivation in starting your own company?
Honestly? I wanted to control my time, my life. I wanted to create a lifestyle.
How did you get your concept for this business?
I have been very fortunate to be a part of 3 entrepreneurial startups: the print world gone digital, the auto world moving to the web, and now, the field of cosmetic medicine also moving to the web. With each one of these, I have had the opportunity to craft the vision of the product and service.
I have always been interested in the big picture. I am very in tune with what needs to be fixed and how to get it done.
At the start of Ads Next in 2008, what was your mission?
Besides taking control of my every day life, I was very interested in industries that were constantly changing. Fortunately, for me, with the collapse of the economy, it was at a time when people were forced to look into online marketing.
To what do you attribute your success?
I would attribute my success to a combination of things. I was in the right place at the right time with a good foundation, I aligned myself with powerful allies, such as What’s Up! Magazine and the Dawson Academy, and I was able to build a team of talented, hard working people.
What are your future goals for Dental Revenue and where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see us as the leader in the ‘Fee for Service’ dental marketing space – a premier provider to these dentists.
In 10 years, I hope to be spending more time with my family on my boat, on the slopes, and on the golf course.