Double Tack
Sometimes, a person doesn't strive to create a successful business. They are simply so good at what they do that fate takes a turn — without investments, help, and solely through their own hard work, they create a constantly growing enterprise and bring indisputable benefits to humanity. This is what happened with Dr Julia Pugina, the founder of the “Painless Dentistry” network in Russia and co-owner of the Smile No Pain clinic in Dubai.
I never planned to go into business, but I was always obsessed with freedom of action. I defended my PhD in periodontology, completed two residencies, and planned to be a lecturer at the Department of the Stavropol Medical Academy. However, fate had other plans, and in 2013, in the city of Armavir, Krasnodar Krai, in just a month, without finances or any support, I opened my first dental clinic, "Painless Dentistry". At that time, I was already working in three clinics as an employee, and on weekends I travelled to a fourth clinic in another city.
Every 2-3 years, I licensed new premises, increasing the number of clinics and their area. I bought out neighbouring flats and expanded the clinic, purchasing adjacent buildings for clinics. Everything I earned, I invested in my beloved dentistry, in equipment, in my education and development, service, spaces, and interiors for our patients. My clinic is more than a business; it's my child that I've raised, nurtured and always protected because I'm endlessly in love with my profession. To date, we have fulfilled all patient requests for dental services, from examinations of newborns to implantation under anaesthesia for elderly patients. From 2013 to 2024, "Painless Dentistry" treated 28,000 patients in the city of Armavir; currently, there are 4 branches of the "Painless Dentistry" clinic functioning in the city, a spa centre, cosmetology, and a medical equipment store are under construction. In the process is the creation of our own Wellara medical clothing capsule and the branding of our own production of toothpastes and oral hygiene products in Korea.
We never stop at what we've achieved and are constantly growing and expanding our activities. Our clinics are equipped with advanced, high-tech equipment and are ready to receive adults and children. Our specialists and I constantly participate in international exhibitions around the world — in China, Korea, Europe, and the UAE. This allows me to keep abreast of the latest achievements in dentistry.
Investment in self-development and education is indisputable proof of our company's growth. During one of these trips in February 2023 at an implantology exhibition in Dubai, I met my future partner. I was interested in how local medical organisations work. The day after we met, I visited his clinic, and we agreed on cooperation and the opening of a joint project in Dubai, Smile No Pain. In November 2023, we opened the clinic together.
In Russia, our clinics are called "Painless Dentistry". This name reflects my personal philosophy. Despite my profession, I myself experience fear of doctors and invasion of the body. Therefore, we use the most modern technologies and drugs for painless treatment — nitrous oxide, xenon, anaesthesia. In Dubai, it is forbidden to carry out anaesthesia in clinics, unlike in Russia, so we use all available and permitted high-tech methods of sedation and anaesthesia.
The main values that I adhere to in life and business are decency, honesty, loyalty, openness, mutual assistance, punctuality and meeting deadlines, as well as being true to my word — my word is like a signature in a document: I am faithful to every promise I make. Even in my absence, employees carry these values to patients.
Smile No Pain is located in the prestigious Dubai Marina area, easily accessible for patients. It is symbolic that my first clinic in Russia was located in a hotel, and I started my activity with the first red dental chair, just like here — in the Habtoor Grand Resort, Autograph Collection, Dubai. Only the difference between the setting with the red chair in Russia and in Dubai is 10 years. For me, opening a business in Dubai was like a rollback of a decade. In Russia, I already have an established business, a flow of patients, all the chairs are occupied without advertising and marketing. And here, I had to start all over again.
Launching the clinic in Dubai was not easy. The opening was delayed by three months, although the rent was already underway. It was necessary to analyse the multilingual culture of Dubai, a different standard of living and pricing. Initially, we focused on the English-speaking audience, but then switched to the Russian-speaking one, which understands us better. The different perception of health by local residents also created difficulties. We had to find a golden mean between their desire to get everything quickly and my desire to do quality work that our team of Smile No Pain doctors would be proud of.
Things were very hard, I tried to change strategies and teams several times, sometimes I was very upset, but it's not in my rules to leave my projects — I have enough perseverance to change everything as many times as needed to succeed. I am always 100% confident in the company's success. The turning point came when I introduced business systematisation with the help of a manager and recruited a new team. It was like when the ship turns 180 degrees. The decision was tough, but there was no going back. I needed a lot of character to deal with the situation. A month later, our revenue doubled, and the break-even point appeared on the horizon.
It was the right decision because the team determines the success of the business. Now our Smile No Pain clinic is multinational: it employs people from Russia, India, Egypt, Iraq, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, we speak five languages and work seven days a week. We provide dental services to children and adults. We tried different approaches in team building, and now we finally have some stability, although every month I try to introduce new ideas in test mode.
This decision was right for another reason. The clinic, which will be one year old in November, has become a real revelation for me. When I managed clinics in Russia and delegated all processes, I was constantly worried about whether they would cope without my participation. However, now it takes me only 30 minutes a month to understand how things are going in the Russian clinics. And what is amazing is that after I left, their income doubled. The turnover has grown exactly twice — this is a fact that I cannot ignore. So my move to Dubai was a great business move. I therefore withdrew from operational processes.
The plans are to open additional branches of Smile No Pain in Dubai and Bali. I am confident in my employees, in my partner in Dubai as a stable support. I sincerely believe in them: they are wonderful and deserve great respect for their dedication and commitment. This gives me the conviction that we are on the right path. Once my only partner in Smile No Pain shared with me the idea that if you think narrowly, you will always be small, if you think big, you will become big. He became a teacher for me, and my boundaries of the possible expanded even more. Endless gratitude for our meeting and respect is always in my heart.
I am inspired by the people I meet, especially in Dubai. It is a concentration of the most interesting personalities with their unique stories. Each person is like a book, only with real experience, listening to which I always learn lessons. I saw a completely different attitude towards women here — supportive and respectful. It is felt from the state, and I always feel the strong male shoulder of a business partner and security. A woman is kind of surrounded by the love of Dubai itself — this attitude is filled with the air here. I have not met a single person who would deceive me; on the contrary, many helped me on my way. This is inspiring, and there is a feeling that the Universe itself favours my aspirations and desires. "God and I are one team" — with this motto I go through life and understand that I am not alone.
I am also motivated by my own children, reminding me that we all come from childhood and should not forget about our dreams, our true desires. A successful entrepreneur, in my opinion, should be a harmonious person who has all areas of life balanced — family, business, children, friends, health, entertainment. Only by being happy and fulfilled can they benefit the world and pass on their positive energy to others. And this is a much greater value than money.
Three years ago, I was completely immersed in business, working tirelessly and sleeping only three hours a day. And at this moment, a tragic event occurred in my life — I lost a child in the late stages of my third pregnancy. This turned my worldview upside down. I realised that there is nothing more terrible and life is too short to be afraid to change everything that is stable in this life. You need to not be afraid to become happy right now and do everything possible to make the people around you happy. Since then, I try to fill every day with joy, share and give more, travel, meet new people, boldly create projects, give love and happiness to others and my loved ones, our patients, every minute. I am not afraid of anything anymore and I believe that nothing is impossible as long as we are alive. I am sincerely in love with life in all its manifestations. I go through all trials with a smile on my face and thankful for my growth and development of my personality.
The most important magic has already happened — it is life itself. You don't need to look for it somewhere else, everything is already in us. The goal is not as important as the feeling of happiness in every minute on the way to achieving the goal.
It is important to compare yourself only with yourself yesterday and every day try to be better in health, relationships, business, spirituality and professionalism, friendship, partnership. To be better today than yesterday. If thoughts come about new projects, then they are already my new projects — I take ideas and run with them. This is what my life credo is all about.
