From setback to success: How a dental surgeon’s dream became a thriving clinic

Transcript for the Ambition Stories video: From setback to success. Opens a new window.

Mohammed and Aqsa from the CIBC Business Banking team quickly took action. They visited me at the clinic to learn more about the challenges we were facing in making the clinic a reality.

"What struck me was Dr. Salome’s story,” recalls Aqsa. “Everyone on our team had a soft spot for her vision. It was something special. She just needed support and that’s where we stepped in.”

The team helped me secure a loan for $500,000 and worked with me to find a new contractor to get the project back on track. CIBC also offered advice and ongoing support to help me manage the business side of things, guiding me through tough financial decisions and referring me to experts to help with effective leadership and management practices.

Fast forward to 2023. My clinic had been open for a year, but we were still struggling financially. Most of the original loan from CIBC had gone toward the property lease and paying off the financial hit I had taken because of the construction. The business was also having issues with cash flow and the debt burden as principal payments came due. I was worried about defaulting on the loan.

I reached out to the team at CIBC again.

“The clinic had additional payments due, so we first connected with their other debtors to request a temporary debt break,” says Aqsa. 

CIBC gave me an $80,000 loan so I could continue my plans for the clinic and really build our client base. They even allowed me to pause the principal payments on my original loan until August 2025.

Today, In Path Dental is thriving, and we currently serve about 1,000 patients — even offering online consultations for those living far away. Now, hospitals and various public health agencies are sending patients to us for specialized dental care. Thankfully, we’re at a point where we’re paying all the bills and can think about paying down debt.

Daily, I see patients with special needs, seniors and others facing barriers to care. Hospitals are overwhelmed with waiting lists. One patient I saw recently was in agony and unable to eat, but the hospital wouldn’t have been able to help him for nearly two years. It was heartbreaking, but it fueled my passion to keep going.

I can now look to the future with optimism. For me, it has become about more than just accessible dental care. I aspire to provide patients and their families with a full range of health services and treatments, and I also hope to one day franchise my clinic and expand to other provinces. However, I know that without the open and honest conversations I had with CIBC’s Business Banking team about getting this clinic on track, In Path wouldn’t be able to think about expansion one day.

If there’s one piece of advice I’d offer other entrepreneurs, especially women, it would be: don’t give up. You need to work hard. I have a baby and a young son, but I work nonstop because if I didn’t, I would have never gotten to this point.

You’ll face many challenges and get a lot of “noes,” but if it’s meant to be, it will happen. For all my hard work, the biggest reward is every time I see a patient smiling and helping them feel confident.

CIBC Business Banking has truly been an invaluable source of support for me and everyone who walks into my clinic, and I will always be grateful.