When is the
Right Time to own your
Dental Practice? by Steve Seabolt
A recent poll indicates that students in dental school with school debt and dentists in a group practice setting are exploring the best options and timing for ownership of their own dental practice as compared to working for someone. The investment they are making in education and in their future is not to simply become an employee for the length of their career. Some graduates find ideal situations when they join a private practice as an associate and in many cases become a partner and eventually become the practice owner through a well-planned transition. Others may join a corporate group to receive a pay check and gain experience before gaining independence, and there are still graduates that successfully open a practice right out of school and are very successful. Atlanta Dental Supply, Professional Practice Management and Practice Life Partners share insights for evaluating the opportunity and the advantages of personal practice ownership. We begin with a simple self-survey to assess your preparedness and confirm the basics of owning your own business.
First, you need to answer a few questions about yourself... • Are you confident in your clinical skill level and speed? • Are you confident in managing a staff of dental team members? • Are you confident in managing the practice numbers and metrics?
If your answer is “yes” or even “maybe,” you are probably ready to take the leap and start putting your team together to make it all happen. Once you have made the decision to go out on our own, one of the first steps in opening your own dental practice is to decide … Where do you want to live and practice? Ideally, most of us prefer to live as close to the office as is practical. Minimizing drive time will give you more time to devote to your family and professional life. The best time to make this happen is before you open your practice. There are many positive attributes to opening your own practice: you’re the boss; you can establish your own working hours; you’ll get to choose your own team to support your patients and practice. Ultimately, you get to decide how much you want to earn with virtually no ceiling on the amount. How is that possible? It’s possible by investing in your own business. You might think that it is too expensive to open a dental practice. You might think that you can’t afford it. However, consider the awesome potential of increased earnings from owning your own practice vs. working as an employee. In our opinion, we think you can’t afford not to open your own practice. Let’s look at the facts. As an employee, it’s clear that you will be paid a lower percentage of collections than you would earn as a practice