A significant number of dentists who own their own practices in the United States find themselves working long hours, struggling to generate revenue, and are frustrated with the complications of running a business-savvy dental practice.
Are you one of them?
It is no surprise that this is such a common experience. Dentists receive little-to-no business management training while pursuing their education. At the same time, every dentist who owns their own practice is expected to perform at the same level as a seasoned, entrepreneur or CEO despite this deficit in their education. How does a dentist balance both?
It is possible to work in your practice and on your practice at the same time. In fact, it is quite necessary to do so if you want to realize the true benefits of your dental career. For those who wish to achieve this balance, NextLevel Practice is excited to share news about an upcoming symposium on dental business management in Miami this September.
The 2022 Dental Business & Legal Symposium is a one-day, in-person symposium tailored specifically to the dental industry — and to dentists in private practice in particular. This informative program was designed by Synergy CPA and Consultants, a leading CPA firm that works within the dental industry. Their knowledgeable speakers will be sharing their insights with you during the symposium. They come from all areas of the industry and have years of experience in profitable dentistry.
As a bit of a preview, we’d like to highlight a few of the topics we think you will find relevant to your practice at the symposium this fall. We have certainly found them relevant to our coaching program!
Mastering Your Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA)
Many dentists struggle to track their practice numbers. Without a background in accounting or finance, just hearing an acronym like EBITDA can feel intimidating. Don’t worry–you’re also not alone in your struggles. Struggles with financial management are common across the dental industry.
Mastering an understanding of your EBITDA can take a bit of time, but the benefits to your business are huge. EBITDA is an excellent way to gain a clear understanding of your practice’s financial performance and overall profitability. You work hard every day to run your business, take care of your employees, and serve your patients well. Shouldn’t you experience the benefits?
CEO or DSO?
Have you been considering moving from being the CEO of your practice to contracting with a DSO? Many dentists are making that choice these days. More than 75% of dentists own their own practice in the United States. However, that statistic is actually 10% smaller than it used to be. Until around 2005, the number of dentists with private practices was much closer to 85%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the number of dentists has not dropped. Projected growth for the industry will rise steadily over the next decade. That means that there are plenty of new dentists entering the workforce, but fewer are choosing to start their own practice.
At NextLevel Practice, we understand that running any business is hard. Running a business while practicing dentistry full time is even harder. A dentist must balance caring for patients with continuously growing their skills to keep pace with technology. They also must master profitability, human resources, marketing, and growth. It’s no wonder that so many dentists have contracted out their business management.
It’s important for any dentist thinking about selling to a DSO to understand the pros and cons of taking such an action. We discuss this in a little more depth here. One of the points we stress at NextLevel practice is that running a dental practice does not have to be an either/or situation. The key takeaway is that you don’t have to give up your independence as a dentist in order to serve your patients. We coach dentists to successful independence and profitability every day.
Creating Financial Independence
The majority of seasoned dentists have found themselves pushing retirement further into the future as they juggle debt, operation expenses, and cost of living against their income from serving patients. Even with the lucrative income that a dental career can provide, dentists are still vulnerable to the same trap other small business owners discover — a failure to take care of themselves, too. If you have not been planning and saving for retirement, the time to start is now.
If you own a private dental practice, a portion of your business planning should include deciding how your business will end when you are ready to retire. Do you plan to build up your practice to create a saleable, turnkey operation? Will you hire another dentist to run the practice while you manage in the background? Should you to join a DSO?
There are many options available to you and each will have its own pros and cons. It’s important that you start planning immediately. When we coach our dentists, their end goals will determine their strategic objectives for their business. If you don’t have a retirement plan or a vision for your future, it’s time to start planning!
The above insights are just a sample of the information you will gain during the 2022 Dental Business & Legal Symposium in Miami this September. We hope to see you there and we hope the information you gain will help you achieve your business goals for your dental practice.
