This is blog number four in the Business of Owning a Dental Practice series.  So far we’ve talked about Technical Training vs Business Training in the first blog and last week was all about Debt in a Dental Practice and how to pay it down quicker. 

Today’s topic is for any Dentist who feels stuck at the chair having to produce more and the idea of beginning to plan for an exit strategy some day – so you no longer keep feeling stuck. 

If you’re beginning to feel some burnout, think back to when you first started or purchased your practice.  Remember how exciting of a time it was.  Your energy was probably high and you were willing to do anything to get this practice producing more.  Then comes the day when you realize the daily grind is getting to you.  Maybe you feel tired.  Maybe your back hurts.  This is when you start to feel stuck at the chair.  And it’s common to start wondering about how long you can keep this up. 

When will you be able to exit the practice and have enough saved for your future?  One thing I know is this.  It’s never to early to start planning for an exit strategy.  Saving money is a crucial first step. 

This means your practice must be generating additional cash flow greater than all the current expenses.  And it also means you need a system in place to ‘know’ this number. 

You may think this isn’t you but let me share with you the sobering statistics about retiring dentists.  The average age of a dentist in the US to retire is 69.  That is a full seven years more than the average age of retirement for the general population.  Their average age for retirement is 62.  How can you change this for you? 

I believe having simple grounded systems in place for your money is key and yes, I believe the Profit First system is the best. By connecting with and capitalizing on our natural human behaviors around money, we can change the trajectory of our profitability and our future for the better.  If you haven’t read my book, Profit First for Dentists, check out the book tab above on my website (where this blog is found) and the Resources tab to download the first 2 chapters for free so you can get started.   

Next week I’ll be talking about the difference between a production model and a profitability model.  Thanks for reading and if you ever want to chat, I'm here for you.