As dental practices grow and change, new seasons bring opportunity and security for both sides of a transaction. Charting a new path can be stressful and uncertain as many practitioners have not weathered a transition in years. Young dentists are often seeking that opportunity for the first time and experienced doctors often bought a practice many years ago or started their practice from scratch as a young doctor themselves. The practice climate is changing! It is a competitive market with educated young professionals seeking the right opportunity and practice owners wanting to finish well and leave a legacy with their practices better than they found them.
Organizational changes in practices can take many paths. Growing a practice through a merger or partnership bring their own set of challenges and opportunities. However, a practice based on relationships with patients, teams, referral bases and communities require special care. This process can be a stressful distraction to owner dentists. Those dentists that have committed their professional growth to technical excellence and relationship- based practice culture may need strategic help in navigating the right practice transition. Dental practice transitions have been around for decades; selling a practice to a young colleague and walking away has been the standard solution. Today, there are many different solutions to reach the goals of the seller and the buyer. Many relationship -based dental practices are seeking a like-minded professional to carry the torch and move the practice legacy forward. This goal requires intentional planning and careful follow through.
The time to evaluate practice philosophies is BEFORE a transition occurs. Examining wants, needs, timelines and the type of transition that best suits those needs develops during the pre- sale process. You likely didn’t build your relationship based, highly technical practice by doing what everyone else has done. Becoming an expert in your field has been intentional and constructed with the concept of excellence and communication as a basis for that success. When it’s time to expand your dental practice or find your successor those same themes should continue.
Buyers are seeking practice opportunities particularly in Texas. With the influx of doctors to the great state of Texas, sellers must have a strategy of how to identify the right buyer for their legacy practice. Complementary technical skills to properly care for a patient base is essential. Behavioral considerations like interpersonal skills and communication are part of the success of a relationship- based practice. Timing and financial considerations play a large role in buyers identifying their opportunity as well. Working with a seasoned transition consultant allows for the vetting of these necessary components.
Some “practice brokers” seek a transactional experience for a changing of the guard with a processing of documents and a single strategy for its completion that is driven strictly by financial and legal considerations. That transactional mindset is what you have been working to avoid in your practice for a career, so why would you consider growing your practice or ending your career with a philosophy that goes against the grain of who and what your practice has become? Why not become curious about practice transition strategies like a co-discovery experience of what best fits your practice model and philosophy? Asking more questions and learning more about what makes your practice a successful legacy is the first step. Other transition consultants offer a comprehensive approach to evaluate your relationship-based practice that seeks all the financial and legal considerations plus works to transfer the technical, behavioral and business culture for continuity in your practice and security for your future built on strategic solutions. Finding a transition consultant with successful business experiences helps make them uniquely qualified to collaborate with you to develop your strategic transition or expansion solution
Whether you are a specialist or a general dentist, seek a consultant that will perform a comprehensive exam on your practice and report the findings with a thorough and professional strategy to meet your wants and needs. Developing a legacy plan for your relationship- based practice model that creates opportunity and security for your next Phase must be intentional. Are you ready to discover the best strategies for you and your Practice future?