{"id":35,"date":"2011-11-24T21:48:05","date_gmt":"2011-11-25T03:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/allisonwatts.com\/blog\/?p=35"},"modified":"2020-12-24T05:02:41","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T11:02:41","slug":"dental-practice-success-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allisonwatts.com\/dental-practice-success-key\/","title":{"rendered":"The Key to Longevity and Fulfillment in Dentistry!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Key To Longevity And Fulfillment In Dentistry!
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by Allison Watts, DDS
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I've learned a lot in my 15 years in practice.<\/strong><\/em>  Recently, some friends and I recently spent some time at the Pankey Institute in a mastermind forum. We discussed dental practice and why it has been so hard for us and for many of our colleagues!  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many of my dentist friends and I have found ourselves in a common predicament<\/strong> over the years (it has nothing to do with the economy)<\/em>. We have, since we graduated, had a drive to be excellent technical and behavioral dentists and have completed an extensive amount of training to do so, believing "if we build it, they will come." What I mean by that is, if we are doing excellent restorative dentistry and treating people right, our practice will be successful.<\/em> Yet it hasn't been as financially or personally fulfilling as we had hoped and expected.<\/strong>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After several conversations, I can say I believe the biggest thing we were all missing is financial discipline.<\/strong> We did our numbers, don't get me wrong. We have been very responsible with our numbers. Myself and I'm sure many of my colleagues hired consultants, had business trainings of one type or another, but we never "got" some really important big messages<\/em> about the financial well-being of the practice. If we heard this message, we didn't really get it and we clearly weren't thinking about the long-term consequences our lack of discipline and foresight would have. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have been in dentistry a while and feel like you are a slave to your practice, this will help,<\/strong> but you have to do it!<\/strong><\/em>  If you're pretty new in practice, I beg you–please listen.  All it takes is a shift in priorities–looking at the long-term rather than the immediate gratification. Be compliant, like you wish your patients were!<\/strong>  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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My belief was that the money will come and then I will have the freedom to do what I want.<\/strong>  I was not disciplined about putting money into an emergency fund. I was not disciplined about putting money into an ROI or capital expense fund. I was not disciplined about putting money into a retirement plan (my husband was doing that so I didn't need to).  <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I wasn't even disciplined about paying off my debt!  I believed I didn't have the money to do these things.  I made the minimum payments and in some ways was getting more and more in debt (because of equipment needs, CE, and emergencies).  <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Looking back, it is obvious to me that I could have funded these accounts if I had been disciplined, if I had really understood the value of financial discipline and thinking and acting like the CEO of my practice.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Some of these paradigms and behaviors seem to be cultural and generational–we seem to share the belief that if we need it, it will be there, or we'll just work more or harder or do whatever it takes to get it…<\/strong> How's that working for you?<\/em> Not so well for me.<\/strong>  For 10 years it was okay, but I'm tired of doing whatever it takes!  I'm tired of working harder or working more and not having the freedoms these disciplines would have allowed me.  I can honestly say this bad habit has cost me a lot more in my life than just money. <\/em> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I've had so many great mentors over the years who told me to get my finances in order, but I didn't listen.<\/strong>  Just like when I was a teenager and my parents told me to wear sunscreen!<\/span><\/span>  <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I wish one of my mentors or consultants would've pulled me aside and SHAKEN me <\/em>
\n\t<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(literally, it might have taken that!) and said ..<\/span><\/span><\/strong>. <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

You HAVE to do this or you will have many years of misery and stress. Financial strain will take the fun and passion right out of dentistry for you! You will not have success one day… You create success–by doing these things now!!!<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

I have good news. I have made some changes and it is paying off!  You can too.<\/strong>  If you need support in order to stay accountable with this, get it. Most of us aren't taught this and it is easy to slack off in hard times or over time…<\/span>  Please feel free to email me if you need suggested basic numbers, but there are others who are masterful at this. I can recommend someone if you'd like. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Blessings and best wishes for you. I hope this sinks in the way I want it to. I hope you can see that not doing this eventually gets in the way of all your goals and vision for your practice. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended percentages:  Overhead 52%, Dr. salary 24%, Solvency 10%, R.O.I 10%, Additional profit 4%<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n\t<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Remember, 30 years after graduation from dental school, only from 5 percent to 10 percent of dentists will be financially able to retire.<\/span>5  <\/sup><\/span><\/span>Fidelity Investments research shows that 74 percent of Americans spend more time planning a vacation or birthday event than creating a retirement plan.6<\/sup> At the same time, 78 percent do not have a plan for retirement.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

5. 2006 Sullivan-Schein survey of dental clients.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

6. Planning Behaviors and Beliefs, Fidelity Investments, 2006. Collected by Richard Day Research online survey of more than 1,500 respondents representing the broad working population<\/em>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Key To Longevity And Fulfillment In Dentistry! by Allison Watts, DDS I've learned a lot in my 15 years in practice.  Recently, some friends and I recently spent some time at the Pankey Institute in a mastermind forum. We discussed dental practice and why it has been so hard for us and for many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[310,4,3],"tags":[12,18,19,17,16,21,15,20],"yoast_head":"\nThe Key to Longevity and Fulfillment in Dentistry!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Financial discipline is NOT something that is taught in dental school, yet it is a critical factor to building long term success in a dental practice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/allisonwatts.com\/dental-practice-success-key\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" 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