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Thinking of selling your dental practice?
Thinking of selling your dental practice…?
Don’t be seduced by the headline…
Selling your dental practice is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. We have all heard the success stories of dentists who’ve sold out, but don’t be led into thinking that this is the only route to success and happiness.
Consider the reasons you are thinking of selling, once you have made that decision there is no going back.
7 common reasons for selling your dental practice:
- Retirement
- Requirement for capital (divorce / family issues / illness)
- Desire to pursue other interests
- Increasing burden of regulation
- Burnout / stressed dentists
- Wish to concentrate on treating patients and not running a business
- Reduce full time clinical commitment
What are your plans post selling your dental practice?
If you have exciting plans made post exit- great. Go enjoy!
If like many you have no set plans, you are likely to drift back into dentistry, probably as an associate at your old practice (depending on your age and income requirements).
Consider the following…
We have given many years building something of value to ourselves, our staff and our community.
We are rightly proud of these achievements and the respect it commands.
7 factors to consider if you work as an associate in the practice you built:
- You will not be the boss
- You no longer enjoy autonomy when making decisions
- You will not have control of budgets and choice of materials
- There may be pressure to use certain laboratories
- You will not be responsible for staff recruitment or dealing with staff issues
- Marketing and the overall feel of the practice will be determined by the new owner
- You no longer have to fix the equipment!
Several of these factors may sound like a blessing, others less so.
We all have different drivers and it is really important to understand what these are.
My Story...
Once I had made the decision to sell my chain of practices, Barbican Dental Care, I thought long and hard about what would be most important to me moving forward, bearing in mind I would continue a clinical and strategic commitment to the business. I then devoted considerable time to discuss this with my prospective purchaser, Bupa.
6 factors I considered when selling my chain of dental centres:
-
- Aligned vision and values based around patient care
- Commitment to ongoing investment in equipment / material
- Continuity for existing team (no redundancies)
- New contracts for all clinical / non clinical staff to mirror or improve on existing terms
- Understanding 2-5 year plan for overall business including marketing/branding/growth targets
- Personal role within the new set up
These discussions were ongoing and critical to any potential sale. At this stage headline figures were not even discussed. I did not see any point unless I was comfortable with the relationship moving forward.
If you are going to have continued involvement in the business post sale ensure you have a clear view of what is crucial for you to be in place. As a starting point, consider the 6 factors I took into account, perhaps some of these would be relevant to your decision, and you will of course have factors you wish to add in of your own. Make sure you are clear on these factors before taking the next steps and remember - DON’T BE SEDUCED BY THE HEADLINE!