Category 1: Survivalists
Category 1 dentists either have a young practice and are still building their schedule or they’ve been around a while but have schedules that are unpredictable. They feel overwhelmed. They are constantly shuffling invoices trying to decide who to pay now and who they can stall because they just don’t have enough money at the end of the month. Their debt is high. Their marketing dollars never seem to bring in anything. They are good dentists, but the business side of dentistry is eating their lunch.

Category 2: Income Producers
Category 2 dentists have built a solid practice with a full schedule most months. They are established and do good work. They can look at their schedule and know that if they can get to the practice and into the dental chair to do the work, they will make a great living that month. But every time they go on vacation or are out of the practice, they can’t help but calculate how much money they are losing because no one is producing. Their practice revenue shuts down when they are not there. They’ve built a nice job, but they haven’t built a business that is an income producing asset. They are stuck in the chair. Because they are the most valuable asset in the business, they can’t sell it for much, certainly not enough to fund their lifestyle without it. They also are struggling to save and grow their investments outside of the practice enough to replace their lifestyle if they stopped practicing. Many of these dentists tell me their plan is to just keep practicing until they can’t practice anymore.

Category 3: Dental Asset Owners
Category 3 dentists have reached a place where doing dentistry themselves has become optional. They have a practice with a predictable schedule that feeds multiple associate dentists who are well paid and happy working for them. Instead of just building an Income, they’ve built an Asset. Patients are loyal to their practice, not to any one doctor. If they choose to sell, their practice is worth 5x to 8x more than the Category 2 dentists because the buyer is buying a system that will continue to produce without them…an autonomous cash machine. They can also keep the practice and let its profits fund their retirement.

Which category are you in? Which category to you want to be in?