First Time Dentist

09/03/2023

3 Myths About Inflation and It's Impact to Financial Freedom

👉 #1 - It's 'unprecedented'
Nope, not by a long shot.

👉 #2 - Inflation pressure is 'easing'
Inflation is a rate of growth, just because it's moving slower doesn't mean the pain has stopped.

👉 #3 - It will stop you from achieving financial freedom
Only if you're not allocating your portfolio properly.

Check out my blog post on First Time Dentist dot Com (link in comments), for the full article.

08/03/2023

Dental practices are cheap! Are you taking advantage of the opportunity to invest?

Relatively speaking, dental practices are much less expensive than almost any other investment you can make.

Obviously, the value of a practice depends on many things (location, systems, employees, patients, demographics, types of treatments, remaining treatments, etc., etc.). However, one of the biggest drivers is how much the practice is earning or would expect to earn under new ownership.

Why?

Practices are investments. You pay money (usually borrowed) to 'buy' a revenue stream. Granted, these are not passive investments and require not only hands-on clinical production from the dentists but also oversight and management.

Let's look at a quick example. Let's say a practice is producing a round $1mm / year.
Using an earnings multiple range of 0.65 - 0.80 (certainly not every situation) you could value the practice between $650k - $800k.

In the example above, you would be paying $0.65 - $0.85 / $1.00 of earnings. Meaning you're actually buying MORE earnings with each dollar than what you're putting into the transactions.

How does the earnings multiple compare to other investments?

💲 Dental Practices could be in the range of 0.65x - 0.80x earnings, meaning you're paying 1-2% of the value of the home)...this translates to paying $4.00 - $8.00 per dollar of earnings.

💲 The Stock Market (S&P 500) has seen a PE ratio (another term for earnings multiple) between 15x and 45x since the year 2000 (ex - COVID) meaning you're paying $15.00 - $45.00 for each dollar of earnings that a company is creating.

Now, is there more work compared to a rental property or investing in the stock market? Yes, tons in fact! However, generally speaking, dental practices are the most efficient investment that you will likely ever make.

Is it any wonder why DSOs are coming full force into the industry? They too cannot find a better return on their investments.

So why not consider being the owner of this great investment vs. a contributor to someone else's returns?

07/03/2023

Discipline = Freedom

Discipline is not a matter of getting something done by the due date. It's not 'willing' yourself through an all-nighter. Discipline is creating the systems and processes that create freedom.

Creating structure in your professional life is important because it affords you more time to work on your business, instead of in your business. It can literally create time for you to reinvest into creative solutions which only propel the cycle further

More Discipline = More freedom = More Solutions = Even More Freedom

What can you do, today, to create systems and habits that will power your future productivity? What will you do with the additional time that you create?

05/03/2023

What does a typical day in the life of a dentist look like for you?

1. Wake-up (begrudgingly?)
2. Make the bed (not this guy!)
3. Make breakfast
4. Get kids ready
5. Run out the door
6. Arrive at work
7. Find a team member can't make it to work or your first patient cancelled
8. Manage through your day
9. Drive home tired
10. Dinner, homework, kids' activities

Does your routine look anything like the above? What time are you devoting to working 'on' your business instead of 'in' your business? In fact, what are you even working for or towards? Are your values aligned with your productivity?

Take some time to understand what it is that you want out of life - don't let the day-to-day schedule take control over your life.

03/03/2023

'All Leaders are Readers'...one of my favorite quotes of all time. This quote comes from Howard Farran's book called 'Uncomplicate Business'. I'm working on putting together a short list of 'must-read' books to get you started in your dental career and this is definitely my top pick.

Why?

Because he covers so much more than just the numbers and math behind practice ownership. He covers the personal and emotional toll that small businesses can take on you and your family. He covers the importance of connecting with people, whether patients or employees, on a personal level. And, of course, he covers the two most scarce resources - time and money.

Happy reading!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks in advance for your support. Howard Farran. Like him or not, he’s a Dental Industry giant. Howard started DentalTown.com and has created a dental media and content empire via his podcast, Dental Town Forums (the Reddit dental equivalent), and free m...

01/03/2023

"What got you here, won't get you there." Not only is this the title of a book that I'm looking forward to reading by renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith. It's also an idea that's been on my mind a lot lately...

I like to think that I've been generally successful in my own life. Sure career and professional advancements are important. But more importantly (most importantly?) - I feel like I've done it my way. {Cue Sinatra}

What I mean by doing it 'my way' is that I built the life that my wife and I wanted. I built it (roughly) at the speed I wanted. And we certainly built it within the value constructs that are most important to us.

Too often our values are determined by our neighbors (those damn Jones'). We then let insurance dictate how we work (high volume, low margin) to keep the treadmill running. And we remain perpetually in debt to afford a lifestyle we'll never capture and certainly will never get to enjoy.

What can you do, today, to deconstruct your value system and understand how it supports your long-term growth goals. How can you better understand what is holding you back from achieving success?

I think one of my biggest challenges to growth is doing just 'this' (posting, putting myself out there, etc.). I'm an introvert and social media is a wonderful place to quietly lurk in the background, yet 'feel' like your part of the crowd.

While I'd love to remain against the back wall at the party (a spot that I've happily occupied in the past) I recognize that my long-term goals are to achieve more. More through impact and more through leadership. These simply cannot be captured through passivity and a laissez faire attitude.

To foster a growth mindset, you must challenge yourself in new ways. This (social media) will be my first foray into this new world. Just like this picture of early blooming daffodils in my front yard demonstrates, sometimes things don't quite work out on your timeline (I mean it's freakin' February in Ohio). Yet, life - your life - persists.

I'll be looking to invigorative learning and growth into myself personally and First Time Dentist in the coming year.

What can you do to challenge your values, grow in ways you didn't think possible, and achieve your long-term goals?


..And yes, that is a blue porta potty in the background, just focus on the flowers, would ya? 😀

28/02/2023

Buying a practice requires planning and organization. One tool I recently discovered (and love) is called Trello. Trello is a great way of organizing your list of to-dos to ensure you know what is important and what can wait.

Trello works by allowing you to create categories with sub-items for each category.

For example, with Trello, you can...
1. Create categories for Legal, Accounting, Insurance, credentialing, etc.
2. Then create sub-tasks like read closing documents, call lawyer back, and ask a question about XYZ topic.
3. You can color code high-priority items
4. Lastly you can set respective dates allowing you to better plan for closing

Closing on a practice requires some project management skills which, with the right tools, can make it much easier. What tools do you already use or can you start learning to help you along your journey?

26/02/2023

5 things to understand when buying a practice and family is involved:

1. Every Business is a family business
2. Financials Get Complex
3. Operations Need Consideration
4. Culture is Key
5. Previous Owner - Will you stay or will you go now?

Family is involved in every business, like it or not. Why? Because small business owners typically work more hours than their 9-5 counterparts.

18/12/2022

http://firsttimedentist.com/the-cost-of-doing-business/

21/03/2019

What an amazing book about a phenomenal person. But how can Theodore Roosevelt help you be successful in Buying a Dental Practice?

Click the link to see the three lessons I found in this book!



http://www.firsttimedentist.com/theodore-roosevelt/

01/03/2019

Great exercise (lifestyle dreaming/costing) to know what income you need to live. Every second you spend working for more than that amount is out if desire, not necessity.

IT’S LESS THAN YOU THINK Somewhere between college graduation and your second job, a chorus enters your internal dialogue: be realistic and stop pretending. Life isn’t like the movies. If you’re fi…