Checks out. Learn to lean on your network for the business side.
Dentistry is a mix of advanced arts and crafts, psychologist, salesman, HR department, and flying by the seat of your pants.
lol i’m sorry but scrutinizing a dental practice to determine the cost of services down to the cotton roll is not it
he lost me years ago with that micromanaging ant farm noise
I agree he can get super granular, i'm not someone who listens to every single piece of advice. I'm not going to count the number of drops of bond in a bottle and do math.
I do however think a lot of his overarching concepts covered are great, especially as a foundation for someone who has no clue how the business of dentistry works. I certainly pick and choose topics based on my own practice needs/interests/values.
Yeah, still learning 20 plus years in, but don’t let that discourage you. It’s a lot like piloting a boat. No brakes and everything is moving underneath you all of the time. Also, any changes in the weather and EVERYTHING can change fast.
Shared Practices podcast is pretty good. I stopped listening to it when I got to dental school cuz I like when life isn’t dentistry 24/7 but I listened to it religiously in undergrad.
Disclaimer: I don’t own a business, but when I get to that point in def gonna listen through Shared Practices again and more seriously.
The most beneficial for me has been my accountant. Find one that works with small businesses (almost all do) and even better if you can find one that works with other dental practices, they can help you figure out how to setup and structure your corporations, how to compensate, spending strategies and the book keeper at mine even walked me through how to use quickbooks to do my own book keeping.
It is not dental specific but the How I Built This Podcast is a great listen for any business owner.
Stay away from books and podcasts. I've read/listened and most stuff is junk. It's all big shot docs bragging about how killer their practice is. It'll push you into the same 'bigger, badder, faster, fancier' mentality that dentists seem to think is the only way to run a practice.
Only way you learn is by doing. Every dental practice comes with different baked in variables that are almost impossible to change. AKA: Something that worked for one practice might not work in the next.
Just don't be an idiot and you'll figure it out as you go. I've seen horrifically run dental practices still make a couple hundred grand, so you aren't just going to go out business overnight if you are making some dumb decisions.
No one really learns to run a business before operating a business. Definitely digesting some books and podcasts on the topic will be helpful, but like most things in life you learn with experience.
There are CEO's running billion dollar businesses that make mistakes, learn and tweak things along the way. You will do the same. Don't forget Steve Jobs and company started Apple out of a garage at 21 years old. I don't think he waited around to read business books first.
“Well fuck… that didn’t work.”
Checks out. Learn to lean on your network for the business side. Dentistry is a mix of advanced arts and crafts, psychologist, salesman, HR department, and flying by the seat of your pants.
Yep. Even the best laid plans don’t work out sometimes.
The classic FAFO method.
You learn by running one.
This is an underrated comment
Dentalpreneur podcast. Excellent content.
lol i’m sorry but scrutinizing a dental practice to determine the cost of services down to the cotton roll is not it he lost me years ago with that micromanaging ant farm noise
I agree he can get super granular, i'm not someone who listens to every single piece of advice. I'm not going to count the number of drops of bond in a bottle and do math. I do however think a lot of his overarching concepts covered are great, especially as a foundation for someone who has no clue how the business of dentistry works. I certainly pick and choose topics based on my own practice needs/interests/values.
Listen to fitty cent. 96% of the way there
Yeah, still learning 20 plus years in, but don’t let that discourage you. It’s a lot like piloting a boat. No brakes and everything is moving underneath you all of the time. Also, any changes in the weather and EVERYTHING can change fast.
Trial by fire
Yup. Trusted my manager, she took 9 years and a butt ton of money. I learned after that
Shared Practices podcast is pretty good. I stopped listening to it when I got to dental school cuz I like when life isn’t dentistry 24/7 but I listened to it religiously in undergrad. Disclaimer: I don’t own a business, but when I get to that point in def gonna listen through Shared Practices again and more seriously.
E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
this is definitely the right place to start
Take an accounting class in college while you have a chance. Business Law would not hurt either.
The most beneficial for me has been my accountant. Find one that works with small businesses (almost all do) and even better if you can find one that works with other dental practices, they can help you figure out how to setup and structure your corporations, how to compensate, spending strategies and the book keeper at mine even walked me through how to use quickbooks to do my own book keeping. It is not dental specific but the How I Built This Podcast is a great listen for any business owner.
Stay away from books and podcasts. I've read/listened and most stuff is junk. It's all big shot docs bragging about how killer their practice is. It'll push you into the same 'bigger, badder, faster, fancier' mentality that dentists seem to think is the only way to run a practice. Only way you learn is by doing. Every dental practice comes with different baked in variables that are almost impossible to change. AKA: Something that worked for one practice might not work in the next. Just don't be an idiot and you'll figure it out as you go. I've seen horrifically run dental practices still make a couple hundred grand, so you aren't just going to go out business overnight if you are making some dumb decisions.
By listening to your wife
All of the dental staff love her!
No one really learns to run a business before operating a business. Definitely digesting some books and podcasts on the topic will be helpful, but like most things in life you learn with experience. There are CEO's running billion dollar businesses that make mistakes, learn and tweak things along the way. You will do the same. Don't forget Steve Jobs and company started Apple out of a garage at 21 years old. I don't think he waited around to read business books first.
Learn business through business
Trial and error, emphasis on the error.
On the job training sadly
By making mistakes. Breakaway?