This article originally appeared on Mouthing Off on Nov. 21, 2016.
After working as an associate for a couple of years, you’ll start thinking seriously about whether to become an independent practice owner or remain an employee for your career. This is a personal decision and there really isn’t a right or wrong answer, unless you make the decision based on bad information. I’ve heard dental students and recent grads share a few misconceptions over the years about what it’s like for those who choose to become business owners. I’d like to set the record straight here. Here are the three biggest myths about owning a practice.
1. You won’t have a social life. Do you know what the work/life balance is for a business owner? Whatever the heck you want it to be! There is this crazy idea that an owner drowns in paperwork and has to give up their family time to keep the business open. Absolutely not true. I look at a couple of reports on a daily, monthly, quarterly and annual basis. I pay some bills every month. I take some time to strategize and implement new systems. None of this is done at the expense of my personal life. I have never had to miss a fun event because I was busy managing the practice. I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission if I want to take off or leave early. Being a business owner is the ultimate freedom as a dentist.
2. You can’t get a practice loan because of your student debt. There are two types of debt: good debt and bad debt. Your student loans are good debt because you wouldn’t be able to practice dentistry without them. Sure, they might be a very large and scary number, but they won’t prevent you from getting a loan to purchase or start a practice. There are dental-specific lenders that understand the average default rate on a dental practice loan is less than 1%. You are low risk for a bank and they will be happy to fund your dream practice following certain parameters. One of those parameters is that you should avoid bad debt. Bad debt would be a $700 per month payment for a fancy car, massive credit card bills and other unnecessary expenses. Enjoy your first paychecks as a dentist but don’t dig yourself further into debt.
3. The business world is too complicated. Balance sheets, cost/benefit analysis, PPO adjustments… there are a lot of concepts that are foreign to those of us who majored in biology. But don’t be intimidated entering the business world for the first time; you are not alone! There are countless resources available that will help you start speaking the language of business. And whenever you’re not interested in building your expertise on a particular subject there is a professional available for hire. Accountants, attorneys and consultants are ready and willing to join your team and help your business thrive.
Sure, being an owner isn’t for everyone. I did the normal routine of working as an associate for a few years and I thought I’d never be ready to take the reins of my own practice. But that feeling is normal. Eventually the entrepreneurial spirit will be sparked inside most of you; others will choose to continue to work for someone else. Whichever group you choose to belong to, the owners or the employees, please make that decision based on facts, not myths.
~ Dr. Chris Salierno, Stony Brook ’05, general dentist in Long Island, New York
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