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It’s no surprise that buying a dental practice is a pretty big task which can also be exciting and overwhelming. Many dentists prefer to look for a buyer to put up their established dental practice for sale Maryland with their existing patients. However, there is no guarantee that having plenty of patients equivalents to success.
Apart from patients, there are various other things to review and consider before getting yourself involved in a new place completely. This includes calculating and analyzing how much income to expect and how much income will be generated. Besides, it is good to look out for potential growth. Having said that, it is also important to look out for any decline so that you may be prepared.
Furthermore, buying a dental practice is a lot of complicated work. On one hand, you will need to evaluate and consider the possibilities for growth in a professional manner. However, on the other hand, you will have to navigate and make proper business-related decisions that include complex business transactions.
Regardless of how you will want to pursue your practice in a professional way along with thinking about the factors that will help you to make an investment that is financially-sound. To help our readers with their business-related queries, we have broken down the business side of the decisions below.
In this article, we have mentioned a few steps that you must consider before buying an established dental practice.
Look Out For Help Professionally
After you have made up your mind to get the dental practice, you will need to set up a location where you would like to start practicing. Having said that, looking out for help and resources early is a way to go. Make sure to reach out to companies that offer dental supplies. In addition, also reach out to dental brokers, healthcare-focused accountants, and business banking specialists.
Anyhow, it is possible that someone from them might know a dentist who is reaching his age of retirement and hence, is looking for someone to buy their dental practice. They might also know of some associates who can help you further with having various choices in buying a dental practice of your preference and standard.
Furthermore, keep in mind that when you start discussing your plans and ideas with a practice owner, confidentiality is a must. This is necessary in order to protect both parties. You can expect or suggest to sign a non-disclosure agreement for security purposes because of financial and personal information. This way you can also avoid raising patient and staff concerns.
Moreover, it is also favorable for you to let a buying agent or dental broker represent you.
Set Up A Budget
Develop a budget, this one might sound like an unreasonable step as it is hugely common, but this is definitely the most important one of all. Preparing and setting up a budget is extremely necessary as it helps in determining personal living expenses along with knowing how much you can expect to earn from your practice.
Apart from having a fixed salary amount, you will need to estimate a net income from your practice to cover other expenses and bills such as loan payments, etc. Having said that, all of this will help you in making a more calculated decision as you will be able to determine what size of practice to look for according to your budget and requirements.
Moreover, there are some additional factors that might need your attention depending on your budget and the situation you are in. You can ask the original dentist of the established dental practice to stay at work. This way you will get an additional helping hand in the dental practice and will be able to retain patients.
And of course, you will need to compensate the dentist by preparing a budget for their salary as well. For this reason, a business banking specialist can assist you.
Retain And Value The Existing Staff
When you buy an established dental practice, you also acquire their support staff which includes the hygienists, billing staff, lab technician, etc. They are the professionals that not only help with providing ease in the organization but also help in maintaining and understanding the systematic process of the business and how it operates regularly.
If you need help with getting dental professionals to work in your practice agencies such as Kwikly can assist with getting the cover you require. It is for your own benefit to retain the staff and value them as the institutional knowledge and experience they share can be invaluable to the long-term success of your practice.
You Should Identify The Place Yourself
As with every other place, each dental practice, from its staff and patient flow, has a different set up of operational tasks. For this reason, if you are seriously considering any practice to buy, you must get a first-hand look at it yourself. Make sure that you pay a visit to that place in person and see how things are managed there.
For better information, you must also find out how many patients have been visiting the office for the past 12 to 18 months. This will let you know whether the standard is maintained and the practice is appropriately staffed or not. Just like cash flow, patient flow also provides an insight into whether the practice is developing and growing or not.
However, a stable or decreasing patient flow is not considered a deal-breaker in terms of growth and opportunities of a dental practice.
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Negotiate Price
When you purchase a practice, your financial offer must be discussed in detail before any agreement. Along with final agreement on price, there are other factors that need consideration such as property, equipment, transition details, staff, and more. However, the best thing to do while discussing your deal is to start with the financial offer and its negotiation.
Moreover, it is advisable to make an offer to purchase the practice through a third-party professional. With that in mind, the seller and buyer can easily negotiate the price and other details on their own terms later.
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