“I’m already drowning in student debt! I can’t buy a practice because I can’t possibly take on any more debt.” This is the absolute most common objection I get from dentists who don’t feel ready to buy a practice. And as someone who also went to grad school, I can tell you: I GET IT.
Student loans are a giant mountain to climb as you’re coming out of school, and looking at those payments, that summit can feel way out of reach.
So you take an associate job, which is the normal next step for many dentists. And you’re right to do so! Associateships are good! For a while.
The average associate I see makes about $200K a year.
That’s enough to make those student loan payments, afford a decent home, and generally live something like the comfortable lifestyle you imagined when you took your first O.Chem class.
And the whole time, you’re making minimum payments on that debt, slowly—ever so slowly—climbing that mountain. Finally, well into your forties, you pay off the debt. Congratulations!
But you could have done it a LOT sooner.
Think about your boss, the one who owns the practice you work in. The average practice owner takes home about $340K a year. That’s quite a difference from your $200K.
With an extra $140K every year, you can live that comfortable lifestyle while paying off your debt in a matter of a few years, rather than possibly a couple decades. And once the debt is paid off, you can start building real wealth, real financial independence.
Now, that number is an average, which means not every practice owner is making quite that much. But on the other hand, it also means that plenty of dentists make even more. Sometimes much, much more.
It all depends on you finding the right practice to buy. I won’t belabor the point, because I’ve done so elsewhere. The point is this: a big part of why I enjoy what I do is that I know how crushing debt can feel, and I love helping people conquer that debt. I can help you find, analyze, and buy a great practice that will put you on track to live your dreams sooner rather than later. When you feel ready (maybe even before that) give me a call and we’ll climb that mountain together.
