What’s your excuse for not buying a dental practice yet? Many dentists are waiting longer and longer to buy a dental practice. They have noble, sensible-sounding excuses.
You shouldn’t be one of them.
These distracted dentists remind me of my 10-year old daughter who I asked to clean up her room. She, naturally, didn’t want to do it. Suddenly everything else in her life became a priority. The hair ties in the bathroom needed sorting. She needed to organize the stuffed animals in the playroom she hadn’t touched in years. Her homework folder suddenly became a top priority.
Over an hour later I checked in with her to ask if her room was clean. She didn’t even answer the question.
“I sorted my hair ties, organized the stuffed animals and worked on my homework folder, and…”
“But did you clean your room?” I asked.
“Well, no…but I did all these other good things.”
If you don’t want to do something difficult, it’s amazing how quickly everything else becomes important. It’s as if you’ve put on distraction glasses. Tasks you never even noticed suddenly pop up and call out to you. Maybe you should touch base with your friend from undergrad you haven’t talked to in a while. Maybe you should research that course on implants that isn’t for 9 months. When was the last time you read a good book?
When you set a big, hard goal and try to focus on it, a thousand other things will compete for your attention.
I call these “Sensible Hiding Places.”
Sensible hiding places are safe places and goals you go to hide from your fear of confronting a difficult task. It’s the task that lets you feel successful even as you avoid your bigger goal.
Read any online dental forum or facebook group and you’d think the universe was conspiring against dentists to actively hold them back from the most lucrative and personally rewarding decision a dentist can make – owning a practice they control and run. I don’t blame the D2 or D3 reading these forum posts from getting spooked:
“Look how much more student loans are now versus 15 years ago!”
“DSOs are taking over the world!”
“CVS just partnered with BigDentalCo in one location in Florida. We’re all doomed!”
So younger dentists shift their attention to other worthy goals, putting off the decision to buy a dental practice.
Some dentists tell themselves they’ll tackle buying a dental practice after they “get a handle on my student loans.” After all, paying off debt is good. Right?
Other dentists become CE ninjas taking on every implant, sedation, CEREC and case acceptance course they can find. After all, mastering your craft is a good thing. Right?
A few dentists decide that 10 years of college-level school was enough and are going to enjoy life a bit. After all, why make all this money if you’re not going to enjoy it. Right?
Sensible hiding places look productive, but they’re deceptive. Sensible hiding places look like the North Shore of Oahu, but are actually quicksand. Sensible hiding places make you feel like you’re doing well when in reality you’re just postponing the bigger, more important goal of practice ownership.
My advice: just do it. Figure out the next physical action step you need to take to buy a dental practice. Write it down. Then do it. Send this article to a friend in the same boat and ask them what their next physical action step is. Or, better yet – email ME your answer.
If you haven’t bought a practice yet, what’s holding you back? Let me know!
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Know someone considering buying a practice? Have them reach out directly to me via email, Brian@DentalBuyerAdvocates.com to help them through the process.
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Read more below about how to buy a dental practice because good advice is important!
How to Buy a Dental Practice AND a House at the Same Time
Do I Really Need an Attorney When Buying a Dental Practice?
Improve Your Case Acceptance Rate – Dry Clean Your Shirts
