How to have a successful dental practice… This can be scary and intimidating for most graduates right out of college.  Starting your own practice will come with costly mistakes you will most certainly want to avoid.  In order to avoid these costly mistakes, you must first research, plan, and prepare yourself for success.

First prepare yourself

What will it take to successfully run your own business and be your own boss?  Meet with as many current practice owners as possible.  Try and get both good and bad information.  Talk with practice owners who have been successful and those who have failed.  Collect as much information as you can to prepare yourself for what lies ahead.  Be prepared to meet many people when opening your own dental practice.  Meeting these people will help you build a network of advisors that can be trusted.

Financing

Just like purchasing your own home, there will be plenty of banks out there willing to loan you money.  Pay attention to interests rates, you want to avoid high interest rates if at all possible and lock in at a fixed rate.  Stick to a 10-15 year loan, and remember you can always pay more towards your loan if your business is doing well.

Create a successful business plan

Familiarize yourself with the dental business.  This is where your network of trusted advisors will come in.  Your network can and will help you save time and money.  Get yourself involved in dental seminars and magazines that will have very important information about the dental industry.  Always keep up on your research even if you have already created a successful dental practice.

Budget

Staying within your budget when first opening your own dental practice can be very difficult.  Apply for a little more on your loan to cover equipment expense.  Once your practice is set up for success, hire someone that can take care of your budget/expenses for you.  Seeing patients full time and budgeting your expenses is not a good mix.

Set goals for yourself when opening your own dental practice, stay focused, and have patience.  This is not something that will happen overnight, so be prepared to spend a lot of time, money, and energy.  As long as you are prepared, have your financing in order, design a successful business plan, and budget you will succeed in opening your own dental practice.