Many many years ago when I was relatively
new practice owner I was blessed in many ways let me tell you about two of
them.
Firstly, I found an incredible practice
manager, she was very organised, everything in the office was colour coded and
we had policies and protocols in place that would please CQC today even though
that was 25 years ago. My manager was on top of everything and so I was able to
focus on what I did best and enjoyed most, clinical dentistry. Owning a
practice was a joy, someone else was taking care of all the drudge, the money,
the HR, compliance etc for me.
That was until. . . .
I received a phone call from my accountant
informing me that multiple tens of thousands of pounds were missing from my
account. At that point my manager disappeared like a puff of smoke. As the days
went by the magnitude of the problem became evident, it was more than missing
money, debts had been run up, the bank accounts were empty, the team were
unhappy, and patients had deserted us. It was a mess, and I did not know what
to do, I was drowning in grief, confusion not to mention the debt, my constant
worry was how I was going to pay my team at the end of the month. I knew I was flailing around being busy,
trying to do something and achieving not very much. Well-meaning friends
offered me sound bites of ideas, opinions, chocolate and wine and whilst they
were concerned, they didn’t understand business let alone the business of
dentistry and so without sounding ungrateful they were not of much help. If
truth be told even in the crisis and panic I was not doing anything
differently. I needed a professional an expert who understood my situation who could
help me correct the mistakes and put me on a trajectory of success. I needed a
life line.
Buddha says, “When you are ready to learn
the teacher appeared” and like a fairy God-mother my first business coach
turned up on my doorstep with the life line I was in desperate need of.
My
technician had given them the heads up that I was struggling and that I needed
some professional help. “At last, someone
who will listen to me, understands and knows the answers.”.
In
that first meeting, my coach instilled me with the confidence, I could, with
their help, transform my situation, clear the debt, rebuild my team, patients
and have a very successful practice. They had the life-line I needed, and I
knew I had to grasp it is I was not going to drown. I knew there was going to be a cost, and I
had no idea how large it would be, even back then it was about £1000/month, for
a minimum of 12 months and more likely 36.
I had no chance of being able to find that sort of money each month, I
couldn’t cover the bills I already had and that were still coming in. And what about the time it would take, where
would I find that?
“I can’t afford it” I sobbed. My coach challenged
me, “Can you afford not to?”.
In that moment I knew I had a choice. A
professional coach was offering me a life-line which I could take, and survive,
albeit being short of money and time, or I could refuse it and take the cheap
sound-bite advice from well-wishers, for certain drown and taking with me my
team, adversely impacting their families.
“Fortune favours the bold” Virgil
I signed on the dotted line without knowing
how I would pay for the expert help. It was the best decision I could have
made. Within three years debts were cleared and the practice was on the success
trajectory as promised. Those three years were tough; ups, downs and unexpected
curved balls and we made it. I invested time and money and got way more back
than I invested, I fell in love with dentistry and practice ownership. It was
only though working with an expert, who had thorough understanding of the
business of dentistry and who encouraged me to have the boldness to make the
courageous decisions that I resolved the problems at deep holistic level rather
than using sticking plaster solutions, that I created a lasting success.
I now as a coach and trainer I am helping
dentists who are in a similar position that I was 25 years ago
Social media is filled with stories of
dentists in deep despair and fear due to many things including;
Financial uncertainty and increasing debt
Compliance
Over reliance on the NHS
Challenges with the team
Challenging patients
Defensive dentistry
Patient dissatisfaction and complaints
GDC
Stress and mental health issues
Failing physical health
Self-harm, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse
Facebook and other social media platforms
are now filled with an abundance of well-wishers who offer sound bite advice and
little substance.
I hope that if you are a dentist in need of
a life line, you seek out a professional who can offer you one, and if your
fairy Godmother appears and throws you one you grab it with both hands and do
what you have to do to make the changes you are desperate for.
Einstein tells us, “Insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
Now is the time for you to take a different
approach and with investments starting at only £300 month we have made it easily
affordable for you to make your future better than your past and present.
I wish you every success and however bleak
it seems at the moment, tomorrow the sun will rise, and it is a new day filled
with new opportunities
Call me or e mail me if you would like to,
because now is the right time to make your good practice great.
Jane
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