SET A STRONG FOUNDATION TO THRIVE
As a dentist, the commitment to achieve and break through limitations runs through your veins. You don’t wait for errors to make improvements; you are always raising the bar of expectations.
However, you see things changing in the world around you, and the future seems uncertain… or is it?
BE FUTURE-FOCUSED
Of course, you never know what the future holds, but you can prepare accordingly and take control of what happens in your own life if you are willing to accept the responsibility. Unlike most, this means that you need to focus on long-term stability versus short-term gratification.
The key is setting a strong foundation for life and dental success.
You can be insulated from the economy, have peace of mind about the future, practice with confidence, and profit with predictability with the right foundation. It’s about preparing to make the most of the situation, capitalize on impending events, and position your practice for whatever comes next.
THE 3 DISTINCT FUNCTIONS NECESSARY TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE
To insulate yourself from what is going on in the world, there are three key things to focus on:
- STOP WORKING HARDER TO KEEP UP.
To do what you are doing now, but certainly better and never worse, it doesn’t require more of what you don’t want. You don’t have to start sacrificing and compromising. Stop making changes just because everyone else is or is telling you to do so.
- INCREASE EXPECTATIONS.
There is no reason to take a pay cut, lower prices, or reduce your expectations. This only cheapens yourself and what you offer, slashes quality, and follows a negative mindset.
Rather than shrink your practice to prepare for rough times ahead, think about actually continuing to grow your practice and life in whatever way you deem appropriate. This can lead to more positive results where you will always be able to attract, convert, and retain the value of patients you need to achieve your goals.
- MOVE FORWARD.
While you may feel like hunkering down and waiting to see what happens next, keep moving forward.
Don’t put your life, vacations, hobbies, or bucket list items on hold, and absolutely without any doubt, do not put your practice future on hold either.
It’s time to do the opposite of what everyone else around you is doing. When they slow down, you speed up. When they play passive, timid, and scared, you act! What happens when you do this?
You’ll see an acceleration of progress unlike anything you’ve ever experienced in your career, whether years or decades. You can capture more A patients, market share, high-quality team members, and especially more prosperity, more freedom, and more independence.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO NUMBERS
When you know the numbers behind your business, you can pick and choose your patients and only do what is most profitable and fun for you. Yes, I said “fun.” When was the last time you heard that in the news about running your practice?
By knowing your numbers and following a proactive and positive plan, you can be confident in your message, proud of your philosophy, and passionate about your dentistry.
You’ve worked very hard to get where you are today. At this point, are you really going to let external factors dictate what you do, how you live and pursue your dreams, and create your future? You did not come this far to just roll over!
The math facts in your numbers don’t lie; if you are profitable, you always earn more income in a couple of years of holding the asset and still have an even more valuable asset to sell at any point of your choosing.
DO THE OPPOSITE AND PRACTICE ON PURPOSE
Your fellow professionals will make excuses, go into massive reduction mode and basically give up, succumbing to the pressures around them. Instead, do the opposite, and take the positive route as this may be the greatest time in your life. When others hide their heads in the sand waiting for the storm to pass, you will be able to spring into action, serve and rescue those left behind!
By insulating yourself from the uncertainties of tomorrow, you actually create your own economy where you have full control. You turn the negative forces into positive counters for good that set you up for the ultimate victory and the ability to earn what you deserve, multiply your wealth, do meaningful work, and still practice on your own terms.
To do this, stop seeing yourself as just a “dentist,” and start viewing yourself as a business owner. By realizing that your main focus is on your business, you can buffer, protect, and position yourself to be immune and prosper regardless of industry trends, economic fluctuations, the political climate, or even global uncertainties.
It’s when you “practice on purpose,” and consider yourself a professional owner of a business… and not just an amateur hobbyist with a job that you succeed.
As a private practice owner, you have the power and unique ability to create a lifestyle practice that is set up to make your ideal life possible whenever you want. This is a remarkable opportunity if you are willing to take responsibility, become a real business owner, and embrace true independence in private practice dentistry.
This is exciting… especially when you think about the alternative; if you don’t deliberately and proactively make decisions about your practice and life, the forces at play will. By not acting now, you risk devastation to your profitability, lifestyle, wealth, and peace of mind.
You have at this moment in time an unprecedented opportunity to build a stronger foundation than ever before, put up a fortress of wealth unlike you ever imagined (or thought you would need), push the limits on your beliefs, and engineer your practice to profit more than you have thought possible.
So, what’s it going to be? Are you going to change your mindset to be a professional business owner and build a solid foundation based on actual numbers to thrive through the storm? Or will you let others decide for you and have to deal with uncertainty about the future for you and your family?
The choice is yours.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Recognized by thousands of dentists across North America, Scott Manning is an accomplished author (“The Dental Practice Shift” is the #1 most requested book in dentistry) and highly sought-after public speaker. For almost two decades, he has dedicated his life to inspiring and motivating dentists worldwide to create wealth and lifestyle-based practices. Today, when he is not sharing his positive messages worldwide, he loves to travel and spend time with his beloved wife Kristen and daughter Saylor.
To learn more, click here to visit Dental Success Today.
