Think positive thoughts and put them into action

Ray Cox, Managing Director of Medifinance, reviews the real opportunities and the advice and help available for dentists looking to start up their own practice

Ray Cox, MD Medifinance

 No matter how much you love your job, it's difficult not to feel somewhat jaded from time to time. I know that I get a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction from what I do, but occasionally a feeling of 'been there and done that' can be hard to resist. And having worked with the profession for decades, I am only too aware of the stresses it can impose on dentists.

Allied with the seemingly endless media negativity and failures of politicians of all hues to grasp the realities of delivering dentistry, one can be forgiven for perhaps allowing a degree of cynicism to creep in. Yet despite the pressures, I find the profession overall in remarkably good shape and a meeting I had a week or so back at an event I attended, underlined its sheer enthusiasm and positivity and that fills me with a good deal of optimism.
One dentist at this event (I'll call him 'B') was little short of inspirational. What struck me as we listened to his story, was that his success was achieved not through any privilege or exceptional piece of good fortune, but through hard work, a clear sense of purpose, and crucially the determination to overcome and learn from setbacks. In short what he was saying (and with genuine modesty) was that what he had and was achieving is within the grasp of any young dentist prepared to make a positive commitment, plan carefully and accept that setbacks are never to be considered failure.

Translating positive thoughts into positive action.

If you go online there are vast amounts of advice on the values of positive thinking and sharing that positive thinking with others. It's well worth reading. As is attending motivational courses by many of the highly qualified and experienced dental business gurus. But the point that B emphasised was that you need to have a clear and realistic business plan in place from an early stage or positive thinking will remain just that.

Later in the day I asked B to talk a little more about the steps he took to put in place a plan that would make his dream a reality. What I found both reassuring and impressive was that his suggestions were not some combination of 'marketing speak' and techno jargon but rather a set of sensible disciplines that are simple to understand and implement.

I found myself nodding along. I hope you will too. 

  1. Talk with colleagues who have and/or are achieving success. Most are happy to share what they did to get it right and advise you of ways you may be able to avoid the pitfalls that are an inevitable issue for any and every business2. Be honest with yourself about your strengths; but equally be honest about your weaknesses and how you intend to overcome them
  2. Set clear business objectives and targets for yourself and ally them to the lifestyle that you want. This is crucial. We don't all measure success in the same way. At the same time write down and agree with your teams (see 6 below) your criteria for measuring success
  3. Don't think short term or be dictated to by immediate economic factors such as interest rates. 'Experts' are consistently inconsistent with their forecasting and frequently wrong!!
  4. Recognise from the start that whilst you may have a plan in place, many factors over the course of time will occur that will need you to review and adjust. Be nimble and flexible enough to deal with the unexpected and turn those problems into opportunities
  5. Define the sort of people you want to work with and for. This means your day-to-day work colleagues, your patients and your advisory team
  6. Recognise the importance of everyone's physical and mental well-being and consider what steps you can take to maintain both. This is not simply a nod towards 'being seen to do the right thing' but a genuine part of building loyalty and teamwork 

B and I agreed that we will be working together to assist and advise dentists who are looking to start up their own practice. This advice will cover business planning and strategy, budgeting and sourcing funding. Do please contact me, with no commitment on your part, on 07785 757782 if this is of interest to you and /or you have any immediate or longer term funding requirements.

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