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There are a lot of misconceptions out there among dentists who are buying practices, about the moving parts in a dental premises lease. What is and isn’t negotiable? What is attractive to a landlord? What should and shouldn’t they ask for? Here are some answers to some FAQs:

If someone is approaching retirement, they need to make sure they have an identity outside of dentistry. I always saw dentistry as work, it never defined me. I am the father, husband, brother, motorbike rider first. So many people are ready to sell, but they don’t know what else there is in life, they are scared to find out what is on the other side of that transaction. In my experience, you don’t realise how much stress and pressure you have in your life until it is removed.

For those of you unfamiliar with dental practice financials, you may be forgiven for thinking that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. That they all follow a similar structure or template, and that the practice’s income and expenses will always be labelled somewhat consistently from practice to practice. The truth of it is that the structure and quality of dental practice financials can vary enormously.

PSS recently expanded its team by adding a new National Account Manager, Michael Brivulis. Before joining PSS, Michael worked in dental practice acquisitions and practice builds for two major Australian dental corporate aggregators; he also worked in the financial services sector for more than 15 years. 

I have found that since selling the business, I sleep better and get up earlier now because I want to, not because I have to. I am not dragging myself out of bed

When dentists decide to get into ownership, they spend many hours analysing possible practices to buy or sites to start up in. They fill spreadsheets with costings and projections, competition analysis, ideas and business plans before they act.

One of the first questions that a buyer will ask when a business is for sale is “Why are they selling?” 

Paul has been part of the PSS family for 3 years now. He is our man on the ground in New Zealand, and consistently gets fantastic feedback from his clients and buyers. What do people really know about the man behind the deals? 

There is an urban legend that if a frog is suddenly put into a pot of boiling water, it will jump out and save itself from impending death. But, if the frog is put into lukewarm water, with the temperature rising slowly, the frog will keep trying to adjust and acclimatise…until it’s too late. 

I was glad to finish up but emotionally, selling my father’s practice and letting go of the legacy he’d left behind was a difficult decision. My family had seen 5 generations of patients in the area.