If you’re a new dentist considering opening your own practice, you can earn higher revenue operating two or more dental clinics than only a single office. However, it’s important to consider several financial and non-financial factors involved in taking this big step to ensure your chances of success. The best place to start is to research the population of the area where you want to expand as well as its potential for growth.
Depending on your dental specialty, you may also want to research the demographics of the area where you would like to expand your dental practice. For example, a family dentist would want to open a new location in a community with a lot of young children and families. An oral surgeon who specializes in dental implants and other higher-end dental work – like this dentist in Chandler, AZ – would want to investigate the median income of the community to make sure that most of its residents could afford the dental services.
Create a Business Plan to Outperform the Competition
Even if you have already established one dental practice and benefit from name recognition, that won’t necessarily follow you to a new location. You will likely need to treat your expansion like a new business and create a detailed marketing plan, especially as it pertains to the competition. It will be challenging for you to compete with an existing dental practice in the community unless you have researched how to price and market your dental services most effectively.
Consider Whether You Want to Divide Your Time or Hire New Staff for Other Practices
The whole purpose of expanding to multiple locations is to earn more money. That could be difficult if you decide to open each location for limited hours to give you the opportunity to be at both. However, you will need to hire or transfer trustworthy staff to your other locations if you plan to keep each one open a full range of hours.
Plan to Reduce Overhead to Maximize Profits
In 2015, the American Dental Association conducted a survey of dental practitioners to determine their typical overhead. At that time, the average was approximately 74 to 78 percent for one practice and 80 percent for two or more practices. That means you can expect a slight increase in overhead when you expand to multiple practices. However, expansion also means the opportunity to significantly increase your income if you’re careful to keep expenses as low as possible.
Benefits of Multiple Dental Practices for Patients
People are more mobile today than ever. They may visit the dentist in the community they work yet live 45 minutes from there. When your patients move, having more than one dental practice means they can continue to receive treatment from a name and staff that they already trust. That alone can provide an excellent marketing tactic for your dental practice.
Consider Meeting with a Tax Professional
Whether you ultimately decide to pursue expanding your dental practice to multiple locations or not, it’s a good idea to meet with a professional who can explain the advantages and disadvantages of various tax structures. With careful planning, he or she can help you retain as much of your profits as possible.