Is it fair to say that far too many Doctors fall victim to the self-employed cycle of a job and living out their weekly schedule in their practice as through it was just a routine they have to repeat again and again while looking forward most to their next vacation and days out of the office?
I say yes it is fair and that small subtle little paragraph actually describes more Doctors than are willing to admit it.
There is nothing wrong with a routine, I advocate for one.
There is nothing wrong with as many vacations as you want, I encourage them.
There is nothing wrong with looking forward to days out of the office, I hope so.
That said, the challenge becomes with so much of a Doctor’s (perhaps yours), time is invested in the ‘doing of the thing’ – the dentistry – where you show up as the Doctor, go home only to come back and start again…
…and very little if any time is invested on the actual business itself. Therefore, a business owner demotes and downgrades themselves to just a doer; albeit a doer of a specialized and highly skilled craft. It misses the point of ownership being about control and creation; about reward and return; about being the one captaining the ship and charting a course versus just the being the ship succumbing to the waves and the wind.
That is the difference of being an owner and not just a doer. So, are you an owner who does or a doer who owns?
Here is the good news…
It doesn’t matter how many years or decades you have been in dentistry, in practice, in ownership or not – you can immediately flip the switch to being in control if you so choose by reevaluating where you focus, how you invest your time, and what you ‘do’ beyond just the dentistry.
Refer to whatever cliché you want.
Sharpening the axe is worth a lot if you are going to be chopping anything down. But, it also matters which trees you pick, your strength, your endurance, the direction you cut and a multitude of other factors.
You can’t stop at just perfecting your craft of dentistry. Instead you have to step back and take a look at the actual environment you’re operating in: the business.
Let me ask you something. How much time (let alone actual deliberate energy) is put towards working on your business to make it better and to give you leverage in order to increase its worth to you – versus doing the dentistry?
Not charts.
Not labs.
Not treatment plans.
Not researching technology.
Not doing CE.
How much of what you do inside of your weekly routine is about ‘the business’ not about ‘the dentistry?’
It’s another fair question, isn’t it?
My point today is bringing to life what I preach all the time about working smarter and not just working harder. You can’t do more of the same all the time and think you are going to get where you want to go. You aren’t going to all of the sudden have breakthroughs because you ran faster, you did more, you stayed longer, you stressed about it, thought about it, worried about more than you used to. In fact, more likely the opposite will happen.
It is nothing new, me saying work on it versus in it. But how and why?
That is going to be our deep dive over the next several weeks.
In the meantime, I want to tell you about my very first and brand new Advanced Training I’m doing exclusively for Weekly Report Doctors.
It is completely dedicated to one core theme – being built to sell, but not having to.
It is about beginning with the end in mind. Whether that end you hope for is a few years away or it is an elusive idea that you hope never comes, you have to have clarity over your practice objectives. If you don’t have a vision for the future then the future will have a vision for you.
Read that again if you need to let it sink in… or, if you prefer, you can let reality be the punch in the gut.
That’s what a groundhog day like weekly routine of you being doctor in your own practice having nothing more than a job. Where the only driving you do is to and from the office instead of driving your practice forward into the future, to your goals, and realizing your potential and so much more.
If you want to be an Owner who drives where you want to go, how you want to get there, and on your terms using your practice as the business and lifestyle asset you intended for it to be – then this training is for you.
You will learn how to exit on demand while building your practice more profitability than you thought possible. And along the way arriving at your ‘financial independence’ number (what we call the “work because you want to not because you have to” place in life) in an accelerated way which means that you then can position yourself to sell or not to sell your practice under your own control and preferences.
That is a liberating place to be in – especially considering the opposite fate that so many doctors find themselves suffering through at the end of their career whether planned or forced, whether abrupt or slow.
Next week, you’ll want to be ready to grab your seat for this unique online training experience filled with many great Doctor stories, examples of some of our most recent exits and sales, some incredible triumphs, and even the misfortunate steps you can easily avoid if you heed my advice of beginning with the end in mind by proactively planning for your future.
It will certainly be comprehensive and intriguing. You’ll be surprised at what I reveal as the actual 5 Pillars of a Built to Sell Practice and why these are the ones that matter above all else (including where you live, what age you are, how much money you have already saved, and most of all what your practice is worth today).
Regardless of any of those variables, I will give you insights from the trenches that will help guide you to better, more profitable decisions about your practice and your future by being more than just a doer and growing into the owner you desire to be!
How do you know what “working on the business” really means and where to put your resources to get the greatest return possible that will help your practice reach the potential you know it has and that you and your team deserve?
You will find out. The true principles of what it takes to build your practice to sell, even if you never want to, and developing a strong foundation for your future without having to sacrifice everything in the present.
There will be strict limited access because of the personal nature of what we are discussing, so be on your toes. Next week, I’ll open registration for this one-time only online training and informational event.
Stay tuned.
