Today, we are celebrating you, celebrating dentistry, celebrating the greatest industry in the country to call your home, your profession, your business, your livelihood. It is the perfect vehicle chosen by you to live out your purpose, fuel your passion, and earn your profits.
Last week, they told us that Dentistry was one of the leading industries in the country for “job growth” (which would be more accurately stated as “re-hiring” but none the less), in the month of May. It was one of the industries that has rebounded the fastest and it won’t stop it until we end up back better, stronger, and more influential than ever.
However, not all businesses are like this. Only a few, in my opinion, are as great as Dentistry – or at least as great as Dentistry can be. Of course, that part is all up to you.
Before we talk more about Dentistry becoming even better during this important “re-imagining” period we are in – first, a story.
Imagine with me, this…
Some businesses in the United States, after two months without revenue or customers, won’t survive. There will be restaurants that won’t ever re-open. Even private professional practices like optometrists and everyday businesses like barbers or hair salons won’t make it.
These businesses couldn’t sustain themselves for just two months without any employees being paid (for most) and with fewer expenses since they were completely shut down. Why is this the sad reality?
By the way, it’s not a future demand issue. Within just a few blocks of here construction has not stopped, in fact it has sped up. Amazon has a new 5,000 person office building going up and the hottest hotel brands in the country are preparing to open.
It’s because of three core factors…
1st – Overleveraged
It’s not the bills, it’s the debts they can’t sustain. While it’s nice to re-open, if it takes months to ramp back up and you still have to pay all the debts as though the business was at peak levels – what’s the point? So they walk away.
2nd – The owners need income
It’s not the business that can’t support itself, it is the Owners that can’t. Their lives are completely dependent upon their business and their business is completely dependent upon them.
If business ownership doesn’t come with some strong element of pride, then most will quit at the first sight of hardship. Owning a business is much more than giving yourself a job.
3rd – No real asset exists in the business
In good times, these businesses live fat and happy with a constant flow of new customers walking in their door or onto their website. They rely exclusively on transactions and they invest nothing in relationships.
They do not develop customers, in your case patients or referral sources, and therefore their business actually has no value whatsoever (aside from the least valuable and most easily replaceable… the physical property).
Businesses’ value is not built out of steel and concrete (outside of actual real estate, naturally). They have no value if they have no customers and customers have very little value if they have no real relationship.
Now, it goes without saying, that many small businesses excel at this very thing (you included). They build loyal followings and raving fans. They stay engaged and interact even when the customers isn’t there.
That is why I have said all along the relationship before, during, and after the visit with your patients matter so much. The time, investment, and work done to communicate, develop, and nurture patients when they aren’t inside the four walls of your practice is where the giant leverage and growth opportunities exist.
Most practices just get by because they too are just cycling through transactions instead of developing assets in and out of their practice.
So, these businesses with no relationships, no real assets, and two months of lost transactions there is no guarantee as to what will happen when they re-open or how long it would take to recover. It’s as if they are opening a brand-new business all over again.
Naturally, they simply walk away from the business. They didn’t walk away from their customers, because really they didn’t have any. No one will miss them, nor should they.
Would they miss you? You, yes, but some other doctors, not a chance. The detached patient will just move on to the next bubble on google, name on the insurance list, flyer in the mail, or ad on the internet.
The good news is, done right, Dentistry overcomes everyone of these pitfalls. This is especially true when you embrace and understand that the real value is in the People.
That is why there never is, there never was, and there never will be a “new normal” in Dentistry when it comes to the thing that makes it great to begin with: the human interaction, the emotional connection, and the personal relationships because the people are always the difference.
The greatest plans, equipment, systems, location, skills is nothing without the patients.
This is why I was so strongly advocating not to be overly focused and consumed with the Payroll Protection Program but instead focusing on The Proactive Protection of Your Patients Program.
We’ve come full circle. I say to you, how did you avoid the fate of these other businesses and are quite literally experiencing the opposite of failure? You are thriving and even seeing opportunities to take your dentistry, your lifestyle, your vision, and your own personal prosperity to the next level.
The answer is simple. It is found inside of the principles I have been standing for, talking about, and building practices upon for nearly two decades. I call it having a practice that is Built To Last!
Therein lies the difference between coming back stronger, barely coming back, or not coming back at all. Whether we are talking about this crisis or the next. You overcome obstacles and constantly persevere with sound business principles and proven methods.
The secret to business success should be no secret at all. It is one that has a profit-based foundation driven by a reliable, high performing team that serve loyal patients. It’s possible to have a plan that prepares you for any challenge and that helps you create a practice that is Built To Last!
Congratulations on starting your comeback. Now, give yourself permission to dream about your future and the practice it takes to get you there.
I’ll see you next week when I share a special announcement.
