108 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST AQUISITIONS According to Dr Stephen R. Covey, everything is created twice: first in the mind and then in the real world. This principle suggests that to achieve your goals, you must first understand what you want and visualize your life or project before pursuing it. By beginning with the end in mind, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People believes that you set in motion a flow of consciousness that guides your life and circumstances towards the intended goal. Knowingly or otherwise, Michael Thorpe brought up this well-worn philosophy at least twice in our conversation. First, it was when he discussed how he managed to grow a modest, singlechair practice in the Western suburb of Brisbane into a four-chair practice that now employs eight dentists and 13 support staff – doing so in just four and a half years. He mentioned it again when commenting on its sale in December. Man on a mission Prior to Dr Thorpe taking over the practice in 2018, it had pretty much remained the same size, in the same location for over 5 decades, despite cycling through four different owners during that period. After renaming the practice The Avenues Family Dental, Dr Thorpe quickly expanded and renovated the free standing 200-sqm clinic building over two separate phases within 24 months. “When I bought it,” Dr Thorpe said, “I had the intention of expanding it and bringing in new people, which was what I did.” Not one to pussyfoot, the dental entrepreneur knew precisely what he wanted from the start. In fact, he bought the practice within a week of bumping into a dentist friend at a pharmacy, and finding out he was keen to sell. Dr Thorpe was just as clear-eyed when it came time to sell the practice. Between engaging a practice broker, meeting and comparing the potential suitors to making the final decision, the entire selling process Begin with the end in mind By Danny Chan Dr Michael Thorpe takes a leaf from that famous motivational book with Highly Effective results. took about four months. Looking back, he doesn’t believe he could have done better than Ekera Dental, the practice acquisition firm with which he decided to entrust the future of The Avenues Family Dental. Asked what advice he would give to someone contemplating to sell a practice, he replies emphatically: “Begin with the end in mind. Start thinking through the process early, set goals and do your due diligence. “Get advice from the professionals – for example, anaccountant or apracticebroker, who will happily give you information about what and how to get ready for a sale.” With a little help from my dentists Lest the 60-year-old clinician be accused of downplaying the practice-building journey that precedes the selling of a successful practice, Dr Thorpe reminds you that he was already in his 30s by the time he settled back into dentistry after spending seven years in the F&B trade.
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