CATEGORY 84 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST COMPANY PROFILE You are not alone. Life, business, money and values have changed across the entire industry since the strange and glory days of Covid. Expert dental industry finance and brokerage specialist, Ian Donnelley, has observed a massive shift in costs, profitability, stress and lifestyle priorities right across the Australian dental scene, changes that are certainly affecting you and your business. After what he calls a boom run through lockdowns, with Australians grounded and millions of Bali holidays morphing into selfcare through smile restoration and other dental treatments, a cost of living crisis, and dramatic inflation have taken a bite out of every dental practice in the country. “The shift is real,” he says from his office at Dental Acquisitions in Melbourne. “While you might be making good money still, if you’re one of the lucky ones, a general 20% increase in overheads – insurance, supplies, rents, advertising: everything, your 22% profit from a few years ago is probably now at about 12%.” “We’ve basically shifted from one extreme to the other in this current economic climate. It’s been a hard 12 to 18 months, and a lot of dentists are either dangerously unaware of what’s actually happening to their practice’s value, or feeling it, and reflecting on whether it’s time to let go, and focus on that dream life they promised themselves, after all the hard work.” Selling your practice is a one-time deal. If this is on your mind, it can be one of the biggest stresses in your entire career. It’s a decision that can set you up for the greater vision you’ve been working toward or throw you headfirst into the kind of business headaches and politics that every dentist dreads. “For some, it’s the natural time to think about selling, many are coming to this place sooner, looking for a return, for freedom from the gruelling business-side stresses of things, for a lifestyle,” he says. “It’s actually a pretty good time to sell; things are active at the moment and if you’re organized, networked, ready, there are buyers looking for you.” Ian says strong regional practices are desirable, “a stable patient-base, lower fixed costs, less advertising and overheads mean a healthy regional practice could easily be twice as profitable as a similar practice in Sydney.” Well-run, hi profit practices with a strong hygiene therapy team are in demand too. “You can do a lot to shift your business into a higher profit prospect and make it a great low risk, stand out buy for the right dentist or investor,” he says. As Director at Dental Acquisitions, Ian has had only two jobs over the last 15 years: selling high value dental practices, and midwifing dentists out of their business and into the life that all those years on tools was really all about. “Selling can be very emotional,” he says. “It’s often your life’s work, there are immense unknowns, some tough forensics, and it takes a lot of time and energy. It’s a delicate process that can throw a brilliant dentist straight into the toughest complexities of hard, cold business.” There are important diplomacy, team and security issues across the whole picture, of course, including within your family dynamics and at work too. “How staff will react is a sensitive topic,” says Ian. “It’s always the biggest conversation and concern for the principal after they’ve agreed the deal.” “However, you look at it, it’s personal. It’s a big decision. It’s a one chance thing to set yourself up for the future, get financial flexibility, free yourself and tick everybody’s goals – or end up overwhelmed, disappointed, and dragged under by what can be a gruelling, protracted process. A failed sale is a real shame and a huge weight against Time to move on? By Jade Richardson Why a strong, clear vision of your life after dentistry, and finding an expert guide in planning, selling your practice and keeping your dream alive could be a very wise idea. Jade Richardson
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