To help set your dental practice up for success, having a business plan can be critical. You may be starting your dental practice from scratch or you may be buying an existing practice. While considerations for these scenarios may vary slightly, the fact remains that you should have solid dental practice business plan in place either way. Here we will provide some key elements that should be part of your dental practice business plan.
Developing a Solid Dental Practice Business Plan
A business plan will help you develop a roadmap for how you want your dental practice to run, succeed, and grow. Not only will the plan be a touchstone that you can come back to in order to keep things on track, but it can also be really important if you are seeking financial support to cover the costs of establishing or growing a dental practice. Lenders will often require a business plan prior to even taking a meeting with a business owner. Your potential lender will want to see that you have a plan for how you are going to make money in your business.
Your business plan should start with a plan summary. Because it is a summary of the plan, it is best to draft this section last, but put it first in the plan so that it highlights key elements right at the start. Your summary should be brief and hit the elements central to your business plan. Make your business vision clear in the summary and how your business will succeed. At the forefront of your plan, in addition to the plan summary, the name of your practice should be clearly stated.
It is also important that you detail the specific services that your practice will be providing. Whether you offer diagnostic services, dental surgery, orthodontics, restorative dentistry, or cosmetic dentistry, be clear on what your practice will offer. If you will not offer a service, do not list it.
Your business plan should also address one of the most fundamental business decisions you will need to make and that is what business structure you are establishing. Whether you are establishing a limited liability company, a solo practice, a partnership, or some other business structure, this will have a big impact on how your practice is established, run, and managed. It will also impact taxes and your personal liability.
Your plan should also detail your marketing strategy. A dental practice cannot succeed without clients and so your plan should explain how you are going to get those clients through your doors. Explain why people would choose your practice over your competitors. Detail how you will spread the word on your practice opening and letting people know what services you offer. Describe the market you are targeting.
You will also want to detail the day to day plans you have for your business. How will your practice operate? What will the hours of operation be? Go into the more important operational details. For instance, you may want to specify what vendors you plan to work with and what dental insurance your office will be accepting as well as how it will handle self-pay clients.
We mention this last, but it is certainly not due to its lack of importance. In fact, the financial plan for opening and running your practice may be one of the most critical sections of your business plan. Potential lenders will certainly have a particular interest in this section. Use this section to show your practice’s financial plan. What is the projected business income for the next year or so? How much will you need in business loans?
Dental Law Attorneys
Mahan Dental Law can help you develop a strong, comprehensive business plan. Let us help you set your dental practice up for success! Contact us today.
