One of the main reasons people open their own dental practice is to enable themselves to spend more time (and money!) with their families. Being a business owner and your own boss comes with perks, autonomy and sufficient income being the most desirable.
However, once you get into the routine of running your business and keeping things moving forward, it’s easy to get trapped in the “get through the day” mentality, and forget about the “seize the day” philosophy that likely fired up your drive to start the practice in the first place.
Taking Care of Your Patients AND Your Kids
Business ownership is a juggling act, and so is raising your family. No matter how hard you work, how organized you are, and how smoothly things are running, there is always something else that needs to be done. It can seem never ending at times, and dentists and other medical professionals have a tendency to run themselves ragged.
The irony is that almost every dentist I know who opened their own practice did so in order to procure more time with their families. This doesn’t always happen though. When the business is in your hands, and it represents your livelihood, you want to be the one running the show.
It’s important to remember that if raising a child takes a village, so does running a business. A single human being can’t do everything, no matter how hard we try, and we do try! No matter how good our best is, if you’re trying to manage everything on your own there’s a high likelihood of burning out. And this isn’t going to help your family, your patients, or yourself.
Remember to Delegate at Home and at Work
When you chose your partner in life, chances are you chose them with care. This is the person you intend on spending the rest of your life with, and raising a family with. You probably have common interests and goals, and hopefully similar philosophies on how to raise your children.
You and your partner likely split responsibilities and chores. When you need help with something at home, they are there to assist. A household doesn’t run on its own, it’s a team effort.
It is just as important to choose your dental team with care. These people are almost like a second family, as you spend the most amount of time with them, and depend on them to help your business thrive. They are instrumental to the success of your business, and just as your children need to depend on you to lead a fulfilling life, you need to depend on your team in order to run a successful practice.
You need to be able to trust your team, just as you need to trust your partner at home. You hired them for a reason- you believed they were capable of the work you needed them to do. As time passes and your business begins to pick up speed, it is crucial to delegate the appropriate responsibilities to the appropriate members of your team.
Internal and External Delegation
Perhaps you have a housekeeper come in to clean your house a few times a month. Maybe you have a grocery service, or a carpool group. If you don’t have any of these things, maybe you should consider it. Even with the help of a capable partner, there are a lot of details that need tending when you are juggling a household and a business.
One of the best parts of running a successful dental practice is having some disposable income. It gives you the ability to make things easier for the whole family. It’s ok to make money, and it’s ok to use it to make things run more smoothly.
The same philosophy goes to your business. It’s all about managing your time. If you’re attempting to take care of your patients, run your team, manage marketing and accounting, and take care of your family, you’re heading straight towards a case of burnout.
Hire someone to do your marketing and bookkeeping. Trust in your dental team to competently do the job you hired them for. If your business is succeeding beyond your expectations, yet you’re exhausted when you go home to your family, consider taking on an associate.
You might balk at this idea from a financial standpoint, but if you have more time and energy to devote to your practice, and someone to share the workload with, the potential for more profitability is almost inevitable.
Recall Your Reasons for Opening a Practice
I strongly encourage all of my clients, as well as my friends and family, to periodically try and mindfully recall their reasons and desires for starting something. When graduate school becomes overwhelming, or motherhood has lost its luster, or a business begins to feel like a burden, it is important to remind yourself of your initial excitement and enthusiasm.
There is joy in hard work. Most of us here wouldn’t be where we are without that knowledge. And there is joy in downtime as well. You need to relax and play just as much as your kids do, maybe more!
If you’re looking to create more time and space to enjoy the benefits of opening your own dental practice, contact us today. We are experts at helping businesses streamline and prioritize their offices so that they may reap the rewards of their hard work and vision.