Today I’d love to share a story of a client, colleague, and friend that I find inspiring. I share this story with you in the hopes that you can either identify with parts of it and celebrate your gains or to find inspiration and courage in leaning in to the parts of your career that you love most.
In 2018 I was doing advanced training in clinical dentistry in Chicago. I flew there four times that year and ended up meeting some incredible colleagues. One of those individuals practiced in Canada. We became friends and I respected her outstanding clinical capability and valued our friendship.
Fast forward to 2021. At this point, I had hung up the handpiece and worked full time in the practice valuation, sale and strategy space. She called me to support her with a practice valuation. She said she was thinking about selling and felt ready to take the first step by getting her shareholder “ducks in a row” and planning her exit. I listened to her challenges and frustrations. In some ways, it was like looking in a mirror. Many of us face the same feelings in the intense, detailed, demanding work we take great pride in providing as clinicians.
We talked honestly about what she loved about her career, what she could do without, and what her practice would have to look like for her to keep it AND be happy. Her practice was growing, operating impressively and her skills were enviable.
I did the valuation and supported her accounting team with their shareholder restructuring work in preparation of a sale, a couple of years out. Then I made a suggestion. The opinion I shared that she didn’t ask for was to spend however much it took on the investment required to build her practice out in a way that made her happy: Outsource the restorative work she no longer found joy in doing. Focus on the niche dentistry that gave her the fulfilment and energy that she only got to do now and then. I said I was willing to bet that her being completely selfish would turn her fatigue into fulfilment. And if I was wrong, she’d still have an incredibly valuable business she could sell.
I met with her recently. She did it. She rebuilt her practice in a new location, the way she always dreamed it would look. She focuses on her niche. She has associates that provide the dentistry she doesn’t love. She doesn’t accept subsidy or assignment. Her practice has doubled in revenue. And she is a sought-after speaker in her niche.
She didn’t sell, she loves her work, and the investment she made gave her an emotional and financial ROI that made the cost a no-brainer.
It is my sincere pleasure to work with courageous dentists like her. Putting yourself first isn’t selfish if it means you’ll have more to give. It’s not shameful. It’s necessary for sustainability. But it does take courage.
If your trajectory isn’t ascending, and you wish it was, I’d love to help you change that.
