Have you read the E-Myth? If not then I really recommend this book, or at least the first half as it does tend to get a little "woo" towards the end. You might like a bit of "woo" but I'm not bothered by it.
To take the whole book and reduce it down to a sentence: in order to run a successful Dental Practice you need to be a Manager, a Technician and an Entrepreneur. It is important to be these three people although you cannot be them all at once.
The myth that the book refers to is that it's entrepreneurs who start businesses (that's the E bit). It is true that they do, but the vast majority are actually started by Technicians. This is the reason why most businesses fail and although I have yet to come across a Dental Practice to go out of business, I have come across quite a few that fail to reach their full potential. They just get by.
I'll hold my hands up and admit it: my name is Claire and I am a technician. Twice actually, as I'm literally a qualified technician but unfortunately, I am also a technician in mind set. I know this because I'm a doer. I do bookkeeping because there is bookkeeping that needs doing and bookkeeping is what I do. Deep down, success is having bookkeeping to do and I believe no one can do bookkeeping as well as me, so I do it. I will quite happily work myself into having a job.
That last paragraph may make you feel a little bit of pity for me, but that's okay because I recognise that this is my default mind set. Is being a technician your default mind set? I believe the average number of UDAs per Principle/Associate is 6,000 so if you're doing more than this, that's an issue. Equally, stop what you're doing if you feel as though you can't take a holiday as your Practice cannot run without you there. If either of these are the case then your Dental Practice will never reach its full potential because your inner technician is holding it back. You need to step outside of the Dental Practice; stop working in it as you're killing it.
So who are your other personalities? To put it simply, the Manager takes care of the systems and the Entrepreneur looks into the future. Can you now see why you need to be all three? It's vital to the success (and ultimately the end value) of your Dental Practice that there are systems in place so that your team members do a constant and above average job. This will enable you to take a step back and plan for the future. It will also enable you to take more, or maybe even just a, holiday. Find the time to measure your results and document how you achieve them. Take a week off to work on your strategy. Keep focused on where you want your Dental Practice to go rather than just focusing on where it is today. I know it may sound scary if there is Dental work that needs doing, but remind yourself that you're a business owner you're not an employee. Working on your business is good.
Maybe you already undertake all three roles. If so, well done. Perhaps you could give me some pointers.
To take the whole book and reduce it down to a sentence: in order to run a successful Dental Practice you need to be a Manager, a Technician and an Entrepreneur. It is important to be these three people although you cannot be them all at once.
The myth that the book refers to is that it's entrepreneurs who start businesses (that's the E bit). It is true that they do, but the vast majority are actually started by Technicians. This is the reason why most businesses fail and although I have yet to come across a Dental Practice to go out of business, I have come across quite a few that fail to reach their full potential. They just get by.
I'll hold my hands up and admit it: my name is Claire and I am a technician. Twice actually, as I'm literally a qualified technician but unfortunately, I am also a technician in mind set. I know this because I'm a doer. I do bookkeeping because there is bookkeeping that needs doing and bookkeeping is what I do. Deep down, success is having bookkeeping to do and I believe no one can do bookkeeping as well as me, so I do it. I will quite happily work myself into having a job.
That last paragraph may make you feel a little bit of pity for me, but that's okay because I recognise that this is my default mind set. Is being a technician your default mind set? I believe the average number of UDAs per Principle/Associate is 6,000 so if you're doing more than this, that's an issue. Equally, stop what you're doing if you feel as though you can't take a holiday as your Practice cannot run without you there. If either of these are the case then your Dental Practice will never reach its full potential because your inner technician is holding it back. You need to step outside of the Dental Practice; stop working in it as you're killing it.
So who are your other personalities? To put it simply, the Manager takes care of the systems and the Entrepreneur looks into the future. Can you now see why you need to be all three? It's vital to the success (and ultimately the end value) of your Dental Practice that there are systems in place so that your team members do a constant and above average job. This will enable you to take a step back and plan for the future. It will also enable you to take more, or maybe even just a, holiday. Find the time to measure your results and document how you achieve them. Take a week off to work on your strategy. Keep focused on where you want your Dental Practice to go rather than just focusing on where it is today. I know it may sound scary if there is Dental work that needs doing, but remind yourself that you're a business owner you're not an employee. Working on your business is good.
Maybe you already undertake all three roles. If so, well done. Perhaps you could give me some pointers.
