The new crossroads
This is an extract from the September issue of Private Dentistry where Thomas Dickson discusses the new crossroads dental professionals are finding themselves at in the post COVID-19 world.
The pandemic and resulting lockdowns may have caused you to re-evaluate your life and priorities. You may even have found yourself standing at a new and unexpected crossroads in terms of your career.
The last 18 months has seen dental practices hit with the increased use of PPE, the stress of a new working environment, struggles with recruiting, financial difficulties, staff absences, and cancelled appointments due to the “pingdemic”.
It’s not surprising then that many dentists, like you, are looking to their futures and asking questions about their financial security with some even looking to make changes to how they are working and considering whether they should wind down.
Discovering your why
Our role is to support dentists throughout their lives, from graduation to retirement and beyond.
A key part of the financial planning process is helping people figure out what you really want to achieve.
We put the numbers on the big life decisions to help you understand the answers to some of the important questions you are likely to ask such as: What happens if I earn less money? Can I afford to move house? Do I need to work beyond 60? How much do I need to sell my practice for, and can I even afford to think about that at this stage?
If you want to own several practices and build a multi-million-pound empire, then great, but that’s not the only way to be financially secure for the future. Sometimes, a single, well-run practice can be more profitable than six and almost certainly involve less stress. Whatever your goals and ambitions are, we can help you see what you need to do to get there.
The other important thing is that the plan is always fluid. Things change. Circumstances change. Lifestyles change. Covid has changed everything. It's okay for your goals to change. In fact, in my experience, it’s absolutely crucial to keep reviewing your goals. Otherwise, you could end up chasing something that no longer applies. You certainly might not want the stress and hassle involved with buying more practices.
Life and work can be a constant trade-off. You decide how hard you want to work and how much money you want to earn and how much tax you want to pay, versus what kind of lifestyle you want.
Striking the perfect balance between building a successful career and finding time to enjoy your hard-earned wares can be challenging for busy dentists and particularly for practice owners, especially now in the post-Covid landscape.
We’re here to help whatever point you are at in your career and love nothing more than helping dental colleagues work their way to a happy and secure future.
You can read the full article here: