You’re interested in starting up dental clinic services in your area just after finishing your licensing. This step is a very rewarding one but is also very challenging. It is essential to understand your small dental clinic plan before you begin to ensure that you don’t start off on the wrong foot financially.
Just as importantly, you need to take the time to balance all of your funds, understand your marketing approach, grasp the overall scope of your operation, and take other steps that keep you ahead of the game. We’ve outlined just a few of the most important of these processes to help you get started.
Step One: Create a Plan That Makes Sense
Whether you are opening up a general dentist or a more specific care center, you need to make a plan. A small dental clinic plan should consider many factors that ensure you get the best results possible. Your plan should include elements that are common for just about any business.
For example, you need to know what kind of costs you’re likely to pay and how much money is necessary to cover them. This process is one that will take some time to understand fully. However, the average price of starting a new dental practice is around $250-500K or so.
Now, you’re likely not going to have that kind of money in your account when you’re starting your practice. And that’s okay because no dentist ever starts out their practice without getting some sort of loan. Many jumbo loans and other lending options will give you the cash you need to start.
Beyond that, you also need to consider many other factors that will affect your success. These elements include not just financial aspects but operative items that should not be ignored. For example, you need to take the steps below to get started:
- Identify Your Ongoing Costs — How much money is going to be leaving your facility, and how much will you make? You need to make more than you lose to thrive: that’s just Business 101, but it is imperative when you’re just getting started with a dental practice.
- Know Your Target Market — Are you a general dentist, or will you specialize in cosmetic dentistry? It is essential to know who you plan to focus on and center your funding, marketing, and other aspects of your business on these factors to thrive where other companies fail.
- Rental Fees — You’ll need to make sure you have enough money to rent your office and pay for your supply rental, as well. Typically, you’re going to spend around $150,000 on your supplies and need anywhere from $1,000-2,000 per month in office rental unless you buy.
- Working Capital Cash — Try to have at least $25,000 to $150,000 in working capital on hand at all times to ensure that you can pay your staff, rent, and other fees critical to your business operation. Without this money, you’ll find that your office is going to start losing cash very quickly.
- Customer Charges — You’ll need to charge at least $60-150 per teeth cleaning for your patients to get the money you need to operate. Other services will cost much more, such as wisdom tooth removal being nearly $1,000. Insurance will help cover many of these costs, thankfully.
- Deciding on a Name — Typical dental company names are pretty simple and don’t have many complex naming conventions that make them hard to understand. Something like “Smith Family Dental” is usually sufficient, though you may want another descriptor if your business is specialized.
All of these steps are necessary when creating a small dental clinic plan, even if you plan on a one-to-two-person operation. It might seem rather extensive and challenging in some steps, but it’s something that has to be done right, or you’ll end up experiencing real financial and even legal difficulties.
And these are just the steps necessary for funding your company. It is also essential to take the time to form a proper legal entity to ensure that your operation goes smoothly. This process will be included in the next section to provide you with the help needed to prevent serious complications.
Step Two: Create Your Legal Entity
Any small dental clinic plan needs to take steps to ensure that you are a business or an LLC to help protect you from being protected if you are sued. LLC stands for “limited liability company,” and setting one up allows you to get business insurance that keeps you safe from lawsuits.
Typically, you need to talk to your state officials and get the proper paperwork to set up your LLC. You usually need to pay a small fee for this service. Once your business is set up, you need to register for taxes (the enjoyable part of this process, right?) for free with your state to get an EIN.
Small business taxes include various types, including LLC taxes, sole proprietorship taxes, corporation taxes, and more. Talk to your business development consultant about this process to choose the best options for your needs, avoiding any that don’t suit your operation as a company.
Beyond that, you also need to reach out to a handful of companies to help you get started with your dental practice. Some of these groups will be specialized for your practice, but others will be more general. Just a few that you need to talk to before you begin your company includes:
- Dental Equipment Providers — You need to reach out to a team that can provide you with the high-quality equipment that you need to operate. Many dental equipment companies on the market can provide you with this benefit and keep you operational with ease.
- Insurance Providers — Reach out to various health insurance companies, create a relationship, and set up a payment plan that works for you. These companies will also work with your patients to ensure that they have the best and most high-quality level of care possible for their needs as people.
- Credit Card Companies — Contact credit card processing companies who can set up payment processes and schedules with you to keep your business operational. Many of your clients will pay using credit cards, meaning you have to consider this fact to ensure they can pay adequately.
- Liability Insurance Companies — Purchase high-quality liability insurance to protect yourself if you experience any struggles with liability, such as someone suing you because of an error in dental treatment or other issues that may require legal protection from various lawsuits.
Some dentists may have a hard time with this process because they may not understand the importance of setting up these financial steps. For instance, it may seem strange to focus on financial elements when creating a small dental clinic plan before opening a business.
However, it is essential to take these steps if you want your company to succeed. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself struggling in many ways, and your business will undoubtedly fail. Though you are a dentist and a medical professional, you need to operate as a company to thrive in this market.
So you’ll need to take steps like opening up a bank account and credit card for your business. These elements are essential because you can write them off in your taxes and save good money. However, it is now time to focus on getting your office ready for clients and preparing to open.
The following section below will focus on these steps and get them started smoothly and efficiently. Then, we’ll go over the many elements that make up this process, including advertising, marketing, and targeting your specific audience in a way that makes sense for you.
Step Three: Prepare Your Facility Properly
Your small dental clinic plan also needs to include steps to prepare your office for operation. These processes will consist of preparing the physical structure of the building and its interior for your operation. They include, but are not limited to, steps like the following:
- Improve the Structure — If your building is in rough shape after you buy it, you’ll need to contact tile roofing contractors or other professionals who can upgrade your facility and make it stronger and more operational for when your patients finally start arriving.
- Enhance Your Electrical System — Contact electricians who can upgrade your electrical wiring and appliances to keep your facility operating smoothly. Doing so will ensure that you can keep your facility operational and prevent problems with functional failure in the future.
- Other Steps That May Help — Don’t ignore the benefits of spray foam insulation or different types of upgrades that will boost the strength of your facility and give it the long-term operational help that it needs to avoid degradation in the future.
- Install Your Equipment — Work with specialists and equipment experts to install all the equipment you’ll need, including dental chairs, various hand-based tools, x-ray machines, cleaning machines, and all other items you’ll need to provide high-quality dental care.
Your small dental clinic plan needs to pay attention to these steps to ensure that you get your clinic operational and successful. After your office is ready to open, you need to make sure that you market yourself correctly to appeal to the broadest base of clients and patients possible for your needs.
Step Four: Preparing for Opening
Your last step on your small dental clinic plan should include preparing for your opening day to ensure that you can provide excellent care right away. You aren’t likely to have the kind of rush of patients like you’d expect at other larger businesses but should get a pretty steady supply of interested people.
You can remarkably improve your chances of success if you pay attention to your small dental clinic plan and target areas that are needed. Pediatric care is enormous, as is cosmetic care, but general dental professionals are also influential. Just a few steps that you can take include:
- Finding Dental Techs — You’re going to need at least one or two technicians who can help clean teeth and do other steps for you for your patients. They should get good pay and reasonable compensation packages, so make sure that you have this as part of your budget.
- Enhanced Advertising — Pay attention to your indoor and outdoor advertising, such as television marketing and billboard ads. You also need to pay for digital marketing processes to ensure that you reach the smaller markets that you need to stand out in your field correctly.
- Providing Discounts on Certain Treatments — If you want to interest people in your business with marketing, try to include discounts on various types of treatments. Doing so will help make it easier for you to appeal to more people and give your facility more of a chance of success.
- Holding Meet and Greets — Before you open up for the first day, it is a wise idea to host meet and greet sessions with the community. Doing so will help introduce you to everyone in your area who may be interested in your treatment and spread your name to a broader array of potential customers.
When you take these steps in your small dental clinic plan, it is crucial to make sure that you aren’t making any mistakes that could cost you severe financial loss. Just as importantly, you need to make sure that you work with your business counselors to ensure that you are protected in this way.
Get Started Today
As you can see, producing a small dental clinic plan will take a little time but isn’t too challenging to handle without proper steps. As long as you’re willing to do what is necessary to start your dental clinic services, you should have a high-quality dental facility.
Suppose you feel confused or challenged by any of these steps and need help executing them properly. In that case, it may be essential to talk to financial professionals who fully understand how to set you up with a detailed business plan. They can give you the high-quality help needed to improve your success chances.