When you first decide to take the leap and open your own dental practice, it can be an electrifying but confounding experience. With all of the variables that you have to take into consideration, opening a successful business can boil down to making one major decision: location. Maybe you are considering a newly remodeled property. Alternatively, you could be taking over an existing dental practice. Before you decide on your location, you need to take a step back and consider all the factors that go into finding the best place that will allow your business to thrive. Need some help in this process? Bryant Consultants has a list of factors you should consider before deciding on your practice’s new location.
These unique qualities will determine whether or not you chose a successful location for your dental practice:
1) Demographics: You should have a target demographic and know how to reach it. If your location isn’t convenient for your target demographic to access, it simply isn’t a good choice. For example, if you plan to make family dentistry a major selling point for your practice, you’d want to look for locations in a good school district. Consider factors like the average age, median income, and consumer spending rates of residents within your target area. If you’re purchasing an already existing business that you intend on transforming, you need to consider how you can expand from the current client base.
2) Type of Building: We don’t necessarily mean the architecture. Instead, is there a particular key quality your new location should have? Shopping centers, medical buildings, or an independently existing structure are all classic locations for dental practices that you may want to consider. A standalone building can distinguish you from other existing dental practices. This type of building also can provide a sense of privacy for potential patients. Putting your practice in an existing shopping center or plaza creates more marketing opportunities. On the other hand, if you chose a medical building, your business will be part of a community. Patients seeing practitioners in other fields of medicine can be recommended to you, their new neighbor.
3) Accessibility: No matter the type of building you choose, consider the visibility. A location a bit off the beaten path might seem quaint, but it could be tricky for your clients to find. A spot on a major road means it’s easier to get to but might mean more traffic. You also should consider qualities such as available parking for patients or proximity to public transport.
4) Competitors: It’s crucial to evaluate areas in your chosen community are being over-served or underserved, as far as dental needs are concerned. You only have so many possible patients in any given location. If you’re surrounded by more established dental practices, getting started could be a real struggle. According to the American Dental Association, there should be 1,500 patients for every dental practice in a given location if you want to maintain success rates. Choosing a location that leaves you with only 100 potential patients is a sure-fire way to end up having to move—or close—your business.
5) Growth: With all the commotion of starting a dental practice, it is easy to be blinded by your short-term goals. Hindsight is 20/20, but you should determine a successful location that serves your needs not just now but in the future. Expanding at a later date to meet your ultimate goals can create new challenges that affect your practice’s efficiency and profitability. If making that expansion entails changing locations, you create headaches you could have avoided by choosing with more forethought when picking your initial location.
Consulting the Dental Industry Experts
Bryant Consultants can provide you with more than just a helpful guide for choosing your business’ location. We can offer a full assessment of every aspect of your new practice. We want to get a feel of what your business will be like. We want to understand your goals. It’s our mission to see both the big picture and the smallest details. Our services can help you refine your vision and set processes in place to evolve your practice. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799.
We provide consultation, training, and coaching to improve your practice operations so that you can provide exceptional results to your patients. For more information about practice transitions, check out our website. We partner with Tony Myers, a top-rated dental practice transitions coach to help dentists with establishing a new practice, hiring an associate, practice expansion, and retirement.
