Dr. Bruce Baird: Hi, this is Dr. Bruce Baird with the Productive
Dentist Podcast, and this is the, uh, continuation of the What's Next series.
And, uh, this would probably be the last one I do, but you know,
I'm, I'm, I had a dentist ask me, he says, I'm at the top of my game.
What's next?
You know, what, what do I do next outta the top of my game?
Well, I don't know what that exactly means.
And, and how do I determine what's next?
You know, that's kind of a personal, personal decision that people make,
but what I would say is, um, from this question is that, you know,
you're at the top of your game, you're productive, you're making great
money, you're doing things at, uh.
At the highest level, you love dentistry.
Um, your patients love you, your team loves you, and you've got options.
You know what's next?
Well, uh, we've got offices and practices that are doing I. 5 million
a year, 6 million a year, 7 million a year with a couple of associates.
Uh, one practice that we're working with, uh, doing 11 million a year.
Uh, they have three brothers that are the, the dentist and they
have a couple other associates.
Um, and these mega type practices, they're not really you.
Some of 'em I guess could be considered a group practice, but, um, or a.
They're not a DSO, but they're, they're together and their productivity is high.
They've got great marketing, they're doing things that way.
But what's next?
Well, um, what I would tell, you know, what I would tell the doc is it
really depends on what you want to do.
I mean, you've got an ebitda, uh, which is a profit every year after getting
paid of a million dollars a year.
Well, you know, you can, uh, keep doing that for the next, however,
you know, if you're forever how much longer you wanna work, you know, I, you
may say, I wanna work 10 more years.
I'm at the top of my game.
I wanna do this 10 more years, and then I'm done.
Okay, what's next?
Well, that's the time actually to begin planning an exit strategy.
That's the time to begin planning.
Uh, the sale of your business, uh, is 10 years ahead.
Uh, but let's say you haven't planned, but you have a million dollars in
ebitda and you really don't really want to work another 10 years.
Um, there are options that you have, uh, as far as setting it up.
You can sell to an independent dentist, uh, sell, sell the practice there.
It's a lot harder to sell a practice that's $5 million because most
individual dentists can't afford that.
So what we do is we end up building our practices to something we can't
even sell to an individual dentist.
And that's where the private equity guys have really taken, uh, taken advantage
of the situation, uh, and coming in and purchasing these, I say large practices,
very highly productive practices.
They don't even look at practices that are doing less than a
million and a half dollars a year.
So you're at the top of the game.
What's next?
It depends on what it is you want to do.
Um.
You certainly don't have to sell.
You could, you could go for 10 years.
You say, I wanna practice until, until I can't practice anymore.
Well, you don't have to do anything.
You just keep, keep going.
Maybe bring some associates in, you can work out.
Uh, there are different ways of working out equity associateship
positions where you can kind of give them a piece of the action as you go.
But if you're making a million in profit every year, first of all.
I would say if you're gonna continue to work 10 years, let's make that
a million and a half or 2 million in profit over the next 10 years.
Uh, not just a million, but money doesn't become the issue.
You know, lifestyle and time off and those types of things.
Uh, that would be what I would say.
Okay.
What's next?
Well, that, maybe that's next.
You know, I, I just want lifestyle.
Remember, that's what I did.
I went to two days a week, still kept producing, uh, 2 million a year,
but I got five days off every week.
And, uh, that's what I did.
That was my What's next?
Um, as far as setting up for an exit strategy, selling your business, um,
somebody with a million dollars in ebitda.
In today's world, could get a check for 10 million, 12 million, and
you're not gonna be able to walk away with a check like that because
they're gonna want you to work.
You know, three to five years.
Why do they want you to work?
Well, because you're the one that's been driving the train and, um,
they don't wanna lose the conductor.
Uh, right off the bat they'll find ways to bring in other, other
doctors to come in and, and take over, you know, the productivity.
But it, it really becomes that option.
What, what is it I want to do?
Um, and, and, and dentistry, um, is one of those fields where you can make a
phenomenal living, uh, at a high level.
Um, but you get to write your own story.
You know, uh, what I can tell you what I did next.
I mean, I, I started other companies.
I'm an entrepreneur.
I started several other companies, a software company, uh, that we
eventually sold to A-K-K-R-I coached.
Um, I. I coached, uh, high school boys.
I have all girls, but I coached high school boys a a u basketball,
um, because it's something I love.
Um, I am what's next for me.
I, I'm gonna play Augusta National in the fall, which is something that's
been on my bucket list forever.
I've been working hard to try to find a way to play there.
And, um, so.
It's about, you know, I, I don't know, I think it's about bucket lists.
It's about what's on my bucket list, what are things I want to do, you
know, gonna be 70 this year and, you know, I still wanna see the world.
I've seen a lot of it, but there's still places I want to go and,
and people I wanna go with.
And so that's where financially it allows you to, to do that.
And if, if you're at the top of your game.
You kind of understand that.
Um, and another thing I would say is what's your stress level?
You know, is this, is this, uh, being at the top of your game?
Is it stressful?
Is it stressful going to the office?
Um, if it's not stressful going to the office, yeah, you got an option, keep
going to the office, keep having fun.
Enjoy your life, but make sure you get to spend time with family, friends, and, uh.
And take good care of yourself.
You know, health wise, I'm, I'm probably in, well, I'm in the best shape I've
been in, in probably 20 years, 25 years.
Um, I, you know, I'm, I'm enjoying life and I think that that's
really one of those things that, you know, that's why we're here.
I mean, to take care of people.
I've been able to, to, uh, I've been able to be.
Um, you know, donate revenue, donate money to charities.
Uh, we have a rabbit farm in Zimbabwe that, uh, we, we've been a part of.
And, um, um, the New Hope Girls down in the Dominican, which is, uh, a
home for, uh, for kids that have been abused and, uh, trafficked.
Uh, so, and, and even right here in our local town, we've, we've donated
to, uh, the Children's Advocacy Center.
So it's, it's, you get to do the things that are important to you.
And, uh, I, I said in the last, uh, podcast or couple before, was that
Jeff Buskey, my, my, my partner for years has a great course on.
Really, I don't know, identifying what it is you want to do for the future.
You know, what, you know, my family, my friends, my uh, my fitness,
my finances, all of those things.
And so that can be something that really takes you to a new level.
I've watched guys really just blow up in their, uh, in their decision
making on what's next in, in their, in their practice and in their life.
You know, the other thing about that question is, you know.
You know how to determine, you say, how do I determine what's next?
Again, I think I said a few months ago, I said, that's where you sit out on a back
porch with a glass of wine and you decide.
You know, if, if your, your significant other, you say, what is it we want to do?
You know, talk and, and, uh, have dentists that you can talk to.
That's where Productive Dentist Academy has, you know, study clubs.
We have doctors that, uh, are part of a tribe that, you know,
you'll be able to ask questions to.
Um, but you're at a point in your life when you're at the top of your game.
You can either keep doing it for as long as you want, you can.
Stop doing it.
You know, if you, if you've invested property and you've done the
things, you could stop doing it.
So those are the kind of decisions that I love to make.
You're, you're coming to a decision, you're coming to that crossroads, you're
coming to that, do I take a left or do I take a right, based on abundance,
based on an abundant mentality.
And what Productive Dentist Academy has been doing for 20
years is helping doctors get to.
That abundance so that they can have an abundant mentality.
Uh, it's really hard to have an abundant mentality and to do things you want
and to take care of people the way you want to take care of 'em when
you haven't taken care of yourself.
And so when I, when I hear somebody say I'm at the top of my game, I
would say I'm at the top of my game.
Physically.
I'm at the top of my game from a productivity and finance.
Um, and, you know, I'm at the top of my game of, of the things
that I want to do in my life.
So, um, that's the kinda stuff that, um, to me makes dentistry fun.
And we have the greatest occupation, I think, in the world.
I think it's the greatest time to be a dentist.
Uh, I think, uh, you know, I've got so many great friends.
It's, it's afforded me the opportunity to see the world.
It's afforded me the opportunity to.
Just have some real, serious, serious relationships, uh, with
people that I, I may never have met.
Um, you know, it's kind of neat when, you know, dentists we're all kind of engineers
in the head, so we relate to each other and so, you know, that, that, that's fun.
We've got the new Clinical Calibration Institute now with
Productive Dentist Academy, which.
You can get involved in.
It's, it's maybe not a what's next decision for somebody who's at the top
of their game, although it could be.
Um, but what's next?
I would recommend getting in, uh, involved with the Clinical Calibration Institute.
It's like 695 to 9 95 a month.
Uh, not per person, but for the whole team.
And we helped train the whole team.
To live a life of abundance, to get to a place where stress
is low, enjoyment is high.
Um, and you know, I think I, you know, I think that's where I wanna be.
That's where I am.
Uh, I'm enjoying life.
Um, let's get you there too if you're not there.
And if you are there, congratulations, man.
I love it.
And I would love for you to become a mentor and help, help our docs
because that's what we're looking for.
We're looking for docs who, in all different areas of their life,
uh, that we can help other docs.
So, uh, productive dentists.com.
Get involved with any of our programs and, uh, I super, I super
look forward to seeing you at one of our, uh, one of our programs.