10 Tips for Starting a Dental Business and Drawing in Clientele
If you are considering the prospect of starting a dental business, there are a few factors to keep in mind and tips to remember before making any decisions. Whether you’ve worked in dentistry for decades or if you’re fresh out of dentistry school and want to pursue running your own practice, learning the process of starting a dental business is rarely an overnight endeavor. Taking the time to understand the process of establishing a dental practice of your own from the ground up can go a long way in building a professional reputation and clientele for years to come.
1. Choose the Right Location
Starting a dental business requires more than the ability to practice dentistry. In fact, you will need to take the time to research various locations that are ideal for your dental practice’s location. Anytime you are investing in a business or commercial property, location is key. A poor location can result in the inability to attract new clients and patients, depending on where you are located and the size of your city or town. Before investing in a new property or leasing a commercial space of your own, take the time to research nearby locations to determine which areas receive the most foot and vehicle traffic near you.
2. Research the Needs of Your Community
When it comes to starting a dental business, you will also need to research the specific needs of your community. While some cities may be in need of traditional dentists that offer dental implants and cleanings, other locations may be in need of cosmetic dentistry locations that provide the relevant cosmetic dentistry services that they are seeking. Determining the needs of your community is possible by conducting a bit of research to determine which types of providers are already readily available. You can also spend time getting to know more about the members of your community to determine what type of dentistry you should focus on promoting and offering to the locals.
3. Retain Legal Help
Anytime you are serious about starting a dental business, you should consider retaining the right legal help. Hiring a small business attorney is always advisable when you are going into business or if you are even curious about a new potential opportunity. The right legal help can guide you through the process of signing contractual agreements, leases, and even reviewing relevant business documents. Business attorneys specialize in and understand business law. They can help you with making the right decisions that will likely benefit you and your business in the future. Working with a business attorney is always a way for you to maintain your peace of mind in the event of a lawsuit or another type of legal case.
How to Find the Right Attorney
When it comes to running a successful dentist office, you should have the proper legal team or attorney by your side at all times. Finding and retaining the right attorney may take time if you are new to an area. Ask friends, co-workers, family members, and trusted neighbors for recommendations and referrals to business attorneys near you. You can also spend time researching local and online directories to seek out qualified lawyers who specialize in business law in your area.
Once you locate attorneys you are interested in retaining, it’s recommended to schedule a consultation as quickly as possible. Most attorneys who work in business law will provide prospective clients with a consultation at no charge to them. During the consultation, you can gauge whether or not a lawyer is suitable for your case based on their experience, their ideas about the case, and the direction they would like to see the case be taken in. You can also get to know more about an attorney before choosing to hire them for any of your business needs during your initial consultation.
4. Update the Interior and Exterior of Your Dental Office
From installing a mirrored bathroom vanity to implementing decorative and architectural concrete, there are many different ways to consider updating both the interior and the exterior of your dental office. When it comes to opening a service location such as a dentist’s office, you will only have one opportunity to make and leave a positive reputation. Taking the interior and exterior of your dental office seriously will help prospective clients to feel much more welcome and comfortable when they enter your building.
Why Design Matters
Both the interior and the exterior of commercial space matter, especially when you are selling products or providing services. We live in a visual world. With only one opportunity to show your business location off as professional, warm, and inviting, it’s important that you do it right. Implementing comforting decor, repainting the interior walls and even power washing the exterior of your dentist’s office can make a world of difference when it comes to making a positive lasting impression. You should also consider working with professional commercial landscapers to maintain the exterior of your dentist’s office year-round.
The Importance of Landscaping
Maintaining the exterior of your dentist’s office is essential, even if you are working on a small lot or surrounding property. Landscaping can minimize the overgrowth of greenery, shrubs, plants, flowers, and trees, keeping prospective patients interested in learning more about your location. The more attractive your landscaping appears, the easier it will be to appeal to those who may be in need of dental work themselves.
How to Find the Right Landscapers
Whenever you are concerned about maintaining the landscaping of your commercial lot, it’s best to turn to landscapers or a tree trimming company that specializes in commercial landscaping. Commercial landscapers are well-versed in various tools and pieces of equipment used for large lots and overgrowth. They are also familiar with working on bigger properties than traditional residential lots. You can find commercial landscapers via traditional listings as well as by searching through online directories and asking neighbors for referrals and recommendations.
5. Streamline Your Business Services
If you are committed to starting your own dental office, you will need to streamline the services you use to operate your business on a day-to-day basis. From investing in commercial business phone systems to securing your internet network, there are many ways to go about streamlining the services you use for your business each day. When you are setting up a new dentist’s office, consider the type of program you intend to use to keep track of and communicate with patients regularly. The right system can make a world of difference when it comes to optimizing how you manage your clients as well as your office altogether.
6. Create a Comfortable and Welcoming Office
Anytime you are opening your own dental office, you should take the time to make the waiting room and offices inside your building as comforting and welcoming as possible. For some who are visiting the dentist, the process is not easy or simple. Many individuals have fears of visiting the dentist due to a poor experience in the past or even due to an unexpected phobia. The more effort you put into making your dental office comforting and welcoming, the easier it will be for you to attract and retain patients in the future.
Tips for Creating a Comfortable Dental Office
When you are in the process of leasing, buying, or building a brand-new dental office location, consider the type of environment and ambiance you intend to create. Choose a color scheme that is comforting, rather than jarring or extremely bold. Neutral, soft colors are ideal for dentist offices, especially those that are designed with a patient’s comfort and security in mind. Implementing televisions, gaming consoles, and books or magazines alongside comfortable chairs and sofas can also help your patients to feel more comfortable and as if they are at home while waiting for their next appointment.
7. Establish an Online Presence
When it comes to starting a dental business, establishing an online presence is a must today. An online presence will not only help your practice to stand out from other competing locations, but it will also help you to develop a professional and trustworthy reputation. An official website and an online social media presence can help you to maximize your reach, both online and off. Using your online presence will also provide you with the ability to communicate directly with current and prospective patients. The use of an online presence can go a long way in ensuring the ongoing success of your dental office.
8. Connect and Network With Local Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
Another aspect of starting a dental business that is often forgotten is networking. When it comes to establishing and building a business of any kind, networking is imperative. Networking with local business owners and entrepreneurs can provide you with the perfect opportunity to spread the word about your new dental office. You can also make deals with local business owners to cross-promote one another’s locations based on the type of products or services each of you provides. The more you get to know other business owners and operators in your city and community, the easier it will be to land new patients and attract members of your community to your dental practice.
9. Use Social Media to Build a Following
When it comes to starting a dental business successfully, you will need to take your online and social media presence seriously. Create a presence on social media on networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even TikTok, depending on where your practice is located and the demographics you are attempting to reach with your presence. You can join these networks completely free of charge. Keep in mind that if you are thinking of launching ad campaigns, both Facebook and Instagram include built-in ad platforms that make it easier than ever to launch and manage campaigns on the fly.
Using social media to build a following is not as simple as creating a publishing a page with the same name as your dental office. You will need to work consistently to provide ongoing updates and articles of content that would be considered interesting and/or relevant to your current audience. Social media provides the perfect platform to upload articles of content and to even promote any official website you have built to represent your dentist’s office. Use social media to expand your reach and to appeal to prospective clients who may not be in your city or community at the time.
Tips for Using Social Media to Build a Following
If you are determined to take advantage of social media to promote your own dental office, you can do so with consistent publishing on a regular basis. Content is still king when it comes to establishing a thriving online presence. Create a content calendar to keep your followers interested in what you have to say while ensuring you remain active in your preferred network’s current algorithm. Communicate directly with users on social media by responding to questions and inquiries to prove that you are transparent in the services you offer.
10. Manage Your Business Finances Easily
If you want to stay ahead when running your own dental practice, you will need to stay on top of managing your business finances. Taking control of the finances of your business as well as business payroll is necessary to avoid being hit with fees or fines. Working with different programs can also help you to better manage your accounting, especially if you are a dental office that currently accepts cash as a form of payment for the services you provide. Taking care of the payroll involved with your business is essential to avoid disruption of your operation by the IRS or another federal agency.
Starting a dental business does not have to feel daunting, stressful, or overwhelming once you familiarize yourself with the basics involved in the process. When you are serious about starting a dental business, you can get started by establishing your main goals and getting to know the location you are interested in moving into and representing. The more familiar you become with the vision you have for your dental practice, the easier it will become for you to set and achieve goals that allow you to bring your vision into reality.