Is taking your time such a crime?

By J. Haden Werhan, CPA, PFS

You may have heard the Latin expression tempus fugit, which is often translated to “time flies.” A better translation would be “time escapes,” like a fugitive. Either way, time is a fast-moving culprit. If you snooze, you lose, right?

Not so fast. There also are times when it’s best to slow down.

Taking your investment time

Investing is one of those times. We often speak of embracing a patient, long-term approach to managing your money. Why is that? Beyond the ample academic evidence supporting the strategy, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I’ve met with countless dental professionals who have been saving and investing for decades. Every so often, someone who’s been impatiently playing the market gets lucky and comes out ahead. But most of the successful investors I’ve met have built “sleepy” portfolios of low-cost, indexlike funds allocated according to individual risk tolerances... and putting them on snooze control.

Making big business decisions? Go slow and steady

Your practice development is also often best served when you embrace a patient approach. I’m not suggesting you should stop improving your business! But it’s usually worth sleeping on big decisions before you make them.

If anything, this advice is more relevant today than ever. I remember in the 1980s and 1990s, when consultants would tell private practice dentists that they weren’t competing with one another, but with other ways to spend disposable income - such as at the nearest Mercedes-Benz dealership.

Not anymore. There are so many external business factors, it’s difficult not to feel you must react and restructure your practice at every turn. Corporate dentistry and large group practices, lower reimbursements and higher costs, unknown legislative possibilities . . . these factors and more are contributing to a competitive commoditization of dentistry.