Steps to establishing multiple dental practices

4-9 offices

Vincent Cardillo, MBA

 

In my initial article, I noted that private-equity backed multilocation group practices, or dental service organizations (DSOs), are becoming more influential and controlling a larger portion of the dental market. In my 20-plus years of experience growing DSOs, I’ve identified all successful, developing offices’ progress through Six Stages of Growth. Therefore, as you transition from solo practitioner (Stage 1), to entrepreneurial (Stage 2), to foundation development (Stage 3), which involves ownership of four to nine offices, following these progressive steps will facilitate your ongoing growth.

Editor’s note: This article is part four of a seven-part series. Part five will appear in February. Find previous articles on DentalEconomics.com. Search “Cardillo.”

Last month’s article highlighted Stage 2 (two to three offices). This is where your business moves from you directly managing and producing in one office, to you becoming a leader by establishing your infrastructure, delegating responsibilities to others, and mentoring and training your clinical and nonclinical team members while growing your practices.

This month’s article focuses on Stage 3 (four to nine offices). This is your “aha!” moment, when you realize that things will run just fine when you aren’t there. You’ll decide what functions to centralize or decentralize, while outsourcing tasks to ensure you have the best people completing the jobs. Additionally, as you continue to leverage resources and scale your business, you’ll need to follow either an acquisition or de novo model while determining whether your locations will be branded or nonbranded.