Posted by Amy Carbone on Apr 4, 2022 9:00:00 AM
Business plans are an essential part of starting a new business — and dental practices are no exception.
By creating a thorough business plan, you can understand the current state of your business, your goals for the future, and express your plans to possible lenders.
Why Do I Need To Create a Business Plan?
A University of Oregon study showed that entrepreneurs with business plans were 21% more likely to see their business grow. In addition, they were two times more likely to secure loans or business investments.
Here are five things to consider when creating your business plan:
1. Cover Standard Items
There are some necessary standard items in any business plan, including:
- An overview of your dental practice, including your business’ mission statement, vision, and goals. This helps a potential lender understand what you're trying to accomplish and the values you’ll utilize in the process.
- Your current team and any hiring needs. By knowing what kind of team you're looking for and understanding your hiring needs, potential lenders can see that you're focused on developing your business.
- A current market summary, including opportunities you see for your practice and competitors.
By creating a comprehensive business plan, your practice and any potential lenders can utilize it to understand the facets of your dental practice and your plans for the future.
2. Your Plan for Operations
You’ll want to include details about the day-to-day operations of your office, including:
- Staffing needs and workflow allocation.
- Your practice’s ideal patient flow.
- Necessary equipment you need to purchase.
- A breakdown of your estimated pricing.
This section should also include practice organization and management, including an organizational chart, who is responsible for certain tasks, and any other relevant information about your dental practice’s operations.
This section should provide potential lenders with an overview of the fundamentals of your practice and how your office will function.
3. Marketing and Growth Strategy
Once you have the basics covered in your business plan, it’s important to explain your marketing and growth strategies.
This is helpful for both you and the potential lenders, as it allows you to have a guide for your company that you can refer back to in the future and shows lenders you have strategies in place to grow your business.
4. A Financial Overview
A financial overview for your business plan informs your potential lenders that you have an idea of how much money you will need and a plan on how to spend it.
In this section, you should include:
- Any startup capital you currently have and how you’ve allocated it.
- Equipment you need to purchase and an estimate of how much it will cost.
- How much your office space rent or mortgage will cost.
- How much you will pay for employee salaries, benefits, and other related expenses.
In addition, it’s important to include an estimate of how much money you expect your practice to make over time. You may even want to include a projection of how long it would take you to pay back the loan or investment.
Overall, you want to ensure you understand the current state of your practice’s finances, how much additional money you need, and how you would spend it.
5. A Timeline for Revisions
Throughout your career, you’ll want to update your business plan to reflect the current state of your dental practice.
According to the ADA, your updated business plan should include:
- Your dental practice’s current financial position, including any debt.
- Updated information on your lender and lending terms.
- An analysis of your current costs and your break-even point.
By updating your business plan on a regular basis, you can maintain oversight of your business, plan for growth, and ensure your dental practice is successful.
Ready to Start Your Dental Practice?
At Treloar & Heisel, we work with dental and medical professionals like you to help to protect what you’ve worked so hard to build. No matter where you are in your career, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today to discuss our wide range of services and solutions to protect yourself and your practice.
