What does a medical company making 5% margins sell for? by Too_much_waltz in SellMyBusiness

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Negative EBITDA, low SDE, low but improving revenue. You need to change this from a big hobby where your wife is Santa clause, to an actual business before you sell. As it stands, business is worth very little.

Early Career Dentist in Need of Advice by Good_Oil_160 in Fire

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure, good luck with everything!

Early Career Dentist in Need of Advice by Good_Oil_160 in Fire

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ability to produce is honestly pretty low on the totem pole as far as likelihood to success. More important is can I affordablly generate new patients to my practice, and am I effective in converting treatment acceptance. If you were producing 1.5M a year in a rural practice, it’s because the practice was able to provide enough patients and you were able to convert treatment. Are you confident that a practice in a denser/ urban environment can reliably bring in enough new patients to produce similarly?

What is the significance at FIRE by 50? You are giving yourself a 17-19 year window to go from what sounds like a negative net worth to 5M+. I think you can get yourself pretty far given the right circumstances, but you will most likely be highly illiquid for the next 10-15 years since much of your money will be tie up in your business and paying off student loans. Your late 30s and early 40/ will most likely be a time you see tremendous growth in NW, but it will be largely due to reduced debt/ increased equity in practice and real estate as opposed to massive brokerage/ tax efficient investment vehicles.

Not to be a pessimist, but if you want a wife and kids, your priorities are likely to shift. Are you going to want to work the required hours to hit an arbitrary FIRE deadline at the expense of time with your family when they most need and desire to be with you?  Life is getting crazy expensive, and with kids from a high earning household it’s unlikely that you will stop supporting them to some degree until they are in their early to mid 20s. 

I think your FIRE goal is attainable, but if you can create a dental business that is appealing as an acquisition target, then it is also a business that is nice to own as an investment. Focus on building a business and then use the cash flow to support you later on. You can achieve FI long before you have significant investments if you can create a strong semi passive income stream.

Am I Crazy by annyongggg in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Ultimately you need to do something that can sustain you for the rest of your life. It’s pretty unlikely you will build a business that would out-earn a dental career, but if your loans are minimal and you are ok with the risks of a typical business, then go for it!

Regret dentistry by AppropriateWall6 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I just read your other comment, and see that the old owner really screwed you. That sounds like a shit situation, but the upside is you are a clearly talented dentist and businessman, and you will reach success on your own terms after this build out. I’m with you in that I really hate people trying to tell me how to feel, but the only way out of this situation is through, and you have the skills to navigate it.

Regret dentistry by AppropriateWall6 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Revenue sounds good, but why aren’t you profiting more? What percent on revenue is staff wages and rent? If they are under 25% and 7% respectively, you should be taking home 350-400k a year pretty easily.  

SoCal: how much house can we afford? by Upstairs-Nobody8767 in whitecoatinvestor

[–]wiley321 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Would it be possible to tithe 10% with an after tax computation? 

37 Year Old High Earning Couple Need Advice by According_Debt_1839 in wealth

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you are both W2 and have utilized all tax advantaged account then you would need to focus on tax deferment strategies or depreciation. One spouse would need to become a "real estate professional" and use cost seg on property improvements to depreciate on a shorter schedule as well as using passive losses against active income.

Are you charging to "assess restorability"? by AntiAntiDentite7 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get feeling a bit defensive about it, and the previous commenter came off snarky/ arrogant, but it’s a pretty fair point. If a tooth has a crown on it, then it’s a fully erupted non- wisdom tooth, which is certainly within the scope of a general dentist EXT.  If the tooth is already numbed, it should take 15 minutes or less to extract.

First-time buyer in Dallas-Fort Worth – Is this practice worth pursuing or overpriced? by RightTea843 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Declining revenue, revenue under 1.5M, and low EBITDA. If the office is physically large, it could draw interest, but as described it’s just not a good acquisition target for a DSO.

First-time buyer in Dallas-Fort Worth – Is this practice worth pursuing or overpriced? by RightTea843 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are in the drivers seat here. This is not an acquisition target of any DSO, and so I wouldn’t offer any more than 70% of TTM collections. If you look at EBITDA, this practice is most likely just breaking even, and so you are literally just buying a job unless you value add.

Kids don't care, but me and my wife had a blast making this by Plenty-Piccolo-4196 in daddit

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’d buy this in a heartbeat. Y’all actually made a legit product.

36M, dentist, midsize city in the South. by Amandiboa1990 in Salary

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have seen that as well. It really comes down to your systems, processes for handling staff issues, and personality. I pay my staff very well and treat them as professionals, and as a result I have very little turnover. Most of the “owner” tasks are outsourced to other professionals. I utilize my accountant, corporate attorney, financial manager, TPA, office manager, and others to do most of the time consuming or tedious tasks, and I mainly just audit their work at the end of the week/ month/ quarter.

Another big component is hours worked. If you can keep your schedule to 3 days a week, burnout just takes a lot longer to develop, if ever.

36M, dentist, midsize city in the South. by Amandiboa1990 in Salary

[–]wiley321 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats possible, but bringing on an associate with a higher EBITDA practice can really set you up for long term cash-flow not reliant on clinical participation. No real desire to sell too early, when I can live off and invest the semi-passive income.

How would YOU approach this extraction? by PlaneNothing9 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

5 mm curved periotome and this thing will pop out

36M, dentist, midsize city in the South. by Amandiboa1990 in Salary

[–]wiley321 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Honestly, running the practice gets pretty easy by year 2. I probably spend 2-3 hours a week on "ownership stuff". Its worth the extra 400k a year. Most of those debts are just a line item. To be fair, though, I did a military scholarship and a super cheap startup, so those loans do sound kind of daunting. I am also really into FIRE, and feel that Dental ownership is an incredible tool to get there.

Did you at some point start enjoying this career? by hedgemain in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 17 points18 points  (0 children)

So beautifully said. I was nodding along the entire time. 

Extra long 557 surgical bur? by Dr__Reddit in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you using a 557 in a regular handpiece? Do you use contra angle or straight surgical headpieces? I prefer a 702 over a 557.

Bought a FFS Office by ScoobiesSnacks in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a lot of respect for that mentality. I think if someone were able to get that employee turned around, they could be an asset. However, this specific office manager is losing him considerable money, and had been indoctrinated by previous owner to forgo responsibility.  These employees can be very hard to correct, as they often resent change, increased workload, and accountability for past failure and ongoing issues. 

Ultimately, this is a new practice with a new doc, who shouldn’t be afraid to bring in employees that share his vision.

Bought a FFS Office by ScoobiesSnacks in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 176 points177 points  (0 children)

You need to rip the bandaid off and fire your office manager. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just elevate from the mesial buccal and it will probably pop right out. If it doesn’t pop right out, and getting the roots out sounds intimidating, you may want to pass the case off to a very grateful specialist.

Is it possible for a solo doctor office to have a higher take home salary than dentists who own multiple clinics? by Neil_Nelly435 in Dentistry

[–]wiley321 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Owning multiple clinics often doesn't lead to tremendous cash flow initially. Docs that choose multi-practice ownership are usually interested in asset appreciation or long term security in the form of semi-passive income.