Orthotown November 2013 - (Page 16)

orthotown.com // message board Help! Any Good Resources Out There for Office Start-ups? » Orthotown.com > Message Boards > Non-Clinical Topics > Practice Transitions > Help! Any Good Resources Out There for Office Start-ups? t This new graduate is thinking of opening a start-up practice, but his peers warn otherwise. abc123 Member Since: 01/10/13 Post: 1 of 32 Hi all, I just joined Orthotown last month and am amazed I hadn't found this tremendous resource before! I have just completed a year working on my own in a corporate ortho setting and I'm thinking more and more about setting up my own office. My plan would be to work the corporate job and start-up simultaneously, decreasing the corporate job eventually once the office is in full swing and my loans are looking less dismal... sigh. Unfortunately, I don't feel like I have a good background on how to get started. I've found a pretty good location (i.e., office space that's sandwiched half of a mile between a middle school and separate high school in the suburbs with great visibility), but figure I need to get financing first. Do I need to put a business plan together? How would I figure out financials needed for the build-up? Can anybody suggest books, manuals, websites, banks - anything they have found useful? Or perhaps tell me the sequence of events leading up to your very own start-up? Anything would be great! Thanks! n FEB 18 2013 EarthDogFred Member Since: 11/26/02 Post: 2 of 32 As a recent graduate did you not attend "The Bottom Line" that is put on for residents by 3M Unitek? I attended it once in residency and again the first year out of ortho school. Extremely valuable information for someone who is a recent grad and wanting to take the plunge of starting an office. Also, I asked other successful orthodontists who were not in my area (no competition between us) questions. I graduated about eight years ago. Since graduation I have been an associate, bought an office from another ortho and started two of my own offices. Again, see if you can attend the 3M Bottom Line for residents. n FEB 18 2013 abc123 Member Since: 01/10/13 Post: 3 of 32 Thanks for the input! I did attend one year of the Bottom Line conference but that year (2009) the focus was on practice transitions and not start-ups, as older practicing orthodontists are included nowadays and not just residents. Unfortunately, they did not hold a Bottom Line conference the next year due to scheduling problems, I was told. I will attempt to contact some other more distant orthodontists. Unfortunately, most of the ones I know began as associates or purchased pre-existing locations and therefore did not deal with starting something from scratch. I guess I'm trying to get a feel for how difficult it would be to get financing, find a location, create a layout, etc., and thought the experience of others could give me more of a feel for it. n FEB 19 2013 ilovebraces Member Since: 08/21/11 Post: 4 of 32 16 I started my own practice in 2006, right out of residency. I had a one-day-per-week associateship the first year and then bought a second office. When I took the Bottom Line course in 2005/2006 (it's hard to remember now), it was definitely focused on practice transitions. There was, however, a small section on starting up from scratch given by Tito Norris (San Antonio). In his lecture, he gave a copy of the business proposal he gave to the banks as well as his proforma. I used that information to create my own business plan and proforma. Local banks can often give you better interest rates, but usually want your net worth to be at least equal to what they are loaning you. Not many new or recent grads can pull that off. The bigger banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo have health-care divisions that NOVEMBER 2013 // orthotown.com http://www.orthotown.com http://www.Orthotown.com http://www.orthotown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown November 2013

Orthotown.com Highlights
Wired for Success: Building Your Dream
New Members’ Thoughts on SL Brackets
Help! Any Good Resources Out There for Office Start-ups?
New Office Design – Thoughts?
Seven SEO Strategies to Accelerate New Patient Acquisition
Office Visit: To Serve Others
You Should Know: Boyd Industries
Product Profile: DEXIS
Implementing Strategy in Orthodontic Practice
Addressing the Issue of Compliance – Treating Severe TM Joint Pain Without Surgery
Ad Index

Orthotown November 2013