Running Rural and Small Town Dental Practices with Dr. Sukhman Chauhan

06/19/20 • 41 min

During this episode of the Practice Accelerator Podcast, we speak with Dr. Sukhman Chauhan. Dr. Chauhan Sukhman talks about working in small town rural dental practices in comparison to big city practices, the nuances to consider when interacting with small communities, and what it took to start her practice.

Episode Highlights:

What is Dr. Sukhman Chauhan’s background?
Why did she decide upon a small town practice?
She talks about commuting by airplane weekly for two years to a small town practice.
What are some nuances of running a rural practice?
How did she learn to appreciate interacting with local patients?
What are the advantages to a rural practice as opposed to a big city practice?
What are the business pros and cons?
She shares her experience with the diversity of specialized procedures in small towns.
Be great with your patiences and be great with your staff.
She talks about her experience with taking over a practice.
How did she transition into the new practice and the old system.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your team and learn how to integrate the business with them.

3 Key Points:

Commit to trying out a work environment instead of just basing your choice on the experience of others.
When you make assumptions, you set yourself up for disappointment and possibly failure.
Good communications are especially important in small dental practices because people get to know you.

Tweetable Quotes:

“The choice of moving to a smaller town did not come right away. I had already moved from India to Canada. So, that was already a big move for me and my family.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships with people and other team members of being in a smaller community just forced us to be closer to each other as a team and I kind of liked that office environment.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“It’s one thing to listen to people’s experiences and make your decision based on that. But it is very different when you actually do it.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
(Running a rural dental practice) “You aren’t just a dentist anymore. You are a community person as well. People want to see that aspect of you.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“If one person had a bad experience, it could mean that you lose 10 more potentials, right? They are going to talk.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan

Resources Mentioned:

Canoe Dental Website: https://canoedental.ca

Episode Highlights:

What is Dr. Sukhman Chauhan’s background?
Why did she decide upon a small town practice?
She talks about commuting by airplane weekly for two years to a small town practice.
What are some nuances of running a rural practice?
How did she learn to appreciate interacting with local patients?
What are the advantages to a rural practice as opposed to a big city practice?
What are the business pros and cons?
She shares her experience with the diversity of specialized procedures in small towns.
Be great with your patiences and be great with your staff.
She talks about her experience with taking over a practice.
How did she transition into the new practice and the old system.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your team and learn how to integrate the business with them.

3 Key Points:

Commit to trying out a work environment instead of just basing your choice on the experience of others.
When you make assumptions, you set yourself up for disappointment and possibly failure.
Good communications are especially important in small dental practices because people get to know you.

Tweetable Quotes:

“The choice of moving to a smaller town did not come right away. I had already moved from India to Canada. So, that was already a big move for me and my family.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships with people and other team members of being in a smaller community just forced us to be closer to each other as a team and I kind of liked that office environment.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“It’s one thing to listen to people’s experiences and make your decision based on that. But it is very different when you actually do it.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
(Running a rural dental practice) “You aren’t just a dentist anymore. You are a community person as well. People want to see that aspect of you.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan
“If one person had a bad experience, it could mean that you lose 10 more potentials, right? They are going to talk.” -Dr. Sukhman Chauhan

Resources Mentioned:

Canoe Dental Website: https://canoedental.ca

Previous Episode

Construction! Building and Expanding a Dental Practice with Mike Mackay of Ripple Projects

During this episode of the Practice Accelerator Podcast, we speak with Mike Mackay, principal and partner in Ripple Projects. Mike Mackay discusses what is involved in building a practice, factors that impact the cost of your construction budget, and the key team members that are needed to build your dental office.

Episode Highlights:

What is the background of Ripple Projects?
What are his thoughts on dentists going for a free-standing building versus being located in a plaza?
How do you choose a contractor when you are building?
What is the difference between a general contractor versus a project manager?
What is a dentist actually paying for with project managers?
What other team members are needed for construction projects?
What are the factors that impact cost?
Mike Mackay discusses the timing of a project.
You ideally want construction happening during your free-rent period.
Ripple Projects has been able to build out dental practices lately in 8-10 weeks in the construction phase.
Have your team in place early on.
Mike talks about what construction contracts typically look like.
Give the bad news first because bad news requires action. Good news does not.
How does a dentist pay for the creation of their practice?
What advice does Mike Mackay have for those building during COVID-19?
Let the professionals do their job.

3 Key Points:

General contractors may self-perform a lot of their own work with their own class. Project managers mostly coordinate the project and put teams together for the required work.
You are going to need a mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and a design done that meets code.
The drivers that effect consultant cost: architecture fees, engineering fees, builder, project manager, general contractors, square footage, and the existing building condition.

Tweetable Quotes:

“We are a small boutique firm that specializes in commercial and residential work. Our passion is driven by design and is influenced by a lot of great architecture throughout the world, and a lot of the work we do, whether it is on the commercial side or the residential side is driven by space and use of space.” -Mike Mackay
“The name (Ripple) starts with an idea and then ripples out from there, and I think that is like anything. That is how things start and they move, and things are fluid.” -Mike Mackay
“A free-standing building may give you more exposure for marketing purposes and it may have more presence to the public. You’re typically going to have more overhead costs involved.” -Mike Mackay
“Getting a critical path early on, right from the beginning of your project is key, from zoning, planning, design, and having all the consultants planning timeframes that they have to work to.” -Mike Mackay

Resources Mentioned:

Next Episode

Selling your Dental Practice, the Valuation, the Do's and Don'ts, and Everything in Between with Timothy A. Brown

During this episode of the Practice Accelerator Podcast, we speak with Timothy A Brown, CEO of ROI Corporation, Canada’s leading healthcare practice appraiser and business broker, working with business owners to reveal the fair market value of their business. Timothy A. Brown talks about what goes into valuing a practice, what to look for in reliable brokers, the dos and don’ts of the sale process, and the major moments that occur during the typical dental practice sale.

Episode Highlights:

What is a business broker and why would a dentist need to hire one when selling their practice?
Empathy for the buyer can reduce the sale price.
What are the benefits of a reputable broker?
What are common dos and don’ts during the sale process?
Dentists need to make sure they are ready to sell.
What do the milestones of the sale process look like?
What goes into valuing a practice?
Timothy A Brown discusses the key performance metrics he looks out for?
He discusses non-ground level practices vs. ground-level practices.
How is COVID-19 impacting the industry?

3 Key Points:

Dentists deserve to sell their practice with dignity and profit.
Pay for the expertise of the broker to guide the sale of your dental practice efficiently
Be weary of the impossible promise of a broker saying they can get you more money. It is misleading because how can they promise to outdo other brokers?

Tweetable Quotes:

“When you negotiate for yourself, you can accidentally become somewhat empathetic towards the purchaser.” -Timothy A Brown
“We are the intermediary. We keep everyone at arm’s length. I wouldn’t say we sterilize the process. But we certainly take out some of the risk of becoming intimate or empathetic towards a purchaser.” -Timothy A Brown
“Empathy will reduce the sale price from the eyes and the mind of a buyer in a large amount of instances.” -Timothy A Brown
“You as a seller, you can pay the commission to the buyer or you can pay it to the broker. EIther way there is a very high probability you will be paying a reduction in sale price.” -Timothy A Brown
“Because we work here at ROI Corporation in Canada, we exclusively work and represent for the owner. We only advocate for owners.” -Timothy A Brown

Resources Mentioned: