Blog
Real insights on starting, growing, and selling dental practices — from someone who's done it.
Cornerstone Posts
Long-form, in-depth guides on the decisions that matter most when starting and scaling a practice.
How to Start a Dental Practice from Scratch: The Complete Guide
The full arc — mindset, financing, location, lease, buildout, equipment, hiring, marketing — from someone who built a practice from zero, scaled it to seven figures, and sold it on her terms. Ten sections, each linking to the newsletter that tells the story behind the decision.
The Real Cost of Staying an Associate
The hidden costs of staying an associate — confidence erosion, learned helplessness, and detachment — and what to do about it.
Newsletter Archive
Weekly insights on starting, scaling, and owning a dental practice — delivered to your inbox first, archived here.
The Weekend I Almost Called My Lender to Sell
Two months in, an empty schedule, and numbers that would not move. The Sunday I sat at my kitchen table and seriously talked about calling the lender to unwind the loan — why the quitting-math shows up for every owner, and the two things to have lined up before it does.
The Night I Realized No One Was Coming
The mindset shift nobody warns you about: ownership isn't about being a better dentist. It's about being the person every problem stops with — on the night no one is coming to fix it.
I Started Credentialing Before I Opened. Delta Still Took 6 Months.
I did credentialing the smart way — started before I signed the lease. Delta still took six months. The silent-killer story of month-one revenue: submitting the paperwork is 20% of the job. The other 80% is following up.
The UPS Driver, the Vent, and What Nobody Told Me About Buildout
Lease signed to doors open: a year. The last week, I spent tracking a UPS driver on my phone waiting for the X-ray unit to arrive. The vent-through-the-facade fight nobody warned me about. And the lesson I'd take back: build the ROI office, not the dream office.
The Loan Stack: What It Actually Took to Open
I put in zero dollars of my own money. One conventional loan, a line of credit, both signed personally with a spousal guarantee. The thing nobody told me — the draw schedule — almost broke me before I'd seen my first patient.
How I Filled the Operatory
The marketing that filled the operatory wasn't a campaign. It was the experience itself — comprehensive visits, time spent, walking patients through their own scans, creating safety, and writing a personal note in every chart. The goodie bags got people in. The experience is why they came back.
I Hired an Old Colleague. She Got Blood on a Patient's Shirt.
The hiring mistake nobody warns new owners about: assuming past familiarity means present fit. My worst hire was someone I thought I already knew — and the cost wasn't in her salary.
I Bought Too Much Equipment. Here's the Only Stuff I Actually Needed on Day One.
Equipment reps are sales people. The brochure is not a checklist. The premium chair nobody noticed, the CBCT I waited a year for, and the $144K of cash flow I'd give back.
Your Lease Is More Negotiable Than You Think
Most dentists fixate on rent — the most rigid term in the lease. The 5 terms with real negotiation room are buried deep, and they're the ones that decide whether your practice survives a bad year.
The Location Mistake That Almost Cost Me Everything
I almost signed the wrong lease. Not because the numbers looked bad — because the numbers looked great. A demographic report is a snapshot. A location is a bet on the future.
11 Patients in Month One — The Story I Don't Tell Often
The number nobody mentions when they talk about building a 7-figure practice. Month one is not a verdict — it's a launch window.
Before You Buy a Practice, Answer These 5 Questions
The first step to buying a practice isn't finding a practice. It's getting clear enough that when the right opportunity appears, you can move with confidence.
Associate Burnout Isn't About Dentistry. It's About Control.
If you still love patients but feel irritated all the time, this might be why. The agency reframe for high-performing associates.
Startup or Acquisition? Stop Picking. Start Filtering.
A simple 5-question framework to decide whether to start or buy a dental practice — without another month of Googling.
What Are You Actually Building Toward?
Money solves real problems — but it doesn't automatically give you peace, identity, or a lifestyle you actually enjoy. Here's how to define your enough.
If You Feel Boxed In as an Associate, This Is for You
Why the next wave of practice owners won't be driven by money — they'll be driven by identity and leadership.