Every successful business comes to a point where an option or need to expand presents itself. Business owners must weigh the pros, cons, and their reasoning for the expansion. The same is true of dental practices. At some point, dental practice owners may think they need to expand their business.
Each dental practice may have different reasons which lead to the idea. Maybe your office is getting more attention and patients. Your practice may not have enough space and resources to handle many new patients. Some practices simply want more space to improve the patient’s experience. Others may want to bring in more equipment, but they don’t have space in their current office.
Whatever the reason is, you need to be diligent in your reasoning and planning before jumping into an expansion plan. Check out this list of pros and cons to see if expanding is right for you.
Pros
More Patients
One of the biggest advantages of expanding is the ability to take on more patients. With a larger practice, you can handle more appointments and increase your regular patient basis.
More Staff
When you move to a larger office, you get to increase the number of employees on your payroll. The more staff you have, the more care you can give. With this increase in staff, you can ensure patients are always well taken care of and never waiting too long for care.
More Office Hours
As a byproduct of having more staff, you can, if you wish, increase your office hours. Your staff can see more patients while not feeling overworked by the increase in hours—thanks to the added staff. More office hours mean more patient care and more profit.
New Location and a New Start
Of course, with expansion comes excitement in having a new practice. You can change the way your office is set up. Your staff will feel as though they’ve received a fresh start. With change comes excitement and opportunity, so you know your staff will never be bored.
Cons
Increased Expenses
Some of the biggest downfalls of expanding are the costs. You’ll have to pay a lot upfront to move all your equipment while purchasing more equipment to fill out your office. Not to mention the increased space costs more itself.
Your Staff Must Be Willing to Move
Depending on where your new practice is in the current gig economy, you’ll have to convince your staff to move with you. Many employees get used to their routine, and they may not want to change. The new office could increase their commute time by too much. It’s your job to convince that the move is positive even while considering the potential downfalls.
You Need to Keep Your Current Patients
Like keeping your staff, you must keep your old patients. If you were to move, and lose your current patients, you may have a rough start in your new office. You must reach out to each patient and let them know where your new office is. From there, you may even need to incentivize them to continue coming to your practice.
Final Thoughts
It will be up to you to consider the pros and cons when it comes to expanding your dental practice. If you are indeed interested in expanding your practice, try hiring freelancers in the dental industry near you. You can fill out our form or download our app to get started with Stynt.
