What is optimism? As defined by the Oxford Dictionary optimism is hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something. It is a tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects of a situation.
As described by sales expert Ms Sue Barrett optimism and opportunity play a critical role in business and the mindset of the business owner.
“Being optimistic determines how a person deals with both opportunities and setbacks. Working with purposeful optimism is the key to success. Different from blind optimism, purposeful optimism is built on substance: derived from strategy and underpinned by well-resourced people who are enabled to pursue opportunity and do something meaningful with others.”
This mindset of optimism is invaluable for independent practice owners in today’s market. With unprecedented changes occurring in our industry with the continuous growth of corporate dentistry and health fund encroachment into dental services it is easy and understandable for independent dental practices to be intimidated by the changes occurring around them and form a pessimistic view of the future. However there is good reason for independent dentists to be optimistic about the future.
Regardless of the presence of corporate dentistry there will always be a place in the market for independent practices. The key to this is the link to fundamental reasons as to why many dentists are attracted to practice ownership and to what differentiates an independent practice from a corporate one. These are:
- Providing optimum health care for patients at a high standard.
- Interpersonal skills and relationship with patients.
- Clinical autonomy in the delivery of dentistry and being able to offer the treatment options for patients.
- Freedom and challenge of running your own business.
Independent practice ownership also offers its own financial reward through profit and the creation of a valuable and saleable asset with indications of improved demand and valuations for private practices in recent years. The opportunity for dentists is to recognise their value as independent practice owners and to work together and collaborate other practices owners with ‘purposeful optimism’. By coming together and working in conjunction with supportive service provider’s, independent practices can maintain their competitive advantage, be proactive against the corporates and thrive.
The Dental Innovations Network provides the platform for dentists and supportive service providers to come together. Working closely with 600 practice owner members under one umbrella we are able to achieve the same economies of scale as the corporates on a comprehensive range of services ranging from reduced HICAPS rates to equipment purchase. By focusing our members purchasing power we are able to provide individual practices access to superior pricing to what many corporates are able to achieve as well as systems to assist streamline the operation of a dental practice. Ordering is a key function of all dental practices and through Dental Innovations we are able to deliver savings on average of 20% from previous expenditure as well as provide a systemised ordering process through a one stop portal which gives a practice access to 10 leading suppliers. This is achieved only through the collective and focused purchasing power of over 600 dentists across Australia and New Zealand working under the one umbrella of Dental Innovations.
Be optimistic about the future but more importantly be purposeful and proactive as practice owners to make the most of the opportunity practice ownership offers.
