Is Practice Ownership Right For You? ‘BossLady’ on Squat Practices – PDP237
Description
Is Practice Ownership worth the stress?
What’s the most difficult thing you have to do as a practice owner?
Thinking about starting your own squat practice?
How long does it really take before you see profit, and what sacrifices do you need to make along the way?
In this episode, Jaz is joined by Dr. Shabnam Zai to unpack the real highs and lows of running a dental practice. From the loss of control as an associate, to the resilience needed during COVID, to the challenges of leadership and managing a team—nothing is sugar-coated here.
They also tackle the big money question: when does a squat practice finally become profitable, and is it worth the grind in those first few years?
If you’ve ever wondered whether practice ownership is for you—or why it might not be—this episode will give you the clarity (and reality check) you need.
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https://youtu.be/Tf1bgOWMA2A
Protrusive Dental Pearl: “DO NOT COMPARE YOUR WORK TO WHAT YOU SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA”
Most cases shown online are the very best results, done under perfect conditions by clinicians with thousands of hours of experience.
Instead of letting that trigger self-doubt or imposter syndrome, use it as inspiration: respect it, aspire toward it, and occasionally achieve it — but remember that real-world dentistry is different.
Need to Read it? Check out the Full Episode Transcript below!
Key Takeaways
- Engagement in work is crucial for job satisfaction.
- Time management is essential for balancing work and family.
- Marketing and patient relationships are vital for practice growth.
- Quality time with family is more important than quantity.
- Coaching can help surface potential and provide accountability. Delegation is essential for effective practice management.
- Vulnerability can arise unexpectedly in practice ownership.
- Managing people requires empathy and clear communication.
- Being an associate can be fulfilling and offers flexibility.
- It’s important to have projects outside of dentistry.
- Balancing family life with practice ownership is challenging but possible.
- Financial planning is crucial before starting a practice.
- Understanding your priorities helps in making career decisions.
- Documenting staff performance is key to effective management.
- Continuous learning and self-improvement are vital for success.
Highlights of this episode:
- 0000 Teaser
- 00:25 Intro
- 06:10 : Guest Introduction – Dr. Shabnam Zai
- 08:38 Journey into Dentistry and Practice Ownership
- 15:08 Practice Philosophy and Security
- 16:33 Decision Making and Growth
- 19:10 Hardest Part of Being a Practice Owner
- 24:30 Balancing Parenthood and Dentistry
- 26:10 Coaching and Supporting Others
- 30:44 Compliance and Personality Types
- 34:15 Compliance and Personality Types
- 35:55 Navigating Career Vulnerability During COVID-19
- 37:06 The Importance of Self-Awareness and Managing People
- 40:07 The Forever Associate Trend
- 43:01 Projects vs Goals
- 48:33 Balancing Parenthood and Professional Growth
- 50:47 Financial Considerations for Starting a Practice
- 59:05 Final Thoughts and Mentorship Opportunities
- 59:42 Outro
Enjoyed this episode? You might also like Treatment Co-Ordinators – Are They Right For Your Practice? – IC043
#PDPMainEpisodes #CareerDevelopment #BeyondDentistry
Connect with Dr. Shabnam:
Website → shabnamzai.com
Instagram → @drshabnamzai
This episode is eligible for 1 CE credit via the quiz on Protrusive Guidance.
This episode meets GDC Outcomes:
B: Effective management of self and working with others in the dental team.
AGD Subject Code: 550 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RELATIONS
Aim: To provide dentists with an honest, practical insight into practice ownership—particularly squat practices—covering the challenges, rewards, financial realities, and mindset shifts needed for success.
Dentists will be able to –
- Explain the main motivations for becoming a practice owner versus remaining an associate.
2. Describe the key challenges of practice ownership, including compliance, leadership, and financial planning.
3. Outline the realistic financial commitments involved in setting up a squat practice.
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Click below for full episode transcript:
Teaser: Sometimes when you take a step back, you can actually take a bigger step forward. When people say, how much does it cost to set up a spot, I laugh because it's completely the wrong question to be asking.
Teaser:
The reason I say that is, is because how much your practice is gonna cost depends on, but I did it by reducing clinical day, but I cut down from five to four. What was interesting, my income didn’t change. You know, you have to be honest. Sometimes practices don’t work out. You know, and that’s okay, but–
Jaz’s Introduction:
Practice ownership, it makes a lot of sense. In fact, in a lot of countries that is the culture. You qualify, you buy a practice, you do your own brand of dentistry. You are never truly fulfilled until you are a practice owner. In fact, in some countries, the associates are rare. Now, here in the UK, US, Australia, there is a big associate culture, if you like. There are many associates out there.
And you know what? As an associate, myself, there are so many good things, but there are also some bad things, the lack of control. What if tomorrow a corporate takes over the practice completely changes the culture? It’s what happened to me. And then you have to jump ship and start your patient base all over again. You lose that security, you lose that control and security control are too major reasons we explore today and why one may consider to become a practice owner.
And particularly we’re talking about a squat practice. A squat practice is when you buy a building and you turn it into a dental practice. So whilst the themes we cover in today’s episode with Dr. Shabnam Zai, it does apply to buying an existing dental practice because we talk about leadership, we talk about being the boss, being the principal.
A lot of our advice, especially when we talk about money towards the end, is about when you are doing a startup or a squat. Hello, Protruserati I’m Jaz Gulati, and welcome back to your favorite Dental Podcast. You’ll find out why I don’t think owning a practice is right for me at this stage of life. And maybe never, maybe you’ll never be right for for me, there are a few really good and really important reasons why I hate the idea of running my own practice. So you’ll get to hear about that later, but then you get to hear about so many benefits and good things and why it might be the best thing that ever happened to you, as explained by Shabnam.
The kind of themes that we cover are: Is it right for you to be a practice owner? What are the sacrifices you have to make? What’s the most difficult thing you have to do as a practice owner? How long would it take for you to make a profit? Does it mean that you may have to give up your clinical dentistry? What’s the most challenging thing about being the boss?
Dental Pearl
And so many other themes explored in this one hour podcast. Now this episode is eligible for CE credits as Protrusive Education is a PACE approved education provider, and so when you answer the quiz at the end on the app, you’ll get your CE and CPD. Talking of the app, the app has inspired today’s Protrusive Dental Pearl.
I’d like to give you a quick win at the start of every PDP episode. So, as you know, we built this community of 4,000 of the nicest and geekiest dentists in the world. It’s absolutely magic. Waking up and seeing all these notifications and all these cases being posted, and all the advice t
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