Life After Practice: Preparing for Your Next Chapter
For most dental practice owners, the question of when to sell is not just about financial readiness. It is equally about identity, purpose, and what comes next. Dentistry has shaped not only your career but also your daily rhythm, your relationships, and often your sense of self. That’s why one of the most common barriers to selling is not the numbers on paper, but the uncertainty of what life will look like without the practice.
This uncertainty is real. Many owners continue practicing longer than they intend simply because they don’t have a playbook for their future. But with the right preparation, the transition can be far less daunting, even exciting. That’s where the Life After Practice Playbook comes in.
Beyond the Operatory: Redefining Who You Are. For decades you have been known to patients as “Doc ___” and to your staff as “boss”. But who will you be once you step away? The Playbook begins by helping you clarify the roles that you will have in others’ lives and the values that should guide your next season of life.
Reclaiming Energy and Passion. Running a practice requires significant energy, but hidden in the daily grind are the activities that really energize you like treatment planning, clinical care, business leadership, and connecting with patients. The Playbook helps you identify those sources of energy and consider how they can be reimagined outside of practice ownership.
Test-Driving Your Future. The transition doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Many owners benefit from experimenting before they sell by reducing office hours while maintaining productivity, hiring an associate, taking extended vacations, or serving on nonprofit boards. These “test drives” provide real insight into what post-practice life might feel like.
Designing the Right Transition Path. Not every transition out of ownership looks the same. Some dentists prefer a clean break, while others find fulfillment in working part-time for a buyer, pursuing teaching, or even practicing outside their non-compete area. The Playbook walks you through these options so you can weigh freedom, financial goals, and personal fulfillment.
From Possibility to Plan. Most importantly, the Playbook helps turn ideas into action. You’ll be guided to set priorities for your first year after selling, define long-term goals, and even draft a personal legacy statement. Your life after practice ownership isn’t a leap into the unknown, but a clearly defined and inspiring new chapter.
Another Step. If you pause to reflect, you’ve been through many professional transitions already. They include college, dental school, your first job, and becoming an owner. Selling your practice is one more step in that journey. It’s not the end, but the beginning of another meaningful chapter. The clearer your vision, the more rewarding your future will be.
Request your free copy of the Life After Practice Playbook today and take the first step toward creating your next chapter with purpose and confidence.
Take control of your future
PVA℠ helps practice owners prepare for the inevitable transition of their practices to new ownership.
J. Robert “Bob” Brooks, CEPA, CBI
J. Robert “Bob” Brooks, CEPA, CBI, leads Practice Endeavors, an Ohio-based practice brokerage and dental realty company. His company provides practice owners with the tools they need to prepare well for life after practice ownership and to find the best price/best fit buyers for their seller clients. Bob was integral in starting the first of its kind dental practice broker credentialing for the International Business Brokers Association.