Your Spouse May See Your Retirement Differently Than You Do
The Transition Conversation Every Dental Family Should Have
There is a different conversation that you’ll need to have with your spouse before considering hanging up your handpieces for the last time, a conversation that you may not have thought much about.
Whether you worked in your practice with your spouse or not, your next big adventure after practice ownership is one that you’ll experience together. As best-selling author Hyrum W. Smith wisely observes in Purposeful Retirement, many couples prepare extensively for the financial aspects of life after work while giving little thought to how their daily lives and relationship will change. Therefore, having honest conversations before selling your practice can avoid unmet expectations.
The good news is that life after dentistry can become one of the most fulfilling seasons of marriage. Couples suddenly gain something they may not have enjoyed for years, and that’s time. With your newfound freedom, you’ll have time to travel, serve together, enjoy grandchildren, deepen friendships, volunteer, pursue hobbies, strengthen your faith, and enjoy unhurried breakfasts.
It's important to recognize that each spouse may think about retirement differently. One spouse may dream about travel while the other looks forward to spending more time on the golf course. One may be excited to volunteer, while the other wants to continue working a few days each week. Neither perspective is wrong, but they do need to be discussed.
Smith makes another insightful observation: every successful marriage has already learned how to adapt to life's transitions. Marriage itself, your dental career, raising children, becoming a practice owner, then empty-nesters and grandparents, all required communication and adjustment. Moving out of practice ownership is simply another transition, one that goes best when you and your spouse are on the same page.
If your practice is large enough and you wish to do so, continuing to practice one or two days a week might make sense. It removes the burden of practice management and keeps you active in clinical dentistry while creating additional flexibility for family life. Leaving practice ownership does not have to be an all-or-nothing decision.
Before listing your practice, consider sitting down together and discussing questions such as:
What do each of us hope retirement will look like?
How much time do we want to spend together, how much personal time is healthy?
Are there places we want to travel while our health is good?
How do we want to invest our time in our family, church, or community?
Would part-time clinical work make the transition more enjoyable?
What dreams have we postponed because of the demands of practice ownership?
At Practice Endeavors, we've discovered that the most satisfying practice transitions involve more than negotiating purchase agreements and closing dates. They involve helping practice owners move into the next chapter of life with confidence and enthusiasm.
After decades of building your future, it's finally time to begin living it on your own terms. You've spent a lifetime building the freedom to choose how you'll spend your healthiest and most active years. Now is the time to enjoy the rewards of that investment. You've spent decades baking the cake; now it's time to enjoy a well-earned slice.
Ready to begin planning the next chapter?
The best retirement plans begin long before a practice is listed for sale. If you'd like to have a confidential conversation about your future, your practice, and the transition you hope to create for both you and your spouse, we'd be honored to help.
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.