If you’re thinking about waiting another year to sell, what do you hope will be different by then?

“I think I’ll work one more year.”

If you’re considering when you’ll sell your dental practice, that statement can feel like a comfortable decision. You know your patients, your staff, and the routine you’ve followed for years. You know what Monday morning looks like.

Life after ownership can be harder to picture. What would fill your week? Would you miss being needed? Would you enjoy having more freedom, or find yourself wondering what to do with it?

Those are real questions. Before you commit to another year, it’s worth asking whether the additional time would help you answer them.

What would another year accomplish?

There are good reasons to continue owning a practice. You may still enjoy clinical dentistry and the responsibilities of ownership. You may have a financial goal that another year would help you reach.

If that’s the case, be clear about the result you want and when you’ll review your decision.

But you may already be financially able to sell, with a practice that’s ready for a buyer. You may have little interest in changing systems, hiring more people, or taking on another project. Your hesitation may have more to do with leaving a familiar life than preparing the practice.

In that situation, ask yourself:

What do I expect to know a year from now that I don’t know today?
What would I do during that year to become more comfortable with selling?

If you’d follow the same routine and revisit the same questions next November, what would make the decision easier then?

What would you want life after ownership to include?

You don’t need every detail settled before you begin exploring a sale. Start with what you’d miss and what you’d welcome leaving behind. Let’s face it, it’s a trade-off.

You might miss treating patients and working alongside your team, while looking forward to fewer management responsibilities. That’s a reason to explore whether continuing clinical work after a sale would suit you. Any arrangement would need to work for both you and the buyer.

Or you may be ready to leave dentistry and want more time with family, travel, church involvement, volunteering, or interests that have had to fit around the practice. If you’re married, talk with your spouse about what an ordinary week could look like. Try spending some time on an interest or hobby now to learn whether you’d enjoy more of it.

The goal is to make life after ownership concrete enough that you can weigh it against another year of the life you already know.

What would help you make a decision?

A conversation about selling can begin with the questions that are holding you back.

How would a buyer be selected?
What might happen to your staff?
Could you continue practicing?
How much time should you allow for a sale?

Learning more about those issues can help you decide whether you want to move forward. If your practice needs a closer assessment, our Practice Value Acceleration (PVA℠) service can help identify preparation priorities. If you’re ready to sell, we can discuss the sale process and your preferred timing.

Before Christmas, let’s talk about what you’d want from a sale and what’s making the decision difficult. Whether you continue ownership or begin a transition, you’ll have a clearer basis for deciding what another year would accomplish.

Call Practice Endeavors at 740-505-2020 or use the button below to arrange a confidential conversation. We can talk by phone or meet at your office or away from the office, whichever you prefer.

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One More Year, To Accomplish What?

If you’re thinking about waiting another year to sell, what do you hope will be different by then?

What would another year accomplish?

What would you want life after ownership to include?

What would help you make a decision?