December 2024
01-12-2024Preparing for 2025 If you’d tried to read all the column inches or online articles speculating about Rachel Reeves’ recent budget announcement, then you’ll have realised such is the volume of material on the subject that it’s an impossible task to keep on top of everything. “There’s almost too much information really”, agrees Oliver Acton … Continue reading “December 2024”
November 2024
01-11-2024A strong, consistent social media presence can be a powerful asset for boosting business visibility and attracting new patients. However, the online dental marketing landscape is crowded and competitive, with numerous practices vying for attention. For many clinicians, time constraints make creating posts that effectively drive ROI challenging. FTA Media is a leader in creative … Continue reading “November 2024”
October 2024
01-10-2024Time Spent Planning, Saves on Execution The amount of information available to us in the digital age has many advantages and can allow us to feel better informed when making a decision, from hotel reservations to grocery selection or film and book reviews. When the financial stakes of the decision are higher, then it’s natural … Continue reading “October 2024”
September 2024
01-09-2024Preparation is the key to a successful dental practice purchase. Anyone who enjoyed the recent Olympic games will surely have marvelled at the ability of the participants and the high levels of preparedness they demonstrated. For many athletes Paris 2024 was a once in a lifetime event, and if not a one-off, then there will … Continue reading “September 2024”
August 2024
01-08-2024Sound Legal Aid Whether you are thinking of buying and/or selling a practice in the near future, within, say, two to five years, or as part of a longer-term strategic objective, when the time arises one certainty is that you will need the services of a solicitor to assist in the transaction. The sale or purchase … Continue reading “August 2024”
July 2024
01-07-2024The Way to Get (Like for) Likes If accumulating likes on social media has become a laudable and legitimate business goal, it’s a fair bet that excessive use of accounting jargon in your posts would be a good way to lose them again. However, it need not be that way, and, as Oliver Acton of … Continue reading “July 2024”
June 2024
01-06-2024Know your Audience ‘Know your audience’ is wise advice. Rishi Sunak should have taken heed when, on his first day on the election campaign trail and sitting among Welsh voters, he asked if they were looking forward to the Euro 2024 football tournament this summer (for those who don’t know, Wales didn’t qualify). The lesson learned is that to … Continue reading “June 2024”
May 2024
01-05-2024Don’t Just Hope for The Best…Take Steps to Ensure It The purchase of a dental practice is, for many, one of, if not the, biggest decision of their careers. In other aspects of our lives, decisions of arguably lesser consequence are often well researched with expert advice often called upon; from test driving a car … Continue reading “May 2024”
April 2024
01-04-2024Very few of us would attempt to tackle a complex problem, in an area outside of our normal expertise; a successful solution at the first time of asking would be highly unlikely and therefore require a large degree of good fortune. Most of us would prefer not to leave things to chance, particularly if that … Continue reading “April 2024”
March 2024
01-03-2024One word, one concept, but definitely not one size fits all. Communication lies at the heart of almost everything we do, so much so that failures in processes are often attributed to ‘systems not talking to each other.’ Even in today’s digital age, the art of effective communication remains paramount. Ask any cross-section of society … Continue reading “March 2024”
February 2024
01-02-2024New Years’ Solution In the early weeks of the year, it’s likely that whilst a few new year’s resolutions will have been achieved already, others lapsed, and most will likely still be on the ‘to do’ list of objectives for the year. For anyone whose plans for 2024 include buying a dental practice, it’s likely … Continue reading “February 2024”
January 2024
01-01-2024Prevention Better Than Cure All Round Without doubt a fundamental principle of the dental profession is to provide the best level of care for patients, and quite rightly something on which the industry holds itself to the highest of standards. It’s important other aspects of care, not least for employees, are given similarly high attention. … Continue reading “January 2024”
December 2023
01-12-2023Thinking Ahead Benjamin Franklin once said that by “failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. This has become a common saying and the importance of preparation cannot be overstated particularly when you’re preparing to sell your dental practice. “Running a dental practice is a full -time job”, says Lis Hughes of Frank Taylor & … Continue reading “December 2023”
November 2023
01-11-2023Knowledge is power! It’s always lovely to hear positive feedback about the service we deliver and the feedback from our first ‘Blueprint for Success’ masterclass was no different. Held at the end of September, our one-day masterclass aimed specifically at those wanting to inform their journey into dentistry whether as a new dentist, associate or … Continue reading “November 2023”
October 2023
01-10-2023The Hardest Job It’s often said, probably only partly in jest, that the hardest job in the country is that of manager of the national football team. The team’s success (or otherwise!) can have quite an impact on the national mood. It seems everyone has a view on tactics and team selection and what the … Continue reading “October 2023”
Sept 2023
01-09-2023Leasehold or Freehold: The Hidden Detail The purchase of a dental practice, or indeed any property or business, should be the culmination of a series of well thought out and researched decisions. These will be the purchaser’s assessments on the location, style of property, accessibility, the client base, the opportunity and affordability of any improvements … Continue reading “Sept 2023”
August 2023
01-08-2023No Need to Fear the Legal Minefield We’ve discussed before that for many in the industry buying and/or selling their dental practice will be one of, if not the, biggest financial transaction of a lifetime, and what steps can be done to maximise that value. Of course, getting a good valuation is critical, but it … Continue reading “August 2023”
July 2023
01-07-2023Goodwill Hunting – Part 2 Lis Hughes of Frank Taylor & Associates continues her discussion on how to increase the goodwill in your practice. Last month we looked at lease lengths and potential extensions, the benefits of doing work ‘in house’ rather than onward referring. This month we look at efficiency, maximising the return on your … Continue reading “July 2023”
June 2023
01-06-2023Goodwill Hunting A lot is written and spoken about goodwill in a business, but in its simplest terms it refers to the value of a business over and above its tangible assets. It’s easy enough to understand the value to physical (i.e., tangible) assets like equipment, chairs, or computers, it’s harder to put a monetary … Continue reading “June 2023”
May 2023
01-05-2023Where there’s a Will, there’s peace of mind. What do Picasso, Jimi Hendrix, and Abraham Lincoln all have in common? You’re probably thinking, not much. But they do, in fact, have one big thing in common. They all died intestate—which means they died without having a will. As living creatures, the sad, but brutal truth, … Continue reading “May 2023”
April 2023
01-04-2023‘Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work’ Central to the success of any business are its people. A motivated, valued team will work hard and espouse the values of your business. The desire to look after its people is what prompted Frank Taylor & Associates (FTA) to review their working week and offer … Continue reading “April 2023”
March 2023
01-03-2023Short, Sweet and Super Important (Part 2) Andy Acton of Frank Taylor & Associates continues his explanation of the importance of understanding your business’ EBITDA. ‘We’ve already discussed why understanding the underlying financials are a key part of our valuation process. I’d hesitate to say that ‘the devil is in the detail’ as … Continue reading “March 2023”
February 2023
01-02-2023Short, Sweet and Super Important The use of acronyms is commonplace in most walks of life, and many have just become accepted as part of the language, even the oracle itself, the Oxford English Dictionary, is known in its shorter form of OED! To the uninitiated these abbreviations can seem overly complicated, daunting even, as … Continue reading “February 2023”
January 2023
03-01-2023Peace of Mind, not Back of Mind In day-to-day life, business and personal, we will often insure against the consequences of an undesirable event. Of course, we hope never to need to claim, whether it be for an accident, loss or theft of a valuable item, serious illness or death. It’s never nice to think … Continue reading “January 2023”
December 2022
13-12-2022The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts It’s been almost impossible to escape the sense of economic downturn, every news broadcast seems to bring more harbingers of doom, be it in the form of rising inflation and interest rates, a weakening pound and the likelihood of a prolonged recession. It’s hardly the … Continue reading “December 2022”
November 2022
02-12-2022Controlling the controllables Lis Hughes discusses the way forward in difficult financial times. It’s hard to escape the current uncertainty in the economic environment; it seems after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the ‘new normal’ we all longed for is one of inflation, rising interest rates, a weakening pound and the spectre of recession looming … Continue reading “November 2022”
October 2022
02-12-2022Celebrating a century As a celebration of its 100th article featured in Dentistry magazine, Lis Hughes reflects on FTA’s accomplishments and contributions to the industry over the years. This is a bit of a landmark Practice Value Index, being the 100th one run by Frank Taylor & Associates (FTA) in Dentistry magazine. Reflecting on the … Continue reading “October 2022”
September 2022
02-12-2022Preparing for rainy days While many of us in the UK have been desperate for rain clouds to provide some relief from the scorching summer temperatures, many commentators believe storm clouds are gathering on the economic front. Recent interest rate rises have caused some reluctance from borrowers to either enter or complete mortgage or loan … Continue reading “September 2022”
August 2022
02-12-2022Procrastination is the thief of time Andy Acton of Frank Taylor and Associates recently led the keynote speech at the Start Up in Dentistry event. He was able to share his insights and experiences of the entire practice buying process with the attendees. ‘Well before the ink is dry on any contract, before a client … Continue reading “August 2022”
July 2022
02-12-2022The new normal – what does that look like? In the midst of multiple lockdowns, the phrase ‘new normal’ was an alliterative addition to all our vocabularies. At the time the term generally referred to the new way of life to which we were all adapting whilst restrictions were imposed. In fact, in the UK … Continue reading “July 2022”
June 2022
01-06-2022Don’t Restrict Your Market In most areas of life if we are faced with a decision in an area for which we aren’t an expert, we will seek professional advice, whether that is repairs to the car or the home or an appointment with the doctor. Put simply, we want to minimise the risk of … Continue reading “June 2022”
May 2022
01-05-2022NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT If we think back around two years, and to the start of the pandemic, there was, not surprisingly, a lot of uncertainty and pessimism about how almost every sector of the economy would perform and how and when a recovery would begin. The market for dental practices was no different, … Continue reading “May 2022”
April 2022
24-04-2022The Devil is in the Detail We’re all familiar with sweeping statements in the press such as “House Prices to rise by x %” or “Energy bills set for y % increase”, not surprisingly these can engender either excitement or fear in equal measure. Such headlines are usually very broad averages, and the reality of … Continue reading “April 2022”
March 2022
24-03-2022Market Trending Upwards The latest set of quarterly data on goodwill from NASDAL (National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers) makes interesting reading. Andy Acton of Frank Taylor & Associates comments, “The data is always interesting and gives a really useful and timely indication of how the market is behaving. Goodwill is important in … Continue reading “March 2022”
February 2022
24-02-2022The option to call on expert help has long been a valuable lifeline on one of TV’s most famous quiz shows. Contestants, when faced with a tricky decision, can call on the help of a friend, ideally one knowledgeable in the field to which the question relates. The principle of asking an expert for advice … Continue reading “February 2022”
January 2022
24-01-2022Whilst the spectre of further lockdowns and rising case numbers mean we can’t be complacent, the gradual arrival of ‘new normal’, if not a return to the old one, means that many industries are starting to both look forward with more confidence and look back on a turbulent last 18 to 24 months with some … Continue reading “January 2022”
