This is a little, timely gift to those who have not read the book and don't seem to mind my voice reading it from beginning to end.  

Merry Christmas!

You are going to have to make some important decisions right now in order to have a prosperous 2018.  Granted, this is a marketing and demographic-heavy podcast. But it will probably make the difference between striking forward and being left behind.

We are getting lots of questions about where to put a multi-office practice.  How to evaluate these locations is tricky.  The session talks about the of the dentist transitioning to a dental CEO.

Last week we discussed the 10 places to avoid to start a practice.  This week, we have the top 20 cities to consider for a start up based upon growth, development, taxes, and other demographic factors. 

One of the advantages of being more experienced in life (and I mean by that: Older) is you can look back at your mistakes and share the errors with others who have similarly been through a rough time.  The disadvantage is that you cannot really go back and fix all the dumb things you did.  

This session is intended to help you avoid the biggest traps and pitfalls that can haunt you for years to come.  Listen to this session if you want to keep practicing and to avoid the drama that comes from doing dumb stuff.

The concept seems to have been lost, particularly among younger dentists, that one of the best ways to gain visibility and credibility is through local community involvement.  It is difficult to calculate just how important the potential benefit to a practice (and doctor) it can be to get involved in local causes.  Sure, it take time and it is not always easy.  But the judicious use of your time to volunteer can add greatly to the bottom-line value of your practice. 

One of the big problems that amateur demographic sleuths have is that they are not familiar with what is normal and expected.  Because of this, even when they get good and reliable numbers, interpreting them can be a problem.  In fact, in this episode, we discuss some of the biggest and most widely misunderstood data that people use.  And we discuss a little why these mistakes are made.

And I hope you will find this episode entertaining.

OK.  I have to admit that this is both a little news, a little encouragement, and a little screed.  I am not sure why I tend to take the side of individual dentists who are struggling every day to service their clients, make a living, and still have time to do all the good things that they do in their communities.  My primary point in this episode is to add my warning voice to others who are becoming apathetic in the fight for the profession.  But I also firmly believe that there are parts of the U.S. that are showing a much greater amount of benefit for professionals than others.  I supose I don't think you are a victim in your own career.

This episode deals with the numbers, the HARD numbers when it comes to sufficient population and percentage of growth that one needs in order to consider a site for practice.  I tell a story that really happened THIS WEEK to a wonderful professional who had a ridiculous covenant area she was working with and also some fairly unrealistic communities that she was trying (and hoping) would work for her.  All I am saying is that you have good choices on where to go but you have to be accepting of reality (and the demographic numbers) to evaluate them. 

This is a call to action when it comes to making your office more presentable.  Cleaning up your office and parking lot is something that can easily get away from us.  NOW is the time.  But it is also the time to update your image including photos and web site "copy" that may need revision.

There are some doctors who curse their community, patient base, and everything around them, blaming them for slow production, lack of patient cooperation, and referrals.  But the fact is, sometimes the problems that dentists have are self-inflicted wounds.  I mean by this that no one else is responsible nor capable of changing the attitudes of others when it comes to their practice specifically and dentistry generally.  They have to power to make this shift.  I touch only briefly on the Personal Influence Theory which is the means that they have to change things.  This public relations method is a terrific means to adjust the attitudes of people whose opinions matter to the success of a practice. 

There is a rational way to choose between favorable sites and this session is all about it.  Unfortunately, too often doctors will consider the amount of competition in a neighborhood the only criteria they really want to consider.  Unfortunately, that is a bad idea.  Oh, don't get me wrong! Competition can matter but it is certainly not at the top of the list to decide where to go.  Instead, there are other criteria discussed in this episode that are much more important. 

The issue of immigration is a hot topic and represents one of the most significant changes on where to put a practice, especially in major urban centers.  The source of immigrants to the U.S. is changing and so are the cultures and language groups they represent.  This means that doctors can and should consider where the newest additions to the potential patient base are originating.  This session will discuss five of the biggest ways the immigrant population is influencing professional practice. 

This session deals with the issue of choosing a site based upon the cost of doing business.  We are seeing increasingly large differences from community-to-community and site-to-site with regard to the cost of real estate and staff salaries.  There used to be a standard percentage that accountants would set for the costs associated with the office space as well as the amount that was appropriate for staff salaries.  But when we see places that cost twice as much in each category, some places are becoming just too expensive to consider.

Start-up locations in rural communities is a reality when the demographic characteristics are favorable.  This session deals with a rule of thumb regarding growth rates and population size for consideration.  Specific states that are showing promise in their less populated areas are mentioned.