Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

December 12-18, 201120 United Kingdom EditionPractice Management I n previous articles I have emphasised the importance of balance in all aspects of your life, suggested ways that that you can discover your core values and shown a technique for exploring and defining your dreams. The title of this piece deliberately places emphasis on the words your and busi- ness. Critics will say (and they fre- quently do) that it’s all very well having these “pie in the sky” dreams but business is harsh. All this talk of ideals and values are fine for coaches and consult- ants to pontificate upon, but come Monday morning you have to get real and put all that stuff to one side. Nobody appreciates that more than me. So how does Monday bring the practice you want? I am a business coach - the strap-line of Dental Business Partners is “building your perfect practice”. I have no illusions about how hard it is to build and maintain a suc- cessful dental practice. I did it for 20 years in general practice and I am currently the business direc- tor of a successful orthodontic practice. Using simple, tried and proven methods I help my clients achieve their goals whether they are running a multi-chair NHS facility, a specialist referral unit or a one chair bespoke practice. The ideas and experiences have over the course of more than two decades evolved to become “The Seven Pillars of Dental Practice Management©”. They are: •Vision •Financial Controls •Sales •Marketing •People •Environment •Systems Each and every pillar is equal- ly important, when one fails the rest are put under extra pressure and business success is threat- ened. Here’s what happens when dentists embrace the changes: It is possible to square the circle of building your dream practice where your patients are treated ethically and comprehen- sively whilst running a profitable business that satisfies your core values and provides balance in your life. DT Applying your dreams to the business of dentistry Alun Rees provides a table of things to do About the author Alun Rees trained at Newcastle Uni- versity and started his career as an oral surgery resi- dent, before work- ing as an associate in a range of differ- ent practices. With this solid founda- tion, Alun went on to launch two prac- tices in the space of just 15 months, a challenge in the toughest economic conditions. After years of hard work Alun finally sold his award-winning business in 2005. Alun now runs Den- tal Business Partners to offer specific and specialised support for dentists, by dentists. He has served as a media representative for both the BDA and BDHF and is an authority consulted by the media and has featured on BBC2, Sky TV and various radio stations. For more information go to www.dental- businesspartners.co.uk, email alun@ dentalbusinesspartners.co.uk or call 07778 148583/01242 511927