Rent

Can you save on rent? Do we expect you to move? Well, not necessarily (not that you should totally dismiss that option)!

There are three ways to save on rent:

1. Share your space
2. Move
3. Negotiate for a better rate

1- Share Your Practice

If you are making anything less than $30,000 a month and there is no significant future increase in your projected income, you should seriously consider sharing your practice to cut your overhead. (See Overhead for details.)

If your rent is higher than it should be, sharing your practice with another dentist or professional will cut your rent in half right away (depending on the agreement).

Another reason your rent may be high is if you have an office that is larger than you need. For example if you are making $60,000 a month but you have eight dental chairs in your office, you definitely have an office that is too big. In these cases you either have to expand your office to the full use of the space or think of some way to share the space without compromising much else.

Remember, every dollar saved on rent is extra overhead-free net income!

2- Move

Are you paying retail for your dental office rent? Is your office located in a shopping center? Are you taking advantage of the additional exposure?

I know many dentists (including myself) who now have or previously had offices in a shopping center, but don't take advantage of the exposure or just don't have the kind of practice that is suitable for a shopping center.

If you are one of them, move! That's what I did only one year after opening my practice in a shopping center. First of all, there is always someone who is willing to take over your lease and pay for your old equipment, and second of all, you can save substantially on rent and get a brand new office by moving to a professional building.

Actually, as you learned in the Office Design section, if your office is due for a major remodeling or if you are thinking of sharing your practice with someone else, this may be the best opportunity for you to hit two birds with one stone.

Also, if you are thinking of restructuring your practice and adding a partner, you can do this in your new office and do it correctly from the beginning.

So, never dismiss the option of moving. As far as losing patients because of the move, as long as you stay within a 3-5 mile radius of your existing office in the same city you should be safe.

Use common sense in finding a new location. Parking convenience and other issues in office location should not be compromised by your move.

In my case, over 98% of my patients followed me to the new location and every single one of them was impressed with the new design and setup. It accelerated our growth significantly.

3- Negotiate for a Better Rate

Even if you don't want to move, keep in mind that if you let your landlord know you are willing to move if the rent is not reasonable, it will give you more power when you are negotiating your lease renewal.