4 BUILDING OR REFRESHING YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE Assembling Your Team The vendors you hire for your new dental office development project play an integral role in the success of your new practice. If any one of them drops the ball, you will lose both time and money, and you may suffer the effects of those losses for years. Beware: there are far too many “I’ll refer all my clients to you, if you refer all your clients to me” relationships in the dental industry. You may benefit from asking the person who is assembling your team to give you several recommendations to consider in each field. Here is a list of the team members who can help you successfully complete your dental office: • Dental equipment consultant/supplier • Commercial real estate agent/broker • Financial lender • Architect/designer • Contractor • Technology specialist • Accountant • Attorney • Practice management advisor Dental Equipment Consultant/Supplier A dental equipment consultant can meet with you to discuss your 10-year plan. Once a 10-year plan has been established, he or she can help you determine the required square footage for your office. While you are looking for your dental office space and applying for loan pre-approval, the consultant can assist you in making intelligent equipment decisions. Your consultant should care more about getting the best value and staying within your dental equipment budget than about the commissions generated from your equipment purchases. Once you sign a lease or purchase agreement, get loan pre-approval, and make all your equipment decisions, you and your consultant can see the architect to begin developing a space plan for your new office. While the space plan is being developed, the equipment consultant can help you select a technology specialist with dental experience, who can help finalize technology decisions that fit within your budget. Dental equipment and technology decisions must be made before the space plan is approved and the engineering phase has begun. Having the discipline to make informed equipment and technology decisions before the engineering stage — and stick with these choices — is extremely important to your budget. Failing to finalize dental equipment and technology choices and include all their requirements in your construction documents is one of the biggest inherent weaknesses in the process of dental office development. Once you sign a lease or purchase agreement, get loan pre-approval, and make all your equipment decisions, you and your consultant can see the architect to begin developing a space plan for your new office.