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Chris Barrow highlights why practice owners should take caution with casual out-of-hours communication through a workplace group chat and start setting clear communication boundaries. During my recent workshop tour with Laura Horton, one topic produced more knowing nods than almost any other: out-of-hours messaging. WhatsApp groups, Sunday evening updates, late-night ‘just one thing’ notes and…
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Chris Barrow warns that dental practice values may be heading for a crash as speculative buying begins to outpace real business performance. In every market cycle, there comes a point when a sensible trend starts to attract an irrational narrative. In UK dentistry, the rapid rise of small dental groups is not, in itself, a…
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The numbers aren’t adding up anymore: Chris Barrow discusses why dental practice owners are seeing diminishing cash flow and profitability. Get ready for quite a few three-, four- and even six-letter acronyms. Average daily yield (ADY) is the total gross productivity of each fee-earner in your business; how much they generate in sales revenue every…
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‘Bigger isn’t necessarily better’: This month, Chris Barrow shares the key principles for successful dental business ownership. Business coach Dan Sullivan teaches us to focus on our unique ability and loosely defines this as the work we are doing when we are doing our best work. The feeling that an athlete shares as being ‘in…
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While the efforts of ‘Instagram associates’ can benefit your practice, there are also times to exercise caution, Chris Barrow says… The Instagram associate – asset or liability? By which I mean: the associate who has created their own website and social media channels and is very active in posting case studies and moments from their…
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Do you know the difference between happy tired and sad tired? Chris Barrow explains how you can tell which you are and what to do about it. Here’s a trend I’m spotting for May 2024. Clients are once more sharing with me the symptoms and consequences of being overwhelmed and burnt out. Choose your own…
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This month, Chris Barrow discusses the lessons learned from Q1 and how dental business owners should be prepared for Q2. The first quarter of 2024 was all about financial analysis (hence my three-part series for Dentistry Webinars that you can still access). By the end of March, many of my clients and others across the…
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Chris Barrow discusses why fun and motivational environments are key to creating a strong team and alleviating day-to-day pressures. For the first three months of 2024 I’ve been on my quarterly workshop tour, hosting the one and only Michael Bentley presenting his ‘Reception Masterclass’ to my clients. We invite great speakers every quarter and I’m…
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Clear and present danger – Chris Barrow comments on increased financial anxiety in the dental community and explains how he plans to help. You will have recently noticed an increase in the number of conversations in dentistry expressing concern about finances, cash flow and profitability. With clients and online, I’ve been talking about key performance…
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As 2024 kicks off, Chris Barrow discusses why embracing financial planning is key for control and stability. My new year has started with many more clients than usual asking for help in understanding their finances. Not only have I received a higher-than-average number of requests to analyse business financial data, but also requests for guidance…
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This Christmas season, Chris Barrow asks which list you are going to live with for the next few weeks – one that’s half full or half empty? Half-empty Recruitment is impossible Retention is an increasing challenge Potential recruits don’t show up for interviews New recruits leave after a week and vanish Clinicians want to work…
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This month, dental business coach Chris Barrow shares his top tips for increasing the value of your dental business to maximise profit at the point of selling. A client recently asked me for a plan of action to grow their business profits by 20% per annum compound (PAC) for the next five years. Ultimately, the objective was…
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It’s time to set your personal and professional goals for 2024 – here, Chris Barrow shares the goal-setting method to create ‘life-improving’ results. I’m already deep into consideration with clients about their goals for 2024. For those offering NHS dentistry, the conversation is skewed by the end of their contract year, whereas most of everything…
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This month Chris Barrow, the Dental Business Coach, discusses the best way to respond to pay rise demands. My August correspondence saw a significant trend of clients sharing the news that either individual team members/fee-earners or delegations of such have approached with requests for pay rises to ‘deal with the cost of living crisis’. Without…
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This month the Dental Business Coach, Chris Barrow, discusses the key to breezing through the recruitment crisis. ‘Work is what horses die of. Everybody should know that.’ – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn I commented in my own blog and newsletter a few days ago on the emerging trend of workers (if I can use that rather dated…
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The Dental Business Coach, Chris Barrow, reflects on an inspirational book, which highlights the successful impact of routine, hard work and plodding along. In a world populated by thousands of ‘self-help’ books for both personal and professional development, I’m going to share with you an unusual recommendation. One of my all-time favourite writers is Haruki…
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This month, Chris Barrow tackles the changing concerns of recently-qualified dental professionals – are practice owners prepared to address these concerns, and how can they use them to their advantage? I’m detecting a developing trend in the minds (and online conversations) of recently-qualified hygienists, therapists, and dentists (in fact, all DCPs). Things I hear a…
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There has been a lot of talk recently about both acquiring and selling struggling practices. This month, Chris Barrow separates fact from fiction surrounding corporate buyers and bargain practice acquisitions. There has been a significant change in the acquisitions market over the last couple of months. And I don’t just mean the Bupa fire sale.…
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‘Corporate doesn’t automatically mean competent’: This month Chris Barrow discusses the risks involved in recruiting managers in the current dental landscape. In a recent Align education mailshot introducing a new Gulf States podcast series that I’m hosting, I was introduced as an ‘industry veteran’. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, although I…
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