Dentists need to be on top of overhead expenditures more than at any other time. By being stringent and diligent, you have the opportunity to reduce overhead by 4% to 6%. This opportunity has always been there, but now it needs to be addressed aggressively.
Understand your overhead. High overhead is often the silent killer of any business. Be aware that it is often the fixed expenses -- which cannot be reversed or reduced easily -- that put significant pressure on practices and decrease practice income. If the overhead is higher than it should be, an analysis should be performed to understand why, determine which categories are higher than acceptable, and create and implement strategies to bring overhead in line.
Don't forget about your rental costs. Commercial real estate in many parts of the country is suffering. When it's time to renew the lease, see if you can negotiate a better deal if your area is abundant in vacant commercial real estate. Your landlord may be afraid of losing you to another facility.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].
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