Key takeaways from Growing Your Practice webinar
Key takeaways from Growing Your Practice webinar
Synopsis
5 Minute Read
Our Growing Your Practice webinar was full of insights for dental and veterinary professionals across Canada.
Whether you’re considering expanding your existing practice, starting a new one, or acquiring an existing one, this webinar offers actionable tips to help you grow your practice.
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Professionals
So, you’re thinking you want to grow your practice. But where do you start? This is exactly what our advisors got into during MNP’s Growing Your Practice webinar on March 13, 2025.
Dental and veterinary professionals from across Canada gained valuable insights and practical guidance, and learned just how important it is to have a structured growth plan and a strong advisory team when you’re expanding your practice.
Nick Korhonen, National Leader for our Healthcare Advisory Team, and Lisa Nolan, Senior Manager of the Professional Services Team, shared their expertise, walking attendees through growth strategies, financing options, legal and tax considerations, and the integration process for mergers and acquisitions.
Solidify your growth strategy
Nick kicked things off by sharing how important it is to have a structured growth strategy. Unstructured growth is often driven by opportunistic decisions and is common among dentists and veterinarians. While it can be successful, it comes with its fair share of challenges, including:
Too-fast, uninformed decision-making: You’re making a reactive decision without giving it a lot of thought and consideration, so you may move too quickly and miss other opportunities.
Unpredictability: If you’re never sure when you’re going to expand, you can’t really plan for it.
Inefficiency: With no structured plan, it can be hard to merge systems, bring teams together, and manage cultures, so you end up running separate practices instead of one expanded practice.
Higher chance of failure: With today’s economic uncertainties, it increases your risk of failing.
“The alternative is really growing with a plan and growing with a growth strategy,” Nick said. He followed up by outlining the benefits of a structured growth strategy, which include:
Scalability: Having plans and systems in place that are ready for expansions gives you a roadmap to follow to grow your practice beyond one more location.
Operational efficiencies: Once you have a plan and your team understands that plan, you can leverage your workforce and systems to be more efficient.
Improved profitability: With efficiency, comes enhanced profitability. This can help accelerate your rate of growth.
Competitive positioning: Having a plan defines where you’re going to be competing in the market. Once you understand that, you can narrow what you need to prioritize.
Predictability: If you have a plan, you can maximize your chances of a successful expansion.
So, how do you get started? There are three primary methods of growth: organic growth, startups, and acquisitions.
Prioritize organic growth
Organic growth should be the first priority for professionals looking to expand their practice. Instead of opening a new location, you optimize your existing systems, teams, and processes to drive results without substantial upfront investment.
While organic growth offers the best return on investment, Nick noted that it requires effective change management. Because this approach focuses on optimizing your existing practice, you’ll need to communicate and create buy-in with your workforce to make sure the expansion is successful.
In terms of cost, organic growth would require a low to medium investment.
The startup route
The idea of starting a new practice may sound exciting but comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges.
Picture a new location, with the perk of having an efficient existing playbook to apply to the new practice. That means you’ll have access to your software systems, workflows, team structure, and more — all on day one.
However, our advisors pointed out some of the challenges with a fresh startup, like the cost and time (and any delays) associated with construction projects. Then, you need to fill your new practice. That means investing in office equipment, hiring and training new employees, and building a whole new patient base. Your plan should include a path to profitability, as it’ll take a little while to start making money.
Consider the investment for a startup to be in the medium to high range.
Understanding acquisitions
The third approach to practice growth is expanding through acquisition. Nick described this strategy as a popular one, and one common for dental and veterinary practices, because of the potential for immediate growth.
Acquiring an existing practice offers profitability from day one, said Nick, since it will come with established employees and existing patients.
However, acquisitions come with their own set of baggage, he warned. There will likely already be systems and processes in place, likely outdated, that will need to be effectively integrated into your existing operations and digital infrastructure. Plus, the team and the patients are going to be used to a certain way of doing things.
And while acquisitions can potentially be profitable quickly, they often have the highest costs associated with them and require careful, thorough due diligence.
What does your advisory team look like
“A goal without a plan is just a wish, and I really think that applies to your advisory team as well,” Lisa said to open a discussion on choosing your team.
Your advisory team are the people who surround and support you before, during, and after your practice expansion. Lisa recommended that your team consist of the following roles:
- Accountant
- Lawyer
- Commercial real estate agent
- Leasing specialist
- Equipment supplier – designer
- Contractor
- Banker
What are your financing options?
Lisa shared her insights into financing options for both startups and acquisitions. She explained that banks typically offer 100 percent financing for acquisitions over a 12-year period, with one year of interest-only payments to help make the transition more seamless.
Acquisitions are appraisal driven, so banks will investigate what’s going on in the practice (think: transitions, culture and morale, and goodwill), in addition to financials and the state of the market.
For startups, banks also offer 100 percent financing, including owner-occupied real estate, with two years of interest-only payments so you can focus on growing the new practice.
Whether it's the option you’re considering, proper planning remains the key.
“The more pre-planning that goes into it prior to seeing the banker, usually the less friction it is in terms of getting financing in order,” Lisa said, outlining that this includes understanding the costs involved, as well as building contingencies to help manage any surprise expenses.
What are your legal and tax considerations?
Nick jumped back in to break down legal and tax factors to think about if you’re considering a startup or acquiring another practice.
Vital to your expanded practice is understanding and detailing your corporate structure, performing due diligence, financing equipment, and the complexities of associate agreements and partnerships.
“Having a shareholder agreement or a partnership agreement in place early is going to help mitigate any potential conflict down the road,” Nick said.
From there, he underscored the importance of tax planning. By developing an understanding of your GST/HST obligations, as well as any relevant deductions or costs, you can avoid the surprise of a hefty tax bill.
Integration for sustainable success
The final section of the webinar walked attendees through the importance of successful integration when acquiring an existing practice. When it comes to the success of your acquisition, integration is the make-or-break factor.
“Integration is the process that starts the day you take the keys,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be prepared for the undertaking. All you need is a detailed plan and effective communication to get started.”
There are several key elements to a successful integration, Nick said. These include:
- Change management
- Timelines
- Team alignment
- Systems and processes
- Patient communication
- Culture
Take the next step
Growing your professional practice means executing on a well-thought-out strategy and adapting to the unforeseen challenges that arise along the way.
At MNP, our advisors can help you take your professional practice to the next level and support you every step of the way. No matter where you are on your growth journey, our team is here to help.
To learn more, contact Nick Korhonen at [email protected] or Lisa Nolan at [email protected].
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