Kunal Thakker explains how you can apply the success of a single-practice squat to scale up your dental business into multiple sites.
Today, we’re going to be talking all about scaling up from zero and building scale into your business.
I started Tooth Club with just one practice, but I always had the vision that I wanted it to be big. Here are some of my experiences of going through the scale up journey, and how I think we’ve made it work.
Firstly, going into business is scary. When taking on debt, there are always risks – you are committing to employ people and taking on leases. All of these things can be scary, but you have to be a little bit fearless and trust the process.
However, the risks you take should always be educated. Through cash flow planning, make sure that you’ve got enough capital with a bit of reserve in case you run into trouble. Do not be scared to take some level of risk – just ensure that it’s measured.
The people behind the scale up
One of the most successful things about scaling up Tooth Club has been the people. The people I surround myself with are better than me in certain functions because I’ve really hired good quality candidates.
Often when people think of tooth club, they associate it with me. However, the reality is that this business operates because I’ve got fantastic people. We’ve got people in marketing. We’ve got really good practice managers, clinical leads, and all of these people have been what’s really important.
So if you’re thinking about scaling up a business, make sure you surround yourself with the best people. Invest in them, train them, and build an inner circle of people that are going to help you, because you can’t do it alone.
Systems and processes
One of the challenges when you’re scaling up is how to maintain quality. How do you make sure every one of your sites meets the same standards – whether its two, five or 14 practices?
While this is truthfully very hard, the one tip I’d give is to make sure you’ve got really clear systems and processes in place. Ensure that you have defined and documented your expectations for every practice. Then you can get those systems in place and regularly test them, whether using a mystery shopper or carrying out a floor walk yourself.
While you should never compromise on quality, make sure your systems evolve with time. The systems that you have in place with one or two practices are never going to be the same as if you have five, 10 or 50 practices. However, making sure that you’ve got the systems and disciplines in place is what’s going to make you really successful – whatever that looks like for you. This sets really clear expectations for your team in the scale up journey.
Vision and culture
Something that’s pivotal in the next phase of growth is culture. When the people around you that adhere to your vision and values, it ensures that you have a positive, non-toxic work environment – even when you’re scaling up to having more sites.
We’re really clear on what our culture at Tooth Club is about. Not everyone can align to it. Not everyone believes in it. However, anyone that we hire and is successful in our business is really ingrained into culture.
Not only this, they are also culture carriers. They train new people coming into our business and pass on that culture.
Starting your scale up
If you’re a dentist working clinically and wanting to scale up your business, or maybe buy your second or third practice, how do you do it? The key is to create some time where you’re not working clinically. This could initially be just one or two days on which you reduce your workload and appoint a practice manager to take on more of the day-to-day running of a single site.
You also need to be really disciplined. When you’re out of surgery, you need to be really focusing on the growth of your practice or your next site.
Surrounding yourself with good talent is really, really important for me. I’ve always had an inner circle of people that have been committed to the Tooth Club journey and have worked tirelessly to make it successful. It’s so important to have that inner circle, that management team around you in the early days.
The wider team
What’s also been really useful at Tooth Club is having a group of suppliers that really back us. We choose those suppliers based purely on having good relationships with them, because in your time of need, they can help you. They also have relationships with other suppliers that can help you scale up. Building a community around you extends beyond just your team.
The hard thing about scaling up is the team that got you to a certain point may not be the same team that take you to the next point, and that’s okay. You have to be really honest as an owner, founder and CEO to know when the right time is to bring new people in and change it up a little bit. My philosophy has always been to do it with kindness.
With every aspect of scaling up, do it with kindness and respect. You never know when you might need people further down the line to help your business.
Catch up with the rest of the Developing a Squat Practice series:
- Dental recruitment: how to build and maintain your workforce
- The key to achieving operational excellence
- Buy and build versus squat practice
- Top tips for opening the perfect squat practice
- The dos and don’ts of opening a squat practice.
