Married to Your Business Partner

Based on things I hear about the dental industry, if a practice is a partnership between two dentists, it’s basically a marriage. The owner’s income is split between the two, and you both make decisions for the practice. As much as I, and I assume you, want to believe the partnership will last, what if one of you dies or you guys get “divorced?” What happens if one of you can no longer perform as a dentist? This applies to all practices, but I’ll just keep using dentistry as an example.

We all hate paperwork, but if you and your dental partner are making a big decision, it’s best to have it in writing. Are you going to hand over the practice to the younger partner when you retire? Have it in writing. Are you planning to expand and build other practices? Make sure your partner is on board. Always check in with your partner to make sure he’s on board with a big decision, don’t assume. Even if you and your partner are truly devoted and on-board with everything, you should still write it down because we all can forget.

Paperwork sucks, but it’ll save you a headache and an anxiety attack later. Just write it down.