“Stop pondering and start acting. We have had double-digit growth year on year for every year we have worked with Andy.”

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Khalid Master and Thomas Sarpong from Bank View Smile Studios, Blackburn, Lancashire[/caption]Khalid and Thomas bought Bank View Smile Studios in Blackburn after being associates in Accrington for 10 years.Although they had accumulated around 7,400 hours of undergraduate clinical training each during 5 years at dental school, the sum total of their previous business training was a 1-hour lecture each in their final year. This predominantly centred on finding a good location and fitting a large outdoor NHS sign in a prominent position – neither of which were going to be of any help to them, as they wanted to run a state-of-the-art private practice in a lovely Georgian building dating from 1868 but set back from the main road.“With very little practice management training and even less financial knowhow, Thomas and I needed to find a specialist collaborator to help us run our new business professionally and profitably,” said Khalid.“We had invested hundreds, if not thousands of hours to make ourselves the best dentists that we could be clinically, so we knew our dentistry very well but we were novices when it came to business management.”“So, rather than trying to use some kind of Jedi force to find our way to our destination, we both felt we needed some expert help and that is precisely why the search began for our Business Master.”Khalid and Thomas first found out about Andy and Spot On Business Planning through an email flyer from the BDA. They trusted that proper due diligence had been done by the BDA and felt the course was ideally suited to dentists and new dental practice owners. Khalid and his practice manager enrolled on the course in Leeds a few months after the practice had been purchased and were both so impressed they signed up as full members – which they still are 8 years on.

They say they would have no hesitation at all in recommending Spot On Business Planning and Andy in particular – and have already done so dozens of times to friends, colleagues and even perfect strangers they meet on courses!

What were your impressions of Spot On Business Planning?

“Khalid and I were very impressed with the process we underwent with Spot On Business Planning. It was logical, methodical, well presented and understandable. Everything made sense and when it came to implementation, we received assistance throughout the process,” said Thomas.

“We certainly got results and almost instantaneously, as the impact of those were felt within the first quarter.”

“Every single analysis or strategy has resulted in achieving a real and positive difference. If we had to single out three such strategies, they would be stock control, tactical pricing and profit by clinician; however, monthly management accounts with bespoke KPI analysis, gap closing strategy, and a calendarised 36 month strategy plan would come a close second,” said Khalid.“What we like about working with Spot On Business Planning is the industry-specific expertise, collaborative approach and the ability to act pro-actively due to monthly management reports rather than looking back retrospectively through annual tax accounts and wondering when the wheels fell off and why,” said Thomas.

Khalid finishes by saying: “The one piece of advice I would give to a prospective member would be to STOP pondering and START acting. Business management and financial planning should NOT just be considered when the problems are self-evident.“Do not try to re-invent the wheel by attempting to ‘work it all out’ for yourself. Get help from industry experts who have been there, done that, bought the T-shirt and then bought the T-shirt printing company! Be pro-active and educate yourself on these matters just as you do with clinical matters (as soon as you are an associate, let alone partner or principal) because these are as, if not more important than the other and it is NEVER too early to start.”