Wonderland Pediatric Dentistry was founded by Dr. Alice Bui as a dental start-up. She established the practice from the ground up, going from zero patients to thousands. She invested her blood, sweat, and tears into her work. So when the pressure of family life and practice ownership came to a head, it wasn’t easy to sell. It was tough for her to let go because she had created something unique and extremely successful.
Around the time Dr. Bui was thinking of selling, a mailer from Practice Transitions Group (PTG) – a national leader in health care practice sales – came across her desk. As practice transition consultants, PTG’s first step is to review financials and practice management reports. And that’s just what PTG President Thomas Allen did. On a weekend afternoon, Dr. Bui sent her reports in and Thomas combed through them all.
“I thought that was really amazing – for someone to take time out of their weekend with their family to let me know if this is the right decision,” Dr. Bui remembered.
Thomas recalls Dr. Bui’s reports as outstanding. After asking a couple of questions, he knew she didn’t just have strong financials, she had a command of her business inside and out. If she took it to market, Thomas figured she could sell for higher than the average by multiple.
The challenge for Thomas was that in her search for practice transition consultants, Dr. Bui already reached out to two other health care practice sales companies. They’d each given her a potential selling price, both of which Thomas thought was low.
While any brokerage can say “I can get you more for your practice,” Thomas’ time spent in her financials, combined with his industry experience, gave him the confidence to suggest that Dr. Bui could earn more from the market than the other transition consultants suggested.
After deciding that she wanted to keep practicing while spending more time with her kids, Dr. Bui chose Thomas to help sell her practice.
Thomas marketed the practice widely, but he also personally contacted industry connections. One of these connections was a Dental Service Organization (DSO) specializing in pediatric offices wanting to expand to Texas. Dr. Bui received many offers within months, including one from a pediatric-focused DSO. (Serendipitously, Dr. Bui knew members of their leadership team from her time in dental school.)
Ultimately, Dr. Bui decided to partner with that DSO. Their offer was strong, and so was their rapport. Thomas was able to negotiate an incredible sales price – which was more than double the other two practice transition consultants’ estimates.
“Without working with Thomas and Practice Transitions Group, I would have lost a lot of money,” said Dr. Bui. “I was very happy with my number and was so surprised. It was higher than what we all thought would be. And it wouldn’t have been that number without Thomas’s work, and also the team members at Practice Transitions Group.”
Furthermore, Dr. Bui is starting to create the life she envisioned for herself and her family. “After the sale, I feel like I’m able to spend more time with my family. I can sleep better – I have more time for just different things. I feel like a normal person would feel and I am working at a normal pace,” Dr. Bui said. “I feel like my mind’s not going 1,000 miles per hour, and I’m very happy with this sale.”
