The Next Recession (E.250)

In this solo episode, Dr. Bruce Baird speaks directly to dentists who’ve weathered 2008, survived COVID, and are eyeing the horizon with justified caution. But instead of fear, Bruce calls for action.

This episode reframes how we prepare for recessions not by retreating, but by building something stronger: an investment-grade practice. That means high profitability, low stress, and systems so dialed-in that even chaos can’t shake you.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Redefine affordability without slashing prices
  • Stop blaming the economy and start optimizing operations
  • Use financing tools to create predictable income, even in downturns
  • Lead your team with clarity before a crisis forces your hand

“People still need dentistry. It’s our job to make sure they can say yes to it.”

Reflection Questions for the Listener

  • Is my practice profitable by design or just by demand?
  • Have I built predictable revenue that can survive a slowdown?
  • What conversations am I avoiding that could make or break my culture?

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Dr. Bruce Baird: Hi, my name’s Dr. Bruce Baird with the Productive Dentist Podcast. Had a couple more questions this week. Um, this was a good one. Uh, very interesting. It says, “I escaped the 2008 recession, made it through COVID. I’m concerned about the next recession, inflation, et cetera. What can I do?” Well, what I would say is you already have some pretty good experience, uh, since you were able to, you know, get out of the 2008 recession, you survived that. I know a lot of my buddies lost 30, 40, 50% of their life savings and if you were able to get through that and rebuild your, your, uh, retirement plan and rebuild your funds, and you got through COVID where they shut you down and you were still able to survive as a practice, then I think you already have the tools to be able to take the next step when we do inevitably have a recession or inflation. We had inflation over the last year, year and a half. It went up, uh, prices went up, uh, supply costs went up uhm, and, and you know, what I look at is so, so your supply costs go up 10%, you know. 10%, uh, your total supplies are actually 6% of your business. So that 6% goes up, you know, to 7%. You know, that’s actually a 15% increase. Well, how, how do you change that and I, I always look at this stuff, um, how, how do I not be affected by the outside world? And that is by building what we call an Investment Grade Practice. I, that means, and and I honestly believe you probably have one, uh, you know, asking that question. Um, so I’m not gonna say, don’t worry. I would say be prepared and by being prepared, what I mean is building an investment grade practice. That’s part of the coaching that we do at Productive Dentist Academy is to get you to the point to where Profitability’s High. Stress levels are low. Um, systems are in place. You know, the employee handbooks are done, the core values are there.

[00:02:27] Dr. Bruce Baird: Your clinical philosophy is crystal clear. Um, your billing collection systems, your R cm, all of these things are hitting on all cylinders when things happen. Um, what I will tell you is, uh, I hear it way too often, “Oh, you know, with the presidential election, things are tough. It’s really rough out there. Um, Decembers are a rough month for us. July is always tough, you know, inflation is getting us,” you know, the bottom line is people still have teeth, they still have to have their teeth worked on. So what you want to do is build a machine. That runs as systematically as possible so that you’re, you’re at the highest level of productivity, you’re at the highest level of profitability in your business. So when those things happen, uh, in oh eight, you know, I noticed a difference. I noticed that my patients that I was doing veneers on, and some of the implant cases, you know, they just were holding onto their money. They, they weren’t coming in. Um. That’s when I started Compassionate Finance, that’s when we started, built the software, did, did the deal so that I could make it more affordable for, for patients. So in times like that, yeah. What can you do? Yeah. You, you might open up some of your financial options so people can make it more affordable for them, uh, because there’s a difference between price and affordability. Um, most people can afford your dentistry, you just don’t have the options for ’em. Uh, third party financing is gonna accept maybe 40% of the people during tough times but what about the 60%? Well, that’s where products like compassionate finance, accept care, those kind of things can help you, uh, get through the recession. What help a lot of our docs get through COVID, they were still getting 20,000 a month, 25,000 a month on work they did two years ago, three years ago, using compassionate finance. So those are the things that, thinking ahead, you know, the, these are things that you can do. You can begin in, in what I call recession proofing your practice by offering financing options. Um, but having an Investment Grade Business where your team is well trained. And when’s the time to do this now before we have the recession, before we have hyperinflation, before we have stagnation, before we have any of those things.

[00:05:10] Dr. Bruce Baird: But remember, none of that matters to me because people still need dentistry. We still need to find ways for them to get it done and that most often, even people with money. Find ways that they wanna hang onto their cash. ’cause things are tough and they don’t wanna spend it. That’s where e they’ll even do financing options even though they have cash and when I’m, when I’m thinking about, you know, tough times, tough times. I mean, there were people, there were more millionaires made during the Great Depression, uh, than ever. It was time where people began to look at what, you know, businesses, they began to look at how they run their businesses. They began to tweak their overhead. They began to look at how, uh, what are the things that I can do to investment grade my business So that if somebody else looked at that says, “Oh, that’s gonna be a great business to purchase, that’s gonna be a great business to buy, um and, and if you, if you’re in that situation where we get to, which we will, we will, there’ll be another recession, um, just expect it but remember, I, you’ve got teams, you got everybody, uh, the, the same, oh gosh, you know, they all have the same clinical philosophy with you. All the core values are there and these folks, um, you’re gonna continue to work your business. It’s kinda like what I said before about uh, um, you know, I didn’t ever worry about associates going down the street because if they were taking my patients well, then I wanna do whatever they’re doing. You know, that’s when you begin to. I don’t know. I always love taking great care of my patients, but that’s where you take even greater care of your patients. That’s where you really sharpen your verbal skills. That’s where you really sharpen your relationship skills, um, and your communication skills. Crucial conversations, great book, I, I recommend you read it, but crucial conversations are things that I believe as a dentist or as a human being, we need to be able to have. Crucial conversations with people, um, whether it’s that employee that is causing stress for everybody else in the office, uh, you need to have that crucial conversation, but most of us don’t want to have that crucial conversation.

[00:07:45] Dr. Bruce Baird: “Oh, I’ll just let her, I’ll do it later. You know, this person’s not being productive. This person’s not doing that, though,” that’s where you trim the fat. If, if anything is not running at the highest level. Um, with that employee who is just not taking care of patients the way you want, that’s time for that crucial conversation where you go, “Mary, I said, you know, I’m, I’m really concerned, you know, I’ve noticed this, this, and this, and, um, is everything okay?” That’s the way I would approach it. “Yeah. Yeah. Everything’s good. I don’t know what’s going on.” “Oh, okay. Well if you don’t know what’s going on, let me help you. I’m gonna give you as much guidance in this realm as I possibly can, and then at some point we’re gonna have to, we’re gonna have to start hitting on all cylinders, or I’m, I’m gonna have to, you know, ask you to find a happy place, you know, somewhere where you’d be happy. ’cause you just don’t seem happy here.” Um, you, the person who’s not doing the re care, who’s not, you know, that’s always on their phone at the front desk. These are the things you call, um, I hate to say it this way, but, um, if somebody was to pass in your office, would you replace ’em? That’s a tough question, you know, but it’s when you have to ask, would you replace ’em if you wouldn’t replace ’em? Then you don’t need them. If you wouldn’t replace ’em, it’s time to invite them to a new opportunity somewhere else that doesn’t affect you and your team, but recessions. Yeah, things change around there but the one thing I want you to remember more than anything else, as people still have teeth and they still need to get dental work done, that’s where the difference between price and affordability really come into play. Finding convenient monthly payments for people to make payments. I personally would use compassionate finance. I started the company, I don’t, I don’t own it anymore. We sold it but, uh, I would use something like that. I would use third party financing with whatever I could. That’s great but 60% of your patients during a recession are not even gonna be approved for third party financing. So you’re gonna have to come up with some new ideas and some new thoughts. That’s where you can go to, to AcceptCare.

[00:10:09] Dr. Bruce Baird: Look at accept care. With AcceptCare, we actually have five banks, six banks that bid. Uh, on a case, and if you know they approve them, great. If they don’t, it’s automatically switches over to Compassionate Finance, which allows patients to make monthly payments to a third party that isn’t you, it looks like, doesn’t look like you, but it is you, you know? So the payments come in on a, on a monthly basis. I, I never carried somebody paid for 30 months or 60 months because interest is, is our friend during that, during that recession time. So anyway, uh, that is, uh, that’s just another, you know, another way of looking at a recession, another way of looking at inflation, I, uh, what I can tell you, doc, is you made it through the first two, and I’m pretty sure you’re gonna make it through the next one. I wouldn’t spend any heart, muscle or stomach lining worrying about it. What I would do is prepare for it and preparing might be a couple years in advance by offering some financing to patients so that they’re paying you over a period of time. So even if, uh, the revenue went down, you’re actually bringing in other revenue. So those are just thoughts, those are things that, that I did and, uh, that worked very well for a ton of our docs, uh, over a billion dollars in notes were done during that time. So anyway, I look forward to our next time together. Call Productive Dentist. you can go to productivedentist.com, get signed up for one of our courses. Uh, clinical calibration is the new course that we’re offering right now. It’s between 695 and 9 95 a month. That’s for training everybody in your team, uh, on a monthly basis. So, um, get signed up. I look forward to our next time.

 

Have a great experience with PDA recently?

Leave a Review

Download PDA Doctor Case Studies

Dr. Franklin Maximo
PDA Member Since 2024
Woodlawn Dental Center
Cambridge, OH

Dr. Franklin Maximo's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Devin Giron
PDA Member Since 2018
Vida Dental Studio
Santa Fe, NM

Dr. Devin Giron's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Anthony Baird
PDA Member Since 2019
Millcreek Family Dental
Bountiful, UT

Dr. Anthony Baird's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Jon Ehlers
PDA Member Since 2022
Tiger Family Dental
Sedalia, MO

Dr. Jon Ehlers's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Dr. Maggie Augustyn
PDA Member Since 2020
Happy Tooth
Elmhurst, IL

Dr. Maggie Augustyn's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Drs. Clint & Kelly Euse
PDA Members Since 2008
Advanced Dentistry by Design
Carson City, NV

Dr. Drs. Clint & Kelly Euse's Experience with Productive Dentist Academy

Download Case Study

Menu
Need help?
Accessibility
Accessibility Options
Accessibility On Our Website

We are committed to continuously improving access to our goods and services by individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to use any aspect of this website because of a disability, please call (800) 757-6077 and we will provide you with prompt personalized assistance.

If you have trouble seeing web pages, the US Social Security Administration offers these tips for optimizing your computer and browser to improve your online experience.

If you are looking for mouse and keyboard alternatives, speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking may help you navigate web pages and online services. This software allows the user to move focus around a web page or application screen through voice controls.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, there are several accessibility features available to you.

Closed Captioning
Closed captioning provides a transcript for the audio track of a video presentation that is synchronized with the video and audio tracks. Captions are generally visually displayed over the video, which benefits people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio due to noisy environments. Most of our website’s video content includes automated captions. Learn how to turn captioning on and off in YouTube.

Volume Controls
Your computer, tablet, or mobile device has volume control features. Each video and audio service has its own additional volume controls. Try adjusting both your device’s volume controls and your media players’ volume controls to optimize your listening experience.

Read More About Accessibility and Why It Matters

Appointments

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Do not include sensitive personal, financial, or other confidential information (Social Security, account number, login, passwords, etc.). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Notifications
Podcasts

The Next Recession (E.250)

 In this solo episode, Dr. Bruce Baird speaks directly to dentists...

The Next Recession (E.250) (featured image)

Strengthening Your Marketing Core Muscles (E.290)

Marketing isn’t just ads and social posts, it’s the backbone...

Strengthening Your Marketing Core Muscles (E.290) (featured image)

The Three Phases of Long-term Practice Growth (E.148)

“Where you set your mind and your focus is where you will end...

The Three Phases of Long-term Practice Growth (E.148) (featured image)
In the Press

I’ve Arrived: From $100 in the Bank to Generational Wealth in Less Than 3 Years.

from Dental Entrepreneur – Winter 2023 By Dr. Maggie Augustyn...

I’ve Arrived: From $100 in the Bank to Generational Wealth in Less Than 3 Years. (featured image)
From Our Blog

Why Clinical Calibration Is the Missing Link in Case Acceptance

How aligning your team’s clinical communication eliminates...

Why Clinical Calibration Is the Missing Link in Case Acceptance (featured image)
Follow Us On Social Media

Facebook

Stay informed on updates and upcoming events from our office.

LinkedIn

Connect and learn more about Productive Dentist Academy.

YouTube

Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Instagram

View fun photos and follow our team on Instagram.

Your Privacy
Privacy Policy

This privacy notice discloses our privacy practices and the use of Google Analytics 4(GA4), an analytic advertising feature. This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website and the GA4 platform. It will notify you of the following:

  1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website and GA4 platform, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
  2. The choices available to you regarding the use of your data.
  3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
  4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

While Productive Dentist Academy is the primary data controller, Google, in the context of providing Google Analytics service, acts as a data processor. We use Google Analytics 4, a widely recognized web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., to track user interactions and gather data for advertising purposes. As a third-party vendor, Google Analytics operates independently and maintains its own privacy policy, which can be found at https://policies.google.com/privacy. We carefully select our third-party vendors for their commitment to user privacy and adherence to data protection standards. As part of our ongoing commitment to your privacy, we implement measures to ensure that services like GA4 comply with our high standards of data protection.

GA4 collects certain personally identifiable information from you as you interact with our website. This information includes but is not limited to your device ID, IP address, and geographic location. The information collected through GA4 is used to analyze user behavior, optimize our website’s performance, and tailor our content to better serve your needs. This data is compiled and anonymized, ensuring that it cannot be linked back to individual users.

Please note that GA4 may share the information collected with Google and other third-party service providers to enable data processing and reporting on website usage. However, we will not sell, rent, or share your information, especially your personally identifiable information, with any third party outside of our organization.

Your Access to and Control Over Information

You have certain rights regarding the data collected by GA4. You have the right to do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

  • See what data we have about you, if any.
  • Have us delete any data we have about you.
  • Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

In addition to opting out of any future communications from us at any time, you may also opt out of the GA4 feature if you so choose. You can opt out of the GA4 Advertising Features we use through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or through the NAI’s. This link points to Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs for the web https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/ 

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline. GA4 also follows industry best practices to protect your data both online and offline.

To ensure data protection while we are using GA4, we are implementing additional security measures that include and are not limited to:

  • limiting data access, 
  • using secure protocols, 
  • managing data sharing with Google

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

Contact Us

If you have any concerns about the use of GA4 or believe that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, please contact us immediately. We are committed to addressing any privacy-related issues promptly and transparently.

By using our website and consenting to the use of GA4, you acknowledge and agree to the data collection and processing practices described in this notice. For more information about GA4 and its privacy practices, please review Google’s Privacy Policy on this link https://policies.google.com/privacy.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately.

Read More About Our Privacy Policy and Why It Matters

Terms of Service
Terms of Service

Entering this site or the links accessible through this site, you agree to be bound by this agreement. The information and the resources contained on and accessible through this site are made available by Productive Dentist Academy and/or its suppliers and vendors, and are subject to your agreement to their terms and conditions.

All contents copyright (c) Productive Dentist Academy

All rights reserved, Productive Dentist Academy makes this website available to all users for the sole purpose of providing educational information on health-related issues.

The accuracy of website, information, and resources identified are not warranted or guaranteed, or intended to be a substitute for professional health advice, to contradict health advice given, or for health care of any kind.

Your use of this website indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use and you expressly agree to be bound to the foregoing terms and conditions.

All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Productive Dentist Academy, or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

Material on this site may be used for personal use only. Commercial use of any sort is strictly prohibited.

Use of Resources & Information
This site may not be used as a supplement or alternative for health care, and is not intended and does not warrant or guarantee the quality or quantity of any services of any of the advertisers identified; further, the information provided is merely for educational purposes, and its accuracy is not guaranteed. Do not use this site as a substitute for health care. Please consult with your doctor or other health care provider regarding any health questions you may have. This site may not be used for health diagnosis or treatment. Do not use this site to disregard any health advice, nor to delay seeking health advice, because of something you read or see in this site.

You understand and agree that neither Productive Dentist Academy nor its suppliers or vendors or linked domain names are responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage of any kind, directly or indirectly resulting from your use of this site or the information or the resources contained on or accessible through it.

Productive Dentist Academy expressly disclaims any implied warranty or representation about the information or accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness or appropriateness for any particular purpose of any kind. Your use of this site is also subject to all additional disclaimers that may appear throughout the site.

Other Internet Sites Links
This site also includes links to other internet sites created and maintained by Productive Dentist Academy’s suppliers, vendors, affiliates, or subscribers. Be aware that Productive Dentist Academy does not control, makes no guarantees about, and disclaims any express or implied representations or warranties about the accuracy, relevance, completeness, timeliness or appropriateness for a particular purpose of the information or the resources contained on these or any other internet sites.

Further, the inclusion of these links is merely for your convenience and is not intended and does not reflect Productive Dentist Academy’s opinion on the accuracy or the importance of these other sites; further, Productive Dentist Academy does not endorse in any manner any of the views expressed in, or products or services offered by these other sites. All information in any site by Productive Dentist Academy, or associated or linked site, is extracted, read, used, or relied upon by you at your own risk.

Disclaimer of Warranty
Productive Dentist Academy and its suppliers and vendors disclaim all express or implied representations or warranties regarding the information, services, products, materials, and any other resources contained on or accessible through this site, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. All information provided by Productive Dentist Academy is made available “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind, or any express or implied promise, including, by way of example, its continuing availability.

Limitation of Liability
With respect to products, goods, or services purchased from any entity identified, listed, named or contacted through Productive Dentist Academy’s website, or any links to Productive Dentist Academy’s website, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Productive Dentist Academy or its suppliers or vendors be liable for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, incidental, exemplary, contractual, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever of any kind, resulting from any loss, which by way of example, includes loss of use, loss of data, loss of profits, business interruption, litigation, or any other pecuniary loss, whether based on breach of contract, tort (including negligence), product liability, or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of this site, with the delay or inability to use this site, or with the provision of or failure to make available any information, services, products, materials, or other resources contained on or accessible through this site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

You acknowledge and agree that the limitations set forth above are elements of this agreement, and that this site would not be provided to you absent such limitations.

Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Productive Dentist Academy and its suppliers and vendors from any liability, loss, claim, and expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) related to your violation of this agreement or use of this site in any manner. Your use of this site shall constitute your acceptance of the terms of this Agreement, as revised and modified, if any, each time you access this site. Productive Dentist Academy may modify this agreement at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified agreement.

Miscellaneous
Productive Dentist Academy’s failure to insist upon strict enforcement of any provision(s) of this agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.

This agreement and the resolution of any dispute related to this agreement or this site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law. Any legal action or proceeding between Productive Dentist Academy or its links, suppliers or vendors and you related to this agreement or this site shall be brought exclusively in a state or federal court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Skagit County, Washington.

Copyright
All materials on this website, including the site’s design, layout, and organization, are owned and copyrighted by Productive Dentist Academy or its suppliers or vendors, and are protected by U.S. and international copyrights.

Links
This site contains links to other sites. Productive Dentist Academy is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites that are linked to us.

Questions
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding Productive Dentist Academy’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, please contact us.

Read More About Our Terms of Service and Why It Matters

Search
Search the Website

Use keywords in the search box below to find what you're looking for.

Go to the Top of the Page