Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran – Part 2

Dr. Howard Farran has been lecturing to international audiences on the business of dentistry. With his blunt, practical, and often times humorous insights into the industry’s most controversial subjects, he has been captivating audiences since 1990. He was then, and is still now, driven by a genuine passion for helping dentists provide faster, easier, lower cost dentistry of a higher quality to their patients.

Dr Farran is the owner and founder of the hit vlog series “Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran”, where he discusses these topics with some of the best Doctors, Dentists, and Dental Practitioners of today. Dr. Jonathan Cook was recently a guest on his show, and has allowed us to share with you their conversation.

YouTube video

Howard Farran:                 One of the things I’ve always thought was bizarre about dentistry is when you go over to Wall Street, tracking mergers and acquisitions, it’s a growth pattern for so many companies. And in dentistry, it’s just so underutilized, but I’ve met so many dentists in the last 30 years. I went to some small town at 10,000, it had 10 dentists, but every time old man McGregor retired, they would just buy the practice and fold it into theirs. And think about that, an old 65 year old dude retires and I buy his practice, fold it into mine and merge the acquisition, as opposed to that guy sells it. Say I’m 56 and he sells it to some whippersnapper named Jonathan Cook who’s got all this energy, and marketing, and just going to crush it.

Howard Farran:                 I mean, you’re eliminating competition, you’re buying patients, which you have to compare to your acquisition cost of the new patient. So I want you to talk about how did you have the genius insight of M&A activity coming out of dental school? I mean, you just don’t see that in dental school?

Jonathan Cook:                 I can’t take claim for that. Actually, my first partnership was a tremendous … I had some tremendous lessons there. The guy who I went into partnership with was a 65 year old guy out of New York. And he’s really family, he was my brother-in-law’s brother-in-law, if you can follow that. And he’s an orthodontist and a general dentist. He’s got a daughter who’s a general dentist up there. So at family functions, we’d see each other and he’d always say, “Yeah, you’re going to be my guy in Florida. I’ve got these 10 practices in New York, and I want to open up in Florida, and I eventually want to retire there. And you’re going to be my guy.” And I’d always roll it off my shoulders and say, “It sounds nice.” Here I am as a sophomore, junior, or senior in dental school and that wasn’t even remotely on my radar.

Jonathan Cook:                 But I kept it in the back of my mind. And then I graduate, I do the bouncing around thing from one associateship to another, gained a lot of experience there in a couple of those practices. And just with my speed in general. And then he was always in touch with me, and finally called me one day, and something just clicked. I was like, “What do I have to lose?” And so I went into partnership with him and it was his practice model to a degree up in New York to buy these underutilized practices. So I got the idea and I saw it come to play when we started buying practices down in Miami, which was my original practice that I purchased with him. In that case, I was 49%, he was 51%. So I learned some big things there.

Jonathan Cook:                 Not to mention with the contract that we signed with the dentist who we’d purchased the practice from. This is an old timer, he’s 72 years old, and we, stupidly, we agreed to sign him on for a five year employment contract. Now, that would’ve put him at the age of 77 at the end of his contract. And you can imagine you’re really working in somebody else’s house. I mean, it was his business that he had built over that amount of time. And I’m not saying that it can’t work, it can work, but you have to really play it wisely. And the fact that that five year contract really came back to haunt us down the road.

Jonathan Cook:                 But with that said, in year one we went from … I mean, this guy was historically doing $750,000 a year, the last three tax returns were pretty consistent, no real uptrend, no downtrend. It had really plateaued. And in year one, I think we took it to $1.2 million. And that was literally just a matter of me doing now the endo. He was referring everything out. Endo, implants, Invisalign, implementing some really basic systems. I mean, the collection policies or practices were pretty abysmal. And that was it, overnight you go from $750,000 to $1.2 million. And then in year two, we go to $2 million. I mean, we had some really exponential growth.

Jonathan Cook:                 So I got a feel for it and understood the value in folding in a practice where you’re just taking in really some minor overhead, but some incredible upside. Especially if you’re going to buy it for the price at which they’re currently running it at, you’re not buying it at a premium for what you know that you can take it to. So had I known that I could take it from $750,000 to $1.2 million in the first year, it’s not like you buy the practice based on what you know the potential is. So that really benefits you hugely when it comes to economies of scale, getting patients in, and just exponentially growing the patient base. And what do you take on? Maybe the doctor, that’s a yes or no. It depends on the scenario.

Jonathan Cook:                 Generally I like to take on the hygienist because that’s usually the person in the practice who has the most interaction with patients consistently. And you decide on the front desk, you decide on the assistants, and you go from there. But there’s, of course, a small uptick in your dental supplies, small uptick in your labs. But outside of that, you’re not paying for the other physical location of just that massive overhead that typically comes with the dental practice if you’re buying the physical location.

Howard Farran:                 Now you primarily have two dental offices, you have downtown Fort Lauderdale and Lauderdale by the sea. So you have two offices, do you own the land and building and how many offices have you rolled into those two locations?

Jonathan Cook:                 Great question. So the main location is the Fort Lauderdale one. That one we’ve rolled two separate practices into it. So there was originally one …

Howard Farran:                 Is that downtown Fort … Downtown?

Jonathan Cook:                 Correct, yeah.

Howard Farran:                 Okay.

Jonathan Cook:                 Yeah, downtown Fort Lauderdale. We originally …

Howard Farran:                 That’s the main practice?

Jonathan Cook:                 The main initial practice that we purchased in 2012 when I was still partners with my partner down in Miami. Which is a whole other story that I can get into if you care to. So in 2012, we purchased, my other partner and I, John DeStephan, partnered in that practice in downtown. At the time, that practice was doing $500,000, maybe $550,000 a year. And since that time in 2012, we’ve merged in or folded in two additional practices.

 

… Continued in Part 3 …

 

Google, Yelp & Nextdoor Web Badges 2024
FTL Magazine Best Dentist Winner Badges 2024
jj-dental-review-laurie-duncan

Laurie Duncan

“Dr John has been fantastic and I’m so glad that I have someone that I can truly trust with my dental care! I needed a new crown and bridge and couldn’t be happier with the results. They look so natural and perfect for my smile! I’ve also had a whitening treatment in house and was extremely pleased with the results. Their staff are all very friendly and caring, at both locations. I also appreciate how efficient and flexible they are with appointments.”

John Ingino

John Ingino

"Hands down the "BEST DENTIST" and office staff I have ever been to!!!!! The staff is friendly, I never wait, Dr. John would not let me leave until I was completely happy! NO PAIN at all...ever! Olga the Hygienist almost made me cry when she handed me a mirror! Look at my beautiful white smile!"

Kelly Roland

Kelly Roland

"I absolutely love this office. Starting from the front desk girls, they are always so friendly. I love having my teeth cleaned by Olga, she’s so gentle and yet so good, makes you want to go back for cleanings more often. Dr John is very nice, and professional. This office is great at educating you when dental work is needed, but never tries to pressure you into getting it done. Thank you for always making me feel welcome and cared for."

Adam Anthony

Adam Anthony

"First class service. Extremely professional, every one on staff was super nice & helpful. Appointment started on time, scheduling was flexible & easy. The facilities are clean and they are taking extra precautions during this time. Highly recommended!"

Alessandra Williams

Alessandra Williams

"JJ Dental is AWESOME, I promise after your first cleaning you’ll be hooked. Dr John is extremely talented, his service is excellent and the staff is very friendly. The best part is that I never feel pressured to get any work done, I am given my options but also told “ if it doesn’t hurt we can hold off for now.” I recommend them to anyone who is looking for a new dentist."

Ready To Smile?

Insurance & Financing

At JJ Dental our insurance specialists deal directly with your insurance providers.

A thorough breakdown of your benefits allows us to give you the most accurate coverage estimate possible. Based on this information we can provide you with a plan that maximizes your benefits and minimizes your out of pocket expense. Once treatment has begun we will even submit the insurance claims on your behalf to eliminate any headaches for you. (See Accepted Insurance)

While a majority of insurance plans will cover a large percentage of preventative and restorative care, they rarely cover cosmetic procedures. For any procedures not covered or beyond your plans maximum benefit, we provide several payment options including cash, check, money order, and major credit cards. We also offer flexible, no interest monthly installment plans through care credit and lending club that help you get the treatment you need without a financial burden.

jj-dental-logo-f-2021

We believe that there are three main considerations that you should be aware of when choosing a dentist.

Does the dentist care deeply about you and your dental health?

Is the dentist skilled enough to consistently provide the highest quality of dental care?

Does the dentist have the team and the tools available to provide you with the highest quality of care?

At JJ Dental our entire team is proud to be able to answer yes to each of these critical questions.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale

  • 30 NE 3rd Street
    Fort Lauderdale FL 33301
    United States

  • 954-463-7262

  • Monday - Friday: 8AM - 5PM
     

 

Lauderdale By The Sea

  • 2707 E Commercial Blvd
    Fort Lauderdale FL 33308
    United States

  • 954-491-1904

  • Monday - Thursday: 8AM - 4PM
    Friday: 8AM-12PM