DYNAMIC DATA NEWSLETTER tm Aug 2001

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscription) details, as well as Miles & Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter. Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456 757-721-3332 757-721-2892 (Fax) 800-922-0866 Tool-free www.DentalManagementU.com

Dynamic Data, August 2001

For those of you who missed the newsletter in July, I took the month off to move into our new home and office set up. By working virtually with Lee Tarvin and Annie Seela, we can now provide the services our clients request without report- ing to a corporate office daily. In fact, we now have two hours more per day, which was once commute time, to concentrate on business.

Many of our followers have called or e-mailed requests for the upcoming SunFun Seminar schedule. We are taking the 2002 season off to plan not one, but two SunFuns for 2003. We need a year's lead time to assure us that the details are up to everyone's expectations. Finding the right travel agency partner, marketing partners, and just the right location is a big job. One of our trips will be a total team cruise to the Caribbean, one will be a land trip to the newest five star resort in the Bahamas for those who aren't cruisers. More details to follow.

If you need a copy of our Continuing Education Trip Kitty Incentive Plan to see how many offices pay for these and major meeting trips per year, just e-mail or fax a request to 757-721-2892.

The first half of 2001 practice numbers have been tallied and evaluated by each dentist in our data base. How did this year measure up compared to the first half of previous years? On your profit and loss statements and chart of accounts from your accountants compare these figures with your own:

Staff Salaries (Don't include dentists even if they are employees) 20-24%

Facility (Includes utilities except for telephone) 4-6%

Dental Supplies (Do not include repairs and large equipment 5-7%

Office Supplies 1-3%

Laboratory Costs 9-11%

Total Overhead (Excludes owner's salary, profit sharing, and profit) 55-65%

(These figures are ideal and do not apply to all specialty practices)

One of the major questions asked by many dentists is "how do I compensate my staff monetarily to attend CE classes?" While federal and state laws prevail in these type questions, outcomes can be devastating to the practice and to the employer if these issues are not fully discussed prior to employment during the interview process. The majority of staff consider it a benefit to have continuing education offered in the workplace. Most employees do not mind investing something into their own professional growth and development (time and sometimes money). But don't be surprised if some staff resent the idea of CE courses. If staff are required to attend mandatory lectures or conventions, they must be paid for their hours in the class plus related expenses. If staff are paid hourly, they are typically paid for hours in the class and related tuition, travel, etc. If staff are paid salary by the week, bi-weekly, bi-monthly or monthly, their salary stays the same regardless of whether they are in the work place or in the classroom. Some variations include offices that pay non production pay for staff meetings and or CE classes (half regular production time pay). For keeping the morale of the office in tact, I believe in salary versus hourly pay. This eliminates the "unionized thinking" or "you owe me" attitudes. In my last job I was salaried. My pay was exactly the same 26 times per year unless I had an increase in pay. I never made less to attend CE and I never made more. In my own company over the past two decades I have done the same with my support staff and it has served us all well. I pay them for 40 hours per week but our work hours are 36 scheduled. If we go to a major meeting or SunFun Seminar, their pay is the same regardless of the days worked that week. Many times employers step over dollars to pick up dimes by keeping such close watch on every minute worked and every penny earned by the employees. No wonder the staff have negative attitudes about CE and other interruptions of their personal time.

NOTE: These employee issues must be discussed during the interview not after the hiring date. Always refer these and other related issues to your legal counsel, accountant, and employee relations consultant. If you do not have an accountant who understands the dental industry I highly recommend Rick Willeford of Atlanta who is a member of my Speaking/Consulting Network and Bent Ericksen of CA. Dentistry's #1 Human Resource Consultant.

We had so many wonderful responses from our 8 Week Virtual Classroom for Office Administrators we are having a new class starting September 4th at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. This will be a ten week class with 2 weeks each designated for Dentists, Hygienists, Office Administrators, Dental Assistants, and Business Staff. If you would like to register your entire office to participate in this exciting new concept call 757-721-3332 or 800-922-0866 today. Only $195 per person and only two weeks commitment per person. Each member of the team will benefit greatly by this total interactive learning experience. Meet new friends and learn at the same time. All participants must be registered before August 20th to insure that they receive the proper information and have time to get their forms back to me (Linda Miles) for my review and class preparation. The format is such: 5 minutes to click on and introduce each person, a 20 minute mini seminar by LLM, 20 minutes of group interaction on that particular topic, and a 15 minute wrap up each evening.

My newest seminar, "Life Cycles Of A Successful Dental Practice" is on the drawing board and will be presented for the first time at the Michigan State Meeting and the University of Delaware in the spring. This exciting course will span the life cycles of a practice from infancy to the go-go years, and on to the golden age . Regardless of what stage of practice a dentist and team may currently be experiencing, this course offers insight and growth strategies for all. See my complete itinerary on our web-site at DentalManagementU.com.

Our Consultants are busy this summer with many new clients and doing follow up visits to existing clients. Many clients say the follow up day is more beneficial than the original consultation because it is a chance to celebrate the past successes and to chart a course for the next twelve months. If you have new staff, have added another dentist, or are just in a rut and don't look forward to each day, call us today. 800-922-0866. Burn-out is a major problem in today's busy practice. Make sure your work environment is positive which filters to your personal lives as well. Many people ask if I am personally consulting new clients. When I had back surgery three years ago I was advised that sitting for long stretches of time is not a good idea. I still do one day focused in-office seminars when my schedule allows. I accept 30 Association Sponsored Seminars each year. The majority of the new consulting is done by Anne Knouse (FL), Vickie Turner (TX), and Denise Holick (NJ). Char Sweeney (MI) is part of our team of speakers along with the three consultants. I was very proud of all these co-workers when we presented our TTC (Total Team Concept) program for the Holiday Dental Conference last December and the Hinman Dental Meeting in Atlanta in March 01. If you need a speaker for your next conference, please call 800-922-0866 or see our list of LLM&A speakers or the Speakers Bureau of the LLM Speaking/Consulting Network on our web-site (DentalManagementU.com)

Have a great summer and I will hopefully see each of you soon.

Visit us at www.DentalManagementU.com

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates' corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates - Aug 2001

Miles & Associates Linda L Miles & Associates P.O. Box 6249 Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249 Phone: 757.721.3332 FAX: 757.721.2892 800-922-0866 Toll-free