Does selling to a DSO ever cross your mind? It's tempting, and I understand why. Most doctors who start thinking about it aren't chasing a dream. They're tired. The practice isn't running the way they want; they're buried in admin work they have never trained for, and then someone offers them a big chunk of money. That sounds great.

Here's what I want you to understand: they're offering you that money because they already know your practice is a cash cow. They're not being generous. They're buying a machine that will keep feeding them for years, and they've done the math to make sure it works out in their favor, not yours.

Let me give you a real example. I sat down with a doctor collecting about $2.9 million. He was producing $1.5 million himself, working three days a week, and his associate, paid 45% of $1.4 million of his collections. The owner received 55% of the associate’s collection which paid for the office overhead. Without an overhead the owner doctor was able to take the entire $1.5 million as net profit. The corporation offered him $4 million for his $2.9 million practice. They paid him $3 million up front with $1 million of it held back for five years. Sounds incredible, right?

Once he ran the numbers, it wasn't. After taxes, that $3 million became about $2 million in his pocket. Once the corporation owned the practice, he'd be working at 40% of collections. Instead of earning $1.5 million, he took home $600,000 and the corporation took home $900,000. Over the next five years of his contract the corporation took home $4,500,000 that the owner would have kept if he continued to own the practice. And the owner would have still owned the practice with complete control of all management, finances, and systems. By selling to the corporation, the owner doctor will lose over $20 million over the next 23 years.​​​​​​​

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​​​​​​​That's just the numbers. But it's not only about the numbers. Once you sell, you lose control of who you hire, who you let go, your 401k, your write-offs, all of it. You're working for someone else now, even though you're the one who built the practice. I've seen doctors sell, regret it within a few years, and go start another practice from scratch just to get their independence back.

So before you ever take a DSO meeting, ask yourself this: is my practice actually running well, or am I trying to sell my way out of a problem I could fix? If your practice isn't performing the way it should, no corporation is going to pay you real money for it anyway. You'll sell for less and still end up working for the man. But if you build it right, double your collections, run it like the well-oiled machine it can be, you become your own DSO. Money comes in, you have complete control, and you can work as much or as little as you choose.

I've been coaching endodontists for over 30 years. I've watched hundreds of doctors face this decision. The ones who remain independent and built real systems are the ones enjoying their lives today, with plenty of time for family, for travel, for the things that matter. They are in complete control of their practice and their life. The ones who sold are, often working just as hard for a fraction of the reward, wondering why they gave away something that valuable.

Own it. Run it well. And you'll never have to ask yourself whether selling was worth it. Endo Mastery can help you create a lifestyle practice of your dreams.

• A DSO's offer is priced on your practice's future earnings, not as a gift to you

• A well-run independent practice can out-earn a DSO sale within four to five years, and keep paying out for decades after

• Selling costs you control over hiring, finances, and ownership benefits, even while you keep doing the work