“The beautiful August morning was shattered when a mother of 7 methodically tossed, pushed and cajoled her children from the balcony of their 11th floor hotel room in Salt Lake City. All but one of the children, ranging in age from five to fifteen, died upon impact with the sidewalk 120 feet below. The fifteen-year-old is in serious condition and not expected to survive.”
This incident occurred August 4, 1978 at the International Dunes
Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. The
hotel has been remodeled and renamed Shilo Inn, but to locals it will always be
the place where that woman threw her children off the balcony.
What Does This Have To Do With My Practice?
A hotel catering to an out-of-town clientele may not experience
a significant impact due to local folklore.
For a dentist servicing locals, the history of a building can impede new
patient acquisition. The reputation of
your new dental practice may inherit the lore of the site you select.
So, What Do I Do?
Whether you are searching on your own or using a commercial real
estate agent, identify five or six locations within 2 miles of the center of the
radius where you want to practice. You
don’t want to “fall in love” with a specific location. An emotional connection to a specific site
may reduce your ability to negotiate a favorable rate or conduct a proper
background search on the property.
First, Google. Google has
a long “memory”. An address is a good
search phrase to get a little background on the location. Go passed the first page of results. Dig a little deeper in the search results to
get into the locations past. The second
page of the Google results for the location of the old International Dunes
Hotel show an article on the 10 Most Haunted Places In Salt Lake City . . .
Second, meet the neighbors. You will be sharing drive-by customers with
these people, it’s important to get to know them. The other tenants can provide insight into
the landlord, the neighborhood, what businesses have previously been located in
the space, and what kind of businesses will surround your practice.
You don’t want to find out after you move in that “World of
Glass” isn’t an artisan glassblower, but a head shop selling custom bongs.
Third, drive the neighborhood.
Get a ground-level view of where you are going to locate your new
practice. Ask yourself if the
neighborhood is in decline, on the way up, or stable? A stable neighborhood is likely to have a
family dentist and be reluctant to change.
A neighborhood experiencing a revitalization is a good opportunity to
gain new patients as they will be looking for new services in the area.
Fourth, talk to the local police. The local patrol officers can be a great
resource for the mood of the neighborhood.
A few years ago I visited with representatives of the San Diego Police
Dept. regarding an upcoming trade show of which I was a sponsor. After dinner they were dropping me at a hotel
I selected online as it was convenient to downtown. When we pulled up the officer looked at the
building, then back at me and stated, “No way am I letting you stay there! When I was a rookie I pulled too many bodies
out of that building.”
Fifth, drive the street during business hours. As I mentioned in the previous article (http://jointherevo.blogspot.com/2014/06/new-dental-practice-question-of-where.html), a great frontage may not equate to an easy to access
location. Backed up traffic or
inconvenient driveways can be a detriment to your success.
Sixth, does the landlord allow signage and is it visible. Your practice needs to be easily identifiable
to patients. Blocked signage or lack of
signage forces you to spend more money on marketing than you planned.
Seventh, try to park during business hours. Can you easily find parking near the
prospective location? If you can’t,
neither can your patients. Difficulty
parking can cause the patient to be vexed and less receptive to your treatment
plan.
Carefully consider the location of your new practice. This is an investment in your professional
career, take time to make sure you can be successful.
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