04 November 2022

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Dr. Tony Feck: The most successful businesses survive an economic downturn

Mary Guiden

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Dr. Anthony “Tony” Feck has 39 years of experience in private practice, and he has shared his methods of success with tens of thousands of dentists and their teams around the world. He is a pioneer and an authority on the use of conscious sedation in dentistry and serves as the dean of the faculty at DOCS Education, a company he co-founded that provides training for IV sedation to enable dentists to offer a higher standard of care to their patients. In 2005, Feck founded Sunrise Dental Solutions, a practice optimization company. His new book, “The Prosperous Dental Practice,” is available for purchase through Edra Publishing.    

Q: Dr. Feck – you not only have an impressive background, but you also have a leadership role with DOCS Education, and you lead Sunrise Dental Solutions in addition to managing your own practice. How do you manage all these roles?  

A: Part of doing a lot of things and doing them at a very high level is surrounding yourself with a lot of good people. I get way too much credit for doing all that I do when there are so many people I rely on that support me. It’s physically impossible in my regular workday to do all the things I have to do. I have good support for every project I’m working on. if you’re going to be a micromanager, you’re not going to get a lot accomplished. You’ve got to focus on the big picture and allow talented people to take care of all the details. Otherwise, doing everything I do can make a person go crazy.   It makes a difference when you’re passionate about your work. When your typical workday ends, and when you’re passionate about something, you find yourself working on it in the evenings, on weekends. It sounds like I don’t have a life, but I do. I pick and choose what I do with my time.  

Q: How big is your team?  

A: The team at my practice consists of 15 additional people. The team at Sunrise — all the trainers, analysts, administrative personnel — it’s a team of about 20 people and that will likely grow. DOCS Education is a business I used to own; I am still the dean of the faculty and the sedation director. To fulfill those roles, there are a team of about 15 people at DOCS I can rely on that perform various duties. They help me prepare for my teaching obligations.  

Q: As we approach the end of 2022, what predictions do you have for the dental industry?  

A: It’s not difficult to predict what’s going to happen because it’s happened cyclically, almost on schedule over the years. The U.S. economy is extremely resilient. There will be downturns and there will be recoveries. If you live long enough, you’ll see a bunch of both.  

There are always inflationary cycles, which we’re going through now. This cycle impacts business costs and interest rates and reduces new business growth. But I look at economic downturns in a realistic way. Some people would say it’s a bit optimistic. It’s like pruning a tree – if the economy was a tree and it needs a good pruning for it to grow and have better blossoms. Cutting off some of the parts that aren’t as healthy is a good thing. That’s what happens in capitalistic economies.  

In a good economy, even poorly run businesses can thrive. In a downturn, only the most successful will thrive. It forces business owners to be better and sharper. It forces you, when necessary, to put in extra effort.  

There’s going to be some pain. But at the same time, it’s a wonderful opportunity for good businesses to sharpen their proverbial saws or scissors and to take advantage of what I consider to be bad advice out there — to hunker down, reduce your payroll, go lean and mean, and just try to survive.  

I look at it the other way around: There’s less competition. We’re dentists, so it’s not like we’re providing an elective service. People still need us regardless of the economy. Take advantage of that situation and your costs will be less. There’s a greater supply of qualified talent, fewer businesses will pay for marketing. You’ll be motivated more so than ever because you must be. All these things will leave a minority of well-run businesses to do better in a downturned economy than in a strong economy.