I am often asked “Should I sell my dental practice when its value is at its peak, even though I`m in my 40’s or 50″s and not yet ready to retire?”

The most important questions you will want to ask yourself back are: 1) Are you prepared to work as an associate or employee after selling your dental practice? and 2) Is your pension funded or will be with the sale of the dental practice?

When you sell your dental practice and terminate your professional income, your pension needs to pay for your lifestyle. If your pension is not properly funded – no matter how much you can get for the sale of your dental practice – it is not the right time to sell. This is because proceeds from the sale of the dental practice will likely fall short of the lump sum of $1.5 million or more needed to retire.

If you can answer yes to both questions, then the opportunity to cash out and focus on “quality of life” is a real motivator. No management, no hiring or firing or worrying about associates, come to work on a reduced schedule and go home. I often hear from a seller in his 50’s and 60’s who transitioned correctly…”if I would have known life was this good….I would have sold along time ago.”