Brian Hanks has spent this whole season nudging associates to stop waiting. His own data says the average associate buys five to seven years later than they wish they had.

In this solo finale he admits he’s the biggest hypocrite on the show: he knew he wanted to be his own boss at 18, sweating through a summer of construction labor, but he didn’t do anything about it for twenty years.

What finally moved him wasn’t a plan.

It was 5:12 p.m. on a Monday in March 2017, walking out of a meeting he’d set up to ask for a raise, fired twelve minutes in, locked out of his email before he reached the parking lot.

Four kids at home, a hotel room, and an extra muffin from the free breakfast bar because he suddenly had no income.

The book, the business, and this podcast all came out of the 4:30 a.m. mornings that followed. This is the episode for anyone whose reasons for waiting sound perfectly logical. Brian’s did too.

In this episode:

The 18-year-old on a construction crew who swore he’d never work for someone else, and the twenty years of very reasonable excuses that followed

The raise meeting that ended in twelve minutes, and the detail Brian still can’t shake

Why being “responsible for six people” is the most convincing reason not to start, and what it was actually covering

Everything is figure-outable: the first crown, the first implant, the first time a client paid him over Venmo

Steve Van De Graaff’s test from episode 3: problem solvers look for reasons to do it, problem finders look for reasons not to

Readiness isn’t a mood you wait for. It’s what shows up on the other side of taking the step.

The action step: write down what you’re actually afraid of, every item, and why the list isn’t permission to keep waiting

What’s coming in Season 10

This week’s homework: Write down what you’re actually afraid of. Be specific. One thing or twenty-five. Then send it to Brian: brian@dentalbuyeradvocates.com.

No pitch, no follow-up unless you ask for one. He’ll read it and tell you which items someone in your dental school class has already figured out.

Thinking about owning someday? Get Brian’s free Ready Kit for the steps leading up to buying a practice:

https://www.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/ready

More resources:

Read How to Buy a Dental Practice: https://www.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/how-to-buy-a-dental-practice-book/

Book an introductory call with the Dental Buyer Advocates team: https://www.dentalbuyeradvocates.com/schedule-a-call/

Thank you to this season’s guests: Len Tau, Steve Van De Graaff, Mike Pakula, Josh Matthews, Matt Mulcock, Jonathan VanHorn, and Brady Smith.

Season 10 is dentists who bought: a year later, what did they learn, and did they wait too long?

Practice Purchased is hosted by Brian Hanks, MBA, CFP, founder of Dental Buyer Advocates and author of How to Buy a Dental Practice and Taxes for Dentists. It’s ad-free and under 22 minutes, the average American commute. If it helped, forward it to one dentist.