Insights from Max Burrows’ appearance on The Dental Marketer Podcast
Picking a practice location isn’t like buying equipment. If you choose the wrong chairs, you can replace them in six months. But if you sign a 10-year lease in the wrong spot? You’re stuck watching competitors thrive while you struggle to fill your schedule.
Max Burrows recently joined The Dental Marketer podcast to break down what separates practices that launch successfully from those that don’t. Here’s what every practice owner, whether opening their first location or their fifth, needs to know.
The Startup vs. Group Practice Mindset
First-time practice owners often approach location selection with subjectivity. Should I lease or buy? Do I pay more for visibility? What size do I really need?
Meanwhile, groups opening their 20th location have a playbook: specific grocery store anchors they target, exact square footage requirements, insurance enrollment thresholds they need to see in each zip code, and even preferred co-tenants.
The gap isn’t experience, it’s process. Groups know what works because they’ve done it before. But first-time owners can borrow that same data-driven mindset.
“Real estate is the most important piece of a startup practice,” Max explains. “It’s the one thing you really can’t get wrong.”
Why A+ Locations Are Worth the Investment
Many startup owners consider taking a B-minus location to save on rent. The logic seems sound: lower overhead, bigger space, more money for equipment.
But here’s what the numbers actually show: lower rent doesn’t help if your practice produces less revenue.
Max shares a critical insight from working with a 50-location group: “They’re not willing to sacrifice location. It usually starts with the real estate. They figured out what works, and they make a run at it.”
The shift in thinking? Don’t sacrifice an A+ location to save a few hundred dollars per month. Instead, get efficient with your square footage. The average startup used to take 2,400-2,500 square feet. Now, successful practices are opening in 1,800-2,200 square feet-in better locations.
Your Neighbors Matter More Than You Think
Co-tenancy isn’t just about foot traffic. It’s about the right foot traffic.
Consider two pediatric dental offices with identical demographics. One is next to a T-Mobile store. The other is next to a daycare. Which do you think performs better?
Groups analyze this carefully:
- Grocery stores = Multiple weekly visits from families
- Fitness centers = Health-conscious demographic with disposable income
- Coffee shops = Daily traffic generators throughout the day
- Daycares = Perfect for pediatric specialties
But good co-tenants can become problems. A Starbucks sounds great until you realize there are only 15 parking spaces total, and patients can’t find a spot.
The Hidden Threat: Future Competition
Here’s a scenario Max recently navigated: A client was negotiating a lease in a new retail strip attached to a grocery store. The demographics looked perfect. The location was ideal.
But Max knew something the dentist didn’t: Multiple DSO groups were targeting pad sites in front of that development. They wanted to build freestanding 4,000-5,000 square foot offices.
“If you didn’t know that, you may go in, sign that lease, and not restrict anyone else from coming on those pad sites,” Max warns. “You’re a 1,800 square foot startup private practice tucked behind a beautiful freestanding dental office. That doesn’t help your business.”
The solution? Max negotiated lease language restricting any dental use on those pad sites. Problem solved, but only because someone was watching for it.
When Groups Think, You Should Engage Representation
The worst time to bring in a tenant representation broker? After you’ve already been touring spaces and negotiating on your own.
“Every time you do that, you’re losing leverage,” Max explains. “You’ve shown them you’re interested. You’ve probably said things about what you really like or what you would need. The landlord knows they’ll get a better deal if you go unrepresented.”
The best time? When you’re even thinking about opening or expanding.
Max regularly has conversations with doctors who are just considering a startup. Some realize they shouldn’t do it. Others get clarity and move forward. Many stay in touch for a year before they’re ready.
“There’s no right time to engage us,” he says. “We want to talk with you as early as possible in the process.”
And here’s the part most practice owners don’t realize: You don’t pay for tenant representation. The landlord and their broker already have a fee agreement. That fee gets split with your representation. Whether you have someone advocating for you or not, the money is the same. The only question is whether it all goes to the landlord’s side.
The One Thing That Separates Thriving Practices from Struggling Ones
Max has opened enough practices to see patterns. Two dentists can open in the same market with similar demographics, similar rent, similar marketing budgets-and one crushes it while the other struggles.
The difference?
“I usually can tell in our first or second meeting,” Max shares. “It’s how they communicate and interact with other individuals. The doctors that launch and just crush it immediately-there’s something about patient interaction, the environment, the way they care about their patients.”
He compares it to restaurants: “If I have a really good experience and the waiters are great and the food’s good, the likelihood I go back and tell my friends is really high. It’s the same with a dental office.”
The lesson for practice owners: Location sets you up for success, but personality and patient experience determine whether you actually achieve it. One multi-location owner told Max, “Put me at an intersection with four dental practices-one on each corner. I’ll outperform every other office. I’m the best salesman of my product.”
The Bottom Line
Your practice location is a 10-year commitment you can’t test drive. The doctors who succeed either already know what works (because they’ve done it before) or they bring in experts who’ve helped hundreds of others avoid costly mistakes.
Every month, practices open in great locations with favorable lease terms because someone helped them think through visibility, co-tenancy, competition restrictions, and parking ratios. Every month, practices also open in struggling locations because no one caught the problems early enough.
The difference often comes down to one decision: whether to navigate the process alone or with someone whose full-time job is protecting your side of the deal.
Ready to explore your market opportunities? Practice Real Estate Group offers a free startup cost calculator and demographic analysis for your target area.
Listen to the full podcast episode with Max Burrows on The Dental Marketer.
