We are all aware of the amazing changes in the housing market across Canada, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver where million dollar homes are now the norm. Much has been said that the bubble will burst and today’s big questions are “Really?” and “When?” And recently while driving alongside a huge 500 plus housing project I was thinking about the bubble thing but then was distracted by the headlines of the building contractor’s huge sign, Build Well, Live Well. Somehow those concentrated words jumped out at me saying, “Sure, isn’t that what life is all about?” Added to this were the words of wisdom of Nigerian born Ifeany Enoch Onuoha that I had come across some time ago. Visionary leader and author of Overcoming the Challenges of Life Onuha once quoted, “A great building will never stand if you neglect the small bricks.”
When reading through this Professional Advisory issue you will find numerous valuable aspects of Build Well, Live Well. For example, in David Rosenthal’s “Shareholders Agreement For Your Dentistry Professional Corporation” you will realize that if you build well around the complex professional corporate laws you and your family will live well. Selling your practice? Mark McNulty’s “How to Invest Your Practice Sale Proceeds” wisely outlines that you’ve worked over thirty years to make money, so don’t rely on luck. Build your investments well and you will live well. Renting a premises? Ian Toms warns that the complexities of site selection, lease negotiation and lease management have increased significantly over the past 10 years and your lease advocate should have many years of practical experience so that your particular tenancy transactions are built well so you will live well.
Ron Weintraub in dealing with “The Crucial Importance of Empowering Our Support Team” astutely outlines the quiet shift in the public’s realization that the level of satisfactory treatment depends not only on the dentist but upon all team members. If you build the power of the support team well you will all live well. In discussing “The High Cost of Dying” David Lind reminds us that it is inevitable that we are all going to pass away someday but if the dentist takes steps to plan for the eventuality – that is, if you build well – it will be your practice, your employees, and most certainly your family that will all live well. David Chong Yen and Louise Wong open their article with “One of the most common questions dentists with professional corporations ask is how should I pay myself?” They then proceed to build – brick by brick – a wealth of knowledge on how the various aspects of paying oneself can be accomplished so all can live well.
It may have been only a sign on a multimillion dollar building project that initiated the concept but when reading The Professional Advisory the reality is that every issue carries an important message. Whether it’s houses, dental practices, investments, families and even dying, we are all much better off if we strive to Build Well so we will all Live Well. PA
