How Dr Timothy Clipsham started a family dental practice

Starting a family dental practice was always a dream for Dr Timothy Clipsham, and thanks to us, his dream is now a reality.

  4 minutes

Dr Timothy Clipsham always knew he wanted to become a dentist. In fact, it was a dream of his since he was a young kid. Now he’s the proud owner of his very own private practice. It just took him a while to get there.

Besides his family and the ability to work closer to home, Dr Clipsham’s main reason for creating a surgery was to create a family dental practice that emphasises patient care over corporatisation and finances.

Dr Clipsham took his first steps to opening his practice after being approached by a physio and doctor to put a dentist surgery in the building they were fitting out in Kirrawee in Southern Sydney.

Being everywhere at once

Dr Clipsham had previously worked in Tamworth in Northern NSW and in Camden, southwest of Sydney. Since he was from Southern Sydney, he wanted to put down his roots a bit closer to home.

“It’d be fair to say that the past 12 months have been some of the busiest in terms of balancing my home life and work life, especially working across two practices while trying to set up my own,” Dr Clipsham says.

Luckily, he had the opportunity to give both bosses plenty of warning that he was soon going out on his own. “I had commitments to working at those practices so I kept those commitments,” he says. It helped that his practice was a fair way away from both Camden and Tamworth.

And while it was busy and stressful, particularly as opening day neared, it was all worth it. “There were times when you were expected to work all day and keep your head clear for patients, and then during lunch and the hours after work, come home and get things done for the new practice. But that’s what it takes to get the job done,” Dr Clipsham muses.

Start me up

Dr Clipsham bounced ideas off his study group and talked to some dentist friends in

the industry before settling on a firm to deal with the set-up and Michelle O’Connor from BOQ Specialist to help with the finances. Michelle, he said, was reassuring right from the word go.

“There was never a question with getting finance. It was always a matter of ‘yes, of course we can provide finance, let’s just make sure it happens in a way that’s going to be beneficial for both of us’. There was that real ‘yes’ attitude,” Dr Clipsham explains. “There’s a trust there. When doing this kind of thing for the first time, you really don’t know what you’re dealing with. But right from the start, it was collaborative.”

So how does Dr Clipsham feel now that the practice is up and running? “It’s a sense of achievement and really nice to have a business where you can set the tone, employ the staff, and create the kind of place that you want,” Dr Clipsham says.

Thinking about starting or growing a practice? Click on the link to find out more about our tailored financial solutions for establishing your own practice. Ready to take the next step? Contact us to find out how we can tailor a practice finance solution for you, or call us on 1300 160 160.