Starting a practice / working together with your classmate?

[samiam1007]

Do you know of any cases or scenarios in which a dentist and his/her classmate of the same year had started a clinic together?

That is, after building up a good chunk of experiences for some years as associates. Say they've been a really close friends for the whole 4 years of dental school and can trust each other.

What would be the pros and cons?

Thanks

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[Saddleshoes]

I know of a case.
They were an yin and yang pair. They each had strength were the other was weak. They would have made a great social couple but the business end of the arrangement fell apart. (When it comes to generating and dividing money, life gets tricky.) They parted with the practice as friends after 2-3 years. Today, both would tell you they wished they had never started down that path together.

 

[jda02624]

I know two guys that met in my ortho residency that opened a practice together and they've done very well, at least from the outside looking in. I think a lot of things change when business and money are involved. You have to have a very good relationship and respect for one another, otherwise it will end up badly. I think it all depends on the people involved.

 

[DrJeff]

As has been said, when starting a practice with a friend, or spouse, or even just another dentist, you quickly realize that the relationship, when dealing with money, and managing staff, etc, changes. A relationship between 2 friends in dental school, almost becomes more like a "marriage" as it evolves.

As my business partner and I often 2, we each have 2 wives, our married wives at home, and each other as "work wives" since on many levels, the relationship at work is that deep, but no sex is involved with our "work wives"!

 

[lemoncurry]

I wouldn't advise it. I worked with someone who was one year ahead of me and it didn't go well. Not saying it was their fault. If you're in the same class, then it becomes very easy to be critical of work they do that doesn't jive with the way you learned it, since you both should have learned the same method. That's just one thing.