As our economic situation sputters on and on in a seemingly endless horizontal quagmire, battle weary small business owners need to endure the new normal. I think many of us have had to offer our patients more latitude in payment of their bills than we have ever had to before. This is something that we may not be entirely comfortable with but it is completely necessary in light of our economic situation.

I have offered credit to loyal patients who have suffered through the recession. These are people who didn't ask for the problems that were handed to them. I felt that in their time of crisis, I needed to step up and not turn my back on them. I made the necessary treatment for them and their families work out by either lowering my fees, extending credit or in some cases both. Desperate times deserve desperate measures.

So, as can be expected, there are times where collections are slower and we need to weather the storm. Having a fixed lab bill every month is fantastic and I have CEREC to thank for that. In addition, we order supplies as needed and try not to carry a great deal of inventory. We also have cut the fat in many places. I just finished shopping for services like infectious waste disposal and recycling of my amalgam separator. The savings were in the thousands. I used my check writing software to assemble a list of the things I have paid for this year and used that as a guide to find things that could be reduced. You will be amazed at what can be done to drop your overhead.

So if our economic storm is a huge hurricane, we may very well be in the eye. The big nasty part has passed, but there is still some more to endure. Hopefully, it's shorter and less intense than what we have previously seen. Those patients that you have stood by and helped out will regain their footing and become some of the most intensely loyal patients you will ever have. Practice smart and you will be there smiling when this is all over. You will be bigger and stronger than ever and comfortable with the road that you took to get you there.