Practice profile
Ayrshire dentist Iain Storm decided to leave his established practice and set up a squat practice after a quarter of a century in business
The 25-year itch A
fter 25 years as a practice principal in Ayrshire, Iain Storm decided
it was time to move on to a new challenge. Iain left behind his busy five-surgery practice to start from scratch in a single- handed squat. He bought a small cottage in the village of Dreghorn, Ayrshire, and converted it into a brand new dental practice. “Twenty five years in the
same place is a long time and I just decided that I’d had enough,” Iain explained. “I knew it was time to leave.” At the age of 55, Iain sat down
with his wife to decide what to do with the rest of his career. With the sale of the practice and various other financial policies reaching maturity, he could have comfortably retired from dentistry. He drew up a list of options ranging from different things to do in retirement, going into partner- ship, becoming an associate, or buying over an existing practice. He said: “I knew straight
away that I wasn’t ready to retire from dentistry. I enjoy what I do and I still have the energy to do it.” Iain realised that, being the
boss for 25 years, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to adapt to other arrangements. Then, after eliminating all the other possibilities, he was left with buying a property and starting a practice from scratch.
Finding the right location “As a family we were very happy living in Ayr so the new practice had to be within reasonable travelling distance of the town,” said Iain.
40 Scottish Dental magazine He was also looking for a
town or village with a similar patient profile to those he was used to working with. A third consideration was that the practice had to be within commuting distance for the proposed practice manager, Laura. Laura had worked with
Iain for ı4 years and was keen to join the project. He said: “I knew her contribution would be essential for the success of the new practice.” Iain identified the corridor
between Irvine and Kilmar- nock as a possible location. Although both Irvine and Kilmarnock are well supplied with dentists, most practices are in the town centres, with difficult car parking problems. Advised by solicitors Holmes
McKillop, who also helped in the sale of his old practice, he put in an unsuccessful offer for a cottage in the village of Crosshouse, then for a village pub, which both fell through. Just as it looked as if he might
“I don’t see it as brave. I am in the fortunate position of being able to afford to fail”
have to look again at his retire- ment options, a cottage came on the market in the village of Dreghorn. Studying a map and local statistics revealed that the cottage in Dreghorn would be the closest dental practice to ı5,000 people. Dreghorn was also the home of Iain’s dental nurse Kerrie, who also agreed to join the new practice to be called Storm Dental.
The building conversion In any project of this nature, luck always plays a part. Iain’s big break was being able to call on Laura’s partner Willy to do all the building work. Iain said: “Willy was
committed to the project in a way that a normal tradesman wouldn’t be. He thought nothing of coming in on a Sunday to lay a floor so the
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