Beyond Bitewings Edwards & Associates, PC

In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, Robert and Ash discuss the changes you can make in your business to improve patient experience. Consequently creating a friendly environment where the patients look forward to coming back and actively refer others to your practice. Don’t forget it costs much less to retain an existing patient than to bring a new one in.
They also talk about training your staff to build relationships with patients. This is key because people do business with those they know, like and trust. The more they feel they know you, the more they’ll trust your recommendations, and keep those regular appointments on their schedule. 
The discussion covers, ‘why you should also focus on your staff experience’, as this can help your bottom line in several ways. If your staff is happy, your patients will resonate with that energy and will also be happy. Not to mention the reduction in costs as it will help increase your attrition rate, which will cut down on hiring and training costs. 
You mustn’t constantly focus on just the numbers. Although they are very important, other factors impact those numbers outside of just cost and revenue. 
If you have specific questions about improving your patient experience, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.

In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, Ash, Robert and special guest Nathan Turner discuss investing in Real Estate Notes. Nathan has been a veteran in the industry for over fifteen years and explains that he primarily buys residential mortgages from hedge funds or banks and gets a better yield by getting them at a discounted rate. 
When a non-performing mortgage note is purchased, the purchaser buys the right to continue to collect the payments by becoming the new “bank” for the borrowers. Nathan has created a fund through his company, Earnest Investing, where he buys these notes and holds them into a fund, offering a guaranteed 8% rate. (Not up to 8%, but a guaranteed 8% rate). 
Nathan talks about why this can be a great investment opportunity for those looking to diversify their investments. Worried about the recession impacting your investments?  Well, this investment performs even when the economy slows down.
To find out more about Earnest Investing, visit: https://earnestinvesting.com/
If you have specific questions about real estate notes investments, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.

As inflation and interest rates have been on the rise, business owners have found themselves with rising costs. Since we may not have an ending in sight quite yet, what can you do now to mitigate these changes in your practice?
In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards and Associates team discusses different ways you can increase revenue and decrease costs in your dental practice. Raising your rates might be the first thing you consider, but you may be stuck if insurance companies don’t increase what they’re paying you back. 
They discuss why you may want to take inventory of the insurance programs you’re accepting, and why it may be in your best interest to look at renegotiating your fees or possibly even dropping some of them. It may feel scary, but when done the right way, you may actually see an increase in revenue and clients.
They also talk about marketing, and why, even though this may be an increased expense right away, the right campaign will end up paying off over time. You can also try simple things like asking for referrals or training your front staff to ask for reviews as they’re checking out from their appointment.
Although you may be feeling the squeeze, there are some changes that you can make to help offset the cost increase without having too large of an impact on your practice.
If you have specific questions about how to decrease expenses or grow your revenue, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.

The SECURE Act 2.0 was signed into law in late 2022, and there are several ways it may affect you and your retirement accounts. The Edwards & Associates team covers everything you need to know for these upcoming changes.
In this episode, they discuss the new changes for age limits on the Required Minimum Distribution. Basically, this covers when the government wants you to start taking distributions from your accounts (so they can start getting their tax dollars). 
They also talk about new ways the government is helping people get more relief in times of need by allowing up to $1,000 annually to be taken from a retirement fund without penalties.
Also, have you heard about the auto-enrollment in your company’s 401K program? This is something that will be rolled out where if you start with a company, and they offer a 401K, you will automatically be enrolled at 3%. 
There are also new programs where if you’re making contributions towards your student loan debt, your employer can still pay into your 401K match based on the amount you’re paying on your student loans.
Plus they discuss what benefits employers who offer retirement plans to their employees may see from this new bill. This may be the perfect opportunity to start adding this program into your practice and allowing your employees to get one more perk, and you may see more tax benefits.
If you have specific questions about your retirement plan or the plans you offer your employees, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.

The tables are turning in this episode of Beyond Bitewings, and the Edwards and Associates team is being asked the questions that so many practice owners want to know. They’re welcoming Prosthodontist Dr. Giancarlo Aymerich to this episode so he can ask all the questions about how he can save more money on taxes for his practice.
They cover common questions about deducting equipment, including when you can deduct equipment, how you can use it as a tax saving, and various cost thresholds. They also cover the common questions about cars including how you can deduct your car as a business expense, and what you need to report to the IRS when it comes to a car’s expenses. Plus, they talk about leasing vs. purchasing and which one is best if you’re using your car as a business expense.
They also talk about when the right time is to switch your company to an S-Corp, and the income thresholds when you typically see the most tax savings. Plus, they cover other strategies to save on your taxes when it comes to retirement accounts for yourself and your employees.
This is the perfect episode to get ready for 2023 and learn how to save more money on your practice’s taxes!
If you have specific questions about your expenses on your taxes, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.

The road from dental school has many options, and knowing which direction to take can feel overwhelming. 
In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team at Edwards and Associates talks to Dr. Trisha Patel to discuss her journey out of dental school to building her own practice. 
Dr. Patel shares how her background in business and working with a DSO helped to give her a head start in running her own business. However, she also talks about how starting a business during COVID (plus while becoming a new mother) set her up for some challenges along the way.
Through all the ups and downs, though, Dr. Patel talks about why she is happy with the decision she made, and why it’s so important to have a team of great advisors on your side. She also talks about why she decided to build her own practice from the ground up instead of buying an existing one.
She also talks about her experience at the DSO, and why it helped her to understand the things she saw they were doing well. It also helped her see the processes she wanted to improve for her own business and staff. She also gives advice about just jumping in. As much as we want to make sure we understand all that we can before starting our own business, the truth is, we will never know it all. There will always be a lot to learn and new challenges along the way, and she talks about why she has no regrets about jumping in.
If you have specific questions about your options after dental school, or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please reach out to the Edwards & Associates team.