Ridge Practice — Entrepreneur in the Spotlight
Every month we put an exceptional entrepreneur in the spotlight. This month we present you doctor Adeola Abimbola Israel from Ridge Practice. She runs a dental clinic in Lagos. While she takes the best care of her patients, her personal Accounteer accountant takes care of her finances.
Can we meet you?
RS: Hello, I am doctor Adeola Abimbola Israel, I am the clinical director for The Ridge Practice: We are a dental clinic located in Victoria Island, Lagos.
What is Ridge Practice all about?
We are a dental clinic set up to address oral issues in Lagos most especially. Considering that we have been in practice for a long time, we decided to set up something close to what is obtainable abroad “standard practices”, so we decided that we would determine the minimum level practices within a reasonable budget.
Why Nigeria? Why not another country?
I love my country (laughs). And there is no place like home, and erm. The truth is I would rather be a first-class citizen in my country than a second-class citizen in another country. And we can get more traction here within a shorter period of time. The dental market abroad is already saturated already. Here, the dental exposure is still at its minimum. So we have the “UNBANKED using the banking term. A very few are dentistry exposed. So we are actually ripe for innovation in dentistry, trying to go beyond the traditional ways of doing things.
So, you’re not considering the challenges of starting a business here other than the excitement?
There are challenges everywhere. I will rather take the risk where there is a higher degree of reward rather than take the same risk abroad in an already saturated market.
Why start the business with your husband? No emotional conflict?
We make a good team. We make a fantastic team. His core strengths compliment my own businesses and vice versa.
Is he into dental too?
Not at all. Which is perfect, because he has a third party view of the situation and things. We doctors tend to be clinical in our approach to business. And considering that a lot of us in fact none of us have a business background because it’s not part of our curriculum and running a practice is a business. So he plays a major role in that regard.
What is the dental business like in Nigeria?
Considering that I don’t know anyone that has started and folded up speaks a lot. It is profitable, it engaging and it worth a while in the long run. It is the patience game you just have to play like every other business. And then, because there are so many people, I mean Lagos alone is about 20 Million. And we have other metropolitan like Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and there is also the hinterland.
Let’s talk about the challenges
FUNDING!!!!!!!!! It is capital intensive. So even the most basic, there are minimum requirements for you to be registered or approved or get a license so by the time the regulatory bodies comes to inspect your location, you must have some certain things on the ground. So it’s very capital intensive.
Good skilled LABOUR is scarce. So actually getting the right kind of clinical staff is another major challenge.
Then Remuneration for the skilled labour is another issue. So if you have cheap labour, just know you are actually messing up patients because it’s directly proportional.
We couldn’t afford the big accounting firms and you had a package that was paid on monthly basis. I thought it was really cool!
How has Accounteer helped your business operations?
Like I said earlier, I am not a business person. I actually don’t like numbers, they confuse me and paying for professional services was a major issue, so we were doing the traditional bookkeeping. Interestingly, I discovered Accounteer on Twitter from “fshores’ tweets” he retweeted something from Union Bank. They profiled some startups and that was it. I just reached out to you guys and you were flexible. That was what I appreciated the most, we couldn’t afford the big accounting firms and you had a package that was paid on monthly basis. I thought it was really cool!
It helps to organise.
Like for instance, we actually can keep records of how much we are making, what the inflows, what the outflows are, actually have a document, have a report, get a report.
What will the next 5 years of Ridge Practice bring?
Bigger, better, more established in market penetration.
What’s your advice for upcoming dental practitioners?
Acquire your skill. Spend time to train yourself. That is the number 1 thing.
Number 2, You should have a value mindset. If you have value, people will pay for it. The thing is, we are in the internet age, so people can read up, you have patients that will come and tell you that “this is what they need” and they are actually right because they have done a lot of research they have gotten several opinions. So you need to know why you are doing what you are doing and understand it. Once you get that, the rest of it falls into place, really! Take your time and learn the ropes, don’t just jump out of school and go open practice.
Litigation is real, Nigerians are getting aware of their right, people are suing. There’s an accounting to do for wrong clinical practice.
And for my fellow doctors that have skills and experience, Get help!!
Look beyond your own core profession, get help from outside allied professionals. Talk to an accountant, a lawyer, talk to business people. Understand what the business side all about HR! We should not shy away from all that. Because those are the professionals that makes a business work. So yes, because that is the mistake a lot of us make. We just started and then got into trouble and start looking for ways out!
