Our Most Recent Episode (2/18/2025)

The Perfect Place to Put a Practice Podcast

Previous Podcast Episodes

Episode 255: Midwest Opportunities

This episode of The Perfect Place to Put a Practice podcast, hosted by Mike Green, focuses on potential practice locations in the Midwest. Many doctors who grew up in the region want to return but struggle to find growing areas with strong demographic potential. This episode highlights five Midwest cities with significant growth potential for new practice owners.

Episode 254: How Close is Too Close: Competition Analysis For Practice Placement

Choosing the right location for your new practice is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make. In this episode, we dive deep into the key factors to consider when placing a practice—especially in competitive areas. From analyzing demographics and market demand to evaluating competition and optimizing accessibility, we break down what it takes to thrive in a saturated market. Learn how to differentiate your practice, leverage unique selling points, and build a patient-friendly experience that sets you apart. Whether you’re starting fresh or looking to relocate, this episode is packed with strategic insights to help you make a smart, profitable decision.

Episode 253: Drilling for Patients

How presidential shifts and new polices shift the demographics for doctors. How to strategize for it, and how to make it work in your favor. .

Episode 252: Benchmarks for Opening a De Novo Practice

Are you thinking about opening your own practice this year? The journey might seem daunting with questions like: Should you buy an existing practice or start one from scratch? Where's the best location to set up shop? What insider secrets should you know? Join Mike Green from Doctor Demographics, a company with over 30 years of experience in assisting doctors with these very questions. In this essential video, Mike dives deep into: De Novo or Acquisition? - Learn the pros and cons of starting fresh versus buying an established practice.

Episode 251: Simple and Effective Social Media Strategy for Doctors

Here is a very simple and effective way to strategize your practice's social media. We've taught this system for nearly 10 years (since the advent of social media) and it has been wildly successful.

Episode 250: 5 Practice Location Options in the Southeast

Here are 5 great options for placing your practice (Dental, medical, optometry, veterinary, etc.) in the Southeast United States.

Episode 249: The Site Selection Process for Doctors

Join us in this insightful topic as we delve into the intricate process of selecting the ideal practice site. We address common misconceptions and guide you through essential steps that can significantly impact the success of your practice. Discover why starting with the big picture is crucial and learn how to find a location that aligns with your specific practice type. We emphasize the importance of considering factors beyond demographics and share expert tips to help you make informed decisions. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or a newcomer to the field, understanding the nuances of practice site potential is heavy lifting that pays off in the long run. Tune in to gain valuable insights and take a step closer to realizing your dream practice location.

Episode 248: The Pros and Cons of Opening a Practice in Florida

In this episode, we delve into the pros and cons of opening a new practice in Florida, a state known for its vibrant culture and sunny weather. Join us as we explore the top three pros and cons associated with this venture and gain valuable insights if you're considering starting a practice in the Sunshine State.

Episode 247: Opening a Practice in Texas Pros and Cons

Welcome to another episode of "The Perfect Place to Put a Practice Podcast and our special Pros and Cons series" by Doctor Demographics! Hosted by Mike Green, today's episode delves into a topic crucial for both new and seasoned doctors: opening a new professional practice in Texas in 2024.

Episode 246: Pros and Cons of Opening a Professional Practice in Southern California

Whether you're contemplating a new venture in 2024 or beyond, this episode is an invaluable resource. Discover the enticing opportunities that Southern California presents, along with the challenges one might face when starting a practice in this dynamic region. If you're an aspiring professional looking to make an informed decision about your next business move, don't miss this episode!

Episode 245: Practice Locations with Promise for 2023

Join us in this insightful episode of "Places with Promise" as your host, Scott McDonald, takes you on a journey through a carefully curated list of promising places and locations for establishing your very own professional practice. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner looking to expand or someone just starting in the industry, choosing the right location can significantly impact the growth and success of your practice.

Episode 244: Kiss of Death Locations for 2023

Its that time of the year where we do our annual 'Kiss of Death Private Practice Locations' analysis for the next year. These are the areas of the country that are not doing very well or have some external forces (environmental or economic typically) fighting against you. If your area made the list, don't dismay. A little more elbow grease may be required to be successful.

Episode 243: The Importance of Personal Interaction In Your Practice

There is a plague of loneliness occurring in America, especially among men. Since the pandemic, it seems we have lost our ability to make friends and this is resulting in harm to practices and their owners. This episode deals with the building of relationships and friendships and the nexus of demographics and psychographics for doctors.

Episode 242: The Future of Demographics and what it means for your practice

These past few years have been nothing short of a significant shift in demographics. Everything we thought we knew about urban and rural demographics, family dynamics, and politics is being redefined rapidly. In this episode, Scott McDonald discusses what we see on the demographic playing field and how it will impact practice owners.

Episode 241: How Race and Culture Impact Your Practice Strategy

Race is a very sensitive topic these days so before I publish my remarks, I would like to make some comments. All races and cultures deserve respect. There is never a cause to vilify one culture over another. More important race, and culture are more important to heed. In my post, I said that I feared the Academy Awards may be putting too much attention on race rather than on producing quality art.

Episode 240: Sites with Serious Potential for Doctors

Let's face it, some sites are better than others. Here are some insider tips for what we are seeing in the marketplace.

Episode 239: Key Elements for Practice Site Selection

I just had a debate with another demographer over the criteria of what makes a GREAT location for professional practice. We could NOT have been further apart. My colleague was adamant in this opinion that things are perfectly fine. Urban areas are flush with money. Crime statistics are overstated. Besides, crime is not really an issue in urban healthcare settings. If proper security is applied to prescription pads and controlled substances, things are about the same as they have ever been (he said). I disagree. In fact, I believe ethical doctors are receiving implied threats from the patients (but I don't discuss that much in this episode). I admit that I have little direct knowledge of the "global" situation. My knowledge is more anecdotal than statistical.

Episode 238: Why Some Areas of the Country Just Won't Grow

In today's episode, Scott McDonald from Doctor Demographics discusses why some areas of the country just won't grow. It seems that the nation is putting obstacles in its way that make progress and advancement as a nation more difficult and unsure. For example, the administration seems to have no plan to deal with the waves of aliens expected this week. They seem unprepared for the energy crisis on our doorstep. There seems to be no plan to handle increased violent crime in our cities. America has hobbled itself. There is no resolution to our banking crisis.

Episode 237: Is Your Practice Growing Enough?

One of the measures of the worth and viability of a practice site is simply this: Is it growing enough? By many measures, America overall is NOT growing enough. That includes population, income, property values, and sustainability. It is certainly possible to be lulled into a state of hopelessness. But this doesn't have to be your future, www.DoctorDemographics.com is available to research the sites that give you the kind of practice value you are looking for. It isn't about finding people. It is about finding the RIGHT people in the right place.

Episode 236: Why Is California Dying for Professional Practice Owners

Will the news ever get any better for doing business in California? In this episode, Scott McDonald goes over what will need to happen for doctors.

Episode 235: Demographics & Religiosity

If you are looking for a location with children or teens, this is an ideal method. As the birth rate drops, this is is really proving a great predictive method of research.

Episode 234: The Two Step Model - A Foundational Model in Establishing a New Practice Image

It is one thing to find a desirable location to start up or purchase a practice. It is quite another thing to create an enduring practice brand. The Two-Step Model is a useful process to do this effectively and scientifically. This episode is a follow-up to our episode on Framing Theory and Agenda Setting of a couple of weeks ago. The question is "How do you build credibility quickly and at a low-cost *and reasonable effort. That is where the application of this theory really becomes useful.

Episode 233: Urban Core Practices

Demographers have been redefining the urban sites around the United States to try to find locations with growth and money that will offer a good return on the investment if they should they be sold. The term that they have started using is the "near urban core." It requires a little more marketing and management sophistication than average but the return on the practice is excellent. This episode explains more. Almost all metropolitan areas have a "sweet spot" like this for professional practices.

Episode 232: Will They Build? Using Building Permits as a Growth Indicator

When we are looking for favorable places to put a practice, we are often drawn to those sites that are allowing or encouraging growth, particularly those sites that are encouraging the construction of single family, owner occupied dwelling units. In some states (including California) this is becoming more expensive (assuming they are even possible.) Politicians don't like them for several reasons. They don't provide property taxes like apartment developments do and they are difficult to put in utilities. They also represent challenges to voting blocks that local politicians like. Worst of all, they encourage "buy-in" that is independent of politicians. They prefer to deal with individual developers. They don't like individual property owner or their representatives.

Episode 231: Competition Rate: How Many is Too Many?

This episode deals with the question of competition saturation. How many other general dentists (for example) should cause a concern for a doctor considering putting a new office in a neighborhood? The real question is how closely the two offices match up in their definition of their marketing mix (product, place, price, and promotion?) Experience would suggest that unless they are exactly the same, there is no good reason to locate an office in another neighborhood just because there is another office that looks somewhat similar. In fact, the idea that NO ONE would consider putting a competing practice in that location may be sufficient reason to wonder about the neighborhood in the first place.

Episode 230: Boundaries and Targets of Demographics

When I first started doing demographic and site analysis reports for doctors nearly 40 years ago, the art and science of this analysis were still pretty primitive. Things have changed in fairly significant ways. This includes the ways that we drew practice boundaries and interpreted the data. This session talks about one of the BIG changes that have occurred: Zip Code definitions and drive times. Another big change is the inclusion and interpretation of psychographics.

Our Leadership

Scott McDonald

"Demographics is more than just facts and figures. It is the foundational story in which we develop the right strategy and plan to create successful practices over the long-term. Markets change, economies fluctuate, and internal goals differ. Our goal at Doctor Demographics is to provide you with not just the data, but experienced analysis to help you create the practice you've always dreamed of having."

Scott McDonald

Founder - Doctor Demographics

Mike Green

"Coming from a marketing background, demographics and psychographics are the foundation that all successful practice strategies are built. Knowing how to use that data in the implementation process of a practice is the difference between an average (or failing) practice and a successful practice in the same area. We've done thousands of studies over the years and have helped doctors find, establish, and market in nearly every state and situation"

Mike Green

Owner - Doctor Demographics