From employee to owner: a real business ownership story

Brian Hanks, founder of Dental Buyer Advocates and author of How to Buy a Dental Practice, spent 18 years knowing he wanted to run his own business. He also spent 18 years finding reasons not to.

Like many aspiring business owners, he started with:

A stable, well-paying job that was easy to justify staying in
A growing family and financial obligations that made risk feel irresponsible
A belief that he’d know when the time was right
No entrepreneurs in his immediate network to learn from or model himself after

Then, in 2018, an unexpected career setback forced his hand. What happened next became the foundation of one of the most recognized consulting firms in dental practice transitions.

Why you don't have to feel ready to start

1. Readiness is built, not felt

Many aspiring business owners wait for a feeling that rarely arrives on its own. Brian waited 18 years for it.

What he learned is that readiness isn’t a mood you wait for. It’s a byproduct of motion.

Ask yourself:

Am I waiting to feel ready, or am I taking steps to become ready?
What specifically is standing between me and the first step?
Have I talked to anyone who has actually done this?

👉 The difference between aspiring owners who act and those who don’t often comes down to one thing: movement. Every step you take generates information that waiting never will.

2. Name what you’re actually afraid of

Brian has spent years advising dentists not to wait too long to buy a practice. He waited 18 years. When he got honest about why, the answer wasn’t practical. It was personal.

He was afraid of finding out he wasn’t good enough. As long as he never tried, he never had to find out.

That kind of fear is rarely talked about, but it’s one of the most common reasons aspiring owners stay stuck.

To move past it, Brian suggests:

Writing down what you’re actually afraid of, not just the practical objections
Separating the fears that are grounded in real risk from the ones that are just uncertainty
Getting an outside perspective from someone with experience who can help you evaluate the difference

👉 Getting honest about fear doesn’t eliminate it. But it does make it smaller.

3. Stop waiting for permission

One of Brian’s biggest realizations was that he’d spent years waiting for someone to tell him it was okay to start a business. That permission never came.

What finally moved him forward wasn’t a sign or a feeling. It was an unexpected push that left him no choice but to act.

Most aspiring owners won’t get that push. Which means the timing is theirs to choose.

👉 Nobody is going to give you permission to bet on yourself. That’s the whole point.

First steps toward business ownership

1. Learn from people who have done it

Brian found that one of the most valuable things he did early on was get around other business owners. Not to network in a formal sense, but to observe how they thought and made decisions.

Start by:

Talking to business owners in your field or industry
Asking what they wish they’d known before they started
Attending conferences, study clubs, or industry events where owners gather
Listening to podcasts and reading firsthand accounts of ownership journeys

👉 You don’t need a mentor with all the answers. You need proximity to people who are figuring it out.

2. Build the right team of advisors

Brian didn’t build Dental Buyer Advocates alone. He leaned on people with expertise he didn’t have.

Aspiring business owners should connect with:

A lender who can tell you whether you qualify for financing and what it would take
An accountant or financial planner who understands business acquisitions
An attorney who can help you evaluate agreements and protect your interests
A buyer representative or advisor who has guided others through the process

👉 You don’t need every relationship in place before you start. Identify your biggest questions, then find the right person to help you answer them.

3. Take one step before you feel ready

Brian’s first step was writing a book at 4 a.m. because he couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t a polished business plan. It was just the resource he’d once searched for and couldn’t find.

Two months after he published it, his first client called.

Your first step doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be something:

Schedule a call with a lender to understand your financing options
Talk to a business owner you admire
Research the type of business you want to own
Write down what’s actually stopping you and share it with someone you trust

👉 The first step doesn’t commit you to anything. It just gives you more information than you have right now.

Is buying a business worth it?

It depends on:

Your tolerance for uncertainty
Your willingness to take action before you have every answer
Whether you’re ready to stop waiting and start finding out

What ownership changed for Brian:

He built a business that has advised on more than 1,500 dental practice transitions across 49 states
He works with a team he handpicked, in a location seven minutes from his home
He earns significantly more than he ever did as a W-2 employee
He gets to spend his mornings on the tennis court when he wants to

“There is no such thing as feeling ready to own a business. I thought there would be some sign or someone would give me permission. Instead, I had to take the steps to then feel ready.”

Listen to Brian’s entire story here.

How to know when you’re ready to buy a business (hint: you probably won’t)

From employee to owner: a real business ownership story