The Biggest Mistakes Lab Owners Make--and How to Avoid Them

By Felix Silva, Vice President, YDL Concert, Carrollton, TX

My biggest mistake was implementing a large marketing plan for immediate growth and not having a game plan on how to scale the business. In 2007, I co-owned American Dental Lab in Garland, TX, and business was hurting due to the tanking economy...

By Ray Alde, CEO, Arklign, San Jose, CA

In 2013, we decided to get aggressive to increase our revenue. We thought the best path toward growth was the simplest option: lower prices to increase volume. We lowered our fees across the board by about 20%, anticipating that our loyal customers would be...

By Christopher Gajewski, Owner, Bryn Mawr Ortho Lab, Exton, PA

When I bought my orthodontic lab in 2005, it was a turnkey operation. All I had to be was a good technician with a bookkeeper coming in once a month and an accountant coming in once a year. If I gained one new account annually without losing...

By Beth Wiand, Director of Sales & Marketing, Wiand Dental Laboratory, Scottsdale, AZ

The one major mistake we made was holding onto a toxic employee for far too long: 10 years. We originally hired him as a manager but, since he didn’t have the people skills to be successful in that position,...

By Phillip Gold, CDT, Business Development, By Design Dental Studio, Atlanta, GA

I’ll never forget the sinking feeling I got, early in my career as a lab manager, when a key employee—my model guy—came into my office, told me he wanted to talk (it wouldn’t take long) and then announced...

By a small laboratory owner in California who chooses to remain anonymous

Our local clients have always been very price conscious so raising fees has always been nerve-wracking. But around 2006, we had four clients—who represented 30% of our total volume—purchase chairside CAD/CAM systems,...

By Peter Ruberto, Owner, Tee’s Dental Lab, Niles, OH

I’ve done some really dumb things over the years, but I think the common thread between most of them is that I waited too long to educate myself. Although I was trained in the Navy and learned the basics from my father—who founded...

By Joshua Polansky, Owner, Niche Dental Studio, Voorhees, NJ

Two years after opening my lab, I let go of the best employee I ever had.

This technician—my former classmate from the UCLA Center for Esthetic Dentistry program—had worked with me since I started the business. Not only was she...

By Andrea Tintrup, President, Tintrup Dental Lab, Inc., Mount Vernon, NY

When my husband, Frank Tintrup Jr., passed away 18 years ago, I found myself in the position of having to run a dental lab with no previous experience. My husband’s minority partner—I’ll call him John—did...

By Christian Saurman, Vice President, New England Orthodontic Laboratory, Andover, MA

My biggest mistake to date happened just recently: I failed to accurately forecast the impact of 3D printing on our growth. After moving into a new 7,000-square-foot laboratory back in early 2010, we got involved in...

By Jim Glidewell, CDT, Glidewell Laboratories, headquartered in Newport Beach, CA

One of the most serious mistakes I’ve made, among many, was introducing a new restorative service without personally testing the product before launch. I’m speaking specifically about Artglass®...