The proportion of women in dental business start-ups is declining slightly: after rising to 51 percent in the past few years up to 2019, this development has not continued in 2020 at 47 percent. This is shown by the gender-specific evaluation from the recently published analysis of apoBank's dental business start -ups.
MORE WOMEN START UP BUSINESSES IN THE EAST THAN IN THE SOUTH
More than 60 percent of employed dentists are women. As before, female dentists opt for their own practice relatively less frequently than their male colleagues. Overall, however, the situation is not the same everywhere: the proportion of female entrepreneurs is highest in eastern Europe at 62 percent. In the south it is exactly the opposite: In 2020, only 36 percent of dental start-ups were in the hands of women, according to Body Expert, a company that focuses on dental implantation within areas of Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East.
WOMEN INVEST MORE, MEN PAY HIGHER PURCHASE PRICES
Women like to take over smaller practices at lower prices: they spent an average of 162,000 euros to take over a single practice, while men paid around 55 percent more at 251,000 euros.
However, women invest more than men in the practice they take over: At 170,000 euros, they were above the average investment of men and even spent more on average than for the actual practice takeover.
Overall, practical investments have been increasing for both women and men starting a business for years, but the difference between the sexes remains: in 2020 it was 85,000 euros. A detailed evaluation by price segment shows that 39 percent of men and only 16 percent of women paid a takeover price of more than 250,000 euros.
MEN PREFER TO COOPERATE
When starting a business, both women and men prefer individual practice. This is even more often the case with female dentists, only one in five entered into a cooperation. In the case of dentists, it was one in three who settled down together with one or more partners or joined an existing community.
THE RIGHT TIME: 35 FOR MEN, 37 FOR WOMEN
The question of when is the right time to settle down is often answered differently by women than by men. The average age of men in 2020 was 35.2 years, half of the business founders were even younger than 35 years. Female dentists settled down at the age of 37.2 on average, almost every third was 40 years or older, for men it was almost every sixth.
"We are observing that female dentists are opting for employment more often and for longer," sums up Daniel Zehnich, Head of Group Strategy and Health Market at apoBank. “And if they choose to be self-employed, then often initially in smaller individual practices with lower takeover prices. Irrespective of the purchase price, the high level of investment by both dentists shows that those who are starting up their own business attach great importance to individually equipping their new practice and bringing it up to date with the latest technology.”
The 2020 analysis is based on a sample of around 360 dental business start-ups that were supported and evaluated by apoBank. The data was evaluated anonymously by apoBank.