Partner Spotlight: Angela Holland of Preferred Dental Solutions

Angela Holland of Preferred Dental Solutions

Welcome to the September edition of the Partner Spotlight on the Blue Sky Advisory Services blog. This month, we are thrilled to feature Angela Holland, founder of Preferred Dental Solutions, a dynamic leader in the dental industry with over a decade of experience. Join us as we explore her professional journey, the core of her services, and the unique value she provides to dental practices nationwide through an exclusive interview.

Tell us about your journey in starting and exiting from Preferred Dental Services.Working for a national consulting firm I firsthand saw a need for support with proper dental management. I dove right in; I took a job making $15 an hour to learn the ins and outs of how dental practice operates. I worked my way up from receptionists to insurance coordinator, to practice manager. I worked for an amazing Dentist who was also a mentor and taught me what Dentists need to be successful in their practices and how so many practices suffer when it comes to insurance. After he sold his practice and moved away it was my opportunity to build a company, I was proud of. I started Preferred Dental Services in 2018 after seeing a need for a quality company that provided solely RCM support to dental practices. A company that wasn’t trying to do it all but focused on one service (insurance RCM) and did it spectacularly. That is what we did! We focused 100% of our efforts on increasing insurance revenue for practices nationwide through proper billing and we helped so many offices increase their insurance revenue and lower insurance AR. It was truly an amazing company made up of an amazing team. I started the company at my kitchen table and grew to a team of dozens of exceptional Billing Specialists that worked nationwide. We did minimal marketing and relied heavily on referrals, which allowed us to grow organically and rapidly. In 2023 I was approached by a NASDAQ traded company wanting to acquire my successful company and with our systems not being able to keep up with the continued growth much longer, it made so much sense to allow a team of software experts to help me do that to better serve our clients and be able to help more Dentists! I am so truly proud of the amazing company I built and believe I am just getting started!

What is your newest venture?Preferred Dental Solutions is my newest venture but it’s right in line with what I’ve always done. After the sale of my first company, I took some time to see where my passion lies and it shined through that helping dentists win with the games insurance plays is exactly what ignites me. That is how Preferred 2.0 was born! I was ready to take a new approach in helping Dentists increase revenue with insurance and the vision became very clear, providing an amazing credentialing and fee negotiation service to dentists that makes sense! We offer live progress updates as I know from my RCM experience how necessary the live updates are, in understanding how claims should pay or what conversations with patients look like throughout the process. Thankfully, I have an amazing team of insurance experts that joined me on this venture as well as long term relationships with some the best people in the industry and we’ve taken off without a hitch. We provide an amazing service, and I am just eager to help every dentist I can!

Who is the ideal client for your company?Our ideal client is a private practice with 1+ dentists practicing, and work with or are looking to work with PPO Dental Insurance. Whether they are a start-up looking to credential and maximize insurance revenue from day one, or a veteran owned practice looking to increase revenue for an exit strategy or all in between you are our ideal client!

Why did you choose dentists as the primary focus of your insurance business? How did you know this was the right path for you?I started in the medical and dental industry in 2013 as a practice consultant for a national company. I quickly felt drawn to the dental industry while working there, the people, the teeth, and the need for management support drew me in. I have truly always loved what I do in the dental industry and truly feel at home working with dental professionals.

What has been the most challenging moment in your career, and how did you overcome it?Honestly, selling my first company (and it not quite going as planned) was my most challenging moment in my career. I questioned my decision to sell as a boss, a provider of my family, and as an entrepreneur. I made the most difficult decision I could and that was to walk away from my long-term team members and clients and resign from the company as I did not align with them and that was really really difficult. I overcame it by taking a moment to be upset, then I got grateful. Really really grateful for what I had built and learned, and the people I met and employed, and I thought to myself how can I continue to help serve this industry I love so much?! I made a conscious decision to move forward, and I have not looked back since! I am thankful for the challenge because I have learned so much from it! Onward and upward my friends, we must keep going!

In terms of insurance, what are the top three things business owners should consider when planning their exit strategy?

• Let an expert negotiate your PPO fees at least 2 years prior to sale (and every 2 years until sale) to increase practice value. On average we increase practice insurance revenue by 20% annually through proper negotiations.

• Never allow an acquiring dentist to submit claims under your TIN for any amount of time, this is insurance fraud.

• Plan your exit! In order to ensure the most lucrative sale for long term retirement and quality of life let experts (like BlueSky) help you strategically exit!

What is one key takeaway you want readers to gain from this?I want Dentists to know I want to help them as I am a true insurance expert (THE Dental insurance expert). They aren’t taught how to play the insurance game in dental school and that is my expertise! They deserve to profit from their hard work, and it is my passion to help them do that!