Meet Dr. Kimberly Graziano, a pediatrician who recently made the decision to sell her private practice in Florida after nearly 20 years. In this interview, Dr. Graziano shares her motivations for selling, her positive experience working with Strategic Medical Brokers, and advice for fellow physicians considering a transition. Discover the seamless support Dr. Graziano received while navigating this new chapter, and why she recommends SMB to those seeking expert guidance.
Introduction
Hi, I’m Dr. Kimberly Graziano. I’ve been a pediatrician for almost 30 years and I’ve had a private practice in Florida for almost 20 years. It’s been myself and a physician assistant. So it’s been a smaller, more personal style of medical practice seeing kids from zero up to 18.
What led you to consider selling your practice?
I’m obviously not retirement age, but I thought, what about semi-retirement? I looked at the fact that my 17-year-old – this is his last year at home. We have a lot of college visits. I started having children a little on the late side. So I still have a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old at home as well.
I’m looking at my parents who are in their late 70’s. I’m fortunate enough to still have both of my parents. And I just decided that owning a business was too all-consuming for me to be able to be fully present in the things that I want to be present for at this time in my life.
How did you manage work/life balance while running a medical practice?
I actually felt quite balanced for most of it. I felt like everything was going at just the right pace until suddenly it wasn’t. Things were starting to get away from me. I felt like I was starting to miss out on certain things. And that’s when I finally made the decision.
I can’t say exactly how much the pandemic had to do with it, but I’m sure it had something to do with it. We all sort of sat around and looked at what was most important to us. I’m sure that played a role in my decision as well.
So I’m kind of stepping back a little bit from private practice. I am still going to be going to my office two days a week and staying involved with caring for my patients. But going only two days a week and not wearing so many hats is going to work out better for me.
What was your experience like before seeking professional help?
When you run your own business and you’re used to doing everything for yourself, it’s a pretty typical thought: “Hey, I can sell this myself. I can manage this transition. I’ve managed a lot of other things up to this point.” I did do a little hunting through some connections that I knew, only to realize that I did not want a chain of medical practices, a large corporation or a hospital system.
I recognized that that was not going to be the best fit for my patients, my practice and myself. And once I got through all of that, I had actually spoken with Shaun about a year prior to then contacting him again.
What made you decide to reach out to Strategic Medical Brokers?
I recognized that selling practices is a specialty in and of itself. And for me to think that I was going to obtain the knowledge to do that and be good at it, that was kind of not very realistic.
I remembered speaking with Shaun a year prior. I really felt comfortable with the way he presented himself. I felt confident that he would be the person to take this and roll with it.
And I was right.
Was there a moment where you felt particularly supported by our team?
I’m one practitioner. But I always felt like I got the same attention that a 10-physician practice or a multimillion-dollar deal would have received. I did feel like I got that much attention to my situation.
There were many times in the process I said to myself, “Boy, I’m glad he’s handling all this right now. Because I’m still supposed to be seeing patients, and living.” Most of it was all handled by him and I didn’t have to do much.
I did feel really supported. It was pleasant at all times. I never second guessed anything. I felt like he really knew what he was doing.
Did you have any concerns about the selling process?
At the very beginning, I expressed a concern to him that I had worked with a realtor once on selling a house. I felt like she all she cared about was closing the deal.
I expressed that I didn’t want to enter a situation like that where he just wanted to close the deal. He definitely showed me that that’s not what this was about. What it was really about is what I wanted to happen in this process and how to achieve that.
Would you have done anything differently in the selling process?
The only thing that was a big surprise was he told me it was probably going to take about 10 months for this to happen. I think it was half, about 5 months. At one point, I thought, “This is kind of going pretty fast.” But it was fine. It was all good. Because as you get towards the end, you’re think, “Okay, I’m just ready for this to happen now.” And that’s how it worked out.
What additional support did you receive?
His support right arm, Vanessa, was extremely helpful.
He actually recommended me to an attorney, a mergers and acquisitions attorney. She was outstanding. She wasn’t supposed to do the office lease contract, and I was having a local real estate attorney do that. But in the end, I’m like, why would I do that? She’s great at everything. So she handled all three of the contracts that we had to do.
What advice would you offer to fellow practitioners who are considering selling?
As a physician, you can start to think about commissions and paying people for their services. And you might hesitate, and think, “I want to do this myself. I want to keep that money for myself.”
But it honestly was worth every penny to me to have this service all just taken care of. That’s what I would recommend: look at the final goal. Look at the light at the end of the tunnel.
There is a cost. But it definitely is worth it in the end.
What are you most excited about in this new phase of your life?
I’m already experiencing it this weekend — even though we’re still transitioning, and I’m going to be teaching the new physician for a while.
I was able to go watch my son paint his senior parking spot this morning. I took the kids to an escape room today. And I’m heading to dinner with my husband here in about an hour.
I’m just going to live and not hesitate to do anything that’s in front of me.
Do you recommend Strategic Medical Brokers?
Absolutely. 100%, I recommend Strategic Medical Brokers.
He really is a matchmaker of sorts — just a different kind of matchmaker.
I have to say to other physicians that: he’ll find you a match. He’ll find you a date.
Considering a change? Reach out to Strategic Medical Brokers to ensure your transition is as seamless and supportive as Dr. Graziano’s.
