Debate on national health care legislation has raged for the last several years and there are some critically important points that effect optometrists. Let’s skip Fox News, CNBC or wherever you turn for your daily dose of bad news and look closer to home. Setting aside political views, how would the implementation of national health care affect your patients and your ability to make a living? Continue Reading…
Many practices have lost their sparkle and are caught in the grind because no one is motivating the team. In surveys done of optometrists who have used outside consulting firms, one of the consistently recognized benefits mentioned is “my staff were more motivated,” and of course that meant “more productive.” Continue Reading…
In our surveys of optometrists at the South Carolina Optometric Association Convention in Myrtle Beach this December, issues with staff surfaced as front burner problems. And for good reason. Good staff is the make/break of your practice. Let me illustrate with a true story. Continue Reading…
I had the pleasure of assisting optometrists in North Central Florida recently with their goals. They found the following tips helpful, and I hope you will as well.
Have you set goals for 2010 and beyond? The importance of setting goals can never be over-estimated in any practice, but did you ever consider why?
My career is probably not that different from yours. I got my license in 1985. By 1990 I opened my own practice. However, eleven months later, I was not doing that great and needed help.
I realize getting help does not always mean from a practice management firm, but that’s what I did. I found one that gave me outstanding results. In one month, I went from $8000 to $21,000 in revenue. I went from $64,000 first year to $315,000 my second year in practice. I was pleased.
I only briefly met the senior consultant of the firm, David Sanders, when we lunched together. I liked him very much. I knew it was his job to take on the roughest cases and I knew he turned them around one for one. Mine was not in that category, so he was not my consultant. Continue Reading…
Are you a forward-looking optometrist operating your practice today with your sites firmly set on what you could be building for tomorrow? Does that define Today’s Optometrist?
There was a period in our history when you could hang out your shingle, gradually gain a foothold in the community and peacefully watch your practice grow before selling it for a healthy chunk to a younger colleague. If this has been your plan, we want to suggest an updated plan that we believe is more appropriate today.
Here is a formula that guarantees success for an optometry office today: practice management + clinical skill = more, happier patients = increased revenue & referrals = prosperous practice. Continue Reading…
Since this may be my first chance to get to know you, I want to take the opportunity to give you a sense of my own background and the purpose of Vision Practice Management.
I have been building my five successful practices in Columbia, South Carolina, for more than 20 years. Prior to that I started first as an associate, had my own private practice and several other arrangements. Whatever your style of practice is, I’ve probably done it.
During the first 10 years I found myself struggling with challenges I didn’t like - staff issues, marketing failures, turn-over, patient retention, training weakness, financial shortfalls and more. When I began mastering the skills of management, I found that I could successfully overcome these challenges and grow my practice with far less effort than I had imagined. At this stage of my career, while I still see patients when I’m in town, I have built a strong team so that I have not been involved in the day-to-day running of the practice for several years.
This offers me the freedom to see patients when I wish, as I enjoy that. But I can travel, spend time with family and pursue my other goals while enjoying a good income whether I work or not. Continue Reading…
Here is an interesting practice management concept that optometrists can use that was once taught to engineers. Look, don’t think. Continue Reading…
Maybe you have noticed there is not an abundance of certain vital resources - like competent staff. So what are you, the owner or manager, to do when you can’t seem to find the personnel you are looking for? If you are smart, if you want your practice to grow, you will train your personnel to be as good as you need them to be. Continue Reading…
It pains me to see how some optometry practices continue to struggle with personnel problems. I realize that personnel can be unruly, troublesome and downright problematic. An effective practice management system will always put a lion’s share of attention on making sure your staff are a valuable asset. Our senior practice management consultant, David Sanders, has proven to me that by taking control of this vital - even crucial - area, I am cultivating my greatest strength, and the very foundation of greatly increased profits. Continue Reading…
