20/20 MONEY

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today’s show is Dr. Matt Geller. Matt joins me back on the show today to talk about a variety of topics as it relates to staffing an office in the wake of the COVID-19. We talk about areas that practice owners should be focusing on now as well as some of the top items (personally and professionally, financially and otherwise) that ODs should be maximizing in this time of uncertainty. We emphasize the importance of cash, what someone looking for an associate position should do to stand out from the crowd, especially given the influx of talent that the marketplace is going to experience in the wake of all the temporary practice shutdowns. We also discuss the opportunity that telehealth will present to ODs in the future, even after we get back to a “new normal” after the temporary shutdowns. We wrap up the conversation talking about how to opportunistically look at this time as being a good time to “cautiously proceed” with either a cold open or purchase of a practice and also sharing more details on the upcoming virtual career fair that Matt and the rest of the team at Covalent Careers are holding in April.   As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars.   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Matt Geller. Covalent Career Fair ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Today’s show is a unique one in many ways, starting out with a longer-than-normal introduction. This episode is actually a replay of the 75 minute Q&A session I did with the ODs on Finance Facebook group on all things related to the CARES Act and how it impacts optometrists. It’s important to understand that, at the time of the live Q&A session, both the IRS and Small Business Administration (SBA) had not yet released additional guidance on aspects of the CARES Act. By far the most popular topic in this discussion was on the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. Quite literally later that afternoon, the Treasury Department came out with guidance and interpretation of CARES and then the SBA released more additional, in-depth guidance two days later. Because (a) this was the most popular subject and (b) there are certain items of the PPP that have been clarified, I wanted to address those up front here in the introduction. Here are the main points that have changed with regards to PPP: The amount of payroll includes wages, state and local taxes, costs paid to maintain group health insurance including premiums, and retirement plan contributions including profit sharing contributions if those contributions have already been made for 2019. The amount for payroll does NOT include federal taxes paid by employee and all employment taxes paid by employer and employee (SS and Medicare). When determining the amount of your loan (based on your average monthly payroll over the previous year), do NOT include independent contractors that you issued 1099 payments. ODs that worked in your practice as 1099 independent contractors will be eligible to apply for their own PPP, so do not include payments made to them in your calculations. The date to apply for small businesses and sole proprietors was April 3rd. Independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply on April 10th. You need to apply directly with a bank. Start with your existing banking relationship; every bank is rolling this program out differently and with a different process. The 8 week window for loan forgiveness begins after the loan is made. You have until June 30, 2020 to restore your full-time employment and salary levels for any changes made between February 15th and April 26, 2020. The terms of the note have changed from 10 years at 4% to 2 years at 1%. Any amount that was received as a $10,000 grant through an EIDL loan and was used to pay payroll costs will REDUCE the amount of PPP funds eligible for forgiveness. Keep this information in mind as you’re listening to today’s episode. We’ve all been trying to figure out which way gravity is working these days, and the only thing that seems to be constant is change: change in regulations, change in laws, change in practice management. Please know that I’ll continue to do everything that I can to provide timely, correct, and relevant guidance to you as a listener of 20/20 Money. We’ve also been actively publishing information on our blog, so be sure to head to www.integratedpwm.com and click on the Learning Center to subscribe to our blog. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by viewing the show notes or by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of 20/20 Money! ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Hey there 20/20 Community. Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today’s show is Dr. Justin Manning. I know ODs around the country are going through a lot right now as we all grapple with the disruption caused by COVID-19. I wanted to have Justin back on the show because I thought he’d bring a unique perspective to the show, as he’s the only OD I know that also has their MPH (Masters Degree in Public Health). During our conversation we talk about various examples and ways in which we’ve both witnessed ODs making the best out of a bad set of circumstances. We talk about what he’s experienced in his role as an Executive Vice President with Healthy Eyes Advantage and the conversations he’s had with ODs around the country, how this disruption is forcing innovation in practices, including the implementation of telemedicine services, and how ODs can take an important role in the healthcare network by educating as many people as possible about all the different medical-based ways in which ODs can serve patients, thus diverting a would-be ER or PCP visit with a call to an OD. We wrap up the conversation talking about the importance of fear setting when dealing with moments of change and discomfort in life and ways in which ODs can work ON their professional self and/or practice during this setback.   As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also subscribe to our newsletter, set up a 20-30min Discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm, or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Justin Manning.   Fear setting with Tim Ferriss Seing Your Practice Through Your Patient’s Eyes – RoB Article Health Eyes Advantage Justin’s LinkedIn profile Eyecarelive ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Every practice owner around the country is trying to figure out which way gravity is working right now and figuring out how to make unprecedented decisions in their practice as it pertains to their cash flow and their team management. With that being the case, we wanted to provide some thoughts and ideas that practice owners can take during these time to better prepare themselves and their practices for the foreseeable future. In this episode we talk about the importance of being proactive in a number of different areas in your practice and I also spend time going through some details on the new Coronavirus-related Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act that was passed late on Wednesday night and which goes into effect April 2nd. I wrap it up with, for lack of a better word, a plea to every practice owner on how important it is for you to “protect the asset” and being aware of your mindset and emotional state through everything as we go through these times. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of 20/20 Money. Department of Labor Summary of Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act Eyecarelive SBA Disaster Relief Loan Application How Families First Coronavirus Relief Act affects optometrists www.asana.com www.useloom.com www.slack.com ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome back 20/20 Money Community to another episode. Well, unconventional times call for unconventional strategies. Some of you may have financial-related questions about what’s going on right now in the markets. Whether you’re a new investor and this is your first “taste” of volatility or you’re a seasoned investor on the brink of or in retirement, it’s times like these that questions, concerns, or doubt can creep into our psyche and mindset. I wanted to let you know that we’re going to be hosting a “town hall” type meeting/webinar on Wed, March 18th at 8pm EST to talk through some investing-related perspectives of what’s been happening in the financial markets. This is what it will NOT be: I will not pretend to know when the fluctuations in the market will end, I will not hold myself out as an epidemiologist or infection dx specialist—I’ll be coming at this purely through the lens of how to think about the recent events of the market, try and put some context around is based on what history has told us the way markets react to these events, and we’ll also open it up for questions as well with the ability to anonymously submit questions. If you’d like to submit a question beforehand, please do so by emailing podcast@integratedpwm.com. All questions will be read aloud anonymously on the recording and I’ll answer them as best I can. With that being said, let’s move on to today’s episode. My guest on today’s show is Dr. Ryan Gustus. Ryan is a partner in Eyecare Associates of Bluffton, IN and also a co-founder of Lensquote, a resource that helps ODs and their team increase contact lens annual supply sales in their practice. In our conversation we spend time talking about Ryan’s path to partnership in the practice and the genesis of Lensquote. Ryan shares how the software evolved from a simple Excel spreadsheet with a few macros into a visually appealing web-based platform that helps patients and ODs understand the total net cost breakdown of contact lens options. We also take a few related digressions down the path of leadership, task delegation, why the idea of selling as an optometrist is a perfectly normal and necessary mindset to master (instead of thinking of it as sleazy or “sales-y” in the traditional sense). As a reminder you can get links to all the resources discussed in this conversation by heading to our website at www.integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Ryan Gustus. Registration for IPWM Webinar Lensquote To Sell is Human Ryan’s LinkedIn profile Ryan’s Practice Epsd 37: Buying and Growing a Successful Rural Optometry Practice ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

On this episode of 20/20 Money, I deviate a bit from the traditional topics of the show and talk about what investors should be thinking about and doing during market selloffs like we experienced last week. I actually bumped a previous episode to make room for this conversation just given the nature and timeliness of the events that occurred in the markets last week. I talk about the importance of having an investment philosophy, what you should be looking at with regards to your investment plan and timeline, the importance of understanding the amount of risk that you’re taking in your portfolio by knowing the loss deviation of your portfolio, historical examples of market performance during epidemics and pandemics, and why it’s a nearly impossible feat to try and predict or time the markets. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 15min pre-discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. Pandemics, Portfolios, and Perspective ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guests on today’s show are Drs. Jennifer Stewart and Jeremy Ciano. Longtime listeners will know that both of them have been on the show a number of different times. Their business knowledge and practice insight has helped them each build and run very successful private practices. On today’s show, we discuss one of the biggest decisions and factors that influence the gross revenue and thus profitability of an optometry practice: vision plans. Jeremy and Jennifer discuss their viewpoint on vision plans, the purpose with how they think about insurance plans, and how they understand the profitability of the plans in each of their respective practice. We also discuss how vision plans can be used as a way to “jump start” a practice that is thinking about adding an associate but why it’s still important to make sure that you’re being calculated and measuring the progress and impact of the plans after you add the associate to make sure that it’s still a “win-win-win” for everyone involved in the equation. And be sure to stick around to the end of the program, where Jeremy and Jen again revisit why it’s so important that you, as both the doctor and business owner, create a process in the practice that allows everyone to understand the different options that are available for patients and why it’s so important for everyone (the doctor, the team, and the patients) to see through the trivial many features of each respective vision plan for the vital few benefits that are going to directly impact the patient. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 15min pre-discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Drs. Jeremy Ciano and Jennifer Stewart.   Resources: Edge PMS Adam’s sessions at Vision Expo East Jennifer’s sessions at Vision Expo East ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

As the owner of a private practice, a question that you will inevitably ask yourself is “How much should I pay myself as the owner of my practice?” There are a number of different ideas and considerations to think about with regards to this question and in this show I talk through some of the different decision points that exist for a practice owner to consider which can influence how much they pay themselves.   Profit First The Profitable Doctor My sessions at Vision Expo East (March 26-29 in NYC) All of Mick Kling’s sessions at Vision Expo East Mick’s Profit First Session at Vision Expo East Planning for the 199A deduction in your practice   ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

In this episode of 20/20 Money, I talk about three important ratios that optometrists should understand using their balance sheet. There are three big financial statements that practices should always be analyzing, and I feel that the balance sheet is the one that gets the least love from ODs. During the conversation, I talk about how to calculate your quick ratio, your current ratio, and your debt service to outstanding debt ratio and what range each of those should be within your practice. ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today’s show is Dr. Nysha Blender. Nysha joins me on the show to talk about her journey in optometry and how she ended up in a somewhat unconventional role as a medical science liaison with Ocular Therapeutix. On this show we talk briefly about her path in optometry and what caused her to go down this path of becoming an MSL and what it’s meant to her personally, professionally, and clinically. She gives us an idea of “a day in the life of” and what has surprised her most about being in this position as well as how the compensation structure and numbers compare to her traditional clinical roles as an OD. We wrap it up with her answer to my one question I ask every guest. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 15min pre-discovery conversation to learn a little bit more about what it means to work with our firm or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Nysha Blender. Nysha’s LinkedIn profile Ocular Therapeutix ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!