20/20 MONEY

On this episode of 20/20 Money, I keep the theme going of “Selling in September” and talk about three of the biggest taxes to be aware of when you sell your practice and how those taxes will impact the net proceeds that you will walk away from after the sale of your practice. I also discuss the ongoing investment-related taxes that you need to be aware of as well and which investment vehicles are usually more tax efficient for a non-retirement brokerage account, which is typically the type of account that an OD will use for the net proceeds from the sale of their practice. In addition, I also provide a link to a more detailed discussion on ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) for those that want to get a bit deeper on ETFs. http://investorfieldguide.com/balchunas/ Capital Gains Tax Rates —————————————————————————————————— 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 Erik Ferjentsik, and this is actually Part 2 of my conversation with Erik. You can check out Part 1 by listening to last week’s episode. Erik is the founder and principal of Visionary Practice Group, a firm that works with optometrists to broker, consult, and appraise their practice for transitions. In part 2, I pick up the conversation with Erik where we started talking about the difference between an asset and a stock sale and how to think about goodwill in your practice. We also discussed why it’s so important to work with professionals on this type of transaction and compare it to selling your house with a realtor, only Erik does a great job talking about the glaring differences between the transactions. Erik also shares some ideas and strategies to think about after the transition to ensure that patient attrition is as low as possible, and he’s kind enough to share his own personal experience that him and his wife have gone through as they’ve recently sold her practice…so he knows first-hand what it’s like to go through this process. As always, 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 of course we’d be grateful for any reviews you can leave on iTunes and for your help in sharing the podcast with your friends and colleagues. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy part 2 of my conversation with Erik Ferjentsik. Visionary Practice Group —————————————————————————————————— 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 Erik Ferjentsik. Erik is the founder and principal of Visionary Practice Group, a firm that works with optometrists to broker, consult, and appraise their practice for transitions. I’ve known Erik for a number of years and it was great to have him on the show. We have a common bond in that we’re both married to ODs so we both look at the profession of optometry through a different set of lenses, so I was excited to dive into the conversation, and I wasn’t disappointed. We covered so much information that what was only scheduled to be one episode turned into enough content for two separate shows. This episode, we start out talking about the ideal timeline to begin prepping a practice for sale and how important it is that you have all of your practice financials in order, including a self-kept inventory list…and why the list that your CPA has may not always accurately represent your practice, thus leaving value out of the appraisal. We also talk about how long you can expect the process to take up to the point of closing, why it’s important to comprehend the amount of risk that an OD is taking by not having a contingency/selling plan in place as they get closer to retirement, and why most practices that are under $600k in revenue are not a marketable practice. We also discuss some of the mistakes that are made when it comes to appraisals, updated profit/loss statements, and add-backs. 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 Erik Ferjentsik. Visionary Practice Group —————————————————————————————————— 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! As a quick reminder, if you’re going to be attending Vision West in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks and have a topic you’d like to discuss, I still have one more opening in my schedule to record an episode in person. If you’re interested, be sure to email me at podcast@integratedpwm.com to share your topic. My guest on today’s show is JT Metzger. JT has a storied and tenured career of working to help businesses evaluate, strategize, implement, and measure changes in their business that will ultimately help them increase the enterprise value of their business. What’s unique about JT, though is that as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, he’s worked with practices and businesses of all sizes with the common theme of helping them maximize the return that the owner sees when they sell. In this conversation, we start out talking about the two different groups that business owners can be lumped into and how each group thinks about their business. JT talks about how you can increase your EBITDA in a business through two filters of either growing revenue or reducing expenses (or a combination of the two) and how both the buyer and seller should think about the EBITDA and subsequent multiple used when selling the practice as it relates to being able to service the debt needed to buy the practice. We also spend a good amount of time talking about why it’s so very important for business owners to think about their identity post-sale and why selling your practice will actually cause you to go through a grieving process…but why that process can also allow you to think about what you want your life to look like post-sale, including the possibility of an “encore career.” And be sure to stick around to the end, where JT shares the top areas that business owners should focus their time and energy in the 2-3 years leading up to the sale and which buckets you can attack to drive revenue and what will help you in that process. 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 ebooks that we’ve written and are available for download, including our most popular ebook called “Five Tips to Financial Freedom for Optometrists.” And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with JT Metzger.   www.smartstreetconsultants.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!   

Hello, and welcome to episode 48 of 20/20 Money! Even though this episode is coming out on the first Monday in September, it is Labor Day and therefore I’m pushing back the “Selling in September” theme until next week, when the next four episodes will be dedicated to topics relating to selling one’s practice. My guest on today’s show is Dr. Matt Mitchell. Matt has been on the show in the past and I wanted to have him back to talk about a problem that I hear a lot of ODs trying to solve, and that’s the predicament of when (or if) they should bring on an associate in their practice and how to evaluate the metrics of their practice to determine the answer to that question. In our conversation, Matt talks about something that he reviews called marginal chair cost. He explains how it’s defined and how to calculate your marginal chair cost in your practice. We also discuss how to evaluate the cost of adding a new patient in your practice (hint, it’s not as much as you think) and how you can use that number to determine when it’s time to bring on an associate OD. Our conversation then shifts more towards discussing the CEO model within an optometry practice, which really means getting ODs to think about their practice as a business and how to earn a good ROI on your business as an investment, but that doesn’t happen if you don’t have the time to work ON your business. We talk about the lessons each of us have learned from The E-Myth book by Michael Gerber and the trap that most ODs and business owners fall into when it comes to owning their business. We also talk about the relationship of the two currencies we have in life—time and money—and how you can use each of those to your favor when bringing on an associate. We wrap up the conversation talking about compensation structures for associate ODs and examples of language your team can use when scheduling patients with a new associate. 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. Matt Mitchell. Resources: Bluffton Family Eye Care IDOC The E-Myth Revisted —————————————————————————————————— 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, it’s all about the ABC’s and 123’s of disability insurance for optometrists. We’ll discuss what disability insurance is, the different kinds of disability insurance an OD can get, how much of a benefit you can get, and what riders you should make sure are on your policy (including the most important rider of all). I’ll also share with you some of the carriers that we’ve seen write good policies for optometrists and talk you through the underwriting process and how to find a good agent to help you shop for a policy. We wrap up the show talking about some of the mistakes and shortfalls I’ve seen on optometrist’s policies so that you don’t make the same mistakes. —————————————————————————————————— 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! Today’s show is all about retirement plans and specifically whether (and when) an optometrist might consider switching from a SIMPLE IRA to a 401(k). During the show I first start by laying the foundation and going over the basics of how 401(k)’s and SIMPLE IRAs work, specifically as it relates to some of their small but significant differences. I share the differences in matching formulas as well as the total contribution limits that apply to both of them. I then talk about when in the timeline of one’s practice would you consider moving from a SIMPLE IRA to a 401(k), how the Roth 401(k) works, some of the additional responsibilities that exist with 401(k)s along with resources to help you absorb those responsibilities, and the timeline that’s important to be cognizant of when considering “upleveling” your retirement plan. I also touch briefly on the Solo/Individual 401(k) and how that compares to the SEP IRA. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today’s conversation by visiting our website at www.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 ebooks or other resources that we’ve written and are available for download. 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! 

Welcome everybody! Welcome to the 40th episode of 20/20 Money. My guest on today’s show is Dr. Jennifer Stewart. Jennifer is an optometrist and partner at Norwalk Eye Care and Performance 2020 and this is actually the second time that she’s been on our show. I wanted to have Jennifer back on the show to talk about dailies and the role they have played in her career both clinically as well as how educating and encouraging pt adoption of a daily disposable lens have helped the profitability in her practice. During our conversation, Jennifer talks about why pts are more compliant with dailies and what percent conversion rate she has with her pts switching to a daily lens. You’ll also learn how she reframes the cost of dailies on an annual basis and the comparative analysis she uses to help pts bridge the gap between what they currently spend on lenses and supplies vs what they would spend on a year’s supply of dailies.   You’ll also learn examples of really good questions to ask your pts to elicit extremely valuable feedback and information that will help you arrive to a very confident clinical recommendation on what lens will be best for them and how using that discovery process and line of questioning actually helps patients connect the real-life benefit of the lenses as opposed to the optometry jargon that ODs can sometimes spout off as better features of newer lenses.   And be sure to stick around to the end of the conversation where Jennifer shares what question she absolutely cannot stand hearing other ODs or her team ask pts as it relates to their supply of dailies.   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 ebooks or other resources that that we’ve created.” In addition, if you’re going to be at Vision Expo West this year in Las Vegas and would like to meet up because you have a quick question that you’d like to ask, drop me a line at podcast@integratedpwm.com and we’ll see if we can make that happen!   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jennifer Stewart. —————————————————————————————————— 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 Nina O’Neal. Nina is a partner and investment advisor with Archer Investment Management in Raleigh, NC. What’s interesting and unique about Nina, though, is her breadth and depth of experience in the world of real estate investments, specifically as it pertains to strategies and solutions for the gains and proceeds that are realized when business owners sell commercial real estate they owned either as part of their business or other separate entity.   During our conversation, we talk about the tax implications of selling commercial real estate and how utilizing a 1031 or, specifically, a DST may be a viable alternative. We talk about the three things that one should consider to determine if a DST is a potential solution as well as the tax benefits of receiving DST income. Nina also explains how long DSTs last and other variables to consider, including the one thing that EVERY investor of a DST must meet in order to invest in this type of offering. She also shares the timeline investors should be mindful of if they think utilizing 1031s/DST is going to be the path for them along with the cost structure of DSTs. To wrap up our conversation, we break the mold a bit and talk about good NC BBQ as well as a passion project that she’s been working on called the Female Advisor Network and how ODs can use her success story as a way to propel their own initiatives and passions forward in the field of optometry. 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, be sure to check out our latest educational piece that we put out, which is an on-demand presentation titled Top 5 Long-Term Planning Mistakes Made by ODs or any other number of resources we’ve created. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nina O’Neal.   Links: Archer Investment Management 1031 Exchanges Nina O’Neal Understanding Depreciation Recapture —————————————————————————————————— 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 Jeff Smith. Jeff is a long time friend of mine and works as what is known in the investment world as a “wholesaler,” which means that it’s his responsibility to communicate primarily to other investment professionals that work with clients what his company is doing to understand the markets. This is a unique episode, though, as we record it “on location”…not from an investment conference or stock exchange, but from the world’s largest general aviation fly-in in Oshkosh, WI. We both knew the other was going to be attending the event and I’ve wanted to have Jeff on the show because he brings a unique perspective to the topic of investments as he’s worked on “both sides” of the business—first as an investment advisor himself working directly with investors and now as a wholesaler for a large fund manager, where he spends the majority of his time talking as I said with other investment professionals and helping them help their clients with all things investment related. In this conversation, in between the noise of airplanes in the background, we start out talking about how one defines their own investment philosophy and also how one can understand the investment philosophy of their own financial professional. We talk about what an investor should do when the markets get a bit choppy and have a good discussion around some metaphors that help explain the process of investing and connecting a timeline to your investment plan. That serves as a good catalyst, because we then talk about (and get pretty passionate) about talking about the “talking heads” on TV and why we call it “financial pornography” and what it means to investors. We wrap up the conversation with Jeff sharing a couple of his favorite stories in his career and his answer to the one question we ask every listener. 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 resources, including our ebooks as well as our newest resource, which is a recorded, on-demand webinar that teaches ODs the top planning considerations and strategies for private practice owners. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jeff Smith. Resources: Keys To a Stock Market Decline How Fund Flows Correlate to Performance Key Questions for the Long Term Investor Controlling What You Can Control Callan Chart of Periodic Investment Returns The Perils of Market Timing —————————————————————————————————— 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!