20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Today's show takes on a bit of an unorthodox format as it's actually the audio from a recent presentation that I gave at the University of Houston-College of Optometry. If you'd like to watch the video version of the presentation, head over to our website at www.integratedpwm.com and click on the Learning Center where you'll not only find the video in a separate post but you'll also find a variety of other resources to help ODs make smart and informed personal and professional financial decisions. The link to the video is also listed in the show notes for this episode. I also want to give a special thanks to Chris Valliere, Joe Kirgis, Bryan Procopio, and the rest of the Private Practice Club leadership for extending the invite and allowing me the privilege and opportunity to share my perspectives with the club. I know they listen to the podcast as well, so guys…big thank you and I enjoyed chopping it up over a couple of beers after the presentation! In addition, if you are a student at another school or have connections to other schools that you think would be interested in hearing this presentation or other topics live on campus, please email the show at podcast@integratedpwm.com and we can discuss the details. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy today's show! —————————————————————————————————— 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! In today's episode, I spend the first part clarifying and expounding upon two previous shows and topics that we've discussed and then finish it up by talking about a relevant topic that has come up both in my personal life as well as with a number of clients over the past couple of weeks. The first part dives into a few more clarifying points about disability insurance that was shared with me by a listener of the show and the second topic provides some clarification around the net investment income tax as it relates to the sale of a practice. I wrap it up by talking about something called anchoring bias, what it is, and how you can identify if it's something that's influencing your own decision making in your personal and/or professional lives. It's getting to be that time of year where year-end discussions should be taking place with your team of advisors to understand the current state of your financials which can also help guide any end-of-year decisions that not only impact 2019 but also potentially impact 2020. If you're interested in learning about those conversations we're having with our ODs, don't hesitate to head to integratedpwm.com and schedule a no-obligation 15min Pre-Discovery conversation to learn more. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of 20/20 Money. https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-goldslager —————————————————————————————————— 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 none other than my wife Dr. Andrea Cmejla. As I celebrate 50 episodes of 20/20 Money, I thought this would be a great opportunity to have Andrea on the show to talk about her journey in optometry thus far and some of the lessons and knowledge she's learned through her multiple modalities of practice. We talk about her first position as an associate out of school and spend a good part of our conversation talking about ways in which she and her team at LASIK Plus grew from just under $1MM in revenue to just under $6MM in revenue in just under 6 years by really focusing on the patient experience and journey. We round out the conversation with a discussion on leadership lessons she's learned and also her answer to the one question I ask every guest at the end of the interview, which is financial lessons she's learned that she'd go back and teach her younger self. 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 my awesome wife, Dr. Andrea Cmejla, OD. —————————————————————————————————— 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! This is part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Justin Manning. In this continued conversation from VEW in Las Vegas, we discuss the importance that ODs play in patients' lives (which is no surprise to ODs), but more importantly the role that ODs can play in the greater issue of population health, and we still do this through the lens of being a great leader and having a great practice culture. We talk about how to reframe tx plans through the filter of the benefits to the patient in real time instead of talking in medical jargon and how that can motivate a pt to align their actions after the exam with the tx plan you've prescribed. We also talk about the unique privilege that ODs have in being able to see parts of the human body that really no other specialist has (other than an ophthalmologist) and how ODs can really think about what that can mean to a pt's long-term health and how it can also benefit your practice, making it a win-win-win for everyone (the pt, your practice, and the greater population). 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. Justin's LinkedIn page. eyeLeader website —————————————————————————————————— 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! This is an extra-special episode of the show, because it's being released exactly one year to the day from when the show was started. Back then, the show was called "The Dose" so if you haven't checked out some of those earlier episodes, be sure to scroll through the show archives and check out our earlier episodes. My guest on today's show is Dr. Justin Manning. Justin is an optometrist based in Colorado and is focused on helping other ODs scale and grow their practice through a deep consultative process and using the experience he's gained in growing a number of private practices himself to help other clinicians grow and expand their practice. Justin joined me on the show today live on location at Vision Expo West to talk about a number of important topics that can help ODs be successful. Our conversation covered so much that we decided to break it into two parts. In Part 1 of my conversation, Justin and I talk about his journey in optometry and how he's used something called design thinking to not only frame how he discusses tx plans with pts but how he's also used it in a leadership capacity within his office. From there our conversation continues to go down the path of why and how ODs should and can become better leaders within their practice and the impact that it can have not only on themselves but their entire practice. I'll also give a heads up that you may here an audible change in the background as we had to pause our recording because the area we thought was going to be quiet and remote at VEW turned out to get quite noisy…so when you hear a sudden change in the audio background, that's why. 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. Justin Manning. Justin's LinkedIn page. eyeLeader website —————————————————————————————————— 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 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!