20/20 MONEY

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today’s show is Dr. Britt Gustafson.   Britt is a practicing optometrist in Eden Prairie, MN. The reason that I wanted to have Britt on the show is that she has used her degree as an optometrist to not only provide clinical care to patients in a practice setting, but also by getting involved in the research and development of contact lenses and contact lens solutions. In this episode we talk about Britt’s path in optometry and discuss her current practice setting and addressing some of the challenges and subsequent opportunities that her practice model presents. We also talk about her involvement in participating in clinical trials and the R&D of contact lenses and contact lens solutions and what it’s meant to her personally and professionally and how her interest in the research side of optometry lead her to become a consultant for one of the national contact lens manufacturers…and how she earned the opportunity to work in that capacity. She also shares with us how she balances the demand of both her clinical and travel schedule and what it’s meant to her financially to engage in this vertical 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, 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 download our popular ebook called “Five Tips to Financial Freedom for Optometrists.”   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Britt Gustafson. —————————————————————————————————— 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! My guest on today’s show are Drs. Jimmy Deom and Roya Habibi.   This conversation is a great one because, in addition to both being practicing optometrists, Jimmy and Roya are co-hosts of the popular optometry podcast Try Not To Blink, which I was actually privileged enough to be a guest on a couple of weeks ago. In this episode, we talk about each of their paths in optometry and their chosen specialties, what’s different about optometry than they anticipated coming into the profession, some of the biggest lessons they’ve learned while practicing, and how they’re setting themselves apart in each of their practices by incorporating leadership skills. We also touch on something that I’ve personally encountered and is seeming to pop up in other conversations I have with professionals…something called imposter syndrome. We talk about what it is, why it happens, and how to deal with it. Towards the end of the conversation, we talk about how Try Not To Blink was started and what it’s meant for each of their careers.   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 download our popular ebook called “Five Tips to Financial Freedom for Optometrists.”   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Drs. Roya Habibi and Jimmy Deom.     Try Not 2 Blink —————————————————————————————————— 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 the show today is Amber Banks, co-founder of MW Banks Consulting. What’s awesome and unique about Amber is that she has an incredible depth of knowledge and experience in working with doctors to help them make smart financial decisions in their practice based on the financial metrics of their business. In this episode we “complete the life cycle” of a practice by talking about key financial considerations while still in school depending on whether you’re looking to buy an existing practice or start a practice cold, the key metrics of your practice that you should always understand, the most important financial statements to review on a monthly basis, and how your own “financial IQ” of your practice can actually influence the asking price for your practice when it comes time to sell! We also discuss how much cash you should keep on hand in your practice on a monthly basis and how the amount of cash that you have in the business can be a good litmus test for determining if it’s time to take the next step in your retirement savings strategies in your practice. We wrap up the conversation by talking about which financial metrics you should share with your team…if you choose to share them at all.   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 Media Hub. 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 download our popular ebook called “Five Tips to Financial Freedom.”   And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Amber Banks of MW Banks Consulting.   MW Banks Consulting, LLC —————————————————————————————————— 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, to another episode of 20/20 Money! On the show today I have Dr. John Ormando with Uppercut Consulting. John is co-owner of a successful private practice in Rhode Island that is one of the (if not the largest) single-location optometry practices in the country. What’s unique about John, though, is something that came to my attention while reading Optometric Management’s “Tip of the Week” which had a catchy title: “What I learned from Losing $300,000.” We talk about the experience that John went through in the financial markets which caused him that loss and how it equipped him with the perspective to understand the importance of surrounding yourself with the right professional team. We talk about the structure of his professional team—both inside the office as well as his outside team like his CPA and financial advisor—and we dive into the idea and benefits of making sure the strengths of the people on your team complement your weaknesses. We also talk about why you should pretty much force your CPA and your advisor to meet with you at the same time as well as an unfortunate example of why you should review your various insurance coverages on an annual basis. And be sure to listen all the way through, when we both “soapbox” a bit on why your practice should NOT be the main asset in your financial plan, but rather a great vehicle that you can use to build towards financial independence. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of “20/20 Money” with Dr. John Ormando.   Resources: Dr. Ormando’s TOTW Story Kolbe Strategic Coach Uppercut Consulting Email Dr. John Ormando —————————————————————————————————— 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 week’s show, it’s all about taxes! You’ll learn how our federal tax system works, the difference between someone’s “top tax bracket” and what their marginal tax bracket is, and the different types of taxes that you’re obligated to pay based off the income that you earn. I’ll also share with you different planning strategies to consider whether you found yourself getting a refund or having to pay. From there, I’ll explain the difference between underpayment, late filing, and late payment penalties and which one you absolutely want to avoid. And finally, for those of you that find yourself in the situation of having to make a payment, I’ll discuss a practical way to proactively plan for those payments throughout the year so that you’re not surprised and scrambling for cash come tax day.   Links 12 Things to do with your refund Avoiding 1099 Hell Underpayment Penalty Late filing & payment penalties Form 1040 Estimated Tax Payment Schedule —————————————————————————————————— 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 to the first episode of the newly renamed/rebranded podcast “20/20 Money!” Since inception, this show has been called The Dose as it primarily discussed financial concepts and strategies that would apply to white coat professionals in the dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, and physician landscape. However, as we continued to record episodes, I started to realize that more and more of the content and ideas that we were discussing had a definite lean towards optometry…and as my presence as a wealth adviser in the optometric community continued to grow, I felt that it would be appropriate to rename and rebrand the podcast accordingly. With that, 20/20 Money was born.   Having said that, there are still topics that we’ll cover that will be applicable to dentists, pharmacists, and physicians, so I’d encourage you to stay subscribed to the show so you’ll still receive new episodes as they are released every Monday and you can decide at that time whether the topic is of interest to you or not.   My guest on today’s show is Dr. Steve Vargo. Steve is an optometrist that, after practicing 15 years as a clinician, transitioned from patient care into practice management and has been working with IDOC for the past 4+ years. What’s unique about Steve is his commitment to help develop ODs into better leaders and, because of that, help them live better lives themselves (personally and professionally). In this episode, we cover many topics and digress down a few rabbit holes, but they all come back to one common theme: managing stress. We talk about the typical journey that ODs go through when they first start their practice and why improving one’s practice typically must start with a shift in mindset before addressing the actual practice management tasks. He talks about why it’s important to challenge conventional wisdom and provides certain examples in a practice where they can challenge the status quo. He introduces us to the concept of the CEO Model at IDOC and how it helps practice owners. We also dive into the power of habits and how habits affect the stress level we feel and we wrap it up with specific action items that you can take away from this episode and implement into your own life to help you live the life you want. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dr. Steve Vargo.     Resources IDOC Fear Setting with Tim Ferriss Dr. Steve Vargo, OD, MBA LinkedIn Atomic Habits The Miracle Morning Simply Being Meditation App Headspace —————————————————————————————————— 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!  

This is part two of my conversation with Michael Pote of The Growth Cooperative. In this conversation we talk about the role that private equity has played in the transition and succession planning of optometry practices over the past couple of years. In this episode we discuss:   What private equity is, how it works and a couple of different ways in which private equity is different than a traditional clinical buyer of your practice such as one of your associates, another optometrist in the same town, etc. The unique attributes private equity has when purchasing your practice and the two different type of private equity models and how those models dictate the valuation that doctor will receive Why most private equity valuations are higher than most offers you would receive from other optometrists, and why private equity firms are able to offer those offers The importance of making sure your personal financial plans are in order so the process of selling your practice will be much less intimidating and emotional.   ——————————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ——————————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

  We’ve been on a roll lately in having some of our past guests share more of their knowledge and today is no different. This episode is part one of a two-part conversation with Michael Pote. You may remember Michael from episode 8, where we talked about several areas of practice management and what his organization The Growth Cooperative is doing to help optometrists across the country. Today we talk about all things related to selling a practice, specifically from a seller’s perspective. In this episode we discuss:   Why selling isn’t an event, but rather a process and how it’s like selling a house. The two fundamental numbers that must be improved to improve the evaluation of your practice. The necessity for good reporting tools and being able to dive into practice data, and the difference it makes with a buyer. Michael shares a story about a practice that was $1.4M in gross revenue, and why there was a 220k difference between what the doctor THOUGHT he was earning versus what his practice showed. Books Referenced The E-Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber Traction –Get a Grip on Your Business – Gino Wickman   ——————————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  ——————————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!  

We’re back with another episode of The Dose. Today I have another returning guest, Josh Kegley with Retirement Plan Consultants. You may remember Josh from one of our earlier episodes where we talked pretty high level about the retirement plan space and the evolution that practice owners go through as it pertains to the various vehicles that they can utilize to build wealth inside of a retirement plan. Today, we get into the weeds on how to utilize a qualified retirement plan like a 401k to maximize the benefit to the practice owner. We start out discussing how changing the match to a safe harbor is the easiest way to allow practice owners to maximize their own contributions as well as the nuances of the safe harbor match.  We then dive into the details on the other side of the qualified plan, which is the profit sharing plan. We discuss the various different types of profit sharing plans, including: Integrated Cross-tested (new comparability) Age weighted More importantly, we discuss the characteristics of a practice that would be a good fit for each of the plans mentioned above as well as some of the different questions to consider when determining if, when, and how much of a profit sharing contribution to make. We also touch on the impact that profit sharing contributions have on qualifying for the new Section 199A deduction (commonly called the “QBI deduction”). And be sure to stick around to the end, where I share a specific example of a client situation where the client chose to make the profit sharing contribution, even though it “cost” him more than he would have paid in taxes and why he decided to make that decision. With that introduction, I hope you enjoy this episode of “The Dose” with Josh Kegley. Links: Retirement Plan Consultants Josh Kegley’s LinkedIn Profile  

In this episode we talk about one of the most common questions I hear from optometrists: should I pay down debt or should I be saving for retirement? While every person’s situation is different, it’s important to understand the one theme and idea that’s constant in that equation: the time value of money and compounding interest.   During the show, I’ll discuss: How compounding interest works, using a snowman as an analogy A hypothetical example showing the real cost of waiting The max number of years you should take to pay off student loans while not saving for retirement The order and type of accounts you should consider when you start saving The power of habits and how to start small   —————————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to The Dose on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Play Stitcher  —————————————————————————————————— For past episodes of The Dose with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!