20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

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!

Welcome back to another episode of 20/20 Money. My guest on today's show is Dr. Matt Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell owns Bluffton Family Eye Care, a private practice located in…you guessed it…Bluffton, IN. What's unique about Matt, though, is that his practice is located in what many would consider to be a "rural" practice setting, as the population of his entire county is less than 30,000 people and is dominated by agribusiness. In this conversation, Matt starts out by talking about the current make-up of his practice, including their schedule, number of providers, and total FTE hours worked in the practice. Matt and I then talk about the journey he's been on since graduating optometry school. He talks about how he worked a couple of "big box jobs" until he was in a position professionally and personally to buy the practice and how he navigated the purchasing process with the selling doctor (and how he found the doctor in the first place). In this episode, you'll learn how they split up the hours between three doctors, how they've increased patient compliance in bringing in pt hx forms, how he calculates per exam revenue per pt, how he used website traffic to understand his patient experience process, and why his net income is significantly higher than the national average and what that means for his practice. You'll also learn how he's used a "profit-first" approach to run a very lean practice, and how Dave Ramsey's TMM (Total Money Makeover) has changed his personal and professional life. And be sure to stick around to the end, where he shares an awesome story about how the power of saving and paying cash can change one's perspective on whether or not they actually "need" fill-in-the-blank shiny object/toy/piece of equipment, etc. 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 on our website, 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. You can also check out our new, on-demand webinar titled "Planning Considerations for the OD Business Owner" or any number of ebooks that we've written. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Matt Mitchell. Links and Resources Bluffton Family Eye Care Four Hour Work Week Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! In today's episode I talk about the different retirement savings vehicles that ODs should consider given the mode of their practice and the "ladder" in which they should order their savings strategy. I begin with the versatility of the HSA and why it's good to think about the HSA as not an account that exists for day-to-day healthcare expenses but more of a long-term savings vehicle. I also talk about the importance of retirement plans in the practice, the Roth IRA (including backdoor Roth IRA conversions), and what percentage of income I'd suggest working towards saving on an annual basis. I wrap it up with a discussion about why it's important to prioritize saving for retirement and financial independence ahead of college education planning. Resources: https://www.savingforcollege.com/ Lively.com Benefit Wallet —————————————————————————————————— 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. Jennifer Stewart. Jennifer is a partner at Norwalk Eye Care, a private practice in Norwalk, CT. The reason that I wanted to have Jennifer on the show is because of her insatiable quest for knowledge on how to run an incredibly efficient and profitable practice by becoming a student of the numbers within the practice. She's also dedicated part of her professional life to the growing specialty of sports vision training, having launched a second business that's actually located on the second floor of an ice hockey arena. Our conversation starts out with some background on her journey into private practice, specifically around her journey into practice ownership. We then discuss her venture into sports vision and what it's meant to her practice. Our conversation then shifted towards the business side of optometry. Jennifer shares her favorite non-optometry related business book as well as the key piece of practice management software they use in their practice to ensure they have a handle on all of their numbers. Our conversation then took an unexpected turn as we dove down the rabbit hole of daily disposable lenses and the impact that those have made not only for their patients but also their bottom line. Towards the end of the conversation, we talk about the role that being fit and active has played in each of our lives. We chat about the ripple effect that exercising has and how taking time to take care of yourself physically (through a workout) can actually give you some much-needed "alone time" to just think about your business. 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. Jennifer Stewart. Norwalk Eye Care Meet the Frugalwoods IDOC —————————————————————————————————— 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 Nathan Hayes. Nathan is the Practice Finance Consultant at IDOC and has worked with countless practices to help them understand not only the financials of their practice but how to make strategic business decisions based on the financial health of the practice. Our conversation was centralized around an Optometric Management Tip of the Week Article titled "3 Misconceptions About Buying Optometry Practices." I wanted to ask Nathan, based on his experience and conversations he's been having, why he feels this is happening and what current owners need to do a better job of doing to equip next gen ODs for practice ownership? We talk about the success of optometry as a business while also sharing a couple anecdotes of situations where practices have been run into the ground through bad management and leadership. We then talk about the importance for the purchasing OD of having cash on hand and why having a healthy cash flow statement is more important than having a health balance sheet (but no cash) because of aggressively paying down student loan debt. We also talk about the calculation of understanding one's return on equity. That is to say making sure younger ODs understand not only what you're going to have to spend to buy into a practice, but the return that you'll expect to get on that equity purchase. 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 Nathan Hayes. Resources: IDOC Team Page —————————————————————————————————— 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!

Today's show talks about how you can make the most out of your time when attending optometry conferences. As clinicians, your ability to produce revenue is directly to your ability to see patients, so it's important to get a great RoT (return on time) at your conferences because the cost of the conference is not just the expenses of the conference but also the opportunity cost of what you otherwise COULD be earning in your practice had you not taken the time to attend the conference. I walk you through the life cycle of the conference, starting with the intention of going. I then share some ideas on how to maximize not only the information that you learn while attending but also the relationships that can both be nurtured and formed. I wrap it up with some ideas post-conference, including how to talk with your team about implementing some of the ideas you brought home. VistaPrint IRS Work-Related Educational Deductions —————————————————————————————————— 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!