20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show are Drs. Matt Geller and Antonio Chirumbulo.Matt & Antonio were guests on our 3rd episode and are the co-founders of the popular website www.newgradoptometry.com, a website dedicated to providing relevant and timely information for…you guessed it…new OD grads. It's the beginning of June, and what that means for new optometry grads is that it typically gives new grads a bit of some downtime while they wait for their license from the state board before they start into their first job as a licensed optometrist. Matt and Antonio join me again for another conversation and this time we dive into some of the top planning ideas (both financial and career) new grads should be considering aroundthis time of year. We start out talking about the importance of vision planning and taking some time for yourself to truly try and outline what it is that you want your life to look like at this early stage of your career. Matt talks about addressing three important buckets in your life—the health, wealth, and happiness buckets—while Antonio spends some time talking about the tactical considerations, such as getting your NPI number, getting credentialed with insurance companies, and other ideas. Our conversation wraps up with some scenarios where young ODs have made mistakes early on in their careers and some possible situations to be aware of and how to also think about conflict and disagreements in your work environment, complete with something they call the "morning test" to use as a quick and easy litmus test for your own personal career satisfaction. 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 Drs. Matt Geller & Antonio Chirumbolo. Links: 2019 New Grad OD Report www.newgradoptometry.com www.covalentcareers.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 to another episode of 20/20 Money! Today will be another solo episode and we'll be talking about the basic four levers that you can pull when it comes to "retirement" or, as I like to call it, financial independence. Now, if you're listening and far away from retirement, I'd still encourage and ask you to stick around for the show, because (a) it's not a long episode and (b) there are variables that I'm going to talk about that you can act on TODAY that will have significant implications on your ability to achieve financial independence decades down the road in your life. The Impact of a 1% fee —————————————————————————————————— 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. Eric Botts. Eric is a practicing optometrist in Macomb, IL and what I love about Eric's practice model is that he is the lease holder at four different Walmart vision centers. In today's conversations we talk about what his practice looks like and the make-up of his team and how he balances the dynamics of having a relationship with not only the team that he pays but also Walmart team members that work inside the VC. We also talk about what he means by "right hand authority" when it comes to the delineation between "who does what" inside of his practice, why he takes an extreme ownership mentality with his CA practice, and what holding multiple leases has allowed him to do as it pertains to his work-life balance. We also talk about his adoption of the medical model inside of his practice and the influence that it's had on his practice's success and why that can sometimes be used as a "tipping point" for ODs that are looking to outsource some of their billing reimbursement work. We also talk about how his interest and pursuit of adopting the medical model was the genesis for a completely separate business, Optometric Billing Consultants, and how he balances the responsibilities between both businesses while helping other ODs around the country managing the workload of insurance billing and reimbursements. And make sure to stick around to the end, where Eric answers my "one question" through both the personal and professional financial filters. 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. Eric Botts. —————————————————————————————————— 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 today's episode, I share three different events that have transpired over the last couple of weeks that have gotten me to think about the emotional connection we have to cash, specifically cash that is on hand in an "emergency fund." I share two personal stories that have brought this to light over the past couple of weeks along with an example from a (not named, of course) client conversation. I then talk about the two psychological biases that cause us to have the emotional connection to cash and discuss examples of them and how they play a role not only in our relationship to cash, but most everything in life. I then wrap up the conversation with different ways you can internalize and work past the initial fear and pain of parting ways with cash. —————————————————————————————————— 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 is Dr. Kent Godfrey. Kent owns a multi-location practice in and around the Denver, CO area and has, by most definitions, a very successful practice. In this episode, we talk about Kent's path into practice ownership and the state of his practice right now. We also touch on something that is very important to him and that is using his professional skills as an OD to give back to those that need an ECP through his volunteerism with VOSH. From there, our conversation shifts towards something that left me with a great impression when researching his backstory, and that was his website. We talk about the importance of giving your website visitors a great first impression and connecting with their feelings as opposed to showcasing all of your practice's features. We also talk about his success using an online scheduling tool and why that, along with other tools, are going to be the standard and given expectation in the future…and not just an added benefit. Our conversation then shifts to talking about one of the most impactful decisions he's made in his professional life, and that was joining a mastermind group. Kent shares the format and structure of their mastermind group and why it's so important that, if you join a mastermind group, you should be prepared to "show it all" and leave no stone unturned in your practice. He also defines what each of their member's commitment is to the group and the cost associated with joining such a group. We then transition the conversation into talking about leadership principles. Kent talks about one of the biggest lessons he's learned in managing and leading people, why you need to have ground rules and guard rails around your practice, and why it's important to think of your team as just that: a team…and moreso even your "professional family." We wrap up the conversation by talking about some of the key financial and practice metrics that he evaluates and the frequency with which he looks at them and the biggest lesson he's learned that, if given the chance, he'd go back and teach his 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 download our popular ebook called "Five Tips to Financial Freedom for Optometrists." And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Kent Godfrey. Links: Front Range Family Eye Care website Schedule Your Exam online pt scheduler Tips for starting a mastermind 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 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!