Posts

5 Qualities You Need to Be a Successful Optopreneur

/0 Comments/in /by

Have you been thinking about starting your own optometry business? Building a business from the ground up and running it successfully is no easy feat. As is with every type of industry these days, the competition is intense.

But no obstacle is too big to deter a true entrepreneur from his or her chosen path. You may already have an entrepreneurial spirit. But even if you don’t, it’s possible to develop the qualities of a successful entrepreneur with practice.

1. Do What Others Won’t

Coming up with an idea and sticking with it is the most definitive trait of an entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur goes with what clicks their mind rather than blindly following other’s opinions and acting on someone’s ideas. You shouldn’t waste your time and energy overthinking matters to the point that taking even the first step becomes too much of a task.

What you need to do is collect your thoughts in a way that allows you to come up with a productive plan for implementing your idea.

2. Say Yes to all opportunities

Being an entrepreneur demands being confident and believing in your skills and abilities. Having confidence in yourself gives you the strength to deal with the hardships that may come up in your way from time to time. True entrepreneurs readily accept every opportunity that comes their way because ‘no’ is not an option for them.

You must learn to be self-sufficient and self-reliant as well.

3. Don’t Let Anyone Put You Down

Entrepreneurs are met with all kinds of opinions and advice, including the helpful as well as the not-so-helpful one. Your friends and family members can particularly have a strong influence on how you perceive the feasibility of your plan. Listen to people who genuinely support you. And meanwhile, ignore and isolate yourself from the environment where you feel negativity towards your business. People may talk you into stay in your comfort zone and avoiding going into unchartered waters. As a true entrepreneur, remember to stay firm on your beliefs and not let anyone put you or your ideas down.

4. Stay Strong and Positive

You have to be fearless to be successful. If you don’t succeed at first, keep trying until you do. Remember that failure is not defined by incurring few losses but only when you stop struggling to achieve the goal that you initially set for yourself. Your so-called mistakes are actually a learning opportunity as they can teach you a lot about where to start from and what not to do the second time. Entrepreneurs stay focused on their goals and never give up as they know that great things happen by doing hard work.

5. Stand Up for What You Believe

When entrepreneurs introduce an idea or launch a startup, there’s always a chance that someone or the other will oppose them. A smart entrepreneur respects the freedom of speech but at the same time knows how to stand up and defend his or her ideas. It’s good to learn the art of how to disagree without being disrespectful to others, while maintaining one’s dignity at the same time.

Reflect on your work attitude and aptitude. You may already have the qualities of a successful entrepreneur but might not have realized it yet. If you can master these skills as an optometrist, rest assured that the world is your oyster.

CO Analytics: 73% of ODs are involved in the optical.

/0 Comments/in /by

One misconception in the industry is that Corporate ODs aren’t involved in the optical. A recent survey illustrates that 73% of ODs are meeting with optical managers to collaborate on company initiatives and their sublease needs.To increase optical sales, the optical manager can collaborate with the Optometrist. Corporate ODs prescribe lenses from the exam chair. Corporate ODs are decision-makers in our industry.  Whether the collaborations are daily or once a month, bridging the gap between the optical and the OD side of the business is vital. Historically, the better the communication between the two the better both businesses operate and generate higher revenue.

When it comes to the OD/optical staff meeting there are several important topics that are discussed. Some topics include exam business, # of exams, # of cancellations, # of walkins and OD coverage. Those topics coordinate with the optical sales. Optical business metrics are discussed and both parties look to partner to accomplish the goals that they have for the month and for the year.

Here are some topics for ODs to discuss with their optical managers about their subleases.

  1. Your Financial Performance: . Discuss revenue, profitability, cash flow, and the volume of managed care in your practice. Analyze previous month to date exam count and financial statements.
  2. Market Analysis: Evaluate the optical’s position in the industry. What is their acquisition cost per patient, growth in new customers, and competition in with 10 mile radius.
  3. Sales and Marketing: Review the effectiveness of sales and marketing strategies. Discuss the performance of various marketing channels, advertising campaigns, and sales efforts. Explore customer acquisition and retention strategies and analyze their impact on the bottom line.
  4. Efficiency: Assess how your sublease and optical can work efficiently to see walkins and increase patient volume during the hours of operation that you have. General rule is each day of coverage you are providing you are supposed to see 10-12 patients a day. Do not add days to the week until you are booked consistently.
  5. Customer Satisfaction: Examine customer satisfaction levels and feedback. Discuss strategies to enhance customer experience in order to increase patient retention. Many opticals have a NPS system.
  6. Outlook and Strategy: Discuss your objectives with the sublease and what you are looking to do in the future. This could be taking on a new sublease, expanding to hiring an associate, adding new equipment etc. . Identify areas for improvement, ask for feedback from optical.

CO Analytics: 27% of ODs worked Memorial Day

/0 Comments/in /by

One common misconception in corporate optometry is that ODs work most holidays. A recent survey in the Corporate Optometry Facebook Group, asked if ODs were working on Memorial Day. 216 Corporate ODs responded to the survey. 27% of ODs worked memorial day, many were employed ODs. 73% of ODs decided to take the day off.. The ODs that were sublease and worked were usually at Lenscrafters or Visionworks, which are usually in a mall setting and hours are determined by the mall hours of operation.

How to Talk About Payment Options With Your Patients

/0 Comments/in /by

Financial management is key in running an optometry practice successfully. Talk about payment options with patients in an effective manner to increase the likelihood of payment, and improve client-provider relationship.

If you feel too shy to discuss payment, tell yourself that you are running a business and deserve to be paid. Here are 3 basic guidelines to keep your patients well-informed about their financial responsibility.

1.      Be Transparent

Rule number 1 is to be open about the financial responsibilities of your patients from the beginning. Let them know about the procedures, costs, and payment options in advance.

Even if the cost of a particular treatment at your optometry practice is relatively high, do not hesitate to start discussing it with your patients. In fact, patients prefer you being open with them.

Talk to them about aspects that are covered and not covered by their insurance plans, so that they can allocate a budget accordingly. Also make sure you inform them about all payment options and the time when payment is due.

2.      Educate Your Staff

You can educate your staff regarding basic billing, so that they are able to talk about payment options with patients. Your employees should be able to effectively inform them about treatment costs at your optometry practice.

Make sure your clinical staff is aware of examination and treatment costs that may not be covered by insurance, so that they can alert patients accordingly. You can also provide scripts to your employees to help them talk about costs with patients in the right way.

Before the patient meets you, your staff members can give them a briefing about the procedures and their costs. If a certain procedure is not coverable by insurance, a staff member can guide them with signing a statement of financial responsibility. Train your employees to not hesitate and ask for payment in a firm yet diplomatic manner.

However, in certain scenarios, it is difficult for a staff member to brief the patients. For instance, while you are examining a patient, you may feel that a certain procedure needs to be performed. In that case, you can call someone from the billing staff to come back and explain the extra fee to the patient. Alternatively, you can opt for providing a more personalized experience by informing the patient yourself.

3.      Choose the Right Medium

Make sure you communicate the costs of your services or treatments in a simple and convenient manner. Phone calls and emails are conventional and reliable options, but with an expansion in digital communication, several more ways are now available.

According to a survey conducted by Truecaller, 64% of the adults admitted that they do not answer phone calls from an unknown number. Sending text messages is a quick way to let patients know the costs and payment options. Patients can easily read messages and follow a link to make the payment through their mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, or other devices.

Making payment easy and quick for patients will improve your cashflow and increase response rates. Keep payment options flexible for patients, as some may still prefer a paper bill.

You can also use online options to inform patients about finances. It is a good idea to have a web page within your website or a tab on your Facebook page devoted to financial responsibility, payment plans, and insurance.

Discussing finances may initially make you feel uncomfortable. However, with the right strategies, you can conveniently and politely talk about payment options with patients. Make sure your staff also understands the importance of keeping patients updated.

5 Reasons Why a Corporate Optometry Sublease Might be the Best Option During Recession

/0 Comments/in /by

Subleasing space in corporate optometry might be the best option during a recession. Subleasing can come with particular challenges, but much less risk than starting a private practice cold during a recession. Subleasing starting costs are much less than starting a new practice.

A successful optometry clinic is about finding a suitable location that attracts patents, analyzing competition, and ensuring you’re doing what it takes to thrive in the healthcare sector. The last few years haven’t been ideal, considering the high unemployment rate and COVID-19. However, subleasing space might be best option during a recession.

Let’s explore why subleasing in a recession might be best option.

1. Available Resources

When a recession hits the economy, it might become challenging in many ways. However, if you look closely, you’ll find more resources than ever. Resources that provided from corporate to help you succeed. Many times corporate has data to forecast economic changes and provide a game plan to help your sublease.

2. Less Competition

Some experts say recession might be the best time to sublease your corporate optometry, as there’s almost no competition during the economic downturn. Operating during a recession can help you get a competitive edge and make arranging funding more accessible. Since covid, some offices have closed down and we will see more closure during a recession. Finding a sublease that has been established and working between 2 might be the best option.

3. Inflation

Prices will go up during an inflation. Many corporate optometry subleases have kept OD’s rent the same. We will start to see more patients come into retail locations as they look for more affordable healthcare. The volume will help you grow during a recession. A recession is undoubtedly not the best economic situation, but if you’re clever, you’ll manage to make the best use of recession.

4. More Motivation

Every optometrist aims have their own practice, which brings them the required motivation to start their clinic. Knowing a recession is here, might be the motivation to work harder and continue to strive to succeed.

5. Reduce Unemployment

Many people lose their jobs and actively seek employment when a recession hits. When you begin subleasing your optometry clinic, you’ll need valuable people to help you run your business effectively. You’ll get a chance to improve the economy’s situation by providing work to unemployed people.

The more people earn, the more stable the economy will eventually become. Hence, unemployed individuals find jobs, and you get a team of hard workers who run day-to-day tasks effectively and handle patient care. Again, a win-win.

5 Essential Business Planning Tips That Can Help Optometrists Survive a Recession.

/0 Comments/in /by

Various small businesses could be severely hit by a recession. Proper planning is the key to long-term business success. And it becomes all the more important in the face of uncertain circumstances such as the ones we are facing currently.

Here are five essential business planning tips that every optometrist must follow if they wish to power through a recession and ensure sustained growth in the coming year.

1. Think Strategically

There are several strategic approaches that optometrists can benefit from. Strategic thinking is what helps you succeed in a competitive market. Businesses that don’t have a strategic plan in place are bound to have a hard time in fulfilling their short term as well as long term goals.

Take time to think about your business’s vision and mission. What is your unique selling proposition? How do your products and services differ from those of your competitors? Do you do any specialty care?

Focus on aspects that will prompt customers to choose your services over the alternative options.

2. Don’t Skip Marketing

Your revenues may be down these days, but that’s no reason to skip marketing. Marketing plays a key role in keeping your business in the public eye. You can cut down on the marketing budget if you want. But don’t forgo it altogether.

Identify the channels that can bring in the maximum customers and run your marketing campaigns on those platforms only. Staying active on social media is a great way to connect with your audience, so don’t forget to leverage that.

3. Form Alliances

One of the most strategic business planning tips in today’s economy is to form alliances. Collaborating with other optometry businesses operating both locally and other medical professionals can help you gain access to new streams of income. It can enable you to identify and exploit opportunities that still exist in an otherwise halted economy.

4. Sort Out Your Finances

Finances are the core element that determine the viability of your business plan. Make sure that you always have sufficient capital at hand for debt servicing, asset acquisition, business expansion, and the likes.

In addition to the current expenses, think about other costs you may incur down the lane.

5. Structure Your Workforce

You need to think about the future implications on your business in regards to your staff.

Will those employees be willing to rejoin when your business gains momentum again if you cut their hours? Do you want them to rejoin or wish to hire new workers instead? What are the skills you will need to keep your business running in a changing economy?

If you plan to hire new employees, make sure you have capital available for any training that may be required.

End Note

No one plans to fail; they fail to plan. So, follow these business planning tips to help your optometry business not just survive, but thrive regardless of how the economy may be performing.

Recipe for Success in Optometry: Grit and Resilience

/0 Comments/in /by

Grit and resilience are key ingredients in the recipe of success. Humans possess a remarkable ability to work hard towards their goals and keep recovering from setbacks in the way.

You can succeed in your life and career as an optometrist once you understand the growth mindset and discover the power of grit and resilience. Keep reading to know how you can boost your resolve and keep setting and achieving high targets.

What is the Growth Mindset?

The Growth Mindset is a belief that you can achieve something once you acquire the skill to do so. Carol Dweck, an American psychologist, has identified two kinds of mindsets: fixed and growth.

A person with a fixed mindset believes that basic qualities are inherent and different ones cannot be developed. Growth mindset, on the other hand, dictates that you can enhance your qualities through efforts.

An individual may have a fixed mindset about some abilities and a growth mindset about others. For instance, a person may firmly believe that sketching well is a built-in talent that they cannot acquire. On the other hand, they may feel that they can improve in sports with enough practice.

It is imperative to approach your life and career with a growth mindset in order to succeed in your life and career as an optometrist. You may not have scored a high grade after studying optometry, but that doesn’t mean you cannot become a successful optometrist after gaining experience in the industry.

Developing Grit and Resilience

Grit implies resolve, and resilience refers to your ability to bounce back from a stressful situation. People who are able to grow are those who learn to overcome obstacles and setbacks. Here is how you can develop grit and resilience in your life and career as an optometrist:

1. Asses Yourself

Want to figure out how resilient you are? Take a quiz online to evaluate the extent to which you adhere to a growth mindset. Gauging you abilities will help you determine whether you are on the right track. If the results show that you have a growth mindset, work on enhancing it. In case you discover that you have a relatively rigid frame of mind, it is time to start taking corrective measures.

2. Stay Around Positive People

Your mindset helps define your life. Likewise, the thoughts and behavior of the people around you also influence your reality. You cannot always opt to be around the people of your choice, but you can selective about who you wish to spend most of your time with. Engage in productive discussions with fellow optometrists and keep in touch with your mentor in the field to stay motivated.

3. Set Goals

Grit involves maintaining interest and effort towards long-term goals. It can get difficult to make a lasting commitment, especially if you face several hurdles in the way. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that success comes to those who stay strong, even through times of crisis. Don’t shy away from ambitious targets. Work hard and persevere to make your mark in the field of optometry.

4. Celebrate Milestones

Success doesn’t always have to be measured in the form of outcomes. Sometimes, you make painstaking efforts, but victory gets delayed. Pat yourself on the back for the hard work and know that setbacks are always a possibility. Making efforts in the right direction will always be fruitful, even if it takes some time.

It takes time and effort to reach your goals and to stay strong in the face of obstacles. Once you adopt grit and resilience, you will understand that hard work always pays off. A positive and driven mindset will eventually bring success in your life and career as an optometrist.

How Optometry is Changing Because of Millennial ODs.

/0 Comments/in /by

There is an effect of generation on the optometry industry that is changing expectations from optometry clinics. Millennials and optometry have an important correlation since there are steady changes happening in technology, practice management, work-life balance, patient care already and diversity and inclusion.

Trends in Optometry

Millennial ODs have economic reality and attractive flexibility. Since millennials have high debt, don’t have huge capital possibilities, corporate optometry has become the an attractive option.

Millennials are part of the digital generation, where technology is prioritized for every industry. They also wired to expect high efficiency and productivity. They also use technology to build relationships with patients.

Digital Future of Optometry

Modern offices are turning towards digital space to increase efficiency. This can include looking into software for billing, appointments, and booking – things like cloud access and digital imaging for records and patient data. Optometry offices are being expanded to digital spaces for greater accessibility.

Cloud Adoption

The willingness millennials have to turn towards the cloud is great in the millennial general. Millennials and optometry involve incorporating IT setups, hardware, and software. It can mean more training as well as costs from tech glitches. If an optometry clinic has different office locations, it can mean the use of multiple IT systems, which can lead to expenditure cost.

Millennials are turning the trend to optometry offices towards incorporating the right sort of technology into the right spaces. A model that needs HIPAA compliance and has a fully-managed and secure structure. It also gives room to optometry clinics to be more transparent with their customers. Through seamless integration, there is increased accountability of the optometry clinics too. With more optometry clinics, you can still have the same procedures and implement a similar structure with the help of technology.

Diversity and Inclusive

Young ODs want to feel part of something bigger. They make sure the promotion practices throughout the organization follow are unbiased and equitable. They are looking for a structured internal mobility program to provide equal opportunities. Many corporate opticals like Warby Parker have taken steps to help grow diversity in optometry. Many millennial ODs feel they belong at Warby Parker and have taken subleases and employed positions.

Millennial ODs have changed how the industry performs and works with its patients and workforce. This can be quite a positive change in terms of relationships, efficiency, and ability to expand.

Attracting Quality Talent in Optometry with Greater Transparency

/0 Comments/in /by

Attracting quality talent entails optimizing your optometry practice in several ways. A focus on transparency and staff well-being will enable you to improve the profitability of your business in the long run.

Employees are more attracted towards practices that have a clear mission and adhere to their values. Here are 3 aspects that are of the utmost importance in hiring and retaining better talent.

1.      Develop good work culture

Work culture is an important part of an employee’s experience. Optometry practices usually focus on providing quality eye care, but their values and culture are hardly ever communicated.

Potential employees often research about a business before applying, making it a good idea to let them know what your practice values the most. For example, if teamwork is a key aspect for your practice, make that clear while you are hiring.

You can easily showcase the work culture of your optometry business on social media or within a job description. Doing so will help you attract employees who are more in line with your work objectives.

An important factor in attracting quality talent is building trust. It helps develop an open and transparent company culture to hire suitable people and retain suitable employees. Make sure you improve communication within your organization so that employees can easily connect with each other to share valuable information.

Prevent toxicity by openly discussing current challenges with employees and coming up with solutions as a team. Moreover, keep employees motivated by sharing and recognizing their achievements.

2.      Offer thorough training

No matter how experienced your employees are, it is crucial to provide them with training relevant to your optometry practice. Optometry is a specialized field where employees should have sufficient knowledge about different equipment and vision-related issues.

When your hire employees, make sure you offer on-the-job training to get them acclimatized to their new work environment. Provide systematic training for each job role in your organization. Untrained staff is likely to soon feel disinterested and demotivated.

You on-boarding program should ideally begin with an introduction of your practice’s basic mission, followed by specific training for staff members. You can introduce job shadowing and role-play exercises to get new recruits familiar with the ins and outs of your practice.  Also fine tune their people skills, so that they are able to deal with patients more effectively.

3.      Compensate suitably

Remuneration is one of the prime motivating factors for employees. Allocate a budget for staff compensation to help manage finances more effectively.

Recruiting and retaining quality employees requires providing employees with a satisfactory package. Compensation generally includes salaries, bonuses, commissions, and other benefits. Experienced workers and practitioners are aware of their value in the market and seek a salary that is worth their services.

Make sure you offer a suitable amount to potential employees in order to hire the best candidates for your optometry practice. Recruiting efficiently will lower hiring costs and spare time and money for other important tasks.

Attract quality talent towards your business by ensuring employee satisfaction. With a good work culture, proper training, and worthwhile compensation, you are sure to draw in and retain competent employees.

Cost-Effective Marketing for Optometry Startups

/0 Comments/in /by

Marketing is definitely an integral part of any optometry startup. It is often considered the lifeblood of the practice since it helps patients learn more about the startup and visit it. It can turn an almost empty waiting room into a bustling area with countless patients.

However, it can be hard for new startups to come up with the capital for expensive marketing models like advertisements, pay per click, and others. Startups are most inundated with costs for rent, salaries, and others, all of which make it harder to find funds for marketing. Optometrists also don’t have much experience with marketing to launch proper campaigns, gauge audience interest, and modern methods.

There are definitely many marketing companies you can go to, but again, they can be quite expensive. As such, you should focus on cost-effective marketing for optometry startups that can be better for you. Here are some techniques that may help you out.

Community Engagement

Community engagement can provide high-efficacy, low-cost benefits that can be a game-changer for your startup. Many optometrists are naturally good at building relationships since it is such an integral part of our profession. By channeling this skill into marketing, you will be able to build communities that can help spread the word about the optometry clinic. It can be quite rewarding, as well as incredibly effective.

Direct Mail

Direct mail has a reputation for being discarded, not working, or being expensive. As an optometry startup, you should concentrate on maintaining a strategy when it comes to the location that has the potential for a significant growth rate. For example, if you target people who have just moved into the area, you will find that they are more responsive. They will gladly accept the mail since they already need new resources, such as a new optometry clinic to go to. When direct mail is done correctly, it has the highest response rates among some media.

Community Philanthropy

You have to realize that not many people in the community will be able to afford optometry care. You can help by recognizing the needs of your community, solving problems, and giving back. This can help build the team and establish your marketing efforts. It can be quite rewarding, which is why it often doesn’t feel like marketing at all. Some marketing ideas include:

· Calling the local fire department and giving the entire staff discounts on checkups

· Partner up with local business and have a lottery-like game where people have to sign up to win the gift cards

· Build a mutually beneficial campaign with other local businesses such as discounts on tooth whitening with two purchases of eyeglasses from your store in return for discounts on eyeglasses after two purchases of tooth cleanings.

· Attending local events in the community and offering screenings can be a way to get attention for the business

Social Media

Social media is the most cost-effective marketing for optometry startups. It can be a great platform to send messages, create a flourishing community, engage with audiences, and build a brand name. You should make sure to target any online advertisements to certain categories in the community. This can be based on location, interests, gender, and age.

Staying Consistent

Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook work based on visibility. They check whether the audience is engaged consistently. Post regularly.

• 1 post every day for Facebook

· 3 tweets every day for Twitter

· 1 posts every day for Instagram

· 1 post every day for LinkedIn

It may seem like a lot, but it is definitely possible to achieve such numbers consistently. You should firstly focus on choosing the platforms that are most appropriate for your target audience. For example, Facebook is a better platform for older audiences than Instagram. LinkedIn is a great way to build co-referral partnerships with other local businesses. Secondly, you can definitely repurpose the same content for different platforms. If you have a post ready for Instagram, don’t be shy about reusing it for Facebook a week later.

There are also plenty of content calendars and scheduling tools that can help you in this venture. Social media can definitely be self-managed by you without any worries. You can also keep a monthly theme going to build an aesthetic and motivate yourself.

Track and Keep Up with the Data

The most important task in marketing is keeping track of your data and your ROI. However, this can be quite challenging since it requires good systems, intention, and constant follow-ups. Sometimes it can be easy to check how patients were prompted to enter the optometry clinic; they may just enter with a direct-mail coupon. However, if the patient saw you at the farmer’s market providing screenings, then saw a post on Facebook and then were referred to you by a relative, who will get the credit?

It will help to outline a goal for each campaign. Design the campaign with specific intentions. For example, a Facebook campaign to just increase the followers on your account. Since the campaign doesn’t intend to bring in people, you don’t have to worry about tracking that.

As a new business, you should always try and focus on getting organic growth instead of going for expensive strategies. Cost-effective marketing for optometry startups can get you enough business so that you can start planning bigger things.