ecadmin, Author at Eye Care Business Canada

6 Tips for Successful Recruiting and Team Building in 2022

Human Resources, Leadership, Talent Acquisition

While the challenges of of recruiting in eye care were evident in 2019, the last two years have added a whole new dimension to the challenge.

Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, we have seen significant workplace trends develop from an acceptance of remote working, online meetings, flexible work hours to support home schooling and, overall, a new set of rules and worries – for both employers and employees. There has been a lot of learning!

For the past 10 years or longer employers have been told to prepare for the great resignation/retirement wave that was going to hit the workforce with the baby boomers coming up to 60+ years.

The Pandemic Has Empowered Employees
We were starting to experience this back in 2019 but now the pandemic dynamic has accelerated what was already happening – people removing themselves from the workplace.

Workers are quitting their jobs at unprecedented rates. But here’s the thing; what we’re seeing right now isn’t just a generation of baby boomers stepping into retirement. It’s a bigger phenomena.

People who are leaving their jobs aren’t passively surrendering or checking out. People are actively shifting the narrative about what is acceptable (and not acceptable) in jobs and workplaces.

If your star employees have not left yet, they might be “hunkering down” – biding their time, ready to pounce on new opportunities. Perhaps they will consider starting their own business, buying a franchise or changing industries entirely.

People are embracing their power and helping to reframe how work can and should look and feel.

Time. Space. Growth. Autonomy. Leadership. Wellness.
Work-life integration. Money. Safety. Engagement. Equity.
All of these things are essential to our mutual success. The problem is that employers and employees are not always on the same page about what these things are or ought to be, in policy or practice.

So, what does that mean for the Optometry Clinic and Optical? Here is a quick checklist of 6 things you can do to make everything work better at your business.

Programmable Recruiting. Consider who you want to attract and then target them. Social media tools allow you to set the demographics you want to reach and target your spend on the best potential candidates not volume of candidates. Seek Quality – Not Quantity
It’s Not About You. Shift the narrative in your communications with candidates and your team about what it is they can expect to get from you not what you are wanting to get from them.
Know Your People. Understand what your current people want from work. Are you over-extending them with more hours than they want but they are not speaking up? Do you have the opportunity to support up skilling or professional development?
Measure What Matters. Are the roles in your practice where you can provide training and upskilling? If so, put the focus on who they are, then look at what they know and what they have done.
Always be looking. Be an organization that is always on the look-out for great talent to bring to the team. Don’t wait until you need to fill a position. If someone great comes along see how you can make room for them. If not immediately, keep the contact warm.
Build Your Community. We all have a community around us. The people we work with, the people we serve, the suppliers, friends, family and professional contacts. Keep connected. Share what you know and be a valued member of your community. Give first is always the best approach to building relationships.

TIM BRENNAN

is Chief Visionary Officer with Fit First Technologies Inc, the creators of Eyeployment, TalentSorter and Jobtimize.

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Low Vision Residency Experience at UW

NextGenOD, Perspectives

Young Optometry residents in conversation

Dr. Sana Owais completed both her Doctorate in Optometry (O.D.) and her residency in low vision rehabilitation from the University of Waterloo. Due to her commitment to life-long-learning and patient care, she also received her fellowship with the American Academy of Optometry (F.A.A.O) designation.

She did her Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Physiology Specialization) from McMaster University where she graduated summa cum laude and with Deans’ Honour. During her optometry training she was recognized with the VSP/FYidoctors Practice Excellence Scholarship and the Gold Key International Optometric Honour Society Award.

Dr. Sana Owais, OD, FAAO, talks about her Low Vision Residency experience at the University of Waterloo.

Jaclyn: Why did you decide to do a residency and why did you pick Waterloo?

Sana: Why residency? Three reasons. I am an academic at heart so a formal education program through a residency seemed like a fun way to continue lifelong learning. Secondly, I felt doing a residency may make me a better clinician so I can offer better care for my patients. Finally, I wanted to do a residency so I could potentially earn a fellowship afterwards and I felt a residency may make it easier to apply for jobs.

Why Waterloo? Waterloo is a remarkable instructional and research facility for the provision of low vision services and devices (of course I am biased here!).

The Centre for Sight Enhancement (CSE) is the only vision rehabilitation center in Canada accredited by the National Accreditation Council for Blind and Low Vision Services. The CSE hosts many holistic and interdisciplinary services, such as low vision assessments, CCTV assessments, daily living skills, computer skills training, and mental health support.

Jaclyn: Why did you pick low vision to do your residency in?

Sana: My interest in low vision piqued after my first year of optometry school, when I worked at Vision Loss Rehabilitation Ontario with the Vision Mate Program where I helped match clients who were partially sighted with volunteers. This program allowed me to see the positive impact of social engagement on the mental health of both clients and volunteers.

Additionally, I took a Braille course from the Hadley School for the Blind in order to learn more about tactile communication strategies for people with partial sight.

Regarding the residency discipline, I had three reasons for applying for low vision rehabilitation. The first one being how small changes can make a big impact. There is a theme in low vision that the implementation of small environmental modifications can potentially improve visual function when medical or surgical correction is unable to do so.

The second reason is that I like the creativity and the problem solving required in low vision rehabilitation. For example, I saw a patient who had dual sensory loss; advanced retinitis pigmentosa and age-related hearing loss. The patient’s goal was to play bridge and the patient did not know how to use Braille.

We recommended a sight substitution technique with tactile playing cards where we advised the patient to devise his own system of tactile coding through bump dots. This allowed the patient to play bridge with his friends who were sighted and therefore feel included.

The final reason is the aging population. Given that centenarians are one of the fastest growing age cohort in the Canadian population, low vision rehabilitation services will remain of high value with the continuing aging population.

Jaclyn: What did you do on a typical day as a resident?

Sana: There were three clinics that I participated in: the Centre for Sight Enhancement, primary care, and geriatrics. There were two different arms of the CSE: pure low vision and a concussion clinic which provided visual rehabilitation for those with traumatic brain injury or strokes.

On a typical day, which may start at 8:30 AM, I would begin in the low vision clinic doing a low vision assessment, then be a teaching assistant for the undergraduate low vision laboratory for third-year optometry students, and then finally see patients for direct care in primary care in the evening.

Other days may include travelling to nursing homes and long-term care facilities to do eye exams on residents, or supervising third-year and fourth-year interns doing eye exams in primary care and the low vision clinic.

Jaclyn: How much did you connect with the other residents at Waterloo?

Sana: Our group included three residents: the contact lens resident, the vision therapy resident, and myself (low vision resident). Although we had different schedules, we did convene on days of group presentations such as the ‘short rounds’ or the ‘grand rounds’, during which we built a strong camaraderie.

Jaclyn: Did you collaborate with other departments at the school?

Sana: Yes, we connected with the concussion, contact lens, and ocular health clinics several times. For example, a patient with achromatopsia may get fitted with red-tinted contact lenses from the contact lens clinic and then they would visit the low vision clinic for low vision aids and an ocular health assessment.

Jaclyn: How much research was involved in residency?

Sana: A lot of research and reading! Every two weeks we met with the journal club which was hosted by our residency coordinator. Each resident retrieved articles and we discussed and debated them as a group. We were also assigned a list of readings every month with a different theme in our residency discipline. Finally, we wrote papers for journal submission.

Jaclyn: What was your favourite part of residency?

Sana: Conferences! I loved attended the CE events and meeting clinicians, residents, and researchers from low vision from all over the globe. The first conference I attended was the Envision Conference in Wichita, Kansas (2018). It was a fantastic experience to see the Envision headquarters and to attend a conference purely dedicated to low vision. The second meeting was the Academy conference in San Antonio, Texas (2018). It was an incredible experience to meet other residents and participate in all of the CE events!

Jaclyn: Was there anything that surprised you about residency?

Sana: I found supervising students in the clinic to be a very daunting process. I found time-managing three students simultaneously where each patient has potentially complex ocular health issues to be challenging. I really appreciated our former supervisors afterwards because I realized being a clinic supervisor is a tough job!

Also, I was surprised that in the low vision clinic that we co-manage ocular disease for our patients which made the learning process very comprehensive. This provided a unique opportunity to examine the ocular health of rare conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt disease.

Jaclyn: Who would you recommend a residency to? Is there any advice that you would want to offer someone who was thinking about going into residency?

Sana: I would recommend residency to anyone that embraces academia, enjoys research, and is enthusiastic about enhancing their clinical care. Because residency is a marathon and not a sprint, the applicant must be committed to the rigor and length of the residency.

Jaclyn: Where do you see yourself going in the future?

Sana: In the future, I would be interested in connecting with national and international organizations, such as the Canadian Federation for the Blind, the Canadian Council for the Blind, the Lions Club, the Lighthouse International, in order to advocate for low vision rehabilitation on a national and global scale.

Jaclyn: Thanks so much Sana for the information on low vision and your insight into residency!

JACLYN CHANG, OD

Editor NewOptometrist.ca

Dr. Jaclyn Chang graduated from the University of Waterloo (UW) with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences before continuing at Waterloo to complete her Doctor of Optometry degree. She is currently a practicing optometrist in Toronto.

Dr. Chang is committed to sharing information and bringing new resources to her colleagues. As a student, she sat on the Board of Trustees for the American Optometric Student Association, organizing events to connect students with industry. She was the Co-Founder/Co-President of the award-winning UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, the first club at UW dedicated to private practice optometry. Dr. Chang is also a passionate writer, who aims to make information accessible and easily digestible to her colleagues. She has published in Optometry & Vision Science and Foresight magazine and contributed to Optik magazine. She is excited to bring valuable resources to Canada’s next generation of optometrists with NewOptometrist.ca.

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Looking for a New Career Direction? There has Never Been More Choice.

Career Options, NextGenOD, Webinar

On Monday November 8^th a virtual presentation and networking event was hosted by Eye Care Business Canada. Spokespersons representing Canada’s leading eye care organizations provided short and spirited presentations of the benefits that each offers to eye care professionals that might join or partner with their organization.

Roxanne Arnal, a former independent OD practice owner, now Certified Financial Planner© moderated the event. Citing this unprecedented time of changes and challenges which has led many to emotionally reflect upon life choices and career alternatives, Arnal invites the attendees to understand choices with clear logic, reason and cultural fit.

Start the YouTube video

Here is a summary of the presentations.

Tim Brennan, Chief Visionary Officer Fit First Technologies/EyePloyment.com provided a summary of the Canadian ECP Employment survey results, pointing to the % of practices with current and expected job vacancies, as well as non-managerial employees intentions to seek employment elsewhere and their main reasons for doing so. Brennan wraps by providing key 6 tips to hiring in a post COVID world.

Dr. Michael Naugle, VP, Optometric Partnerships, FYidoctors provided a nuanced definition of the spectrum of ownership models (including corporate/employee, Franchise and Joint Venture) and how FYidoctors fits into the spectrum. He delved into key characteristics which separate the various models, including: Doctor ownership, autonomy to set fees, influence on ability to earn income and degree of control.

Dawn McIntyre, Optometry Support Director, Specsavers outlined the global presence of Specsavers and the founding purpose and values they intend to pursue in Canada. McIntyre outlined the Specavers career pathway starting from support of student ODs, developing early clinical expertise and professional community development to, ultimately, business ownership, which may also include international opportunities as evidenced by her own career path.

Nick Perry, Bailey Nelson Co-founder & Managing Director and Dr. Laurie Lesser, Eyecare Director Canada/UK, teamed up to share the rapid growth of the company from 2012 to 2021 and four keys to their business model: focus on people, commitment to Optometry, quality products at attractive prices and achieving a relaxed, inviting customer experience. Dr. Lesser outlined the support that Bailey Nelson brings to ODs building their practice base.

Dr. Daryan Angle, VP Business Development IRIS Group, explained the values that underpin the 31-year history of the IRIS group in Canada. Angle pointed out the various career path options available for Opticians and how they are integral to the group’s success. He outlined the path for ODs from independent contractor to local partnerships and potential leadership positions and optometric specialization opportunities.

Dr. Trevor Miranda, sponsored by Bausch + Lomb, owner of 5 independent practices on Vancouver Island shared what excites him about building a dream independent practice and the benefits that accrue around lifestyle, building wealth, and learning and leadership opportunities for ODs. Miranda challenges younger ODs to consider benefits of rural practice locations connected with lifestyle benefits outside of the big cities.

Dr. Kyla Hunter, practice owner of Aurora Eye Care, Grand Prairie, AB and Eye Recommend member addressed “why Independent Optometry” and how Eye Recommend supports members. Dr. Hunter cites choice of products and service offerings, and freedom to set pricing and her own schedule as key benefits of independent practice. She provides the example of how her group practice is structured to provide the freedom follow her passions. She outlines the how the myriad of support services from Eye Recommend facilitate her choice to thrive as an independent practice.

Following the presentations, Arnal invited Dr. Maria Sampalis, founder of Corporate Optometry, to forum discussion for a US perspective on consolidation. Among the questions posed specifically to the larger groups was if professional services fees are discounted within their operations.

Event sponsors included:

Bausch + Lomb Canada, Clarity Financial Services, Eye Recommend, FYidoctors/Visique, IRIS GROUP, Specsavers, EyePloyment.com, Corporate Optometry, CRO Online CE

Other “Changing Landscapes Events:
October 25: Technology Drivers of Change

November 1: Selling & Buying a Practice

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Thinking of Investing? Should you Invest Personally or in Your Corporation?

Building Wealth, Finance|Wealth, Resources

Dr. Roxanne Arnal, CFP^®

There is never a quick answer to this question. For today, let’s cover a few of the basic differences between personal and corporate investing.

Are there differences in the types of accounts a person and a corporation can own?

A person over the age 18 typically has access to three types of accounts:

A registered retirement account (RRSP). In your saving years, the most common is an RRSP.
Since 2009, we also have access to a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA).
Lastly, we have open accounts. These are also referred to as Cash Accounts or Non-Registered Accounts.

For further information on these accounts, please refer to my previous article: RRSP vs TFSA.

A corporation only has access to Open Accounts.

How do contribution dollars differ?

Investing in an RRSP is done with a pre-tax dollar and is a fully tax deferred account.

All other investments are done with an after tax dollar.

Personally, both the RRSP and TFSA account types have contribution maximums.

An Open Account, whether personal or corporate, is funded with after tax dollars and is not subject to any maximum contribution cap.

What is the difference between corporate and personal after tax dollars?

This is where things start to get interesting.

For our discussions, we are assuming that you are the sole owner of your Professional Corporation (PC) and that the dollars you are using to invest in your PC have been generated from Small Business Deduction paid tax dollars.

Let’s assume you live in Ontario and earn $155,000 of taxable employment income. This will place you at a combined federal and provincial marginal tax rate of 41.16% and an approximate average tax rate (ATR) of 28%.

The SBD corporate tax rate in Ontario is 3.2%, and the federal rate is 9.0%, for a combined tax rate of 12.2%.

Therefore, if you take $1,000 from your personal income, you will have $720 to invest. If you keep the $1,000 inside your corporation, you will have $878 to invest.

Why this matters?

Compound interest can be a beautiful thing. The more money you invest in a compounding investment, the more wealth you ultimately create.

Assuming a 5% year over year rate of return, after 20 years with no additional deposits, the personal investment will have grown to $1,910.37 and the corporate investment will be worth $2,329.60. Of course, the tax story isn’t over yet.

On open accounts, all earnings are taxable, and because the Canadian Tax system is so simple (insert very obvious sarcasm), taxation on investment growth varies by the type of income received in that investment (which is of course related to the tax that the investment company has paid before paying you). That being said, interest, dividends, and capital gains are all currently taxed at different rates.

For today, let’s attempt to keep things simple by assuming that 100% of your investment growth is a capital gain and therefore the entire tax bill on the investment in our example won’t be triggered until it is sold in year 20.

The difference in the last column may not seem like much, but what if you took that $1,000 of income amount every month and invested it using the same assumptions over that entire 20 year period? After the 20 years of investing, you have input an additional $37,920 into the corporate investment and have grown your overall investment by nearly an additional $65,000 before taxes.

Now, keep in mind, the net after tax account value in the personal account is ready to spend, while the corporate account value is still locked in the corporation.

In order to get the corporate dollars to your personal bank, you will be subject to personal tax. For simplicity we will assume that you will remove the money from your corporate account as an eligible dividend over a ten year period of time. Using the current Ontario eligible dividend marginal tax rate (after gross up and dividend tax credits) for those with a taxable income of $150,000 at 25.38%, the $323,195 is now $241,168 of spendable cash, for a total spendable cash loss of $37,535.

So does that mean I shouldn’t invest in my corporation?

…Well not so fast! This example made several assumptions, including the massive assumption that the future tax rates will remain the same and that your taxable income in retirement will place you at the same tax rates that you are currently at. I didn’t pick a $155,000 annual employment income amount at random either. For 2021, you earn the maximum RRSP contribution limit of $27,830 when your employment income is above $154,611.

All of these factors matter when we build a holistic plan that involves multiple different accounts and wealth creation strategies to help insulate you from the unknowns of future tax rates and provide for multiple sources of income draw – some taxable and some not.

It is therefore critical that your financial planner review all pieces of your puzzle and strategies to set you up for a future that has considered multiple sources of retirement revenue, possible future tax changes, and estate priorities.

As your Chief Financial Officer, I’m here to help you ask the right questions. I help you manage a team of financial professionals and ensure that you have thought about the potential issues. The more we learn, the more we realize the need to learn more, and yes, another topic for another day!

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that I offer. Call or email today to start your plan.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission to Empower your Finances.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a replacement for personal financial planning. Everyone’s circumstances and needs are different. The values provided here are subject to change and should not be construed as fact. Tax rates illustrated were in effect as of January 1, 2021. Errors and Omissions exempt.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne Arnal graduated from UW School of Optometry in 1995 and is a past-president of the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO) and the Canadian Association of Optometry Students (CAOS). She subsequently built a thriving optometric practice in rural Alberta.

Roxanne took the decision in 2012 to leave optometry and become a financial planning professional. She now focuses on providing services to Optometrists with a plan to parlay her unique expertise to help optometric practices and their families across the country meet their goals through astute financial planning and decision making.

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Practice Consolidators and Independent Practice Advocates Meet to Pitch Their Case

Webinar

In a first-ever event bringing together Canada’s major eye care practice consolidators and independent practice advocates, over 200 eye care professionals gathered virtually on November 1 to hear pitches for practice partnership.

Roxanne Arnal, a former independent OD practice owner, now Certified Financial Planner© and owner of Clarity Financial Services moderated the event. Roxanne shared her own practice exit outcome in 2021 saying, “it was fueled by fear, disappointment, and ultimately a lack of understanding of my options,” and wished she had the opportunity then to the information that was presented in this webinar. Click Here to View the Slides.

Start the YouTube video

Here is a summary of the presentations.

Dr. Robert Allaway, Chief Optometry Officer of newcomer Vision Alliance Corporation advocated that, “the best solution is to sell to another Independent Optometrist”. Allaway explained the Vision Alliance model where the OD owner provides all the professional direction and Vision Alliance takes away Human Resources and other ownership headaches.

Dr. Wes McCann, owner of 6 independent practices representing Eye Recommend shared his formula for acquisition fueled growth while utilizing resources from Eye Recommend to maximize the bottom line. McCann put emphasis on ensuring that the practice reflects the needs and flavor of the local community working together to improve independent optometry.

Dr. Trevor Miranda, sponsored by Bausch + Lomb and owner of 5 independent practices on Vancouver Island, drew the parallel of building a strong practice to building a fantastic home. Miranda stressed the importance of knowing your numbers, measuring what counts and adding revenue streams with Optometric sub-specialties.

Dr. Daryan Angle, VP Business Development IRIS Group, shared the IRIS story, its mission and values. Angle explained the IRIS four-step selling and partnership process: alignment, valuation, due diligence, and integration. While the process is consistently applied, each situation is unique and therefore personalized to the OD or optical vendor. Click Here to View the Slides

Mike Protopsaltis, Partnerships Director, Specsavers, an optician and former Specsavers franchisee himself, outlined the market leadership position Specscavers has reached in each of the markets in which they compete. He emphasized that “partnership” is at the core of the Specsavers franchise model and the low $ value entry cost. Click Here to View the Slides.

Dr. Michael Naugle, VP, Optometric Partnerships, and Gord McFarlane, Managing Director of Corporate Development FYidoctors teamed up to share their views on what considerations come into play when selling or merging a practice and outlined FYidoctors valuation methodology. They noted that FYIdoctors has the most Canadian experience among all the consolidators, having closed over 300 individual deals. Click Here to View the Slides.

Drs. Skylar Feltis and Warren Toews, OD owners of the YXE Group of 4 practices in Saskatchewan, members of Optometric Services Inc. (OSI), explained how, with OSI’s support and technology, they were able to successfully expand and find new partners. The spoke about OSI’s Vision Entrepreneur Program which offers coaching and training to ODs intent on becoming clinic owners, supporting OSI’s mission to champion independent optometry.

Jackie Joachim, Chief Operating Officer, ROI Corporation, had the opportunity wrap up the evenings presentations by sharing her experiences as a leading Canadian health care brokerage. Jackie conveyed her experiences with the selling/buying process from a numbers and valuation perspective and outlined how bankers’ view the current market situation. Good news: “Health care is alive and well.”

The formal presentations were followed by a Q&A and networking section in the highly interactive event platform. Attendees who entered the prize pool through sponsors’ digital signage were able to enter into draws for prizes. Nearly $1000 of prizes were subsequently awarded to attendees

Event sponsors included:

B +L Canada, Clarity Financial Services, Eye Recommend, FYidoctors/Visique, IRIS GROUP, Specsavers, Vision Alliance Corp, Optometric Services Inc. (OSI) and ROI Corp.

Care1, Digital ECP, CRO Online CE, Eyeployment.com

Other “Changing Landscapes Events:
October 25^: Technology Drivers of Change

November 8: Career Pathfinders: Making Informed Choices

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The Best Time to Sell

Buying-Selling A Practice, Practice, Resources

After the last 18 months we’ve experience, people are always asking,”Is it time to should sell my practice”. Today most owners want to know if one should sell during a pandemic.

Pandemic Effect on Practice Valuations
The easiest, and yet ironically most complex, answer is simple: sell when you are really ready to let go of ownership as long as you can afford to.

There are many factors that determine the best timing for selling a practice — the financial position of the owner, valuation of the office, potential for further growth, past performance and history, as well as the current market.

Healthcare has proven over the last 15 years to be both recession and now pandemic resilient. Practice values have not gone down and in fact, during the pandemic, values have increased.

The best place to start is to ask 2 simple questions: can you afford to sell and are you ready to walk away without looking back?

The financial question is easier because it is all about the math. Has financial security been achieved? If yes, then by all means, pass go and collect.

The second question, is truly the toughest. An owner might be very attached to their office and maybe even more than they think.

After all, many owners feel they have invested a significant portion of their life to its success and handing their “baby” over may not be easy.

Do the Math
Most owners want to sell when they know they can maximize the price. However, owners should also consider what they are giving up in order to delay the sale for the ultimate price.

Doing a cost-benefit analysis is a worthy exercise to undertake. For example, let’s say a clinic is valued at $1,000,000. The owner, after 30 years, is getting tired of managing all aspects but if they can sustain their current pace for another 2 years, they may achieve a price of $1,200,000.

In other words, is $200,000 worth it when someone feels they are reaching their limit? For some, it may definitely be the case but what if the owner wants to work less, travel more? What if the current pace is causing health issues? How much are these factors truly worth?

Engage your Expert Team
Before any decision is made, the most important step to take is to have a valuation completed. Knowing the value of the clinic helps the owner to determine if a sale would meet their objectives.

The next step is to discuss the sale with an accountant. Understanding the tax position of the owner is critical. Too many times, the owner wishes to sell but the professional corporation is not in its purest state to facilitate the best possible outcome.

Personal Considerations
The next key factor to consider is what will the owner do post-sale. Is the owner ready to stop practising? If the new owner wants the vendor to stay on, is this realistic? An owner needs to truly do some soul searching and decide after so many years of ownership if they can go back to marching to the beat of another owner’s drum. Relinquishing control sounds easy but for many owners it is not as simple as it sounds.

A sale does not mean the end of an owner’s identity. It also does not mean the end of a career either. A vendor can certainly discard the chains of administration and management in order to seek other opportunities – such as working part-time, doing locum work, or teaching.

So going back to the original question, when is the best time is to sell. Practice owners can quite honestly sell whenever they are ready. The present economic environment most definitely facilitates the successful sale of a practice.

In our current economy, buyers continue to exceed sellers which always creates a robust exit market. We have yet to see the flood of baby-boomer business owners ready to sell. Banks continue to provide 100% financing over 12 years to buyers.

Healthcare in general – be it for people or animals, despite or in spite of a pandemic, has proven to be a profitable business with a continued good economic future.

Therefore, a vendor never needs to feel forced into a sale. Instead, every vendor must simply decide if the time is right for them. Vendors need to do some homework and then move forward with confidence.

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

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Creating a Professional Corporation

Finance|Wealth, Resources, Tax & Legal Matters

Dr. Roxanne Arnal, CFP^®

Creating a Professional Corporation is a privilege that exists in most provinces in Canada. Many years ago, the tax benefits were obvious. With the tax reforms of the late 2010s, near perfect integration was achieved. Today, creating a professional corporation is no longer a simple decision.

Generally speaking, you should consider incorporation if:

You are earning more than you need to cover your expenses.
You have reached a financial position to save beyond your TFSA and RRSP.
You are taking on an ownership position and creating a business you can sell in the future.

What are the annual obligations of a corporation?

A corporation is a tax entity. Much like you, a person, is a tax entity. As a result, the corporation will need to file an annual tax return and pay taxes on earnings. In addition, the corporation needs to legally file a registry return – essentially to prove that the entity is still alive and confirm that the owners haven’t changed.

How are corporations taxed?

Unlike the graduated personal tax rates, corporate tax rates are fixed. Of course, with exceptions! One such exemption is the Small Business Deduction, where on the first $500,000 of active business taxable income, the corporation is taxed at about 12% depending on your province or territory. For earnings beyond this amount, the tax rate jumps up to the general corporate tax rate, which is about 50% depending on your province or territory. And of course, there are always exceptions.

And then there is passive income, like investment income, which is not eligible for the small business deduction. If you realize passive income greater than $50,000 in any given year, you will also start to chip away at the $500,000 maximum eligible for the small business deduction.

Why this matters?

If you are looking to create your professional corporation for the sole purpose of building your investment portfolio, you will likely be disappointed in the outcome. Like all tax planning strategies, there are pros and cons. Yes, when you take a business dollar and invest, you are investing about $0.88 versus about $0.50 personally at top marginal tax rates. So, from a compounding perspective, you can potentially grow your wealth quicker. The drawback occurs if your passive investment earnings exceed $50,000, on top of the tax integration that occurs when you get the money to your pocket.

Remember, in order to spend this money on fun stuff in your freedom years, you will need to get it out of the corporation. This will either occur by declaring dividends or taking salary. Both of these trigger tax before the money becomes available for your use. Tax integration today has removed many of the original benefits that existed in using this strategy.

What are the benefits of a Professional Corporation (PC)?

A professional corporation offers you another tax planning strategy. At the time of writing, having qualified shares in a PC that you can subsequently sell and utilize the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption (LCGE) – you have a win that can amount to a tax savings of up to $250,000. Yes Please! Of course, not so fast. There are rules around qualifying for the LCGE too.

From a wealth creation perspective, a corporation provides you with another opportunity to diversify your portfolio by adding choices for your future. We don’t know what the future tax system will be, so having access to many different options will leave you with greater flexibility.

There are of course other advantages. A corporation can own property and insurance policies. It can borrow money and manage expenses.

Setting up a Professional Corporation

Starting a corporation will require the filing of legal documents and applications. A professional corporation has the additional layer of the professional requirements. It is therefore critical that you review your college rules for corporations. These can be different from province to province, and from profession to profession, so be sure you and your lawyer understand the rules that apply to you.

I also recommend that you consult both your tax accountant and your lawyer prior to completing any applications. If you have been in business for several years, there may be assets to transfer into the corporation. If there will be multiple shareholders, as in a group practice, you will want to be sure that the share structure is set correctly and is adaptable for future needs.

Of course, you will also need to speak to your general insurer for both the commercial business coverage and liability coverage.

Lastly, be sure to speak with your financial advisor. As your Chief Financial Officer, I’m here to help you ask the right questions. I help you manage your team and ensure that you have thought about the potential issues, like shareholder agreements. Ah yes, another topic for another day!

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that I offer. Call or email today to start your plan.

Roxanne Arnal is a former Optometrist, Professional Corporation President, and practice owner. Today she is on a mission to empower the finances of her former colleagues.

ROXANNE ARNAL,

Optometrist and Certified Financial Planner

Roxanne splits EWO podcast hosting duties with Dr. Glen Chiasson.

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Writing NBEO Exams as a Canadian Optometry Student

NextGenOD, Perspectives

In this article, I will outline each of the three parts of the American optometric board examinations administered by the National Board of Examiners of Optometry (NBEO) as well as my personal experiences completing these exams as a Canadian optometry student, the study material I used, and my tips and tricks for success.

Part I of the NBEO exam is typically challenged in March of your third year of optometry school. This is an 8-hour exam consisting of 350 scored and 20 non-scored items, divided into two sessions with 185 questions within each session.

This exam covers various subjects that you have learned over your first three years of school, with a strong emphasis on ocular disease, ocular anatomy, optics, pharmacology, and binocular vision.

Part II of the NBEO exam is administered in December of your fourth year of optometry school and consists of 45-55 full cases, 15-20 mini-cases, and 15-20 solo items. This exam is also 8 hours divided into two sessions.

Approximately 120 questions are categorized as TMOD, which stands for treatment and management of ocular disease.

Part III of the NBEO exam can be taken beginning the summer of your third year and onwards. This exam must be taken at the National Testing Centre in Charlotte, North Carolina and is a practical examination performed on patients.

This exam consists of 4 stations where you perform specific skills on standardized patients.

What it Takes for Success

All three of these examinations involve loads of preparation and mental stamina.

To tackle Part I and Part II of NBEO, I purchased the KMK Signature course, which contains videos, flashcards, practice exams, a daily guided study plan, live lectures, the booster course, and the crash course, and so much more.

I decided to purchase this course because I wanted to ensure I provided myself with all the resources I would need to succeed. I think the extra content was valuable and would recommend this course if you want more structure.

The Core and Plus KMK courses also provide you with the content videos, practice questions, and practice exams, and many people use these courses and still succeed with their studying.

My Journey
In October of my third year, I started studying for Part I by going through the videos and started studying more intensely around December of that year. I was supposed to write Part I in March of 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this got pushed back to July of 2020.

I paused my studies for a few months and came back to it around June of 2020. After completing Part I at the end of July, I gave myself until September to rest and recharged my brain before starting to dive into Part II.

I wrote Part II in mid-November. Two and a half months is ample time to study for this exam. I had just written Part I, which left a lot of that information fresh in my mind, so some light review during the summer months might be helpful.

In addition to using the KMK signature course to study for Part II, I purchased OptoPrep for more practice questions. OptoPrep provides you with loads of practice questions and practice exams that simulate the actual NBEO examinations. I found this extremely helpful as the cases OptoPrep provides were comparable to the cases found on Part II of NBEO.

I completed Part III of NBEO in March of 2021. To prepare for this, I created a script for myself based on the rubric provided by NBEO.

Practice Makes Perfect

My advice is to practice, practice, practice and did I mention practice!

You want to have the script down like you are performing. I recorded myself going through the different stations and would listen back to make sure I hit all the points. I would practice saying my script to friends and family until I felt completely comfortable and barely had to think about what I was saying.

When it comes down to doing this exam, the testing environment is high stress, and if you practice enough, your nerves shouldn’t take over. It is essential to practice the skills and go through the motions full out with a friend or family member.

All three of these examinations are high stress and involve loads of stamina, so my main pieces of advice are finding some mental outlet, take breaks when you need them, and most importantly don’t forget to breathe.

You will make it through, and even if there are hiccups along the way or you don’t get the outcome you wanted on your first try, you will get it next time.

Trust your instincts, as this is the last hurdle you need to overcome to become a Doctor of Optometry.

ALEXA HECHT

Contributor NewOptometrist.ca

Undergraduate Studies:
University of Manitoba in Psychology/Biology

Optometry:
University of Waterloo – Class of 2021

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Leases and Landlords – Their Impact on Values and Practice Sales

Buying-Selling A Practice, Practice

The right of first refusal in a lease agreement

The first time the value of a lease is considered is should be when it is being signed. Understandably, the tenant looks at key items such as rent, additional costs, terms, renewals and any other clauses that may be inserted. After much negotiation, the lease is signed, and the owner begins running the practice.

If only things were truly that simple.
When the lease is first signed, many might not be thinking about the eventual sale. Agreeing to things like demolition and relocation clauses may be required but owners must know how these affect the value of the practice and its potential sale.

Obviously not all clauses are created equal. A demolition clause in a building of 30 stories is very different to one in a stand alone building at the corner of a major intersection. While a sale may not be on the horizon for many years down the road, it is important to pay attention to the finer points of the lease so that when the time does come, the assignment from one owner to the next is as smooth as it can possibly be.

An Interesting Case Study
Recently, we encountered a very interesting and frustrating situation. We successfully found a purchaser for our client. It was a very good fit and all parties were working in good faith towards a successful close.

In the course of a sale, the landlord is almost always notified after due diligence and financing are waived. An owner does not want to prematurely alert a landlord and risk the word getting out that they are selling.

Our situation was following this process nicely. When the time came to seek the landlord’s assignment of the lease it was declined. Even though the lease, and most do, stated that the landlord could not unreasonably withhold the assignment, in this case, it was withheld.

My lawyer friends will always agree that the definition of “unreasonably” is up for debate. However, the landlord was willing to provide clear rationale as to why the assignment was declined. Despite the bank providing an approval for 100% financing, the landlord was not confident in the new owner’s ability to run a successful business.

Many landlords will take a personal net worth statement from the applicant and most applicants withhold information for fear of being overcharged.

Unfortunately, not only did this particular purchaser not complete this exercise properly, the resumé provided did not give the landlord confidence that the purchaser could run a successful business.

The landlord felt this office was a key anchor in his plaza and did not want to risk the future success. The other factors that may have influenced the decision of the landlord lay with the vendor.

In the lease, it was clearly written that the practice could not be sold within two years of the lease being signed. It also required the vendor to notify the landlord prior to listing the office for sale. In this case, both of these requirements were not fulfilled.

A Good Lease Does Impact Value
Owners must be strategic when it comes to the sale of their practices. As a tenant, if you have been difficult or challenging, then it is possible these actions can influence the landlord down the road.

Many owners thought the pandemic, (particularly for those with practices located in retail shopping centres), gave them the opportunity to renegotiate lesser rent or remove such clauses. Unfortunately, this was often not the case. In fact, those seeking a rent reduction often found themselves with additional clauses that were not in the original lease.

Remember, in negotiations, everyone has to give something up in order to get something. Also, it seems that the pandemic made landlords even more cautious than before.

With multiple tenants unable to pay rent due to restrictions and limitations, landlords had added expenses that needed to be covered.

The Federal government may have provided some relief but in the end, the pandemic has certainly taught all of us valuable lessons.

A lease definitely affects the value and sale of a business.

The more carefully the lease is crafted, the better the odds that the practice will sell at a higher price, which helps facilitate an exit strategy for the owner.

By understanding the lease and its contents, the owner stands a greater chance of being more profitable while reducing the inherent risks and exposures that are typical with all commercial lease contracts.

It is very common for things to be left out or misconstrued, whether intentional or not. It is always best to have your lawyer or a qualified expert review the documentation process before a lease is signed.

A final word – make sure renewals are also reviewed carefully. Sometimes in the rush of taking care of this “one or two pager”, items can be included that were not in the original lease.

Practice owners have worked extremely hard to build and operate a successful practice. This practice is an asset that must be protected.

Therefore, regardless of what stage a practice is in, long-term planning and attention to detail are paramount when it comes to leasing commercial space.

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie has 30 years of experience in the industry as a former banker and now the Chief Operating Officer of ROI Corporation. Please contact her at Jackie.joachim@roicorp.com or 1-844-764-2020.

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Have you Considered a Sublease?

Career Options, NextGenOD, Sponsors

Sublease and associate opportunities available.

At Bailey Nelson, we believe in eyecare without trade-offs. Since launching in Canada 3.5 years ago, we’ve grown to 28 stores across Canada and will expand to more than 50 locations over the next 3 years.

We have sublease opportunities available for Optometrists who are passionate about eyecare and are driven to succeed. We also have part-time and associate positions available.

Optometrists who sublease with us with us can feel good about their patients coming into a warm and welcoming environment, staffed with friendly, down-to-earth people, who sell high quality glasses at fair prices.

When you work with Bailey Nelson, you get:

Financial benefits without the risks and headaches of private practice.
Keep 100% of the exam fees and spend your time focusing on your patients with little financial risk. Our team takes care of filling the appointment books (marketing), reception and pre-testing.

Incredible growth potential
Historically, fee revenue for Bailey Nelson optometrists grows between 25%- 30% per year.

The support you need to succeed
Your sublease is all-inclusive (optometry & pre-test equipment, online booking system, EMR, retinal camera, and staff support).

We’re actively recruiting for cities in B.C. (Kelowna, Vancouver and the Lower Mainland) and Ontario, and are expanding across the country.

If you like the idea of delivering excellent patient care, building your career, having a support network around you in a growing business then come and join us at Bailey Nelson.

For a confidential, no-obligation discussion contact me on +1 (236) 412-9911 or at laurie.lesser@baileynelson.com

Laurie Lesser, O.D
Eyecare Director Bailey Nelson Canada /UK

Quick Profile Information on Bailey Nelson.

This post is sponsored by Bailey Nelson Canada.

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