New Year – Financial House Cleaning

Finance|Wealth, Planning, Resources

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Dr. Roxanne Arnal, CFP®

Welcome to a new year! With every new year we make resolutions. We make commitments to ourselves – that may or may not last into February! Many of us also take those last days of the holiday break to clean out a closet, a basement, a garage – clean sweep if you will.

Financially speaking there are a few new year tasks I highly recommend, especially for my young adult clients.

Last Year in Review

How much did you make in 2021? And, how much did you actually spend? Have you physically looked at and reviewed your statements? Part of effective tax planning and living within your means requires you to have a good understanding of your money from the previous year.

Did you make any RRSP contributions in the last year? Should you have contributed more? Did you know that you have the first 60 days of the new year to add to your RRSP for the previous tax year? This is provided for you as a great planning opportunity. If you are subject to tax withholding from your pay at source, adding to your RRSP will typically enhance your tax refund – which in turn I recommend using to add to your TFSA. That aside, if you are self-employed, an RRSP contribution top up will reduce your taxes owing for the last tax year AND decrease the installments needed for the new tax year. Win win!

Expenses

Are you feeling that you don’t have money for an extra RRSP deposit? Perhaps it’s because you have lost track of where all your money goes. If you have never reviewed your spending, I highly recommend you take the time to set up a spread sheet and plug in all your expenses from the past year. Housing is often a number we can calculate off the top of our head with fairly good accuracy. What about how much you spend at Timmie’s or Starbucks? Take out lunch every day? Over-tap and other bank charges adding up? Pull up all your credit card and bank statements and plug in those numbers. Take the time to figure it out early and watch your wealth grow quickly. Knowledge is power.

Create a Better Cash Flow Plan

Now that you know where your money is going, set up a better cash flow plan for the new year. Input realistic projections for your income, add in your mortgage or rental expenses, up your other non-discretionary expenses for inflation, and then decide the best way to allocate your remaining income between living today, saving for short and mid term goals, and your future retirement. Remember, if you spend $60,000 a year now, after debt payments and taxes, you can expect to spend the same (adjusted for inflation) in retirement – unless of course you want to decrease your lifestyle in retirement – but what kind of fun is that?

Update your Net Worth Statement

At least annually, you should update your net worth statement. Like a business balance sheet, your personal net worth statement is the compilation of your assets and your liabilities. Assets are things that have value. Generally speaking, unless you collect cars, your vehicle is more of an expense than an asset. Carry a credit card balance? That’s a liability. If you’d like a template to ensure that you capture all the valuable pieces, send us a request at admin@claritywealthadvisory.ca

Check your Credit Report

Once a year the two main credit agencies in Canada have to provide you a free credit score report. They don’t make it easy, but you can find the contact information online for both Equifax and Transunion and I recommend you request both reports. Not only do you want to review the health of your credit score, you also want to review the list of credit items linked to you and ensure there are no errors. Aside from the obvious, this is also a great way to review if your identity has been compromised financially. It may also remind you about those store credit cards that you applied for years ago to get a discount on your purchase – yet forgot to cancel, or worse, didn’t completely pay off! They will try and entice you to sign up for their paid subscription services or monitoring – watch the fine print. There really isn’t a great reason for ongoing monitoring unless you have been compromised in the past. And please, don’t ever, send your SIN via email.

Clean Sweep

Now that you know where things stand, keep track of your current year cash flow habits. Work to plug those holes in your bucket so that you can truly reap the rewards of your hard work with all the good things you deserve. Happy New Year!

 

As your Chief Financial Officer, I’m here to help you identify your goals, set your plan in place, monitor and adjust it as the wind changes. I help you manage a team of financial professionals and ensure that you have thought about the potential issues and opportunities.

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that I offer. Call (780-261-3098) or email (Roxanne@claritywealthadvisory.ca) 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. Errors and Omissions exempt.

References:

https://www.consumer.equifax.ca/personal/help/faq/request-free-copy-credit-report/

https://www.transunion.ca/product/consumer-disclosure

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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Episode 25: Personal Perspectives on Vision Therapy & Its Future

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

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Dr. Patrick Quaid, immediate past-president of the Ontario College of Optometrists, founder and Director of Optometric Services Vue³ Vision Therapy Clinics, speaks with EWO podcast host Dr. Glen Chiasson about Vision Therapy – or as he prefers to call it – Neuro-Optometry.  Dr. Quaid has authored over 750 articles and publications. EWO listeners will be able to take his CE courses at no cost  – compliments of CRO (Clinical & Refractive Optometry) Journal.

 

Dr. Patrick Quaid

About the Guest

A young Patrick Quaid was traumatized by auto accident leaving him with an eye teaming issue and wiping out 2½ years of schooling. He went on to complete his Optometry training (UK) and achieved a PhD at the University of Waterloo (UW), School of  Optometry & Vision Science where he also subsequently served as an Adjunct Professor. Dr. Quaid is the immediate past president of the College of Ontario Optometrists and serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Optometric Examining Board of Canada.

 

 

Episode Notes

Just as Dr. Patrick Quaid is passing the presidential torch of the College of Optometrists of Ontario (COO) presidency, he and Dr. Chiasson talk about his path from childhood trauma to to developing a non-dispensing Vision Therapy practice group.

He delves into the details of his personal journey following a traumatic car accident as a child, from being bullied and taunted at school to finding an optometrist that was able to treat his vision problems and restore his academic performance.

Disappointed about the dearth of  vision therapy instruction at optometry school (UK), he was motivated to learn more about how the brain makes the eyes work by pursuing a doctorate at University of Waterloo, School of Optometry & Vision Science.

Dr. Quaid shares his motivation and experiences in writing a book for parents of children with academic issues and co-authoring a chapter on concussion in a medical textbook with Neuro-Ophthalmologist, Dr. Eric Singman.

Following completion of his PhD, he explains how his journey evolved from a primary care eye doc with the IRIS Group to the establishment of the VUE³ Vision Therapy clinics. He credits the business of eye care experience gained from his stint at IRIS and speaks fondly of the mentorship from IRIS founder,  the late Dr. Francis Jean.

Finally, he provides insights as to how Optometry’s path from “special interest” to a true “Specialist” designation is unfolding in three disciplines, including Vision Therapy.

Resources

 

 

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson

Dr. Glen Chiasson is a 1995 graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He owns and manages two practices in Toronto. In 2009, he co-hosted a podcast produced for colleagues in eye care, the “International Optometry Podcast”. He is a moderator of the Canadian Optometry Group, an email forum for Canadian optometrists. As  a host of  “Eyes Wide Open”, Glenn  looks forward to exploring new new technologies and services for eye care professionals.

Dr. Chiasson enjoys tennis, hockey, and reading. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

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

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Looking Towards a Brighter 2022

Practice, Resources

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Most of us can certainly say that 2021 was an improvement on 2020. Many of us came to the end of 2021 feeling very hopeful and encouraged as we felt the worst was behind us.

Then the Omicron variant entered the picture and quickly changed (and perhaps even dashed) some of these hopes. None of us could have predicted that such a highly transmissible variant would come along. I am hopeful, though, that the end is finally in sight. It might be foolish to make another prediction, but I think we must believe we are in the final stages of this pandemic.

Why am I so hopeful?
We all know that healthcare offices can adapt despite all the measures and protocols required to keep staff and patients safe. We know a lot more about SARS-CoV-2 today than we did 18 months and three waves ago. Whether you choose to be vaccinated or not, the fact is that we at least have more protection against severe illness due to COVID-19.

It is true that during something like a pandemic, practice owners must be more vigilant at business planning. Ideally, this should be an exercise undertaken at the start of every new year but as we move forward there are always the same questions that must be asked in order to achieve success. Perhaps, as you read through them, you may see these are the same questions that should have been asked prior to the pandemic.

How well do you know your patients?
Any growth that one wishes to attain in practice, must begin with this. The COVID-19 crisis has reinforced what we already know: we must communicate in very clear and precise terms. In other words, speak to your patients (through social media, in person etc.) and share information in language that means something to them. The pandemic has taught us that any messages we share must be relevant. Personal/human connections were even more important in the last 18 months when social distancing became a way of life.

Are you retaining and increasing referrals by ensuring the last best experience your patient had?
There is no doubt that all our expectations were already on the rise before COVID-19. But when the coronavirus hit, digital transformation accelerated overnight. Savvy owners focused on improving their social media presence to communicate and educate patients as well as potential patients. In-person appointments became very different due to PPE protocols and social distancing, thus making personal experiences even more challenging. Again, the smart practice owner ensured that patients felt appreciated and valued.

Do people feel valued in your office?
COVID-19 has placed a new emphasis on relationships. Staffing during the pandemic has proven to be a massive challenge and point of stress for owners. Successful owners have worked very hard to capitalize on the strength of their bonds prior to March 2020. Trust and integrity are fundamental to driving practice success. Trust will be built by and rewarded to those that listen to the needs of staff (and patients) and then craft solutions to meet those needs.

How flexible have you become? Like it or not, COVID-19 has created an irreversible trend for owners to be nimble and adapt quickly. Hopefully, this crisis has helped to create a mindset of responsiveness that is likely to be permanent. Never take things for granted and run-on auto pilot. Always continue to observe and listen. Flexibility enables one to make faster decisions.

Have leadership skills improved?
COVID-19 has created a leadership culture of collaboration combined with the urgent need for resilience. A good leader is pro-active. There is no doubt that news of the 4th wave and of newer variants of concern on the horizon is upsetting. But if we look at pandemics of the past, subsequent waves have been part of their life cycles as well.

The purpose of these questions is merely to illustrate the importance of developing and implementing strategies that are essential to maintain practice value and to drive growth in a post-Covid-19 world. We all know that we cannot continue to do things the way we always have.

No doubt we have had to become accustomed to adjusting and changing. However, my hope is that even in a pandemic we have comfort in knowing that the answers to these questions should have been a priority prior to the pandemic. Despite what is currently happening, one can be successful if they choose to be. At least in 2022, a fresh start enables owners to prioritize the critical things that influence success.

It is a fact that the pandemic will create huge lasting changes that will take years to fully understand, which can feel scary. Yuval Noah Harari, once wrote that, “people are usually afraid of change because they fear the unknown. But the single greatest constant of history is that everything changes.”

The world has adapted to big disruptions before, and we will do it again.

Jackie Joachim, COO ROI Corp

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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Insight with Dr. Patrick Quaid

Insights, Practice, Resources

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UK Trained Optometrist
PhD in Vision Science University of Waterloo (2005)
USA Board Certification FCOVD designation (2011)
Founder & Director of Optometric Services, VUE³ Vision Therapy Clinics

Dr. Quaid founded VUE out of his passion for visual rehabilitation, Having suffered the consequences of a brain injury at age 8 years in an auto accident, he knows first-hand what it can do to the academic potential of a child. He has also written a book for parents of children with learning difficulties on how vision is often a missing critical piece that is overlooked.

Dr. Patrick Quaid

Optometrist, FCOVD, MCOptom, PhD
Immediate Past-President, College of Optometrists of Ontario

 

Why did you choose your field?
When I was about 8 years old in Ireland, unfortunately I was involved in a car accident and ended up with both double vision and a speech impediment as a result. After quite the search, we eventually found both a speech and language pathologist and an Optometrist who made a massive difference to me.

At the time, although it was a very basic form of visual rehabilitation, it made a massive difference in my life by eliminating the double vision at near.  This inspired me to pursue eyecare and try to make the same difference in the lives of others.

What is something you have done in your practice to set you apart?
After being extremely disappointed not to have learned a lot about VT in optometry school, I opted to pursue a PhD in Vision Science. After having completed the PhD and post-doctorate year at Waterloo (and some time in private practice), I opted to set up a “vision therapy only” clinic to essentially integrate research and real-world clinical interventions and track all data with the intention of publishing it and using it for further enhancements to our protocols. In essence, our clinic is a “living lab”.

Peer reviewed evidence is not just published papers but also clinical experience. Both of course are vital, but the latter has been majorly ignored and needs to be acknowledged. This “iterative process” allows us to constantly improve the rehab process to achieve higher rates of graduation from our program.

Have you changed since high school?
Majorly. In high school, although on the junior AAA national team (point guards are not meant to be tall), I was a very quiet and introverted student. Although “a straight A student” – few knew that it was a lot of work for me as I still had visual issues (i.e., tracking issues, headaches). I got through high school out of pure sweat equity.

Now in my 40s, one of my biggest lessons is realizing that wisdom and intelligence are not necessarily correlated. I know plenty of wise people who barely finished high school (my dad) and plenty of PhDs that lack common sense. I honestly had way more fun during my PhD years, when I was allowed to “think for myself” and form my own ideas.

I think primary school and high school are more about “teaching you what to think”, but of course education should be about teaching you how to think. As WB Yeats says, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”, could not agree more.

Tell me something few people know about you?
By pure luck, I ended up being an extra in the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and got to meet Mr. Tom Hanks personally (as he wished to hear someone speaking my native tongue Gaelic). I was serving the Irish Defence Forces at the time. I also speak three languages (Gaelic, English and French) and am learning my fourth (Turkish) thanks to my wife!

What business books would you advise other ECPs to read?

Definitely “The Ideal Team Player” (by Patrick Lencioni). The approach Pat Lencioni takes with his “Humble, Hungry and Smart” rubric is pure genius. Not just in terms of figuring out “who to hire and ensuring you have the right team”, but also his additional  “Working Genius” model also allows you to ensure you have “right person right role” essentially. Game changing book!

What habits in your opinion make you a successful person?
I have made my share of mistakes over the years like everyone else. However, I firmly believe that these three habits have saved me (i) never being so entrenched in my position that you are unwilling to change perspective, (ii) always taking the position that everyone (yes, even people you don’t like) have something to teach you and (iii) realize that everything is earned and not “deserved” and that the world is not always fair. Also, as we all get older, we tend to be less “full of fire and vinegar” and some more humility. We tend to get to “know ourselves better” over time.

I am always on a journey to know myself better – sounds odd, but you would be amazed how many people have not taken the time to figure themselves out. “Know thyself” is key to being successful. For example, impressing people is something younger people always try to do, this gets less as we get more self-confident and older. My dad (a career drill instructor in the army) always used to say, “if you knew how quickly we forget the dead, you would try less to impress the living”. Having serves for 35 years and done over a dozen tours internationally with the UN, I think he has a point. Being successful #1 means “knowing thyself”.

Which ECP leaders do you admire?
It is important to have people you admire, mainly because you then think about “why you admire them” which invariably moves you to emulate them in a good way. Two people come to mind immediately here. Dr. WC Maples OD FCOVD (Southern College of Optometry, retired; USMC retired) and Dr. Eric Singman MD PhD (Johns Hopkins Neuro-Ophthalmology).

Dr. Maples (or simply “WC” as most call him) is a gem to optometry to be frank. He is one of the wisest, most humble men I have ever met. In his 80s now, he is not only an absolute GENIUS in vision therapy and knew the “OD originators of VT”, but he is also a published researcher and a veteran (USMC, Vietnam). He is always willing to help others and has that quiet strength” that is only attained by “success with significant adversity.

Dr. Eric Singman is simply a powerhouse in “bringing people together” by always wanting to collaborate to publish data, regardless of politics. I think the main reason I admire both, is that they have achieved so much yet remain so humble and have a habit of “telling it like it is”.

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Episode 24: Specsavers Shares Blueprint for Clinical Approach in Canada

Eyes Wide Open, Podcasts

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Naomi Barber, Director of Optometry, Specsavers Canada shares thoughts with Roxanne Arnal on Specsavers’ approach  particularly as it relates to data modelling and working with various health stakeholders to improve accessibility and drive  more positive outcomes in through its optometry network.

 

Naomi Barber, Director of Optometry, Specsavers Canada

About the Guest

Since qualifying as an optometrist in 2011, Naomi Barber, Director of Optometry at Specsavers Canada, has subscribed to the philosophy that quality eye care should be simple, accessible, and convenient. Naomi has been involved in shaping the clinical roadmap for Specsavers, a major part of which was building the largest known dataset of optometric patient outcomes to measure impact on early detection of eye disease in Australia and New Zealand. Most recently, she has moved to Vancouver to lead the clinical strategy for Specsavers in Canada.

 

Episode Notes

Guest Naomi Barber provides an update on the Specsavers roll out, starting with the rebranding of specific BC locations to how it may unfold across the country through practice acquisitions or greenfield launches.  She shares Specsavers’ values and how these ultimately translate into the optometric partner selection process.

Insights garnered from Canadian health care research and revealed to her tremendous opportunity for Canadian optometry to improve patient awareness of optometric services.

Naomi enthusiastically shares the Australian-New Zealand experience on how Specsavers were able to leverage their 10 million plus patient data set to help develop evidence-based programs to improve patient outcomes in diabetes. Working with the Australia’s national health care system and key stakeholders, including Diabetes Australia, they were able to improve patient communication, compliance and outcomes.

Naomi directly addresses the potential implementation and challenges of a similar program in Canada, where health care is provincially administered, and eye care has been chronically underfunded.

Resources

 

 

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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Path to Academy Fellowship: A Personal Journey of Professional Development

NextGenOD, PathFinders, Perspectives

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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. She is currently providing care to patients in Mississauga and Brampton. In her free time she likes to go on hikes and explore new geographical sites.

Dr. Sana Owais, OD, FAAO, shares her American Academy of Optometry (AAO) experiences with NewOptometrist Editor Dr. Jaclyn Chang; from AAO Student Chapter fundraising to ultimately earning Fellowship herself!

 

Jaclyn: Can you tell our audience about your involvement with the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) as an optometry student?

Sana: I worked with my lovely counterpart – you, as our Vice-President! We were part of the University of Waterloo AAO Student Chapter where we raised funds for students to attend Academy 2016 in Anaheim, California.

I was delighted that we were able to sponsor a few Waterloo students to attend Academy, one of the largest global optometry conferences! The fundraiser was a highlight of optometry school. Another highlight was when we got to meet guest speakers at our Waterloo events, including Dr. Barbara Caffery, FAAO (past-president of the AAO) and Dr. Derek MacDonald, FAAO (executive with the Optometric Glaucoma Society). We were very fortunate! Additionally, while I was a part of the student chapter, I attained my student fellowship at the Chicago Academy (2017) meeting.

Jaclyn: Yes, it was definitely fun to work together! Can you talk about your personal journey to getting an AAO fellowship? What is the process and what are the requirements?

Sana: To become a Fellow, you first register online in order to create your application for candidacy. Then, you get assigned reviewers who will be evaluating your submissions (e.g. poster, case report, or published article).

My reviewers were Academy Fellows from all over the world. I had three reviewers, from the U.K., Canada, and Spain. It was nice to have a diverse committee. They were able to give varied feedback which elevated my case reports.

There are three different candidacy paths you can go through. You can become a clinical candidate, a scientific candidate, or special category candidate. I pursued the clinical candidate which requires 50 points through various activities such as, leadership in the optometry community, case reports, publications, or presenting an Academy lecture.

My goal was to complete the clinical candidate requirements with the combination of a residency and three case reports.

After submitting my three case reports, communicating back-and-forth with my reviewers, and revising my case reports with all of the suggested edits, I got an email saying that I was eligible for the oral interview at Academy, (Orlando 2019)!

A few weeks before the oral interview I reviewed my case reports, read related literature, and practiced summarizing the key points of each case report. At the Pearson airport waiting lounge, while I was waiting for my fight to Orlando, I noticed that the person next to me was also reviewing some Academy conference material. It turns out I was sitting next to a current fellow who ended up giving me some useful tips for the oral interview!

At the Academy conference, I did a 15-minute in-person interview with the same three committee members that had evaluated my work. (It was so exciting to meet them in person!). They were all very friendly and supportive. They asked me probing questions about my cases and some other questions which, to be honest, caught me off guard.

It was incredibly nice to meet them in person. I ended up recognizing one of the assessors who wa  a guest speakers at one of our previous UW AAO student chapter events. It was exciting to see things come full circle!

After the interview, I waited in a different room while the committee deliberated on their decision. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, I found that I had been granted the Fellowship!

I went into a different room where I received a fellowship certificate and shook hands with Dr. Barbara Caffery! In the evening, we had a Fellows’ banquet where all of the incoming fellows were inaugurated. It was so special.

Jaclyn: Awesome, congrats! What are the benefits of fellowship?

Sana: There are several benefits such as, discounted Academy meeting registration fees, access to Optometry and Vision Science, which is a monthly journal containing papers on clinical cases, inclusion on the Academy’s online directory of Fellows, and of course being able to add the F.A.A.O. designation with your name.

One of my favourite parts of fellowship is the requirement to attend the Academy meeting every few years. At Academy you have access to a plethora of networking opportunities where you can meet some of the world’s leading clinicians in various fields. It’s like a big academic party!

Jaclyn: Do you have any other advice for optometrists or students who would be interested in pursuing a fellowship?

Sana: My advice would be to make a blueprint on how you will attain the fellowship, (i.e.plan which combination of case reports, posters, and or residency you would like to do) and then follow that plan. Easier said than done! Luckily, I had two terrific supervisors, Dr. Shamroze Khan, OD, FAAO, and Dr. Tammy Labreche, OD, FAAO, who kept me on track and kept me motivated through the process!

You don’t necessarily have to do a residency in order to achieve a fellowship if you’ve already completed a few publications or done leadership in the optometry community. If that is the case, you may already have some of the building blocks necessary to attain the FAAO.

Everyone’s journey to fellowship is different. Like the common adage, ‘it’s not the destination, it’s the journey’. The learning experiences that you take on in order to attain the fellowship is where the true enrichment lies, rather than attaining the fellowship itself.

Residency and fellowship were absolutely worth pursuing. It was a difficult year-and-half, but in the end it was worth it.

I felt earning a fellowship was like taking our optometry training to the next level. For example, after one accomplishes a goal in his/her professional life, one may ask ‘what’s next’? Although, it may be easy to become complacent in our professional pursuits after graduation, it is important to keep upgrading ourselves because the profession is continually evolving, so perhaps fellowship could be a next step!

The next 2022 Academy meeting is in San Diego, so hopefully more of us can attend this year. Fingers crossed!

Jaclyn: Great advice! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience on this topic with our audience!

For more information on fellowship, visit: https://www.aaopt.org/membership/becoming

 

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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Insight with Naomi Barber

Insights, Practice, Resources

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Optometrist since 2011 (Australia)
Currently resides in Vancouver, BC.
Leads the clinical strategy for Specsavers in Canada

Naomi subscribes to the philosophy that quality eye care should be simple, accessible, and convenient. She has been involved in shaping the clinical roadmap for Specsavers, a major part of which was building the largest known dataset of optometric patient outcomes to measure impact on early detection of eye disease in Australia and New Zealand.

Naomi Barber

Director of Optometry, Specsavers Canada.

 

Why did you choose your field?
My optometrist changed my life. I developed an accommodative esotropia at age 2 and was scheduled for resection surgery (in the 80’s!).

My mother took me for a second opinion to Dr. Ed Howell, a children’s specialist. He took time and care to ensure I was patched and trained, and by age 4 my eyes were straight with correction.

I credit him with my development and regaining my confidence as a child, even if I had to wear hexagonal glasses and a patch! I spent a lot of time in his chair, and he even attended my graduation from Optometry School. It’s always been at the heart of why I entered this profession.

What is currently the most exciting thing in your field to help patients?
In our field, we are now enabled to deliver preventative care through advancement in research and technology. Whether we’re talking about myopia management or detection of asymptomatic disease, optometrists are practicing in an era where we have the tools to really stretch our expertise and help numerous patients. It’s now up to us to explore how we raise patient eye health awareness to really maximize the impact!

What is your definition of success or what habits make you a successful person?
There is something that resonates with me and I’ve held close to me in life so far: it’s to do what you can, with what you have, to the best of your ability, and try to do it every day.

Even the biggest moments in life are really an accumulation hard work, effort, disappointments, and moments of resilience. It’s the integrity with which you strive that really gives the greatest satisfaction and fulfilment, no matter the outcome.

Last indulgence?
A $12.00 bunch of carrots from an organic grocer in Vancouver’s Yaletown… I love vegetables but in hindsight I’d classify that as an overindulgence.

Tell me something few people know about you?
I’m first generation Australian (and very proud). My mother is Indian but born in Malaysia and my father is English.

I ate pies and rice for dinner often as a child. I’ve been very fortunate to grow up surrounded by people who were curious, embraced my differences and opened my eyes to their perspectives.

This mentality of humanity, openness and embracing diversity is something I carry with me, and something I’d like to champion more and more as I live my life.

What is one thing you own that you should probably throw away but never will?
I have a lucky scrunchie that has been with me since my first year of high school. It was around my wrist in every exam I took during high school and has been with me through lots of major milestones in my career.

It’s purple with sequins (hideously kitsch) and in my handbag pocket right now.

I’m not at all superstitious but I do make a point of ensuring I keep it close!

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Reinventing Your Dispensary for Success

Human Resources, Marketing, Merchandising, Resources, Training & Onboarding

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How can an Eyewear Styling Sales Strategy Grow Your Practice?

Incorporating a systematic and consistent Eyewear Styling Experience in your practice is a proven strategy to attract high ticket clients, differentiate your practice and increase your bottom-line profit.

Create A Success Story!
The story starts with that first impression when the client walks into your practice.  You only have 30 seconds to make a positive first impression and 55% of that first impression is based on what your clients see.

People are checking out your office design, clothing style and eyewear and deciding that quickly if they like you, your skill set and whether they trust you.  This all happens before you have a chance to say, hello!

The Power of Vision Science Plus Fashion
Eyewear Styling sales training provides you and your staff a new approach to pivot from the eye health conversation to the eyewear fashion conversation which energizes your patients and inspires them to purchase on an emotional level.

As eye care professionals, the focus is on eye health, prescription specifics and lens technology to provide the best possible vision.  Yet, only 1 in 10 Canadians purchase more than one pair of eyeglasses at a time and many simply walk out the door to purchase eyewear online or at a different location.

3 Changes Providing Opportunity
While the pandemic has generated many attitudinal and behavioural changes, the following three have helped to create new opportunities for the independent practice.

  1.  A shift to online video meetings as the new normal has lifted eyewear up the ranks in fashion accessories.
  2. Consumers care how they “show-up” on screen and personal image is important, especially in business.
  3. Covid-weary consumers are less inclined to shop around and more likely to make their excursions a “one-stop” experience.

Optometrists have every opportunity to capture this lucrative market.  Every pair of eyeglasses starts with a spectacle prescription – and almost all spectacle RXs start with a comprehensive eye exam and refraction.  Your dispensary is often the first and last area of your office that people see and is vital to that first impression.  This all-important piece of real estate in your business should be given attention and a healthy pulse.   This is the area where you will serve and style with expert advice.  It is your business to loose!

What is “Eyewear Styling”?
Incorporating a fashion forward eyewear styling process will allow your practice to capitalize on these opportunities.  The good news is that you already know the science part and the fashion part can be learned.

Eyewear styling is more than knowing eyewear trends for the season; it is the art of matching eyewear to facial features, clothing style and the client’s personal image.

Personal image is how one walks, talks, dresses and projects themselves to the world.

Process-oriented Training is Key
Discovering your client’s personal image and how they would like to be perceived can be achieved during the eyewear selection process.   There are serious risks to “judging a book by its cover” or “assuming” anything but there is power in observation, language and discussion techniques that can unlock the secrets.  This process leads to an engaging sales conversation for your staff and your patients.

Get a Free Frame board Audit

A consistently applied eyewear styling system provides you and your team a new sales language and the confidence to have informed conversations with your patients about their individual style and the impression they want to make with their eyewear fashion.

Your team members can be trained to speak a language that resonates on an emotional level, and evokes the feeling, “hey, you get me?”.  This is like oxygen to them.  Post-pandemic, people are craving an experience that makes them feel great.

What’s the Payoff?
Let’s face it… optical dispensaries all start to look the same to the average eyewear consumer.  Differentiating your space and your sales conversation can be energizing for you, your team, and your patients.  Creating a “Styling” area and upbeat fashion vibe in your office allows you to immediately stand out from your competition.

Developing a clear eyewear styling sales strategy helps your team members to work together and confidently make the offer for more than one pair.  This is productive and ultimately increases your revenues achieving a healthy bottom line.  Once you have completed the eye exam, you have a captive audience in your dispensary, and this is a huge opportunity to completely wow your clients and style successfully.

When you offer an exceptional eyewear styling session, people want to stay, people want to buy, and people want to talk about you!   Your clients will market for you, and you will organically attract repeat and referral business in your community.

WENDY BUCHANAN

Wendy Buchanan, Eyewear Image Expert is a Registered Optician, Image Consultant and Educator.  She is the creative force behind the Be Spectacular Eyewear Styling System® for Eye Care Professionals.  Wendy helps eye care practices to systematically reinvent their eyewear dispensaries to create an exceptional buying experience and increase profits.

Connect with Wendy on Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/bespectaculartraining/

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Preparing for the New Year: Setting Goals

Finance|Wealth, Planning, Practice, Practice Metrics & Benchmarks

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Dr. Roxanne Arnal, CFP®

It’s that time of year where we are trying to get everything done – to close out the year before we head into next year with a fresh start.

For the past year, I have had several goals. Some were simple checklist goals, such as reading twelve books. Sounds easy enough, but I haven’t yet achieved it. I have several books that are in the incomplete stage, so there is still time.

Other goals, like forecasting goals, were and weren’t achieved.

And lastly, my dream goals. While they are the hardest to achieve, they are what I had the most success with in 2021.

As a planner, I talk about goals at every juncture. They provide us with the direction we need to build out the plan. Often, I find that the conversation starts with checklist goals, and then we build from there.

Generally, people don’t know, or are unwilling to share, their dream goals without some prodding. But let’s face it, dreams are what get us excited to get out of bed in the morning!

Checklist Goals
Check ListChecklist goals are those that you already know how to do. They are merely items with or without a deadline that you believe you either must do or want to do.

Read twelve books in a year. Paint the house. Host Christmas dinner for the family.

These are generally simple “what” goals. What do I want and/or need to do? Boring, but nonetheless, necessary in order for us to advance.

 

Forecast Goals
These are goals that you think you can do. These are typically based on past performance and outline projections for the New Year.

Most of us are very familiar with forecasting in our businesses. Based on what we accomplished this year, we expect to accomplish 10% more next year. That kind of thing.

In financial planning, we often use forecasting to plan out your retirement needs. Based on how much money you spend on your lifestyle today, we can forecast what your need will be in 20 or 30 years for example.

We make assumptions based on inflation and the rate of return of your investments. We add checklist goals for your contributions to your RRSP and TFSA for example. Then, when you meet with us for follow-ups, we make the necessary adjustments and continue ahead.

Forecasting goals provide us with direction and instructions as to how to proceed. So I often refer to these as “how” goals.

Dream Goals
Do you remember being a young child and dreaming that someday you’d be a firefighter? A teacher? An Olympic ice skater? An astronaut, An Optometrist?

Well maybe not about being an Optometrist, but here you are!

These dreams got you out of bed in the morning and into a classroom to absorb all the knowledge you could. They had you climbing ladders outside your house. They had you training at the gym and spending 20 hours a week at the ice rink.

For some of us, the dreams were vivid and real and pushed us to succeed. For others, they were merely passing by, and we updated them regularly as our interests changed.

At their heart, dream goals cause us to grow. They cause us to seek out new experiences and push us to achieve something more. Dream goals motivate us to get out of bed and charge forward into our day with excitement.

Then life happens. For many of us, we forget how to dream because we are caught in what we thought we are supposed to be doing. We get busy with running through the motions of being a parent, a business owner, a spouse. And we forget to dream.

It’s not that any of these accomplishments are bad. These are all wonderful things, but we often end up getting stuck and don’t grow. Why?

Connecting with Your Why?
That’s exactly it. We forget our WHY. At the core, dream goals are our why. I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Start with WHY.

We need to take the time to find some silence, to shut off the devices and just be in the moment with ourselves and reconnect to our WHY. Why did you want to be a parent? Why do you want to own your business?

I often must prod my clients in the first couple of meetings to uncover their why. To understand what is truly important to them and what they would love to achieve if only given the opportunity.

This is why. Why I do what I do. Why it’s important. It’s about Your WHY.

Prepare for the New Year
I encourage you to take some time this holiday season to connect with yourself. To figure out your why.

When we become present, we are often surprised at what we learn about ourselves. When we reconnect to our why, we often find out we are a lot happier than the motions would indicate. When we define our why, we can create some amazing dream goals.

Set all three types of goals for the New Year. Then give me a call or an email and share them with me. When we share those goals with someone else, we create accountability. And when we create accountability, we increase our chances for success.

My dream goal doesn’t change often. I dream to write my own book and get it published. In 2021, I completed the first draft and shared it with someone who has agreed to co-author with me. It might not have gotten published yet, but we are moving in that direction. It pushes me to grow. To be vulnerable and keeps me connected to my why.

In 2020, I wrote my dream goal as it pertains to my business. I made leaps and bounds in that area in 2021 and continue to build out avenues that open more doors. I didn’t know the how when I wrote this goal, but I continue to remain focused and somehow, the how seems to be unfolding around me.

As one year rolls into the next, I wish you a list of goals. Some that you will check off to show discipline and progress. And then some big, audacious goals that will force you to grow.

When you grow, you live.

I wish you all a year ahead of good health, much laughter, and tremendous growth.

As your Chief Financial Officer, I’m here to help you identify your goals, set your plan in place, monitor and adjust it as the wind changes. I help you manage a team of financial professionals and ensure that you have thought about the potential issues and opportunities.

Have more questions than answers? Educating you is just one piece of being your personal CFO that I offer. Call (780-261-3098) or email (Roxanne@cfspsc.ca) 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. 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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Well Done You!

Human Resources, Practice, Resources

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Has anyone told you how well you have managed since March 15, 2020? Well, hopefully you have heard these words many times!

At this time last year, I was writing about how glad we were to see 2020 come to an end. COVID threw the world into utter chaos, and many wondered how and when we would recover.

Looking back, did you ever think you would have the courage, stamina, and leadership skills to get yourself to this point?

Owners of offices really do deserve accolades for navigating these treacherous waters. Even if you are not an owner, you are still providing care to people who are facing anxieties and fears more than ever before. For this, all optometrists, opticians and staff, deserve a huge pat on the back.

Life is Full of Learning
The global pandemic has taught us countless lessons about the world in which we live. One of these lessons is that life can be utterly unpredictable.

While we could never have imagined our world being turned upside down in March 2020, we learned the importance of being flexible and adaptable. This pandemic altered our personal lives, and drastically changed our professional lives—and it continues to do so, even as we approach the end of 2021.

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic created profound changes to the way we work, play, and interact.

While healthcare offices had to adapt to treat patients in “safer” environments, the people who visit your clinic have been impacted by the pandemic because their work environments have been impacted.

Prior to the pandemic, professional and personal identities were not connected.

Merging of Personal and Professional Life
However, after Zoom calls from home offices, with spouses, children, and pets making numerous appearances, your patients’ professional and personal identities have merged and this most likely will not change as we move into a post-pandemic normal.

As a healthcare provider, you do not make small talk anymore. Patients are presenting with varying degrees of stress, and perhaps, anxiety. Their need to make a clear division between work and home life is no longer viable.

Because professional and personal identities have become intertwined, people’s stress levels cannot help but increase, work and personal life can no longer be treated as two separate concepts.

If we thought we had a difficult time maintaining the balance before, this pandemic really challenged us to create work-life balance.

Importance of Soft Skills
Owners and their teams have been forced to communicate differently with patients who had to cope through isolation, the forced closure of schools, places of worship, community centres and businesses.

You were always sensitive to patients, but your empathy skills had to triple as you spoke to people who were prevented in seeing loved ones and doing the things they loved. And you did this while you went through the same stressors of social-distancing and or self-isolating.

Leadership is never easy. Managing a practice pre-Covid was not easy. This pandemic took everyone and everything to new levels.

Dealing with staff, managing the finances, attracting new patients, and managing existing patients was enough to handle.

Managing a practice during Covid is difficult to say the least. As exhilarating and rewarding as ownership is, the
reality of being responsible for so much can take its toll. Hopefully, coming out of this chaotic time, owners have been able to reflect on the positives.

2022 Might Well be Your Time
If you own your own practice or are thinking of getting into ownership, 2022 is the time. You have already demonstrated tremendous courage in navigating the past 20 months.

You deserve so much credit for working tirelessly to preserve the mental health of your patients, staff, and families. Those who took the plunge to pursue ownership ought to be commended as well.

Pandemic aside, people continue to buy and sell practices.

Instead of doing the traditional goal setting as many of us do, moving into the new year, perhaps, we can look back at all we have accomplished and be grateful we are entering 2022 with fresh perspective, optimism, and a new sense of purpose.

Today, while numbers continue to creep up in some communities, arguments between those vaccinated and those who are not rage on but on which we can all agree is that we are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Saying goodbye to 2021 and wishing you continued health, prosperity, and peace in 2022.

Jackie Joachim, COO ROI Corp

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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