Should staff be able to use personal cell phones while at work?

Human Resources, Managing Others

|

0
(0)

In our last article, we discussed the importance of having an Employee Handbook. This time, we wanted to specifically address an issue we often get asked about: what the rules around cell phone, office computer for personal things, and accessing personal email should be.

Technology has introduced an interesting quandary: while technology can improve office efficiency and productivity, there is also a concern that personal use of technology can decrease an employee’s efficiency and productivity. Let’s begin by addressing cell phone use. There are some programs now that require an employee to sign into their EMR account with a two-step process that includes receiving a code on their phone to gain access. In these cases, the employees must have access to their cell phones at all times. And access will inevitably mean use.

Many owners worry, rightly so, about the loss of productivity in these cases. However, there is another school of thought. What if having access to their phone increases their workplace satisfaction and that happiness translates into more productive employees?

According to Forbes magazine in an article entitled “Promoting Employee Happiness Benefits Everyone” dated December 13, 2017, Happy employees are also good new for organizations: The stock prices of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for rose 14% per year from 1998 to 2005, while companies not on the list only reported a 6% increase. Perhaps the best course of action is to set some clear expectations around discrete cell phone use. Many offices find it helps to implement a policy of keeping cell phones in drawers – out of sight out of mind – when not needed.

It is imperative that employees are discouraged from using practice computers or email for personal use. This restriction has less to do with decreased productivity and more to do with the risks associated with viruses and breaches in security. Setting up a practice email is fairly easy through email. This way the owner or office manager can also keep an eye on email transactions to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Almost everyone uses Google, both for business and personal use. In order to create clear line between the two, consider setting up a laptop in the “staff area/lunch room” that can be used for personal searches. This type of set up will set up the right expectations and make it easy to do so.

Whatever your policy is, make sure you outline every detail of it in your employee manual so that your expectations around this is very clear. Technology is changing the face of how we do business and how we organize our personal lives. We need to embrace technology in our practices to stay relevant in today’s marketplace. Setting clear expectations for personal use of technology will make it easier for all involved.

 

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Every Office Should Have an Employee Handbook

Human Resources, Managing Others, Training & Onboarding

|

0
(0)

An employee handbook lays the foundation for the practice’s expectations for their employees. The handbook should describe every office policy from what normal working hours are to what to do in case of illness.

With the introduction of legalized marijuana recently, we have advised our clients that it is a good time to update their Employee Handbooks. Just as it is not appropriate to consume alcohol either before or during work, it would also be inappropriate to consume marijuana before or during work. Many people do not realize that smoking marijuana is not the same as a cigarette. As well, a prescription for medical marijuana does not entitle a person to come to work impaired.

While you’re at it, there are other parts of the handbook that should also be reviewed. How many sick days are employees allowed, paid or unpaid? How many vacation days are employees allowed? How does seniority apply in your practice?

Workplace Safety or Occupational Safety boards for each province have many stipulations when it comes to health and safety in the workplace. Are your policies and procedures clearly articulated?  Have you designated a Health & Safety Ambassador to answer any questions employees might have?

If your expectations are clearly laid out in a Handbook, it is easier to have difficult conversations with employees should a situation arise. As an employer, you can reference the book and remind them that a certain expectation was laid out for them right from the beginning.

Whenever you have a new employee start work, an important first step in orientation is making sure that they read the handbook and sign a document acknowledging that they did so. This makes it more likely that employees will be compliant.  The expectations have been clearly laid out.

As you wrap things up for the end of 2018, review your employee handbook to ensure that you are compliant with all the new or revised labour requirements introduced over the past year.

 

CHRISTINA FERRARI

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

5 Keys to a Work-Life Balance as Practice Owner and Mother

Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

Four years ago, when I opened my practice, an independent practice that rents space inside a Sears in Warwick, R.I., I already had a one-year-old. A year later, I would have another child. The demands of being a mother to two young children, and the responsibilities of practice ownership, may seem overwhelming. But the right work-life management strategy makes it happily doable, without necessitating a choice between career and family.

Practice ownership can give an OD the freedom she needs to design a schedule that allows for both practice- and family-building.

Design or Ask for a Flexible Schedule
Practice ownership comes with the responsibilities of business management, but the upshot is you are your own boss, and, as such, can design any office schedule that suits you and your family. Being a practice owner also allows you to build a business that can financially benefit your family into the future.

I am in the office five days a week, but not for the same hours each day. When necessary, I come in late and leave later, or do just the reverse, and schedule patients earlier in the day, and leave earlier. As long as you make yourself available enough to accommodate the needs of your patient base, your practice won’t suffer from a schedule that allows the doctor to plan in advance to meet the needs of her obligations outside of work.

If you are an employed OD, it’s worth having a conversation with your prospective employers on the possibility of keeping a flexible schedule, as long as you meet a set number of hours seeing patients per week.

Take Vacation at the Same (Slow) Time Every Year
Patients respect a doctor’s need for time outside the office, but it helps to take your vacation around the same time each year, so long-term patients know when you will not be available.

I take my vacation every year at the end of June because it is a slow time of year for patients visiting eye doctors’ offices, and because it makes sense as my children get older and start school. With most schools in the Northeast out for the year toward the end of June, it is the perfect time for a getaway. Many of your patients are doing the same, lessening the chances that they will need you during that one- or two-week period.

Many outside of optometry take vacation time in August, but with late summer/early fall a prime time for back-to-school exams, that is not the best choice for a practice owner to decamp.

Partner with Local OD to Fill In for Each Other
If you feel strongly that you don’t want your patients to miss the chance to see an eye doctor in your office even for one or two weeks per year, you can arrange for another OD to fill in for you as a substitute doctor in your office. Using a substitute doctor also works well for solo practice owners taking maternity or paternity leave.

I have a professional relationship with another local OD who fills in for me whenever needed, and I for him. Developing these kinds of relationships also is helpful for unplanned-for time off, such as when a family emergency arises, or when you need to take a day off for a special event in one of your children’s lives.

See Patients on a Saturday and Salvage the Day
Most of us don’t like working on the weekend, but Saturdays are my most requested day for appointments, so the revenues I would lose from not seeing patients that day are significant. For that reason, I do work on Saturdays–but without killing the whole day in terms of spending quality time with my family.

If my Saturday schedule is booked more heavily later in the day than earlier, I have breakfast with my family, and if the schedule is lighter in the afternoon, I leave early enough to enjoy a late afternoon and dinner with my family. If the day is packed from early morning to late in the afternoon, I have my husband bring the children to the office for us all to have lunch together.

Don’t Cut into Family Time for Administrative Tasks
Practice owners, especially those with small, solo practices, have back-end administrative work, ranging from maintaining financial records and budgets to submitting insurance claims for reimbursement. I don’t let any of these chores go unattended, but I make sure they never cut into the time I spend with my family.

Instead of taking away from family time, I do practice administrative work at the end of the day, after my children have gone to bed, or when they are otherwise occupied.

My rule of thumb is remembering that I can always work on my career, and in my practice, but my children will only be in each stage of their life once, and I don’t want to miss any of it.

How do you balance work and family obligations? What tips can you pass along to ODs who feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of their professional and personal lives?

 

MARIA SAMPALIS

is the founder of Corporate Optometry, a peer-to-peer web resource for ODs interested to learn more about opportunities in corporate optometry. Canadian ODs and optometry students can visit www.corporateoptometry.com to learn more.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Why Optometrists Should be More Like Dentists

Buying-Selling A Practice, Practice

|

0
(0)

Just like anything in life, deciding to sell an optometry practice can be made easier with a little knowledge and a little planning. Knowing your options along with the pros and cons of each can help you make the right decision for you and your family’s future.

So why should an optometrist be more like a dentist? Simple, Dentists receive top dollar for the sale of their practice when they decide to sell. In the past, probably 10-15 years ago, like optometrists, dentists would sell to associates or sell privately. While this seems painless, the problem is that after all your hard work, selling under these circumstances limits your ability to obtain the best possible price. Afterall, the sale of your clinic is your retirement income and it is your family’s legacy. Why should you give someone a discount?

Dentistry Shows the Way for Optometry.

Dentists learned years ago that selling privately or to associates resulted in buyers underpaying for their practices. We are able to substantiate by the data in the ROI database. Part of the problem here is that a buyer comes ready with advisors to support them but who is advocating for the retiring or the selling owners. Banks do not set values, they simply finance the transactions. Lawyers do not set values they simply facilitate the transaction as documented. We want to support you so that as sellers you have a chance to set an expectation and an asking price. This call to action may sound simple but it is not. Many people are not confident enough to represent themselves. Like most owners, you are emotionally attached to your businesses, making it near impossible for you to advocate from arm’s length, a commercial goodwill value of your business. When you deal directly with buyers, it is easy to become empathetic to their age, their degree of indebtedness and succumb to their youthful enthusiasm and eventually sell the practice for substantially less.

An optometry practice is definitely undervalued compared to dental practices nationwide. The question you need to ask yourself is “Why should I accept this?” Your practices are just as valuable as those in the other markets.

This is where we prove our value as brokers. Selling your practice is scary. We are not going to try and tell you otherwise. However, selling on the open market is the cleanest and easiest way to exit. Money is readily available from third party lenders so a seller can often “cash out” and walk away from a practice soon after closing.

Knowing your options when it comes to selling your practice is a must. It will allow you to plan. The more you know the better you will plan, the better you plan the better the exit experience will be. We would be happy to have a confidential conversation with you. There will be no commitment on your part other than to spend a little bit of time discussing your thoughts and asking as many questions as you like.

 

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.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Myopia and Optometry: It’s Ours to Own

Practice, Specialty Practice, Webinar

|

5
(1)

I’m honoured to be speaking to you along with my colleagues, friends and people within our optometric community whom I respect and admire for the impact they have on our profession.  I will start us off in my capacity with the World Council of Optometry (WCO) to give you a global perspective of myopia and the impact that its upcoming epidemic will have on our patients, our practices, but even more so its impact the world over.  I hope to illustrate to you the etiology, some new findings and current realities, and the risks to adult vision.

I think it is important, first, for everyone to have a brief history, specifically of WCO’s role and its relationship with myopia and myopia control and how central it is to this talk in a broader sense.

The reason WCO is important to us in Canada is because even though we are the beneficiaries of all those who have created our position and our role in the Canadian healthcare system, there currently is no official national strategy on vision care in Canada.  One of the reasons that Canada is not mandated to have one is because the vision care sector has virtually no presence at the World Health Organization.  There is no secretariat or office dedicated to vision.  As a matter of fact, we are under Non-Communicable Diseases and currently in Disabilities and Rehabilitation.  It’s actually very difficult to find us there!

Because there is no such directive from the WHO to its member countries, including Canada, there is no formal national mandate.  This is a bigger issue globally where optometry is often not recognized as a healthcare player, including in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.  And you will be shocked to hear that even France does not recognize our profession and, as a matter of fact, it’s illegal to be an optometrist in France.

The World Health Organization estimates that 285 million people suffer from moderate to severe vision loss with 39 million considered blind.  Of these, 123 million or 43% have uncorrected distance refractive errors.  Uncorrected refractive error is the leading cause of visual impairment globally which places a financial burden on the economy, is a significant contributing factor to poverty, and is avoidable.

Our WCO Councils and Presidents have done a tremendous job of advocacy with our federal governments in recent years.  In the last 15 years, Canada has signed on to the only two WHO-recognized vision care sector programs: VISION 2020: The Right To Sight, and the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Avoidable Blindness and Visual Impairment 2014 to 2019, where the goal is to reduce avoidable blindness by 25% by 2019.

So why is WCO and its relationship with the WHO important to us as Canadian optometrists?  The next wave of WHO Sustainable Development Goals will be passed at the General Assembly for the WHO in 2020 and one item under the mandate of the new Director General is Universal Health Coverage.  It is our aim, along with our partners in the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, to have the vision care sector recognized globally by the WHO within the broader public health arena.  That has never happened before, and if we don’t get in this time it will be 10 years before we have another chance at this.

This directive runs until 2030.  We have the attention of WHO and this directive is not being led by ophthalmology, and that is a first.  Having such a WHO directive given to the federal government officially opens the door for formal dialogue for a National Vision Care strategy that is good for the public and our profession.

Remember, we own myopia and this impending crisis is ours to lead.  But if we don’t take the lead, others are already lining up to own it.  Along with the Brien Holden Vision Institute, the WCO recently announced Myopia Awareness Week for 2019. There are details to follow.

I felt it imperative to lay the groundwork for this talk by giving everyone an update on how optometry is recognized globally and what role we need to play in the management of myopia both here in Canada and globally.

 

SCOTT MUNDLE

OD, President, World Council of Optometry

Share:
Rate:

5 / 5. 1

Insight with Jackie Joachim

Buying-Selling A Practice, Insights, Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

Jackie Joachim is the Chief Operating officer for ROI Coporation.

ROI specializes in assisting healthcare professionals in the

Optometry, Dental and Veterinary professions

appraise and sell/transition their practices.

Jackie Joachim

Chief Operating Officer ROI Corporation

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Business Administration, University of Toronto, 1989

 

Where do you see our industry going in 10 years?

I think optometry is entering exciting times for owners. I believe that optometrists have done well at demonstrating and communicating their value to patients. I believe practice values are on the rise and that is a good thing. Whenever I meet an optometrist, we also end up discussing how they are behind the dentists. Dentists, particularly in the past 15 years, have treated their practices more like businesses. While they may want to sell to their associates, they are much more willing to have us represent them in the open market. I see optometrists now beginning to do that more, so 10 years from now, I believe owners will truly receive the maximum value for the hard years they have invested in building and running their offices

What is something you have done in your business to set you apart?

I like to think we care more. I know that sounds like a real cliché but our founder – Mr. Roy Brown insisted that practice owners deserve to retire profitably and with dignity. This continues to be our mantra today. It is so critical that we understand our client’s goals at the very first meeting. Sometimes, we tell them not to sell or that the time is not right. We are true advisors and give our clients 44 years of expertise. We are not afraid to express our views because we believe we are doing so with the owner’s best interest at heart. Timothy Brown and Sandy Evans, owners of ROI Corporation, have always put family first. As such our staff also care which reflects in the quality of our work.

What is your definition of success or what habits make you a successful person?

I believe ultimate success is by the quality of the life one leads. Reaching financial goals is important. It is how we take care of our families, hopefully enjoy our lives and eventually retire comfortably. But I also think it is important to ensure we have good quality relationships in our life – with those closest to us. I am really not sure there is any point in having huge business success if those around us would prefer to be somewhere else. Personally, I wake up early so I can meditate and write in my journal each morning. I feel it helps set the tone for my day and keeps me mindful of things that I need to do. Being grateful is also an important ingredient for success.

What metrics do you track in order to gauge your success?

There are a few I like to use. The easiest one is when a client agrees to engage us in an appraisal and then moves to working with us in the sale. I also look carefully at the experience a vendor has had. Selling a practice can be emotional for some people. Therefore, when we hear a client say how much they appreciated us being there to help keep things and themselves calm or how they felt we had their back – those are huge markers. One of my favourites is also when a buyer turns into a vendor. Clearly, we demonstrated our value in the original transaction. It is also important to listen when we have fallen short. Thankfully it is not often but, on the occasion, when it does, finding a positive resolution is a great metric to measure.

Last time you laughed?

10 minutes ago. I can’t imagine my life without laughter. I love a good joke. I am not afraid to laugh at myself. My husband still makes me laugh after all these years and of course, my teenager constantly cracks me up. I think laughter is so important because it is contagious. A smile and friendly face go a long way in making people feel comfortable and relaxed. Smiles make people feel recognized and laughter can turn someone’s mood around.

What’s your favorite 80’s jam?

I am definitely a die-hard fan of Madonna – Material Girl, Papa Don’t Preach, Holiday all take me back to my early 20s.

Tell me something few people know about you?

I originally wanted to be a lawyer leading to a career in the diplomatic service.

Describe your perfect day.

After waking up from a wonderful sleep, I get up early and sit on my couch with a nice hot coffee and cuddle with my dog. After about an hour, I start making pancakes with the aroma waking up my husband and daughter. We eat a relaxed breakfast with classical music playing in the background. After church, we visit my elderly mom and then I spend my afternoon cooking. I love cooking. The evening is true family time where we eat dinner and watch a movie or play a game. A perfect day lets me end up in bed by 9 reading and lights out at 10

 

 

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Seeing Sales

Marketing, Merchandising, Practice, Resources

|

0
(0)

One of the biggest conundrums of optometry is that it is possible for the Optometrist to not only detect the patient’s problem, but also to offer the products that fit the solution. Many associates and practice owners alike have expressed their fear and distaste at the idea of becoming “salespeople.”

The simple truth is advanced eye care and eyewear products and services don’t sell themselves. They require human intervention to facilitate the purchase cycle.

We coach practice owners and associates to stop thinking of themselves as salespeople and to instead focus on offering solutions to problems. Their job is to help patients navigate the buyer’s journey and make smart decisions. This type of selling can be a competitive advantage.

We often take for granted how much knowledge we have about quality and choices – whether we are talking about glasses, additional testing, drops or contact lenses. If optometrists took the approach that their purpose was to educate each patient about the options possible, they could release the anxiety associated with “sales” and embrace the confidence that comes with educating and offering choice.

By providing the patient with all the information they need to make an educated decision about their purchase, optometrists are also building trust with patients.  This trust leads to confident purchases by patients.  Many patients would prefer the security of buying a pair of glasses from their eye care provider. So if the doctor takes the time to explain all the choices available, along with the pros and cons of different decisions, the patient is quite likely to make a purchase with them.

Presenting choices to patients is still hard for many practice owners and associates. One of the easiest ways to approach it is to talk about what other patients are doing. For example, you could say, “Many of our patients are choosing to use both a primary pair of progressive glasses as well as getting a dedicated pair for coputer use. They find that their eyes are much less tired at the end of the day if they are supported properly.”

A patient may even ask what the doctor would do in a similar situation.  For instance, if there is only a minor change in the prescription and the patient is hesitant about how to proceed. Explaining that a new pair of lenses, even with a small prescription change, could allow the patient to take advantage of a better coating option and new technology in the lens design, helps the patient make an informed decision about whether or not to proceed with a new pair of specs.

Ultimately, whether you are the owner of the practice or an associate, the health of the practice is dependent on sales. Once everyone is comfortable with the idea that sales is a natural part of the process, it is key to spend time studying the multiple levers that will drive growth for the business.

How do you increase growth?

  • Study your market. What are the demographics? Are they changing? Who is winning in the optical game in your target market?
  • Study your customers. What type of experience are they looking for? What keeps them coming back to your office? What could possibly drive them to another office?
  • Study your business. Are you staying current with the latest trends? Is your office updated? Are you offering solutions that make sense for people’s lives in 2018?

There are opportunities at every step in the practice to educate, inform and ultimately sell great solutions to every patient.  And that’s a good thing for owners, associates and patients, alike.

 

KELLY HRYCUSKO

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Live Events: Buying an Optometry Practice

Buying-Selling A Practice, Practice, Resources, Webinar

|

0
(0)

Join ROI Corporation for a lively discussion about the factors you need to consider when buying your own practice.

Topics that will be discussed include:

  • Which factors affect the value of the practice
  • What financing options are available
  • Understanding key numbers
  • How to choose the right practice for you

DATES:
November 7: Kitchener-Waterloo Deer Ridge Golf Club
November 14: East Toronto Delta Toronto East Hotel
November 21: Mississauga ROI North, Streetsville

All sessions will be from 6:00-8:30pm.
Light fare will be served.

RSVP: sales@roicorp.com or (905) 278-4145 Ext. 226

 

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Onboard like a Pro – Top Tips for Helping New Hires Succeed

Human Resources, Managing Others, Training & Onboarding

|

0
(0)

When it comes to attracting and keeping the best talent there’s no doubt about it: hiring for fit first can increase productivity, reduce employee turnover and boost your bottom line.

But when it comes to creating a successful team that is a real asset to your practice, hiring the right candidate is only half the equation.

How you integrate new hires into your staff and their new roles within your practice is as important as the recruiting process itself.

Onboarding vs Orientation

On a typical first day most new employees fill out some paperwork, have a tour of the practice and meet a few co-workers.

While all this information – especially the location of the bathrooms and the coffee maker – are important, this basic orientation process should not be confused with onboarding.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, the onboarding process can take as long as 12 months to complete.

Effective onboarding should acclimate the new employee to allow him or her to become a contributing member of the staff in the briefest period possible, while engaging the employee to enhance productivity and improve the opportunity for the company to retain the employee.

The High Cost of Onboarding Done Wrong

A good onboarding experience is the difference between setting your staff up for success or leaving them to struggle on their own.

In a survey from BambooHR, 17%  of the respondents reported quitting a job between their first week and third month of work. Their reasons for leaving included:

  • 23% –  didn’t receive clear guidelines for their responsibilities and desired better training.
  • 12% – wanted more recognition for their unique contributions.
  • 9% – wanted more attention from management or other employees.
  • 7% – other co-workers weren’t friendly or helpful.

4 Top Tips for Better Onboarding

1. Have a written plan

Commit to mapping out your onboarding process in writing. Take time to decide and document exactly what the process should entail.

Having a written framework to guide you helps all participants in the process stay on the same page, ensures essential steps don’t get missed, and provides consistency for future hires.

2. Take your time

It’s tempting to throw new employees right into the deep end, especially when the position has been vacant for a while. Don’t.

Introduce new tasks and concepts one at a time and allow the employee sufficient time to master them before adding new responsibilities. Think of the onboarding process as a marathon, not a sprint.

Nobody benefits if new hires feel burnt out after the first week.

3. Train your current staff in the onboarding process

Designate one or two key staff members to oversee the onboarding process and offer them appropriate training and guidance.

Establish guidelines, provide clear expectations and set achievable benchmarks.

4. Keeping focusing on fit

Focusing on fit during the hiring process helped you find and attract the candidate who best fit your position.

Now focus on helping the employee understand your office values, the atmosphere you strive to create, and how they can most comfortably fit in with your culture, staff and clients to ensure they succeed in their new role.

 

JAN G. VAN DER HOOP

Jan is the co-founder and president of Fit First Technologies, a company that applies its predictive analytics to the task of matching people to roles. Those algorithms drive platforms such as TalentSorter, FitFirstJobs and Eyeployment.com, which are relied upon by organizations to screen high volumes of candidates for “fit” in their open positions.

Share:
Rate:

0 / 5. 0

Opening a New Practice – Starting from Scratch

Buying-Selling A Practice, Finance|Wealth, NextGenOD, Perspectives, Practice, Real Estate, Resources, Tax & Legal Matters

|

4
(1)

One of our favourite things to do as Practice Consultants is to work with optometrists who are opening their own practices cold. This is an exciting, and stressful, time. There are many things to consider and decide on.

The very first thing to decide on is Strategy.

Will you be offering strictly primary care?  Are you going to offer other services, like specialty contact lens fitting or vision therapy as well? Once you have the answers to those questions, you can start to think about what your dispensary should look like.

If you are catering to Low Vision patients, you will want to ensure that you have a good selection of value priced frames. If you are offering Vision Therapy services, you will need a fairly substantial children’s section with great multi-pair savings options.

With a solid understanding of what you will be offering in terms of services, you can begin the process of looking for a location. If you are planning on concentrating on primary care, consider a more remote location with less competition. While it may seem tempting to gravitate to larger centres with denser populations, you will have the greatest competition in these locations as well. If you do it right, a smaller community will offer you patronage and loyalty.

If you are offering other services aside from primary care, you are decreasing the amount of competition you will have. In this case, it can make sense to locate in a more populated area where competition is higher as you will be marketing and pulling from a larger geographical area for patients seeking your other services.

A competitive scan of the area where you want to practice will provide invaluable insight. Who else is offering primary care within a 5, 10, 25 km radius? What other services are being offered in those practices? If you are offering only primary care, the denser the population in the immediate area of your proposed location, the better. If you will be offering additional services, which are not found in the local area, you can extend the radius from which you will be attracting patients.

After you have chosen your location, determined which services you will be offering, and done a competitive analysis on the competition, you need to decide on the strategy for your dispensary. As competition in the optical industry continues to grow from online purchases and big box stores, it is critical to create an intentional plan for the dispensary. If branded product is being offered in all of the primary care locations surrounding you, consider an unbranded approach. A la carte pricing is common in many optometric practices so moving to a flattened price structure can be a fresh approach.

Do you want to be all things to all people? Do you want to be the person for one thing? Do you want to be the low cost provider or the transparent practice?

Taking the time to understand what you want to be known for and developing a solid strategy at the beginning of your journey into practice ownership will make other decisions easier to make and guide you down the path to successful business ownership.

 

CHRISTINA FERRARI

is the co-founder and managing partner of Simple Innovative Management Ideas (SIMI) Inc. and expert Practice Management contributor for Optik magazine. She can be reached at info@simiinc.com

Share:
Rate:

4 / 5. 1