New Year, New Goals

Finance|Wealth, Human Resources, Practice, Practice Metrics & Benchmarks, Resources

|

0
(0)

Whether or not you believe in making resolutions, the beginning of a new year offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on what went well in the past year and what you would like to see improve or change in the coming year.

Intentionally focusing on specific priorities for the new year helps you to create a defined path. This gives you clarity and purpose.

What are your purposeful goals for 2019? Do you want to start preparing for retirement? Do you want to increase your eyeglasses capture rate? Do you want to introduce a specialty branch to your clinic? Maybe you want to open your own clinic or a second clinic?

Once you have determined what you want to do in 2019 to consider it a successful and fulfilling year, flesh out a plan to achieve them. What needs to happen on a weekly or monthly basis for your goals to be realized? Make the plan as detailed as possible.

By way of example, let’s consider the goal of increasing your eyeglasses capture rate. The plan may look something like this:

  • Week 1: Set up a tracking system to follow your capture rate every day.
  • Week 2: Set up a weekly meeting to review the capture rate results with the whole team.
  • Week 3: Do a cost comparison of lens companies. Which company offers you the best value? Create a lens offering with these products.
  • Week 4: Set up a training session to ensure all team members are familiar with the product offerings and pricing.
  • Week 5: Invite your lens rep in for product training.
  • Week 6: set up a bonus system to acknowledge the team’s efforts as the capture rate increase – this will be tied to the tracking system from week 1 and the accountability meetings you set up in week 2.
  • Week 7: practice your handoff. What works well? What can be improved? Would it help to have a dispenser assigned to a doctor every day?
  • Week 8: Team training at the weekly meeting. Walk through the handoff. What could be improved? Share success stories – let’s repeat those! Any gaps that needs to be closed on pricing strategy?
  • Week 9: What are some of the common objections in the dispensary? How can we overcome them?
  • Week 10: At the weekly meeting, be sure to review results – where are we and where do we need to be to achieve bonus? What could we do/offer to improve our results? Are we offering a second pair option to every patient?

Whatever you envision for 2019, take the time to flush out a plan to help you achieve it. Don’t be afraid to only focus on one goal. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. The more time and effort you put into your plan now, the more likely you are to achieve it. So whether you believe in resolutions or not, take advantage of a time of year that lends itself well to reflection and purposeful goal planning.

 

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

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

The Right of First Refusal vs. The First Option To Purchase

Finance|Wealth, Real Estate, Resources

|

4
(1)

By Timothy A. Brown, CEO, ROI Corporation

Throughout my career I have heard lawyers, doctors, and property owners talk about giving a tenant the first right of refusal in a premise lease. The result: If the building should come for sale at the landlord’s discretion, the tenant has the first right of refusal to purchase the building.

The following definitions are reprinted with permission from Commercial Investment Real Estate published by CCIM Institute:

Option to Purchase.
This provision grants the holder the right to purchase an indicated property during the term of the option without respect to the owner’s desire to sell. In other words, the holder can force the owner to sell the property by exerting the option. Options to purchase often include specific terms

Right of First Offer.
Sometimes referred to as a right of first opportunity or first right to purchase, this provision requires the owner to give the holder the first chance to buy a property after the owner decides to sell. Unlike the option to purchase, the holder cannot force the owner to sell

Right of First Refusal. 
Sometimes referred to as a right of first opportunity or first right to purchase, this provision requires the owner to give the holder the first chance to buy a property after the owner decides to sell. Unlike the option to purchase, the holder cannot force the owner to sell

Let’s explore precisely what the first right of refusal actually means. In order for a tenant to have the right to refuse to buy a building, the property owner must actually take the property to the open market and bring other buyers into the fold. They can do this privately or they can do this through the services of a real estate and business broker. In this process, the owner must reveal that there is an existing tenant and disclose the terms of the lease. Potential buyers would typically want to explore the property inside and out, often get their own appraisal done on an independent basis and in some cases have a property inspection performed.

Thereafter, the purchaser or the multiple purchasers (given the current overheated market reality) would present their offers to the owner and/or through his/her agent.

At this juncture, the owner is obligated to approach the tenant who possesses the  first  right of refusal  and show them the highest and/or the most attractive bid to see if the tenant will actually refuse or agree to match that offer.

Think this process through from both sides. If you are the tenant, do you want your landlord parading potential purchasers through your rented space while he or she is attempting to attract open market offers in  order to find out how much you may be prepared to pay?

If you are the landlord, do you want to “use” the market knowing that you must disclose that this first right of refusal for the tenant actually exists in the leased premises?

A licensed and qualified broker must dis- close that your tenant has the privilege of matching any offers the market may actually present. What kind of offers are people prepared to make knowing that they may be matched or surpassed by the tenant and therefore, these potential purchasers may actually feel they are being used in order to motivate the tenant to buy the property.

As a landlord myself, as well as someone who buys property, when I know a tenant has the  first  right  of refusal, my interest  in the property is diminished. If I do make an offer, I will not spend a lot of time or money preparing the offer nor make the best offer I think the market would bear, knowing that it is possible that my offer will be matched or bettered by the tenant.

Now let’s consider an alternative option I have promoted over many years, yet failed to get agreement on by both property owners and lawyers. It is called the first option to purchase. Essentially, what this means is that the lease afforded to the tenant will basically say if I as the landlord decide to sell this property, I will come to you, the tenant, with the first option to purchase the property. I do not engage a real estate agent. I do not put  it on the open market. I do not parade anybody through your exclusive use rented space in order to drive up price and try to get the market interested. I come  to you and only you and I approach you first as you possess the first option to purchase. After a specified period of time, say 30 to 60 days, if we do not come to agreement in the terms of sale, I still reserve the right as the landlord  to put the property on the open market in the usual and customary process of selling real estate.

The result is you have been respected as the tenant. You were the only individual that I as the owner negotiated with. I may get an appraisal at my expense. You are certainly entitled to get one at your expense. If we can successfully negotiate, a deal struck. The open market, real estate agents and potential buyers have not been used to put us at odds. As an owner, I am not trying to drive price  up and you have not been annoyed with my bringing potential purchasers through the property and we both accept the fact that I really just wanted to do business with you in the first place.

I consulted with Todd Slater, founder of The Simple Investor, and a past contributing author to Profitable Practice magazine on this topic. Todd owns and/or manages over 1,000 income properties.

I  am a client of Todd’s firm. He completely agrees with me! As well, I surveyed several leading lawyers who agree with me, but they find it  difficult to alter the thought process and language of the legal profession that has been fixated on this absurd, outdated concept for decades… I hope this article helps to change the mindset.

The first right of refusal—or—the first option to purchase? If you are a landlord, what do you think is fair? If you are a tenant, which would you prefer?

 

Share:
Rate:

4 / 5. 1

Observations from a New Practice Owner: 4 Keys to Success

Buying-Selling A Practice, NextGenOD, Perspectives, Practice

|

0
(0)

As a new business owner who purchased her first practice, I have discovered the need for a multifaceted strategy. In order to be successful in the eyecare community, you must be able to compete with online retailers, other small businesses and large corporations. You must differentiate yourself from others by delivering patient satisfaction, competitive pricing, technology and practicing the medical model.

Here are four key strategies that are critical for a new practice to succeed:

Nurture good doctor-patient relationships and communication. Patients need to be able to relate to their doctor, whether it’s via small talk in the office about the local football game or through conversation about your family. Patients want to make that connection. Otherwise the patient can go anywhere and get his or her glasses changed a quarter diopter and not return the following year. If a patient feels comfortable with you they are more likely to return and refer friends and family. It gives you a competitive edge to develop a personal relationship with patients that many large corporations are not able to achieve.

Offer competitive pricing of products. Patients want to know they are getting the best products at the best price. There is a lot of competition in the eyecare marketplace. Business owners need to provide affordable pricing of products to keep patients in the office. Consider sales during the year to target the type of patient you want. For example in the late summer or early fall consider offering a back-to-school eyewear discount.

Deliver medical eyecare—and take time to educate patients about it. Patient retention is important for a successful practice. Take an extra minute with patients to fully explain why they are experiencing their symptoms and how you will help alleviate those symptoms and treat the underlying problem. Many of my patients have been to other eyecare practitioners who have not taken the time to do so. When you show you care, patients develop loyalty.

For example, if you have a glaucoma patient in your chair, describe to the patient what glaucoma is and how you are at greater risk of developing the disease if others in your family have been diagnosed with it. Simple illustrations in your office on medical eyecare conditions can provide effective patient education. These educational conversations are essential for patient retention.

Practicing medical eyecare is the key to a successful optometric practice. Patients return upon recommendation and refer others. Medical eyecare is also a revenue booster due to the need for follow-up visits and ancillary testing. Offering these services differentiates you from other eyecare practitioners who just sell eyewear.

The referrals you generate from primary care practitioners also is a win for the independent OD. For every diabetic patient I see in my office, I write a letter describing the eye exam findings, even if there is no diabetic retinopathy. Doing this is the right thing to do, but it also is free advertising to other doctors on the quality care you provide so they will continue to refer patients.

Invest in Advanced Technology. Investing in technology is a no-brainier. It produces revenue and provides quality care to your patients. Patients will be amazed at the new technology and know they are getting state-of-the-art care. By having this technology you are also differentiating yourself from other offices that do not have such instrumentation. To be able to show a patient what a chorodial nevus looks like is a great educational tool that also allows you to monitor the progression of the condition. Patients will return for a follow-up exam because you have a personal record for them–and you can bill for these photos, too!

As a business owner and doctor, you must be able to correlate the business aspects of optometry with eye diagnoses to generate revenue and have a competitive edge in your community. Implementing these four strategies will help put your practice on a path to growth.

What important business lessons did you learn during your first year of practice ownership?

 

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

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

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

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

JACKIE JOACHIM

Jackie Joachim graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science and has close to 30 years of experience in the health care sector. She began her career in banking where she learned how to finance health care practices. With 10 years of experience in practice management, she developed and delivered seminars to healthcare professionals across the country, coached hundreds of practitioners for planning, marketing, patient education, human resources and financial management. She has been a keynote speaker at both national and provincial association conventions where she has had the privilege of speaking with thousands of health care professionals across Canada.  You can reach 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

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