20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Steve Vargo. Steve joins me back on the show to talk about a certain growing pain that practice owners may eventually find themselves in and that's the idea of adding an associate to their practice. We tackle this conversation from two different viewpoints—the qualitative ("Is my practice ready for an associate?") and qualitative ("Do I want an associate and what am I solving for in my practice by adding an associate?"). We then dive into the details of how to craft a unique job description, where to list and recruit associates, and how to think about the math and ROI of an associate in your practice as it relates to compensating them fairly and competitively. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. If you're interested in having your question and your voice featured on the 20/20 Money podcast, you can submit it here. You can either include your name or submit anonymously. Please keep your questions short and to the point. Sometimes writing it down beforehand can help. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Dr. Steve Vargo. IDOC Eyes On Eyecare (formerly New Grad Optometry/Covalent Careers) Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to a Rewind episode of 20/20 Money! It's September, which means that it's the time of year when practice owners should be reviewing their current retirement plan and determining if it's the same type of plan that they want to have serving their practice into the next year. This was a popular episode around this time last year, so I'm bringing it back for another listen. Choosing a retirement plan for your optometry practice is an important decision and it's one of those processes that can often be put on the back burner by ODs. It's common for us to see mature practices still utilizing a SIMPLE IRA in their practice and, when asked why they still use a SIMPLE IRA, a common answer we hear is "Because it's much cheaper than a 401(k)." This is also advice that we see being shared in online communities as well. In today's conversation, I want to share with you five reasons why the SIMPLE IRA is not the long-term retirement plan solution for your practice, backed up with specific examples and case study illustrations and projections. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Jen Goldman. Jen has spent her career helping service-based businesses think through and build processes that ultimately help the business grow larger than any individual owner, thus allowing the practice owner to build a bigger enterprise value (higher valuation) of their business while allowing more freedom and flexibility for the practice owner. It doesn't come easy, though, and in this conversation, we talk through some concepts, strategies, and action plans that practice owners can take to help "systematize to specialize" their patient experience and other practice processes. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. If you're interested in having your question and your voice featured on the 20/20 Money podcast, you can submit it here. You can either include your name or submit anonymously. Please keep your questions short and to the point. Sometimes writing it down beforehand can help. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Jen Goldman. References: Lucid charts Asana Monday.com Process.st Brene Brown Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Back with me on today's episode is Nathan Hayes with IDOC. The genesis for this episode stems from a slight digression we had on a previous conversation around the importance of understanding cash flow in your business, specifically as it relates to reading and understanding your statement of cash flow that you can pull from your accounting software. Nathan and I talk about why the profit loss is important but it's not everything in your practice, the pitfalls that partnerships need to be wary of when determining partner compensation, the importance of tax planning and knowing your estimated tax liability and how to plan for that based off your cash flow, and a bit of a "tease" on a new service that IDOC will be launching which will be very valuable to practice owners. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can subscribe to our newsletter and also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, manage cash flow, and make proactive money decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nathan Hayes. IDOC Books and Benchmarks Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr Matt Mitchell and this is actually an episode rewind, going back to episode #43 of 20/20 Money which aired almost 2 years ago to the day! I've been having a lot of conversations with both new and existing clients about how and when to break through to the next level and add an associate to help grow revenues and, ultimately, net income to the practice owner. There are a couple of different ways to determine when to take that next step, and this conversation with Matt really got into the weeds about how he thinks about capacity constraints in his office. Here's my recommendation for this episode if the words "marginal chair cost" sound foreign: have a cleaned up/accurate profit/loss of your practice handy for the first 20 minutes or so of the episode and take good notes about how Matt calculates his marginal chair cost. If you want a sample P/L that we recommend ODs, click on the link in the show notes to download a sample chart of accounts that we've put together for your P/L. Once you're through the first 20 minutes or so, then you can go for your run, or go to the gym, mow your lawn, or whatever else it is that you do when you listen to 20/20 Money on a weekly basis. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. If you're interested in having your question and your voice featured on the 20/20 Money podcast, you can submit it here. You can either include your name or submit anonymously. Please keep your questions short and to the point. Sometimes writing it down beforehand can help. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my previous conversation with Dr. Matt Mitchell, OD.

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Ed Wildermuth, CFP®, ChFC®, CPA. Continuing on the topic of permanent insurance that I started on last week's episode, Ed joins me on the show today to do a deeper dive on permanent insurance solutions such as whole life and universal life and talk through some of the dos and don'ts with those type of policies. We also discuss the best and not-so-best ways to structure policies, how getting retirement income out of the policies ACTUALLY works, how the role of permanent life insurance can change as your life and plan changes, and a number of other topics. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. If you're interested in having your question and your voice featured on the 20/20 Money podcast, you can submit it here. You can either include your name or submit anonymously. Please keep your questions short and to the point. Sometimes writing it down beforehand can help. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ed Wildermuth. Email Ed Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Today's episode is all about the options that you have if you've purchased whole life insurance in the past and you're wondering what options you have if it hasn't necessarily lived up to your expectations. While whole life insurance can have a place in a financial plan and we're not 100% anti-whole life, we've seen more than our fair share of examples where it's been misused, mis-sold, or placed with less-than-ideal carriers. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, proactively manage cash flow, and make prudent investment decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks, blog posts, and on-demand webinars. If you're interested in having your question and your voice featured on the 20/20 Money podcast, you can submit it here. You can either include your name or submit anonymously. Please keep your questions short and to the point. Sometimes writing it down beforehand can help. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

On this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Nathan Hayes. Long time listeners will know that Nathan and I can talk about almost any business subject that impacts optometrists, and today's topic is no different but it's one that I think is going to resonate with a lot of OD practice owners: key considerations when evaluating partnerships within your practice. In this conversation, Nathan and I talk about when you should you consider a partner and whether the practice can support it (hint, if you're below $1.4MM in top line revenue, you're probably not ready), partnership compensation structures, the importance of recognizing admin/leadership time and pay for partners, and a number of other topics. It's a conversation that I thoroughly enjoyed and believe you will as well. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, manage cash flow, and make proactive money decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nathan Hayes. Resources: Nathan's Tip of the Week on Partnerships The Partnership Charter by David Gage (Amazon link to the book) ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to another episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Michael Pote. Michael has been on the show before (you can check out those conversations by clicking here for Part I and here for Part II) to talk about selling your practice to private equity and I wanted to have him back on the show for a couple of reasons as I've found myself personally having more conversations and doing more planning with clients that are soon to be or in the midst of selling to a private equity firm. Michael's had a storied career in the optometry profession and has spent the last 4+ years helping ODs understand and navigate the process of selling to a private equity firm, notably not being tied to any one firm but rather helping the OD find the best deal for their practice. In this conversation we talk about what ODs get right and wrong about their financials prior to the sale of their practice, a current "state of the market" as it relates to PE deals and his best guess as to the state of the private equity cycle, the range of adjusted EBIDTA multiples he's seen in recent deals (hint: it's gone up), and the importance of ensuring you not only have a business plan, but a personal plan for how you'll exit from your practice. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, manage cash flow, and make proactive money decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Michael Pote. The Growth Co-op Consolidation eBook Getting the Most Out of Your Practice Sale eBook 20/20 Money #55: Contemplating a PE Exit—The Story of Dr. Ken Krivacic, OD ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!

Welcome to another episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Nate Ebel. Nate is the founder of Ten31 Marketing, a marketing agency located in Bloomington, IN that serves optometrists nationwide. In this conversation, Nate and I talk about different strategies and tools practice owners can use to increase the effectiveness of their marketing, web presence, and patient communication platform. I also share some very specific action items for ODs to act on as a result of this conversation. Finally, Nate also shares some additional valuable resources for ODs to use that are available by clicking on the links below in the show notes or on our website. As a reminder, you can get all the information discussed in today's conversation by visiting our website at integratedpwm.com and clicking on the Learning Center. While there, you can also set up a 20-30min Triage conversation to learn a little bit more about how we help ODs around the country reduce their tax bill, manage cash flow, and make proactive money decisions or check out any number of additional free resources like our eBooks and on-demand webinars. And with that introduction, I hope you enjoy my conversation with Nate Ebel. Mailchimp ActiveCampaign ConvertKit Hubspot Free resources for ODs: www.ten31.marketing/2020 Contact Nate: nate@ten31marketing.com Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2020moneypod/ ————————————————————————————— Please rate and subscribe to 20/20 Money on these platforms Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Stitcher ————————————————————————————— For past episodes of 20/20 Money with full companion show notes, please check out our episode archive here!