Category Archives: Year End

Don’t Live on an Island

Don’t Live on an Island

The first quarter is already in the mirror but 75% of the year lies ahead. The first quarter was exciting and fast. You are going to see new vendors added to the Acquios Alliance and more coming down the road. I met with many business leaders of various vendors at Vision Expo East. They are ready, willing, and able to help us take Acquios Alliance to a new level. Keep an eye open for many exciting new events to make you and your team better.

Recently, I have seen many posts on social media sites asking others how to help with burnout and dissatisfaction. I responded a couple of times to some but not all. It made me scratch my head and ask a question. Why are people feeling this way? Yes, I think employees have become a key focus of every day. From speaking with various clients, it has been a challenge to get many to work their scheduled hours and more. Many basic  fundamental issues are causing many to be stressed. One simple but important rule of management is to always complain up. But what if you are the owner operator of a single doctor practice? This same rule applies to multi doctor practices as well. Each doctor must respect this rule and follow it to the letter. Failure to do so can cause significant drama and stress in the office should any OD in a single or multi doctor practice shares thoughts of any concern or negative thoughts to staff. Negativity causes doubt and concern within the office. This will force staff to talk and not in a good way. How to correct this?

Don’t live on an island. There are avenues for you to turn. First and foremost, lean on your advisor. Secondly, did you know Acquios Advisors is hosting ZOOM calls in the evening for doctors to participate? These calls are for you to share great times happening in your office as well as to look for support from your colleagues. This will help you to have a listening ear to share what is on your mind and learn from others who may have been in the same boat as you. Support is here and we are excited to offer this time to make your work life better. Watch for information about Cheers with Colleagues in our email announcements and more.

In addition to doctors’ meetings on ZOOM we are also going to begin to offer an open session to managers of active advising clients to join calls every six to eight weeks. Colleague to Colleague calls will be a great resource for managers seeking support and input from their equals in offices across the country. This too is going to help enhance your practice and your team.

There is no reason to go through your days, weeks, and months alone. Please know others have been where you are and worked through it. It is a great idea and plan to share with others what was exciting in your day and why you love what you do! You can make a difference in your colleagues’ day. At times you may need a “pick me up”, through communication and collaboration with us and your colleagues you will find a new avenue to make yourself happier and more successful.

Remind yourself why you became an optometrist. Share those great moments in your practice career where you made a significant difference in your patients’ lives. Tell the story about why you opened your new practice or purchased the location from another OD. Share your passion for why you became a practice owner with your team. They need to know; they will want to own. If you don’t share your vision, they will only think you do this for money. I have never heard a client say, “I want to open my own practice or buy this practice to make more money. It is typically about being in control of patient care, or being able to make the decisions for what is best for my patients and the team I will have. Tell them why you went into business for yourself. You will get their support by doing so.

If you have seen my YouTube video, then you know this. Review your CORE Values, your mission statement, with your team. Challenge your team, ask them, “are we living this mission?” If the answer is no or the staff is not engaged, it is time to say, okay team, let’s develop a new office mission, a new mission for ourselves. Develop a new mission the current staff has a voice in creating. Make certain they are part of the development and finalization of the statement. Why do you ask? If they create and finalize it with you, it is a team mission, one they created and own. When addressing team issues and challenges, the more you involve them when resolving the issue at hand, the more they play a role in the fix, the more they will own it and live it! Make this happen yesterday! It just might help your team to work better for one another, you, your practice, and of course your patients.

As you can see, we are always listening and looking to develop avenues to help each of you be the success you seek. Don’t let 2024 get away. Don’t live on an island. Join us for these sessions and make your days, weeks, and months better. The future is bright and there is no reason to go it alone. We are here and we welcome each of you to participate.

 

Sincerely

Rick Guinotte

President/CEO

Looking Forward to the Future

Looking Forward to the Future

The Holidays are upon us and 2024 will be here before we know it. As this year is coming to an end, it is always great to reflect on what went well and celebrate achievements. It is also a great opportunity for reflecting on experiences you were not satisfied with. Challenge yourself to celebrate exciting achievements in the new year when they happen. Be careful of not saying to yourself, I will tell the team tomorrow. While the situation is fresh in everyone’s mind, talk it through, take notes and learn from all, what could we have done to be better for the next time? You will find this to be helpful for your future and the future of your team. Live in your moment, take the time today to be happy and make the others around feel good for all they bring to you and your family, and your business. When the day does not go as expected and/or an event does not go as you had planned or expected, have a conversation sooner than you have in the past.

The new year is exciting and daunting all at the same time. There is so much opportunity presenting itself. Take the opportunities given to you for comradery, interaction, networking, and more. Here at Acquios Alliance, we have been working hard to provide you with events and connections that are detrimental to making this happen.

This past year we launched our Living Your Mission (LYM) event. It was a great success for all. In April we will host the next LYM in Kansas City, MO. We will have more to offer and deliver than many of you can imagine. Our team led by Scott Cline developed the Executive Management Program. The first class is on track to graduate in January and the second class is off to a thriving start. The next time this will be available is mid-year, June 2024. We look forward to seeing more doctors and managers attend. Additionally, Acquios Alliance and Advisors sponsored a virtual frame shopping event. Eighteen vendors participated; many are asking when the next one will occur. We have great news. January 2024 it will be happening. We are looking to make it easier for you who are working as associate ODs and balancing your time planning and executing all the steps necessary to open a new successful practice easier. Imagine taking a couple of hours out of your day to visit, learn, and understand what vendors have to offer you without making ten to fifteen appointment times to shop for product for your optical.

Building a team can be the most challenging step of being a business owner. I won’t say I am perfect and hit a homerun on every new hire….but I can say the team we have to work with each one of our clients is passionate and eager to help the clients we serve to exceed their expectations and goals. Changes in organizations need to be reviewed and happen for various reasons. There are businesses/practices/offices where a person currently in a leadership role needs to consider stepping aside to allow others to step up and take the business to the next level. This is not a negative action. It is what can be best for your practice. Invest in your team leaders. Do not be afraid to have a conversation to discuss opportunities. As you all know, I am all about communication and making sure everyone understands your mission, core values, and goals. From your Associate Optometrists, Receptionists, Managers, Optometric Technicians, Frame Stylists and Opticians, Claims Management Specialists to your advisors, they all need to know where you are going and learn how they can and will get you there.

The Optometric Industry is continuously evolving. Embrace the evolution. It is great for private practice. We are seeing more and more doctors supporting the independent optometrists. For those of you looking to exit your practice in the coming six to ten years, it is time to plan. There are many optometrists very interested in buying a private practice. It is time to plan and look ahead. Banks are ready willing and able to lend money. But as a seller, you can earn a little more money by doing seller financing.

Look at the technologies available for you to be more efficient in your practice while being more available to your patient base. From Optify, Optikam, Hello Rache, and new VR units for various services and tests for your patients, you can and will compete more with the online competitors. The ace card you are holding is you and your team. Your new year will be a successful one. Know we here at Acquios Alliance and Advisors are here to listen and collaboratively develop your plan to make you the success you seek no matter the goals.

Happy Holiday and Here is to a successful New Year and Beyond for All!

Sincerely,

Rick Guinotte

President/CEO

20/20 Vision for the New Year

Reflection and Goals: Those are two things that come to mind when approaching the end of one year, and the beginning of another. They seem to have even more importance when entering the new decade. This is a chance to examine what has brought you success and what has brought challenges either within the last year or the last couple years. Reviewing your short and long-term goals can help decide the targets for the new year. Additionally, this is a time to examine how you want to grow your practice in the long term. You can set benchmarks for your practice to help drive growth into the new decade.

When looking at the objectives created for your practice, it is time to ask yourself whether they were met. By turning to your financial statements, you will be able to get a better image of the overall health of your practice, and these will help you determine where you are with your goals. They can demonstrate where there is strong growth in the office and where there is room for improvement. By identifying these areas, you will be able to more accurately establish short- and long-term targets. This will help to drive your practice and employees to newer and greater heights when you can see a clear picture of how the office is performing.

One of the most important tools available to help you and your practice is your business advisor, accountant or financial advisor. These professionals help you understand the financial statements. This allows you to more clearly and accurately establish targets for the new year and decade. A business advisor, accountant or financial advisor can help create an action plan so that these goals being set are achievable. This may include setting up a budget or cash flow document or having an accountability system set up. Meeting with the professional you set financial goals with, more than once a year besides just around tax time, will help you to stay on track to achieve, and plan accordingly to exceed your, objectives.

Taking the time to reflect on your previous goals and understanding which did well, and identify the areas of improvement, can help guide you to your 2020 goals. These targets and objectives can be broad or narrow. For example, they could be wanting to add another practice sometime within the next couple years or increase the number of multiple pairs sold this next year. These goals can be as simple as wanting to replace or improve office furniture or as complicated as figuring out the best manner to increase patient retention, when to add a full-time associate, or plan your exit strategy. All your goals do not have to be related to the practice’s financial health. They can relate back to the employees or patient care. Having goals that improve employee satisfaction and the culture of the office as well as patient satisfaction, will also affect the financial growth of a practice. Employees will want to stay, and patients will happily come back and refer their friends.

By reflecting on your previous goals to identify those you exceeded, and which are still a work in progress, you can set up objectives for the new year to help your practice move forward in a positive direction. As the new year approaches, these are some thoughts to keep in mind to start the new decade off strong!

For more information on preparing for the new year, check out our webinars on Planning for Year End and 20/20 Vision for 2020!