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Acquios Advisors
Events & Workshops

At Acquios Advisors, we are passionate about developing events and workshops designed to enhance every role within the optometric practice. Our workshops are an investment in your practice, providing you and your team with the knowledge, skills, and insight needed to excel in an independent optometric practice. More than just learning opportunities—they are transformative and collaborative experiences that foster growth, enhance leadership capabilities, and empower your team on every level.

With events and programs like Empowerment, Evolutions by Acquios Advisors, Executive Leadership Program, and the Opticianry Cornerstone Training and Enhancement Workshop, you will find our advisors deliver fundamentals to ensure every attendee leaves with the tools to enhance your practice and the patient experience.

Learn more about each our workshops and upcoming events below. Register today!

Empowerment ’26 – National Meeting

The inaugural Empowerment ’25 turned out to be a successful event for private practitioners, your team, and optometrists who are looking to open a practice or are looking for an opportunity to expand on their existing success. Did we mention there was no attendance fee?

With that being said, Empowerment ’26 has been scheduled! SAVE THE DATE! Through collaboration with Acquios Alliance Vendors, you will gain access to COPE approved CE, hands on training for staff, and information to grow your practice. You will also learn how to invest in yourself to distinguish your practice from the rest. Don’t forget, there are plenty of great attractions in Kansas City to explore and enjoy with your family.

As we have said before and we will say again, our clients spoke, and we listened. This event is what you have been seeking. Like minded doctors with like-minded vendors. We welcome all Optometric practices in North America to come join us April 17-18, 2026 to learn how one can stand on their own two feet, thrive with confidence, and become the practice you want to be.

Empowerment '26: Save the Date | April 17-18, 2026

Evolutions by Acquios Advisors

Evolutions by Acquios Advisors® was developed to deliver a variety of workshops to provide you and your team with insights and strategies for practice growth and efficiencies. These workshops are focused on enhancing Employee Relations, Insurance and Billing, and Optical Performance. Presented is an excellent opportunity for your team and practice to evolve.

Employee Relations – The popular Employee Relations Training is perfect for any team member in a leadership role. Your leaders/managers will benefit from the knowledge shared by experienced presenters or facilitators in an interactive setting. Tools provided during this workshop are taught in house and templates are provided to you. These are necessary to create a culture of reward, recognition, and accountability. One word shared by many in their post event survey is empowered.

Insurance and Billing– In many offices, eighty percent of your revenue is from a third party. The Insurance & Billing Workshop was developed to enhance your understanding and knowledge to navigate the fundamentals and complexities of vision and insurance claims management. Through review of basics and fundamentals, managing your accounts receivables, and understanding the entire life cycle, this all-encompassing workshop will help your team optimize coding and increase your revenue.

Optical Enhancement – A must for every office. It is a dedicated workshop for your optical performance to enhance your patient’s experience. Our course reviews and teaches attendees to elevate your patience perception of value, enhance patient communication, and education throughout the eye wear presentation. Participants engage in conversations regarding frame board management and vendor relations. By discussing strategies, attendees gain insights into reducing expenses and optimizing optical revenue to increase your profits. Most importantly, your patient’s experience will be taken to a new level, a level of success.

Register Today for Evolutions by Acquios Advisors: July 25-26

Executive Leadership Program

Our Executive Leadership Program is available only to Owners and Managers/Leaders. This event was developed to empower you and your leadership team to guide your office staff with confidence, knowledge, and support to the next level. Over the course of this six-month program, some have said it is an MBA for Optometric practices. Your leaders will develop essential skills to increase team unity, productivity, improve staff retention, enhance communication, goal setting, recognize employee behaviors, hold staff members accountable and more. Attendees dive into learning innovative management strategies, leadership skills, and foster a community of growth and collaboration.

Register Today for Executive Leadership Program: April 25-26, 2025

Insurance and Billing (Hybrid/Virtual Options Available)

Our Insurance and Billing Workshop is now being offered in a Virtual/Hybrid option! Originally stemming from an in-person workshop hosted during Evolutions, this event is being offered with a few options available. This Program is for any Practice Owner, Billing Specialist, or Team Member who is ready to learn more about revenue cycle management within the practice.

The Insurance and Billing Workshop will provide you and your team with knowledge to navigate the complexities of claims management. You and your team will learn the fundamentals of revenue cycle management within your business, understanding the life cycle of a claim, and the importance of accounts receivables management. We will discuss terminology, common diagnoses codes, modifiers, and the top reasons for claims rejections and denials. You will leave this event with more knowledge and confidence to execute your system better than ever.

Register Today for Insurance and Billing (Virtual/Hybrid) Workshop: Begins May 1, 2025

Opticianry Cornerstone Training and Enhancement Workshop

You spoke, we listened. There is a demand for your optical team to be better trained and become more knowledgeable. With knowledge comes confidence. With more confidence comes better educators. Our team developed this hands-on experience to touch, handle, and execute the proper actions to be great opticians. We have lensometers to teach and show attendees how to neutralize lenses of all prescriptions and lens styles. Hands on learning is important. We teach how to adjust glasses using the proper tools, the importance of preadjusting eyewear before measurements, how to repair eyewear, and more. ABO certified speakers will deliver the information and show you what a great career you are in and all you can do to enhance your patient’s quality of life.

Register Today for Opticianry Cornerstone Training & Enhancement Workshop: October 23-25, 2025 - Deerfield, IL

DR. DIRK GRAY

Rick is so personable and down to earth, but practical as well. He’s helped us with the business side of our entire practice, using his past experience to provide us with good insight and feedback about everything from finance and budgeting to the products we sell. He’s taken a vested interested in our future – you can tell he really cares and wants us to succeed. I appreciate both his extensive knowledge and his sincere approach.​

DR. DIRK GRAY
OPTOMETRIST – MCCOOK, NEBRASKA

DR. KAYLA GADDIS

[Since 2013], I have had the privilege of working with Kirk as I start my own optometric practice. Kirk’s mentoring and knowledge of the field have been instrumental in my growth over this first year. He is very professional and maintains a positive attitude in stressful situations. I get asked all the time about the one thing that I would recommend to someone starting their own practice, and the first word out of my mouth is always a good consultant. Kirk has helped me build the team, materials and confidence I needed to make my practice a success.​

DR. KAYLA GADDIS
OPTOMETRIST – MCKINNEY, TEXAS

DR. BARRY FRANKEL

I’ve worked with Rick [since 2009], and he truly understands our business. He gets it. We’re trained as clinicians, but we need help with the business aspect of eye care. Rick is our coach, adviser and advocate. If you’re thinking about working with Acquios, sign up. I know you’ll be happy with your decision.​

DR. BARRY FRANKEL
OPTOMETRIST – PALM SPRINGS, FLORIDA

DR. JOANNE GRONQUIST

Rick’s been in the industry for a very, very long time. He used to work in optometry, so he’s seen it all. He knows everything in the field when it comes to vendors, staff and different optometric companies – and he’s worked with so many doctors across the nation for so long that I can go to him with any question and he has an answer for it, or he can get an answer for me very easily. He brings the nation’s optometry experience to my practice. That’s powerful.

DR. JOANNE GRONQUIST
OPTOMETRIST – SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA

DR. JASON HOLTOM

Rick’s philosophy matches up with our own, and his recommendations are time-tested and proven to produce results. He has so much experience with many different kinds of optometry offices and the problems they all face. Since we started working with him, we’ve made tremendous changes to our office and office culture.

We’ve really taken off in the last 4 years, nearly doubling our annual sales to be in the top 5% for a single doctor’s office. Our increase in gross has all been due to our consulting and ideas from Rick. We rely heavily on him for our marketing, business plan, day-to-day office procedures and communications. The best thing we ever did for our practice was to use Rick’s consulting services.​

DR. JASON HOLTOM
OPTOMETRIST – RED DEER, ALBERTA