Practice Advantage

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams extended through December 31, 2024. Earn up to an additional $15,000 in 2023 and up to $30,000 in 2024. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

In this episode, my guest is Founder & CEO of focalCenter, Dr. Ron Krefman to discuss the power of leveraging demographic data in understanding who your patients are, how to market to them, and how to grow. To get PECAA member pricing on localEyes, visit localEyes and use Discount Code "PECAA".

Key Takeaways:

1. Data, specifically demographic data, are valuable in understanding who your patients are and what opportunities exist within your practice to grow.
2. Most patient consumers are willing to drive 20-30 minutes for their eye and health care.
3. Data are only as valuable as the insights they provide and the decisions they impact within the practice.
4. Leveraging the focalCenter localEyes report provides insights like who your target market is, who you should direct your marketing towards, and the utilization of eye care services in your trade area, the amount they’re wiling to spend on eyewear, and more.
5. Make one change at a time. Test it, learn from it, and adjust based on what worked and what didn’t.
6. Data like this should be reviewed regularly for the insights they provide and should be updated every 2-3 years.

What Ron is reading:

• The Tetris Effect by Dan Ackerman

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams extended through December 31, 2024. Earn up to an additional $15,000 in 2023 and up to $30,000 in 2024. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

In this episode, I sit down with Brant Southwell and Pierre Bertrand of neurolens to discuss implementation of their newest technology, N3. N3 takes the neurolens measuring device into virtual reality and streamlines the doctor's use of the platform.

Key Takeaways:

1. Business innovation is driven by observing the needs and painpoints of your customers. Neurolens' newest measurement device was built on the most experienced pain points and opportunities of patients and doctors.
2. The new N3 device moves out of pre-testing into the exam room and is to be used while the patient is waiting for the doctor. The VR based platform makes testing and patient education easier.
3. The new VR platform has resulted in 80% of patients wanting to learn more about neurolens, driving the conversation forward and making it easier to have patients fulfill their neurolens prescription.
4. To improve capture rate, position neurolens as a medical device and help the patient connect the solution with the personal and psychological impacts of their symptoms in their day-to-day lives.

What Brant & Pierre are reading:

• In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
• Revival by Steven King
• The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

Vision Expo West is this week and having a game plan in place ahead of time is crucial to success when it comes to purchasing frames and equipment for your office. IN this episode, I sit down with Bryan Hoban and Kayla Groves from our member business advisor team to discuss a game plan for success.

Key Takeaways:

1. Take stock of your financial situation before the show. Understand your cash flow and current cash on hand and determine if financing or a cash purchase is smarter for your business. Review interest rates ahead of time, as well.
2. Review your current frame board, your most popular frame lines, and the gaps in style and price point you have. Evaluate what frame brands your patient are already wearing to help identify the gaps you may have.
3. Before purchasing equipment, run the monthly cost of a 5 year payment, even if you're paying in cash. Compare that with the clicks or sales needed to break even and determine how easy it will be to generate additional revenue and ROI from the purchase. Review any additional changes in office flow and staff.
4. Build a purchasing map prior to attending to make sure you're purchasing frames and frame lines that fill the gaps in the practice and the space you've set aside for these new lines.
5. Market via social media all that you're learning. Connect with your team during the show if they're present and/ or afterwards if they are back in the office.

What Bryan and Kayla are reading:

• Bryan: Quiet - The Power of Introverts In a World That Won't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• Kayla: She Thinks Like a Boss by Jemma Roedel

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

Your practice and business is only as successful as the quality of team members you employ. Searching for, interviewing, and hiring great candidates is one piece of owning a business that consumes a lot of energy and time for owners and managers. Hiring for attitude is an important key to success in advancing your business and practice culture.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Bureau of Labor & Statistics job report for august showed an increase in unemployment rate and increase in hiring in healthcare, providing a better opportunity currently for practices to find good candidates.
2. Hiring for attitude begins with defining your practice culture and what a great candidate/ employee looks like.
3. During the interview, ask behavioral based questions that uncover their attitudes and passion that align with what you want in your practice.
4. Asks similar behavioral based questions when you're checking references. Validate the types of experiences and behavioral responses the candidate shared during the interview.
5. Always be hiring and on the lookout for good candidates in other places you do business on a regular basis.

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Brianna Rhue, owner of West Broward Eye Care in Tamarac, FL to discuss her recent buyout of her partner to become sole owner.

Key Takeaways

1. Timing is a critical part of the process. Put in the time and energy ahead of time to set the course for partnership and buyout.
2. Invest in the relationship with the partner. Build trust, be transparent, and be up front about expectations and the plan.
3. There are a number of ways to valuate the practice and they often result in a significant difference to make up. Negotiate appropriately. Consider using the cash flow as the tool for agreeing on the purchase price.
4. Private practice success rate is high, making financing relatively easy. This is less of an issue to secure the money to purchase.
5. Transitioning both patients and staff is key to success.

What Dr. Rhue is reading:

• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

Do you want to create a great customer experience for your patients? Do you want to make life easier on your team? Allowing patients to book and change appointments online is a great tool to do both. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Demand for online scheduling is high
   1. 20% of patients state waiting for the practice to open is a major pain point when it comes to scheduling appointments
   2. More than 30% of appointments are booked outside normal business hours
   3. Nearly a third of patients prefer too book online
   4. More than half of Millennials and Gen Xers would switch practices based on online appointment scheduling
2. Offering online scheduling saves team members significant time
3. Online scheduling increases your same day and next day appointments, great for filling gaps in your schedule
4. Online appointment requests do not count as online scheduling
5. Implementation does not need to be difficult. Simple steps, grace, and being willing to make changes helps you be successful with implementing this powerful tool.

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

In this episode, I sit down with Cindy Morgan Jaffe, founder of the Positive Money Club and author of the book Positive Money to discuss how we look at and think about money and the impact it has on our business.

Key Takeaways:

1. In many ways, the messages we’ve received about money growing up impact how we make financial decisions in practice. Beginning to recognize these influences is the best place to start in order to change them.
2. Be curious. Ask iterative questions to both understand your money mindset and begin reframing how you’re impacted by money, how you see it now, and how you want to see it or make change in the future.
3. Positive Money is a philosophy of living with money that leads to the results you want leveraging positive intelligence.

Resources:

1. Positive Money by Cindy Morgan Jaffe
2. Positive Intelligence
3. The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist
4. Mindset by Carol Dweck
5. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

What Cindy is reading:

1. Pillar Based Marketing by Ryan Brock
2. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

** Don't miss out on an extra $5 rebate for all commercial VSP Eye Exams between now and the end of 2023. Visit www.pecaaexamrebate.com now!**

On today's episode, I sit down with employee engagement expert Richard Hadden to discuss simple strategies for keeping the great talent you already have and attracting great new talent. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Culture is the personality of the business. You can feel it as soon as you walk in the door.
2. And engaged employee is one who is "into" their job. The more "into" their job they are, the more they care about the organization's mission, the more the like spending time there, and the more they believe their work makes a difference for someone.
3. Businesses with an intentional strategy for employee engagement are more productive, more profitable, have less turnover, recruit more talented employees, and create more wealth for business owners. 
4. Taking care of employees and above all, generally caring about them personally leads to far greater productivity. It's the easiest place to start. 
5. Recruiting great talent is really marketing. Tell your great place to work story. Create a reputation for working at your business. What would it look like for your practice to be a "destination employer". 

Additional Resources:

• Contented Cows Resources
• Contented Cows STILL Give Better Milk

What Richard is reading:

• Truman by David McCullough
• I Must Say by Martin Short

In this episode, I sit down with impact expert Janna Jorgensen, founder of ION Leadership Consulting to discuss a framework for human impact, leading teams, and engaging the purpose of your business.

Key Takeaways:

1. Purpose drives impact. Understanding your why is critical to having the impact you want to have. Purpose is what you want. Impact is what you actually do. The bigger the difference between the two, the bigger the frustration and dissatisfaction.
2. You can measure your impact. Define the KPI’s that show how well you’re delivering on your purpose and how your patients experience your business.
3. The context of the situation - where your people are, where your patients are, what’s going on in their lives. These pieces of context affect your ability to have the impact you want - especially when it comes to developing, growing, and providing input to your people.
4. The Human Impact Framework can support the process of defining your purpose, your impact, and the people that matter in the process. Levering this tool allows you to be more effective in delivering a great culture, patient experience, and overall impact.

Additional Resources:

• Episode 62 - Dissecting Difficult Conversations with Erin O'Malley
• Human Impact Framework 
• TEDx - Impact is a Context Sport

What Janna is reading:

• How to Be Heard by Julian Treasure
• Who Do We Choose to Be by Margaret Wheatley
• The Age of AI by Henry Kissinger
• The AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee
• Positive Money by Cindy Morgan Jaffe

In this episode, keynote speaker and culture expert Greg Hawks shares his philosophy of Ownership Culture and how practices and businesses identify where their people are and engage them deeper. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Culture starts with the values the business has and are often the really good things of how the practice runs. Start by defining and spotlighting them regularly.
2. Culture in a small business is easier than a large business. Small changes make big impacts in short time.
3. Ownership Culture focuses on employee engagement. Owners are engaged. Renters are disengaged. Vandals are actively disengaged and are divisive, toxic, and actively sabotaging the business's success. Owners show up daily with "head and heart", doing their job with drive and passion. Renters do their job well, offering their skills but are not engaged further. 
4. The reasons vandals stay within a business:
   1. They are significant revenue generators and they know it
   2. They've been there a long time and it's awkward now to do something about it
   3. Nepotism - they're family members
   4. They are also the owner
5. Renters often become renters because they don't have the ability or opportunity to offer their full thoughts, ideas, and view of the world into how the business improves and grows. Creating space for this helps move renters towards owners.

More Resources:

• Episode 50: Culture for Cold Starts with Davis Capaccioli, OD
• For more on Ownership Culture - Email Dr. Manning

What Greg is Reading:

• The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran