20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dave Goetsch. Dave is the Executive Producer and writer for the hit TV show "The Big Bang Theory" and he joins me to talk about his journey not as a TV writer but as an investor. He shares his journey as an investor, lessons he's learned along the way (one of them almost being a really expensive lesson), the investment...

On today's episode, I start out with an update on the Paycheck Protection Program and what we've learned through the first round of applications as well as an update (as of now) as to what the next round of stimulus funding might look like and when that might come to fruition. I then share details on another aspect of the CARES Act that hasn't been as talked about but can still be an important pla...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Matt Geller. Matt joins me back on the show today to talk about a variety of topics as it relates to staffing an office in the wake of the COVID-19. We talk about areas that practice owners should be focusing on now as well as some of the top items (personally and professionally, financially and otherwise) that ODs...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Today's show is a unique one in many ways, starting out with a longer-than-normal introduction. This episode is actually a replay of the 75 minute Q&A session I did with the ODs on Finance Facebook group on all things related to the CARES Act and how it impacts optometrists. It's important to understand that, at the time of the live Q&A session, b...

Hey there 20/20 Community. Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Justin Manning. I know ODs around the country are going through a lot right now as we all grapple with the disruption caused by COVID-19. I wanted to have Justin back on the show because I thought he'd bring a unique perspective to the show, as he's the only OD I know that also has their MPH (Masters...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! Every practice owner around the country is trying to figure out which way gravity is working right now and figuring out how to make unprecedented decisions in their practice as it pertains to their cash flow and their team management. With that being the case, we wanted to provide some thoughts and ideas that practice owners can take during these time to bet...

Welcome back 20/20 Money Community to another episode. Well, unconventional times call for unconventional strategies. Some of you may have financial-related questions about what's going on right now in the markets. Whether you're a new investor and this is your first "taste" of volatility or you're a seasoned investor on the brink of or in retirement, it's times like these that questions, concerns...

On this episode of 20/20 Money, I deviate a bit from the traditional topics of the show and talk about what investors should be thinking about and doing during market selloffs like we experienced last week. I actually bumped a previous episode to make room for this conversation just given the nature and timeliness of the events that occurred in the markets last week. I talk about the importance of...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guests on today's show are Drs. Jennifer Stewart and Jeremy Ciano. Longtime listeners will know that both of them have been on the show a number of different times. Their business knowledge and practice insight has helped them each build and run very successful private practices. On today's show, we discuss one of the biggest decisions and fact...

As the owner of a private practice, a question that you will inevitably ask yourself is "How much should I pay myself as the owner of my practice?" There are a number of different ideas and considerations to think about with regards to this question and in this show I talk through some of the different decision points that exist for a practice owner to consider which can influence how much they pa...

In this episode of 20/20 Money, I talk about three important ratios that optometrists should understand using their balance sheet. There are three big financial statements that practices should always be analyzing, and I feel that the balance sheet is the one that gets the least love from ODs. During the conversation, I talk about how to calculate your quick ratio, your current ratio, and your deb...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Nysha Blender. Nysha joins me on the show to talk about her journey in optometry and how she ended up in a somewhat unconventional role as a medical science liaison with Ocular Therapeutix. On this show we talk briefly about her path in optometry and what caused her to go down this path of becoming an MSL and what i...

Life insurance for optometrists is something that probably isn't the topic of conversation when ODs get together and chat, but it's an important part of a well-rounded financial plan. Unfortunately, there are many different options for life insurance and they're not all created equal, especially when you take into consideration the conflicts of interest that exist between you the client and the pe...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dan Zone. Dan's a VP and Senior Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo Commercial banking here in Indianapolis and is back for a second time on 20/20 money. What's unique about Dan, though, is that he has a big focus on serving those in "white coat professions" including optometrists and I wanted to have him on today to...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Mick Kling, OD.   Mick wears many different hats in the optometry community and spends a good deal of his time talking and consulting with other ODs around the country. In addition to owning Invision Optometry in San Diego, he is also the founder of Impact Leadership, an organization that helps ODs understand their...

As the owner of an optometry practice, one of the benefits is being able to participate in not only the normal "earnings" that any other OD would make, but also the rewards of owning the practice in the form of profits. In this episode, we'll talk through the different ways in which ODs can pay themselves out of their practice, which starts by understanding how your practice files its taxes. From...

It's the start of a new year—the year of optometry!! Let's start out 2020 by talking about 5 financial topics that optometrists should be reviewing both in their personal and professional lives. We start out by talking about funding your Roth IRAs (especially if you're making those contributions via back-door Roth IRA conversions), HSAs, and 529s and also remind you to adjust your annual contribut...

Hello, and welcome to the last episode in 2019 of 20/20 Money! In this final episode of the year, I spend time talking about how important it is to take time to measure where your money is going in your personal life and how the only way to really get a good picture of that is by analyzing your spending by running a personal budget. I talk about the different kinds of expenses to track and a numbe...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! On this episode I discuss my top 10 books that I believe ODs should read in 2020 to help them get closer to building the practice of their dreams and a life they love. The books are both personal and professional in nature (along with one investment-related book). Links to all the books can be found below in the show notes or at www.integratedpwm....

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Gina Wesley.   Dr. Wesley owns and practices at Complete Eye Care in Medina, MN and she's been recognized as Minnesota's Young Optometrist of the Year in 2011 and has also earned the Early Professional Achievement Award from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 2013. She joins the show today to talk abo...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! As we close in on the end of the year, it's time to begin thinking proactively around different strategies you can still consider before the calendar rolls over to 2020. In today's show I'll discuss what you can and cannot do in your practice to control net pass-through income and thus reduce your tax bill. I'll also revisit the 199A deduction (QB...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Hannah Cho, OD. Hannah joins the show today to talk about the journey she's had in private practice, going all the way back to when she started the practice cold while still a 4th year optometry student (and also shortly after having her first child). She talks about why establishing culture very early on in your pr...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Ken Krivacic. I believe my conversation with Ken will resonate with a number of listeners because Ken found himself on both sides of the private equity equation: first publicly opposed to it (even going so far as to author a number of articles written for Review of Optometric Business on why he WASN'T going to sell...

Hello, and welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Jeremy Ciano, owner of RevolutionEyes in Carmel, IN. Jeremy has been on the show in the past and today's conversation was actually sparked by a question from one of our listeners and a prospective client of our firm, which was analyzing their fee schedule in their practice to determine if their profitability ratios...

It's that time of year again: open enrollment. While everyone is thinking about the holiday season that is right around the corner, small business owners and those individuals that aren't eligible to participate in group health insurance plans also find themselves in their own version of "open enrollment season"—the window of time where we can change the type of coverage that we have, who we have...