20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry

If you've ever wondered how to take some of the emotional sting out of estimated tax payments, this episode is for you. I share a simple yet impactful way to manage your cash flow, a simple formula to help you better estimate your estimated payments, and how to segregate your savings to give you a clearer picture of your cash-on-hand to make your quarterly estimated payments.     As a reminder, yo...

My guest today is John Marvin, former President of TSO (Texas State Optical). John joins me to talk about two intertwined issues reshaping private-practice optometry: the accelerating influence of private equity and the growing challenge of recruiting—and retaining—enough ODs to meet patient demand. We explore the cultural and financial trade-offs of PE consolidation, the shifting career aspiratio...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Nathan Hayes. Nathan joins me on the show to do a deep dive into 2024's Books & Benchmark's annual report. He shares ranges of the numbers that practice owners should really care about and should be tracking: COGS, non-OD staff expense, Associate OD comp ranges, occupancy costs, and G&A (general & administrative). We also talk abo...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Peter Lazaroff, CFA, CFP® . Peter joins me to examine whether the much-touted tax benefits of opportunity zones (OZs) justify the risks required, or if investors are letting the "tax tail" wag the investment dog. We cover how OZs work, what the new One BBB Act means for the program's future, and practical ways optometric practice...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Dodge Perry, OD. Dodge joins me on the show to have an open discussion after listening to my "Frankenstein" episode, which was inspired by him asking me the question "If I could create an ideal private practice, what would go into that decision making process?" We discuss the intricacies of setting up an optometry practice, em...

In this episode of 20/20 Money, I break down some of the most impactful tax and planning changes introduced in the recently passed Big Beautiful Bill Act—Congress's sweeping update to the tax code that makes many TCJA provisions permanent while adding new wrinkles that matter to private practice owners.   Whether you're thinking about how to reduce your taxable income, maximize deductions, or just...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money. In the spirit of Independence Day, today's episode explores a different kind of freedom—financial independence—and the common decisions that often stand in the way of achieving it. I walk through five recurring mistakes I see optometric practice owners make that limit their long-term financial freedom, both personally and professionally. From overleveraging...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guests on today's show are my two good friends—and successful practice owners—Drs. Jeremy Ciano and Jennifer Stewart, OD. This is another takeover episode, so I'm honestly not sure where they'll take the conversation. The only direction I gave them was the title of the episode, so I'm just as curious as you are as to where the conversation will lead!   As...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money. My guest on today's show is Dr. Michael Neal, OD.   Mike joins me on the show to talk about the evolution of delegation as a practice owner—specifically, the journey of learning to trust your team with everything outside of your core revenue-producing activities. We share our own experiences with delegation, what it looked like early on, how our thinking evo...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Mike Jorgenson from Carr Healthcare Realty.   Mike joins me back on the show to talk about what goes into a demographics search when evaluating the location of a practice—and he does it from both a cold start as well as existing practice's point of view. We talk about the minimum OD:population ratio that's generally advisable when...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Mick Kling, OD.   Mick joins me back on the show to talk about the power of community within the profession and how optometrists can avoid the "race to the bottom" when it comes to pricing by focusing on delivering and communicating value to their patients. We also discuss how to evaluate the affordability of a practice, the t...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money. My guest on today's show is Dr. Mike Satryan, OD, a partner with Mountain View Eye in Altoona, PA.   Mike is a long-time practice owner who brings over 25 years of experience running an in-house optical lab within their practice. We dive into the substantial cost savings his practice has realized by finishing lenses on-site and how that margin improvement su...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Lee Raykovicz, OD, a mortgage broker with Go Rascal Mortgages.   On today's episode we dive into what goes into the mortgage underwriting process, how practice owners can get creative when it comes to purchasing their homes, the details on what Physician loans actually are and how they work, how to think about the total DTI ratio...

Welcome to this REWIND episode of 20/20 Money! Given that my grandpa just recently celebrated his 96th birthday, I wanted to bring back this episode and share it again for new and long-time listeners alike. It's also a subtle reminder about the importance of understanding longevity risk in one's financial plan. I can only imagine the unfortunate situation my grandpa would be in had he and my grand...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Chris Wolfe, OD.   Chris joins me back on the show to talk about why it's important to be intentional about the business decisions you make in your practice and make those decisions based on data and a plan. We talk about this concept through the lens of schedule management and how to think about pre-appointing your patients w...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Kayla Ashlee .   Kayla joins me on the show to discuss how the communication cues (or miscues) that unknowingly are happening in your office can be both positively or negatively impacting your patient experience and thus influencing the buying decisions of your patients. She shared examples of good and not-so-good cues that can be...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Nathan Hayes with Books & Benchmarks and IDOC. On this show, Nathan and I RAGE!! That's right, we Rant Against Growth Excuses. We talk about the common headwinds, obstacles, and challenges that we both hear when talking with practice owners...and how to think about solving those issues by thinking differently about the challenges....

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! This week's episode is the recording of my presentation at NSUOCO, titled "Top 10 Tips for (Financial) Success for Optometrists."   Over the course of the year, I'm privileged to present in front of a variety of optometry schools' private practice clubs and classes. The purpose of the presentation is to help ODs understand the ABCs and 123s of personal finan...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! What would I do if I were starting an optometric practice from the ground up? A listener posed the question—and I went deep. In this episode, I walk through everything from choosing the right location (hint: geography is everything) to building the skills that matter most when you're just getting started. We cover:   Why defining your Ideal Patient Avatar (I...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! In this episode, we tackle the confusion around key financial numbers in your optometric practice and why it's critical to have a common understanding of their definitions. From gross COLLECTED revenue, cost of goods sold, and net operating income, we explore the most important KPIs that influence your bottom line. Whether you're looking to grow, improve eff...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! In today's episode, we're diving into the details of your tax return—beyond just whether you got a refund. We'll break down the difference between deductions and credits, how our tax brackets work, why you should focus on Line 24 —your total tax paid—instead of Lines 34 or 37, and what Line 38 might be telling you about penalties and interest. We'll also hig...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Dr. Ted McElroy, OD. Ted and I share in a conversation that's on the heels of a 2 hour CE session I did at SECO 2025, which was titled The Art of Delegation. We talk through why practice owners get stuck on delegation, ways to think about becoming more comfortable delegating, the true cost of NOT delegating, and some NBSs for you...

In this episode, we break down the common misconception that tax deferral is the same as tax savings—spoiler alert: it's not. We discuss how strategies like funding retirement plans, loss harvesting, and depreciation only push taxes into the future, while true tax savings come from tools like QCDs, business deductions, and Roth account growth. We explore when deferring taxes makes sense, and when...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Daniel Palmer. Daniel joins me back on the show to talk through a growing service and role in small businesses (optometry included), which is the Fractional C*O service. I use the * to depict the fact that this role could be Chief Operating, Marketing, Information/Technology, and yes Financial Officer. We talk about the difference...

Welcome to this episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today's show is Rick Norwood, founder & President of Norwood Device & Diagnostics. Rick joins me on the show to talk through an often-discussed topic in practice ownership, and that is the responsible purchasing of equipment. We talk through how practice owners should evaluate various suppliers, the cadence and frequency of replacing and upgradin...