Episodes

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - Who Should You Trust With Phones? Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about who to trust with the bloodlines of your office: your phones. It may sound like something simple that a newbie can handle... but is that the best choice for your business? Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the ...

The Discipline to be Great - E71 Highlights from this episode: The Discipline to be Great (1:18) Office Talk: Growth phase, Always on (18:39) You know as doctors that it takes discipline to do something great. You did that in becoming the doctor you are. The battle is not over though, my friends. If you want to have a successful, growing practice/career, the work and discipline must continue! In this episode I walk through a few areas of your practice (and life) that I believe you need to be hyp...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - Setting Expectations Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about how properly setting expectations in any area of your life will help set everyone up for a good experience. People become unhappy when there is a breach in expectations. Set them appropriately from the start and it will set you up for success. Enjoy! Join in th...

Are You Trading Time for Money or Do You Have A Business? - E70 Highlights from this episode: Are you trading time for money or do you have a business? (00:34) Office Talk: Mr. Fix-it and Customer service for tough patients (16:20) What is your practice like if you're not there? Is it still making money? If your goal is to have a business, then it better be my friend! In this segment I give some steps to take to make sure you are not just trading time for money in your practice. Take a page from...

Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about how to handle those slow times in your practice and not let them affect you longterm. Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! For exclusive content, be sure to register your email on our website and I will be sending out newsletters ...

What Language Are You Speaking? - E69 Highlights from this episode: What Language Are You Speaking? (00:38) Office Talk: It's all about the details! (16:13) To connect with your patients and gain their trust, you have to be speaking their language. If you know they have a pain point, ADDRESS IT! Let them know you are hearing them! This also means tailoring what you prescribe (or don't prescribe) for them. Not everyone may NEED a new pair of glasses for example. Being upfront and honest with pati...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - Myokymia & Ocular Migraines Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about myokymia & ocular migraines and what the body is trying to tell us. Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! For exclusive content, be sure to register your email on our website and I...

Top Tips for Handling a Slow Season - E68 Highlights from this episode: Top Tips for Handling a Slow Season (00:38) Office Talk: 10 Year Anniversary for Practice (15:07) Whether you are just starting out on your own or are already in an established practice, you are going to have slow times. The key to not letting these times effect you is to remain calm and in control. In this episode I go over what I've learned over the past 10 years for how to deal with these times when they inevitably pop up...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - BHAG Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about you setting your Big Hairy Audacious Goal and letting that guide you. Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! For exclusive content, be sure to register your email on our website and I will be sending out ...

Charge What You're Worth! - E67 Highlights from this episode: Charge What You're Worth (00:35) Office Talk: Dropping a Frame Line, Chats with Ultimate O.D.'s (12:31) Think about it: your prices dictate the kind of person that will pay it. Right? When I started my practice, I thought my edge was going to be charging the lowest price for my exam. As it turned out, I learned a valuable lesson about setting prices and expectations to get the kind of patient you want to build your practice on! (00:35...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - Recalls on Steroids Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about how to communicate your message effectively to patients and keep your practice top of mind for when they need you (aka Recalls on Steroids). Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! For exclu...

Top 5 Tips to Connect With Your Patients - E66 Highlights from this episode: Top Tips to Connect With Your Patients (00:36) Office Talk: Sustainability, MCO Student Project, & Setting Expectations (12:13) In our profession, we are constantly creating and building relationships (or we should be). You know those people who are just amazing at connecting with others and make you feel like you're the only one in the room? You can do that too! In fact, you NEED to be doing that with your patients. Yo...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - What Are You Worth? Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about what you are worth. What do you charge for your services? Whatever price you set will convey a certain attitude and attract a certain type of person. Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! ...

Case Studies on Customer Service - E65 Highlights from this episode: Case Studies on Customer Service (00:40) Office Talk: Staffing & Intern Update (21:05) Don't you ever wonder if other practitioners have the same experiences as you? And, do you sometimes wonder how in the world they handle them? In today's Run Down, I give you 4 situations from just the past few weeks that I've had in my practice, and how I dealt with them. Sometimes it's nice to just know you're not alone with some of this st...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - What You Talk About, You Get Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about what you talk about in an appointment. Believe it or not, it makes a difference and people actually listen more than you think. See how the power of suggestion can make a difference in your practice. Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast t...

3 Keys to Being a Successful Leader in Your Practice - E64 Highlights from this episode: 3 Keys to Being a Successful Leader in Your Practice (00:39) Office Talk: Referrals, Cohesive Team, & Office Causes (15:40) If you want a successful, thriving practice, you have to do what it takes to create such a thing! There are 3 basic things I think good practice leadership boils down to and I list them all out in this episode and share how I put these things into practice in my own office. Let's get ou...

Ultimate O.D. Nugget - Marketing Welcome back to our Ultimate O.D. Nuggets! These are quick mini-episodes where we bring you a valuable pearl that you can use to start your week out right. In this week's nugget it's all about marketing. Your goal is to grow your practice, so what does that mean in regards to marketing and the service you provide? Enjoy! Join in the fun and subscribe to the podcast to keep up with all the great content coming down the pipe! For exclusive content, be sure to reg...

5 Big Picture Things You Can Do to Give a Better Patient Experience - E63 Highlights from this episode: 5 Big Picture Things You Can Do to Give a Better Patient Experience (00:41) Office Talk: Staff Reviews & Office Intern (26:44) There are a million little things we can do to improve the patient experience throughout their visit with us. However, if you don't get the big picture things right first, those little things won't make the difference you need them to. It all starts at the top so I hav...

What Do You Do Here? - E62 Highlights from this episode: What Do You Do Here? (00:48) Office Talk: Finding your sweet spot, Community, etc. (12:16) I'm bringing back a famous John F. Kennedy story to illustrate the bigger vision of what we do every day. You need to know for yourself what your purpose is in your practice, community, staff, etc. Once you have this figured out, you can direct your time and energy to things that actually matter and not waste time with things that don't. (00:48) I ha...

5 Things a Door to Door Salesperson Can Teach You - E61 Highlights from this episode: 5 Things a Door to Door Salesperson Can Teach You (00:37) Office Talk: Sweet Spot, Student Intern, & Community Involvement (13:00) Door to door sales is hard. I would know, that was my summer job at one point in college. I canvased for a roofing company and as crazy and hard as it was, I learned a TON. And, looking back now, I realize there are things that have stuck with me that I continue to use today. So, I ...

What Football Taught Me About Optometry [Holiday Episode]- E60 Highlights from this episode: What Football Taught Me About Optometry (00:42) Office Talk: Scleral Clinic Update, Docs going the extra mile, New Office low down (25:53) You may not be able to tell by looking at me but, I played college football. Football was a huge part of my life for many years and consequently taught me many things and shaped me to be who I am today. Given that this is Labor Day weekend and the "start" of football ...

7 Reasons Your Patients Are Firing You - E59 Highlights from this episode: 7 Reasons Your Patients Are Firing You (00:56) Office Talk: Solution Reach, Patient Communication, & Networking (14:00) In our profession being "fired" by a patient doesn't necessarily mean someone is in our office blowing a gasket on us and storming out. No. For us, it's a quiet "firing". The patient will leave your office and just never come back. In this episode I go over all the reasons why a patient will fire you and...

Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Organizational Chart - E58 Highlights from this episode: Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Organizational Chart (00:44) Office Talk: Ruth's Chris & New Schedule (11:28) If you've listened to past episodes, you've heard me mention the importance of having an organizational chart. First, you get the right people on the bus, THEN you need to get them into the right seats! Having an organized structure for your practice will help you become more efficient as wel...

The Curse of Knowledge in Optometry - E57 Highlights from this episode: The Curse of Knowledge in Optometry (00:43) Office Talk: Rebranding my practice, new frame line update (14:04) Not to sound arrogant, but we are pretty smart people as optometrists! It takes a lot of work and a lot of schooling to do what we do and with that, I think we can sometimes forget how it feels to NOT know something about the eye. Welcome to the rest of the world! Something that can make or break your patient's expe...