Thirty-Five Years of Continuous Growth

Optometry was the one of the last careers I wanted—my dad was a private practice optometrist who also taught optometry, and like a typical young adult, I wanted to do something completely different. However, after talking to people who weren’t family, optometry kept rising to the top of the professions that matched my interests. Fast forward to today, and I’ve been in private practice optometry for 35 years. 

I opened my practice cold eight months after I graduated from optometry school, and we have grown every year since. I attribute that success to the excellent care that we provide and the relationships I’ve built—with the community, other optometrists, and with industry partners. 

Community
Opening a practice cold was much different 35 years ago than it is today. There was no internet or email, and I had to rely on word of mouth to get business. So, I started getting involved in community organizations like Rotary and the Chamber of Commerce, and even managed the local rodeo for 10 years. I sponsored patients’ sports teams and volunteered in schools, giving eye exams to students. What started out as marketing for the practice evolved into a commitment to giving back, and 35 years later I’m still involved in my community. It benefits the practice, but more importantly, it’s personally rewarding.

Network
In my town, there are six to eight optometrists, and we all support each other. From the beginning, the other optometrists welcomed me with open arms, and we still get together a few times a year. Especially as our town has grown exponentially, we know there are enough patients to go around and we don’t view each other as competition, rather as colleagues. That network is invaluable as we all navigate our private practices and give each other support.  

Partnership
Our relationship with VSP began 35 years ago. In business, you have to partner with someone, and the benefit of being in private practice is that you get to choose who those partners are. We chose VSP, and many of the reps we had then are still with us today. We grew up together in a sense. It took me a while to appreciate the value of that partnership—as optometrists, we get busy and sometimes don’t make time for our reps. But once I started leveraging those relationships, I saw the impact they made on our business. We’re kind of in a bubble in our practice, and our reps bring huge value to the table as far as the industry and reviewing our data to make decisions to help the practice grow. Now, I advise other ODs to use their reps as a resource because they can really help the practice succeed.

Being part of VSP Premier Edge has benefited our practice by helping with patient flow and providing additional value to patients who get more for their benefit. We offer Marchon/Altair frames because they are high-quality, and patients love the range of styles and the increased value they get. The Follow Your Heart lens stamping makes it even easier for patients to identify the frames that qualify so they can get more for their money. We also utilize Kaleyedoscope frame board management, which streamlines ordering and provides free shipping on frames—an important cost saving as shipping charges continue to rise.

The Unity lines have been great—they offer the latest technology, especially with the progressive lenses. Patients adapt to them easily and many say they’ve tried other lenses and see more clearly with Unity than any of the others. Unity also offers a range of products to accommodate every price point, and our patients appreciate that we offer them all. 

Full Circle
My wife, whom I met in optometry school, owns a practice in the area, and my son recently joined my practice. His journey was similar to mine in that he wanted to do something different than his father, but, like it did for me, optometry rose to the top. At about the same time, the optometry school where my father taught created a scholarship in his honor after he passed. As Eye See it, our family bond is the most important piece of our story, strengthened by the thread of private practice optometry that has connected us across generations.