The Official VisionWeb Blog

If you're in the growth stages of your practice, attending events can help you seek new job opportunities, experience software demos, learn about vision care developments, and broaden your network of OD peers. Most of these events revolve around continuing education (CE) opportunities, but many of them also include mingling events and product-related exhibits.

It's a good idea to keep a calendar of upcoming events because many registration deadlines are a month or so in advance. Here are a few conferences, tradeshows, and forums on our radar for the rest of 2019. We hope we have a chance to meet you at one of the events below.

With the increasing temperatures, your patients are eager to get outside and be active. We've got you covered on educating them about polarized lenses and harmful UV rays. But, how do you tweak your sales messaging and products to accommodate for summer activities? 

First, we urge you to chat with your patients about their work and leisure lifestyles. If you find that they are active outdoors, then you might be able to recommend a few products to them. Get creative when you stock your dispensary with summer products. You'll want to make sure you have your patients' needs in order to be safe and protect their eyes this summer.

We're curious to see how far we've come in terms of the software eyecare practices use. It wasn't too long ago that every optometrist was using paper filing, faxing, and other manual data entry methods to manage their health records, orders, prescriptions, and patient communication.

As you can imagine, conducting business by hand could lead to errors and frustrations. We're going to examine how automation and digitization have transformed the everyday workflow for optometrists. Maybe you'll notice a process you could optimize with the help of new technology?

As we approach the halfway mark of 2019, it's time to evaluate if your optometry practice is on track financially. Has your actual spending matched or exceeded your budget? Have you experienced any unexpected expenses?

Although reducing expenses is very important, we also think the first step is developing good money habits and understand which areas of your practice needs more investment.

Even if you have an accountant or consultant, it's a good idea to do quarterly financial reports to make sure everything is in order and see any trends. Today, we'll go over how to get yourself on track and make space for emergencies and expansion.

Some of us look to historical or business leaders for inspiration when it comes to developing our own leadership style. However, why not draw parallels between optometry staff management and the TV show everyone's talking about this week: Game of Thrones? 

An effective leader responds to the needs of their people while fully utilizing the resources they have to grow. From autocratic to laissez-faire, the type of leadership that works well for your practice may not work well for everyone. 

Let the strong characters of Game of Thrones help guide you towards the style that fits your optometry practice best. Maybe you're currently thinking like Sansa, but need to take action like Jon?