The Optometric Minute

Build Your Practice Through Multi-Level Networking

August 10, 2016

Maria Sampalis, OD, of Warwick, R.I., built her practice on networking–in its many forms. When she started cold, she visited established local practices, and cultivated community ties with local organizations. She later established Corporate Optometry on Facebook to exchange ideas on clinical issues and business challenges with an online community that has grown to over 6,000 ODs practicing in corporate settings.

 

REACH OUT TO RETIRING ODs. Find older doctors in your community who will be retiring soon, and don’t see you as competition, who can tell you how they built their practices, and offer pointers for marketing to the local population.

JOIN STATE OPTOMETRIC BOARD. Join your state’s chapter of the American Optometric Association to meet other ODs and work together to promote the profession.

JOIN NETWORK SPECIFIC TO YOUR NEEDS. If you’re a corporate OD, join a group like Corporate Optometry on Facebook to share best practices with other ODs practicing in settings like Sears Optical, LensCrafters, Target Optical, or others.

DISCUSS PRACTICE GROWTH. Talk about how to grow your practice, including the opportunities to enhance medical eyecare, and how to most efficiently process medical billing.

FIND OUT EARLY ABOUT WORK HOURS. Before signing a sub-lease for a corporate optometric office, be sure to find out what kind of working hours will be expected. Some locations only expect the doctor in three to four days a week, while others want a doctor in the office every day. Find a situation that meets your life-work balance and accommodates raising a family, if that is your goal. 

Maria Sampalis OD, practices at Sampalis Eye Care in Warwick RI. She is also the founder of Corporate Optometry on Facebook.

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