I opened my own optometry practice six years after graduating from school. Since I hadn’t talked with other optometrists first, I had no idea how tough running a practice would be. Taking care of my patients, running the staff and managing the practice overwhelmed me. My employees didn’t carry their weight. They put in their time, collected their paychecks and went home. The practice was making money but I didn’t keep any of it—everything went back into the business. Working six days a week, my life was consumed with my business.

I received a management DVD in the mail from Sterling. I watched the DVD and received my consultation. My Sterling consultant pointed out things which I thought were normal in running a practice but weren’t—such as making too little money, working long hours and stress. He assured me Sterling would show me how to run a profitable practice and be happy. I signed up.

That was nine years ago. Since then, Sterling has given me the tools I need to control and manage every part of my practice. For example, with their marketing course and consulting, our volume of new patients really took off, and they are quality patients, too. The office is so well organized, we were able to efficiently handle the increased load. I now know how to find and hire good staff, and motivate them to be productive. To top it all off, I take five weeks of vacation each year to be with my family and do other things outside of the practice.

What about the finances? When I first started with Sterling, my consultant asked me to set an income goal for the practice. I threw out a number which I thought was too high. But I reached that goal and sooner than expected, so I had to set a new goal, and another and another—I reached those, too. My numbers just keep going higher and higher along with my net profit. When I’m ready to retire, I will be able to retire when I want and in the way I want.

If any of this hits home for you, call Sterling at (800) 933-7538 to get their free DVD and a no-charge consultation. My practice is growing, it’s profitable and best of all, I’m having fun.

Sincerely,

Dorrine Goldschmidt, OD