Optometrist Testimonials
Dr. Andrew Hager
1-225 Erie St. S
Leamington, ON N8H 3C1
519-326-6194
I completed the AMI program just over a year ago. Before undertaking this program, my management style was decidedly “seat of my pants ”. I was swamped with patients and management paperwork and yet never seemed to be able to get ahead. This “overwork” problem began to spill over into my family life as well.
During the course, I learned how to plan, set goals, track key statistics and to me, possibly the most important , strike a balance between work and home.
I have to say it is no coincidence that the year since completing the management program with AMI has been the best ever in my 9 years as a practice owner. We are busy enough that I am bringing in a new full time associate and yet I seem to have more time on my hands than before.
Thank you to everyone at AMI for helping me to turn things around.
Dr. Bart McRoberts
604-892-5055
103 – 1365 Pemberton, P.O. Box 2239
Squamish, BC V0N 3G0
Our optometric practice in Squamish, B.C. is mature, while the West Vancouver practice was purchased about 3 years ago. Regardless of age, they both had management problems – staff issues, scheduling issues etc. We felt powerless to address these items due to a lack of management training. We didn’t really know what to do, how to do it or assess and ensure the effectiveness of any measures we instituted.
AMI gave us a management system and the tools and training to become active managers. They instituted a system whereby we can measure the progress of individual segments of our practice, as well as the practice as a whole. We can watch for changes in our practice (good or bad) and then apply methods to address these areas on an ongoing basis. There is a huge difference in how effectively the practice is running now compared to a year ago.
Dr. Debra Rovinelli
604-925-2525
1069 24th Street
West Vancouver, BC V7V 4H1
A few years ago I reached a pivotal time in my life. There was a major professional restructuring in my practice, I was going through a divorce and raising my youngest son who was 12 years old at the time. I was concerned about “keeping it all together”.
When I took stock of everything, I realized that there were many positives to build on: my practice of 20 years was a “going concern” with many long term and loyal patients, which made it a family practice with a lot of potential; my staff of six who had been in the practice for several years worked well together and had potential to improve organization, function and revenue; and my associates were capable and professional optometrists who had been with me for numerous years.
Professionally, my associates and I dealt with all areas of optometry very effectively and I feel our patients were well cared for. However, the business side of optometry is one aspect of our profession for which we have had little, in fact, NO training. This would involve everything from operating a profitable spectacle and contact lens dispensary, to empowering and encouraging people that work with you and for you to increase your business.
Promoting yourself professionally and keeping track of everything in an organized fashion are also things that we have not been coached in either. When I attended the introductory seminar with AMI, I realized help was at hand.
Probably the best thing they have done for me is to help me analyze my practice in greater detail. The statistics you do weekly do not lie, but give you a clear picture of your performance. The experts at AMI then help you to deal with problems that arise and teach you the steps to achieve financial and professional goals. They also explain executive structure and how to work with and empower the staff so that you can achieve their best performance. You can then help them realize when the practice does well, they will also do well.
AMI helped me to look at all areas of my practice with respect to management; they helped me work more effectively, save money and achieve my financial goals.
Dr. Della Chow
Della Optique
604-742-3936
2589 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6K 2E9
When I opened my own solo practitioner dispensing optometry practice in Vancouver 9 years ago I built in the fees for hiring the Art of Management into my practice loan. What I learned and the support I received from the Art of Management was worth every penny. If every optometrist practiced like the Art of Management advises you to, every optometrist would be successful and happy! I recommend the Art of Management to all optometrists who wish to have an independent successful growing practice.
Dr. Derrick Thornborrow
Waterdown Optometric Clinic
301 Dundas St. East
Waterdown, ON, L0R 2H0
905-689-7324
About one and a half years ago I attended a seminar put on by The Art of Management regarding their practice management consultant services and courses they offer. At that time I was looking for solutions to help with practice management, especially with regards to human resources and staff management. I felt that somewhere along the line I lost control, staff morale was down and I had no solution. I thought that in all other facets our practice was fine, things couldn’t be better, the practice had grown nicely but had leveled out over the last few years… I was wrong!
With the consultation advice, we quickly turned the practice around with regards to staff management and human resources. The courses that I took equipped me with the tools and skills required to manage far more effectively, and the practice income increased 25% over the next 12 months. As well, the increases in efficiency and productivity allowed me to work 20% less! The fundamentals that the courses taught me are applicable beyond the realm of the practice.
The practice has grown beyond my wildest dreams and I got my sanity back. We now are well into our second fiscal year after taking The Art of Management courses and our practice is continuing to grow in excess of 25% in spite of the recent changes in OHIP.
Thank you Art Of Management!
Dr. Kim Lalonde
Barrie Vision Centre
705-737-5858
221 Cundles Road East
Barrie, Ontario
I am an optometrist practicing in Barrie, Ontario. I had been working as an associate for 7 years when I purchased the practice I was working at in 2011.
At first, things seemed to be rolling along smoothly. However, I was just going with the flow, not keeping a pulse on what was going on. Then things started unravelling. I started to keep track of stats, but had no clue how to proceed from there. I muddled along for 2 more years, hitting a big crater early on in 2014. That was when an AMI representative contacted me.
I was intrigued, so I went for the free practice evaluation. I signed on to work with them, and haven’t looked back since. They’ve taught me how to run the practice more efficiently, how to get the most out of my staff. Now, instead of taking money out of a credit line to keep up the cash flow, I am making payments towards that credit line. Office protocols are in place, so everyone knows what is expected of them. And I am sure that I now have the knowledge to deal with any downturns.
My practice is headed in the right direction, and I now know how to steer it.
Dr. Kiran Ramesh
Vision Care Centre
416-265-8777
3483 Kingston Road
Scarborough, ON M1M 1R4
I graduated a little over 5 years ago and bought a 30-year-old practice almost 3 years ago. I love my practice and I am very lucky to have great staff and associates working with me.
When I heard about AMI, I felt my practice was doing well. As the owner, I would sometimes get a bit stressed and I just wanted to get some insight on how I could improve things. I felt like I didn’t have enough time to manage the practice. I was so busy being “the doctor.” I needed to find a balance between doctor time and manager time. There was a myriad of little things that needed to be altered but nothing major or earth shattering, time to do these things is what I felt I was lacking.
The AMI team of consultants and trainers gradually trained me as a better manager and gave me the tools I needed, one by one, to integrate into my practice. I didn’t feel like any big changes were made, but when I look back, it was the small changes that all added up to make a BIG difference.
Did this program really help me? Looking back at what I was making before and what I am making now – SIGNIFICANT improvement. I feel a lot less stressed. I would definitely recommend AMI.
Dr. Maysoon Raouf
Elmvale Optometry
613-454-8232
1910 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON K1G 1A4
I qualified and trained as an Ophthalmologist in the UK and my past work experience was in that field. When I immigrated to Canada, I qualified as an Optometrist to gain quicker access to work in a closely related field. I have now been working as an Optometrist in Canada for 5 years, first as an associate for a couple of years and then in February 2012, I opened my own practice from scratch. I had no experience in business management in Canada and minimal dispensing experience.The first year of business was rough even though I had some business consulting. My stress level was enormous, I was working 6 days a week, more than 10 hours a day, couldn’t pay my bills most of the time and I hated every minute of it.
In January 2013, I spoke to Janice Wheeler of AMI on Skype and did a free practice assessment. She helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel and that there was hope of making the business successful. I knew I had the clinical skills to treat any patient, but there was much more to running the practice than I had realized.
Since then, I was walked through the valuable AMI courses and had their one-on-one consulting. We discussed everything from hiring staff, to staff replacement, to my work schedule, to planning my clinic’s future, and much more.
Now my clinic is a profitable practice, I am working fewer hours and more efficiently. I feel I now know every little thing in my practice (almost) and can monitor my stats efficiently, all thanks to the gorgeous AMI people who helped me through this.
Dr. Myles Bokinac
Advance Eye Care Center
500 – 4010 Pasqua Street
Regina, SK S4S 7B9
306-586-7036
My wife and I graduated as optometrists in 2004 and purchased an existing practice a year later.
In 2008, my wife had our first child and we hired an associate to cover her maternity leave; she turned out so well we decided to keep her on after the maternity leave ended. Again we needed to get into rapid expansion mode to ramp up the number of patients coming in. This was the time we learned about AMI. We signed on very quickly and have never looked back. Actually, more accurately – looking back I would have done the program at AMI immediately upon graduating. It would have made life simpler.
My stress load has decreased drastically; I can now be the doctor and the manager and almost always still leave at 5pm and leave work behind until the next day, something that did not happen before this program. If it did, then something was being neglected.
All of the courses were very helpful to me as the manager of an optometric practice and the knowledge of how to manage an office was priceless to me. Using stats instead of pure gut feeling allows me to micro-dissect my practice at a glance to see where a problem really lies or where a success has come from. Making decisions using this information is obviously much smarter and more effective. Thank you AMI.
Dr. Robert Dors
Soundview Centre
1510-20th St East
Owen Sound, ON, N4K 5R1
519-376-3355
Dear Colleagues:
Our years of university education teach us to be great optometrists but very little about being good business managers. When it came to optometry, I had a rapidly growing number of patients who felt happy and comfortable with my staff, our office and myself. What I had was a feeling of losing control of my own office. Work was no longer fun and I seemed to be dealing with more and more staff problems since they stopped enjoying the work. When my wife and I first attended The Art of Management introductory seminar, I wasn’t sure anyone could give me that feeling of comfort I wanted from my office.
After my first consultation with The Art of Management, I realized we had made the correct decision to seek their services. They were able to help address my staff problems by making them more efficient and boosting morale. I was able to learn the business management skills to deal with my practice problems of today and in the future. Their approach to teaching business management by statistics gives me the information to know what I do well and what my staff each do well. By concentrating on these statistics, we have been able to grow our practice in the areas which give us a better financial return. The business management courses and consultation gave me the feeling of comfort and control that I was looking for.
When I first met Bob Wheeler at The Art of Management, I told him I just wanted to work smarter, not harder. Our office was as successful as most. My working hours have reduced from 5 days a week to 4-1/2 days and in a month, I’ll be at 4 days. I take double the holidays since completing the program. Each of my staff earned an average of 10% more income in the first year of implementing this business system. Despite these changes, our gross and net incomes have increased each year, even with OHIP cuts and clawbacks. We have added an associate and moved to a larger off ice. Optometry has become fun again.
If your concerns are similar to mine or you have any concerns about how to operate in these demanding economic times, I urge you to talk to Bob or any of the staff at The Art of Management. They have the knowledge and solutions to achieve the security and control you should expect from your practice. It will be a decision you will not regret.
Jeannette McLaren
Robertson Optical and Optometry
(604) 946-7911
#102 – 5405 Ladner Trunk Road
Delta, BC V4K 1W6
Becoming a client with The Art Of Management was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Before AMI, my business was chaotic and stressful. There were many things that I knew I should be doing but I was not certain how to get them done and there was no plan in place to accomplish my goals. Sometimes things were okay and other times I was just overwhelmed; it was just me doing everything. I was not always able to see the direction I needed to go and would often drift off course. When I signed up with AMI, I immediately had a business coach and we worked out a plan and the path to achieve it. I could then refocus my efforts in the right direction; something I could not figure how to do before.
I have gained considerable confidence and can see where I am going by the measurable results I am getting. I now know the things that need to get done and have the time to create my future. I am consistently getting more things done as I have a plan and am achieving the success I am working towards. My confidence has significantly increased such that I am able to handle anything that comes my way without the stress and confusion. Using the hiring technology from the Art Of Management, we hire the right staff that do the right job and achieve the exact targets needed for our success.
Having a business coach at AMI was amazing. This was the single most important factor that kept us on track and managing by statistics. I can always see how the business is actually doing and compare it to any other point in time with statistical management. No more guessing. I can predict client volume and profitability 3 months down the road with my newly acquired marketing knowledge so that I always know what causes the ups and, more rarely, downs in the statistics.
As a result of the program delivered by The Art Of Management, profitability has increased significantly. We set the goals and then shoot past them! In fact, we have surpassed financial targets 10 out of 12 months! Truly amazing! I have been able to fully equip my clinic, I have good reserves in my account for any additional equipment/expansion I want to add and am using my profit to make more profit! This program more than paid for itself.
I have also benefited from the AMI program in my personal life: I am more content now, I love the work and enjoy my job. My job is not all-consuming and is in its’ proper place with more time for the rest of my life. Now, when I go on vacation, I am actually on vacation and not just working from some other location.
I am very proud of my business. I highly recommend the AMI program to anyone who wants these kinds of achievements. Thank you to AMI for helping me achieve my goals. I could not have done this without them.
Maritimes Optometrist
Before starting with AMI, I didn’t have a good handle on the management side of the practice. We were not monitoring our performance all that closely, and we didn’t know all the actions we could do to manage the practice better.
The biggest things we learned at AMI were how to improve our daily efficiency, scheduling more effectively, management of our staff, fixing problems instead of living with them, and so on.
Our billings increased, efficiency increased, sales rose, stress levels went down, and we learned how to solve our own problems. The AMI Program more than paid for itself and I would recommend the program to anyone.