It happens to everyone—you work hard running your practice, seeing patients, delegating to staff, and managing the additional responsibilities that come with being a business owner. Inevitably, at some point you will begin to feel burnt out from the day-to-day chaos.

Independent optometric practice can be an extremely rewarding profession, but as a health care practitioner, the additional pressures of small business ownership may feel like more than you signed on for. When you’re dealing with insurance companies and no-shows and continuing education, remembering what drew you to the field of optometry in the first place can get lost in the daily grind.

That’s why taking a vacation or time off is essential to your personal and professional health. It’s natural to be concerned about how your business will run when you’re MIA. If you’re a partner or part of a larger practice, things will probably continue, business as usual. But even if you’re operating on your own, time off could end up being very fruitful for your business.

Why? Because everyone needs a break. People need time to press pause and decompress. Being a business owner and health care provider doesn’t allow for a lot of downtime—you’re basically working two full-time jobs. Stress and exhaustion can affect your interactions with your patients, your employees, and your family. That affects your practice’s bottom line negatively. A frustrated employee may not be as motivated to work hard for you. A patient who feels like you were impatient with them may move on to a different practice. The list goes on.

Give yourself permission to take time off from work. The world will continue turning whether you’re in the office one week or not. Or give yourself a day off occasionally. If you’re working with Williams Group, we’re providing you with the processes and procedures to allow you to enjoy a little more time off.  Spend time doing other hobbies, enjoy moments with your family, and experience life in general. Your work is only part of what makes you a great optometrist—your life experiences will add vibrancy and color to your personality and the way you practice. That’s what will continue to bring patients in the door.

How many hours a week do you work? When was the last time you took a vacation?

Tom Bowen

Executive Vice President
Williams Group
Email Tom Bowen

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Many ODs are starting to recognize the value in having a social media presence. The question is no longer whether you should use social media for practice, but how should you use social media for your practice. There are a vast amount of social media channels available and various ways to use them. You may not have the resources of Zappos.com or Pepsi, but you can still find ways to leverage social media to benefit your practice. So without further ado, here is the first thing you can do to enhance your practice’s social media presence.

Get started. 
At the risk of being obvious, you can’t leverage your social media presence if you’re not even in the game. It can be overwhelming when you’re not sure where to begin, but something is better than nothing 100% of the time.

  • Get on Facebook. With 67% of internet users active on Facebook, having a presence on this social network is essential for your practice. Odds are, the majority of your patients have Facebook accounts (not to mention your competitors). 

Facebook also offers a significant opportunity to provide a higher level of customer service to your patients. So if you don’t know where to start, start by creating a Facebook account for your practice and commit to updating it regularly (whether that’s once a day or once a week). Again, anything is better than nothing.
  • Start a Twitter feed. Like Facebook, Twitter is a great place to service your clients. With the #hashtag search function and the short and sweet 140-character limit, this micro-blogging network is appealing and user-friendly. It’s also easily linked to your Facebook account, so you don’t necessarily need to spend extra time posting to two separate social media channels.
  • Try LinkedIn. While LinkedIn isn’t primarily designed for business-to-consumer relationships, it’s a great place for you to network with other professionals and stay on top of current news and trends in the optometry industry. Join discussion groups focused on optometry and keep an eye out for potential rock star hires in your area.

Tom Bowen

Executive Vice President
Williams Group
Email Tom Bowen

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