Profit and Growth when acquiring an Optometry Practice

In a previous post, we pointed at the cost for preparing and searching to acquire an Optometry practice and what features a practice search should identify about the practices that you encounter. Among those features are the ones that are related to the practice you are planning to acquire and its viability and the ones related to your skills and preferences. When it comes to the features related to the practice, you should first look for a profitable business and then look at the scale. When you scale a profitable business you increase profitability but when you scale a non-profitable business you get a catastrophe. Growth comes next: You may either be attracted by a huge practice with high growth or a gloomy practice with slow growth, in both cases, there are important factors to consider related to pros and cons.

When you chose to acquire a huge and high growth practice you should be able to put huge efforts and pay significant costs related to the acquisition, management, marketing, and technology. High growth practices don’t sell at a low price, you need to spend time hiring and firing, your marketing efforts should always be on the edge otherwise you may lose a significant part of customers who constantly seek high-end practices. High growth practices help you get to your target quickly but force you to put in a lot of effort, time, and sacrifice.

When you chose to acquire a gloomy practice that is growing slowly, you may not be able to make those high hopes come true, however, you should not forget that those practices sell at a low price, you can easily acquire them, you will not have to pay a lot on management, you will have plenty of time to spend building a good relationship with patients, and you can with some effort employ marketing tools that are affordable and help you build a recurring patients base.

Unlike getting a job both cases include a significant time to be spent on a daily basis in the practice. Slow growing practices are less demanding and they give you more free time to improve your skills, spend with your family, or perform your hobbies. However, you still have to be present on daily basis. Whatever your choice is, you should be aware of what you get in return for what you are contributing; and that is profitability. Profitability consists of patients being able to pay you more than what it costs you that you are providing them. As I mentioned at the beginning of the post first profitability and growth comes next. Growth is a choice but profitability is a must.