The Growth Potential of Your Business
Optometry is one of the very few professions that has an educational, health and retail component all functioning simultaneously together.
For an Optometric Practice to experience massive success and exponential growth, all three components need to function effectively and cohesively with each other.
There have been numerous changes and innovative solutions that have been introduced to the industry in the last few years. Technology is advancing at a tremendous pace, which has a direct impact on Optometric Practices.
The question then is how does an Optometric Practice continue to grow with all these changes taking place?
The answer is that practices need to understand what their growth potential is and how can they activate it.
The growth potential of an optometry practice is based upon the following key principles:
1. Everything rises and falls on leadership
The team can only go as far as the optometric leadership goes.
The extent to which the optometrist leadership grows determines the extent to which the team grows.
Strong optometric leadership leads to strong optometric teams.
Optometric teams can do just about anything for the vision of company when they believe in the optometric leadership team.
What does this mean for you as the business owner?
Your staff produces what they see you produce. If you treat your business as a “by the way kind of thing” then guess what, they will not care at all about your business.
Everything that you constantly do, they will also effectively do as well.
The level you function with is the pace they work with.
2. Personnel determines the potential of an optometric practice
Empowered team members unlock the power potential of the business because when the team is developed to their full potential, the growth of the practice starts to manifest.
When the optometric team functions at its maximum potential, the practice will begin to reach its highest potential of effectiveness.
The optometric team is what makes the practice what it can become as the strength of the practice lies within the ability of the team.
When the optometric leadership takes care of the team members, the team will take care of the practice.
What does this mean for your business?
Identify a catalyst in the practice and be willing to actively empower them. This will enable them to go the extra mile for your business.
Remember; your employees don’t care about what you know until they know how much you care. (That employee who has been loyal to your business throughout the years requires & needs one thing for you – YOUR SUPPORT!!!
If your employees are not adding value to the practice, they taking value out of it.
3. Relationships determines the morale of an optometric practice
Patients bring lots of problems that need to be solved.
Customers bring daily sales and increased profits for the business.
Clients bring guaranteed sales growths and plenty of referrals and business to the organization.
Suppliers bring great products, support, structured deals and discounts to the business.
Service providers ensure efficient levels of services.
Competitors enable the practice to have a competitive edge.
Healthcare providers help increase the practice network.
What does this mean for your business?
Do you make your employees strong? Is the team better because you are in it?
If we had to ask any of the 7 different types of people above what is it like communicating with you, what would they say about you?
4. Structure determines the size of an optometric practice
Responsibilities given to team members set the tone for who takes up leadership roles within the practice.
Authority determines the optometric leadership capacity.
Accountability determines what the optometric leadership and team are capable of achieving.
What does this mean for your business?
When your employees are faithful with the little you entrusted them with, entrust them with more.
The key is give your most trusted employees “turned leaders” varied experiences.
When you take your best employees to a higher level than they have been before, they will take your business to a level it has never been before.
5. Systems determine the capacity of an optometric practice
Your processes should be efficient in order for productivity levels to be increased.
Your processes should simplify daily operations and not complicate them.
Activities get fast tracked and problems get solved when processes function efficiently.
What does this mean for your business?
The quicker you can do things, the more you can be able to do
When your team are on their “A” game, there is nothing that can limit the team from achieving the required results.
6. Work ethic determines the preparation of the optometric team in an optometric practice
Excellence should be the only standard of operation acceptable.
Consistency should be the only driving force.
Going the extra mile for the business should be what is modeled by the leaders in the practice.
Tenacity and resilience set the tone for things implemented.
Positive attitude and a problem solving mentality should be the number one
priority.
What does this mean for your business?
You will attract more consumers to the practice because service delivery will be at a high.
Achieving sales targets will be the order of the day.
7. Vision determines the direction of an optometric practice
Helps the team stay focused on what is important.
Ensures the practice does not settle for mediocrity.
Develops discipline among the team.
Creates clear targets and goals for the practice to achieve.
What does this mean for you?
Vision enables your employees to grow as people.
It is imperative that the vision be kept in front of the staff at all times because it is the highest motivational factor for them.
8. Leadership determines the success of an optometric practice
Optometric leadership determines the entire company`s progress.
The seed of optometric leadership sown into the business determines the resultant harvest the practice will have.
Explosive growth in the practice is a result of leadership growth.
Increase in the business is a result of leadership reaching beyond its comfort levels.
Multiplication of the business is a result of leadership multiplying itself.
What does this mean for your business?
When your leadership is strong and effective, it will reproduce even better leaders within your business. The better the leaders, the better the practice will be.
Conclusion
These growth potential principles are practical and when they are applied within your practice on a regular basis, they will unlock and most importantly activate the full potential of your business.
The biggest challenge with most practices is that they are not willing to get out of their comfort zones.
What do we mean by that?
What worked 10 or more years ago to get your business to where it is now is no longer relevant.
Is your business reliant on you solely to function or have equipped more leaders to build with? Example, are you still the Optometrist, the Manager and the Entrepreneur in your own business?
Does the practice still look like it did 10 years ago and your employees still not clued up on your product/service offering?
Is your vision for the practice clear to everyone employed by the business?
