Its been six months since my last post.
We're still in Atlanta. Our condo will not sell. We cannot find a practice worth buying, although we haven't put a lot of leg work into finding an opportunity. I mean we look where people advertise but we haven't really gone out on our own to find/create an opportunity.
With the recent economic downturn it seems unlikely that a cold start would do anything but flounder for sometime. Would we even be able to get a loan?
In the last six months we've finished our work in Alaska. We've spent a month in Europe. Visiting family in Romania and then traveling in the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Upon our return from these travels we decided that we might as well devote the time we had while waiting for our condo to sell to try to find a public health position for me. If I could find a public health position in the US or Canada we would look into opening a practice in that city.
I sent out many unsolicited resumes and received some responses. Had some meetings. Nobody was really hiring but I began the very important process of networking.
I came across a temporary consulting position. I applied for said position. I was offered a different position in the same organization. They also offered my wife a position.
We've accepted these positions in principle and fully expect to be moving out of the country early 2009. This will be a minimum 2 year commitment. We will be training nurses and other health workers to do basic eye care in rural communities in developing countries.
We've contacted our optometric consultant and put our agreement on hold. I fully expect that we'll still open a practice. It just wasn't the right time. I still believe that private practice is the only way I can practice optometry. Not the only way to practice optometry just the only way for me.
In the meantime I continue to work fill-in jobs here and there trying to make ends meet.
By the time we return to the States (or Canada) we hope that our condo will have finally sold and that the economy will be more suitable to starting a new small business.
Life continues...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Where are we?
So this blog has been stagnant for some time. An explanation is in order.
We’re confused.
A lot of our information on private practice comes from the least reliable and most pessimistic of places – the internet.
The internet, although filled with well intentioned people who insist on the benefit of private practice, create a lot of doubt as to the ability to execute a successful private practice.
One gets excited about the possibilities only to read the most pessimistic rantings and ravings. The task at hand then seems impossible at best.
And it is impossible according to Optoblog
While the extreme position taken by Dr. Langford is, well… extreme, it coupled with ODwire’s continuous moaning and groaning raise a million little red flags.
Even with these red flags the desire to work in private practice rather than commercial optometry is strong but we are faced with a few road blocks.
The first is that my wife has been unable to secure affordable healthcare. For much of her optometric career she was an employed optometrist and received health benefits as part of her compensation package.
During this time a chronic illness, fortunately and unfortunately, finally received a diagnosis.
She has since left her employed position and is now working as an independent contractor (we are splitting our time between Atlanta, GA and Alaska). She has been denied individual insurance (and this was a very high deductible HSA type plan) and both our broker and the insurance agency state that there are no other options available to her.
This puts a damper on our gung-ho lets-work-for-ourselves plan.
To further dampen our spirits we are really unable to choose a city to start a practice and live in. Practices for sale seem to be few and far between and those that are for sale…
Thirdly, we are not completely prepared to be married to a practice 365 days a year. The idea of practice ownership is attractive. The, in our minds, limits that being a new practice owner places on one’s ability to explore life outside of the practice are daunting.
We will not work in commercial practice more than part-time ever again.
Not because we are opposed to commercial practices or commercial practitioners but because we just aren’t those people. It isn’t a good fit for us. I don’t take direction well. I don’t enjoy feeding patients to opticals that support big business. It’s just not us.
Where does that leave us?
Well we’ve enquired about a few practices for sale in the Northwest only to be disappointed by the quality of the practice and astounded by the asking price.
We are, however, moving on.
We have listed our condo for sale in Atlanta.
We only have a couple more months left on our arrangement as temporary-fill-in-ODs in Alaska.
After that we are officially unemployed and will need to do something.
We’ll continue to work on our plans while in Alaska.
We’ll set a “must-decide-on-a-city” date in the near future so that we can get more specific and find a community that we can live and practice in.
To hedge our bets we’ve applied for a couple of other positions that do nothing to further our pursuit of private practice. They are just-for-fun positions that do little more than provide health benefits.
I think I’ll stop reading internet forums that offer little more than the pessimistic rantings of some very unhappy people. Perhaps that will clear my mind and allow us to approach this endeavour with renewed vigour and excitement.
I have up days and down days. Some days I feel like nothing would make me happier than running a practice. Other days we collectively dread the thought of it.
So far the good days outnumber the bad.
I’ll ask again.
Are you selling a practice in the Northwest or Alberta?
If so. Drop us a line. You may have some buyers.
We’re confused.
A lot of our information on private practice comes from the least reliable and most pessimistic of places – the internet.
The internet, although filled with well intentioned people who insist on the benefit of private practice, create a lot of doubt as to the ability to execute a successful private practice.
One gets excited about the possibilities only to read the most pessimistic rantings and ravings. The task at hand then seems impossible at best.
And it is impossible according to Optoblog
While the extreme position taken by Dr. Langford is, well… extreme, it coupled with ODwire’s continuous moaning and groaning raise a million little red flags.
Even with these red flags the desire to work in private practice rather than commercial optometry is strong but we are faced with a few road blocks.
The first is that my wife has been unable to secure affordable healthcare. For much of her optometric career she was an employed optometrist and received health benefits as part of her compensation package.
During this time a chronic illness, fortunately and unfortunately, finally received a diagnosis.
She has since left her employed position and is now working as an independent contractor (we are splitting our time between Atlanta, GA and Alaska). She has been denied individual insurance (and this was a very high deductible HSA type plan) and both our broker and the insurance agency state that there are no other options available to her.
This puts a damper on our gung-ho lets-work-for-ourselves plan.
To further dampen our spirits we are really unable to choose a city to start a practice and live in. Practices for sale seem to be few and far between and those that are for sale…
Thirdly, we are not completely prepared to be married to a practice 365 days a year. The idea of practice ownership is attractive. The, in our minds, limits that being a new practice owner places on one’s ability to explore life outside of the practice are daunting.
We will not work in commercial practice more than part-time ever again.
Not because we are opposed to commercial practices or commercial practitioners but because we just aren’t those people. It isn’t a good fit for us. I don’t take direction well. I don’t enjoy feeding patients to opticals that support big business. It’s just not us.
Where does that leave us?
Well we’ve enquired about a few practices for sale in the Northwest only to be disappointed by the quality of the practice and astounded by the asking price.
We are, however, moving on.
We have listed our condo for sale in Atlanta.
We only have a couple more months left on our arrangement as temporary-fill-in-ODs in Alaska.
After that we are officially unemployed and will need to do something.
We’ll continue to work on our plans while in Alaska.
We’ll set a “must-decide-on-a-city” date in the near future so that we can get more specific and find a community that we can live and practice in.
To hedge our bets we’ve applied for a couple of other positions that do nothing to further our pursuit of private practice. They are just-for-fun positions that do little more than provide health benefits.
I think I’ll stop reading internet forums that offer little more than the pessimistic rantings of some very unhappy people. Perhaps that will clear my mind and allow us to approach this endeavour with renewed vigour and excitement.
I have up days and down days. Some days I feel like nothing would make me happier than running a practice. Other days we collectively dread the thought of it.
So far the good days outnumber the bad.
I’ll ask again.
Are you selling a practice in the Northwest or Alberta?
If so. Drop us a line. You may have some buyers.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Moving along
It has been a long time.
I did say that this would be sporadically updated... at best.
News on our front. We have both quit our jobs.
Done as of February 14th.
Never to return.
We have not yet found a practice. We have not yet found a location to open cold. We are simply fed up with our jobs and our lives here in Atlanta, GA. It is time to move on.
I feel that it will be much easier to find a practice or a practice location if we are actually living in/nearby the community we end up settling in.
To help ease our transition back to the Pacific Northwest we have taken a temporary position in Nome Alaska. We will be working in and around Nome for 3 weeks every 6 weeks or so until September.
Our first three weeks begin with our departure from Atlanta to Nome on February 14th. We will then have a week of Diabetic eye exams, a week of flying into small villages around Nome (sleeping at the clinic eating TV dinners) and then a week of general care in Nome.
We are very excited by this opportunity. Number one it will be a great adventure to add to our many previous adventures and number 2 it will challenge us professionally.
Having worked predominately commercial optometry for the past 5 years I really feel that my skills have eroded somewhat. It will be nice to be the only eye people in the community and be forced to deal with whatever presents. It will be a mini optometric boot camp.
Following our three weeks in Nome we'll be visiting some friends and family in the Northwest and then back to GA to put the finishing touches on our home to prepare it for (hopefully a quick) sale. We'll then head back to Nome for another three weeks.
During our off time from Nome we'll do fill-in work and scope out the Northwest for practices for sale and locations if we can't find a good practice to purchase.
Our proposed venture to Private practice had an initial deadline of Fall 2008. This may be extended as we've also applied for a position that may or may not be available come next January (position is in New Zealand).
As of February 14th, however, we are done working commercial unless it is supplementing a private practice.
We're excited!
I did say that this would be sporadically updated... at best.
News on our front. We have both quit our jobs.
Done as of February 14th.
Never to return.
We have not yet found a practice. We have not yet found a location to open cold. We are simply fed up with our jobs and our lives here in Atlanta, GA. It is time to move on.
I feel that it will be much easier to find a practice or a practice location if we are actually living in/nearby the community we end up settling in.
To help ease our transition back to the Pacific Northwest we have taken a temporary position in Nome Alaska. We will be working in and around Nome for 3 weeks every 6 weeks or so until September.
Our first three weeks begin with our departure from Atlanta to Nome on February 14th. We will then have a week of Diabetic eye exams, a week of flying into small villages around Nome (sleeping at the clinic eating TV dinners) and then a week of general care in Nome.
We are very excited by this opportunity. Number one it will be a great adventure to add to our many previous adventures and number 2 it will challenge us professionally.
Having worked predominately commercial optometry for the past 5 years I really feel that my skills have eroded somewhat. It will be nice to be the only eye people in the community and be forced to deal with whatever presents. It will be a mini optometric boot camp.
Following our three weeks in Nome we'll be visiting some friends and family in the Northwest and then back to GA to put the finishing touches on our home to prepare it for (hopefully a quick) sale. We'll then head back to Nome for another three weeks.
During our off time from Nome we'll do fill-in work and scope out the Northwest for practices for sale and locations if we can't find a good practice to purchase.
Our proposed venture to Private practice had an initial deadline of Fall 2008. This may be extended as we've also applied for a position that may or may not be available come next January (position is in New Zealand).
As of February 14th, however, we are done working commercial unless it is supplementing a private practice.
We're excited!
Friday, November 23, 2007
BND
I published this post elsewhere but thought it interesting enough to republish it here. It is a further introduction to who we are as people and the specific challenges we will face. Challenges that most others would not.
So here it is, Buy Nothing Day, and I'm sitting in a mall.
A mall filled to the gills with shoppers straining under the weight of their purchases.
Loaded down (looking eerily like pack mules) looking to make their next purchase.
Looking to "save" more money!
It is Black Friday.
It is the busiest shopping day on the American consumer's calender. Credit cards are melting from the non-stop swiping. Consumer debt will continue to grow today as shoppers will find those things they must have.
They can't live without.
Their homes are already full but they will find more room for more stuff.
I just spent $3.
On Buy Nothing Day.
I'm mad.
But I showed up to work at the same time as another optometrist. He wasn't supposed to be there today but everybody forgot to tell him. So being the patsy I am I volunteered to come back in a few hours and we would split the day.
So I bought a cookie.
And a drink.
I had no where else to go.
And I sit in a mall on Buy Nothing Day and ponder all of the things I've purchased in my life.
All of the things I don't need.
Like this computer.
Although I use it I'm sure Swell and I don't each need one. Yet we both have computers and all of the associated computer paraphernalia that I needed.
Ipod? Check.
PSP? Check.
External hard drives? Check.
I shaved yesterday.
If you see pictures of me throughout my adulthood you'll see stark changes in my appearance.
The less I'm enjoying "life" the more homeless I let myself look. (I'll forgo telling the story of one of the proudest moments in my life. Most of you have heard the story of the concerned couple asking my sister if she knew me, and if she thought I needed a warm meal and a place to stay. Awesome!)
Its my pseudo-rebellion against the man. I may have to participate in Western society but I won't look the part.
After a few weeks of this I invariably realize how stupid I am and clean myself up a little (although I refuse to cut my hair more than twice a year. I HATE getting my hair cut).
Swell and I have both been unhappy with where we are. Money hates us.
More accurately knowing what to do with money is difficult for us.
Do we pay loans back more quickly?
Do we give more away?
Do we give money to distant poverty stricken relatives or spend money to send them stuff?
How much do we set aside to pay our taxes?
Are we going to go to jail because our tax situation is going to be a nightmare this year (thanks in no small part to our employers purposeful misuse of us as independent contractors)?
Furthermore, we have no strong desire to be optometrists. We have no passion for optometry, although we enjoy it. It isn't our lives. It doesn't give us a great deal of purpose in life although it is quickly consuming our entire lives.
Between Swell's hideous commute and our longish work days we've become the fabulous wake up-go to work-come home-eat-sleep duo.
No friends (me=Thank God, Swell=boo hoo).
No hobbies.
No family nearby.
No direction.
I think that's why this Nome opportunity is attractive to us (edit to add: there is a part-time OD position in Nome that we have expressed interest in. Two weeks there six weeks away.Position is temporary.) Its something different. It will break us out of our doldrum.
But it does nothing to further our lives.
It doesn't help us move forward.
We've done a lot of lateral movements in the five years we've been married. Hopping from thing to thing without any long term direction.
We're trying to gain that long-term direction by opening/buying our own practice but in our selfishness (that's not really the right word...) we don't want owning a practice to cramp our other opportunities. Its a catch 22. We can't continue to live here and work for others but we can't move anywhere else and work for others as we'll go broke.
So we'll devote our lives to owning a small business and this will make the pursuit of money (not necessarily in a bad way) become a central theme of our lives. We, after all, will have bills to pay, payroll to meet, etc.
This raises a whole bunch of other questions that is difficult for us to grapple with.
Do we open on Buy Nothing Day?
Will there be a market for an optometry practice dedicated to helping eradicate poverty, injustice, and inequity? (We plan on setting aside a certain percentage of income/profit? to give to yet to be determined NGOs. We will advertise (internally) this fact.)
Is it possible to find fair trade spectacle frames? Lenses?
Will we be able to pursue other interests outside of a small business without killing ourselves or the practice?
These and other questions weigh on our hearts and minds as we scrounge to survive a life we dislike. While we continue to work for money rather than enjoyment. While we continue to live lonely lives.
So in rebellion I becamehomely homeless looking.
What did that accomplish? Nothing. But it felt good to rebel.
We will continue our rebellion in our Christmas gift purchases.
We will continue our rebellion by refusing to participate in the busiest shopping day of the year (aside from my cookie and drink... I suck).
We will continue our rebellion by being small business owners who own a business that treats employees fairly and desires to leave lasting change in the world.
We will continue our rebellion by trying to forgo the trappings of wealth.
We will continue our rebellion by...?
So here it is, Buy Nothing Day, and I'm sitting in a mall.
A mall filled to the gills with shoppers straining under the weight of their purchases.
Loaded down (looking eerily like pack mules) looking to make their next purchase.
Looking to "save" more money!
It is Black Friday.
It is the busiest shopping day on the American consumer's calender. Credit cards are melting from the non-stop swiping. Consumer debt will continue to grow today as shoppers will find those things they must have.
They can't live without.
Their homes are already full but they will find more room for more stuff.
I just spent $3.
On Buy Nothing Day.
I'm mad.
But I showed up to work at the same time as another optometrist. He wasn't supposed to be there today but everybody forgot to tell him. So being the patsy I am I volunteered to come back in a few hours and we would split the day.
So I bought a cookie.
And a drink.
I had no where else to go.
And I sit in a mall on Buy Nothing Day and ponder all of the things I've purchased in my life.
All of the things I don't need.
Like this computer.
Although I use it I'm sure Swell and I don't each need one. Yet we both have computers and all of the associated computer paraphernalia that I needed.
Ipod? Check.
PSP? Check.
External hard drives? Check.
I shaved yesterday.
If you see pictures of me throughout my adulthood you'll see stark changes in my appearance.
The less I'm enjoying "life" the more homeless I let myself look. (I'll forgo telling the story of one of the proudest moments in my life. Most of you have heard the story of the concerned couple asking my sister if she knew me, and if she thought I needed a warm meal and a place to stay. Awesome!)
Its my pseudo-rebellion against the man. I may have to participate in Western society but I won't look the part.
After a few weeks of this I invariably realize how stupid I am and clean myself up a little (although I refuse to cut my hair more than twice a year. I HATE getting my hair cut).
Swell and I have both been unhappy with where we are. Money hates us.
More accurately knowing what to do with money is difficult for us.
Do we pay loans back more quickly?
Do we give more away?
Do we give money to distant poverty stricken relatives or spend money to send them stuff?
How much do we set aside to pay our taxes?
Are we going to go to jail because our tax situation is going to be a nightmare this year (thanks in no small part to our employers purposeful misuse of us as independent contractors)?
Furthermore, we have no strong desire to be optometrists. We have no passion for optometry, although we enjoy it. It isn't our lives. It doesn't give us a great deal of purpose in life although it is quickly consuming our entire lives.
Between Swell's hideous commute and our longish work days we've become the fabulous wake up-go to work-come home-eat-sleep duo.
No friends (me=Thank God, Swell=boo hoo).
No hobbies.
No family nearby.
No direction.
I think that's why this Nome opportunity is attractive to us (edit to add: there is a part-time OD position in Nome that we have expressed interest in. Two weeks there six weeks away.Position is temporary.) Its something different. It will break us out of our doldrum.
But it does nothing to further our lives.
It doesn't help us move forward.
We've done a lot of lateral movements in the five years we've been married. Hopping from thing to thing without any long term direction.
We're trying to gain that long-term direction by opening/buying our own practice but in our selfishness (that's not really the right word...) we don't want owning a practice to cramp our other opportunities. Its a catch 22. We can't continue to live here and work for others but we can't move anywhere else and work for others as we'll go broke.
So we'll devote our lives to owning a small business and this will make the pursuit of money (not necessarily in a bad way) become a central theme of our lives. We, after all, will have bills to pay, payroll to meet, etc.
This raises a whole bunch of other questions that is difficult for us to grapple with.
Do we open on Buy Nothing Day?
Will there be a market for an optometry practice dedicated to helping eradicate poverty, injustice, and inequity? (We plan on setting aside a certain percentage of income/profit? to give to yet to be determined NGOs. We will advertise (internally) this fact.)
Is it possible to find fair trade spectacle frames? Lenses?
Will we be able to pursue other interests outside of a small business without killing ourselves or the practice?
These and other questions weigh on our hearts and minds as we scrounge to survive a life we dislike. While we continue to work for money rather than enjoyment. While we continue to live lonely lives.
So in rebellion I became
What did that accomplish? Nothing. But it felt good to rebel.
We will continue our rebellion in our Christmas gift purchases.
We will continue our rebellion by refusing to participate in the busiest shopping day of the year (aside from my cookie and drink... I suck).
We will continue our rebellion by being small business owners who own a business that treats employees fairly and desires to leave lasting change in the world.
We will continue our rebellion by trying to forgo the trappings of wealth.
We will continue our rebellion by...?
Friday, November 16, 2007
Location, Location, Location
Things are moving very slowly.
We spoke with our main consultant, the one who will know our situation inside and out and will be our main source of information.
She wants us to start narrowing our desired location down.
That is a tough thing to do.
We only have a vague area of the world in mind, yet she wants us to start looking at communities.
I'd be happy if we decided on a city.
We want to relocate from the SE USA to the Pacific Northwest.
Why?
Simple reasons.
That part of the country is closer to family. A lot closer.
This is important to us. Probably the most important reason to relocate. We want to be able to visit family, have family visit us without it being an ordeal. Just hop in a car or on a plane and be there quickly.
That part of the country suits us more. We love the outdoors and will spend weekends hiking/camping. The people in the NW are more our style - more laid back. We encountered a lot less attitude when we were living over there. Here. Everyone is important and is aghast when you don't bow to their importance. There. Everyone is more of a regular Joe.
The Pacific Northwest is a large area.
We need to narrow it down.
The first thing that narrows our search down is that there are two of us. Two optometrists. It will be very difficult to find a rural community that can support two brand new optometrists so we're limiting our search to more metropolitan areas.
Also I'm looking for opportunities outside of optometry that are more available in metropolitan areas. So we're basically looking in the greater Portland area as well as the greater Seattle area.
Why not Spokane? Ummm... yeah. We're not big fans of Spokane. My micro bus broke down outside of Spokane forcing my brother and I to wander around Spokane looking for something to do. We ended up at the library.
The library.
We were then stopped at the Canadian border and searched.
Searched.
Even though amongst them many stickers on my bus I had a drug free sticker.
Swell and I interviewed for a job in Seattle shortly after graduation as well. One of our first experiences with an optometric interview.
Most interviews in the world of optometry center around the hiring optometrist bragging about how successful they are. Rarely they will ask you a question. Even more rarely is the question about your skills or interests.
Our interviewer in Spokane was quite conservative and very outspoken about his political aspirations. We, on the other hand, are politically liberal (but socially conservative - another dichotomy) and not into seeing 8 patients an hour so we passed on that opportunity. Or more accurately he passed on us.
Thank God.
So that leaves Seattle and Portland.
When I say Seattle I mean the Greater Puget Sound area and all the way south to Tacoma
And when I say Portland I mean the Greater Portland area including Vancouver, WA, Beaverton, Gresham etc.
Why these two cities?
Federal Way (Greater Puget Sound area) is home to World Vision and I wouldn't mind working for them. There shouldn't be much trouble finding enough work in the area to support two optometrists and we just really like that part of the country. Although we have never lived further north than Vancouver, Washington (since we've been married. We've both technically lived further north than that but that is another story) we have spent a fair amount of time in the Seattle area and have always enjoyed our time there. We also have friends in that part of the world and as I've said before family is nearby.
Our consultant has basically nixed any hopes for Seattle-Seattle saying due to the cost of living that it is very difficult to make a go of it there. So if we want to do Seattle-Seattle it will be via a practice purchase. (If you're selling a practice in that part of the world message me. I'm interested.)
So we'll be looking South of Seattle.
We're open to just about anywhere in the Portland area and are certain we can support ourselves (i.e. pick up work outside our practice especially with Pacific University being so close). Medical Teams international is also in the Portland area and I could be happy working there.
So we're in the process of narrowing our search down. If you have a practice for sale in the general area we're looking let us know.
We're also in the process of contacting a couple of commercial realtors to get the feel of the areas from a business standpoint because we may love the area but if it can't support us there's really no point in going there.
So that's where we stand.
We're not very far into this at all but as everyday passes at our good for nothing jobs we're more and more anxious to pack up our lives and leave this town. And we're more and more excited about heading out on our own.
We spoke with our main consultant, the one who will know our situation inside and out and will be our main source of information.
She wants us to start narrowing our desired location down.
That is a tough thing to do.
We only have a vague area of the world in mind, yet she wants us to start looking at communities.
I'd be happy if we decided on a city.
We want to relocate from the SE USA to the Pacific Northwest.
Why?
Simple reasons.
That part of the country is closer to family. A lot closer.
This is important to us. Probably the most important reason to relocate. We want to be able to visit family, have family visit us without it being an ordeal. Just hop in a car or on a plane and be there quickly.
That part of the country suits us more. We love the outdoors and will spend weekends hiking/camping. The people in the NW are more our style - more laid back. We encountered a lot less attitude when we were living over there. Here. Everyone is important and is aghast when you don't bow to their importance. There. Everyone is more of a regular Joe.
The Pacific Northwest is a large area.
We need to narrow it down.
The first thing that narrows our search down is that there are two of us. Two optometrists. It will be very difficult to find a rural community that can support two brand new optometrists so we're limiting our search to more metropolitan areas.
Also I'm looking for opportunities outside of optometry that are more available in metropolitan areas. So we're basically looking in the greater Portland area as well as the greater Seattle area.
Why not Spokane? Ummm... yeah. We're not big fans of Spokane. My micro bus broke down outside of Spokane forcing my brother and I to wander around Spokane looking for something to do. We ended up at the library.
The library.
We were then stopped at the Canadian border and searched.
Searched.
Even though amongst them many stickers on my bus I had a drug free sticker.
Swell and I interviewed for a job in Seattle shortly after graduation as well. One of our first experiences with an optometric interview.
Most interviews in the world of optometry center around the hiring optometrist bragging about how successful they are. Rarely they will ask you a question. Even more rarely is the question about your skills or interests.
Our interviewer in Spokane was quite conservative and very outspoken about his political aspirations. We, on the other hand, are politically liberal (but socially conservative - another dichotomy) and not into seeing 8 patients an hour so we passed on that opportunity. Or more accurately he passed on us.
Thank God.
So that leaves Seattle and Portland.
When I say Seattle I mean the Greater Puget Sound area and all the way south to Tacoma
And when I say Portland I mean the Greater Portland area including Vancouver, WA, Beaverton, Gresham etc.
Why these two cities?
Federal Way (Greater Puget Sound area) is home to World Vision and I wouldn't mind working for them. There shouldn't be much trouble finding enough work in the area to support two optometrists and we just really like that part of the country. Although we have never lived further north than Vancouver, Washington (since we've been married. We've both technically lived further north than that but that is another story) we have spent a fair amount of time in the Seattle area and have always enjoyed our time there. We also have friends in that part of the world and as I've said before family is nearby.
Our consultant has basically nixed any hopes for Seattle-Seattle saying due to the cost of living that it is very difficult to make a go of it there. So if we want to do Seattle-Seattle it will be via a practice purchase. (If you're selling a practice in that part of the world message me. I'm interested.)
So we'll be looking South of Seattle.
We're open to just about anywhere in the Portland area and are certain we can support ourselves (i.e. pick up work outside our practice especially with Pacific University being so close). Medical Teams international is also in the Portland area and I could be happy working there.
So we're in the process of narrowing our search down. If you have a practice for sale in the general area we're looking let us know.
We're also in the process of contacting a couple of commercial realtors to get the feel of the areas from a business standpoint because we may love the area but if it can't support us there's really no point in going there.
So that's where we stand.
We're not very far into this at all but as everyday passes at our good for nothing jobs we're more and more anxious to pack up our lives and leave this town. And we're more and more excited about heading out on our own.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Short Update
I told you this would be update sporadically at best.
We spoke with the consultant again yesterday. We're just trying to figure out how to proceed. Although much of this is common sense we want to be on as solid of ground as we can when we open our doors. One of our cities of interest was shot down yesterday as being "very difficult". We'll keep looking for a practice for sale in that city but will probably avoid opening cold there.
While it is still our intention to purchase a practice we are going to start laying the groundwork for a cold open. That groundwork will begin by speaking with commercial realtors in a couple of cities that we are interested in going to.
We know people who know people so hopefully we can find some trustworthy people who will give us the low down on communities and leases.
In terms of a location we want to be as professional as possible. To us this means no malls. A professional strip mall would be acceptable. By professional we mean there should be at least a few other professionals in the building. Realtors, lawyers, insurance agents, etc.
The ideal situation for us would be a medical building but I don't see that as being a practical choice in the areas we are looking at.
A free standing building with good exposure would also be nice.
We'll see.
Every day here is more fuel to get this done. We just really aren't enjoying living in this part of the country.
We spoke with the consultant again yesterday. We're just trying to figure out how to proceed. Although much of this is common sense we want to be on as solid of ground as we can when we open our doors. One of our cities of interest was shot down yesterday as being "very difficult". We'll keep looking for a practice for sale in that city but will probably avoid opening cold there.
While it is still our intention to purchase a practice we are going to start laying the groundwork for a cold open. That groundwork will begin by speaking with commercial realtors in a couple of cities that we are interested in going to.
We know people who know people so hopefully we can find some trustworthy people who will give us the low down on communities and leases.
In terms of a location we want to be as professional as possible. To us this means no malls. A professional strip mall would be acceptable. By professional we mean there should be at least a few other professionals in the building. Realtors, lawyers, insurance agents, etc.
The ideal situation for us would be a medical building but I don't see that as being a practical choice in the areas we are looking at.
A free standing building with good exposure would also be nice.
We'll see.
Every day here is more fuel to get this done. We just really aren't enjoying living in this part of the country.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Clarification
We really appreciate all of the feedback we've received thus far. It always surprises me when my internet ramblings attract attention outside of my own.
This blog was started because I challenged an internet blowhard to outline for students how he became so successful. That challenge was not accepted. So I challenged myself. Furthermore Swell and I use blogs as a method of recording our life journey.
The internet is an interesting phenomena. It seems to allow those with little to no experience to claim expert status on any number of issues. I do not claim to be an expert on optometry. Private practice. Or anything else this blog will discuss. I am simply learning.
This blog will serve to outline the decisions we will have to make over the next year and how we came to make the decisions we did. I fully realize that what we decide may not be what is appropriate for others but I hope that I can instill hope in students that it is possible to pursue private practice. That it is possible to pursue other non-patient care interests with an optometric degree. That it is possible to use commercial practice to your advantage.
Its funny that I've only made four posts and I've already been "called out". I don't know if I'm a "major pro commercial flamer" or not. (Apparently someone has changed the meaning of the word flamer...) I do see commercial optometry as a viable mode of practice in today's optometry. I feel that we used this mode of practice to our benefit and will continue to do so. Please don't read that we hate those who choose to practice this way. We respect them as colleagues and hold no ill will toward them. It is simply time for us to face new challenges. There are many out there who, in their quest for acceptance or in an effort to hide inadequacies, will take every opportunity to yell and scream about how commercial practice is destroying our fine profession. They can continue to do that. I will not.
Commercial is not my concern.
My future patients are my concern.
Insurance is my concern.
Cash flow is my concern.
I'm tired of optometry. I've been tired of optometry since my second year of optometry school. Not because I dislike it just because I like something else more. I still have a passion for eye care but not at an individual patient level. The only way I can bring myself to stay in traditional optometry is to challenge myself with something new. Practice ownership.
This will be Swell's practice but I will play a role in it. We will be partners but she'll be the primary optometrist. I fully expect to be working commercial or, hopefully, public health work as my primary source of income.
We don't expect to remain anonymous. In the next week many of you will know our real names and our location. Our intent with pseudonyms is simply to prevent people from googling our given names and stumbling upon this blog. I will stand by every word I type but am always open to having my mind/opinion changed.
The picture associated with this blog is one of my favourite pictures of Swell and I. It is a tribute to my pseudo-anarchist punk youth and was taken on a very, very smelly train in Egypt. It pokes fun at the anonymity of this blog and is intended to represent the idea that our journey could be the journey of any recently graduated optometrist. We are nobody special. We just are.
I know I am long winded. Any paper I've ever submitted to anyone has been returned with the comment to cut not just words or sentences but pages. The internet gives me the freedom to ramble and I hope that within the ramblings you can gain some insight and enjoyment. I really hope that all y'all continue to visit and follow us. I've enabled anonymous comments now so if you don't want to put your name to your comments thats fine. No worries. I promise not to be offended. I welcome dialogue and know that I can learn from all of you.
Thanks again!
This blog was started because I challenged an internet blowhard to outline for students how he became so successful. That challenge was not accepted. So I challenged myself. Furthermore Swell and I use blogs as a method of recording our life journey.
The internet is an interesting phenomena. It seems to allow those with little to no experience to claim expert status on any number of issues. I do not claim to be an expert on optometry. Private practice. Or anything else this blog will discuss. I am simply learning.
This blog will serve to outline the decisions we will have to make over the next year and how we came to make the decisions we did. I fully realize that what we decide may not be what is appropriate for others but I hope that I can instill hope in students that it is possible to pursue private practice. That it is possible to pursue other non-patient care interests with an optometric degree. That it is possible to use commercial practice to your advantage.
Its funny that I've only made four posts and I've already been "called out". I don't know if I'm a "major pro commercial flamer" or not. (Apparently someone has changed the meaning of the word flamer...) I do see commercial optometry as a viable mode of practice in today's optometry. I feel that we used this mode of practice to our benefit and will continue to do so. Please don't read that we hate those who choose to practice this way. We respect them as colleagues and hold no ill will toward them. It is simply time for us to face new challenges. There are many out there who, in their quest for acceptance or in an effort to hide inadequacies, will take every opportunity to yell and scream about how commercial practice is destroying our fine profession. They can continue to do that. I will not.
Commercial is not my concern.
My future patients are my concern.
Insurance is my concern.
Cash flow is my concern.
I'm tired of optometry. I've been tired of optometry since my second year of optometry school. Not because I dislike it just because I like something else more. I still have a passion for eye care but not at an individual patient level. The only way I can bring myself to stay in traditional optometry is to challenge myself with something new. Practice ownership.
This will be Swell's practice but I will play a role in it. We will be partners but she'll be the primary optometrist. I fully expect to be working commercial or, hopefully, public health work as my primary source of income.
We don't expect to remain anonymous. In the next week many of you will know our real names and our location. Our intent with pseudonyms is simply to prevent people from googling our given names and stumbling upon this blog. I will stand by every word I type but am always open to having my mind/opinion changed.
The picture associated with this blog is one of my favourite pictures of Swell and I. It is a tribute to my pseudo-anarchist punk youth and was taken on a very, very smelly train in Egypt. It pokes fun at the anonymity of this blog and is intended to represent the idea that our journey could be the journey of any recently graduated optometrist. We are nobody special. We just are.
I know I am long winded. Any paper I've ever submitted to anyone has been returned with the comment to cut not just words or sentences but pages. The internet gives me the freedom to ramble and I hope that within the ramblings you can gain some insight and enjoyment. I really hope that all y'all continue to visit and follow us. I've enabled anonymous comments now so if you don't want to put your name to your comments thats fine. No worries. I promise not to be offended. I welcome dialogue and know that I can learn from all of you.
Thanks again!
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