Imagine that you go to the office on Monday and chaos greets you at the door. Chaos does not say hello or good to see you this morning, instead, Chaos tells you that the server is down, your assistant called in sick, and the family of six this afternoon cancelled. Chaos reminds you of the meeting tonight with your partners to discuss an area of broken trust. Chaos also lets you know that your first patient is Judge Smith and she was here early because she has a full day in court. If you are an optometrist and own your own business, then you probably are acquainted with Chaos. In fact, you may know him all to well. For many of us, Chaos can take us down a road of discouragement that is difficult to get off of. We feel that the office is going to fall apart and that we probably would had been better off working as an employee the rest of our lives.
One of the best investments that I make yearly is in i2i. I2I is a group of four optometrist, which includes myself, that meet once a year and share anything and everything about life and optometry. This meeting is more then a weekend get together, it is a meeting of four vastly different creative minds that run optometry offices from solo practice to group partnerships. We have cried on each others shoulders and celebrated each others accomplishments. We are a text message away from consulting someone that understands our respective practices, which creates the opportunity for gleaning wisdom in those Chaotic moments.
If you are considering buying a practice or maybe you have just bought a practice, begin with building a relationship with one or two other eye doctors and begin meeting together. (If you do not know what a meeting like that would look like, email me for a sample agenda.) We were not created to do life on our own. When you find others to collaborate with, you find solace in meeting Chaos at the door. No one enjoys Chaos, but dealing with Chaos is much easier when you have others to lean on for wisdom and encouragement.
