Power Hour Optometry

Patients are waiting longer. They are more concerned about cost. Practices are feeling the pressure of the economy. None of that is particularly surprising. But then the latest industry data shows something much more interesting: When certain patients do come in, and when they decide to buy, they appear willing to spend considerably more. In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Kris Stevens, Vice President of Research at The Vision Council, to unpack some of the freshest data available on what is actually happening inside the optical market. And this is not a small sample. The Vision Council is analyzing roughly 2.2–2.5 million transactions per year, alongside recurring consumer research and direct feedback from providers across the country. The picture that emerges is complicated, but hidden inside the numbers are some very clear opportunities for independent practices.

What would change inside your practice if you stopped thinking of the optical as simply where patients go after the exam, and started thinking about it as a place people genuinely want to shop? That question sits at the center of this week's Power Hour. In this week's episode, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with David Friedfeld, President and Co-Owner of ClearVision Optical, a 78-year-old family-owned frame distributor serving roughly 10,000 customers and shipping between 1.5 and 2 million frames annually. That scale gives David a unique view into how consumers are changing, and what independent practices may be missing. And the conversation keeps coming back to one issue: Independent optometry may be very good at delivering eye exams. But is it equally good at creating a shopping experience?

For years, the conversation with AMD patients has largely been about one thing: How do we slow this down? But Dr. Dalton Brothers and Dr. Chris White are having a very different conversation with their patients today – they talk about how to maintain and improve it. In this week's episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Dalton Brothers, Owner and Founder of Brothers Vision Consulting and OD at Brothers, Bezold & Associates, and Dr. Chris White, OD at San Juans Vision Source, to explore how they are using photobiomodulation with AMD patients: what the evidence suggests, what they are seeing clinically, and what this emerging treatment model could mean for both patients and practices. Dalton now has roughly 200 AMD patients in treatment. Chris treated his first patient less than a year ago and has already built more than 40 cases while adding another two to three patients in a typical week. And they brought real-world cases to prove why they are paying attention.

What if one of the biggest opportunities in your back-to-school schedule did not require more chair time? Dr. Kate Daluyin has built a highly successful myopia management program inside Vision Source Studio 20/20, and one part of her process immediately caught Eugene's attention. When Dr. Daluyin identifies a child who needs myopia management, most of the deeper conversations with the family happen virtually. And roughly 60-65% of those virtual consultations result in enrollment in a $4,500, 24-month myopia management program. ----- Put The Eyecare B.O.S.S. to Work in Your Practice Are you reading The Eyecare B.O.S.S. yet? Thousands of copies of the growth manual have already been sold, but the book is only the beginning. If you're ready to start implementing the systems inside your own practice, visit EyecareBoss.com There are more than 40 free tools available to download, including the same tools used with practices to help turn the concepts in the book into execution. And the results are worth paying attention to. Across a year-long study involving approximately 25 practice locations, participating practices saw average: Refractions increase 19.4%. Revenue increase 23.9%. In a market where much of the industry is flat, those results stand out. You can use the book and tools independently, work alongside other practice owners in a group, or get one-on-one coaching support. Your call. Your dream practice is waiting for you. Visit EyecareBoss.com

How many good ideas have disappeared inside your practice? You heard something at a conference, identified a new revenue opportunity, and told the team what needed to change. Everyone agreed. But then, a few weeks later, you realized nobody was really doing it anymore. That is not an idea problem. It is an execution problem. This week on Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Co-Creator of The Eyecare B.O.S.S., Jamie Rosin, to break down the exact framework they use to turn practice improvements into behaviors that actually stick. And this episode is extremely practical. Eugene and Jamie break down the framework step by step — from finding the opportunity, to getting your team behind it, to making sure it does not quietly die three weeks later. ---- Learn More About The Eyecare B.O.S.S. The Eyecare B.O.S.S. — Business Optimization & Scalability System — brings together Accountability, Revenue, People, Patient Experience, and Data to help independent practices build more predictable growth and stronger execution. Visit eyecareboss.com to access tools, resources, master classes, and additional support for implementing the system inside your practice.

Most ODs who enter aesthetics start in a similar place. They purchase IPL or radio frequency technology for dry eye. They discover the equipment can do more. They add a few aesthetic treatments to the schedule, and then the opportunity stalls. The devices are there. Patients show some interest. But aesthetics never becomes a real business. This week on Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Amanda Barker, Co-Founder and Owner of Advanced Family Eye Care, to examine what it actually takes to move beyond dabbling and build a seven-figure aesthetics practice. Amanda's aesthetics business is now on track to generate between $1 million and $1.2 million annually. But the most valuable part of the conversation is not the final number. It is everything she had to build around it. A separate business structure, licensed providers, multiple treatment rooms, a consultative sales process, production goals for each room and provider, and patient retention systems.

Most practices assume that selling more glasses means making more money. But what if that is not always true? In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Lacy Crissup (Co-Owner of Claremore Eye Associates), Dr. Trinae Rosato (Owner of Rosato Family Eyecare LLC) and Dr. Brian Abert (Founder of Vista Eye Care and Member of the AOA & COA), to discuss what happened when each of their practices took a deeper look at their optical performance. Their practices are different in size, market, and stage of growth. But each of them recently went through a retail optimization initiative focused on frame profitability, board space, pricing strategy, managed care reimbursement, team training, and optical performance. And what they found was hard to ignore.

How are you? Most people answer that question without thinking. "Good. Fine. Okay." Then the conversation moves on, and nothing meaningful is learned. But what if that question is one of the reasons so many conversations stay stuck at the surface? In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Bart Foster, Founder and CEO of BusinessOutside, to discuss how better questions create stronger connection, how connection builds trust, and how trust can change the way leaders, teams, and patients respond. Bart works closely with executives across the eye care industry, helping them move beyond surface-level conversations and into the kinds of relationships that create real insight, vulnerability, and growth. And while this conversation begins with executive forums, it quickly becomes relevant to every practice owner, manager, doctor, and team member trying to build more trust inside their business.

Independent practice performance is under pressure. Refractions are down. Revenue is down. Exam-only behavior is climbing. And for many practices, the first half of 2026 has been much tougher than expected. In this week's episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Jason Lake, General Manager of PERC & Opti-Port, to examine real-time independent practice performance data and discuss what owners can do now to protect revenue, improve capture, and prepare for demand to return.

You did the exam. You built the relationship. You made the recommendation. And then the patient walked out and bought their eyewear somewhere else. That moment is one of the most frustrating leaks in an independent practice. But it is also one of the most strategic opportunities. In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Megan Molony, Vice-President of the Optical Women's Association and CEO of Europa Eyewear, to discuss what independent practices can learn from big optical, how patient expectations are changing, and how practices can compete smarter in an increasingly consolidated market. Megan brings a rare perspective to this conversation. Before leading Europa Eyewear, she held senior roles across some of the largest players in optical, including EssilorLuxottica and National Vision. So when she talks about patient behavior, merchandising, retail strategy, value perception, and capture rate, she is not speaking from theory. She has seen how the big players think. And she revealed one of the biggest insights from the episode: Large retailers are counting on a meaningful percentage of patients leaving independent practices after the exam and coming to them for eyewear.

What does it actually mean to be the CEO of your practice? For many practice owners, that question does not become real until growth starts creating pressure. The practice gets busier. The team needs more direction. Associates need more training. Patients still expect the owner's touch. And suddenly, the thing that once felt like a successful business starts feeling like a very well-paying job. That is what makes this episode of Power Hour with Dr. Nick Lillie so valuable. In this week's episode of Power Hour, Eugene speaks with Dr. Nick Lillie, Owner of Family Vision Optical and Rejuvenation Dry Eye Center, who has spent the last two years intentionally moving from doctor-owner to true practice CEO. And the results are not theoretical. His practice has continued to produce double-digit growth, even in a market where many practices are starting to feel pressure. But the real story is not just the growth, it is the machine he is building underneath it.

There's a moment in every specialty service conversation where the patient either leans in or checks out. And in dry eye, that moment usually has very little to do with the machine. It has to do with whether the patient understands what the doctor sees, why it matters, and what happens if they do nothing. That's where this week's Power Hour with Dr. Todd Cohan, Owner of Midwest Dry Eye Center and Forsight Vision, LTD, gets especially practical. Todd has built a medically focused practice where dry eye, myopia management, aesthetics, retinal testing, and comprehensive care are not treated as side offerings. They are part of the practice philosophy. And that philosophy has helped his team consistently produce some of the strongest revenue-per-patient numbers we've discussed on the show, consistently producing numbers in the high $800s, $900s, and even over $1,100 per patient across multiple doctors. But the episode is not about chasing a number. It's about the behaviors that create the number. Because if a patient walks out without understanding the finding, the recommendation, or the reason behind the next step, the treatment conversation is already on shaky ground.

By overwhelming request, we've decided to do something special for our Power Hour listeners. As a thank you for being part of the community, we've partnered with Amazon to make the Kindle version of The Eyecare B.O.S.S. book completely free, only for the next 48 hours. If you've listened to our recent Power Hour episodes introducing The Eyecare B.O.S.S., you know this isn't just another business book. It's the complete operating system Eugene Shatsman and Jamie Rosin created to help independent eye care practices grow, optimize, and scale. The goal for this launch is simple. To get as many practice owners as possible to read the book, implement the concepts, and tell us what they think through an Amazon review. So for the next 48 hours, you can download the Kindle version completely free. You have two ways to get your copy: Option 1: Download the Kindle Edition Free Get instant access and start reading today. [Read It For Free On Amazon] Option 2: Order the Paperback Edition If you'd like a copy for your desk, want to highlight pages, make notes, share it with your leadership team, or support the project, the paperback edition is available as well. [Get Your Paperback] We truly hope the ideas, frameworks, and tools inside The Eyecare B.O.S.S. help you build the practice you originally envisioned when you became a practice owner. If you do read it, we'd love to hear your feedback. This will help deliver as much impact as possible for your practice growth. Get your copy today and start building your B.O.S.S. practice. [Read It For Free On Amazon] [Get Your Paperback]

Some practices are built from scratch; others are inherited. While both come with challenges, inheriting a practice brings a unique responsibility: preserving what made it successful while finding the courage to evolve it for the future. In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Dr. Luke Small, a third-generation optometrist and Owner of Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre, one of the oldest optometry practices in Canada, with a history spanning more than 110 years. Luke's grandfather helped shape the profession in its early days. His father expanded the practice into a standalone eye care center and embraced technology long before most practices considered it. Today, Luke is leading the next chapter, modernizing the business through medical eye care, advanced technology, a second location, and a culture-first approach to patient experience. This is a conversation about growth, leadership, and what happens when the doctor everyone wants to see must begin transforming into the CEO the practice needs.

For more than two decades, some of the most important conversations in optometry have happened quietly behind the scenes. Not on stages. Not in public Facebook groups. But inside private discussions where doctors could speak openly with each other about what was really happening inside the profession. That eventually became ODwire. In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Dr. Adam Farkas, Founder and Chief Technologist of ODwire and CEwire, to unpack the story behind one of the most influential private communities in optometry. What makes this conversation fascinating is its vantage point. For more than two decades, Adam has had a front row seat to the real conversations happening inside optometry, the ones doctors have with each other when nobody else is in the room. And over time, those conversations have quietly become a reflection of how the profession itself has evolved.

EXCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITY: Be the first to get the book, "The Eyecare BOSS," by Eugene Shatsman & Jamie Rosin → https://eyecareboss.com/ When practice owners are asked about their biggest challenge, the answer is usually the same: People. Because when your team is aligned, accountable, and operating at a high level, growth feels possible. New ideas get implemented. Patients have a better experience. The business moves forward. But when the team is burned out, inconsistent, or resistant to change, even small improvements can feel difficult to execute. That's exactly why People is one of the foundational pillars of the Eyecare BOSS (Business Optimization & Scalability System). In order to scale and optimize a practice, you need the right people in the right seats, operating with clear expectations, shared rules of engagement, and accountability across the organization. The People System is designed to help practices build that structure intentionally — creating systems that consistently develop stronger teams, stronger culture, and better execution over time. Because when culture depends entirely on one or two people holding everything together, growth eventually stalls. This episode is the first in a five-part Eyecare BOSS series, where Jamie Rosin and Eugene break down the systems behind building a more scalable, optimized practice.

More revenue per patient. It's one of the most talked-about goals in private practice right now. But in this episode of Power Hour, Dr. Patricia Poma makes something very clear: You do not get there by chasing every new machine, trend, or specialty that shows up on the market. You get there by building intentionally. That is exactly why the shift toward a specialty-driven practice is starting to get serious attention. Dr. Patricia Poma has built a model that achieves over $1,000 in revenue per patient. By building one specialty at a time until it becomes a "beautiful beast," she has created a practice that is sustainable on its own. Not a boardroom theory. Not just a retail idea. A solution built over two decades in a real private practice. In this week's Power Hour, Dr. Patricia Poma-Nowinski, Owner of Birmingham Vision Care and KOL for Johnson & Johnson Health and Wellness Solutions Inc., breaks down how she built a high-profitability model focused on non-doctor-driven revenue and medical-heavy specialties.

Membership plans are starting to move from an interesting idea to something practices genuinely need to understand. In this episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Cody Tomasik, Founder and CEO of DirectOD, a platform built within real optometry practices to solve the frustrations of vision plans, low reimbursements, and cash-pay patient retention. What makes this conversation critical is the shift it represents: moving away from third-party entities that dictate your revenue flow toward a direct, one-to-one relationship with your patients through customizable benefits. And as Cody explains, when you cut out the middleman, the math becomes incredibly compelling for any practice owner.

364 days of silence, then one automated appointment text. A patient who walks in completely unprepared to purchase. This is the current state of most optometric practices, and according to consumer expert Jeff Fromm, it's a massive missed opportunity. In this week's Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman is joined by Philip Alexander, AI Technologist and CEO of AnswerMyQ, and Jeff Fromm, a 5x author who has written for Forbes since 2014. They dive deep into why the patient journey needs to move from "informed" to "fully customized." But here's the core challenge they present: If you started with a blank sheet of paper, would you really design the experience you have today? Probably not.

187,000,000 views. 1.3 million subscribers. +- 500 long-form videos. And right now, thousands of people are watching his content live. Not a media company. Not a full-time influencer. A doctor. In this week's Power Hour, Dr. Joseph Allen, Founder of Doctor Eye Health, breaks down how he built one of the largest eye care education platforms on YouTube, from zero experience in 2018 to a global audience today with over 1.3 million subscribers. But here's what makes this episode worth your time: It's not about going viral. It's about understanding how content actually works.