It is often cited that one in three new small businesses in Australia fail in their first year of operation. Two out of four have failed by the end of their second year, and three out of four have failed by the fifth year.
Considering an optometry practice costs around AU$250,000 to establish – before factoring in operational costs for the first one to four years while you build up a loyal patient base – failure is an expensive (as well as emotionally and mentally draining) proposition.
That’s not to say “don’t even go there”.
More so, if you’re intending to be a survivor, consider the advice of Steven Johnston, CEO of ProVision, and take all the help you can get. As he says, “Novices in any business model need assistance because no matter how good we might think we are, nobody is blessed with all of the requisite skills required to run a successful business”.
Or, as United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield famously said… “there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know”.1
In this issue we talk to industry experts about the knowns and unknowns of successfully establishing a practice and the support that’s available.
This month we’ve also called on experts in cataract surgery to paint a picture of the current landscape in terms of technologies and techniques. Ophthalmologist Dr Kerrie Meades has written a brilliant article, which takes us back to the horrors of cataract surgery in the 5th Century BC as well as into the future with a look at new technologies on the horizon. Ophthalmologist Dr Jay Yohendran and medical writer Louise Wood have written CPD articles on the somewhat confusing plethora of intraocular lenses (IOLs) available, providing discussion points for patient consultations and tips for refracting post-surgery.
As cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed in the world today, these two CPD articles
provide the perfect opportunity to brush up on an ever evolving IOL landscape.
Enjoy the issue.
Reference
1. Defense.gov News Transcript: DoD News Briefing – Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers, United States Department of Defense (defense.gov).
