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Are you looking to start your own independent optical practice? First of all, congratulations! Breaking out of your comfort zone and starting your own eye care practice can be exciting but highly overwhelming.

When it comes to optimizing your practice’s profitability, an immediate solution that may come to mind is increasing frame board costs. However, this can actually be detrimental to your growth in the future. The good news is that there are numerous other options for increasing optical profits. Keep reading to continue learning about some of the practical and clever ways to boost profitability in your optical without raising board prices.

Improving your practice’s bottom line is always a welcomed change. However, tangible changes can only happen if you consistently review your retail optical performance. Keep reading to learn about the six major optical benchmarks you should be checking on a monthly basis. Many of these retail benchmarks can be calculated through various point-of-sale and retail management tools created specifically for the glasses industry.

An often overlooked method of creating a profitable optometry practice is recommending the purchase and use of multiple pairs of glasses for your patients. By prescribing your patients multiple pairs of eyeglasses, you are moving beyond a basic recommendation and providing clients with a more personalized and consultative experience. As we pointed out in a previous blog post, patients are more likely to return to an optometric practice where they feel they have a personal relationship built up with their provider.

It’s no surprise that retail pricing is one of the most crucial elements in running a successful optometric practice. In fact, according to the Review of Optometric Business, “retail sales of vision devices account for nearly two-thirds of gross revenue.” This means that for a practice that typically brings in about $500,000 in annual gross revenue (nearly the median for independent practices), product sales are responsible for about 52.5 percent of the gross profit margin.

Optometry practices are known to be lucrative businesses, especially if they are able to survive their first year and solidify themselves as an organization. In fact, optometric practices have the potential to earn between 30-40% net profit. These numbers sound promising in theory, but what is the best way to actually practice growth and scale profits in your eye care practice? Here are a few of the best ways to grow your practice and improve optometry practice management.