Annual Report 2023: In Review, and a Look at 2024!
Hello, ODs on Finance family,
Can you believe it's already 2024? It seems like 2023 just flew by. During this swift time, the ODs on Finance community experienced a remarkable year. We witnessed global growth across various fronts: our Facebook community, continuing education (CE) events, website resources, and partnerships. Equally impressive was our growth at a personal level. We've engaged with so many of you through private messages, emails, virtual calls, or in-person meetings!
As a member of ODs on Finance, you're likely aware of our team's fascination with data and metrics. This passion is precisely why compiling this Review was such an extensive process.
In the next 15 minutes of reading, you'll discover metrics that mirror our community's overall progress, along with the resources and offerings this growth has enabled us to continue providing. Next, we'll transparently outline the methods ODs on Finance employs to generate revenue. Lastly, we'll offer you a sneak peek at some major projects we're embarking on for 2024, aiming to further our profession and assist every OD in achieving financial freedom.
✅ (I) A Review of 2023
✅ (II) Preview of 2024 Projects
(I) A Review of 2023
(1) Growth and Engagement
The esteemed Eyeconomist and ODs on Finance lecturer, Dr. Richard Edlow, estimated that the 2020 U.S. optometric workforce comprised 44,751 optometrists. We're thrilled to announce that our current Newsletter subscriber list now includes nearly 60% of U.S. ODs!
With average email open rates typically ranging between 12-15% and the average email click-through rate around 2.5%, as reported by Emma Email Marketing & Automation, we're excited to see our readers' eagerness to engage with our content and trust us with their contact. Our biweekly newsletters feature news articles, CE/event announcements, and current deals on equipment/services.
ODs on Finance began in January 2018 with our Facebook group, starting modestly with around 100 ODs. As of 2023, over 5 years, we're pleased to report that our Facebook group now includes:
18,014+ ODs, growing at 18% annually
To maintain productive and high-level conversations, membership remains exclusive to ODs and student ODs. The only non-ODs in our group are our vetted partners, who make up 0.8% of our membership.
92% daily engagement
According to Meta's Group Management Dashboard metrics, it's no surprise that ODs on Finance is optometry's most engaged community, limited to doctors and students only (per Facebook Analytics). We champion free and productive speech, free from toxicity and self-ego. We strive for a community that builds itself up, embracing open-mindedness and recognizing the learning opportunities in our differences.
This means over 16,782+ ODs/students are viewing or commenting on content daily, with Thursday and Friday being the most popular days.
3,854 posts | 116,399 comments | 255,734 reactions
This equates to roughly 11+ insightful posts, over 318+ comments, and more than 700 reactions daily. While we appreciate humorous memes, ODs on Finance is primarily an informative financial platform where doctors can discuss crucial wealth-building strategies and practice management topics. This engagement helps them grow personally and professionally, covering aspects from finances to career development.
64% Female | 36% Male
In our demographic breakdown, a significant majority of our members are female doctors, with the average age falling within the 25-34 years range. The second most common age group is 35-44 years old. Our community includes over 16,881 practicing U.S. ODs, with the top cities being New York, NY; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; and San Diego, CA. Additionally, we have a notable presence of international ODs, especially from Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, and the UK.
Our Instagram account boasts 2,833 followers, primarily ODs. We regularly share content through posts and stories, mirroring the material found in our Facebook group with quick financial tips.
Throughout 2023, our website has undergone continuous enhancements, adding new features and resources to our extensive collection of financial articles, resources, and calculators. On average, our website attracts:
36,075+ views per month and 15,800+ unique visitors per month.
This consistent online engagement underscores our commitment to providing valuable content and resources to the optometric community.
(2) Current Projects
1) ODs on Finance Home Website
Over its six years, our website has undergone significant evolution. Serving as a gateway to all our other networks, it offers a wealth of articles and free comprehensive guides covering a broad spectrum of financial topics. These include retirement planning, investing, insurance, practice management, and more.
For students and new graduates, our website is a treasure trove of resources. It includes student loan assistance, accessible by texting STUDENT to 55444, and a compilation of negotiated rates for student loan refinancing from all major lenders.
2023 marked a significant milestone with EyeDock (founded by Todd Zarwell) merging into the ODs on Finance network.
EyeDock provides free clinical tools such as contact lens parameters, medications lists, patient diagrams, billing/coding information, Clinical CALCS and in-depth ocular pathology breakdowns. It stands out as the #1 Clinical Online Tool for optometrists.
30,488+ Users | Each visitor averaging 3.5 hours daily
This impressive user engagement reflects EyeDock's essential role in the daily practice of optometrists.
"Joining the ODs on Facebook community has been an incredible experience. This collaboration set off a whirlwind of new features and content over the last nine months. And the pot is still boiling - 2024 is going to be an exciting year as we publish even more clinical tools and calculators!"
- Dr. Todd Zarwell / Founder of EyeDock
3) ODs on Finance Practice Owners
Recognizing the increasing number of vendors, financing, and practice solution companies offering exclusive pricing to ODs on Finance members, we realized the necessity of a dedicated website for Practice Owners.
ODs on Finance Practice Owners is a hub for all our current deals tailored for practice owners. This includes equipment, consumables, dry eye supplies, financing, marketing/website solutions, billing/RCM services, and other essentials for a thriving private practice. Moreover, many topics discussed in our CE webinars, which can benefit a private practice, are also covered on the website in one form or another.
Utilizing our network of over 25,500+ ODs, we have successfully negotiated equipment deals with various companies at prices substantially lower than those offered at tradeshows and by other buying groups/alliances. This service is offered 100% FREE, largely thanks to the major efforts of our Marketing Director, Dr. Julie Phan. We have partnerships with:
40+ Vendors / Equipment Companies
You might have noticed that we typically feature around two resources per sector, occasionally three if there's higher demand. This approach is intentional; it compels our ODoF team to conduct thorough research and collaborate with a diverse array of partners. Our selection criteria span from brand popularity to budget-friendliness. For instance, in the realm of widefield imaging, we have partnerships with Optos and iCare Eidon; for IPL, we work with Optilight and iLight; for Virtual Field, we offer Virtual Field and Virtual Vision, and the list goes on.
This strategy effectively reduces the need for owners to waste time in navigating multiple vendors to secure the best deals. At the same time, it assures them direct access to leadership support via ODoF should any issues arise. This streamlined approach is designed to simplify the decision-making process for practice owners, ensuring they have access to top-quality resources without the hassle of extensive comparison shopping.
In fact, through our diverse deals, we've diligently tracked and aggregated data from all our vendors. The result for 2023 is quite impressive. We have managed to save ODs:
Over $8M+ collectively on equipment and consumables
This significant saving is in comparison to prices offered at other tradeshows and by different buying groups/alliances. Our ability to provide such substantial savings is a testament to our commitment to the OD community, ensuring our members have access to the best possible deals and resources.
Moreover, we've established partnerships with three financial institutions: Bank of America, BMO, and Huntington Bank, to secure the best financing rates for our members. The year-end report from our banking partners has been nothing short of incredible.
42+ Practice Loans | $25M Funded
A total of 42 practices/ODs were able to finance their practice purchases, equipment, start-ups, or building projects. Impressively, the total amount financed in 2023 reached $25,000,000.
This achievement highlights our commitment to facilitating growth and expansion within the OD community, by providing access to optimal financing solutions.
Following the launch of ODs on Finance Practice Owners, we began receiving numerous inquiries from ODs interested in starting their practices from scratch. Many were disillusioned with the existing "help" for cold start practice owners, which often involved overpriced consultants who steered new owners towards expensive buying groups and encouraged early debt accumulation for their own financial benefit.
We identified a straightforward solution to this issue, achievable in four steps:
- Offer free guidance through video calls and email correspondence to assist ODs in starting as lean as possible. An OD can access this by simply texting PRACTICE to 55444.
- Increase cold start financing (up to $500K through our negotiations), providing favorable terms/conditions without the need for an SBA Loan.
- Leverage all the practice owner resources we offer, including equipment and services, at even lower prices for first-time owners.
- Maintain a trusted network of consultants with proven track records, who offer their services at affordable monthly rates, specifically tailored to assist cold starts.
Thus, the Cold Start Accelerator was born. Mirroring the concept of Accelerators in the tech world, which propel startups forward at a low cost, the Cold Start Accelerator aims to help budding private practices launch successfully. Since its inception in Q3 2023, the Cold Start Accelerator has already made a significant impact:
78+ ODs have utilized the program for their Cold Start
The Cold Start Accelerator can be found on the ODs on Finance Practice Owner website
7) ODs on Finance Recruiting Services
Over the last three years, our Career Director, Dr. Chris Lopez, has been instrumental in aiding over 750+ ODs to better understand contracts and negotiation tactics. His experience spans both associate and owner perspectives. Through years of building relationships with ODs nationwide, coupled with a partnership with The Growth Cooperative (managed by Michael Pote), we have developed a database encompassing over 1000 OD owners and associates. This network is actively seeking to fill positions or find suitable candidates for their practices.
ODs on Finance Recruiting Services was officially launched in December 2023. Thanks to Chris's efficiency, we've already celebrated a few success stories! For those interested in connecting with Chris, the most straightforward method is to text RECRUIT to 55444.
This initiative marks a significant step in bridging the gap between ODs and potential employment opportunities, streamlining the process of finding the right fit for both practices and practitioners.
8) Career Job Board + Practice Listing Website
Our dedicated careers job board and practice listing site, OD Careers presents a unique and cost-effective opportunity for the optometric community. It allows users to list OD jobs at just $19 per month and OD practices for sale for $299 per listing, effectively eliminating the need for a broker. Notably, our rates are nearly 10 times lower than those of other industry players, while our reach is generally much more extensive.
100s of employers and 1000s of employees have used OD careers since we launched in mid-2022.
(3) CE/Non-CE Webinars
Our virtual webinars and CE events have quickly become a Sunday morning staple for thousands of ODs nationwide. Renowned for their attendance and engagement, ODs on Finance Virtual Webinars are frequently cited by speakers, attendees, and sponsors as among the best in the field. In 2023, we were proud to offer:
51 Hours of COPE-ACCREDITED CE
Our webinars cover a range of COPE accredited CE courses, spanning topics from practice management to ocular disease. Our aim is to educate ODs on the clinical aspects of each specialty, while incorporating a financial component through discussions and Q&As to enhance practice profitability.
Moreover, we also hosted several high-level, non-COPE financial webinars. These included our popular Million Net Series, showcasing successful owners, tech deep dives, student loan education, and our first-ever financial summit.
13 Hours of Non-CE Financial Lectures
Our mission remains to offer these high-quality, financial-focused webinars completely FREE to ODs. We will never charge for these events.
(4) School Outreach via Student Ambassador Program
This year marked the launch of our second book, "The Optometry Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom." Instead of selling the book, we opted for a more philanthropic approach, choosing to gift it to as many optometry students as possible across the U.S. Specifically to over 22+ schools.
5,000+ books | $150,000+ Value
The book is packed with vital knowledge essential for navigating the complexities of student loans, acquiring appropriate insurance, making informed investment decisions, and choosing the right career path.
In addition to the book, we have developed financial and practice management courses for multiple optometry schools. These have been incorporated into their existing Practice Management courses by the faculty. As of now, we have tailored courses specifically for NECO and PUCO, and are actively working on expanding our content to other schools. This initiative is a significant part of our endeavor to enhance the educational resources available to future ODs. Lastly, as a gesture to further promote clinical education, we have granted every student and faculty member free access to EyeDock Pro via the Student Ambassador Program
(II) Preview of 2024 Projects
We're thrilled about the array of exciting offerings in the pipeline for 2024. Our aim is to continually provide value to both ODs and students as they navigate their journey towards financial freedom, both in their personal lives and within their practices.
We are happy to provide another 48 hours of COPE-accredited CE through our Virtual Webinars. Our speaker line up consists of many industry recognized experts and each of our events will cover clinical aspects of a certain topic as well as financial aspects.
The feedback from many ODs has been overwhelmingly positive (over 93%), and they often mention that our CE surpasses other offerings. We attribute this success to four key factors:
- ✅ All CE is 100% FREE with instant CE Credit and quick certificate approval
- ✅ Our CE is easy to navigate and features high engagement levels, avoiding the confusion of multi-room setups.
- ✅ The ability to earn 4 hours in one morning. Unlike other providers, we don’t spread the hours over 2-3 days.
- ✅ Our webinars are always scheduled for Sundays, eliminating the need to miss office hours!
👉 Sign up now for first event on Sunday, January 14 2024 Dry Eye Summit: Clear Profits, Exploring the Future (4hrs FREE CE)
(2) The Second Edition of our first Book is Coming Out in 2024!
First of all, we are so thankful to all of our members that have purchased the 1st edition of our book released in 2019, The Optometrist’s Guide to Financial Freedom. At this point, thousands of copies have been sold and it is required reading in multiple optometry schools. Additionally, we are thankful to have the resources to release 5000 copies of our Student Book, The Optometry Student’s Guide to Financial Freedom to nearly every student in every optometry school in the US.
We are diligently working on a second edition of "The Optometrist’s Guide to Financial Freedom." This upcoming edition will feature exciting tax updates and expanded content. We're committed to continually providing valuable resources to the optometry community, ensuring that both current doctors have the tools they need for financial success.
(3) The ODs on Finance COMMUNITY | Financial Ecosystem
If you’re a current or future practice owner, imagine this:
- ✅ Industry-best deals on equipment, consumables, contact lenses, frames and lenses.
- ✅ A business credit card with a 2.0% to 2.5% cash-back and a maximum of 6% cash-back if used on industry-best deal offerings
- ✅ Easy access to quick financing with the best terms
- ✅ A business high-yield saving account that yields significantly higher interest than your 0.50% Saving account
- ✅ NO FEES - 100% FREE to join
It may seem like a pipe dream, but this year it will become a reality eventually. The ODs on Finance team has been hard at work with a fintech company that is seeking to revolutionize the optometry industry, to create a platform that does all of the above.
Both ODs on Finance and our partner realize that independent optometry and practice ownership truly embody the future of our profession. So that means we need to take back the power and give each practice owner the best deals and leverage possible to grow their businesses. No more pay to play buying groups, no more alliances controlled by industry conglomerates - just independent practice owners given an equal playing field of resources.
(4) Investment into Clinical Technology
We’re in the process of making an investment into a clinical technology company that we believe can revolutionize our industry in terms of efficiency, accessibility and footprint. With Dat and Aaron both being active in the Silicon Valley Bay Area as consultants (and general tech enthusiast), we see a long runway that can help each of our members better their practices.
That’s all we can say for now. When the investment is finalized, we will make an official announcement!
(5) More Group Deals
Julie is hard at work wrangling together some even better deals on optometry equipment and services. Additionally, we will be adding more consumables in the dry eye space as well as optical and contact lens options as the year progresses.
Leveraging both the size of our platform and the high amount of sales from previous deals, we should have even more savings on cutting edge equipment and services coming to you every month throughout 2024.
(6) In Person Events / Social Events
The team will be present at major conferences such as Vision Expo and Optometry’s meeting, and we will be co-hosting a social event at Vision Expo West once again. Additionally, we are planning a major presence at AOA Optometry’s Meeting.
Make sure to catch CE lectures and learning labs from both Aaron and Chris at Vision Expo, AOA Optometry’s Meeting and a variety of other conventions.
(7) More Group Deals
Julie is hard at work wrangling together some even better deals on optometry equipment and services. Leveraging both the size of our platform and the high amount of sales from previous deals, we should have even more savings on cutting edge equipment and services coming to you every month throughout 2023.
(8) In Person Events / Social Events
The team will be present at major conferences such as Vision Expo and Optometry’s meeting, and we will be co-hosting a social event at Vision Expo West. Also, make sure to catch CE lectures and learning labs from both Aaron and Chris at Vision Expo as well as Vision Source Exchange in San Antonio TX on April 19-22.
(III) Commercial Interests and Disclosures
We are profoundly grateful for our community and immensely proud of what ODs on Finance has evolved into. The positive feedback we receive from our members, detailing how ODoF has aided them in their financial journey – whether in practice, personally, or both – is always humbling. While negative feedback is infrequent, we ensure it is promptly addressed when it arises.
The ODs on Finance team comprises four ODs who contribute nearly full-time to the platform. The team members and their respective titles are as follows:
- ✅ Dr. Dat Bui - CEO/Co-Founder
- ✅ Dr. Aaron Neufeld - COO/Co-Founder
- ✅ Dr. Julie Phan - Marketing Manager/Group Buy Lead
- ✅ Dr. Christopher Lopez - Career & Contract Consultant/Clinical Lead
Additionally, we were fortunate to expand our team with the addition of our executive assistant, Ann Navarro. Ann's role is crucial, assisting us with logistics such as CE certificate issuance, sign-ups, and other associated tasks
ODs on Finance is often referred to as a platform, however it’s a bit more complicated than that. Here is a breakdown of how the ODs on Finance brand works:
- ☑️ It is a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- ☑️ The name and logo have Registered Trademarks
- ☑️ It is owned by a 50/50 partnership between co-founders Dat Bui and Aaron Neufeld
- ☑️ Team Members Julie Phan and Chris Lopez provide their services as independent contractors. We also have other minor team members helping with other various projects as well such as Rob Yacub with EyeDock, Jasmine Nguyen/Jason Lam with ODs on Corporate Optometry FB Group.
- ☑️ Acquisitions of other industry companies are handled as subsidiaries. ODs on Finance LLC acquires interests in these companies through stock purchases.
- Currently, ODs on Finance LLC has acquired significant stock in the following companies which it actively works with:
- EyeDock (Majority owned by Todd Zarwell O.D)
- EyeDock (Majority owned by Todd Zarwell O.D)
- Currently, ODs on Finance LLC has acquired significant stock in the following companies which it actively works with:
- ☑️ All partners and sponsors work through a two way contract basis
- ☑️ A few of our partners on the financing and student loan refi side are publicly traded companies.
- ☑️ CE/webinar speakers are compensated on a set per hour basis.
Since ODs on Finance is a business, it does generate revenue in order to pay for expenses, CE speakers, tools, etc as well as compensate its team members for their work & time. Here are all the ways that ODs on Finance generates revenue and the methods in which that revenue is generated:
The following are disclosure statements of transparency regarding our commercial interest to acknowledge our inherent bias:
- We are incentivized to recommend you to refinance your student loans and pursue a debt-free life over going for federal forgiveness.
- We are incentivized to recommend you seek out professional help with all our vetted recommended resources from insurance, financial planning, negotiating contracts, borrowing a practice loan, mortgage and more over others.
- We are incentivized to recommend you read our financial books & articles over others
- We currently have over 65+ partners. All are involved in the optometric industry to some degree.
- All partners/sponsors come to us via referral. We do not actively pursue partners.
- All partners are selected through a rigorous vetting process that involves multiple virtual interviews, review of customer feedback and utilization of products.
- Not all partners make the cut, in fact we have rejected more potential partners than we have active partners.
- Since we are compensated by our partners, this does present an inherent bias in our recommendation process, which we acknowledge.
- We have mutually ended a couple partnerships either due to poor community reception or because both parties chose not to renew a contract.
With that in mind, it might sometimes be hard to believe, but our top priority has always been, and will continue to be, helping our fellow optometry colleagues in their best interest, no short-term financial gain is going to be worth that. Over the years, many of them have become dear friends to us. This commitment to support and guide our peers in the optometry community is at the heart of everything we do at ODs on Finance.
Summary/Our Thoughts:
Whew, that was a lot!
If you're still with us at this point in the message, we commend you. And once again, we want to express our gratitude. Your active participation in ODs on Finance is what truly enables it to be such a powerful instrument for advancing our industry.
We are firmly convinced that financial education is crucial for the continued thriving of optometry. This conviction drives us to persistently push forward and broaden our initiatives. We recognize the potential disruptions and noise a community with a focused mindset can generate, but we also understand that these are often the hallmarks of change and prosperity.
The interactions we've had with so many of you, whether online or in person, leave us feeling incredibly humbled and fuel our motivation to keep moving forward.
Here's to an amazing and productive 2024. We look forward to the opportunity to connect with you again, be it online, at one of our webinars, or in person.
Cheers to financial freedom.
-Dat & Aaron + Julie & Chris
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