Why your optometry marketing isn't working with Jeremy Bono from IDOC Marketing
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
Release Date: 08/17/2026
Why your optometry marketing isn't working with Jeremy Bono from IDOC Marketing
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
Your next patient may already be looking for an optometrist—and choosing someone else before you ever know they existed. On this episode of 20/20 Money: The Business of Optometry, I’m joined by Jeremy Bono, Director of Optometry Marketing Services at IDOC, for a wide-ranging conversation about what effective marketing actually looks like inside an optometry practice. We start with a bigger question: does the public really understand what an optometrist does—and, more importantly, why they should regularly see one? From there, Jeremy and I explore why simply saying that you provide...
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Is optometry too focused on specialty services? A discussion with Dr. Kyle Klute
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
What if the pressure to add specialty services is distracting you from the value already sitting inside your practice? In this episode of 20/20 Money: The Business of Optometry, Adam is joined by Dr. Kyle Klute for a thought-provoking conversation about specialization, comprehensive eye care, and the growing pressure practice owners may feel to purchase new technology or build a niche service line. Kyle explains why labeling dry eye, myopia management, glaucoma, and other areas as “specialties” can unintentionally allow optometrists to treat them as optional. Instead, he argues that ODs...
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How successful practice owners actually become wealthy
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
A profitable practice can create tremendous cash flow—but it does not automatically create personal wealth. In this episode of 20/20 Money: The Business of Optometry, Adam bridges the gap between running a successful optometry practice and using that success to build lasting financial independence. Drawing on nearly 20 years of working with business owners, he explains why practice size, income, and personal net worth are related—but far less correlated than many owners assume. Adam shares several patterns consistently demonstrated by financially independent practice owners,...
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Understanding and setting pricing in your practice that are fair and profitable with Dr. Chris Wolfe, OD (Rewind)
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
Welcome to this REWIND episode of 20/20 Money! My guest on today’s show is Dr. Chris Wolfe, OD. Chris joins me on the show to share in a conversation about how ODs can think about pricing the different services provided in the practice and how to frame that conversation with your patients, how ODs can think about researching their pricing on medical procedures, how to think about scheduling in your practice to be as efficient with OD hours as possible, 4 questions to consider asking every pt as it relates to dry eye, the 5 steps needed to introduce change in your practice, and how practice...
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What every seller needs to know before selling their practice
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
A practice sale that should have been the easiest transition imaginable ended before negotiations even began—and the lessons could save you from making the same costly mistake. In this episode, I shares the story of an anonymized internal succession plan that unraveled despite all the ingredients for success: a trusted associate, established patient relationships, and a seller committed to staying through the transition. So what went wrong? Using this real-world case study, I'll share the psychology of selling a practice, why valuations are opinions—not verdicts—and how...
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Your Practice Doesn’t Need More of Your Time — It Needs Better Use of It with Nathan Hayes
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
What if the next level of your practice requires less time in the lane — not more? In this episode of 20/20 Money: The Business of Optometry, I’m joined again by Nathan Hayes for a wide-ranging conversation about how practice owners should think more intentionally about their most limited resource: time. We pick up where our last conversation left off and explore what it really means to work on the business, not just in it. Nathan and I discuss why growth is not always linear, why some seasons of ownership are meant for building while others are meant for harvesting, and how owners...
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A simple introduction to AI for optometry practice owners: a practical conversation with Dr. Mick Kling
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
AI can feel overwhelming, overhyped, and impossible to keep up with — especially when every conversation seems to swing between “this changes everything” and “this is all just noise.” In this episode of 20/20 Money, I’m joined once again by Dr. Mick Kling for a practical conversation about where AI is actually useful for practice owners right now — without the doom-and-gloom, hype, or technical jargon. Mick shares how he’s been thoughtfully experimenting with AI inside his own workflows to improve efficiency, analyze practice financials, model business decisions, and...
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Optical isn't dead - but the way you are running it is with Dr. Jennifer Stewart
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
What if the biggest reason patients aren’t buying glasses from your practice… is the experience you’ve unintentionally created around optical? In this episode of 20/20 Money, I’m joined once again by Dr. Jennifer Stewart for a candid and energetic conversation around the subtle — and sometimes overlooked — ways practice owners can dramatically improve optical sales without feeling “salesy.” Jen shares how she’s intentionally built an optical-forward patient experience that turns eyewear into something patients genuinely get excited about, why most practices unknowingly...
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Why some dry eye practices thrive--and others quietly fail with Dr. Chris Wolfe
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
What if the biggest mistake practice owners make with dry eye isn’t buying the wrong technology… but building their entire strategy around the technology itself? In this episode of 20/20 Money, I’m joined once again by Dr. Chris Wolfe for a fascinating conversation around dry eye, specialty services, patient communication, and the dangerous trap of becoming “device-centric” instead of patient-centric. Chris shares a candid behind-the-scenes perspective on what he’s observed from practices across the country when it comes to implementing dry eye services and expensive...
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Implementing a profitable Medicaid practice into your local school district: a convo with Dr. Ryan Hansen
20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry
What if serving Medicaid patients wasn’t a drain on your practice… but one of the most efficient and fulfilling business models in optometry? In this episode of 20/20 Money, I’m joined by Dr. Ryan Hansen to discuss a truly unique model he’s built inside a public school district that provides eye care exclusively to children on Medicaid — while still creating a financially viable and highly efficient practice structure. Ryan shares how he operates a school-based satellite clinic inside the Rockford public school system, why the traditional “either/or” mindset around...
info_outlineYour next patient may already be looking for an optometrist—and choosing someone else before you ever know they existed.
On this episode of 20/20 Money: The Business of Optometry, I’m joined by Jeremy Bono, Director of Optometry Marketing Services at IDOC, for a wide-ranging conversation about what effective marketing actually looks like inside an optometry practice.
We start with a bigger question: does the public really understand what an optometrist does—and, more importantly, why they should regularly see one? From there, Jeremy and I explore why simply saying that you provide “exceptional eye care” isn’t enough to differentiate a practice, how storytelling can make your marketing more memorable, and why practice owners need clarity around their ideal patient before deciding where to spend marketing dollars.
We then get much more tactical. Jeremy explains why Google Ads can be one of the fastest ways to generate new patient demand, how practice owners should think about marketing as an investment rather than simply another expense, and why measuring leads without tracking how many actually become patients can create a misleading picture of ROI.
We also discuss some of the seemingly small things that can quietly sabotage otherwise good marketing: making patients call instead of allowing online scheduling, forcing them to interact with your practice the way you prefer rather than the way they prefer, ignoring existing patients while constantly chasing new ones, and failing to maintain the digital presence that Google increasingly uses to determine which practices deserve visibility.
The larger lesson is that marketing isn’t one campaign, one social post, or one advertising budget. It’s the entire journey from someone discovering your practice to deciding you’re the right place for them—and then making it incredibly easy for them to become a patient and stay one.
NBS: Set aside an hour this week and define your ideal patient avatar—your “IPA.” Write down who they are, what they value, what problems they’re trying to solve, how they search for care, and how they prefer to interact with a business. Then look at your current marketing through their eyes and identify one point of friction you can eliminate.
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Resources:
Download the Practice Owner's Financial Toolkit
20/20 Money Ultimate Financial Success Masterclass
Check out Adam's book: How to Buy an Optometry Practice
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