At Least 37% of You Do Not Network With Other Business Professionals in Your Networks

Question: Do you or don’t you network with other business professionals?

Yes: 63%

• I speak to my optometric colleagues often and share ideas. Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• Alignable. Star Taylor, Richens Eye Center, St. George, UT
• Local biz owners and managers. Helps to spread word of mouth. Billy Isgett, Eyecare of Florence, Florence, SC
• Attending live CEs is a huge networking opportunity. Opticians on Facebook, and other FB optical groups offer lots of collaboration. I mentor several opticians throughout the country, and gain feedback and insight through them as well. Chris Dudley, Independent Optician, Florida
• Meet ups with friends from optometry school annually (but not this year) are my favorite; we share common challenges but also lots of laughs and great memories. Sarah Jerome OD, Look + See Eye Care, Minneapolis, MN
• Effective. Phone calls and emails during Covid. Deb Jaeger, Eye Center of the Dakotas, Bismarck, ND
• Peer dinners, corporate holiday gift drop offs, doc lives in the area our office is in. Maureen Garbis, Compass Eyecare, Oak Park, IL
• Networking is important in developing relationships for your business. You never know what information other people might have that is valuable for your business. Cassandra Oliveira, DeCesare Eye Associates, Providence, RI
• Yes! It’s always helpful to get another perspective on issues we both have. Mostly email, PM, and text. Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• Working with local restaurants, nail salons, hospital staff for referrals, non-dispensing ophthalmologists. BJ Chambers, Carrera Optical, McQueeney, TX
• During CoVid19 We speak on the phone and email. Elias Awad, Invision Eyewear, Overland Park, KS
• Local business association to stay abreast of city and state initiatives. Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• During the eye exam I’ll tell my patient to be sure to leave a business card with my optician. I do my very best to do business with patients that come to my practice for eyecare. Texas L. Smith, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• We follow and interact with other ECPs and practices on social media and try to spread support of independents. Selena Jachens, Urban Eyecare & Eyewear, West Des Moines, IA
• Good communication is key. We network with multiple big businesses for their safety eyewear programs. Clorox and Southern States are two very large corporations we provide safety eyewear programs for in our local community. William Chancellor, Eye Can See Eyewear, McDonough, GA
• Attending mixers through the local business association was great before the pandemic, building those relationships promotes word of mouth and continues to bring in new patients. Sherry Berry, Eye Against Eye, Aston, PA
• Yes. We cross promote with other industries to better serve our patients. And even within the optometry community we use each other as a support system, especially during these times. Cynthia Sayers, OD, EyeShop Optical Center, Lewis Center, OH
• I use several: online, industry events, and direct contact with colleagues. You never know when you can be a lifeline to someone, or someone else can be a lifeline to you. Also, it allows you to have a feel on what is going on in our industry. Pablo E. Mercado, Optima Eye Care, Alpharetta, GA
• Under normal times through networking, Chamber, charity events. Verbelee Nielsen-Swanson, Oxford Eyes, Orlando, FL
• Local woman’s business owners group, especially with all the stuff changing with COVID, it helps you feel like you are not alone in this. Kristina Jordan, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• Partnering through social media! Doing live events together. Promoting each other through social channels and participating in our Seminole Chamber events. Sherry Morgan, Logan Eye Care, Lake Mary, FL
• State associations, continuing ed events, trade shows have all been great networking opportunities (pre-COVID). Social media has also been a part of the networking and is becoming more important/useful during the pandemic where in-person evens aren’t allowed. Christine Howard, Attleboro Vision Care, Attleboro, MA
• Market with other ladies in the area that own businesses. They have a monthly meeting and share ideas and listen to speakers. Although this year, I haven’t been going as much because of COVID. Nytarsha Thomas, Visionelle Eyecare, Zionsville, IN
• Absolutely! We can all learn something from each other, so I love to learn others in my field. Whether it is through other professionals or volunteer opportunities, or through FB, I love to meet other opticians and hear how others do things. Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• BNI, networking groups, education moments/speaking at YMCA and other events. Sarah Montes, Hockemeyer Family Eye Care, New Haven, IN
• I network with a lot of businesses and those owners tend to be great referrals. I also cross-market with an insurance agent that sends gift certificates to my store in the birthday cards he sends out. Nikki Griffin, EyeStyles Optical and Boutique, Oakdale, MN
• But I’m not great at it. Just not my favorite activity. Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL
• This and reps. Miguel Rodriguez, Fava & Maria Eye Associates, Lebanon, PA
• Basically, I want to know how my friends/colleagues are doing in other parts of the city. Mostly through Facebook. Mitchell Kaufman, Marine Park Family Vision, Brooklyn, NY
• Weekly breakfast and/or lunches. We give a short stump speech and who we did business with within the group. Robert M. Easton Jr. OD, FAAO, Oakland Park, FL
• LinkedIn. Nicole Leonard, Custom Eye Care, San Antonio, TX
• AOA has been a great source of business professionals. I’ve done in person, social media and phone calls. It helps to have information from those who are in your profession in different areas of the country. Melanie Jenkins, Spring Hill Eyecare, Spring Hill, TN
• Facebook pages. Everyone is always commenting and helping each other. I like that. Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville, NY
• BNI, local Chamber of Commerce and other small networking groups. Ron Catterson, Clear View Optix, The Villages, FL
• We’re members of Vision Source. We have meetings with other offices to see how each office does business and what works for who. Jeff Grosekemper, Casa De Oro Eyecare, Spring Valley, CA
• We are part of the Alignable community here. Star Taylor, Richens Eye Center, St George, UT
• Bringing baskets to local physicians in the area to thank them for referrals and we participate in the Chamber of Commerce events. Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• I enjoy sharing information and try to be one of the first to learn about new technology so I text or call colleagues in the area and friends that I graduated with to see if they heard anything about the newest drug, coding changes or COVID grant money available that I may have come across. And then I get to pick their brain about information that I may be lacking. Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• Just for pathology. Ken Weiner, OD, Livingston, NJ

No: 37%

• I would say we do passive networking. It is not something we actively seek but being in a small community, we interact at functions and meetings and by this we network. Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• No time! Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• I’m not a very social person. Lindsey Pulford, Insights Eyecare, Manhattan KS
• This is one of those things I need to do and have somewhat of a plan to do I just haven’t taken the steps needed yet. Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• No time. Douglas Holle, OD, Sunset Eye Care, San Angelo, TX