How much work is owning a practice?

[rodomon]

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Basically, I'm mainly interested in simply how many hours per day you as an owner have to put in above and beyond what you would if you were merely an employee.

Quick backstory: I took a few years to work in an optometry office between undergrad and optometry school to make sure it's what I really wanted to do. Thankfully, it was wonderful, and I'm currently in optometry school. Initially I was extremely interested in owning my own practice for a variety of reasons. However, most owners I've talked to say they spend at least a couple of hours per day on business-related work, and all the studying we have to do reminds me how much I value free time. Of course, studying takes up much more free time than I think ownership would, but I keep thinking about all of the wonderful things I could do with those extra two or so hours per day for 30+ years if I were merely an employee.

Now, before everyone jumps on me as a dirty corporate refractionist to be, I'm still basically exclusively interested in private practice, but it would be as an employee in a multi-doctor office rather than as an owner.

So, back to my original question: how many hours do owners usually put in? I'm sure it depends on whether it's a single doctor in his/her own office or the owner of multiple offices, but I'm looking for an approximate range. Personal experience would be especially appreciated. I severely doubt it will be the single deciding factor in how I eventually practice (right now, independence is at the top of my list), but it would be nice to get a better idea to balance the pros and cons of ownership. And, of course, if you want to add other benefits or drawbacks, I (and hopefully some other board members) would be grateful for those as well. Thanks in advance!

 

[JMU07]

My optometrist owns a Pearle (it's a franchise) and he has an office manager that takes care of all the business-related stuff. I honestly don't think he does any of it! Probably not the norm, but it is possible to hire people to do those things for you.

 

[rpames]

I've been working with my father since May of this year running a private office with no link to any corporate entity. I put in a couple hours extra a day. Some days are worse than others and some I leave a 5pm and don't think about the office. I am also spending a lot of time now, b/c we are opening another office, switching to paperless charts (EHR), and I just bought a new house. That is a lot of work! Once things calm down in a couple months, my time will free up a bit. Working on the office stuff out side the normal day is work, but it is not as bad as it seems b/c it is YOUR office. You are building your own destiny. No one can control it. Every decision you make can increase your income. It becomes a game of sorts. You have to like the game or you will hate private practice.

 

[KHE]

Basically, I'm mainly interested in simply how many hours per day you as an owner have to put in above and beyond what you would if you were merely an employee.

!

The amount of hours put in varies widely from week to week but even at it's worst, it's totally worth it because you are working on something that is "yours" and your are getting paid a heck of a lot of money to do it in most cases.

Most optometrists who put in crazy hours are usually victims of the golden hand syndrome. They think that only THEY can do the work and that anyone else other than THEY will just screw it up. That's not true. That's usually a sign of someone who makes poor hiring decisions or can't delegate well. Certainly you don't want to turn the keys to the kingdom over to just anyone but at the same time, realize that if you can delegate to a skilled office manager, then you can free up a lot of your time and make more money.