Building 9 Rural Optometry Offices with Mike Herrera

Mike Herrera is the co-founder and managing partner of Vision Now!, a rural Colorado eye care group with nine practices. Before eye care, he served in Marine Corps intelligence and managed defense programs at General Atomics and ViaSat.

What we cover:
- How he entered optometry without being an optometrist
- Why experienced operators mattered more than inventing from scratch
- Why margins can shrink as a group grows
- How rural practices use tele-optometry and local trust
- The 30-day hiring checklist and the need to move fast on poor fits
- Why a program-manager mindset helps in clinic growth

Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/herreram111/
More episodes: https://buildingempires.live

Show Notes

Mike Herrera came from the defense industry with no optometry background and built Vision Now! into nine rural practices across Colorado, with about half using tele-optometry. He talks with Ankit Patel about hiring experienced people, margin pressure as a group grows, rural access, and running an eye care group like a program manager. Sponsored by My Business Care Team. https://mybcat.com

What is Optometrists Building Empires?

Welcome to Optometrists Building Empires! Each week, host Ankit Patel, explores the journey of practice ownership and leadership in optometry with some of the top minds in his field. This show is sponsored by My Business Care Team: We help increase revenue, reduce costs, and reduce staffing headaches. Let's build your empire together!