Low Vision, High Impact - Dr. Carlos Grandela - Optometrists Building Empires - Episode # 092
What happens when a student rotation changes everything you thought your career was going to be? Dr. Carlos Grandela walked into optometry school expecting to keep it simple: a steady job, a good life, time for the things that mattered most. What he found instead was a calling in one of the most underserved specialties in the field.
In this episode of Optometrists Building Empires, host Ankit Patel sits down with Dr. Grandela, owner of Viewfinder Low Vision Resource Center and one of the only full-time private practice low vision specialists in Arizona. Carlos shares how he built a referral-driven practice from the ground up, navigated the real challenges of buying a two-location practice mid-COVID, and found creative ways to serve patients who had long been priced out of the tools they needed most.
Takeaways:
- Community relationships are the most reliable top-of-funnel strategy in specialty care. For referral-based practices, showing up in person, building trust with referring providers, and staying top of mind over time consistently outperforms paid advertising.
- Building a referral network takes patience. The return on handshake marketing often doesn't show up for six months to a year, but the relationships built are more durable and more valuable than any single campaign.
- Starting with what a patient wants to accomplish drives better outcomes and more natural sales conversations. When you lead with the patient's goal, whether it's driving or reading, the device recommendation becomes a solution rather than a pitch.
- Operational changes can unlock significant revenue without requiring more patients. Transitioning to double booking with support staff and shifting to MDM billing codes dramatically increased Dr. Grandela's daily capacity and revenue per visit.
- Empire is personal. It is not defined by the number of locations you own or the milestones others set for you. For Dr. Grandela, it means overcoming obstacles and making an impact on the people around you, one patient, one family, one community at a time.
- Technology is reshaping what's possible for underserved patient populations. AI-powered tools like Meta Ray-Ban glasses are making assistive technology accessible at a fraction of the previous cost, opening doors for patients who were previously priced out entirely.
- Specialty care creates underserved markets worth entering. With fewer than a dozen low vision doctors in the entire state of Arizona, awareness is the biggest barrier, and visibility in the right circles can fuel steady, sustainable growth.
Quote of the Show:
- “ If you focus on the sales, then you're gonna feel bad every time somebody doesn't buy. If you focus on the patient, the sales will come.” - Dr. Carlos Grandela
Links:
- Carlos’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carlosgrandelaod
- Website:https://viewfinderlowvision.com/
- Book a Meeting with Ankit: https://meetings.hubspot.com/ankit98/optometry-redefined?uuid=e5cd456c-9db4-42c7-b106-2b6e250a6d01
- Optometry Redefined Book: https://www.amazon.com/Optometry-Redefined-Master-Resourcing-Performance/dp/B0FKJTZGJ3/ref=monarch_sidesheet_image
Shoutouts:
- Dr. Lynne Noon, View Finder Low Vision Resource Center
Ways to Tune In:
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5w1H9BBwRXvBSSkexePYxG
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optometrists-building-empires/id1762685070
- Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/689a039b-54ce-4f04-b641-66d8640d93d0
- Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/optometrists-building-empires-5812208
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