Creating the Culture - Kyle Maxam - Optometrists Building Empires - Episode # 089

What happens when a business major discovers his true calling on a humanitarian eye care trip to Haiti? On this week’s episode of Optometrists Building Empires, host Ankit Patel sits down with Dr. Kyle Maxam, owner of EyeDocs Family Eye Care with two locations in the Dayton, Ohio area. Dr. Maxam shares how finding the right mentor, building a mission-driven culture, and staying intentional about work-life balance helped him grow from a solo practitioner to leading a thriving multi-location practice with three associates. If you’re thinking about practice ownership, expanding to a second location, or just want to hear how putting people first can drive real growth, this episode is for you. Takeaways:Find a mentor who teaches, not just a practice that looks good on paper. When evaluating your first opportunity, prioritize the doctor who wants to pass on their knowledge, not just hand over the keys. Lead your team, don't drag them. There's a big difference between implementing change and getting your team genuinely bought in. Earn their engagement by bringing them along with you, not just pulling them in a direction they don't understand.Treat a full schedule as an opportunity, not a badge of honor. If you're consistently booked 2 weeks out, that's your signal to add a doctor. Staying accessible to patients is the priority.Be patient in the hiring process. Especially in a small-town market, wait for people who are hardworking, team-oriented, and aligned with your mission. The right culture fit is worth the wait.Plan your second location before you open it. Spend time cross-training staff, putting leadership in place, and matching systems and equipment to your existing office, so day one feels seamless, not chaotic.Step back from the chair to work on the business. Time away from seeing patients is what creates space to build community relationships, develop referral networks, and think strategically about where your practice is headed.Own your culture. If you don't like the environment in your practice, that's on you. Ownership is the opportunity to build the workplace you actually want to show up to every day.Quote of the Show:"We don't want someone telling us how to take care of our patients. We want to be able to do what's best for them, not what's just best for the bottom line for a corporation." - Kyle MaxamLinks:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-maxam-24b10290/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyle.maxam.1  Company website: https://www.eyedocsbrookville.com/index.html  Email: [email protected] 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:Tim Marrigan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-merrigan-96584527/ Nathan Hayes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-d-hayes/ Steve Vargo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevevargo/ Dr. James DickeyWays 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