Optometric Practice Financing

Coffman Capital Inc. is your Best Source for Financing an Optometry or Ophthalmology Practice.  There are other financing sources but we believe we can offer you more options and represent your interests better than other financing companies.

Coffman Capital has been working with established Optometry Practice Brokers and Consultants since about 2001.  You can visit the broker page here and contact them to find the best practices available in the area where you want to own your own practice.

What many lenders probably don’t understand about your profession is the need to finance a large inventory in many cases.  This means that you need to be sufficiently funded not only for the practice itself but also the working capital to maintain the inventory properly and possibly to replenish it at the time you buy the practice.  Often we can finance the inventory with the purchase and also finance working capital without one interfering with the other – but included in the same loan.  That is a case-by-case situation and we’re happy to explore those options.

The predominant story we’ve seen play over again and again in the Optometric profession is, to put it quite bluntly: they eat their young.  What that means is that historically, practice owners were able to hire a full time associate for minimal compensation. We’ve helped so many doctors finally own their own practices all while they were working full and over-time to support a family or just themselves.  Sometimes the doctors are between jobs and we can help in those situations as well.

Isn’t it Time to Own Your Practice?

Whether you’re out looking for a practice to buy or maybe purchase the one in which you have already established yourself as an associate, Coffman Capital has seen the dramatic improvement in the lives of the doctors we’ve helped.  In fact sometimes the new owner seems to undergo a transformation in attitude and expectations even before they close on the sale, anticipating the new exciting role they are about to play in their own professional career.

Why Not Start A Practice?

There are merits and challenges of starting a practice from the ground up.  You can have lower business debt and the pride of starting something on your own.  On the other hand the time & effort it takes to build a practice that will support your family may not work for you.  But if you want to start a new practice we can often help! It depends on what you want to do and the available funds for your particular project.  Let us know what you’re planning and let’s talk about it!

What Should I Look For When Buying A Practice?

Coffman Capital can help you not only by having the right financing terms for you but also asking the right questions.  Our loan submissions include not only financial data, but also the type of practice it is, how the patients and revenues are generated, and all the issues regarding transitions, non-compete agreements, and ownership structure.  This means that by the time we ask a lender to approve your loan, you’ve learned a lot about the practice itself.

What About Eye Surgery Facilities?

We love financing surgery centers!  Whether you’re purchasing one or building one, we can help with the financing – even if there is no real property included with the transaction.  As we referenced in Healthcare Practice Loans, we specialize in under-collateralized loans.  Even a large surgery center with very expensive equipment, through a bank’s eyes, tends to have less liquidation value than they may normally like, so we know how to make sure that’s not a concern.

How Much Experience Do I Need?

Great question.  The best scenario is usually when you’ve been licensed for 2 years or more.  But sometimes circumstances beyond sheer license time can be a factor. We have been able to help in those areas so let’s talk about it.  We invite all prospective practice owners to call us and find out what you have planned and let us help you in any way we can even if buying it right now isn’t recommended.

Also: New graduates are difficult to finance for an Optometry practice acquisition.  Having said that, if you have business ownership background and enough treatment experience (you’d have to make your case), it might work – but it’s tough.  A strong guarantor to the loan would likely be necessary. We can still help with Optometry startup financing for qualified borrowers.

For more specific information on the lending programs and qualifying, please see the Healthcare Practice Loans page.

Please let us help you get the job done right.  We’ll help you learn about the practice you are buying including things the lenders won’t ask about.  We’ll also make sure you are completely knowledgeable about the loan program you are using. You are about to embark on a journey to Your Own Successful Practice!

Please Call Us at 813-891-1811 and Let’s Get Started!