Takeaways From a Private Practice Owner

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Marc Bloomenstein (0:23)

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another edition of the Collaborative Corner of the Podcast. You know, in this podcast, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Rachael Wruble. If you don't know Rachael, she's out of North Carolina. She has a private practice out there called Belmont Eye. She's opening up another one. She had another one. She has five of them. She has three kids. Honestly, I just I couldn't keep up with her, but I loved talking to her about being in a private practice setting, especially in 2026, what that looks like, how she manages those patients, and more importantly, what sets her aside. So sit back and enjoy the conversation with Dr. Rachael Wruble.

Hi, Rachael. How are you doing?

Rachael Wruble (1:12)

Hey, Marc. I'm good. How are you doing?

Marc Bloomenstein (1:14)

I'm all right. I'm excited to have you on the last of our podcast for the 2026 year we're rolling in. Can you believe that the year is almost over?

Rachael Wruble (1:25)

No, I don't even like to think about that. It goes too fast.

Marc Bloomenstein (1:29)

But you know, the crazy thing is, as fast as it goes, it feels shorter and faster. I don't know. Time is just, it's a flat circle. It's insane.

Rachael Wruble (1:41)

But it's another year older but wiser for us.

Marc Bloomenstein (1:44)

I mean, I'm always excited about, at the end of the year, I used to do a wrap up of exciting new things that I brought into the practice or things that I'm excited about. You have a private practice that you have in, is it in Belmont? Is that why it's called Belmont?

Rachael Wruble (2:03)

It is, yes, in downtown Belmont, North Carolina.

Marc Bloomenstein (2:06)

Where is that in relation to Charlotte?

Rachael Wruble (2:09)

Right outside of Charlotte. We're eight minutes from the airport and 15 minutes to uptown Charlotte.

Marc Bloomenstein (2:16)

Then you had told me that you're opening up another one cold.

Rachael Wruble (2:21)

We are, yes. A couple of months here it'll open up the doors and always an exciting process.

Marc Bloomenstein (2:27)

But so when you're establishing or opening up a new practice, do you try to do something different in the practice, to make it nouveau, to make it kind of bespoke?

Or is it just kind of the Belmont name kind of carries with it? Like what makes your practice different?

Rachael Wruble (2:47)

Our practice is kind of like the mom and pop practice. Going back old school where you've got hometown optometrists that live near the practice in their huge part of the community. And it's not just general optometry, but maybe multiple specialties within it, depending on, you know, we have five optometrists in our current practice and kind of going to build that same model in another town, but be a part of their main street and their community and their chamber of commerce and really immerse the self in the community.

Marc Bloomenstein (3:16)

That's interesting because you see so many practices now going to venture capitalists.

Rachael Wruble (3:21)

Correct.

Marc Bloomenstein (3:22)

They're getting, you know, kind of absorbed. In fact, one of a colleague of mine who I've known for 30 years, he actually, incidentally, he has an identical twin brother who's a judge in Arizona. And one day I remember seeing him, I'm like, Steve. And the guy looked at me and just kind of shrugged me off. And then when I saw Steve, I go, dude, I saw you at the mall. He goes, well, that was my twin brother. I'm like, oh, that's my twin brother. Turns out he has an identical twin brother. Oh, God. Yeah, completely tangential. Look him up. I'm not going to tell you his last name. That's Cohen. Anyway, so his practice was always this really just kind of unique private practice. People loved him. Like he would drive to people's houses and bring them to the practice if they couldn't make it. He made house calls. He did. It was just it was nauseating how what a sweet person he was, which made me realize I could never have a private practice because I don't really like people enough, especially patients.

But he sold to a smaller venture capitalist who just got bought by a bigger venture capitalist.

And they're miserable because they can't give that unique kind of service that they were able to give. And I just I admire what you're doing. I mean, is it hard or is it does it feel easier or?