We had the good fortune of connecting with Tiffany Chen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We started talking about having a practice of our own to give us a bit more flexibility in our schedule, a better work/life balance, and more freedom to practice optometry how we wanted to. We strived to prioritize quality care and quality products. We wanted to to start our own office where we could make our own decisions of the products we brought in, bring in high tech equipment to assist us in properly diagnosing and managing ocular diseases, and allow more time in our schedule to be with each patient so that we ensure there is time dedicated to answering patient questions. We are both first generation Asian Americans and we’ve seen the sacrifices our parents made to allow us to be where we are today, and we did not want to take that for granted. We both have a very strong work ethic and we balance each other out well. We knew that opening up our own business would allow each of us to play into our strengths. Before deciding to open up the office, we both had several discussions about what our ultimate goals were, how we envisioned our practice, the roles we would play, and we were aligned in all of these aspects. While it’s been a lot of late nights, coming in on our days off, and learning new aspects of business ownership, we’ve both never been happier in our career.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our practice is named Modern Vue Eyecare, as that is how we wanted to approach optometry. We wanted to provide modern eye care with proven science-based therapies, and to provide knowledge with the latest technological advances. We’ve all been to offices with antiquated equipment and outdated treatment methods, and I know that we’ve never left those offices feeling like we got the best care. That’s why we both gravitate towards more parts of optometry than just your typical glasses and contact lenses. Dr. Debbie Wei enjoys the geriatric population and diagnosing and managing retinal diseases and glaucoma. Meanwhile, I enjoy the anterior portion of the eye, managing corneal diseases (like keratoconus, corneal ectasias), and myopia management in children. We provide full scope eye care, and while these cases can be challenging, that’s where we thrive and have the most fulfillment. These parts of optometry can be more of a niche subspecialty, so we often maintain a very loyal patient base, as not every optometrist provides these treatment, or doesn’t have the appropriate equipment to manage the diseases. We rely on word of mouth referrals, and exemplary care tends to lead to more referrals.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I don’t think you can truly visit DFW area without visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards and getting some barbeque. In addition to that, my husband and I recently discovered the Lone Star Park horseraces, another gem to take our friends and family. We are big fans of Hillstone, Rise, Barcelona Wine Bar, and Uncle Zhou’s and those are often restaurants we take our out of town guests.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We met through a mutual friend, Katrina Parker, and all of this would not have been possible without her. I was looking to work a few Saturdays a month, and Debbie was looking for someone to help at her previous sublease on Saturdays, so I started working for her and this initiated the start of our discussion about opening up a practice together. During the process of opening up the practice, we worked with iCare Advisors, and that mentorship is unparalleled. They provided timelines for when we needed to get different objectives completed, assisted us whenever we had issues with certain insurance panels, and genuinely tried to help us succeed as a cold start office. Of course, we also would not be here without the support of our friends and family, all of whom showed up for us the first month we were open to help us get more comfortable with our flow of the office.

Website: https://www.modernvueeyecare.com

Instagram: @modernvueeyecare

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernvueeyecaretx

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/modern-vue-eyecare-plano

Image Credits
Tommy Nguyen, Ben Wei

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