Equipment And Office Space If the experts are correct, we are going to see a reduction in economic activity across the US during the last half of 2008 and the first half of 2009.

How this slowdown will affect eyecare providers and the retail optical market remains to be seen. Hopefully, your practice will continue to grow and stay healthy over the next year.

This, however, is clearly one of those times when practice owners need to manage their finances wisely to maintain profitability and avoid getting caught in the credit crunch.

Here are my five keys for how much to spend on fixed assets Read More | Click To Discuss

One reason you want to meet with your banker well before a loan is needed or due for renewal in this tight market is because they might say NO, or offer you a loan on terms you don’t want.

Fortunately, there are some legitimate alternative lenders such as ProMed (888.763.4626) and Matsco (800.326.0376) that

Know your credit score. Financial institutions use three main services to provide credit scores: TransUnion (800.680.7289), Equifax (866.640.2273) and Experian (800.520.1221).

You can access all three from a variety of sources on the web. I used myfico.com and purchased all three reports for less than $50.

While the criteria will vary slightly from bank to bank, a score of

Last week, we talked about the need to meet with your banker prior to your annual loans coming due. This week, we’ll talk about what you need to do before you have that meeting.

My resource for this article was a senior lending officer (I’ll call her Jane) with Suntrust Bank who oversees credit for high earning doctors and lawyers in Florida.

Here is what Jane likes to see when her clients come in to apply for a loan:

Read this now if you are holding short-term loans to finance equipment or real estate purchases. 

As I write this article on the morning of October 29, 2008, the U.S. financial markets are in a well-documented crisis.

Real estate prices have dropped, leading to increased mortgage foreclosures. The Fed has taken over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

The recent bailout of IndyMac Bank in Pasadena, California, represents the second largest bank failure in US history. Wachovia, at one time the nation’s fourth largest bank, just got taken over by Citigroup. Many other banks are having severe liquidity problems.

The Dow Jones Averages were down 40 % from just one year ago and the S&P is down by 41% over the same time. And, Congress has just finalized a questionable bailout program for Wall Street.

This is a not a doom and gloom article

Yes, there is plenty of scary news out there. But if you