They purchase IPL or radio frequency technology for dry eye, recognize the broader potential, and begin offering a few cosmetic treatments when the schedule allows.

But for most practices, it remains an add-on. Dr. Amanda Barker took a different approach.

In this week’s episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Amanda Barker, Co-Founder and Owner of Advanced Family Eye Care, to discuss how she transformed an adjacent opportunity inside her optometry practice into a separate aesthetics practice generating more than $1 million annually.

This is not a story about adding a few treatments to an existing schedule.

It is about building a real business with its own location, licensed providers, treatment rooms, patient journey, production goals, retention systems, technology strategy, and long-term growth plan.

From Dry Eye to a Separate Business

Amanda’s journey began with radio-frequency and IPL technologies purchased for dry eye treatment.

As she learned more about the devices, she began exploring their aesthetic applications and quickly recognized the demand. But, she also discovered an important reality:

Offering aesthetics involves more than owning the technology.

Licensure, state regulations, provider qualifications, business structure, patient experience, pricing, and clinical delegation all had to be considered.

Rather than trying to perform every treatment herself, Amanda established a separate business and hired licensed aestheticians, nurses, and nurse practitioners to deliver services within their respective scopes of practice.

What the Economics Can Look Like

Amanda’s aesthetics practice is currently on track to generate between $1 million and $1.2 million annually, after producing approximately $750,000 the previous year.

And the business still has considerable unused capacity.

She estimates that a properly equipped and efficiently scheduled treatment room can conservatively generate approximately $4,000 per day.

Her highest-value patients may spend between $7,000 and $10,000 annually across multiple services.

But those results require much more than purchasing a device. Each room has production targets. Each provider has hourly and daily goals. Leads, inactive patients, treatment utilization, retention, and device performance are tracked consistently.

The practice is managed with the same financial discipline as a serious optometric business.

Build a Treatment Portfolio, Not a Device Collection

One of Amanda’s biggest lessons was that no single device solves every patient concern.

IPL may address one layer of the skin, whilst radio frequency microneedling may address another.

Toxins, injectables, peels, resurfacing, and ablative treatments each produce different outcomes.

Looking back, Amanda says she would have spent more time understanding how treatments layer together before making early purchasing decisions. The goal is to build a carefully selected portfolio that produces both immediate results and long-term improvement.

That combination matters because patients want to see progress quickly, even when the full outcome of a treatment may take several months.

The Consultation Is the Sales Process

Amanda’s practice does not compete by offering the lowest price per unit of toxin.

Every patient begins with a consultation focused on understanding their goals, educating them about available options, and creating a longer-term treatment plan.

The objective is not to sell one procedure. It is to build a multi-year patient journey.

A patient may begin with toxins or a surface-level treatment, then progress into microneedling, IPL, resurfacing, skincare, weight optimization, or hormone therapy as their needs evolve.

That consultative approach creates stronger retention, better outcomes, and significantly greater lifetime value.

The Biggest Mistake to Avoid

Every technology representative can present a projection showing how one new device could generate hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Amanda’s warning is simple:

Do not build your decision around the device representative’s projection. Build your own business plan.

Before purchasing a device, evaluate:

• The actual patient demand
• Who is licensed to perform the treatment
• Training requirements
• Financing and consumable costs
• Marketing and launch plans
• Appointment length and room capacity
• How the device complements existing treatments
• The realistic time required to reach full utilization

The equipment may be capable of generating significant revenue, but only if the business around it is properly built.

Treat It Like a Real Business

Aesthetics can become a major growth opportunity for an optometric practice. But it cannot be treated as an occasional side service.

It requires separate operations, skilled providers, deliberate technology selection, consultative selling, patient retention systems, financial accountability, and a clear vision for the experience being created.

The point is simple:

You can build a seven-figure aesthetics business alongside optometry, but you have to stop dabbling and start operating it like a business.

Eyecare BOSS Live Summit

If you’ve been to conferences before, you’ve probably left with many great ideas and intentions, and then when you get back to your practice, nothing actually changes.

Eyecare BOSS Live is designed specifically with that in mind so you can not only know what to do to reach your goals, but also have the tools, strategies, and plans to implement lasting changes once you’re back. to change that.

This is a 2 and a half-day, invitation-only event (September 16–18 in Cleveland) designed specifically for practice owners who want execution, not just inspiration.

Inside the room:

• 200 growth-focused operators
• Peer-level masterminds
• Real conversations around revenue, staffing, leadership, AI, and specialty growth

And everything is built around one outcome:

You leave with a 90-day plan you can actually implement.

If you want to be considered, click the link below:

• Aesthetics Requires Its Own Business Model | Understand why equipment alone is not enough to create a scalable service.
• Licensure and Structure Matter | Learn how Amanda built a team of qualified providers instead of making herself the bottleneck.
• Layer Treatments for Better Outcomes | Discover why the strongest patient plans combine technologies rather than relying on one procedure.
• Sell the Journey, Not the Appointment | See how consultations and long-term plans create retention and higher patient value.
• Run the Numbers Before Buying | Learn why every device needs its own realistic business plan, utilization target, and path to profitability.

Connect with Dr. Amanda Barker

Dr. Amanda Barker is the Co-Founder and Owner of Advanced Family Eye Care, a multi-location optometric organization serving the Charlotte area. She has also built a standalone aesthetics practice focused on natural outcomes, long-term patient relationships, and clinically guided treatment plans.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-barker-assell-73286725/
• Website: https://seeadvanced.com/

Connect with Eugene Shatsman

Eugene Shatsman is Host of Power Hour, Managing Partner of National Strategic Group, Co-Creator of The Eyecare BOSS, and a TEDx Speaker. A growth strategist and consultant to hundreds of optometric practices nationwide, Eugene specializes in scaling independent eye care businesses through structured strategy, marketing science, and operational clarity.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugeneshatsman/
• Website: https://eyecareboss.com/