Some practices are built from scratch; others are inherited.

While both come with challenges, inheriting a practice brings a unique responsibility: preserving what made it successful while finding the courage to evolve it for the future.

In this episode of Power Hour, Eugene sits down with Dr. Luke Small, a third-generation optometrist and Owner of Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre, one of the oldest optometry practices in Canada, with a history spanning more than 110 years.

Luke’s grandfather helped shape the profession in its early days. His father expanded the practice into a standalone eye care center and embraced technology long before most practices considered it.

Today, Luke is leading the next chapter, modernizing the business through medical eye care, advanced technology, a second location, and a culture-first approach to patient experience. This is a conversation about growth, leadership, and what happens when the doctor everyone wants to see must begin transforming into the CEO the practice needs.

Growing Without Losing What Made You Successful

For many practice owners, growth sounds exciting until it becomes real.

Adding a second location, introducing new technology, hiring associate doctors, and expanding services all create opportunities. They also create complexity.

Luke shares how purchasing a second practice challenged many of his assumptions. What looked straightforward on paper quickly revealed differences in culture, operations, staff dynamics, and patient expectations. One of the biggest lessons was realizing that practices cannot simply be copied and pasted. Every location develops its own personality, culture, and identity that must be understood and nurtured individually.

That realization forced Luke to think differently about leadership, not just as an optometrist delivering care, but as a business owner responsible for creating the conditions that allow multiple teams and locations to thrive.

Why Culture Creates the Patient Experience

Throughout the conversation, Luke repeatedly comes back to one theme: culture. His belief is simple. Happy teams create better patient experiences.

Rather than trying to control every aspect of the patient journey himself, Luke focuses on creating an environment where team members feel trusted, valued, and empowered to make decisions. That trust extends across the practice, from optical purchasing decisions to patient service recovery and day-to-day operations.

The result is a practice culture that patients can feel.

Luke shares how one of his favorite compliments is hearing patients say they would love to work there themselves. For him, that is often the clearest indication that the team culture is translating into a memorable patient experience.

From Optometrist to CEO

The second half of the conversation shifts into a challenge many growing practice owners eventually face: How do you transition from being the primary provider to becoming the leader of the organization?

As Luke works toward spending more time on strategy and less time inside the exam room, he and Eugene discuss everything from vision setting and leadership development to accountability, associate doctor growth, and succession planning.

One particularly valuable part of the discussion focuses on patient transitions. Many practice owners worry about introducing associate doctors to long-standing patients who have built deep relationships with them over decades. Eugene shares practical strategies for positioning those transitions positively, helping patients see new providers as an enhancement to their experience rather than a replacement.

The conversation becomes a thoughtful exploration of what leadership looks like when the future success of the practice depends less on one doctor and more on the systems, people, and vision that support the entire organization.

Every successful practice eventually reaches a point where growth requires a different version of its owner. For Dr. Luke Small, that means honoring more than a century of history while building a business prepared for the next generation of patients, doctors, and team members.

This episode is a practical conversation about leadership, culture, technology, growth, and succession, but underneath it all, it’s really about stewardship.

How do you preserve what matters most while continuing to move forward?

For any practice owner navigating growth, expansion, or leadership transition, Luke’s perspective offers valuable lessons on building the next chapter without losing the foundation that made the first one successful.

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:

• Legacy Requires Evolution | Building on a successful foundation doesn’t mean preserving everything exactly as it was. Learn how Luke modernized a 110-year-old practice while maintaining the values that made it successful.
• Culture Drives Patient Experience | Discover why empowering your team, building trust, and creating a positive work environment often has a greater impact on patient experience than any piece of technology.
• Every Location Has Its Own Identity | Learn why expanding into multiple locations requires more than duplicating systems and processes, and how successful leaders adapt to different teams and patient populations.
• Technology Must Support the Vision | Explore how Luke evaluates new technology investments, balances innovation with ROI, and uses technology to strengthen both clinical care and patient experience.
• The Transition from Doctor to CEO | Understand the mindset shifts, leadership skills, and operational changes required when moving from being the primary provider to leading a growing organization.

Connect with Dr. Luke Small

Dr. Luke Small is a third-generation optometrist and owner of Armstrong & Small Eye Care Centre and Eyes. He leads one of Canada’s oldest optometry practices, with a history spanning more than 110 years. Under his leadership, the practice has expanded into a multi-location model while continuing to emphasize medical eye care, advanced technology, dry eye treatment, patient experience, and community engagement. Dr. Small is widely recognized for blending a deep respect for tradition with a forward-thinking approach to practice growth, leadership, and innovation.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-small-950a4724/
• Website: https://www.armstrongandsmall.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/