moonsu

I own a small optometry clinic with my wife and we're reaching the upper limit of what it can provide for us with the current business model. All of our income comes from eye exams (we don't sell glasses or other products) and our doctors are fully booked so the next logical step is to get more space and hire more doctors. Being a software developer I am trying to find ways to increase revenue that isn't limited by the number of we exams a person can perform in a day. The city is saturated with optometrists so at some point we'll be fighting to get more patients.

Other ways to grow could be:

* sell glasses - don't want to but probably enevitable

* increase prices - done recently and currently pretty high compared to other clinics

* service add-ons - extras tests and whatnot that can be charged on top of the base exam fee. Don't like this because we don't want to "sell" services. If it's needed it should be a part of the regular exam. We have an all inclusive price which I think is a good differentiator.

* increase efficiencies to allow more eye exams in a day

* package some in-house software to be sold to other clinics - not much to offer at this point

* help other clinics digitize their processes or improve security of their systems

I am hoping I can seek the wisdom of HN for novel ideas of how to grow, especially if it doesn't include getting paid dollars for hours

I've been self-teaching myself to code for a little while now and I feel like I need something more to make myself employable in the industry. The best code bootcamp near me seems to be Bitmaker in Toronto.

Does anyone have any experience with then or their alumni?

I love reading HN articles but a lot of the tech startup stories are not directly applicable to me. Does anybody know of any similar sites that are geared toward entrepreneurs working on starting a business with a physical presence?

I know this sounds a little ridiculous but lets say that you are an expert in something that isn't very niche or difficult to learn about in English but the market is not so saturated in other countries. If I could find someone to reliably translate my information (either outsource or partner with someone) do you think I could effectively sell an ebook? Any tips on how I would research the market of a foreign country?