Australia's Optometry Business Coach · Designed for Freedom
Build a practice that works for you not the other way around.
Michael Stefanescu is Australia’s leading optometry business coach, the only coach who has built, scaled and sold multiple independent optometry practices from the inside. If you are an independent practice owner ready to move from operator to owner, this is the program built for you.
Designed for independent Australian optometry owners who want to increase profitability, strengthen their team, and create more time and freedom without compromising clinical standards.
About Michael
Australia’s optometry business coach, built on lived experience, not borrowed theory.
At fourteen, his home was the streets of Cabramatta, the heroin capital of Australia. By forty three, he had built, scaled, and sold multiple independent optometry practices, owned the real estate underneath, and walked away on his own terms.
The son of a Vietnamese and a Romanian refugee, raised in housing commission across three states, Michael won the Maki Shiobara Optometry Scholarship after his first year of university and graduated with first class honours. In 2008, with less than $25K to his name and the GFC closing in, he opened his first practice in one of the suburbs he had grown up in.
From the outside, he had made it. Profitable practice, great team, house, and family. From the inside, he had built a high paying job that owned him.
At fourteen, his home was the streets of Cabramatta, the heroin capital of Australia. By forty three, he had built, scaled, and sold multiple independent optometry practices, owned the real estate underneath, and walked away on his own terms.
The son of a Vietnamese and a Romanian refugee, raised in housing commission across three states, Michael won the Maki Shiobara Optometry Scholarship after his first year of university and graduated with first class honours. In 2008, with less than $25K to his name and the GFC closing in, he opened his first practice in one of the suburbs he had grown up in.
From the outside, he had made it. Profitable practice, great team, house, and family. From the inside, he had built a high paying job that owned him.
From operator to owner
- 17 years owning and operating optometry practices in Australia, built from the ground up.
- Navigated every staffing crisis, lease renegotiation, and dry month you can imagine.
- Implemented Profit First and rebuilt team accountability systems that ran without me.
- Built practices that worked whether I was in the chair or not.
- Exited on my own terms, at the number I wanted
- Now I work exclusively with independent Australian optometry practice owners to do exactly the same.
Why people trust this
- Built specifically for optometry practice owners, not generic business coaching clients.
- Grounded in real world ownership, growth, and exit experience inside Australian optometry.
- Focuses on profit, leadership, accountability, and the systems that reduce owner dependence.
- Gives practice owners a clearer path to more control, more time, and more freedom.
- Not a generic coach who will give you repurposed retail advice. I’ve sat in the same consult chair.
The Journey
The optometry practice owner’s path from overload to freedom
A strong practice should not need you in every decision, every staff issue, and every operational problem. Here is what the transformation looks like.
STAGE 1
More Profit
Stronger numbers, cleaner margins, Profit First implementation, and better commercial control across every part of the practice.
STAGE 2
More Time
Less day to day dependence on you. Delegation frameworks, clinical protocols, and operational systems that free your calendar.
STAGE 3
More Leadership
Clearer expectations, better accountability, and a team that takes ownership. You become the CEO, not the bottleneck.
STAGE 4
More Freedom
A business that gives you real options, scale it, step back, or sell it on your terms at the number you actually want.
STAGE 1
More Profit
Stronger numbers, cleaner margins, Profit First implementation, and better commercial control across every part of the practice.
STAGE 2
More Time
Less day to day dependence on you. Delegation frameworks, clinical protocols, and operational systems that free your calendar.
STAGE 3
More Leadership
Clearer expectations, better accountability, and a team that takes ownership. You become the CEO, not the bottleneck.
STAGE 4
More Freedom
A business that gives you real options, scale it, step back, or sell it on your terms at the number you actually want.
The Program
The $1M Optometry Business Accelerator, 12 month coaching for Australian practice owners
A 12 month 1:1 premium coaching engagement for independent Australian optometry practice owners. Not a course. Not a group. A personal transformation of your business, with Michael by your side the entire way.
12 Month Transformation
A premium 1:1 coaching journey designed to move independent optometry owners from burnout and bottleneck to strategic ownership. 48 weekly sessions directly with Michael.
Four Pillars
Clarity, systems, profit, and exit, the same levers that create a practice with real independence and genuine enterprise value. Built around your specific situation.
What’s Included
Weekly 1:1 coaching calls, weekly group coaching and mastermind sessions, monthly progress reviews, unlimited async support, in-person intensive days, and the annual 5 night all inclusive Bali Elite Optometry Summit.
- This IS for you
- You own 1–3 independent optometry practices
- Revenue is strong but your personal income never reflects it
- You’re serious about treating your practice as a business asset, not just a job
- You’re willing to do the work, make changes, and implement the strategies
- You’re done being the operator and ready to become the true owner
- You want a coach who has actually done what you want to do
- This is NOT for you
- You’re looking for a formula that works without effort on your part
- You’re part of a corporate chain (Specsavers, OPSM, etc.)
- You want a group course with no personal accountability
- You haven’t stabilised the basics yet
- You’re not open to challenging how you think about your business
- You want quick fixes rather than lasting structural change
Results
What if your practice ran itself?
Your best outcome is not just growth. It is a better business, a better life, and a practice that becomes genuinely valuable because it can stand without constant founder dependence.
Financial Clarity
Know your numbers. Understand exactly where profit is being created and lost. Make better decisions with confidence and commercial clarity.
More Time
Systems, team structure, and accountability reduce owner overload. Clients routinely reclaim 10–15 hours per week by month 6.
More Freedom
A practice that is easier to run now and easier to sell later. Real options, scale it, step back, or exit on your terms at the right time.
From a practice owner
What working with Michael actually looks like.
“Working with Michael has been one of the most important decisions I’ve made for my optometry businesses.”
Before working with Michael, I felt like I was carrying the whole weight of my practices on my shoulders. I had a clear vision of the standard of care and experience I wanted to deliver, but I didn’t have the systems or structure to get my team and numbers consistently there.
Since coaching with Michael, I’ve gained clarity, confidence, and a far more practical plan for growth. We’ve tightened up our patient journey, sales process, and team expectations, and I’m already seeing the impact in revenue, staff performance, and my own stress levels. I’m making better decisions, and I finally feel like the business is moving in the direction I always wanted.
I really appreciate Michael’s mix of candour and support, I’m challenged to do better, but I never feel judged. If you own an optometry practice and want someone in your corner who actually understands the business side of eye care, I highly recommend Michael.
Gan He
Practice Owner
Clearview Optometry (Burwood) · Ocular & Eyes (Sydney CBD & Chatswood)
“Working with Michael has been one of the most important decisions I’ve made for my optometry businesses.”
Before working with Michael, I felt like I was carrying the whole weight of my practices on my shoulders. I had a clear vision of the standard of care and experience I wanted to deliver, but I didn’t have the systems or structure to get my team and numbers consistently there.
Since coaching with Michael, I’ve gained clarity, confidence, and a far more practical plan for growth. We’ve tightened up our patient journey, sales process, and team expectations, and I’m already seeing the impact in revenue, staff performance, and my own stress levels. I’m making better decisions, and I finally feel like the business is moving in the direction I always wanted.
I really appreciate Michael’s mix of candour and support, I’m challenged to do better, but I never feel judged. If you own an optometry practice and want someone in your corner who actually understands the business side of eye care, I highly recommend Michael.
Gan He
Practice Owner
Clearview Optometry (Burwood) · Ocular & Eyes (Sydney CBD & Chatswood)
FAQ
Questions about optometry business coaching
A few things practice owners ask before starting the conversation.
How is this different from generic business coaching?
Most business coaches have never owned an optometry practice. I was a practice owner for 17 years. I know what dry eye and myopia clinic margins looks like. I understand the associate vs. employee cost dynamics. I’ve negotiated optical leases. Everything I teach is built specifically for independent optometry, not repurposed from a retail or accounting playbook.
How much time does this take each week?
The calls are approximately 2 hours per week. The rest is implementation, and within the first 90 days, the goal is that you’ve already reclaimed far more time than you invest in the program. Most clients report 10 to 15 free hours per week back by month 6.
Are there spots available right now?
Michael caps his schedule at a maximum of 10 active clients per year to protect the quality of every engagement and intake is only 5 practice owners every 6 months. The best way to find out if there’s a current opening is to apply, timing will be discussed transparently on the strategy call.
What does the engagement include?
12 months of direct 1:1 access. That’s 48 × 60 minute coaching calls, weekly group coaching and mastermind calls, unlimited whatsapp support (Mon to Fri, 1 business day response), 12x monthly accountability and emergency crisis calls, 2x in person intensive days, and the 5 night all inclusive Bali Elite Optometry Summit.
What if I’ve tried coaching before and it didn’t work?
The most common feedback from clients who’ve tried other coaches is: “They didn’t understand optometry.” That’s the fundamental difference. Michael has lived the same business you’re running, every decision, every pressure, every trade off. This is not a framework imported from another industry. It’s built from 17 years inside yours.
Do I have to want to sell my practice?
No. The program is designed to give you choices, not push you in a direction. Most clients come in wanting more time and profit, not necessarily an exit. But building a practice that could be sold, if you chose to, is the same as building one that runs well whether you’re there or not. That’s the goal regardless.
- No sales team. Michael reviews every application personally.
- Free 60 minute strategy call if it looks like a fit.
- Maximum 10 clients per year. Timing discussed transparently.
- If it’s not the right fit, Michael will tell you, and point you in the right direction.