Noh Filter (Fridays with Ada Noh, OD)

Noh Eyes (Texas edition)

Noh Eyes is officially open in McKinney, Texas, and while I'm excited to finally have the doors open, I am not looking forward to the struggles that inevitably come with a cold-start. I've gotten so used to having a full schedule, seeing patients back to back, and occasionally wishing I had a little more time in my day. Now I'm sitting in a brand-new office hoping the phone rings, hoping someone finds us on Google, and hoping someone in a city where no patients knows me yet decides to schedule an exam. It's a strange feeling going from being established and busy to having to build that patient base all over again.

The frustrating part is that I've done this before, so I know it takes time. I know that building relationships in a new community doesn't happen overnight, and I know that having an empty schedule right now doesn't mean it'll stay that way. But knowing all of that doesn't make it any easier when you're sitting in an office with bills to pay. There's only so much marketing, networking, and preparing you can do before you have to accept that some things are simply going to take time. I'm proud to have opened my second cold-start practice, and I know we'll eventually get to where we want to be, but right now I'm realizing that one of the hardest parts of starting over is having the patience to let things grow.

Following Her Lead

I've been fortunate to have some pretty incredible role models throughout my career, people who have helped shape the doctor I am today and the person I hope to become. Some have been mentors who took me under their wing and taught me what they knew, while others have become close friends who I find myself learning from simply by watching how they navigate their own lives and careers. Dr. Ada Noh has become one of those people for me, and with the recent opening of her new practice, Noh Eyes, in McKinney, Texas, I wanted to take a moment to talk about just how proud I am of her.

I still remember when I first met Ada. Cory Lappin was the one who introduced us, and I distinctly remember how he described her to me. "She's a dry eye doctor in Little Rock who's going to open a new practice in Dallas." Ada laughed it off with a response that was somewhere along the lines of "Yeah, right." At the time, she had already spent years building a successful practice from the ground up in Little Rock, Arkansas, while also splitting her time between there and Dallas, where her husband was transitioning his career. The idea of opening another practice in a new city was something that had been floating around, but I don't think any of us knew exactly what that would eventually look like.

Well, a couple of years later, Cory's introduction turned out to be pretty accurate. After plenty of planning, difficult decisions, and I'm sure more than a few conversations about whether this was actually a good idea, Ada made the decision to sell the practice she had spent years building in Little Rock and start over in Texas. I think it's easy to underestimate just how big of a decision that is, especially when you're leaving behind something you've already worked so hard to make successful. She knew what it took to build a practice because she had already done it once, and I imagine that made the decision both easier and harder in different ways. She knew what was possible, but she also knew exactly how much work was waiting for her on the other side.

As I've been building my own practice and finding my footing in this profession, Ada has been one of the people I've leaned on the most. She's been there for just about every high and low I've experienced over the last few years, both professionally and personally. She's someone I can call when I need advice, when something exciting happens, when I'm frustrated about something at the office, or when I just need someone to listen. Having someone in your corner who understands the challenges of practice ownership because they've actually lived through them is incredibly valuable, and I've probably learned just as much from our everyday conversations as I have from any formal mentorship I've received.

One of the things I admire most about Ada is the life she's managed to build around her career. She has an incredible husband (hi, Tim!), a wonderful group of friends, and relationships throughout industry that she's developed over years of hard work and genuinely connecting with people. She's accomplished a tremendous amount professionally, but what I find equally impressive is how many people she's surrounded herself with who genuinely care about her and want to see her succeed. I've gotten to know some of those people myself, and it's pretty easy to understand why they feel that way.

I know opening Noh Eyes is going to come with its own set of challenges. She's going from having an established practice with a full schedule to building something new in a city where she's still establishing herself professionally. There will be slow days, frustrating moments, and probably plenty of times when she wonders how long it's going to take before things start feeling the way they used to. I also know that she's already done something incredibly difficult by making the decision to leave behind what was comfortable and pursue what she wanted for the next chapter of her life.

I have absolutely no doubt that Ada is going to build something special in McKinney. She's already built an amazing career, an amazing life, and a community of people who are rooting for her, and I think it's only a matter of time before her new practice finds its footing too. I'm incredibly proud of her for taking this leap, and even more grateful that I've gotten to have her as both a role model and one of my closest friends throughout my own journey.

So here's to you, Ada. Congratulations on Noh Eyes, and to all the success I know is coming your way. I can't wait to watch what comes next.

Have a great weekend.

Ada Noh, OD

Andrew Zagelbaum, OD

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