Noh Filter (Fridays with Ada Noh, OD)

100 Asks

A few weeks ago, I decided to set a goal for myself: 100 asks before the end of the year.

Ask for the opportunity. Ask for the referral. Ask for the introduction. Ask for the connection.

It felt a little aggressive—there were just over 100 days left in the year, which meant averaging almost one ask a day.

Why did I choose this goal? I’m not entirely sure. Maybe it’s about putting myself out there more. Maybe it’s about being intentional about the opportunities I want. Or maybe it’s simply about making sure I’m not leaving anything on the table.

A few weeks in, I’ve already made several uncomfortable asks—ones I probably wouldn’t have made if I hadn’t given myself this challenge.

And even this early on, I’m really glad I’m doing it.

Because sometimes the biggest barrier isn’t rejection. It’s never asking in the first place.

A Case of the Mondays

I've never been someone who particularly dreads Mondays, but every once in a while, you have one of those days where it seems like everything that could go wrong decides to happen at once. This past Monday was one of those days. Nothing catastrophic happened, and the practice is still standing, but by the time I got home, I was more than ready for the day to be over.

It started with discovering fraudulent charges on my business credit card, which meant spending part of the day investigating the charges, canceling the card, and arranging for a replacement. Of course, now I also get to figure out which vendors and recurring subscriptions were tied to that card. On top of that, I spent time trying to track down a shipment of over-the-counter products that we had already paid for, but never received. Turns out that we did recieve them, we just stored them in a different spot than usual.

Meanwhile, the schedule wasn't doing us any favors. We had several cancellations, including a new patient consultation, leaving some pretty significant gaps in the day. My staff and I found ourselves looking for busy work to fill the time, tackling little projects and administrative tasks that had been sitting on the back burner. There's always something to do in a medical office, but I'd much rather have a full schedule of patients than spend the afternoon trying to keep everyone occupied. And just to round things out, I found out that one of my favorite industry reps of all time is having her territory restructured, meaning she won't be covering my practice much longer. We've developed a great relationship over the years, so that news was particularly disappointing.

By the end of the day, I couldn't help but laugh a little at how much had managed to pile up in the span of a single Monday. None of these things individually would have been enough to ruin my day, but together they certainly made for an exhausting one. It also got me thinking about how we portray practice ownership, particularly on social media. We love sharing the exciting moments: grand openings, new equipment, packed schedules, speaking engagements, and professional accomplishments. I'm certainly guilty of it myself, and I think we should be proud of those things. But nobody's rushing to post a picture of themselves on hold with their credit card company or staring at an appointment schedule that suddenly has more empty space than they'd like.

I love owning Dry Eye Center of Arizona, and I wouldn't trade the opportunity to build this practice for anything. But some days, the responsibility of having everything fall on your shoulders feels heavier than others. As an associate, a slow day or missing package might have been frustrating, but those problems generally stayed at the office. Now, they're mine to figure out, whether I feel like dealing with them or not.

I don't share this because I'm looking for sympathy. I share it because I think it's important to show that practice ownership isn't always as glamorous as it might appear online. Some days I go home feeling like everything is coming together exactly as I'd hoped. Other days, I spend more time putting out fires than practicing optometry. Both are part of the experience, and I think there's value in being honest about that. This past Monday was one of those days. Hopefully, next Monday will be a little less eventful.

Have a great weekend.

Ada Noh, OD

Andrew Zagelbaum, OD

Special thanks to our 2026 Founding Presenting Partner, Bausch + Lomb!