K. Ray Katz

By most standards I am a senior citizen, but like most “old people” I do not think of myself as being old – just highly experienced. I grew up in Baltimore where most of my family and my two lovely daughters still reside. I have enjoyed over thirty years in the hearing care field as a Dispenser and business owner. I started out as an in-home sales and service consultant before working with an ENT and finally buying a well-established hearing aid sales and audiometer servicing business in Tucson, AZ. That office grew into several offices with three Dispensers and three Audiologists. During those years I wrote articles for a number of different trade publications, gave lectures, and was an officer of several state and national organizations. My hobbies are rebuilding our house – we never get finished with one before starting the next – and writing – although some of my readers have probably wondered if English was my first or second language. Eclectic is a word that describes my varied work history: New York Stage Manager working with artists such as Joan Baez, Isaac Stern, and Robert Frost; Special Agent/Investigator for Military Counter-Intelligence (please – no jokes) in the US, Europe and Asia; and Sales/Distribution Manager for a large East-Coast bakery. My wife and I now make our home in Henderson, NV when not traveling in our motor home.

Business Incentives

A few weeks ago I wrote a Blog about ethics. Specifically, I put down some hypothetical situations and asked you to rank them according to how ethical each situation was. The first situation on the list was that of an office that purchased all of its instruments at full single unit price and did not take any quantity discount. In

To Give… Or Not To Give

I recently read a brief news article about Starkey’s continuing effort to give hearing to those in need. This time it was in Palestine. When reading the article I could not help but think back to when I did similar work (well – since I enjoyed it so much, it’s hard to think of it as work) in Mexico. It’s

Ethics Answers

Okay. You were diligent and thought long and hard before you answered each of last week’s quiz questions. At least I hope you did! However, as of this writting, I have yet to receive any answers . To those of you who chose to keep your answers close to your vest (a vest in the summer?) I hope you enjoyed the

Ethics – Black, White, or Gray

Every once in awhile my mind stumbles and an old subject rises to the top. Ethics can be a subject with more than a few gray areas, although there are some people who have a very black and white view of it. I believe that I always ran an ethical business (practice) but even so, I can’t say that everyone

In-Office Communication

Last week I talked about communicating with clients when they are not in your office. I would like to add one more note to that blog before going on to in-office communication. How many times have you asked a client who is new to your office, ”Where did you get your hearing instruments?” only to receive the answer, “I don’t

A Business Builder

Communication is what we are all about. By helping our clients to hear better we improve their ability to communicate and strengthen their connections to those around them. This is something we can all agree with, so my question to you is… how does your business communicate with its clients? One on one – face to face conversations,

The One Thing

Do you remember Jack Palance in City Slickers? He had a message for Billy Crystal as he held up a single finger. It was (may I paraphrase?) “One thing was the most important thing,” but Billy had to figure out what that one thing was for himself. The same goes for any business person. We all like

More Office Models

This week I want to continue with different ways to set up and run an office. I don’t know everything about office setups and I don’t recommend one over another; I simply know which styles worked for me. But, here are some additional ways to set up, or should I say “position” an office. One type of office run in conjunction

Different Office Models

Are you about to buy or start a new office? Do you wonder if the way your current office operates needs to be adjusted (changed) to meet the changing needs or focus of your office? These are questions many people lay awake at night wondering about. The following information is not presented as the best way to run an

What is Your Office Worth

The first question to ask yourself is – will I ever want to sell my office? If the answer is NO, then what your office is worth is immaterial. You aren’t going to sell it – no matter what the future holds! If you truly believe the previous sentence is an accurate description of your situation you must have the