Reynolds Family Eye Care: Seeing a dream come true

First Financial Bank helps an optometrist realize her vision of opening a family practice

Dr. Jennifer Reynolds is an optometrist with a dream. She practices in New Albany, Indiana, a suburb of Louisville, and after sixteen years in the corporate optometry world, was determined to open her own practice. That is a decision that goes against conventional wisdom because these days large corporations are buying up small optometry practices.

One day, as she walked past a practice in New Albany’s downtown area, she saw a For Sale sign and stopped in to ask about it. She quickly fell in love with the place and the idea of owning a practice. Dr. Reynolds decided to purchase both the practice and the building, but she knew she had to act quickly. Several offers were already on the table.

She reached out to Justin Smith at First Financial Bank to help make it happen. Earlier, she and her husband had worked with Justin to build their home. “He made it so easy,” Dr. Reynolds remarked. First Financial Bank quickly put together the financing Dr. Reynolds needed to complete the transaction and her vision became a reality.

Dr. Reynolds and her team took a small practice and doubled the number of daily patients in just a short time. “It wasn’t simple,” said Dr. Reynolds, but “First Financial made it easy to do.” As an optometrist, she had many questions about the financial side of running a business. Justin was able answer them with a smile. ‘He does it in his friendly, nonjudgmental way, which really means a lot,” she said.

For instance, Justin showed Dr. Reynolds how First Financial Bank could save her practice thousands of dollars a year on credit card processing. “We took that plunge, and we can now see those savings,” she said. “When you’re a small business, every little bit you can save on the back end makes a huge difference. Justin has just been absolutely fantastic.”

She appreciates the friendly, in-branch employees too. “The tellers at the branch just down the street are super helpful. The employees at First Financial make you feel like you’re the only person they need to take care of.” In a way, which fits perfectly with why Dr. Reynolds left the corporate world in the first place. “I want to make personal connections. It’s not just First Financial Bank I do business with, it’s Justin and the team,” she said.