I was born into a family of four and raised in Brooklyn, NY in a one-bedroom apartment. I am also the first in my family to graduate from college. Hard work and sacrifice were foundational in my upbringing. On this road there have been many difficult decisions and sacrifices in order to make my dream of business consulting become a reality. Knowing there was an easier path, I rejected it. Instead followed my passion for consulting small business owners to achieve their goals of financial freedom and gaining more time with family and friends.
I started my career directly out of college with my classmate and business partner John. I borrowed a car and my part of the down payment for my first business from my family. There was only enough business for myself and my business partner to work two and a half days each. We started out generating around $600,000 a year in gross revenue. My first paycheck was around $800 for the week, but there were times we couldn’t even pay ourselves. John and I could have worked at another location on our off days to supplement our income while the business grew naturally, but we learned it was good to take our lumps early. Instead, we invested our other days in the growth of the business and that led to us growing our business ten times the size to just over 6 million dollars in revenue.
From that experience John and I learned a great deal of things about growing and leading a business. We decided that we wanted to help others enjoy the success that we were able to build. We could have just started buying practices and creating a business empire of eye care practices, but that’s what the huge monopoly players were doing, and crushing independent owners. That’s when we decided to take the road less traveled and opened Uppercut Consulting. Originally, we started out helping Optometrists grow their businesses and remain independent. That didn’t last long. Other inquiries were coming in from other medical professionals and small business owners. We were and are now in the position to help small business owners become the CEOs they need to be to successfully own and operate a thriving business. My philosophy is to lead like my children are watching every day, to set the right example in life and business.
Dr. Scott A. Colonna is the CEO at Uppercut Consulting, GMC Properties, Westminster Eyecare Associates, College Hill Eye & Optical, and Mandalay Optical Lab. He received his Doctor of Optometry degree from the State University of New York College of Optometry.
For questions or comments, please contact our VP of Operations, Jason Clute at jclute@uppercutconsulting.com or 407-502-8765, 400
