When Neha Dada, OD, moved to North Carolina in 2022, she was a stranger in town. But in a community filled with transplants, she wasn’t alone. The Charlotte suburbs were booming, and Indian Trail—where she chose to open her practice—was full of new faces, just like hers. For Dr. Dada, it was the perfect opportunity to build something from the ground up, both for her family and her career.
Owning a private practice had been a dream since high school, inspired by the health care professionals in her community who balanced meaningful work with a fulfilling life. But the path to making it happen took time. Marriage, children and career moves meant that the right moment had to align with the right place . After years of waiting, she and her husband made the move with a plan. They searched for a community where they would put down roots, and she would finally open the doors to her own optometry practice.
The fast-growing suburb was ideal. The demographics support the kind of private practice she wanted Method Eye Care to be, and her husband had many opportunities to advance his banking career. “It was about finding the right place—not just to work, but to live.”
Working with iCare Advisors to navigate the logistics of opening cold in an area 650 miles away from where the family had been living, she connected with a real estate agent who helped her identify the right place in a shopping center with an anchor Publix nearby. The area had foot traffic, growth potential and a need for more eye care options.
Initially, she hoped to move into a second-generation eye care space to keep costs down, but a former Supercuts location in a five-year-old building hit the mark. It did require a complete overhaul. “I was hoping to save some walls, but it just wasn’t right,” she says. “So, we gutted it save for one wall.”
The result is a 1,200-square-foot practice designed for efficiency. The space includes two exam rooms—one fully equipped, with the second ready for future growth—plus an open-concept optical, a pretesting room, a contact lens area, an in-house lab with an edger and a cozy office for her. The goal was to create an inviting atmosphere, somewhere both patients and staff would feel comfortable.
“I wanted it to feel homey,” Dr. Dada says. When the couple first moved to Charlotte, Dr. Dada found two temporary work positions. She left one when Method Eye Care opened in May 2024, but she still works part-time at the other. “My other job is more stressful. My office is where I can be in control, where everything is the way it should be. Calm, welcoming, just right.”
She worked with designer Karina K to bring that vision to life, though not without some hiccups. A herringbone floor pattern was laid incorrectly by subcontractors, requiring adjustments. “There were a lot of small bumps in the road,” she says. “It’s one thing to say you’re going to do it and another to actually do it.”
MAKING IT WORK
Having practiced in multiple settings—a high-volume clinic, a community health center, and an ophthalmology group—Dr. Dada had already built a strong foundation in patient care. But she craved the ability to manage the entire experience, from diagnosis to eyewear. “In past roles, I always felt a disconnect. I wasn’t able to be part of the full patient journey,” she says. “I like to be involved from beginning to end.”
Now, her practice is a full-scope primary eye care office with a family-oriented focus. While she envisions expanding into myopia management in the future, right now, she’s focused on refining the patient experience.
And the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. “Patients tell me they needed this in the community,” she says. “That’s what makes it worth it. The team I have is awesome. We all connect with patients, and we’re all on the same page—our job is to make them happy and do the right thing.”
Throughout the process, Dr. Dada found motivation in the stories of other female ODs. Seeing others take the leap into private practice reinforced her belief that she could do it, too. “I had been reading Women In Optometry for so long, seeing other women open their own practices. It made me think, ‘She did it—I can do it too,’” she says. That encouragement, combined with her own determination, helped her push through the inevitable bumps in the road and build a practice she’s proud of. For Dr. Dada, it all comes back to one core belief: “I said I was going to do this. Now, we’re making it work.”
Connect with Dr. Dada and Method Eye Care online:
Instagram: @methodeyecare
Facebook: Method Eye Care
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