RANCHO MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—Opening a practice cold wasn’t the initial plan of Michelle Ahumada, OD—actually, it was the bank’s idea. The rest, she said, “was history.” Dr. Ahumada graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO), now the Southern California School of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University, in 2001, and, about a year later, bought a house and started a family. Now a mother of three, Dr. Ahumada told Vision Monday, “I never stopped working, but I did cut back to part-time.” Throughout the years, she worked in a variety of practices—most recently at Costco—and eventually decided she wanted the ability to be her own boss. “I first looked at buying a practice, but that did not work out. I had already applied for the loan, and the bank suggested I look into opening cold. When they did, I remembered about a brand new shopping center; I got in touch with the leasing company and the rest was history.” Read More