Wade Horb is the President of Marketing4ECPs and SmileShop Dental Marketing, where he leads strategic growth initiatives for brands in the eye care and dental industries. Under his leadership, Marketing4ECPs partners with independent practices across Canada and the United States, earning a reputation for hands-on collaboration and industry expertise. Wade is known for his people-first leadership approach and his commitment to helping teams and businesses succeed in highly competitive markets.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [01:52] Wade Horb shares his journey to becoming president of three companies
- [03:43] What makes Vision Expo an unmissable event for everyone in the industry
- [04:57] The deeper motivations driving most eye care professionals
- [07:09] Secrets to effective delegation from leading figures in the industry
- [09:30] How Cleinman plans to revive its pre-pandemic magic
- [13:23] Why lifelong learning sets industry experts apart
- [14:36] Wade’s top tip for building successful teams
In this episode…
Leadership in fast-moving industries rarely comes down to titles or tactics alone. It often shows up in how people are trusted, challenged, and supported as the business evolves. So what does it actually take to lead well in the eye care and dental marketing space right now?
For Wade Horb, the answer starts with trust and listening. Drawing from his experience as a leader deeply embedded in both industries, Wade believes that real innovation happens when leaders give capable people room to think big without overwhelming them. He compares strong leadership to balanced delegation, offering autonomy while staying close enough to provide support, a mindset that creates growth not just for teams, but for the entire organization.
In this episode of the Cleinman Connect Podcast, Kim Carson is joined by Wade Horb, President of Marketing4ECPs and SmileShop Dental Marketing, to discuss leadership and innovation in the eye care and dental marketing space. They explore how trust and delegation shape strong teams, why purpose-driven industries foster collaboration, and how learning from peers fuels long-term growth. Wade also shares advice on hiring people smarter than you and the power of simply listening as a leader.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Kevin Wilhelm on LinkedIn
- Marketing4ECPs
- Cleinman Performance Partners
- Wade Horb on LinkedIn
- SmileShop Dental Marketing
- Nancy Dewald on LinkedIn
- Amanda Van Voris on LinkedIn
- Vision Expo
Quotable Moments:
- “I truly have had the benefit of really seeing how the eye care industry operates.”
- “I think everyone really has each other’s back, which is so nice to see.”
- “I love to learn, because every independent practice is not literally the same at all.”
- “He just trusts the people he works with, like he gives the utmost trust and gives autonomy.”
- “I will honestly say, if I could give any advice, that would be my advice, because when you have good people around you, good things happen.”
Action Steps:
- Delegate with intention and clarity: Giving people ownership while matching responsibility to their capacity builds confidence without causing burnout.
- Hire people who challenge your thinking: Surrounding yourself with smarter, capable individuals drives better decisions and continuous improvement.
- Create space for peer-to-peer learning: Encouraging teams to share experiences and insights accelerates growth across the entire organization.
- Lead with trust before control: When leaders trust their teams, autonomy increases engagement, accountability, and innovation.
- Practice active listening every day: Listening closely helps leaders understand real needs, uncover ideas, and build stronger relationships.
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by Marketing4ECPs!
Working with them is like hiring a full-time marketing professional who knows the industry and understands your goals. Except, instead of one experienced marketer, you get a whole team in your corner.
Whether you’re an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or optician, they can help you grow your business with a plan that’s completely customized for you. Learn more here.
Episode Transcript
Intro: 00:07
Welcome to the Cleinman Connect Podcast, where we discuss marketing, ownership, growth strategies, and everything else surrounding the business of optometry. Cleinman is Optometry’s trusted business partner for over 35 years.
Kim Carson: 00:27
Hi, I’m Kim Carson hosting Wade Horb, President of Marketing4ECPs and SmileShop Dental Marketing, and most recently Cleinman on this episode of the podcast. This episode is actually brought to us by Marketing4ECPs. Working with them is like hiring a full time marketing professional who knows the industry and understands your goals, except instead of one experienced marketer, you get a whole team in your corner. Whether you’re an optometrist or ophthalmologist or optician, they can help you grow your business with a plan that’s completely customized for you. Learn more at marketing4ecps.com and I am joined today by Wade Horb, the President of Marketing4ECPs and SmileShop Dental Marketing.
And Cleinman, three purpose driven agencies dedicated to helping businesses in eye care and dental thrive beyond titles. He’s a coach at heart who believes that leadership is about empowering individuals and teams to grow, adapt and succeed. And thank you so much for reluctantly agreeing to chat with me today, Wade.
Wade Horb: 01:27
Hey, happy to be here, Kim. That was a mouthful. Wow. I’m like, you did really, really well. I’m very impressed.
Kim Carson: 01:32
Thank you so much. I practice it, you know, up and down. But yes, thank you for joining the podcast today. I would like.
Wade Horb: 01:42
To.
Kim Carson: 01:43
Oh thank you. I would like to start with just a little bit of history about yourself and how you’ve found yourself here as president of all these businesses.
Wade Horb: 01:52
Man. Man. Okay. Well hey good question. First and foremost, those that know me will know that, you know, I’m not a big title guy, to be honest with you.
I’m blessed to be in the role in the seat that I’m currently in. And as I mentioned earlier, sounds a lot like what you actually just said, like a mouthful of like the roles that I’m carrying. But, you know, I’ve been with Marketing4ECPs for almost nine years now, and I truly have had the benefit of really seeing how the eye care industry operates. So just to give you some examples, working with independents all over Canada and into the United States, everyone operates their practice a little bit differently. What’s most important to them?
Medical or specialty services that they cover. And so again, learning how they operate, understanding the suppliers and the vendors that support the independents, learning about the buying groups, if you will, that also support their members and try to like support their practices. Going to the events like the vision expos of the world, just seeing like the on stage people presenting, it’s like the eye care industry is so much bigger than I had ever imagined and blessed to be a part of it. And so like and now being part of like what consultation looks like, what? Peer to peer looks like.
And HR services and transitions and so on and so forth. So again, you know, Kim, truthfully, I’m just blessed to be put in a role where I can make some impact myself and be able to see so many different angles of the eye care world. Maybe I can bring something to it as well.
Kim Carson: 03:18
Yeah. Well that’s amazing. I couldn’t agree more. Coming into the eye care industry, I did not realize how big and expansive it is. And I’ve signed up for so many, like, newsletters so that I can learn what’s going on.
And it’s like 2 or 3 every single week where they’re like, this product is being introduced or this merger is happening. Like, do you like, how do you keep up with it really?
Wade Horb: 03:43
For sure. In fact, you know, I’ll give you a quick story. Going to my very first Vision Expo, I’ll never forget it. It was in New York City and it was at the Javits Center. And in the the lower floor was all the medical.
So it was all of the different pieces of equipment that independents use and so on and so forth. And then up above was all the fashion. So everything, all frames, just everything that would have been like walking the runway. And when I say walking the runway, I mean it. I remember going up to see exactly what was happening.
The music was loud, DJs were spinning, and they were offering champagne as you walked the red carpet into the Vision Expo and I’m like, this is the eye care industry. I was like, but it was awesome. So awesome to see everyone like together the most. Probably one of the most friendly industries you could probably be in. I think everyone supports one another.
There may be some competition here and there, but the truth is, is I think everyone really has each other’s back, which is so nice to see.
Kim Carson: 04:42
Could you highlight or you know, if you have a favorite part, that is. What would be your favorite part about working with these industries? I’ll include dental in here as well because Smile Shop. But what would be your favorite part about working in these industries?
Wade Horb: 04:57
So I love to learn. I love to learn. And because every independent practice is not literally the same at all. You know, they have all gotten into I care for different reasons, and I find that most of the reasons why people get into I care to be an optometrist or optician or ophthalmologist, whichever it may be, is something had touched them like they have such a deeper meaning or deeper reasoning to to be in it. And so they want to help people.
They generally really want to help people. And I think for me learning that and like and just seeing the ripple effect that everybody I seem to talk to has this deeper purpose of why they’re actually in the industry just like it. Not only does it warm your heart, but, you know, when you’re dealing with marketing or consultation or you want to have some sense of wisdom sharing in peer to peer, you hear them share their experiences and how they can help one another. That is what I love the most by far, by far.
Kim Carson: 05:55
I agree, and it’s nice too, because I feel like when we say that they want to help people, we think, oh, they’re patients. But then I think about all these bios that I’ve read of doctors that are part of the Cleinman network and some that are not. And it’s more than just the people that sit in their chair. It’s things in their communities. It’s stuff overseas.
Like a lot of these doctors and managers, like anyone that works in a practice, have these kind of like side philanthropy projects big time. So nice. Well, I wanted to ask because, you know, maybe titles aside, then if you’re not a big title guy, you manage a lot and you manage a lot of people. And that’s kind of where I want to steer this conversation or the direction I want to steer this conversation in. We’ve had Kevin Wilhelm on the show before, and he is, of course, the founder and CEO of all of these businesses.
I would like to know if there’s any actions that he specifically takes to make you as the manager of all of these things going on every day, are there specific actions or things that he does to make you feel more empowered in the work that you do and you’re not, you know, you’re not just the head of something.
Wade Horb: 07:09
Yeah. You know, first of all, Kevin, I’ve known him a long time, even previous to working for him, and he’s always been just a natural visionary. So he always has big ideas and ones that are doable. Like you can actually make them happen. Put rubber to the road if you will.
And in that with comes big ideas. You need a lot of resources and people. And the one thing that Kevin has done exceptionally well is he trusts. He just trusts the people he works with. Like he gives the utmost trust and gives autonomy.
But the interesting thing is strategically so like in some senses, like you learn about delegation and how important it actually is. And I think that the goodness in us, we want to give other people the same opportunity and let them like, think big, go big, like we’re going to give you a big project, go kill it. Like really, really, really make it your own. But what you learn is that in some cases they want to they want to if they’re people pleasers, they want to help and they really want to do it. But in some cases it might be over their head and they might be overwhelmed.
And the fear of failure is it’s a real thing. And I think, Kevin, what he’s done is he’s balanced that with like the proper levels of delegation. So like giving you enough to make you feel like you’re autonomous and your actions, but at the same time to not so much that you’re overwhelmed. And in that he always left his door open to say, hey, if you need support or help, please come see me. And so to your to back to your question, a little bit about what I’ve done is truly I kind of almost take a page out of his playbook.
I’ve watched what he’s done with me, and I’ve watched how I’ve grown, not just as an individual, but a contributor to our organization. Being able to sit in the seat that I sit in today, I have now have the opportunity to pay that forward to others and so on and so forth. But again, ripping that page out of his playbook, I also want to make sure I’m there to support my people, and I hire and work with very, very, very capable and smart people. So they always make me look a little bit better, which is nice. But, you know, it takes a great leader to kind of show you how to lead.
And, you know, maybe Kevin’s listening right now. So but it’s the truth. I mean it. So he’s done a great job with that. And I like to emulate the same thing.
Kim Carson: 09:21
Amazing. I would like to know too, what are some of the goals that you have for Cleinman now that you’re entering this picture?
Wade Horb: 09:30
Oh, great. Now you hit it, right? Okay, well, Kim, you know me. I’m a bit of a talker and a storyteller, so let me give it to you this way. Being new to Cleinman, knowing kind of like its history to a degree.
And and now being a big part of it today, I’m lucky enough again to work with fantastic individuals. So first and foremost, like Meghan McCarthy, she’s stepping into a vice president’s role and being able to sit with her and learn a little bit about the business and what it was and what it is and where it’s going. She’s got great ideas and she’s also essentially supported by incredible people as well. So I’m very excited to see what she has and what she’s bringing to the table. She’s again, lots of great ideas, but from a personal experience.
I remember attending my very first client event back when we were vendors and as Marketing4ECPs, and just seeing how everyone worked together again, like just the wisdom, sharing, sitting and watching Amanda doing consultation just with some of the odds. Just awesome, amazing. And then attending the second one, you can see it just was consistent and people still clamored to learn more and wanted. And they came prepared and they brought everything that would help other odds and so on and so forth. But it’s interesting.
I just came back from my very third one, and we just came back from Miami and I got to talking to so many more members. So each and every time when we go to a client event, I have the opportunity to sit, have dinner, break bread with members that have been around for a long period of time and then those that have are brand spanking new and just getting their perspective. And this time, while we were in Miami, I chatted with several members and they told me about what Cleinman was, what pre Covid and all of like the hype and and just like how infectious Cleinman was, which just speaks to the over 30 years, right? Why why it’s just done what it’s done. And they had they said there were things like road shows and there were more peer to peer conversations and just greater value pre-COVID because of course it was humming.
And then Covid came, and I think we’ve all experienced that. I don’t need to give it any more attention than it has already taken. But the interesting piece is a lot of the ideas that are coming from Cleinman now are like what worked way back pre-COVID that people want to bring back. We’re listening to the members now and they’re saying, bring this back, bring that back. Let’s do more of this, more of that.
And so we want to bring and drive more value. And so there are a lot of great conversations that have happened. I believe there are a lot of new areas that we want to embark upon and so on and so forth, so that again, we can continue the wisdom, share and really, really lean into the wisdom share. But the consultation is, I mean, it’s great now, but it’s going to be even getting better. So I think it’s kind of, you know, whatever was historical, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
And unfortunately, Covid got in the way. But I think we’re going to bring back a lot of the stuff that made Kleiman super, super special, then improve what’s happening today and then give a whole lot of like, exciting things to look forward to in the future. So I’m very, very, very, very confident that our member base and any of those that are interested in being part of our member base are going to be really happy with the value that’s coming their way.
Kim Carson: 12:52
And I will say too, there is definitely some magic in what Nancy Dewald and Amanda Van Voris do. They are so knowledgeable. And I mean, like I said, off the top of the show, like I’m subscribed to so many things so that I can just learn the updates and what’s happening in this industry. But somehow they just know it. And I’m certain that that’s a you know, that’s a lifelong dedication to learning that they’ve had in the eye care industry.
But I just can’t fathom knowing as much as they know.
Wade Horb: 13:23
You know what? It’s even possible to add to that and echo your comments. Yeah. Both Nancy and Amanda, you know, I started off this interview talking a bit about my experience in eye care. And I can always learn more.
There’s no doubt about that. But even in all that I’ve learned, being able to sit with Nancy and Amanda and pick their brains on what they’ve learned and what they know of this industry, it’s like it’s so valuable. It’s just so like they’re they’re just they’re just experts and being like, not just consultants but coaches. Very happy to have them aboard. Very much so.
Kim Carson: 13:56
Yay. So I do have one last question for you.
Wade Horb: 13:59
One last one. Okay.
Kim Carson: 14:02
But before I ask it, I’ll point people to our sponsors website again. That is Marketing4ECPs.com. And my final question is, what do you think is one thing a leader could do? So whether they have a founder title or they’re a practice or an office manager or even something in between, what do you think is one thing a leader could do to set themselves and their teams up for growth in 2026?
Wade Horb: 14:28
Ooh, that’s a big question.
Kim Carson: 14:31
Tell us the secrets, Wayne. The secret. Okay.
Wade Horb: 14:36
Do you know what? Honestly, I’ve been around so many different circles, and there’s always a joke about this, but it always comes out saying, make sure you hire people smarter than you. And I think it’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to do it and it. I will honestly say, if I could give any advice, that would be my advice, because when you have good people around you, good things happen.
And at the same time too, regardless of your seat and your role. And this is also why, you know, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to be president of three companies. It’s a privilege and an honor. But I only get to do it because I have those that are around me that not only make me look good, but they challenge me. They bring new ideas.
I’m always learning when I’m around them. And so I think that is probably the advice I’d give. And, you know, if I could sum it up into one word, Kim, I’d just say, listen. Just listen.
Kim Carson: 15:32
Thank you.
Wade Horb: 15:33
Cool.
Kim Carson: 15:34
Thank you. Wait for your insight and your time today. That is the show. If you would like to hear more of the podcast, you certainly can at Cleinman.com and wherever you’d like to listen. Thanks for joining us today.
Wade Horb: 15:45
Thank you.
Outro: 15:49
Thank you for listening. At Cleinman, we take pride in helping our partners unlock their full potential. Subscribe to get the newest episodes or visit us anytime at Cleinman.com.
