This is a great time to be a young entrepreneur! In the last decade, technology has levelled the competition and promoted a business revolution. As a young entrepreneur, you now have more access to information that allows you to make smart choices very quickly. This will enable you to create your own optical business with greater ease than you would in the past.
You have a big advantage over large companies in that you are more flexible and faster in your moves. You can target new markets faster, and you can immediately adapt to recent data, e.g. pandemic. But to be a successful entrepreneur, you need to see the big picture and follow a plan from start to finish.
Here are some practical tips to help you get started in your own optician business:
Do not quit your day job yet.
Consider starting your own business part-time (working at night, on breaks and holidays), especially if it is connected to the internet while you work and have a steady income. Maybe your current day job isn’t that great and that’s why you’re searching for a new career, but you have to be patient and meticulous in order to start your own optician business successfully.
It usually takes six months to a year to start a business, and you do not want your ability to cope with your day-to-day responsibilities to depend on the success of your business. Start with what you can manage, financially and in time, and escalate as your optician business grows. Simply put, save a significant amount of money that will be used as capital to start your own activities and then choose to focus entirely on managing and growing your own business.
Find your niche (your specialization).
The days of “I do everything, and I benefit” are over. Especially on the internet, consumers are looking for specialized products and services. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. We can not easily compete with the “big players”, so we have to go and see how we can better enter this market and what value we are going to offer! In the case of an optician, you could provide in addition to the essential services of an optician; you could combine the ophthalmological examination of your customers, which will not only ease their situation but will make you stand out directly from the competition.
Have an online presence.
At a time when people use the internet daily for their convenience, it would be a massive mistake on your part to ignore this tremendous opportunity. Through the solid online presence of your optical business, you will be able to promote all those new offers and your products, increase your clientele, and interact with the people themselves.
Having an online presence eliminates the limitations of physical location and expands your customer base by literally millions. It is also a great tool to promote yourself and let people, even in your area, know that you are there and what you are doing.
In any case, you should also establish business relationships with people in your field – especially with specialist ophthalmologists, who can send their patients directly to you. Create a well-established name for your business in the market. For example, Aris Konstantopoulos of Aris Vision Correction has achieved a significant course for so many years, helping hundreds of patients with their eye problems all these years of operation.
