31st March, 2007
Failure and Ideas
Ideas are without action are worthless. Idle thoughts, dreams, and fantasies will not help your business (or help you get one started). Put your ideas into action. “But, what if my idea fails?” you might say. Embrace failure, learn from it, be inspired by it.
If you avoid failure by avoiding action, you will avoid success. In other words, the sooner you start to fail, the quicker you will succeed.
Popularity: 18% [?]
Posted at 7:49 pm | Comment (0)
27th March, 2007
Returning Patients
According to the VCA, the single biggest reason people have their eyes examined (36%) is they received a recall card from their doctor.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted at 7:44 pm | Comment (0)
26th March, 2007
Boutique Medicine
With all the forces working against independent optical practitioners, innovation is the key to not only success, but survival. This WebMD spot highlights a doctor who has taken an entirely new approach to his practice and in doing so has created a better life for both himself and his patients. For $2000 a year, patients of Dr. Robert Weiss have total access to his medical expertise, any time, day or night. Think of the implications for quality of care and preventative medicine. …Sign me up!
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted at 7:40 pm | Comment (0)
15th March, 2007
The Psychology of Success
The people who succeed in life are often not the ones with innate ability. Typically, they are the ones, who may lack ability, but embrace failure; or perhaps do not even perceive unmet challenges as failure, but rather as obstacles to be overcome or as opportunities for growth.
This must-read article about Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck describes people with two mindsets: growth and fixed. Growth mindsets belong to the people I described above. Fixed mindsets belong to those adverse to change, afraid of failure, and threatened by the success of others. They believe they are set in a state of “good” or “bad.” Effort for the “good” ones is unnecessary and similarly, effort for the “bad” ones is just a waste of time. Success-oriented people fall into these categories as performance-driven and learning-driven.
[People] for whom performance is paramount want to look smart even if it means not learning a thing in the process. For them, each task is a challenge to their self-image, and each setback becomes a personal threat. So they pursue only activities at which they’re sure to shine and avoid the sorts of experiences necessary to grow and flourish in any endeavor. [People] with learning goals, on the other hand, take necessary risks and don’t worry about failure because each mistake becomes a chance to learn.
The author uses an analogy, contrary to the belief of the fixed mindset, that intelligence, like a muscle, grows stronger through exercise. Conversely, intelligence also grows weak and flabby in the absence of stimulation. I have experienced this phenomenon dramatically, first-hand, and in both directions.
I think most entrepreneurs ”use it or lose it” inherently. They have the growth mindset. However, this can easily be forgotten or suppressed, if we get too bogged down in the daily routine of running a business. It is important to step outside of your own world as often as possible, to get out of your daily routine, to stretch your boundaries, and to challenge yourself to think about things in new ways, if not for the sake of your business, for the sake of your personal growth.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted at 7:31 pm | Comment (0)
8th March, 2007
Selling Cutting Edge Eyewear
Ernst Erb and other trendsetting dispensers discuss with Vision Care Product News cutting edge eyewear and its presentation to customers. I love Ernst’s use technolgy to encourage word-of-mouth marketing:
I use window displays and our customers to spread the word about us. We spend lots of time with each customer, using digital photography to show them pictures of themselves in up to six new styles on a big flatscreen TV screen. We can even e-mail the pictures to family or friends if they want their opinion, too. If they are impressed, they tell others to come see us.
Full discosure: Ernst Erb is a customer of Laramy-K Optical Laboratory
Popularity: 19% [?]
Posted at 7:18 pm | Comment (0)
7th March, 2007
Custom Eyes
No matter what happens to independent opticianry, there will always be a market for high-end, custom eyewear. In this article from the thestreet.com, the folks from L.A. Eyeworks in Los Angeles, California do a nice job of describing the needs of their customers and how L.A. Eyeworks is meeting those needs in ways Lens Crafters and other chain stores cannot.
Chain-store ads trumpet budget-priced glasses delivered in a hurry, and mass marketers offer racks of ready-made models.
But our most constant accessory deserves more time and thought than a hurried lunchtime decision.
And it may not be realistic to expect a pair of glasses that you’ll wear for years with comfort and confidence to cost less than dinner for two.
Popularity: 24% [?]
Posted at 7:05 pm | Comment (0)
