Helen Whitaker – Optometry Profits Around the Globe
Nov 30, 2023Season 1Episode 4
Peter Precht
Helen Whitaker is a passionate and dedicated optician who entered the industry in 2012 with a keen interest in providing the best care for her clients. Despite starting relatively late in the game, she quickly made a name for herself and established her own mobile optical business within three years. Her business was driven by empathy and a desire to provide the best service for her clients. Whitaker's journey is a testament to her determination and commitment to the optical industry.
During our conversation, Helen delves into the strategies and processes necessary to meet the expectations and requirements of the perfect client. She emphasizes the importance of developing a niche and positioning yourself as the brand, rather than just the product or frames. Advertising plays a crucial role, and Helen shares valuable insights on targeting the right audience on the right platform. Helen shares valuable advice on delegation and optimizing different processes to cater to the perfect client. She highlights the benefits of using an online scheduling app for easy appointment bookings and utilizing free QR codes to gather client reviews. Throughout our conversation, we also touch upon the significance of immediate action, creating a workplace that both the optician and client love, and the rewarding aspects of helping people see clearly. Business education and mentorship are also addressed, with Helen stressing the importance of these in her program.
Key Takeaways from the Episode: 1. Develop a Niche: Understanding the importance of developing a niche is key in presenting the right message to the perfect client. It's not just about the products or frames; you are the brand.
2. Targeted Advertising: To attract the right clientele, it is crucial to advertise on the right platforms and to the right audience. Utilize the power of digital marketing to reach your target market effectively.
3. Power and Delegation: Building a profitable and sustainable business requires effective delegation and an efficient business model. Delegate tasks that don't require your direct involvement and concentrate on developing processes to serve your ideal clients.
Helen Whitaker is a passionate and dedicated optician who entered the industry in 2012 with a keen interest in providing the best care for her clients. Despite starting relatively late in the game, she quickly made a name for herself and established her own mobile optical business within three years. Her business was driven by empathy and a desire to provide the best service for her clients. Whitaker's journey is a testament to her determination and commitment to the optical industry.
During our conversation, Helen delves into the strategies and processes necessary to meet the expectations and requirements of the perfect client. She emphasizes the importance of developing a niche and positioning yourself as the brand, rather than just the product or frames. Advertising plays a crucial role, and Helen shares valuable insights on targeting the right audience on the right platform. Helen shares valuable advice on delegation and optimizing different processes to cater to the perfect client. She highlights the benefits of using an online scheduling app for easy appointment bookings and utilizing free QR codes to gather client reviews. Throughout our conversation, we also touch upon the significance of immediate action, creating a workplace that both the optician and client love, and the rewarding aspects of helping people see clearly. Business education and mentorship are also addressed, with Helen stressing the importance of these in her program.
Key Takeaways from the Episode: 1. Develop a Niche: Understanding the importance of developing a niche is key in presenting the right message to the perfect client. It's not just about the products or frames; you are the brand.
2. Targeted Advertising: To attract the right clientele, it is crucial to advertise on the right platforms and to the right audience. Utilize the power of digital marketing to reach your target market effectively.
3. Power and Delegation: Building a profitable and sustainable business requires effective delegation and an efficient business model. Delegate tasks that don't require your direct involvement and concentrate on developing processes to serve your ideal clients.
Welcome to Optometry Profits Revealed. I'm your host, Peter Pracht. On this show, we explore the strategies and tactics eye care professionals need to thrive in this digital age. So put on your glasses, and let's focused on the future of your success. Welcome to Optometry Profits Revealed with Peter Pracht. I've got an unbelievable guest with me today. I'm very excited to introduce Helen Whittaker. She has 32 supported international optical businesses. She has the reality of making mobile businesses Sustainable and profitable for people. She was the International Optician of the Year in 2021. And without any further ado, Here is Helen Whitaker. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Peter. I am very grateful for this This opportunity, and it's lovely to meet you. Yeah. We we've connected a little bit on social media, so it's wonderful to get a face face and and get an understanding about what you do and how you got to this point. Let let I'll let you start off. How did your journey begin, and how did you Get to where you are today. Okay. Well, I can talk the hind legs off a donkey, Peter, so I'll try and keep it short. So, yes, I'm a fairly newbie in the optical industry. I became an optician in 2012, So quite late in the game, and I quickly discovered that I had a passion for the optical industry, and I loved being as good as I could be. Within 3 years, I developed my own business. Now that was a mobile optical business, which I started from, you know, the the baseline up. And I did it for a number of reasons. Most of them empathic for my client group. I knew that there was there was certain Sections of the community that would really benefit from that kind of very personal interaction and having Having the opportunities on their schedule. Right. And then it became such a success I want to share. I'm extremely supportive, and, what's the word conciliatory? I love teamwork. I want other people to To do what I do, and to to be able to get the benefits not just for their clients who get a 100%, But for themselves, working on your own schedule, getting your time back, and being paid what you truly deserve. Right. And that that absolutely resonates with quite a quite a few people. I find it fascinating that you hone your video, and we'll get to some of the details of that in a moment I was watching your video earlier, and You you hit right on territory management and marketing. And, you know, a lot of opticians don't necessarily think this way. Can you explain that? Because that's a that's a it's not a foreign concept. They understand it. They deal with reps. But managing your own territory that way and then obviously following these 5 steps that we're gonna go through in just a moment. Talk a little bit about that if you can. Absolutely. So I'm a saleswoman, first and foremost. I've been in sales all my life. I was in, a number of medical device and pharmaceutical industries throughout the UK and Europe before I moved to Canada. So, yes, I have the benefit of of an incredible sales career. And I'm proud of being in sales, Peter. That's that's It's what I am. It's what I do. Me. So oh, thank you. No. I like I love to hear that, you know, because without sales, To that generating revenue, a business isn't a business. We're in business to make money. It's about relationships, but we're in business to make money. And when you think about that, you can apply the exact same principles to anything, Any product, any service you are selling. And it it basically comes down to this, and it sounds a cliche, but I have it in my mind every day. Say the right thing At the right time, to the right people, in the arenas where they're currently looking For your services already, it's what they want, and make it apparently clear to them That the only way they can get what they want is from you. You've got them. Now that's sales. And basically, you've got to understand a little bit more than that when you're when you're really trying to Tap into the minds of your I call them my perfect clients. You know, I don't wanna go down a weird angle of self love, but if you don't love yourself in the middle of this or to start with this, I would imagine it would be challenging to build those relationships, but but you do you do lay it out. You know, you you you make it Very obtainable, for for lack of better words, you know, in my mind. Without any further, I'd like to roll into, you mentioned 5 vital skills or steps, For an optician, do you mind if we go through those? No. I mean, they're pertinent to what I teach on my, Secure Vision Mobile Optical Academy to help people actually develop their own mobile optical business, and they are. They're 5 vital steps for the success of that business. Yeah. I'm very interested in going through those, and I certainly want to talk to you about putting a link to the webinar that you did. Okay. That's Because that's critical. People need to be able to, dive right in and and look at Exactly how you describe it. It's much more than what we get into right now. But, yes. Step 1, Get back to what I just said, location and territory, and and make it what you want. With that said, what drove you to Powell River? Powell River. Oh my goodness. So that's That's a whole another story, Peter. So let's let's be careful here because, again, I I could you know, let's pack her and put a bottle of wine and let's go for that. You know? But, Okay. So Powell River is a very small a very a very remote It's part of British Columbia. It's on the Sunshine Coast. Now I I came there by chance from the UK. I stuck my finger on the map Of Canada, literally with my finger, boom, it landed on Pearl River. And I came as a single mom with my 2 little girls and made a life. And it was amazing. Best thing ever to do. Awesome. So, I've lived in other places since then, but I'm back in Powell River. It's where my heart is. And the business model here is based on providing optical services. I'm a licensed Optician. I fill the prescription for people requiring glasses. I have in my mindset a perfect client, And that's step 1. So location, step 1, is actually about identifying Where those perfect clients are, it's not a geographical location. Okay? That's really cool. Because I only want to work with the perfect plants. That's so cool. I I again, it There's a personalization to it that isn't necessarily perceived. I think it's really awesome, And it does open it opens up pretty, Pretty vast capabilities, I guess, at the at the end of the day. The second step that you talk about is developing a niche, Which is being you, which is kinda related to what you just mentioned. But can you elaborate? What do you mean by that? So the next step is expression. So once you have a thorough understanding and appreciation of your perfect client, Who makes your heart sing? Who do you love to serve? Who walks through the door currently that that loves you, that adores you, that values your services, Your personality, everything you do within optical. Once you have an idea of that persona, that avatar if you like Right. The expression is the next logical step because you are now going to develop strategies and processes to present Exactly what fits with that perfect client's expectations and requirements, and that starts to develop the niche. So in a nutshell, if it's something like so for example, my perfect clients tend to be Me. 50 year old ladies, wear progressives, you know, don't wear makeup anymore, very rarely, like to be Sporty, like to be outside, like their friends to tell them they look great in their glasses. Right. That kind of thing. Once you've got that in your head, Think about developing that niche and that that expression. What do my perfect clients want to hear me say? They want to hear affordable, beautiful, gorgeous, stimulating conversation, Great pricing that means you can get 2 pairs. Helen's a licensed optician. She's she's a professional. She's engaging. She's funny. She's got kids. All this builds itself To developing a brand. Because once you develop your expression and start to And start to explore the ways of presenting that to the perfect client. You are developing your brand. You are the brand. Your brand's coming out of your own personal expression. You are the brand, not the product, not the frames, not the lenses. You are the brand. Again, this is really unique thinking to me. It sounds second nature to you. But, you know, In terms of a business model, these things are so critical and they make so much sense. And obviously, they're they're working for so many different people that you're working with, which is just Spectacular. But then I need how would you describe the 3rd step? I had here, website User friendly or maybe accessible, versus maybe what it could be now? Or which is maybe I'll let you elaborate on that. Okay. The 3rd step is advertising a, and you'll see where this is going is an acronym. So you've got location, you've got expression, you've got advertising. Gotcha. Now advertising can be anything. This is advertising, this face here. Right. Me me talking to you right now, this is advertising. Now advertising is only useful If you if we go back to what I said, you're saying the right thing to the right person at the right time where they're already looking. Otherwise, it doesn't work. It literally doesn't matter how fancy your website is. Doesn't matter how gorgeous the glasses are or what how great the prices are. If you're not saying the right thing to the right person at the right time where they're already looking, you might as well have a picture of a tin of baked beans up there. Right? Right. Oh, I completely agree. I see clearly.com is exactly we've crossed that exact bridge. I can't walk into a practice and just start talking about online orders, You know, unless I like rotten fruit thrown at me. But you have to introduce your product the right way. You know, I found a lot more success walking in and saying, we're here to help you sell your product online with your own people. And there's no Shopify store or anything like that involved. So it it is what you say, and it is how you say it, And who do you say it to? I mean, those those are huge things. Well, and if you think about the access to different platforms that we have now On social media, whether it's Facebook or TikTok or Instagram Right. Or LinkedIn, think about again, there's no point Putting a lot of energy and information into advertising on 1 platform that your perfect clients don't even engage with. So for me, 50 plus ladies, just, you know, everyday ladies out shopping, out doing their thing, Still working? Got grown up kids? Where are we looking? Where do we scroll? What we're looking for? We're checking out our daughter's pictures on Facebook. We're checking out, you know, what what's gonna make the sun laugh if I send him a quick Facebook post. Right. So that perfect client enjoys Facebook. It's not the same rule for everybody. Right. You determine you determine Which platform you know those perfect clients are utilizing, and that's where you need to be visible. Which takes us to 4. Alrighty. So Number 4 is very close to my heart, Peter, and it's professionalism. Now this does not mean a list of letters after your name. This does not mean you have to be a refracting optician or a contact lens fitter or a member of this educational body or this college or that college. This is about professional representation and a state of being So that your perfect clients receive that a 100% professional experience That they've already decided you are going to give them. So all you are doing is meeting their expectations. And you've created those expectations. Really preliminarily, but it's kind of without, you know, without standing. That's awesome. And, obviously, a social media, you know, presence And and polishing how that takes place is is huge. And step 5 would be Step 5 is the power. And just to go a little bit back into professionalism, if you think about the perfect client Who you value and is the the source of your business success Mhmm. Engaging them with Any kind of professional updates, whether it's a, a any kind of update to the website or to Facebook page, any education you've taken part in, let them know. Convey that message. Let them know you did it. You were in Vancouver Doing a education, upgrade on lens technology or on low vision or on macular degeneration. Make a Facebook post. Put it out there. Oh, I can't believe what I learned this weekend. Come and see me this Thursday. I can now discuss magnification and illumination for grandma and aunt Betty and uncle Joe. Let's make their lives better. See what I mean? It's Absolutely. Includes that professional update to the benefit of the perfect client. Number 5 is power. And what I mean by this, and it's very pertinent to students on the program as they're working over 10 weeks to develop their mobile optical business. You start to get busy really quickly once you start following the correct processes, and it can get overwhelming. And you have to start considering where you wanna be in a few years. Something like 25% of new business startups don't last 5 years. Why is that? If you do why is that? Yeah. What do you think is going on there? People lose motivation for a number of reasons, and it's a vast array, Peter, that we could go down, but, you know, I have a hankering after going back right to the beginning. If you don't decide on the perfect client, It's really hard to have the perfect recipe for success. If you get everything around that, It's very hard to go wrong. Very hard. So the power consideration is Developing that business model to be profitable and sustainable, not just for today, not just for this year, not just to put a $100 in the bank in the next months. It's to literally keep you here in in your optical space, in your presence Over the next 5 years and beyond. And that's what we teach in that final module. And it it's really it's really unique because it's been determined. And, you know, it's very unique. It could be Peter's business. It could be my business. It Could be my daughter's business. It's been determined by the clients that were the initial fuel. To to people from the beginning. Absolutely. Absolutely. And you then start to consider how to delegate, how to include different processes that that perfect client wants. So So for example, just so this isn't just sales speak, here's a very typical example. Have a scheduler. Delegates have an online scheduling app on the website, on the Facebook page. Never just pull a Facebook post up, an Instagram post up With no call to action and no way of me booking you, I might think you're the most wonderful thing since sliced bread, And then 2 days later, I can't find you again. Whereas if I think it at that moment in time Right. And you've made it really quick and easy for me to book you Instant. Instant. Now I'm booked. Now I'm coming to see you. Now I'm bringing my prescription. Now I know I'm getting my glasses in 2 weeks. Here's another one. Quick little handy tip. You can, as any business and it, you know, it could be selling Baked potatoes from a potato stanch. It could be selling sausages. You can now make a free QR code To get reviews. Free. There it is. Boom. Do it free. I can show you how. I can show any business model how to do that. It takes about 30 seconds. You get your QR code, put it on your business cards, have a little placemat like this So that when a client at that moment in time says, Helen, I love my glasses. These are fantastic. Everything has been superb. I can't thank you enough. Boom. Can you review me, please? I want a 5 star Google review. Nothing less. Zap the phone. Boom. 50 plus Google reviews. That's the power. Great. Yeah. Yeah. And it does. It speaks, it speaks to the experience because You're right. People won't do it later. Immediate is the that's the way to take action. And How this is structured so much around working with people you're comfortable working with? I can't stress that enough because that's hard. And really, in most Brick and mortar environments, that is a big challenge for opticians. They don't you You know, certainly, if an optician is working, you know, for, you know, for practice manager or doctor or whatnot, it's, you know, There's freedoms that are limited, and and with the model that that you're bringing to play, Not only is it more free, but you've done this. You know it works. The expression part of of of of being you and having a niche that you're creating, that's so huge. Well, it means every day is a good day. Right? You're not having those days where somebody's drained you, Peter, where Right. With the best will in the world. Not everybody loves you, and you don't love everybody. And if you could fill that working day With the people that you know absolutely just love everything that you're doing. Right. And you love everything they're doing back. What a wonderful workplace that is. Right? You've just you've just described my podcast Experience. Woo hoo. Absolutely. I really didn't see, that it's Nearly exactly what you're describing. Because it is, you know? Both of us are passionate about opticians, about optical, About the 1 on 1 relationships, obviously, you know, we kinda like the territory and the marketing part of it too. I don't know about you, but I'm fascinated by that. You know, it's you bring all these components into an accessible business That is very buildable and very relatable to people. The cool thing is it's not you don't have to have oodles of experience in optical. You have to know what you want and what you want to develop, and then you commit to your craft. Absolutely. So, awesome. What a fantastic business You did a webinar. Obviously, it's way more elaborate than what we've talked about now, and I definitely wanted to put the links to it. Is there any other information that you wanted to talk about while we're podcasting right now? Oh, Peter, thank you so much. Well, the webinar so there's a couple you can choose. I I put a LinkedIn post up not so long ago. So if you if people are serious about investigating mobile optical, the the webinar is about 45 minutes long, And it goes through those 5 steps, and it does give you a very thorough insight into what's possible, what's attainable. Now if that then piques the interest enough that you are serious about creating a business model And you'd like my help, my students then book a free 45 minute strategy call with me. I have the scheduling link available. And basically, they get that time to discuss their ideas and concepts with me. I use those calls to screen if they're serious enough and, you know, got the right mindset to come through onto the the program. Because we don't I don't want everybody, Peter. I don't. I want people the same thing. Right? And I want people that come on That are actually determined to be successful. Right. I can work with those people. And over 10 weeks, I will work Hand over fist to make their dreams come true and make that a reality. So that's what I do. Yeah. Happening. There's 30 there's 32 international Precht. Independent optical businesses as of 2023 that are experiencing what we've been talking about. I just think this is so awesome. And You know, we've really only begun to touch a little bit of, of what you do and what you're involved in. And, You know, hopefully we can meet and do this again another time and elaborate a little bit more on that process because it is Important for people to experience that that litmus test thing as they walk into this experience with you. And it's not, you know, There's no locked doors behind them. They're not, you know, it's no locking key. This is an experience where they can learn directly from you. They can engage back and forth with you To determine how it would fit for them, not just where they are, but is it their personalities a fit to do this like you've been talking about? Mhmm. And I don't do franchises, Peter. I'm not interested. I want people to be individually successful, Develop their own brand, go off and do whatever they want, whether it's, you know, safety frames and they just wanna work once every 3 months with their With their businesses that's in their particular part of the world, if they want to do seniors, if they want to do Hip and trendy. If they if they whatever they think their perfect client is, that's that's the business model. It's it's a wonderful, wonderful thing To help that. Absolutely. And and and, you know, like you said, you're not interested in the franchise model. It that's Because of the heart of an optician kind of thing. You know, there's something about helping people see clearly that It's rewarding, you know, in a way that is not financial. And, It's it's done difficult things in places for opticians, but, you know, there's people like you that have a complete Roadmap on how to take control of that and make it make it make it what you want it to be. You know? Absolutely. And, you know, information is priceless. I don't think there's any education I've done in my life that I haven't utilized in some shape or form. Maybe not Particularly pertinent to what I did it for at the time, but information is power. And I Truly believe that the business education and the mentorship involved in in my program Facilitate success. And, yes, that comes at a price. It's part of a business model. Because you're engaging me with my time and you're receiving you're receiving information to help you prevent, sorry. To help prevent you making costly mistakes when developing a business. I've made all the mistakes. You don't have to. Right. Back in the nineties when I was starting my mobile app, people decided no clue what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to, you know, Help people that couldn't get out and around. And, that's all I knew. And, I mean, I knew how to make classes and I knew the nuts and bolts, but, you know, getting out, it ended up being way more of a labor of love than than anything as sophisticated as which you, You know, put together here. And the way that the way that you bring different parts of expertise from Your past experiences into this, I think that's kind of an intangible to what you're doing, you know? And and I think it's completely awesome. So thank you so much for for doing this, and and taking time late in the day on Friday. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Peter. I look forward to doing this again at a future date. And, we'll certainly put links to the multiple webinars. You and I will exchange, anything that we need to via email, after this. Thanks again so much. Thank you, everyone, for another awesome episode of Optometry Profits Revealed. This has been Peter Precht With Helen Whitaker. Thank you so much. Take good care, everyone, and we'll see you next episode. Thank you for tuning in to Optometry Profits Revealed. Remember, amidst disruption, there are Tremendous opportunities to lead your eye care business toward increased profitability. Contact me, Peter Pracht, for a free consultation today at icclearlydot Come. Let's turn these ideas into your profits.
