INVISION Podcast With Dee Carroll

SmartWork Media
INVISION Podcast With Dee Carroll

Dee Carroll collects some of the most creative minds in the vision industry to provide listeners with a fresh perspective on running their eyecare businesses. Listen and enjoy as the longtime editor of America's top magazine for eyecare professionals, INVISION (https://invisionmag.com), hosts informative, inspiring and fun discussions with a focus on eyecare and optical retail.

  1. INVISION Podcast with Dee Carroll (Episode 14): Tamra Asmuth of One Hip Chic

    07/28/2020

    INVISION Podcast with Dee Carroll (Episode 14): Tamra Asmuth of One Hip Chic

    Our guest is Tamra Asmuth, owner of One Hip Chic in Rochester, NY, and the first place winner of INVISION’s 2020 America’s Finest Optical Retailers contest. Tamra shares her own professional history prior to opening One Hip Chic, including schooling for computer programing when she got a job at Sterling Optical, and goes on to explain how she fell in love with the optical industry and after an apprenticeship got her license as an ophthalmic dispenser. “I loved the thought of totally changing a person’s look through their eyewear,” she says, “And I am still a fan of a good makeover. I loved helping people to see their best.” Around 4:00 minutes, she describes how the idea for On Hip Chic came about. “I think that nearly everyone who works for someone else has their own ideas about how they’d run the business. So, I guess that’s where it started for me… I’d imagine the product I’d sell, the décor, the vibe of my shop. How I’d treat customers and I guess eventually I just realized that things don’t just happen on their own; which is a good life lesson. You have to make them happen. Dreaming is where it starts but execution is really imperative.” She goes on to explain what One Hip Chic Optical is (5:30 mins) and at 6:10 she describes her life – and subsequently her business’s – motto: Nothing Ordinary. Seven minutes in Tamra discusses her product mix and selection, as well as her average ticket price and average sale. Then the two go on to discuss location, location, location and how One Hip Chic fits into the Rochester community (9:00 mins), but that she has customers in nearly every state, and how she communicates authentically for her business within her artistic community. Tamra shares she is a really big fan of a business plan and her #1 piece of advice for others is have a business plan. Hers took her 9 months and she explains everything that went into it (11:30 mins) “My business plan for the first five years was my bible.” Half way through the episode, she explains when she follows her gut versus when she relies on her numbers. Then the two discuss what really sets her optical shop apart… the business her optical boutique shares space with. “Since the beginning of One Hip Chic I have treated my business as retail and eyeglasses as function art. So, a few years ago I felt like I really wanted to expand my brand. I wanted to grow into another market and I had the idea that the other market would also be a functional accessory that was a piece of art. So I thought of shoes.” She describes how she went about expanding her business and how she researched the business to open her “sister store” Sole by One Hip Chic. Then the two discuss the renovation of the new space One Hip Chic moved to in 2017 and how that affected her and the business (18:00 min). Next the two discuss One Hip Chic’s deeply committed staff … Tamra’s adult children. “I love my staff, literally.” They address the current global health environment and how it’s affected the business (21:00 mins). Tamra describes some of the changes she has made — including a clever sidewalk A-frame sign — and how thankfully, her business is still faring well and the nimbleness of being a solo entrepreneur. The two finish with Tamra’s words of advice, her reliance on “calculated risk,” when to take that leap of faith, and what she might have done different… it’s a fun one (26:20)!

    29 min
  2. INVISION Podcast with Dee Carroll (Episode 13): Dibby Bartlett of the Optician’s Association of America

    05/06/2020

    INVISION Podcast with Dee Carroll (Episode 13): Dibby Bartlett of the Optician’s Association of America

    In this episode, Dee speaks with the president of the Optician’s Association of America, Dibby Bartlett. Dibby is a 40-year veteran of the optical industry having held various positions from optician to optical manager to marketing manager. She is currently Chief Operating Officer of Todd Rogers Eyewear and a director in the Opticians Association of Massachusetts, as well as president of the OAA. Around 8:10, Diddy outlines all the things the OAA does for American opticians, whether they are members of the organization or not. It is an extensive list, including a tool chest of branding “goodies” to help opticians teach people about what it is they do and the invaluable services they provide to combat opticianry’s “serious PR problem.”At 11:30, she discusses all the various ways they work with other industry organizations to help support the message of the importance of quality eyecare. “Right now, the number one goal of the OAA is to help the consumer understand what we do,” she shares. “When the consumer understands what an optician is, and does, as well as they do a pharmacist, it will solve an awful lot of ills for our profession.” (14:15) She goes on to discuss the importance of state associations, ways the OAA supports them, and how the OAA is working on easing mobility from state to state for opticians. At 22:45, Diddy share the OAA’s stance on state licensure … and yes, you need to tune in to hear it and their reasons why.Then we get into the hot topic of pay, and what opticians should be making (26:00), before discussing any requirements to join the OAA. Short story: there are none. “We welcome any and all opticians to be a member of our organization,” confirms Diddy.We briefly discuss the challenges facing opticians during the COVID-19 crisis and how Dibby sees opticianry bouncing back, “Opticians are necessary and an important part of the medical community.” (31:00) And the OAA is offering resources for opticians seeking information to help navigate the ongoing coronavirus crisis; Dibby outlines the extensive list available. (34:00)To learn more about the OAA, sign up for their newsletter, or get more involved in the organization, visit oaa.org.

    41 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Dee Carroll collects some of the most creative minds in the vision industry to provide listeners with a fresh perspective on running their eyecare businesses. Listen and enjoy as the longtime editor of America's top magazine for eyecare professionals, INVISION (https://invisionmag.com), hosts informative, inspiring and fun discussions with a focus on eyecare and optical retail.

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