In focus: Realising independent dreams

‘Where do I start?’ neatly sums up the sentiment among the nascent independent opticians attending the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) event ‘Become an Independent Optician’ in Birmingham last week.

On a glorious summer evening, ABDO’s National Resource Centre laid out a sun-drenched vista of the UK’s second city as a succession of speakers laid the world of optics at the feet of delegates. Most of the young professionals in attendance had set their heart on owning and running their own practice. They wanted to know how to go about it and the groundwork needed to turn that desire into bricks and mortar.
One thing all of the speakers, organisers and delegates agreed on was that there is no off the peg approach to becoming and independent. Every practice is different as is every practitioners’ idea of the practice they want to run and the way they want to run it. Many different routes to ownership are possible but the overriding message from the event was planning, engagement and communication. The good news is that along with ABDO, Sight Care, the National Eyecare Group, Specs Network and Eye Plan are all eager to engage with the next generation to help their plans come to fruition. They were at the event supporting ABDO’s call and offering their support and experience to the wannabe independents.