A flying start-up

'The awards night was fantastic. My wife and I and our dispensing optician were there. Ours was the first category to be presented, so we were the first winners up. I was in a state of shock and euphoria that lasted the whole evening, though I could just sit back, relax and let everyone else worry about their chances.' When Philip Jones stepped up to collect his optician award for the 'start-up practice' category it was the culmination of two years of hectic activity for the self-employed Lancashire optometrist and his wife, Melissa. In the space of a few months at the end of 2001 and beginning of 2002 the couple secured a five-storey retail outlet, created a detailed business plan, refitted, sourced stock, invested in IT and optical equipment, as well as finding the time to celebrate the birth of their second child. They had chosen to set up in Carnforth, the Lake District town made famous as the location of one of Britain's best loved films of the 1940s, Brief Encounter. The couple chose the town not only because it is in an area of outstanding natural beauty Ð 12 miles from the south lakes and near to Morecambe bay Ð but for several more canny business reasons. 'The town's population is around 20,000, but its catchment exceeds 30,000 when you include the outlying villages,' says Jones. 'Many people come here for their services because the bigger nearby towns, like Lancaster and Kendal, have traffic and parking problems.' The paucity of competition Ð there being only one other practice in Carnforth Ð also attracted their interest. These reasons, plus the town's ongoing £3.2m rejuvenation funding, convinced the husband and wife team there was a strong business possibility. Central to their plans was the acquisition of premises in the middle of the busy shopping centre. It was Melissa who spotted the ideal site up for sale, though they discovered it was already under offer. However, when that deal fell through they snapped it up, just before their baby was born. Jones continued to locum, but had to spare time for his new business. 'My week's paternity leave was taken up by its preparations,' Jones remembers, 'so there were frame reps coming round, and we were caring for a three-day-old baby.' They started the work in earnest that January, with a detailed business plan Ð which won plaudits from the optician awards judges Ð and converted the practice from a dingy electrical goods shop into a bright, modern optical practice using London shopfitters Om. 'It was by far the best decision to choose one company to project manage the whole refit,' says Jones. 'It took them about a month in all.'