Independent practitioners and those working in the multiples who have ambitions to be masters of their own destiny are being urged to attend this year’s Independents Day.
Speaking ahead of Independents Day 2015, co- founder of iDay and independent practitioner David Goad said he knew of many practitioners, currently working in a multiple, who had ambitions to do their own thing one day. Setting up a business could be a daunting prospect but help was on hand through events such as iDay, he said.
‘I have spoken to a number of opticians in the past year who work for multiples who would like to get out and be independent, the problem is that’s a frightening concept. Coming along to something like Independents Day and finding out how you can do it, and see the amount of support and advice there is out there for you to do it, makes it a much less daunting proposition,’ he said.
The myriad of companies exhibiting at the event, its speaker programme and organisations such as the Association of Independent Optometrists were on hand to help, he added. Goad said he believed the independent sector could see a resurgence. ‘I’m an independent optician and what I do is run a small group of opticians and I’m passionate about the independent sector because the independent sector can offer what no multiple can, time and care. It’s no secret that the Independent sector is shrinking but I wouldn’t want to be alarmist because I think the sector can expand. Independents Day is for independent opticians but we would really like to extend that to people who would like to be independent.’
He praised the companies looking to support independents through events such as iDay and he had kind words for the AIO. ‘The AIO who have always been very supportive of Independents Day. They have really upped their game in the last couple of years and they are a force to be reckoned with.’
This year Independents Day will take place on Monday July 6 with a symposium, exhibition and dinner on Sunday 5. The theme for this year’s event is Niches For Riches, other highlights will include a guest speaker from the US. The event will take place at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole and costs £115 per delegate. A preview of Independents Day will appear in the June 19 issue of Optician.