It's a wonderful life

With the whiff of turkey still in the air and the last of the Christmas cake cluttering up the sideboard, it's not too late to indulge ourselves in a little introspection.

Tradition dictates that we all look at our lives and our situation as the old year draws to a close and the new one beckons. In theory this is so we can right wrongs, set a new path and avoid old pitfalls, but all too often it turns into an excuse to cry into our beer.

2006 is being heralded as the year the independent sector must fight back but there are clearly challenges for some of the big boys too. There is growing polarisation of opinion across all sectors about the state of the market and it can't all be put down to people talking a good game.

I have yet to see any research that explains why people's fortunes should be so disparate, but business is a science and there are sure to be reasons.

In the last few issues, optician has spoken to a good number of corporate bosses and shown our own Index's take on the market. Taking away conjecture, one thing stands clear. When customers, patients - call them what you will - come into a practice they spend more than they have ever done before.

The problem is that the public are turning up in increasingly small numbers. This means the winners are winning a greater slice of a shrinking cake so the losers really have to do something, and quick.

The public has to be encouraged back into practices in greater numbers to break this spiral. Every practice has its own take on the market and its own community and that is where the future of any practice must lie.

Just as George Bailey found, in the film from which this column takes its title, you probably have a lot more goodwill on your side than you realise - you just need to harness it.

You can try jumping, but don't expect a guardian angel.