You can also get frames on consignment from the Fetch Collection from Clear Vision.
Ask around because I opened cold 2 yrs ago and apparently I paid WAY too much for my frames. Apparently you can negotiate price. I didn't know that and now I have inventory that's upside down in wholesale price.
Be aware of Labs. I fired about 5 labs until I found CSC labs out of California. They gave me the maximum discount (MED price) just to get my business. I've found their work to be great and turnaround is fast.
A lot of labs carry lab-stocked frames and that's a good way to go.
So you're opening cold? Gosh. If I had to do it again ... I half think it would've been best to opt out of ALL insurance and be cash only ... at least in this area.
Think about how the money is structured amongst classes in this country and in your community. Is there a middle class? Is it a poor community? Is it rich? Generally, in the US, the minority of people have most of the money. The middle class is eroding. So there's poor and rich.
The poor people will go to Wal-Mart and there's nothing you can do about it unless you can compete with Walmart. The only way you'll compete with Walmart is if you can obtain designer frames at around $8.00 a piece. That's hardly possible.
So if you're private, you'll need to cater to the minority of rich people if there is no middle class in your community. Look carefully at your region's demographics.
In your practice loan BE SURE to get at least 25K for inventory allowance. My mistake was not getting an inventory allowance and having to take money out of the working capital portion of the loan for inventory.
I know it's something I would not do again. My community is two-tiered: poor and rich and no middle class. The rich people go to ophthalmologists. The poor people goto Walmart and Eyemart. No one comes to me because I made the mistake of targeting a middle class that does not exist.
If I had to do it over, I'd buy an existing practice. I would NOT recommend starting cold. Why do it?
Talk to OD's in the region you're wanting to start up in and find out if they want to take on an associate for possible buyout. Believe me, they want out of this profession! The majority are fed up with Medicare. Fed up with HIPPA. Obamacare is the final straw. They want out. In a big town nearby, I was told that a huge number of ODs want to retire but don't know how or they're on the verge of retiring. The old guys just need a small nudge. And a lot of them will do owner carry. That way, you are already walking into a system that works instead of reinventing the wheel. They don't want to deal with Obamacare and if you're willing to take the burden from them they might work with you. Just don't tell them you're thinking of starting cold in their area. That would be a mistake.
Really, buying an existing practice is a better move. Talk to some consulting companies, too. They know the industry gossip.
