Seth Godin in his book Tribes says ‘the largest enemy of change isn’t a “No.” It’s a “Not yet.” He says “Not yet” forestalls change. “Not yet” maintains the status quo. “Not yet” kicks the can down the road and puts off the inevitable for a little while longer. When I was developing the Jones [...]

As optometrists and practice owners, we are constantly being tempted by all sorts of new technology both inside and outside of the exam room. And your life outside the practice has the same bombardment of new technology, apps, and gadgets. The bottom line is it’s a huge distraction to all business owners. Whatever happened to [...]

The old saying goes ‘Retail is detail.’ While the two words conveniently rhyme, the truth is no matter what the field, getting above-average results—and certainly reaching the upper echelons of the field—demands that everyone on the team, from the leader at the top to the front-line people who make it happen, must have a keen [...]

Yesterday I overheard a conversation of twenty-somethings who were talking about where one of their friends work. They were collectively raving about how “It’s such a cool office to work in. They have a Starbucks in the canteen. You get free food.” I didn’t catch where this friend of theirs worked but you couldn’t miss [...]

I came across this quote from Tim Ferris: “What we fear doing is usually what we most need to do.” Take a moment to reflect on that. Can you relate? I can. Recently, I hosted a mastermind meeting with a group of high-achieving practice owners. These are members of OSA who have already experienced significant [...]

People often associate meanings with words that are in the general vicinity of the correct definition of the word, but not quite the accurate meaning. For that reason, I find it helpful to keep a dictionary handy. The dictionary can provide clarity that is useful to you. Take the word ‘entrepreneur.’ What does it mean [...]

On this episode you’ll hear exactly how to deal with the “I can’t afford it right now” objection. You might find this controversial, but when a client tells you, they can’t afford it, don’t believe them. It’s your job to help them think it through, and then make a good decision, one way or the [...]

I can sense pretty quickly when talking with a practice owner whether or not they have the key ingredient for growth in their practice. It all starts with their mindset. And it’s easy to get an accurate understanding of someone’s mindset from what they say and what they do. Are they busy taking action or [...]

There is an excellent book you must read called ‘Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less’ by Greg McKeown. On the back-cover McKeown outlines the premise for the book: Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin at home or at work? Have you ever felt both overworked and underutilised? Do you ever feel busy but not [...]

  In this episode, Conor shares insights from the Jones And Co. trip to SILMO. If you’re looking to reignite your team’s energy and elevate your practice, Conor reveals seven powerful ways that attending industry events can transform your team’s passion and commitment. If you’re looking to create a more driven and enthusiastic team, you [...]

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. It is toughness. Being an entrepreneurial practice owner requires toughness. Chances are when you look in the mirror you don’t see someone who could go six rounds with Mike Tyson. Even if some days you feel like you just have. I’m talking about mental toughness. To [...]

I’m just back, after an inspiring couple of days in Paris with the Jones And Co. and OSA team. I flew out on Saturday and they all met at 3.30am on Sunday morning at the airport, to fly out join me in Paris and landed back at Monday evening and it was non-stop, go-go-go while [...]

The world’s number one investor Warren Buffet and his partner Charlie Munger analyse the businesses they choose to invest in by thinking about moats. You know, the deep, wide ditch, filled with water, surrounding a castle as its first line of defence against attack. They only want to invest in businesses that have moats. Here’s [...]

Definitions matter. Otherwise we never know what the hell we are talking about. Better to describe exactly the nature or meaning of whatever you are talking about. Most people forget this. Multiple definitions exist by the way, so what matters is that you are clear with yourself about your definitions, and use them to guide [...]

John Maxwell, the leadership guru and author writes about ‘attitude tenacity’ that successful people have that allows them to get through adversity. Attitude tenacity only shows up during the difficult times. When things are going great, it’s easy to have a good attitude. But it’s when adversity and challenge come, that’s when your attitude becomes [...]

One of my early mentors when I first got into personal development used to say: Passion Fires Up The Committed. And It Fries The Uncommitted. I have seen this play out in my own business over the years and I see it come up in conversation with members. Staff issues is one of the biggest [...]

In his book, Stillness Is The Key, Ryan Holiday tells us we should slow down and think deeply. This is the perfect advice for setting you goals for the rest of the year. Starting new projects often gives a renewed sense of enthusiasm and excitement about the future and what is possible, but before running [...]

Discover how to transform your business by learning from the best in sports! In this lively episode, recorded live from the Paris Olympics, Conor shares key strategies from Sir Clive Woodward, the mastermind behind England’s Rugby World Cup win and Team GB’s success at the 2012 London Olympics. Explore the idea of living life in [...]

Years ago I trained my team, (specifically Kathryn and Carina, in the early days), to not bring me problems but instead bring me solutions to problems. After all, that’s why we hire people. To solve problems. There is a pervading issue in small businesses that the owner has to be the one to solve all [...]

Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote, “A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.” It’s a simple but wise saying because it reminds us about the presence and importance of hardships in our life. Most people do everything they can to avoid hardship, discomfort, or pain, but there is a strange thing that happens when we try [...]

It’s like Conor always says, “Selling is serving”! Discover how to turn sales into a meaningful act of service! In this exciting episode, Conor shows how putting service first can boost customer interactions and increase sales. Conor gives you the secret to make every customer interaction a successful and meaningful one. Learn how the right [...]

Given the company’s size today, it can be hard to imagine that Starbucks was once a small retailer with a handful of locations that most people did not believe would grow beyond Seattle. Founder and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz was inspired by his first experience of an espresso bar in Milan while on a [...]

What if the biggest thing holding you back is all in your head? In today’s episode of the Optical Entrepreneur Podcast, Conor is talking about the mental blocks that often stop independent optical practice owners, like you, from achieving their goals. Conor shares the details from his 15-year journey about taking risks and trying new [...]

When the founder of Lindberg, Henrik Lindberg was speaking at the OSA conference years ago, someone asked him what is the secret of the best practices he sees across the world and his answer was: “Service. Service. Service.” He didn’t say ‘good service’. He literally said ‘Service. Service. Service.’ The emphasis is totally different. Acceptable, [...]

When I was planning my first practice in 2004 I was clueless. But what saved me was the fact I was very aware of the fact of how little I knew about business and our industry. And so I set about rectifying that. I read trade journals and every optical magazine I could find. There [...]

The late Charlie Munger was known for saying, “All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I never go there.” He was being more than just humorous. It was part of his business and investing philosophy. Essentially he was asking himself what things would kill the business and then making sure [...]

In this episode Conor chats with marketing guru Mark Palmer, the mastermind behind brands like Pret-a-Manger, Green & Black’s, and Union Hand-Roasted Coffee. Mark shares priceless tips on customer engagement and loyalty, uncovering why your customers keep coming back to you. Get practical strategies like using Facebook’s local targeting to maximize your marketing budget. Inspired [...]

This time next week I’ll be in Chicago ready to kick off our marketing workshop for OSA members from USA and Canada. It will be the second time we’ve hosted this workshop, we did a version for UK members in Ibiza a couple of weeks ago. Several members reported that they took the following day [...]

True business success and personal fulfilment only come from consistently stepping out of daily routines, investing in personal development, and being part of a community that supports and challenges you. In this episode, Conor tells you how to achieve growth in personal and professional areas by creating space for clarity and challenging the “too busy” [...]

Stressed out practice owners constantly talk about wanting to be more productive without ever stopping to think about what exactly ‘productive’ means. The best definition I’ve ever come across is Dan Kennedy’s in his Time Management for Entrepreneurs book: “Productivity is the deliberate, strategic, investment of your time, talent, intelligence, energy, resources and opportunities in [...]

In this episode, Conor and his special guests provide a proven blueprint to rapidly boost eyewear sales and expand your optometry practice, even in challenging economic times. What you’ll discover won’t just improve your practice—it will transform it, significantly increasing your income, regardless of the economic climate. Conor covers a ton of content in this [...]

Is it possible for an individual to achieve success without a good attitude? The answer is yes, but their attitude will determine how much (or how little) they enjoy the success.  Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth-century poet stated, “He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his [...]

In the kitchen of my grandmother’s house there hung a little sign on the wall above the sink stating Murphy’s Law: Nothing is as easy as it looks, Everything takes longer than you expect, And if anything can go wrong, it will, At the worst possible moment. My granny’s maiden name was Murphy, hence the [...]

In this episode, Conor breaks down how to connect with your ideal clients and implement a systematic approach for consistent outreach. Plus, don’t miss an exclusive look at our upcoming two-day workshop and mastermind meeting in Chicago. Conor goes deep into mastering marketing strategies that give you the tools to make your practice explode with [...]

Countless self-help books and business books have tried to find the patterns of behaviour that make people successful. The idea being if you know what successful people do repeatedly, you can model the same patterns of behaviour to become more successful yourself. Stephen Covey was probably the most famous of the success-by-pattern gurus. His book [...]

Team Principal, Toto Wolff, is regarded as one of the best team principals Formula One has ever seen. He is a self-admitted stickler for even the smallest details. When he first visited the team’s factory in Brackley, England, he walked into the lobby and sat down to wait for the team principal he would come [...]

This isn’t an easy place to be. I had a rude awakening in my first year in business during which I metamorphosed from a confident, knowledgeable, skilful optometrist into wet-behind the ears, inexperienced business owner who finds out daily something else he doesn’t know how to do. It’s hard going back to square one and [...]

From the very beginning, I labelled Optical Success Academy as ‘The Place for Optical Entrepreneurs.’ In case you missed it, there is depth in that little line, and it should serve as an important reminder wherever you see it. *Note, it is not the place for optical professionals, nor the place for optometrists, nor the [...]

We are currently in the throes of hiring a new dispensing optician for Jones And Co., and knowing that you may be dealing with hiring or firing decisions yourself right now, I thought this dispatch on the topic would be timely. At this point in my career, I’ve figured out the kind of person I [...]

The world is filled with grey. There is very little black and white. Jack Welch, the much-celebrated former CEO of GE, looked for people with a trait he called ‘edge’ – the courage to make tough yes-or-no decisions. Look, anyone can look at an issue from every angle. Smart people can get stuck in analysis [...]

Do you want to sell higher quality more premium eyewear in your practice but you’re afraid to because of your location or because you have a lot of NHS or vision plan patients? In this episode, Conor reveals his strategies for selling premium eyewear and how they can work even for practices with a high [...]

I think it was Jim Rohn who said ‘School is never out for the pro.’ If you’re a true professional you’re always learning, eyes and ears open for anything that is useful to you or will help you get better. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet’s business partner, used to say never go to bed at night [...]

In his brilliant book ‘Drive’ Daniel Pink examines what factors are behind human motivation and what produces drive. He identifies the pursuit of mastery as a critical component to our drive but warns that only engagement can produce mastery. The fact is most people are not fully engaged in their work. The majority of practice [...]

Inc.com recently quoted Warren Buffet, one of the world’s most successful investors and currently the fifth wealthiest person in the world, on what is the best investment you can make: “The best thing you can do is to be exceptionally good at something…whatever abilities you have can’t be taken away from you. They can’t actually [...]

Sharing this podcast with your team could literally stop hundreds if not thousands of pounds walking out the door of your practice every single day. This session is so valuable for staff training and will show your team how to capture the missed sales opportunities that are happening in your practice every day. In this [...]

Shock News: I don’t have all the answers. Nor do I claim to. But what I do have is a well-honed ability to ask the right questions. It’s not about having all the answers. It IS about asking the right questions. Questions are a powerful thing. In a dispensing/selling situation I tell my team all [...]

In this episode of the podcast, we’re sharing a session from a recent 2-day staff training workshop in Manchester with you. This session is about trust-based selling, and how you and particularly your staff think about selling. This one is full of takeaways for your team that will help your staff increase their conversions and [...]

Research has shown that of all forms of human motivation the most effective one is progress. Why is that? Well I’m glad you asked… It’s because a small, concrete win creates momentum and affirms our faith in our further success. This is both simple and profound. You could say it’s common sense. Indeed it is [...]

On a masterclass call (on advanced client retention) I described a customer experience gone wrong at Jones And Co. where a client’s glasses had been ordered incorrectly without transitions, then delayed, and the client justifiably went beserk in the practice. I described the process Kathryn followed for handing the situation and averting disaster. If she [...]

In this episode of the podcast, Conor lets you into the secret to achieving more success in your practice, and it’s so simple! Stop trying to do everything yourself! He also reveals the one mistake – that 100% is happening in your practice, that is stopping you from selling sunglasses. This one mistake could be [...]

In an interview, talking about the transformation of fashion retailer N Brown, chief executive Angela Spindler shared one of her secrets for succeeding in her role. Namely “Do the right thing rather than trying to be liked.” It’s good advice for any business owner. The truth is you’re being negligent if you worry more about [...]

Let me share an email with you. We received this at Jones And Co. It reads: Hi there, I wish to find out more information about the Progear Optical OPT-1109 model, I understand that you have a trading account with the Norville Group who distributes this model. May I ask if this item is available [...]

How do you tackle the minefield of telling someone what they’re wearing doesn’t look good? Or worse, what they’re wearing is not making your business look good? Should you have a dress code for your staff? How would you enforce it? In the episode listen to a live snippet of a Q&A from our staff [...]

Remember The Apprentice TV show? It was better in the early seasons but always entertaining viewing and full of lessons. It was more useful as an example of what not to do than anything else. One classic task was to work as a team and source a variety of obscure items within a certain timescale. [...]

I’m re-reading Alex Ferguson’s book “Leading” at the minute and it’s so good. I’m recommending it to you… But first a warning. Before you think “I hate Manchester Utd and Alex Ferguson.” Or, “I hate football.” Or, “Seriously Conor, I run an opticians, not a premiership football team.” Well, I know all that. It’s exactly [...]

Most people are really confused. They lack clarity. As the Cat said to Alice, “If you don’t know where you want to get to, then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” Most people aren’t very clear about where they want to get to. They spend their days just reacting to circumstances. As a business [...]

I’m a fan of Paul Smith. There is a great Paul Smith documentary on Netflix which tells the story of how he got started in business and how he grew from 1 little shop in Nottingham to now over 300 shops worldwide and an annual revenue of around £200 Million. Paul Smith enjoys an almost [...]

This is a special episode of the podcast direct from Austin TX. Conor is bringing you some ‘Cowboy Common Sense’ and a few big lessons and principles, that if you follow them, you will get everything you’ve ever wanted from your business! This episode is full of tips on how to get inspired by what’s [...]

  Yesterday over lunch I heard a snippet of an interview on BBC Radio 6 Music with Tom Yorke, frontman of Radiohead. It is 20 years since they headlined Glastonbury and they’re still going strong. (I was a fan 20 years ago, but not so much these days.) In the interview, he was talking about [...]

There is a book called Fanocracy with the strapline ‘Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans.’ Here’s the premise of the book:  “The pendulum has swung too far in the direction of superficial online communication at a time when people are hungry for true human connection. In a digital world where our lives are [...]

I hope this message finds you feeling festive! Before I sign off for the year I wanted to wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope you take some time for recharging and reflecting and having a bit of laughter and fun. I also hope you show up to [...]

I came across this recently, sent a few years ago, from long-time member Shockat Patel who has been a part of OSA from year one, and has made huge strides with his business over those years. Shockat shared this snippet of an interview about Leicester goalkeeper (at the time) Kasper Schmeichel with me: “Kasper is [...]

John Dewey said, “We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.” At this time of year, it’s the perfect opportunity to slow down a little bit and truly reflect. Because you’re ambitious your tendency will lead towards diving straight into setting new goals and projects and targets for 2024. But before [...]

Conor’s back with a gold mine of annual planning wisdom just for you. In this episode, he’s putting the spotlight on his absolute favourite tool—YOUR CALENDAR. Master its use, and you’re on your way to crafting a strategic roadmap for the year. Picture doing more, achieving more, earning more, and enjoying quality time with your [...]

Time management is a myth. You cannot manage time. Time, just ticks by. It doesn’t care about you, doesn’t care what your goals are, it just keeps going. It marches on. You cannot get more time. There is no such thing as more time. There is only 24 hours in a day. There is only [...]

From HBR on “The (Better Than Expected) Consequences of Asking Sensitive Questions” We often shy away from subjects that could make others uncomfortable, such as money, lifestyle choices, and relationships. Is such circumspection really warranted, or are our conversational partners hardier than we think?  Across five experiments, people overestimated the interpersonal costs of asking sensitive [...]

An offended optometrist got in touch recently and asked, “Why is it acceptable to charge so much for a pair of glasses?” Clearly this person thinks if someone is being charged as much as £1000+ for a pair of glasses they are being ripped off. Let’s talk about this because you also will have to [...]

We had a client appreciation event last week and a bumper week for sales and it inspired me to share this dispatch from the archive with you. Consider it a refresher!   …Yesterday at Jones And Co. was our second-best day ever, missing out on best day ever status by just a few hundred pounds. [...]

The year end is approaching and now is the time to be thinking about annual planning, and creating your plan and your goals for 2024. Over the next couple of episode Conor is going to take you through concrete ways to create your annual plan and what pitfalls to avoid, so that you can have [...]

We got a Google review recently that read: “Fantastic range and advice from a well-run company that makes you feel special. Worth every penny to get a pair of two of designer glasses.” The fact that this customer called us ‘a well-run company’ warmed my heart. Most Google reviews rightly focus on the front-line team [...]

Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994, from his garage, as an online retailer of books. Jeff was pretty-much the guy who did everything. He was the CEO, but he was also the guy who packed the books into a box and drove to the post office every day to ship the orders to customers. As [...]

On this episode Conor literally reveals the formula for success in business and in life! When you understand this five-step formula you’ll be able to see clearly when something isn’t working in your practice and what to do to get the exact results that you truly desire. Would you like to know the Ultimate Success [...]

My experience of growing my businesses over the last 20 years has taught me that personal growth must precede business growth. Not just in the early years, but still today, and in the last 12 months or so I’ve been in a big phase of personal growth. What does that really mean? Well, it means [...]

Jason Kirk is the co-founder of Kirk and Kirk, a unique line of eyewear designed to inspire those who wear them. Their designs have been nominated for prominent design awards, widely written about in the media, they are sold in over 30 countries worldwide and are often seen on the red carpet and in popular [...]

From oliverburkeman.com – There aren’t many hard and fast rules that apply to everyone, says Oliver Burkeman. But there might be one: “You almost certainly can’t consistently do the kind of work that demands serious mental focus for more than about three or four hours a day.” This seems to be the rule for the [...]

I’m currently on holiday in Lanzarote so I was inspired to share this dispatch with you from the archive. Enjoy!… Last week I returned from a 10-day holiday in Scotland. We had two different locations on our trip and there happened to be an OSA member practice in each of the two towns. I did [...]

In this week’s podcast we have a special message for you from NBA legend and entrepreneur, Magic Johnson! Conor and Magic dive into the secrets of achieving your goals through the help of coaching and utilizing your peer group. And Magic shares his formula for what it takes to make a team succeed. Turn this [...]

In 2021 Phil Mickelson became the oldest golfer to win a major tournament. Afterwards, sitting next to the PGA Championship trophy, when asked how he was able to pull off such an inspiring victory, the 50 year old said he always believed he could win another major, but the focus hadn’t been there. That’s a [...]

Let’s talk about consistency. But let me reverse back into it. You’ve likely heard me say that successful people do the little things that most people think don’t matter. Yet that is why they are successful. Because they understand the importance of doing what others class as not necessary. Consistency is one of those things. [...]

So many practice owners get caught up looking elsewhere for acres of diamonds, they don’t even realize the opportunity that they have around them. If you want to know how to stop missing the opportunities, that you don’t even realise are right there in front of you, you need to listen to this episode of [...]

In A Study in Scarlet, Sherlock Holmes says: “I consider that a man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful [...]

I spend a significant amount of my time being frustrated. According to psychologists, frustration is an emotion that occurs in situations where a person is blocked from reaching a desired outcome. So pretty much, it’s to be expected for business owners. If you set any goal (never mind lots of goals) you will be met with [...]

  How often do you feel like the bad guy for running a business? Or trying to make money? Or just being an entrepreneur? Well Conor is here to tell you why you’re saving the world! This episode is all about how amazing you are as an entrepreneur and why you need to back yourself, [...]

Let’s examine and reflect on a quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist. As an optical entrepreneur, it one of the most important quotes to know and understand. Its meaning and lessons have served me well over the years and gives [...]

Do you want your business to grow? What’s the secret? It’s you, you’re the secret. Your mentality, your attitude, your behaviours, and your mindset, are the key to what will really drive the growth of your business. Listen to this edition of the podcast to get tons of tips and insight into how supercharge the [...]

What exactly is leadership? We talk about it all the time, but what exactly is it? I certainly didn’t know much about it or how to do it when I started out. I definitely didn’t know how to do it in a way that was comfortable and natural for me. Happily, I discovered with the [...]

A brilliant Harvard study in the 1940’s asked participants early in their careers and marriages what things or accomplishments would make them happy. The list was extensive, down to the size of television, number of cars in the garage, household income, freedom to travel, level of education etc.  The study identified a 40% gap between [...]

  In this episode of the podcast Conor chats with Orgreen sales director Gregers Fastrup. If you’ve ever struggled with putting together your stock, your inventory or collections you need to listen to this! You’ll hear the secrets of how to do it and do really really well. Gregers also has some great insight on [...]

I’m writing this the day after getting back from my holiday to Ireland. It’s a national holiday and the whole country is off today but I’m at my desk – it feels like a bonus day to get some work done. And I can’t complain, after 3 and a half weeks off this summer. So [...]

Given the company’s size today, it can be hard to imagine that Starbucks was once a small retailer with a handful of locations that most people did not believe would grow beyond Seattle. Founder and CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz was inspired by his first experience of an espresso bar in Milan while on a [...]

Conor has just been on a family holiday to Scandinavia, getting some much-needed R&R in preparation for OSA Live Scale up for Success. He’s recorded this special episode of the podcast on location in the wilds of Norway to bring you some entrepreneurial inspiration direct from the Fjords, and a special message about OSA Live! [...]

At every OSA member meeting and conference I’m reminded of Jim Rohn saying:   “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Think about it for a minute. Who are the five people you spend the most time with? Chances are your income is the average of those five people, [...]

Do you want to make changes in your practice that will give you the business you’ve always wanted? Listen to this prestation from the OSA Practice of the Year winners Paul and Sarah Banks. Paul and Sarah are real examples of pushing beyond excuses that would stop most practice owners dead in their tracks. This [...]

Do you find it hard to see past your blind spots? When you start looking at examples of success outside of our industry, you can uncover valuable lessons that will help you differentiate your approach to how you manage you practice in powerful ways . By looking in a diverse area, for inspiration for input [...]

All highly successful practice owners have built a team around themselves. The fact is you can’t do it alone. If you rely only on your own sweat and hard work you will quickly reach the limit of what you can physically can get done. Working smarter and being personally highly organised helps but it will [...]

One of the most profitable consumer products in modern history, the iPhone was a flop in surveys conducted before it was released. When asked in a survey whether they “like the idea of having one portable device” to fulfill all their needs, only about 30% of Americans, Japanese, and Germans said yes. They seemed to [...]

From Oliver Burkman – author of Four Thousand Weeks…  There aren’t many hard and fast rules that apply to everyone. But there might be one: “You almost certainly can’t consistently do the kind of work that demands serious mental focus for more than about three or four hours a day.” This seems to be the [...]

If you really want to succeed, you need to ‘call it like it is’. And more importantly you need your team to ‘call it like it is!’ In this episode Conor will tell you exactly how to get your team to speak up, fix issues and get comfortable with holding each other to a higher [...]

Do you want to sell more multiple pairs? In this episode of the podcast Conor will give you the hacks that will see you dramatically and quickly increase conversions, dispense value and multiple pairs in your practice! You don’t want to miss this one! Turn it up loud and make sure you share it with [...]