Last month marked the 16-year mark since I became the owner of Jones And Co. Styling Opticians. If you were a fly on the wall at that time you would have been shocked at the chaotic state of the practice in the beginning.

At that time the practice had all frames on display “like normal opticians”. The only problem was that stock had been run down so much, that there were more empty gaps than actual frames. And what few frames were in stock I would generously classify as crap. There was an endless array of point-of-sale materials to try to hide the lack of frames and to make matters worse the little glasses shelves that were supposed to display the frames were thick with dust. It really did look and feel like a practice with one foot in the grave.

There was no staff either worth talking about. The only employee I inherited from the practice was Kathryn who was working 2 days a week at the time with a cloud of uncertainty hanging overhead about what the future of the practice could be and what her role in it would be.

Instead of business systems there was a daily list of unhappy, disgruntled customers growing longer by the day. The few sales that were happening turned into a stack of orders left un-processed for days.

I remember within the first few weeks a supplier I knew from my other practice at the time popped in to congratulate me on the new business. But he was surprised that I couldn’t join him for a coffee because I was the only person in the practice that day. No staff. Just me and a long list of problems. Little to celebrate at that stage. That was what life looked like in the beginning for Jones And Co.

But I kept things in perspective. I knew that was all it was. It was just the beginning. The point from which we began. It doesn’t matter where you are right now. It doesn’t matter where you began. Whatever you are currently up against, just know that there is a way to move forward. It can be done. Just get clear about your direction and go. The beginning is the beginning. It is what it is. But where you end up? That is up to you and within your control.