Kopite

Some of you may havevseen my thread about opening an independent opticians but im having cold feet. Ive been advised investing in property might be a better option so I thought I'd seek the opinion of you good people with a poll. The details are below: 1) open an independent opticians, costs to break even approximately £250k / year, start up cost £200k. High risk but high reward if successful, some turnover £600+ / year 2) invest in student housing. I have the capital to buy 2 typical terraces outright so no buy to lets mortgage needed. Im aware more universities are building their own private accommodation areas near to student halls so is this riskier than previous times? Whatd you do?

Opinions needed - i'm hoping to be fair with my prices in that I want to make a nice profit but I don't want to take the micky like a lot of opticians do. For the frames I supply, I'm planning on pricing them (if i can) slightly cheaper than the multiples who sell them e.g. if a Chloe frame is £250 at Vision Express, I'd like to sell it at say £230 (with lenses). This may be dependent on the supplier's guidelines etc but assuming I'm free to do what I want, then that's hopefully my plan. Any lower than say £230 may make the job pointless in terms of costs and lack of profit to operate etc BUT if I had a written quotation from another place which was selling that exact frame and lens combination for say £200, would you pricematch if there was zero profit after costs? Would I then get in trouble under trading laws for selling that frame at a different price to another customer (i need to read up on my trading laws more)? Would it be more honest in the first place to sell it at the minimum amount possible (without affecting the business) but meaning that I couldn't lower prices to match competitors. This is hypothetical as I'm hoping that this situation wouldn't arise but i'm also worried about setting a precedent one something is pricematched etc.

Yeah no hard sell is a definite, just has the opposite effect. Some of the pricier frames e.g. The bespoke or brands like Chloe and Prada etc will be down to the customer wanting them, same way someone bys a £200 polo sport top because they want to. The initial meet and greet and the after test sales part will be done by the same person as continuity is best. The service of the current specs is an idea yeah. Im hoping to attract people mainly by giving them more time and attention as well as providing a better service although it'll cost more than specsavers, similar to shopping in a boutique vs sports direct

Im researching this more and have hit a quandry - a few people using this laser camera hate it due to the cost. Im waiting for upto date figures from the manufacturer but the concensus is that the company charges £15 per person for this machine as well as some hidden factors e.g. The machine is not insured by them and is worth about £150k ...the also tax about £500 a year for having it on your property too! Manchester and Liverpool eye hospitals use it and 6 Tescos now have it. Tesco do a free eye test but they're charging £10 a use to the patient. No one anywhere seems to offer it for free which is one thing i was hoping to be different about. If this isnt possible, how much would you think is a reasonable fee? Most charge £25 but id only want to break even. Ive attached a picture showing the difference.

I've got my eye on a unit in an open shopping centre which is next to TMobile rather than a butchers the other side has a big Morrisons which would hopefully bring customers through location. A late night opening is possible, trial and error music and a tv do need a license for public broadcast but im hoping it wouldnt be much, anything to keep people happily in the place longer ! The specsavers offer for contact lens wearers definitely works, it covers the cost easily too.

Yeah it happens over here too where the work company pay for the test and vdu prescriptions if needed, same for those needing PPE safety spec stuff. Quite often, one of the corporate places may have a contract in place but if not then offers will be made to them. Pushy sales is one thing that wont happen as i hate that as well, if someone wants to browse then they can but obviously they'll be told to ask if they need anything. The corporate place mystery shopper criteria encourages the staff to approach and stay with the customer but it is off putting.

Eye test price isnt decided yet but itd be about £20 which keeps it on par with the NHS fee. The laser camera is charged on a per use basis by the manufacturer so other places with it pass the cost on making their sight test fee £40 to £50. Im not planning on doing this though and will try and absorb the cost myself. Contact lens checks are a tricky area for me. Its good to provide the service but it has to be kept in balance cost as the net will always be cheaper (some places sell contacts cheaper than the rep offers them to the opticians). Due to this, theyd probably be £10. Typically, £3 of a monthly specsavers direct debit is for the lens check meaning that they charge £36 a year, well they did when i last worked there last year. Tesco offer a free eye test but they charge the NHS £20 for those on benefits or diabetic etc. Itd be nice to do them for free but a guideline is that it costs about £150 an hour to operate with staff, bills etc which is why glasses etc cost what they do. Granted some (and a lot) take the piss but prices will be competitive otherwise theres no point. Turnover wise, id be happy with 150k considering ill have no patient base but longterm hopefully that will double if i can attract people. The main complaint of a lot of frames in the corporate places is lack of choice as most only deal with 2 or 3 suppliers.

Thats a better name than anything I've come up with haha yeah marketing is crucial, im planning on an editorial in the paper thing as well as planning on approaching my old school to see if i can offer anything etc. My dad has links to his old GP practice there too so can try and do something through them as well. Opening hours wise , Saturdays is a definite, the rest may be staff dependent. The high street stores have experimented with late openings but no one ever came so it didnt last long. Specsavers also tried early openings which didn't either Im going to also have a good website which lets people explore the service rather than just use it as an advert

Planning on moving back home and opening up my own Opticians in the town of Widnes, never done this before so trying to do my research to provide something different. To the glasses wearers out there, what would persuade you to use a different opticians rather than just going to specsavers. Ive a list below of things i think i must do to provide a better experience : 30 minute (as opposed to 20 minute) appointments so the customer does not feel rushed Diverse range of frames including brands specsavers wont do e.g. new raybans, oakley, prada etc. Cheaper frames will be available too for those who want functionality over looks clear pricing - limit add ons. Thin and light lenses for example can have a 1000% cost price which is why this is passed onto the customer, this will be done at cost price hopefully frames tailored to different people e.g. wide frames for big heads, more teen frames aimed at fashion conscious younguns bespoke frames (expensive to hand make but they fit like a tailored suit) parking on site complimentary drinks (through a separate area so people dont just pop in to abuse the service) - not just for the customer but their partner who might be waiting. A selection of reading material, kids area and probably a tv will be available for them through a seperate area retinal photography with a much more detailed laser camera (shows 200 degrees of retina vs about 45 degrees) shop fit will be clean but colourful e.g. Orange walls as opposed to white so that it doesn't feel cold and overly clinical. No suits either but smart casual dress only (works well in a place ive worked before) Would a membership plan / loyalty scheme appeal e.g. £5 a month which goes towards a package including a free sight test and exclusive discounts? A Is price everything or would you be prepared to spend more on a nicer frame which is sturdier? Or prefer to buy frames cheaply each time they break? Reading glasses wearers for example tend to break the frame arms or they get bent in pockets easily when not kept in a case so would a frame designed for rough treatment appeal to you if it lasted longer but cost upto 40 quid more? I also need a good name for the opticians as well, i dont want to use anything that makes it sound discounty so no "sightsaver r us " etc haha Any other ideas are welcome, the mrs has already vetoed the pole dancers idea unfortunately

IIRC this was just one of the stunt cars as well, not the original single turbo car that the tech adviser owned.

Looks great dude, this car is almost my car's twin haha, excellent work!

Audience

Pipe

Depp

Bar

I dunno mate, it was originally paved but I put it all back to grass a few years ago but now I want it paved again haha.

I'm so eggxicted I could start clucking!

Everyone will be eggstatic!

I'm useless and didn't PM him haha, snowed under at the min! PM'ing him now Quite ironic that you replied to this thread dude, Mrs H works with PR doesn't she? If so, my missus has a few Qs about getting into that sort of role if it'd be ok to ask Vicki?

cheers lads, ill fire a PM and see if he spots it looking around a lot of comparison sites, prices seem all over the place

I've got about 20m2 of my garden that I'd like to be block paved. Been looking at quotes from landscapers and online but they seem to be all over the place. What'd you expect to be charged per square metre for replacing part of a lawn with some slabs, no fancy designs etc

Ill swap them and check that later tonight dude

Tried the full reset, no luck at all. Everyone i know has virgin this way unfortunately, i cant see it being the DNS either if the other box is okay either, those who found that to be the problem hadn't stated if they had more than 1 box Wireless connector dude, thought of swapping them but was thinking it wouldnt be that if the internet connection always says it's fine?

Right, ive had this problem for a while now and I'm getting fed up and sky have been useless. My downstairs sky HD box can't connect to On Demand - it says the internet connection is ok but the connection to On Demand is the problem.I've tied the usual resetting the network, rebuilding the planner etc and no joy. It sometimes briefly connects and then freezes before saying to correct to broadband. Google bought up people with similar problems which was remedied by changing their wireless DNS settings but I've got a Virgin Superhub which won't allow that. My upstairs box has no problems so I'm assuming the wireless is not the problem. Anyone had a similar issue?

I've been quoted £700 for 2 front recaros with perforated alacantara centres, coloured stitching and Recaro embroidery. All leather was £600