We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Avery recently and have shared our conversation below.
Courtney, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
My name is Courtney Avery and I am a Licensed Dispensing Optician in Tennessee. I am the owner of Clariti Eye Care which is the only mobile Optical dispensary in Memphis and currently opening its first physical location in Collierville which will open in October of this year in the Carriage Crossing Shopping Center. My journey as an Optician started very young as I was only 17 years old when I was given an opportunity by my idol Mrs Kim Williams the owner of 2001 Vision Center. She taught me so much about valuing your patients and treating them as family. Those morals are what motivated me to give every single person that I came in contact with the best experience possible. After being hired by her in 2003 fast forward 18 years later with stops at several companies including LensCrafters, Vision Works, Target Optical, Peepers Optical, Jones Eye Wear, JC Penney Optical, Well Child Memphis, and several other small private practices. While managing a multi million dollar LensCrafters location we were hit with Covid 19, where everything shut down including my LensCrafters location. At the time I had developed such a large clientele of patients who relied on me to provide their vision needs. So after weeks of closures I decided to start doing mobile services, where I would go to clients and service them and return with their eye wear choices. People absolutely loved the service!! There are still to this date no other Licensed Opticians that offer these services. It received such a huge reception that I was never able to go back to work full time after. 3 years later we have developed and established our brand with over 500 patients serviced in our 3 years of operation. Just as any success story we experienced several challenges from finding financing for small businesses, to being out numbered by larger businesses in our field, to doubt being the only Optician as the owner and operator. But we refused to quit!! Looking back the only thing that I would have done differently would have been to start pursuing mobile dispensing earlier knowing how valuable of a service it is for our patients. My advice to anyone looking to grow and advance in their craft is to never be afraid to come outside of the box, always pursue your dreams and never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it your way. Always put in the work and value every client as if it is your first and last. Personality and compassion with professionalism will take you a very long way.
Courtney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are Clariti Eye Care and I am a Licensed Dispensing Optician, the owner , and the operator. Tennessee is a licensed State meaning that only a Licensed Dispensing Optician or and Optometrist or Ophthalmologist are able to legally dispense any prescription products in the State.
We have a physical location under construction in the Carriage Crossing shopping center in Collierville, TN. We have a website www.ClaritiEyeCare.com. We are active on all social media platforms. We are the only mobile optical dispensary in the city. We are 5 star google rated. 5 star yelp rated.
We offer a wide range of services including eye examinations, prescription eye wear, Plano sun wear, prescription and Plano contact lenses, glasses repair, glasses adjustments, contact lens insertion and removal courses, eye wear consultations, prescription evaluations, outside prescription eye wear, office visit services, and we have the largest selection of designer frames in the city including Balmain, Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Ray Ban, Tom Ford, Silhouette, Charmant, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQUeen, Vera Wang, Cazal, Cartier, Burberry, Celine, Fendi, Versace, and Maui Jim just to name a few.
Our goal is 100% patient satisfaction guarantee. We pride ourselves on our patient experience by offering full services with experience, expertise, and most importantly professionalism. We offer 30 days satisfaction guarantee, free consultations, and free adjustments and advice throughout the lifetime of the eye wear. We are the only mobile dispensary in the city.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
If I had to go back and do it all. I would not change one thing. This is a field where 9/10 people need our services. Either you need us for vision, health, safety, or style. When choosing a profession the main thing you want is the demand. As long as the demand is there and you can provide the supply then you are positioning yourself for success. As a minority there are not a lot of us in this field also which makes it even more exclusive. I love what I do. The opportunity to give people vision is an amazing feeling. The look and excitement of children when they get new eye wear and can actually see the world. The happiness in people when they receive that pair of glasses that they love and that fits well and they see good with is an indescribable feeling. It truly gives me joy from the beginning to the end of the process. The people that I have met along the way have been so impactful on ,y life even past a business perspective have been wonderful.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think the most impactful thing that has contributed to our reputation has been our experience and expertise along with our professionalism. These things go a very long way in business. When you treat people with sincere kindness and respect and value them it shows in your work. Yes we are a business but when it comes to our clients they are family so instead of treating them as a “sale” we treat them as a family member so their best interest is our best interest. We value every single patient that calls or comes in or is referred to us and our goal is to make them feel at home and as if they received the best service and experience of their life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ClaritiEyeCare.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claritieyecare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClaritiEyeCare
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClaritiEyecare
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ClaritiEyeCare
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/clariti-eyecare-no-title
