Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nathan Hill. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nathan, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Over the years I worked for others, I spent a lot of time really analyzing profits and losses, and listened carefully to my customers, including what they weren’t saying about the services and options. I created a plan based on what I learned, and decided it was time for me to open my own business that catered to my clients’ individualized needs, and to honing and exercising my skill sets as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started in optical when I was 14 years old. My mom, who had been in the industry for 14 years at the time, decided to open her own store. I wanted to learn the industry and she coached me to do so, but it wasn’t easy. She has a very strong work ethic and wanted me to have the same. If I made a mistake, I had to stay until it was corrected, so we would often work long hours to build the business up. I was a shy person, and in the beginning I wouldn’t approach anyone, let alone talk to them, but I learned to get past it and became a sales master. I also learned to master the art of cutting lenses and became a pro at it, so much so I was managing the entire lab by the time I was 16.

After 9 years of working for the family business, I decided to venture out on my own. That is when I found my true passion, that being luxury eyewear. It turned out that my skill was not only selling luxury eyewear really well, but also excelling at increasing profit margins in various ways. I was hired at multiple locations to do the same for their stores, and after 20 years of doing this for other people, I decided to start my own consulting business. Now I do this for all independent optical stores that need my help. I quit my full-time management job to become a frame rep and work for myself.

Framed Optical is my baby. I designed it to be something that hasn’t really ever been done before. Through my consulting experience, I knew there were some things about the industry that were just broken. Most companies severely underpay and undervalue their opticians, sometimes as low as $12/hour. Your McDonald’s cashier makes more than that, as they should, but an optician is the person who evaluates your prescription, helps style you in frames, checks the fit of the eyewear, troubleshoots if there is a problem, and their skillset is limitless. They are the heart and soul of many optical stores, yet the least valued. Therefore most companies are a revolving door of unhappy opticians. And how does that affect the patient’s experience? They are not cared for to the extent that they need to be, and their eyewear is not given the proper attention, which causes issues left and right for everyone. Imagine, if you don’t already live this life, that you are genuinely relying on your glasses to be able to function. They are truly one of the most important tools you can buy. In addition, most patients aren’t given many customization options. We all have different facial features, some people have hearing aids, some have low bridges, some people have really large or really small heads. Everyone is unique, and their eyewear should be a reflection of their uniqueness.

So what makes Framed so different?
I only hire true opticians, not frame stylists. This means they have a bare minimum of 10 years of experience in the optical industry. This is going to give you an incredibly different experience, right off the bat. They are also paid well above industry standard because I believe it is important to take care of people who work for you. Happy opticians will lead to happy patients.

I also don’t accept insurance directly. It is truly just a discount plan. Optical stores are paid so poorly by insurance companies that they need to inflate the prices in order to make a profit, so not only are you paying for vision “insurance,” and getting back essentially what you paid into it, but you are paying more for the frames in order to compensate for the lack of pay on the backend. I cut out that headache and just give you lower prices up front. If you’ve also paid more because you have a higher prescription, you will not find that to be true at Framed. I have all-inclusive pricing, everyone gets the same price, and they get all the features they need for a good pair of glasses without any extra charges; even your tax is included!

I also spoke about customization, and most of my lines are designed to be customized on various levels, depending on the brand. You can even design something from scratch using whatever materials you want! On top of this, all my frames are luxury quality and handmade. When most people are used to their glasses breaking every 2-3 years, we are now looking at glasses lasting up to 20 years. With Framed, you can start to build your eyewear wardrobe for your career! Check out the Framed difference.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The one of the stores I worked at I was treated really poorly, so were my fellow opticians. The pay was ok, but there was quite a bit of mistreatment in other ways. Lashing out and control issues were common. I dealt with it the best I could and left as soon as it was feasible to. Always be professional and try to make it work, but sometimes leaving is the only option. Unfortunately I know others in my industry who dealt with worse. I learned from every experience, good or bad. I believe in creating a wonderful work environment because of it, so I thank that company for providing me with that knowledge.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I try to be nice. That’s it. I help EVERYONE who asks for it. I am nice to everyone I meet. My industry is incredibly small, and some people treat reps poorly, others treat opticians poorly. The thing is we all talk and we all know each other. The biggest lesson in this is don’t burn bridges, because no matter how small it may seem, that bridge can get bigger in time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://framedoptical.squarespace.com/ or www.framed-optical.com
• Instagram: framedopticalboutique
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557393085081
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-hill-8a0800181/
• Other: https://g.page/r/CfH3ZWBB4D_JEBM/review

Image Credits

self