
I was 12 hours into my 14 hour flight coming back from Dubai from the AMERA convention and was in dire need of sleep. I’d spent the past six hours of the flight being a pillow for my little girl to help her get some sleep. After she woke up all fresh and bubbly ready for another stretch of Frozen, I dragged myself to the back of the plane to stretch my legs.
“Long haul,” I said to a lady doing the same. She beamed. “It’s the price we pay,” she said. Her comment stopped me in my tracks. I’ve always considered myself to be a positive person, but this woman had just upped me on positivity in five short words. She’s right of course. It was the price I was paying – really a very small price for such an incredible experience.
I sat back in my seat and mulled the concept over in my mind because of course we pay a price for every decision we make and that price can be worthwhile… or not… and it’s up to us as individuals to work out the
value proposition for ourselves.
One member of the mivision team recently moved out of Sydney to a beachside village. It’s a long commute back to town for work but she says it’s a price she’s prepared to pay because the lifestyle suits her and her family. Another prefers to be in the heart of the city. The price she pays for the convenience and the cosmopolitan lifestyle is a long walk from her front door to find her car each morning and long waits in traffic. But she’s more than happy to do it.
Her comment stopped me in my tracks. I’ve always considered myself to be a positive person, but this woman had just upped me on positivity in five short words
As optometrists there are prices to pay as well. You can choose to provide quick consultations and in doing so, squeeze more patients in each day and charge more fees. But the price you pay may be reduced opportunities to build deeper and lasting relationships and repeat business. Alternatively, you can choose to spend more time with each patient… the price of that may be fewer dollars initially but more over the long term.
You could stock just cheap frames but the price you’ll pay will probably be more returns than you care to manage and the need to rely on a constant stream of new customers because the old ones won’t come back. Alternatively, you might only stock premium frames. The price you pay will be fewer customers but higher profit margins, fewer returns and more repeat business.
You might invest in state-of-the-art equipment and the price you pay will be the financial cost of that investment… but the pay off will be the rewards that come with identifying a hidden eye disease… the patients that come through the door seeking the best of advice… and the extra revenue that it brings.
In the end they’re all decisions that only you can make, but what I realised on that trip back from Dubai was once I’ve made a decision, I need to accept the price I’ll pay for it, embrace it, and get on with enjoying life. The alterative will just give you an ulcer.