No, that’s not the way we operate here at EB, and it’s not the way you tell us you operate your business, as well. But, Steve Jobs was a big proponent of “ready, fire, aim,” and although it’s pretty tough to argue with Apple’s success, Covid-19 has cast a challenge on all of us to reset the way we are going to run our businesses—and perhaps rethink some practices that we need to change.

That takes questions and research, and we’ve done that in partnership with you.

To date, EB has deployed four comprehensive market surveys to our database of eyecare professionals to gauge how Covid-19 is changing your course—and what your needs are from EB as we deliver critical business information to help educate you on best practices for running your business. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, you tell us that the digital magazine we provide, along with a plethora of other digital platforms—webinars, emails, virtual presentations from vendor reps, newsletters, e-books that tell the vendor stories, etcetera—are your preferred platforms.

In addition to researching your content needs, you tell us that peer-to-peer examples of best practices are high on your list to see what other proactive eyecare professionals are doing to get back in the game, safely. We’ve had some great Facebook Live remote practice reopening tours and panel discussions and interviews with ECPs and vendor executives that have provided vital information to help you now and in the future.

In fact, the overwhelming vendor support to supply products and services to help eyecare professionals has been amazing, from PPE to reopening strategies and resources. The industry has truly come together in all of this.

Is there a silver lining to this situation? Lives lost, businesses crippled, unemploy-ment, and lost profits are certainly not indicators of a silver lining. But having the opportunity to hit the reset button on your business might be it.

Many of you have told us through our research that you had too much product in the first place, stale inventory, too much clutter in your practice, etcetera. So, with that, you also tell us that you will “trim” the amount of vendors you work with, in favor of a limited amount of vendors who provide the best quality and services.

You also tell us that you’ll go deep in the products and services that these core vendors offer, so there is a real opportunity to reset your practice to run more efficiently. That’s a great thing and a silver lining, for sure.

As we move on day by day, business will bounce back and the opportunity to thrive is in front of us. We need to stay proactive and positive, and great outcomes will present themselves.

Here’s to thriving as we move forward, together.

Mark Durrick
Executive VP + Publisher
Eyecare Business