Successful healthcare entrepreneur Keith Little meets David Lynch, who has just started his own business. They swap stories and advice which may help others setting up in business.

KEITH Little is the founder of The Big Optician, the largest independently-owned opticians business in Newcastle.

Keith started his career with Peter Millican in the 1980s working with the small optician firm The Contact Lens Clinic and Eyesite. The firm grew to run stores in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds, before Millican sold to venture capitalists. But Mr Little stayed as operations director and rebranded to The Health Clinic, introducing other healthcare services including dentistry and podiatry.

The business grew to 20 stores and floated on the stock market. Optical Express bought the business and retained Mr Little as operations director before he decided to go it alone and start The Big Optician five years ago.

David Lynch launched Lynch Healthcare, which supplies disability products to occupational therapists and physiotherapists in the NHS, six months ago. Previously he was a director of a similar healthcare firm. He recently won the Entrepreneur of the Year award at the North East Portfolio Awards 2009.

DAVID LYNCH ASKS KEITH LITTLE

How easy was it to get the top brands on board with your vision from the outset and have you managed to improve your business terms with them as your business has increased?

KL: I was quite fortunate with the history I had within the optical business. I had been involved with many of the major players for a number of years in terms of buying products and meeting the people, so I had credibility and good relationships with the guys who ran the industry. It wasn't difficult for me to get the top brands on board. What I was really delighted about is that in a relatively short period of time we have achieved Elite Client Status with the major Italian frame supplier who controls the major eyewear brands such as Chanel, Prada and Ray Ban. We are one of only 100 opticians in the UK to do so.

Because of the credibility and relationships I had, I probably got more favourable terms than someone starting off from scratch. I think one of the most important things in business is to get your payment terms spread over as long as possible. Whereas an average business might get 30 days credit, I negotiate 90 or 120 days where I can. And I would always negotiate retrospective rebates so the more business I do, the better pricing I get.

You obviously have a great portfolio of products and services including designer frames, NHS eye tests, corporate eye care schemes and many more. Did you start off with this wide portfolio or did you start with one product/service and evolve from there?

KL: Traditionally, many optometry businesses either focused on retailing or on providing specialist eye care. However I opened The Big Optician with a view to combining the provision of a fantastic eye care experience with an exciting retail experience.

A big part of that experience is testing eyes and fitting contact lenses. The corporate business came from people who had experienced a poor service from the bigger operators.

The key decision makers wanted more of a personal service for their staff and many of the decision makers were already clients of mine, so we grew our corporate business from there.

Initially we did a little bit of knocking on doors, but ultimately companies now ask us if we can provide their corporate eyecare schemes.

It's clear that you are very passionate about providing a very personal service. How did you ensure this was embedded into your new team and all the new recruits?

KL: One of the key things that I believe is that business is all about people. It's 100% about having the right people, with the right attitude, in the right place at the right time. On a daily basis I am always out there dealing with clients and from a mentoring perspective, I always lead from the front, always asking for others to work the way I work.

I would take the right attitude over qualifications every time. The hardest thing in business is actually hiring the right people and keeping them motivated and up for the game. That's one of the areas in which the big multiples can't succeed.

Coming from a larger group of companies, and the experience gained, what were the things you most wanted to take with you into your business and what were you happy to leave behind?

KL: What I brought with me is good business management, good cash flow management, good sales training, mentoring and motivating the staff and being aware that your attitude is everything where dealing with the clients.

A great mentor of mine is Peter Millican, who is very successful, and he knew how to help people, to be kind to people and to be very professional and that's never left me. The things I disliked, as I went further up the corporate ladder were being consumed in attending meetings, report writing and forecasting the business so much so, it almost became paralysing. So many wasted meetings – every decision became a boardroom decision. I certainly don't miss the big corporate politics.

Do you need to keep much stock, ie frames and lenses etc, if yes, what are the main challenges this presents?

KL: Yes, we need to stock a lot of product for customers to choose from but I find that 80% of the business comes from 20% of our stock. That's a classic rule of retailing business, so the most important thing is for us to have our 20% best sellers in stock all of the time.

I also made a decision to have a large stock of contact lenses bearing in mind we have an out of town site with lots of space. The idea of the business from the outset was to have a large amount of product so that we can supply to clients from stock, for their ultimate convenience.

Another thing we specialise in is spectacle lenses. Some of the optical multiples for instance try to portray spectacles as commodities, for example they imply that spectacles lenses are all the same – one lens, one varifocal, one bi-focal – which is a load of nonsense.

At The Big Optician we have hundreds of lenses so that we can cater for the individual clients needs, and we can get any products we want. In some cases, for clients with unusual prescriptions, we have their spectacle lenses hand-crafted in Germany and Japan.

KEITH LITTLE ASKS DAVID LYNCH

I understand that you worked for a previous business, similar to what you're doing now – What was the catalyst that made you jump ship into the rocky waters of self employment?

DL: Just to give you a bit of background, I was brought into another business in 2003 to start a company in the North East which was a part of a bigger group of companies; I was brought in as a minority partner to get the business up to a good level. It was a great learning experience, sort of like an apprenticeship, and the knowledge I gained from that experience was fantastic.

But it was only when I understood business a little bit more, I became aware that autonomy was important to me and I wanted to take the business forward using my ways, my beliefs, my values, and that was impossible being part of that organisation.

I thought yes I could go on and earn a decent salary and move the business forward, but not the way I wanted to take it. There wasn't the structure there to be able to do that and take it to a higher level.

Starting up your own business from a cold start, especially in this climate, requires a great deal of determination and steel. What support have you received from the various business organisations both in terms of financial and pastoral perspectives? Both in terms of financial and pastoral, who has helped you?

DL: It's probably one of the biggest things; the support I've received in the North East is absolutely fantastic. I suppose starting from an emotional point of view; I was working with a business coach here in Newcastle, and she was there with mountains of support and when I came up against brick walls thinking 'can I do it'? It was all about removing barriers and she was fantastic.

Also the Entrepreneurs' Forum put me in touch with some business advisers when I was about to make the move and gave me some fantastic advice on how to do things. Last but not least my fiancée Emma, she was the one that said yes we should do it – we can put our mortgage on the line. I think having that network of people was fundamental and its one thing I'd certainly love to do is give back to somebody in my position.

Did you get any financial help? How are you finding the situation with the banks?

DL: Business Link was great from the beginning and since; we started up in April this year so we're into our sixth month. They have been fantastic in terms of grants towards websites, brochures, but also looking at the skills side of it as well in developing myself and any new staff to the business.

It was a real challenge getting the banks on board, however one of the main things that helped me along the way is that I had set the other company up; I was a partner but it was predominately me that was running and growing the business, so I could show them a financial track record.

Even though it's probably the worst time possible for approaching the banks it wasn't too bad. I think if you can approach the banks and succeed in this climate; it's a great indicator for the future.

What is the single biggest challenge that you have personally faced in your new business, and how have you overcome that?

DL: I think it's got to be starting up with just myself, and knew I needed certain people with different skills to me to be able fairly rapidly to take it where I wanted to take it.

The first main challenge was talking to one of the guys who used to work under me in the previous role. He was fundamental in joining me in the day-to-day activity of my new business as he had a technical background. So that was probably the biggest challenge – getting him on board. It was a big step for him. He put his faith in me. "

How do you differentiate your business from your competitors, and how do you communicate your USP to potential clients?

DL: A lot of the products we provide are for severely disabled people who need carers to come into their home environment; from getting out of bed to aspects of their day-to-day life. We provide that equipment to help them have a good lifestyle.

At every stage of interaction from the initial telephone call to the consultation, we're trying to put the personal touch on everything we do to give the customer a personal experience. It's all about relationships. It's stating that in our website and our brochures.

But the main thing is delivery on what you say you will do, and that's what we do very well. We have a little Buzz Lightyear joke between the two Davids, and we gather everything we've done every week where we've gone above and beyond for our customers and put them in a portfolio! We try and put this across in our newsletter each month. "

One of my passions is the marketing and branding side of things. The FRED concept on our website came from what we stand for which is Friendly, Responsive, Easy to work with and Dependable. It's getting that across to new customers and once we get them on board, delivering that. The industry can be a bit boring sometimes, it's very bland. So I'm trying to being something new to the industry – a bit of character. The amount of people we have phoning up saying can I speak to FRED! They know he doesn't exist. But it's just about creating that brand awareness."

This feature is produced in conjunction with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum – a membership organisation that brings together business owners at all stages of their journey to share experiences, knowledge and support.

The Forum runs a series of events throughout the year around the region. They also run a mentoring programme to help people running growth businesses benefit from the wisdom of more established entrepreneurs. For more details go to www.entrepreneursforum.net