In order for your interview to be posted on Magazine/News Placement Sites, kindly answer the mandatory questions listed below. We would also suggest answering the “Recommended” ones though. Please understand the more questions you answer, the better your interview will look. If you want your business to be successful, you will have to be prepared to be interviewed by serious newspapers and magazines. So consider this as a Media training exercise. The list of questions we are asking are the ones most Public Relations company uses to prepare you before scheduling an interview.
Please try and be honest and avoid “cliché” answers.
Also, make sure to send in a high resolution photo (preferably headshot) with this interview. If you can send additional photos (of your company) it will help. You can also send a video of your company with the interview. Please understand that the more information you send, the better your interview will stand out from others.
Please note we reserve the final right on selecting which answers to publish as well as story angles to use. If you want to preview the interview before we post it, kindly let us know.
Please provide us suitable title for interview.
Mandatory Questions –
• Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities.
Optics Plus, in the Woodbury Common shopping has been one of Long Island’s premier eyecare providers for over 40 years. Our staff of professionals are all passionate about finding the best solutions for your vision needs, and our selection of luxury and quality eyewear has made us an eyewear destination.
• Kindly give us a brief description about yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements).
After Syosset High School and Suny Potsdam, Rich Bauman began working for Lugene Opticians in New York (and Atlanta) where he learned, and fell in love with, ophthalmic dispensing. After a few years experience, NY City Tech degree, and a state license Optics Plus opened in Woodbury in 1979. Within 2 years Rich teamed up with Dr. Joseph Schneider, previously from Great Neck. Optics Plus moved into Woodbury Common, now offering fine eyewear along with eye examinations and contact lenses.
• What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (to make significant changes in an existing business)? How did the idea for your business come about?
I’ve always been entrepreneurial, mowing lawns as a teenager, painting houses or installing draperies through college. The idea of starting a practice began early in my training as an optician, and a lot of the inspiration came from the team of opticians that worked at Lugenes. This was an “old world” style “Guild” optician, where the professional staff was dedicated to quality eyewear and client satisfaction.
• What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Know your customer.
Know your competition.
Know how your going to get through your first year.
• What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Be determined.
Be confident.
Be adaptable.
• How many hours do you work a day on average?
As an optician, retail hours: 8 hours per day
As an owner, often additional hours, especially in the earlier years. And, of course, an owner is on-call, 27 – 7 -365.
• To what do you most attribute your success?
The best single piece of advice I got in starting out was: “if you’re good, and you can stay open long enough for people to find out, you’ll succeed.”
• How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Our best marketing, by far, is satisfying clients! Word-of-mouth has driven our success. We are active online with constant posts on Facebook and Instagram. Our website, www.optics-plus.com, keeps getting more attention as we keep adding content, information, and offers.
• Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Savings, Bank Line of Credit, and bank loans.
• What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Make a plan based on measurable goals. Success should follow as goals are met.
• Where you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Retired.
• Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Apple, Berkshire-Hathaway