Podcast Episodes

What does it take to build a culture where ordinary people can do exceptional work and what happens when that culture begins to change? In Part 2 of our three-part series, Rod Watkins, former Technical Director and Group General Manager of SOLA, shares how the company kept up with 40% year-on-year growth, the product gap that helped push its owners to sell, and what changed when Pilkington took over.

Most people in Australian optometry have heard the name SOLA. Fewer know it started life inside a nine-person optometry practice in Adelaide, and even fewer know it briefly ran neck-and-neck with Essilor as the biggest ophthalmic lens manufacturer in the world.

Your patients are Googling you before they ever book an appointment, and if they can't find you, they're already questioning whether they can trust you. In this episode, we're joined by Sarah Makris, a former corporate communications executive turned personal branding strategist, who's spent years helping senior executives and professionals build brands that open doors. Sarah shares why personal branding isn't optional anymore, and how showing up authentically, even imperfec

What would you do if you had just 48 hours to decide whether to buy an optometry practice? In this episode, we are joined by Eliza Whiteley, Owner and Optometrist at Whiteley Optometry, to unpack the unexpected opportunity that led her to independent practice. From taking a pay cut to learn alongside an ophthalmologist, to navigating a last-minute practice opportunity, supplier roadblocks, self-doubt and the realities of building a regional practice.