Hopefully everyone has had some time to think about the last post and the questions asked. And hopefully you now have the beginning of answers to the questions.

How do you start to put this all into practice and begin developing your own unique strategy? Here are FOUR things you should consider to help develop and execute your strategy:

Take a survey. This is where you can learn what others think of your store/practice and what people might want from you in the future. It is essential to have facts. Ask patients, general consumers, other local retailers, etc. Anyone that can help you get facts. And make it FUN. Offer a small, exciting gift/reward for participating. Be creative. Think outside of the box.

Seek advice from trusted advisors, friends, mentors. You can not have enough input from people you trust. It will only help you to formulate whatever it is you want to achieve. And it is important to also bounce your ideas off of people you trust.

Write your company mission statement. There is no better or more succinct way to share your goals and vision with your team and your customers. This is where you plant your flag in the ground and define the mission. This is your guiding principle for your future.

Write your ACTION PLAN. Define how you will achieve your mission. What are the actionable items you need to accomplish to achieve your goals? And don’t kill yourself. Put on paper the 5 or 10 big things you want to achieve and the date by which you want to achieve them. And then you need to focus focus focus.

In the next post, we will discuss why luxury eyewear is a means to developing your GREAT new strategy and why luxury eyewear should be part of ANY good action plan. Stay Tuned!

Lastly – I will try with each new “real” post to also add something to the culture corner. So today we will start a new series based on the great pastime debating “desert island discs”. See Now Listening To.. for more.