Chapter 5

Dan had been thinking for a while about which way he could go to expand his business since there were a couple of ways he could go about in doing it. Finding an optometrist to do what Dan was doing he was hoping would not be that big of a problem but it could be. If Dan could make the position of working in a mobile eye clinic trailer attractive along with making it financially rewarding maybe he could find the staffing. He also remembered his experiences with the patients he examined and their concerns which caused him to come up with a business plan.

His first thought that doing what he did with a truck and thirty five foot trailer would be an expensive way to go about this expansion. Also living in a trailer would not turn an optometrist on to living that way especially if he was married. To correct this he thought he could purchase a used small camper type trailer that his Dad could convert to a mobile eye clinic. The necessary equipment for this optometrist to use would be what was stored at the auto shop. If more was needed, refurbished equipment could be purchased which was nowhere near as costly as new equipment. A trailer outfitted this way would weigh just less than two thousand pounds which a number of non-truck type vehicles could safely pull.

The optometrist depending on where he lived would be assigned a specific territory consisting of schools that the preventive dental motorhomes had already visited. After having this mobile eye clinic trailer visiting the schools during the school year or when school was out, the trailer would be positioned enabling it to service the residents of the areas where the schools were located. The employed optometrist would be required to have a vehicle capable of pulling this trailer.

The eye exams would be for eye glasses and only contact lenses prescription renewals. If the contact wearer was reporting no problems with wearing the present contact lenses they would be given a written prescription for the same prescription effective for two years. Using it they could go on line and purchase contacts or eyeglasses at competitive prices. Fees for services rendered would vary depending on the time involved in doing the various procedures. The optometrist compensation would be a percentage of the gross fees collected giving them an incentive to do many exams.

Besides finding optometrists for staffing these mobile clinics Dan thought a problem could be if the area had a practicing optometrist. Those optometrists would probably see a drop in their customer base and may try in some fashion to prohibit this mobile clinic’s operation.

Dan thought that what he was proposing to do was either providing a service that wasn’t locally available or was instilling some competition among eyewear providers. Either one or both of those would be benefiting the people of that area. If there was a local optometrist they could operate as Dan was planning to do but they probably wouldn’t since the cost of eyewear was a large part of the profitability of their business.

Dan’s father was almost finished outfitting the first of what Dan hoped would be more of these small mobile eye clinic trailers. Dan was now looking for an optometrist to hire for this trailer. In doing some interviewing he received mainly negative reactions from the applicants. The few applicants that were positive liked the idea of the opportunity for better than average compensation along with being able to live and make a decent wage in a small town as opposed to living in a big city with its ever growing list of problems. Dan hired Ralph Easterwood and gave him a choice as to his assigned territory.

Dan was a believer in this system he outlined and practiced what he preached. He was going to establish his main base of operation in Lake Lancer and visit eight schools during the school year. He would also when he wasn’t seeing students setup to service for the residents of those areas. When he was back at Lake Lancer he would be open for business there.

What Dan was doing in starting up or rather expanding this business was now giving him some restless nights. One concern he had was where or how was he going to live or work at Lake Lancer. He was comfortable in living in this trailer but it would also be nice to live in a home.

Dan talked to Sally Dodge who was a realtor at Lake Lancer about what properties were available and what his plans were.

Sally had been around the track a few times and she told it like it is.

“Dan, let me tell you that Lake Lancer is a growing area for a number of reasons. While the sign you see driving here says the population is around forty six hundred I think the new census will show it is closer to be seventy five hundred. The lake is the big attraction here and the houses there are getting expensive and probably will continue to do so into the future. In my opinion those listed for sale right now are overpriced.”

“Just on the edge of town I have a listing on a well-built one story farm house that comes with five acres of land. The backend of this land borders a heavily forested area so you will have some privacy. The heirs are keeping the balance of the farmland and leasing it out for income. You could put in a concrete pad for your trailer with septic, water and electricity and operate your business from there. Of course you could consider opening an office in Lake Lancer too. The asking price for this house is reasonable and the chances are good that you will see some appreciation if you ever sell. And if you do sell you could keep one or two of the acres for your trailer and the business. You might consider selling and moving if something reasonably priced on the lake comes on the market.”

To Dan what Sally said made sense and after looking at the property he told her to make the offer at a little less than what the seller is asking. The next day Sally phoned him and said he was now the owner of the property. She gave him the name of an attorney who could represent him on the purchase.

Dan now had a temporary place to park the trailer. He contacted a contractor and told him he wanted him to put in a concrete pad along with the sewage, electricity, water and some other wiring. He also wanted a small parking area done.