Free Report

Are you about to make any of these common blunders with your new office design? Find out now before it's too late! Sign up for your free report and we'll send it right away. You'll also receive our monthly Inspirations newsletter with office design tips and audio interviews.

First Steps to a Successful New Office

The success of your project depends on developing realistic financial projections and choosing the right people for your design and construction team. The following tips will help you start off on the right foot.

Step 1 - Feasibility - Research costs and do financial projections. Make sure the project works on paper before you start looking for a new location. The Optometric Office Design Process Pitfalls book is a great resource at this stage.

Step 2 - Financing Pre-Approval - Present your projections and talk over the project with your lender. Get written pre-approval on the loan amount before settling on the new location.

Step 3 - Find space to lease or land to build on - CAUTION: DO NOT sign the lease or buy the land until you have interviewed 2 or 3 different designers and contractors and checked their references. Get their "guess-timates" on construction costs. Most are happy to give you a bit of free advice.

Step 4 - Hire Design Team - Make your decision on who will be on your design team BEFORE you sign on the dotted line. Don't wait until after you sign to look for a designer. You could spend precious weeks trying to make up your mind while the clock ticks down to the day you have to start paying rent.

Designing Your New Office Shouldn't Be A Struggle
One of the most exciting and nerve-wracking times in your professional career is when you decide to build a new office. You've probably considered working with a local professional (architect, interior designer, contractor) to design your office, but more than likely they have never designed an optometric office or dispensary before. You can't expect them to understand all the problems unique to the eye care profession.

You probably have some ideas about what you want, but what if there are other possibilities and solutions that you miss?

Are You Uneasy About Doing It Yourself?
Practitioners often start out by sketching a possible floor plan themselves. You could also get an architect or a fixture manufacturer to lay out an initial design. However, as you look over these first efforts, doubts may begin to surface.

• Are you sure each room is located in the right place for best patient flow?
• How do you know exactly what size to make the different rooms?
• How can you be sure the plan fosters greatest staff productivity?
• How do you know the optical will produce maximum sales and profits?

If you are losing sleep worried about how to make your new office the best it can be, then it's time to call in an expert.

Are You Concerned About The Cost Of Professional Design?
The best investment you can make in your new office is to get professional expertise for the critical task of designing your floor plan. Errors made in the new floor plan can create more of the bottlenecks that this move is supposed to eliminate!

The most expensive thing you can do is to build an office that doesn't meet your needs. Great design, like any other good investment, pays big dividends that you can count on for years to come.

The average office starts looking tired and dated in 5 to 7 years. A BWD office turns in consistent winning performance for 10 to 15 years and more. One BWD office in Northern California was still touted as the best-looking office in town by the local frame sales reps when it was 17 years old!

Barbara Wright Design Has The Expertise And The Solution
Since 1984, BWD has been helping ambitious optometrists plan new offices that take them to higher levels of success. I literally "wrote the book" on office design – Optometric Office Design Process and Pitfalls.  By using my specialized expertise and solid experience, you get an office that produces increased growth and profits year after year. With over 24 years experience we have planned offices for hundreds of eye care professionals. No matter how difficult your project may seem we can find the right solution for you.

Design Fees
Our services are custom tailored to take you to the highest and best design solution for your particular practice. Our fees are based on the project, not on time units or square footage. That way there are no extra charges to you and we are free to make all recommendations possible without concern about increasing your investment.

Before I can quote a fee for your project I need to know about your current situation and your hopes and dreams for the future. The work that I do has a profound and lasting effect on your future income. Taking the time to understand exactly what you want to accomplish enables me to do my best for you.

Free Project Assessment
I invite you to take advantage of a free “Design Diagnostic” project assessment with me. This 30 minute session helps you and I clarify your goals and objectives for the new office. In the process you'll get an idea of whether I could be the right person to put on your design team. If not, I can usually suggest another consultant or company who can assist you.

The earlier you call me about your project the better I can help you. In fact if you’re in the “thinking about it” stage or “looking for a location” stage, that’s a good time to touch base with me.

Please call me toll-free at 888-422-0361 when you are ready to discuss your project. I look forward to speaking with you.

Barbara Wright, C.I.D.
Barbara Wright Design