Dr. Susan Elizondo shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Susan, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My little one started kindergarten this year. So my mornings are very different from previous. I wake up early and get myself put together and his breakfast made, backpacked packed, and then I start to slowly wake him up. I’ve learned he is a gentle wake up. He loves hearing stories so I’ll start to tell him a story. Then we get ready and I walk him to the bus stop. He just started riding. That first day was as hard for me as it was for him but he did it. Then I take the extra time I now have before work and get low intensity work out in to give me energy for the day.
It actually feels great to have a fairly strict morning routine in place again.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I used to just think of myself as an optometrist but now I see myself more of an entrepeneur. When I first went into practice, I was all about being efficient and accurate. By the time I started my own business, my mindset had changed. I didn’t want the rushed experience, it’s not great for the client and as a doctor is burns me out. One of the reasons that I switched to optometry from a PhD program was I wanted more human interaction and rushed exams just didn’t do it for me. As I built my practice I aimed to create a place full of happy people that always strived to do better because they enjoyed it and felt like a leader We spend alot of time at work, and selfishly if I was surrounded by happy committed people it would make my life better and easier to boot.
Our office has taken that to the next level and made it a collaborative encounter in the optical that focuses on experience. We changed our name to Bright Side Optical to really encompass our guiding mission, which is that we make people look and feel good in glasses. If those people happen to need an exam we can help with that as well but we love outside prescriptions.
In doing this, it means my team are highly skilled, highly trained, and amazing with people. It doesn’t just happen. We work on it constantly with a morning huddle to prepare for the day everyday. It means no matter who you talk to in my optical they are knowledgable people that will treat you well.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Fear of failure. It does not control me like it once did. I can put myself out there. There is still concern but it’s a practical fear of if this potentially doesn’t work out I need to look at the options that I can pivot to as opposed to I’m am a failure, it’s done, stop trying.
I now view “failure”, “mistakes” whatever you would like to call them as learning lessons and coach my team to do the same. It was a hard mental shift, and somedays I relapse. I’m not perfect but I’m moving in a better direction and one of our practice ideals is Constant And Never Ending Improvement.
I suppose I also view the stakes differently. I can see what the potential is if I do put myself out there and many times it outweighs the negatives.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
I lived a pretty uneventful life until i had my first child. I had a completely uneventful pregnancy and labor until about 16 hours in. Then …I’m not sure why but he started to struggle. I was rushed to the hospital from the birthing center I was at and they decided to prep me for a C-section after 2 hours.
As they were prepping me, the baby started crashing, they unhooked everything and ran me down to the OR. The baby was out in less than 2 min but I didn’t hear a sound. They worked on him for 21 min but by the time they got a heartbeat it was too late. He was brain dead and we said goodbye as I held him in my arms.
It was the most difficult thing I had ever been through. I ended up getting a life threatening infection from the splash C section and was back in the hospital 2 weeks later.
It made me reset my priorities in life. Two months later I was pregnant again. With the first pregnancy I prioritized my business as I had just bought it and the stress was astronomical. This time around I priotized giving myself a break. My baby was born at the height of the pandemic. I said let the business go under if it has to, I took 3 months off, then came back only 1 day a week for a year. Even now I’m in the practice 3 days a week.
I worked hard to build a team I trust and put the focus in the optical on creating a experience so I could be an entrepenuer. I created an environment with a happy team that goes the extra mile. I make sure that I work on business more than in the business to give a work/life balance.
I got my miracle. I got my second chance. I’m not going to ignore it.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
In the past year I have become a big fan of Tony Robbins. I attended his Business Mastery course and I feel his saying and way of viewing life really match with my prespective on life.
One of the things the talks about is that in any good story something terrible has to happen to the hero and because that happened they became the person they are today. He helped concisely put into words things that I already felt but didn’t quite know how to articulate as well.
When something terrible happens, think what has this done for me. Stop being the victim. I did lose my first born child and it is still difficult but it most likely saved my marriage. It gave my husband and I an incredible bond. We leaned on eachother through that time. It gave me an ocean of patience with my second miracle baby. When he was screaming or crying, I would often think, well at least he is alive to cry. My first child never uttered a sound. It made me so profoundly grateful that I got a second chance that when I had 2 miscarriages after, I was okay.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Building Bright Side Optical. With the changes that have been made to the business, my business is almost like a cold start now. It’s alot of work and it probably won’t be to the place I woudl like it to be for several years.
But in 7 years I want it to be the place to go for glasses. I would love it if people drove from miles around because it was THE place to go for glasses. I would love to build the experience in cities across the US but we’ll see. 1 city is alot of work so I don’t know if I want to divert that much time away from my little one to do other cities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brightside-optical.com
- Instagram: @brightsideoptical
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightsideopticalaustin
- Youtube: @brightsideoptical
