Opening an independent optometry practice from scratch

Shortly after his second son was born, Patel found himself considering hot tubs in a local BestBuys at Nene Court in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Noticing empty units behind the shop, he put in a speculative enquiry – only to receive a callback the following day.

“I thought, let me enquire, and maybe in two years’ time someone will get back to me,” Patel told OT.

“Little did I know it was going to be the next day that they would say that there was a unit becoming available.”

Patel visited what would later become ClearChoice Opticians with his father, whilst the previous tenant was in the process of upgrading to a larger unit – and the rest was history.

Patel had his practice fitted out in July 2025, before opening its doors two months later.

The opening day saw friends, family and old colleagues celebrating, the practice doors framed by balloons, and drone footage recording the moment from above.

Patel’s neighbours at Nene Court, which he describes as “a mini Bicester Village” include independent hairdressers, a bookshop, and an award-winning business selling honey and wax products made from local bees.

The wide variety of independent traders – including baristas and a wood-fired restaurant that opens in the evening – is bringing increasing footfall, Patel explained.

“It’s a really nice small business community,” he said.

On the practice itself, he explains that he has taken on the challenge “with both hands, and it has a lot of ups and downs.”

A year on, he wants to share what he has learnt with other practitioners who might be considering taking the plunge into practice ownership.

A helping hand from Australia

Patel was inspired to open ClearChoice Opticians by a friend who had opened his own independent practice and made a success of the business, before selling six years later and moving to Australia.

Patel explained: “He was my friend from when we used to work together at Specsavers, and I ended up meeting him before he left. He said: ‘I will support you – you should go for an independent. It’s more your kind of thing. I found it was very rewarding, when I did it myself. It was tough, but I will support you.’”

Patel explained: “Lots of people say these things and don’t follow through, but he did follow through, and from Australia, he helped me set up the practice.”

Dipesh Patel

Fitting out ClearChoice Opticians in summer 2025

The friend’s support included everything from passing on details of his frame and lens suppliers to helping with the measurements for the shop-fitting.

“Going from working at a multiple for many, many years, knowing only one business model, and never even walking into an independent practice, to then opening my own – his support made my process easier,” Patel shared.

His highlights since opening have included the compliments the practice has received from patients and being able to tailor each patient visit around their specific needs, as well as the satisfaction of knowing that learning a new business model and making it a reality is possible, Patel told OT.

He also won small business of the year for Northamptonshire at the Business Awards UK in July 2026.

Amongst these early successes, Patel acknowledged the lack of income – “going from regular income to no income” – whilst having a young family, hasn’t been without its stressors.

“I’ve got a very young family, and I’ve ended up taking this risk. I know it will pay off, but it is stressful when it is quiet,” he shared.

At the same time, Patel has chosen not to take on any staff members, so is juggling every aspect of the business, from welcoming patients and carrying out eye examinations to dispensing, marketing, managing cashflow and other backroom tasks, on his own.

He is also embracing artificial intelligence to help his business, and is utilising social media, particularly Instagram, to spread a public educational message around eye health – something that he believes can be missed by the optometry profession currently.

“That is the extra stress that I’ve put on myself, because I’m not hiring anyone. But I like a challenge, and I am enjoying the challenge,” Patel told OT.

When ClearChoice Opticians is closed, on Sundays and Mondays, he is working as a locum to ensure that a steady income is retained. On Saturday afternoons, he closes the practice to spend time with his young children.

“I want to get across that you can start a practice from scratch, or you can buy into one, and until you build your client base, you can still be a locum, and work on your days off,” Patel said.

He emphasised: “Yes, it’s a lot of hard work and a lot of graft, but it will be worth it. You can make anything work if you put your mind to it and keep positive.”

Finding a unique selling point

The ethos of Patel’s practice is patient care, and making time to provide the service that he believes all patients should receive. With professional certifications in glaucoma and medical retina under his belt, and an ambition to complete professional diplomas in this area in the future, he hopes that his practice can bring a high level of eye care to the local community.

Recent community urgent eye care service commissioning in the Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board area means that local practices can now see patients with conditions including red eye, Patel told OT.

Dipesh Patel

ClearChoice Opticians won small business of the year for Northamptonshire at the Business Awards UK in July 2026

He also believes that ClearChoice Opticians can bring a different eye care offering to the area, where the demographic is a mixture of working-age people, many of whom commute into London, and retirees.

“I felt there was room to bring a different kind of independent offering to this side of Wellingborough,” Patel said.

New housing estates that are being built – one with 3000 homes, a mile from the practice, and one with 2000 homes, close to where Patel lives with his family – will make the area the centre of Wellingborough and will provide opportunities to build the patient base from the ground up, Patel believes.

On the day Patel spoke to OT, ClearChoice Opticians registered its 318^th patient.

“I wouldn’t say it’s too bad, but I’ve got very high standards. I would like to be the number one person who people think of when they come for eye care in the area,” Patel shared.

Patel also noted that there is a difference in building a practice from scratch, when compared to inheriting or taking over one.

The latter is likely to mean starting with an existing patient base, he said.

However, he emphasised that “going from zero patients and trying to build something from scratch is achievable.”

Whilst Patel is speaking to OT, one of his patients visits the practice and tells him that he will spread the word to neighbours about ClearChoice Opticians being open for business.

“It’s a nice feeling, when people who have seen me already feel that connection with the practice. I’ve had a lot of people trying to support the independent, smaller business, and that’s a nice feeling,” Patel told OT.