Passion, quality are keys to a successful ophthalmic business

Prominent women leaders offer advice to propel your company from the basement to the boardroom.

Starting a business in the ophthalmic industry is a matter of creating a need for your product or service and remaining visible to promote it. Four successful women spoke with the Ophthalmic Women Leaders eNEWS about how they put in the time to create a quality product and make a name for themselves in ophthalmology, bringing their passion to the forefront in order to make their dream a reality.

Creating a need

When Georgette Pascale of Pascale Communications decided to open her own PR company out of her home office, she had the skills she needed to go out on her own by working for a large health care PR firm in New York. From that experience, she knew that in order to find a place in ophthalmology, she had to create a need for her services in the industry.

“I created a definite niche and need because we are strictly health care PR and we have a strong focus in ophthalmology. I had real knowledge with a senior team, and people knew they would rather go with me than with a larger PR firm because we really had that industry knowledge and senior experience,” Ms. Pascale said in an interview.

By transferring her previous skills to a new market, Barbara Tatge of Odyssey Medical also found a niche in ophthalmology. Micro-manufacturing products for otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat, and private practice audiology) allowed her to transition into the eye care industry by creating a need for her Parasol punctal occluder.

“I already had an expertise in micro-manufacturing for ENT, and at the time the ENT market was very flat and represented little growth opportunity. To enter ophthalmology, we first started by asking the doctors what they perceived as a problem in what they were using in the way of punctal occluders. Listening to the end users’ needs and developing a patent-protected product design was the springboard of Odyssey’s success.”

Enthusiasm for the product

Carmen Caricchio of CoActive Public Relations said that once you have found your niche in ophthalmology, the key is to be able to sustain your interest and curiosity over time.

“When I first started working in ophthalmology in 2001, the LASIK boom was at its peak. There was tremendous excitement and still so much to be learned about it. However, like anything else, the trends changed, products became replaced by newer products and the general “buzz” ultimately died down. What keeps us motivated beyond the next product launch is an appreciation for the big picture – knowing that the products we’re supporting, the technology that we’re promoting and the clients that we’re representing are making an important contribution to the field.”

Just creating a necessary product is not enough to be successful, Ms. Tatge said in an interview. You also have to sell it, and in order to sell, you must understand the market and believe in your product.

“You must be passionate about what you are selling, whether it is a service or a product, and that is something that you simply can’t fake. It boils down to believing in yourself, believing in the product, and being knowledgeable and enthusiastic,” Ms. Tatge said.

Network to build a client base

When Kate Tiedemann opened the doors of Katena Products 34 years ago, she worked seven days a week out of her basement to get her business off the ground. By traveling every weekend to ophthalmology meetings across the country, she eventually built a client base for her delicate ophthalmic surgical instruments.

“For the first six months, I was on the road every weekend but two. When nobody knows you as a company, you have to work hard and just go there and do it. Every Friday night I was at the airport flying to some city any place in the country where I knew somebody was giving a course in intraocular lens implantation, and I showed my products and worked with surgeons to develop new instruments for IOL implantation. On Monday I would be back in New Jersey to start delivering orders,” Ms. Tiedemann said in an interview.

Ms. Pascale also works every day – especially now – to promote her business and make new contacts.

“One of the things I do constantly is a huge ‘new business’ push, and I am out there talking to people networking. It takes a lot of hard work to make a lot less money this year, but if you’re out there and doing things, at least you don’t feel like nothing is going to happen; you are out there making something happen. And it might take a year or two to gain that client, but utilize that Rolodex and really go above and beyond,” she said.

Building your reputation

Ms. Caricchio agrees that working hard to build a reputation is one of the most important things to do when first opening a company.

“If it takes twice as much time as you thought to get something done perfectly, put in the time – particularly in the early years – because you’re building your reputation. The money will come later,” Ms. Caricchio said. “It’s important to grow smartly and spend time training your staff to develop their skill set. If that means that you have to do more of the work yourself in the beginning in order to really foster that relationship with the client, that’s a relationship that’s going to last a lot longer and reap a lot more benefits in the long-term.”

Maintain quality

Although building a solid reputation around a product you are passionate about is essential, Ms. Tiedemann said the key to success in the ophthalmic industry is creating and maintaining the quality of your product at any cost.

“My advice is to make the best product you can, give the best service you can and take care of the customer. Our slogan at Katena is ‘Quality without compromise,’” she said. “The minute you let the quality standard slip, you’re going to go downhill. Sticking to my guns and maintaining quality is the most important thing when it comes to this type of product group.”

– Stephanie Vasta, Ocular Surgery News

Carmen Caricchio is the President of CoActive PR and can be reached at 2600 18th St., Suite 21, San Francisco, CA 94110; (415) 621-6626; e-mail: carmen@coactivepr.com.

Georgette Pascale is the President of Pascale Communications and can be reached at (412) 526-1756; e-mail: georgette@pascalecommunications.com.

Barbara Tatge is the owner of Odyssey Medical and can be reached at 2975 Brother Blvd., Bartlett, TN 38133; (901) 383-7777; (888) 905-7777; e-mail: btatge@odysseymed.com.

Kate Tiedemann is the founder and CEO of Katena Products and can be reached at 4 Stewart Court, Denville, NJ 07834; (973) 989-1600; e-mail: kate@katena.com.