Dr. Nate Bonilla-Warford, Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
By LocalShops1 Girl
LocalShops1.com
Nathan Bonilla-Warford, better known as “Dr. Nate” among patients, friends … and Twitterbuddies (but more on that in just a bit) opened his business, Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, in 2006 in Westchase. The family-friendly 
neighborhood in Tampa is ideal for Bright Eyes, which focuses on family vision care, with a big emphasis on eye care for children and even infants.
Now, about the Twitter stuff, business people especially should listen up. Dr. Nate is a great role model for business owners on how to effectively use social media to market their business. On Facebook and Twitter, Dr. Nate has established himself as THE vision care expert among the Tampa Bay social media world. More than 1,000 people follow him on Twitter; on Facebook, almost 150 fans. Dr. Nate has even been known to help quite a few neighboring businesses get on board in the social media world. “Get involved with social media as early as possible,” Dr. Nate tells other entrepreneurs. “We have really made connections and strengthened Bright Eyes via the blog, Facebook, and Twitter.”
We pried him away from Twitter for a few minutes ….
How did you decide to start your own business?
I wanted to provide specialty vision care (vision therapy and corneal reshaping), and to do that I needed to own my own optometry practice. It just is not feasible to provide these type of personal one-on-one services in a corporate environment. I was nervous about going into business at first, because we are given almost no business training at all in optometry school, but now I love it and I couldn’t imagine being employed again!
What’s been the most rewarding aspect?
The satisfaction of knowing that I am helping people is very rewarding. Working with children who hated school and had difficulty reading to solve their vision problems and then seeing them afterward with straight A’s and a smile on their face is awesome! This type of work is very demanding, but I enjoy it so much. I form wonderful relationships with the families that I
see as patients.
What’s been the toughest?
The toughest aspect is balancing family time and business time. Fortunately, I love my job and I could spend 100 hours a week working, but I have a 2 month old son and a 2 year old daughter and they are wonderful, too. It is hard to find time to do everything, especially in the beginning, when money is very tight.
Advice for other wanna-be entrepreneurs
First, people say owning your own business is hard work, but I look at it slightly differently. It is easy to own your own business. But it is very hard to do it well and to keep everything as good as you know it can possibly be: customer service, staff training, up-to-date products and services, and technology. You have to constantly work on all of it and not let anything slip.
Second, get involved with social media as early as possible. We have really made connections and strengthened Bright Eyes via the blog, Facebook, and Twitter. It should be part of your marketing plan from day one.
Favorite things about your particular neighborhood
My practice is located in Westchase. Because my specialty is infant and children’s vision, I love that Westchase has a very strong family-friendly ethic. I also like that there are many small business owners who are trying to work together to support our businesses, via the Westchase Area Business Association.
Do you think the recession is over?
I think that we’ve turned the corner, but we still have a long way to go. I talk to my patients every day about the US economy and their personal economy. People are starting to feel better, but so many people have lost their jobs or been transferred to position they don’t really want and they are really frustrated. But there is a lot more hope than there was 6 months ago.
Nathan Bonilla-Warford, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
10108 Montague St., Tampa, FL 33626
P (813)792-0637 F(813)792-0657
http://www.brighteyestampa.com
http://brighteyesnews.com/
Tags: bonilla-warford, bright eyes tampa, dr nate, westchase, westchase business association
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bright Eyes Tampa, Nate Bonilla-Warford and topsy_top20k, topsy_top20k_en. topsy_top20k_en said: Both @BrightEyesTampa and I were featured on the @localshops1com blog! Check it out! http://bit.ly/7aYAsA [...]
Hey Thanks, LocalShops Girl! This is a very cool cool idea of yours!
-Dr. Nate
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