How One Black Optometrist Is Finding Her Niche in Calgary
Dr. Danielle Gordon
Dr. Danielle Gordon never saw herself opening up her own private practice. The Calgary eye doctor thought she’d buy into a local practice, something already in existence, and follow a more traditional route for practitioners in her field. However, curiosity won her over and, in May 2019, she opened the doors to her own clinic in Calgary, Sphere Optometry. The doctor and mom – turned entrepreneur – says what seemed at first like an unlikely path now feels more like a perfect fit.
“It's been really great. I think I've been really fortunate to have, in my social network, a number of Calgary small business owners and folks active in the Calgary community,” Dr. Gordon says. “Their first reaction was ‘how can I how can I shout out about it’ [and] ‘whenever you're ready to hit go, I'm I'm here for you!’” The overwhelming local support has helped bolster visibility, which was instrumental in those early days when her advertising budget was at a minimum.
One of the things that makes Sphere Optometry unique is the curated selection of eyewear you’ll find in the store. Sphere’s unique collection of independent, handcrafted eyewear isn’t what you’d typically find in an eyewear shop in the suburbs.
“It tends to be more big box, corporate entities,” says Dr. Gordon. “This particular section in the deep southeast of Calgary had a number of local retailers. I thought [there] would be great synergy for the kind of practice I wanted to run, which was a full-scope practice with a focus on high-touch medical care, but also in retail with independent, handcrafted eyewear, which would be a little bit more of a niche market.”
In the last quarter of 2023, retail sales of prescription eyewear, including contact lenses and prescription sunglasses, reached $695 million. In 2023, 6,400 optometrists were working in Canada, with over 3,600 optical goods retail businesses across the country. The journey to becoming a doctor of optometry is a long one: up to 8 years of post-secondary education at one of two optometry schools in Canada. Efforts are underway to bring more diversity to the industry across North America. South of the border, the Black Eyecare Perspective is helping to increase representation in eye care. While 13.4% of the American population identifies as Black or African American, only 2% of optometrists across the country identify as Black and 4.3% of optometry students. Similar data isn’t available in Canada but, anecdotally, Dr. Gordon says there are few Black optometrists – and even fewer own their own practices.
“I think there is a need for diversity of thought and representation in leadership positions across the board,” she says. “After having been in this leadership position, having to guide our practice, our messaging through the 2020 reckoning, and just understanding that my voice was different, I think that’s a distinct sort of value proposition.” Her business is an example of that diversity.
“I think sometimes when you do go for that blue ocean strategy, if you will, kind of going in an area where maybe not as many people are ends up actually creating a nice little niche,” she says. “So, you've actually kind of created a few folks who will come back and be those kind of repeat clients and patients and investors. It's been really great that way.” One resource that has helped her throughout her entrepreneurial journey is the support she’s received through Eye Recommend, a cooperative of independent optometrists in Canada. “It's been a great place for me to gain support, from business coaching to an office support to incentives on our cost of goods. So that, in a sense, has been super helpful and has created a nice little community of optometrists that think in a similar way to me.”
Having navigated the pandemic, Dr. Gordon has already navigated some unexpected challenges, all while building a successful business along the way. She hopes one day to see resources created for medical professionals like herself: well versed in their craft but void of any formal business training.
“We go to run a practice and there is no business knowledge. There really isn't a lot of time spent on educating folks in terms of how to run a business,” she says. “I feel like some of those basics – just confidence in the story, your numbers – can tell [you] what to expect in terms of growth trajectory. Just having that basic knowledge [of] how to go through a lease agreement and negotiation, how to really think through your location choice – that would have all been super useful. The running of the business, the HR complications, managing your finances. I think if we did have that, you'd maybe see some more folks who are maybe more inclined to be entrepreneurial than they thought, actually branching out and doing their own thing.”