Exploring Life & Business with Lisa Veal of Firefleye Optometry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Veal.

Hi Lisa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started out working for my own optometrist when I was just 16 years old. As I went through my college years I continued to work in the optometric industry to help pay for college. I became board certified in opticianry and was a board certified contact lens technician. I worked in several optometry practices throughout Los Angeles. Eventually I promoted to practice manager of an optometry practice in the Valley and realized I was at the top of the latter. The only way up now was to become the doctor and so that’s what I did. I have spend most of my 35 years in the optometric industry helping people in the Los Angeles area from Valencia to Santa Monica and Downey to Northridge, finally ending up in Mission Hills. I took over an optometric practice in Mission Hills which had been established for over 40 years but had been somewhat neglected in more recent times. I have spent the past few years trying to bring back the “care” in Eyecare for our patients.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Many people have a hard time with change and it can be sometimes difficult for patients to understand that change can be good, especially in healthcare. Optometry has also suffered dramatically from to the effects of the ongoing commercialization of eyecare. This has diminished the importance of proper care of the eyes and vision.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Firefleye Optometry?
We are a small private optometric practice. Our patient care includes eye exams, contact lenses, dry eye treatments, eye disease treatment and management, myopia management for children and we have a small optical for eyewear. We specialize in personalized, high quality eyecare and eyewear. We truly care about our patients and take the time to listen to their needs. We believe in the importance of educating our patients about their eye health and making informed choices when it comes to their eyecare and eyewear. We recommend the highest quality eyewear and like to give our patients a variety of options. We have curated our optical to focus on supporting smaller companies not “big” brands.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The Optometry community is very close knit. We have many meetings, forums and different specialized communities and organizations that work tirelessly to improve our skills and abilities. We are always trying to help one another continue to improve. It has never been difficult to find people to be a mentor. I have leaned on those doctors that came before me in my own experiences as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.firefleyeoptometry.com
• Instagram: @firefleyeoptometry
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@FirefleyeOptometry
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/firefleye-optometry-los-angeles

Image Credits
Lisa Veal