Female licensed owners find community and opportunity with Pearle Vision
Pearle Vision takes pride in the diversity found among its licensed owners. Female owners tout both the sense of community and the professional opportunities they found when they joined Pearle Vision.
Female franchise owners come to Pearle Vision from a variety of backgrounds. Some are entrepreneurs who are interested in investing in a franchise where they can put their business skills to work and also do good in their communities. Some are optometrists or ophthalmologists who want to grow a business while running their independent practice. All of them appreciate the support and respect they find within the brand.
Meet some of our licensed owners:
Kimberly Burrage owns a Pearle Vision EyeCare Center in St. Louis Park, MN and chairs the brand’s National Franchise Advisory Council. She has been with Pearle Vision since 1990, learning all aspects of the business from a number of great mentors as she honed her own expertise in customer experience. “Over the years, I developed a business plan, and the timing was perfect when the opportunity came along to purchase my own location,” she says.
She loves that women owners help each other by sharing successful ideas and best practices. She advises women interested in pursuing the opportunity to own their own business to check out Pearle Vision. “It is the best professional decision I have made in my life,” she says.
Ambreen Essani and her husband, Amir, are opticians and the owners of two Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers in Schaumburg and Vernon Hills, IL. Amir Essani received his first pair of glasses as a 5-year-old in California through OneSight, a nonprofit organization supported by Pearle Vision. He went on to become a licensed optician. Years later, the Essanis were thrilled to have the opportunity to buy a Pearle Vision EyeCare Center so they could pay it forward by helping others see better. “I really believe in Pearle Vision’s mission statement. Providing a Neighborhood EyeCare Center and being able to create bridges into the community is a very impactful position to be in. As an owner, you have the opportunity to do that and make a positive difference in your community.”
Essani says her advice to women considering a Pearle Vision EyeCare Center is to be bold in asking your questions. “If you have a question, just reach out. You absolutely will receive an answer that can help you. Our ‘village’ really looks out for one another.”
Gretchen Brewer, O.D., is the licensed owner of Pearle Vision EyeCare Centers in Wyomissing and Doylestown, PA. She began working as an optometrist with the company in 2000 and worked toward becoming a sublease owner, which eventually led to multiple sublease locations, before buying her franchises in 2017 and 2018. “Franchise ownership just seemed like the next natural step,” Dr. Brewer says. “A Pearle Vision franchise allows you to own the entire location so that you have more control over the operations of both the medical side and the retail side so that they work seamlessly together.”
She says Pearle Vision is appealing for women owners because it offers independence, flexibility, the opportunity to own your business and the tools to create a successful medical practice and retail operation. “Within the network of Pearle Vision licensed owners, you can learn from so many of them who are running successful businesses,” she says. Her advice to other female optometrists who are considering becoming a licensed owner: “Do it now! My only regret is that I didn’t own my own franchise earlier in my career.”
To learn more about the Pearle Vision franchise opportunity, call 1-800-PEARLE-1.
This is not intended as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise. Within the U.S.A. and Canada, we offer franchises solely by means of our Franchise Disclosure Document. Certain states in the U.S.A., provinces in Canada, and other countries have laws governing the offer and sale of franchises. If you are a resident of one of these states/provinces, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable legal requirements in your state. This information about our franchise opportunity is intended solely for residents of the United States and Canada.