Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Erin Pitts.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started working as a technician in an optometry practice when I was in undergrad at Stephen F. Austin State University just as a job to help pay the bills. I developed a relationship with the doctor there and as a student who wasn’t quite sure with what I wanted to do in life, she encouraged me to think about applying to optometry school. Growing up in a small town, I can now see how important it was for me to see other females pursuing careers in science and business while simultaneously having a family. Her interest in me as a student and a person has left a lifelong impact on me. It’s one that I try to pay forward to other girls that have an interest in science.
I met & married my husband in less than a year while at SFA. Crazy, I know! We’ve been married for 15 yrs and I’ve been in the eye care industry for over 18 years so I guess there’s something I love about each of them:) We moved to Houston after I was accepted into optometry school which, at the time, was the only optometry school in TX. Because both of us grew up in very small towns, the city and diversity of Houston were so foreign to us but quickly became the best decision we ever made. We fell in love with the people, the city, and the food so much that we only complain about the traffic a little. We weren’t planning on staying in the Houston area but it has a way of drawing people in. We’ve lived in various areas in Houston and now in the suburbs and have started our family here.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My practice is a cold start practice which means I didn’t have an existing patient base. That means I’m consistently looking for ways to bring in new patients through community events, social media, etc. Advertising costs in our market are high for a small start-up business and I prefer more personal interactions anyway. That does take more time though so I try to include my family in any community events we do.
One of my most recent business and life setbacks came in Sept 2017 when Hurricane Harvey hit. It hit the same week were supposed to open our business. The practice got minimal water damage but many of our office supplies and furniture we ordered were lost in the land of missing packages. My home was not so lucky. Our house had 14 inches of water and my daughters’ school flooded. We were like many Houstonians that weren’t in a flood zone and didn’t have flood insurance. Starting a new business is definitely difficult but that 1st year was an extra crazy ride. My family of 4 moved in with a friend, my kids’ school was moved, my husband took time off work to help demo our house, and I was struggling to get a baby business off the ground! Not your ideal situation but we had countless people that have helped us along the way.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our main clinic, Eyes on Cypress, is a primary eye care practice that sees patients for general eye health exams, treats eye infections & eye emergencies, along with specializing in pediatrics and binocular vision. That means we treat all your regular eye stuff but also see kids as young as six months and work with people that have ‘not your average’ vision complaint. Many of our patients have amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), trouble with eye tracking, double vision, and headaches after reading to name a few. These specialty patients are often referred to our sister office, Cypress Vision Therapy, which is located within a separate part of Eyes on Cypress.
At Eyes on Cypress we are focused on bringing personalization back to healthcare. We want our patients to leave feeling valued and that their concerns were heard. We focus on preventative solutions to health problems, not just a diagnosis. We have an optical where our opticians hand select frames that will best fit a person’s face, lifestyle, and prescription. We also believe that one small business at a time, we can impact our communities for the better. Our internal office mantra is to “buy good so we can do good”. We do this by specifically choosing glasses vendors that are actively doing good in the world while still offering a high-quality product that is a little something different than you’ll find everywhere else. We carry the ‘buy good so we can do good” through our practice culture as well by hosting events where we can serve our community. We were able to partner with one of our vendors recently to provide a local single mom’s organization with exams, frames, and lenses. We’ve sent care packages to our troops overseas and even had a visit from Santa Claus for some of our younger patients in the two years we’ve been open. We are always looking for opportunities for our team and their families to serve our Cypress community.
What were you like growing up?
I always loved to learn and I liked doing things my own way. Science experiments and playing ‘store’ were my go to things as a kid. I actually wanted to be a brain surgeon when I was in elementary school b/c I was super fascinated by the brain and how it controls what we do but then I realized surgeons don’t get to talk to their patients that much. That’s one of the best parts of my specialty as a developmental optometrist and doing vision therapy because I get to show people how to use their brain, eyes, and body better together. It’s an awesome thing to see someone experience 3D vision for the first time and know you helped them achieve that. Or working with a kid to improve their eye tracking skills and seeing the confidence they lost in themselves restored because they’ve been struggling in school for so long. There is so much more to our vision than 20/20!
Contact Info:
- Address: 11510 Barker Cypress Rd Ste 150
Cypress, TX 77433 - Website: www.eyesoncypress.com & www.cypressvisiontherapy.com
- Phone: 832-653-7135
- Email: info@eyesoncypress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyesoncypress/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eyesoncypress/
Image Credit:
Amy Kidd Photography & Jillian Batson Photography
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