The Fork in the Road
- Hayley Brunsden
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Why betting on yourself might be the most important decision you'll ever make
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Nick Coffer on The Right Optics by SILMO, the podcast from the world's leading optical trade show.
What started as a conversation about optics quickly became something much bigger. We talked about taking risks, building a business from nothing, hearing "no" more times than you can count, and choosing the harder path when the easier one would have been far more comfortable.
Listening back afterwards, I realised this story isn't really about eyewear at all.
It's about what happens when life presents you with a fork in the road, and whether you're brave enough to take the harder path.
The moment everything changed
In 2022, the independent optical group I'd spent years building my career within was sold.
At the time, I had twelve years of experience behind me, three professional qualifications, and a Head of Optometry role that many people would have considered the end goal.
I could have stayed on the safe path.
Instead, I found myself asking a simple question: "If I'm bored of seeing the same five or six brands on every high street, surely the public must be too?"
That question wouldn't leave me alone. Neither would the idea of creating an optical practice completely differently from anything I'd experienced before.
So I decided to stop talking about it and start building it.
A motorway diversion that changed my life
I'd spent months searching for the right location. Oxfordshire. The Cotswolds. Market towns. Villages. High streets. Nothing felt quite right.
Then one Saturday, on the way to a Watford match with my dad, a motorway diversion took us through Beaconsfield Old Town.
As we drove down the street, he pointed to an empty shopfront and simply said:
"Old Beaconsfield."
That was it.
Sometimes the biggest decisions begin with just two words.
The vision board started that evening.
Today, that empty shopfront is CBTR Opticians, a multi award-winning independent practice that has grown far beyond anything I imagined when I first pinned those ideas to a vision board.
It's funny how life-changing moments rarely feel life-changing at the time.
Selling a vision before I had four walls
One thing I've learned as a business owner is that people don't always buy what you've already built. Sometimes they buy what you believe you're going to build.
Long before the practice existed, I managed to secure a meeting with the Managing Director and Head of Sales at Nikon Lenswear UK.
At that point, I had no fitted practice. No stock. No shelves. No clients. No proven concept.
What I did have was a very clear vision of what I wanted CBTR to become.
To their credit, they believed in it too.
A few months later, with the practice still unfinished, Terri and I boarded a train to SILMO Paris. Armed with little more than photographs of an empty shopfront and a lot of optimism, we introduced ourselves to Debby, the eyewear agent behind some of the most respected brands in the industry, including DITA and AHLEM.
Looking back, it sounds slightly ridiculous. At the time, it felt completely normal.
She said yes.
Those brands arrived before the paint had even dried on the walls.
Those moments taught me something I've carried ever since. People will often believe in your dream if you're brave enough to believe in it first.
Building the practice I wished existed
From the very beginning, CBTR wasn't designed around what the industry expected. It was designed around what I would personally want as a client.
I wanted somewhere that felt luxurious without being intimidating. Personal without being intrusive. Clinical without feeling clinical. A place where people weren't rushed. A place where they felt genuinely looked after.
That's why every client completes a pre-appointment questionnaire before they arrive. Not just about their eyes. About them.
What music do they enjoy? Do they prefer sweet or savoury snacks? How do they spend their weekends?
When Nick visited the practice, London Grammar was playing because it's one of his favourite bands, and his preferred snack was waiting for him when he arrived.
Those details matter. Not because they're extravagant. Because they show people they're being treated as individuals.
What care would I want my mum to have?
People often ask why I've invested so heavily in clinical technology. The answer is simple. Every decision comes back to one question: "What care would I want my mum to receive?"
There's a strong family history of glaucoma on my mum's side, and that reality shaped many of the decisions I made when creating CBTR.
Because when you've seen first-hand how important early detection can be, you never look at eyecare in quite the same way.
If technology helps us detect a problem earlier, I want it.
If it helps save a client's sight, I want it.
If it improves someone's long-term outcome, I want it.
The equipment matters. But ultimately it's the people behind it who make the difference.
Turning "no" into "maybe"
One of my favourite stories from the podcast involves REACT.
I first discovered the Swiss performance eyewear brand while on holiday and immediately knew I wanted them in the practice. Unfortunately, they weren't looking to enter the UK market. The answer was no.
For most people, that would have been the end of the conversation.
I've never been particularly good at accepting no as a final answer. I often joke that I see a no and raise it to a maybe. Sometimes all a no really means is "not yet".
So I found the Managing Director's contact details, got in touch directly, and explained what we were building. Eventually, the answer changed.
Today, CBTR remains the only UK stockist of REACT. Sometimes persistence really does pay off.
The people make it worthwhile
If there's one thing I've learned through building CBTR, it's that businesses are ultimately about people.
Terri has been one of my closest friends for most of my life. Sarah started as a client before becoming part of the team. Both care about CBTR as though it were their own.
As a business owner, that's incredibly special. Because the truth is that finding people who genuinely care is one of the hardest parts of building anything.
When you do find them, hold onto them.
If you're standing at your own fork in the road
Starting a business is one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's also one of the most rewarding.
There have been moments of doubt. Moments of fear. Moments where I wondered if I'd completely lost my mind.
But there has never been a moment where I've regretted trying.
If you're standing at your own fork in the road right now, wondering whether to take the leap, my advice is simple. Keep going. Put one foot in front of the other. Focus on becoming 1% better than yesterday. And most importantly, find something that genuinely lights you up.
Life is too short to spend most of it doing something you don't love.
Every morning I unlock the door to CBTR excited to be here.
That feeling still hasn't gone away.
And I hope it never does.
For that motorway diversion, and for having the courage to follow where it led, I'll always be grateful.
Because sometimes the hardest road turns out to be exactly the right one.
Listen to the full conversation
I had an incredible time chatting with Nick Coffer on The Right Optics by SILMO and sharing the story behind CBTR.
Founder & Optometrist
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