WBW 31: "I am Successful because I Always Try to Improve" with Vivian Sarabia

How about turning a previously boring industry into one that people would even consider modern and stylish? And how about reinventing yourself from just being another optometrist to the country’s “only eyewear stylist”? Definitely not bad, right? Dr. Vivian Sarabia thought that being a third-generation optometrist and entrepreneur was an heirloom, but she turned it into a constant challenge to improve herself, her brand store and her products, showing that both her being a “birthright businesswoman” and an innate marketer can work together in innovating and improving not just her business, but the whole industry in which she has taken a leading role.

Who Is Dr. Vivian Sarabia?

Dr. Vivian Sarabia is a third-generation optometrist, having been exposed to her “birthright” and “second nature”, the family’s century-old optical business at an early age. Although she wanted to work in marketing or advertising, she decided to be an obedient daughter and went on to become an optometrist, just like her father and grandfather.

But she applied her knowledge and love for marketing to her work as an optometrist, reinventing the very medically-oriented optical industry back in the day, by changing people’s mindsets, turning her optical into more of a retail establishment and by herself becoming an “eyewear stylist to the stars”.

When asked what's her greatest challenge?

When asked what's her greatest success?

Show notes:

Changing Mindsets

• Had to change the optical industry and the perception toward it because people find wearing glasses a “medical prescription” that make them look ugly or old.
• That’s where I was able to apply what I love most – conceptualization, marketing, advertising.
• Sarabia Optical was established in 1906, but I’m a rebel in the optical business. I want to be different, I want to be challenged, I want to think out of the box and see if it works. Because if it doesn’t work, I can always go back into the box, right? But at least I tried.
• That’s how I started. I put the sunglasses in front. I departmentalized what’s in an optical store. I get ideas from everywhere. It’s a work in progress.

Motivation for Innovation

• No specific philosophy. I just find satisfaction in keeping up with a challenge that works. I find satisfaction having an idea that grows and flies. That is my driving force. The moment it flies, I think again of another one.
• It’s good to be financially successful, but you should have emotion and passion. The moment you stop having passion, you become stuck.
• You don’t retire from life. The moment you stop your brain from working… a car left out there for three months or six months will have a hard start.
• When people start copying me, then I feel I must have done something right. Or when I see a collection that I can’t find here, and I’m excited to put it in the store and people start buying. Or a concept that people shoot down but turns out to work. The adrenaline rush is different. I love helping a product that I believe in, launch. Even with no pay, that gives me my highs.

Only Eyewear Stylist

• Currently, I’m the only eyewear stylist in the Philippines. You have stylist for clothes, I’m a stylist for eyewear. Celebrities, personalities, politicians, presidents, I have styled.
• It’s hard for competitors to follow me because there’s no machine; I have an instinct for styling.
• I should never stop thinking. I move with the reaction of the market. I move from one space to another and think of something. I could just think of something maybe tomorrow and I would try it.
• I’m not afraid of change. If I think of something, I don’t analyze it too much. I just try it. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just go back.

Ahead of My Time

• I’m always ahead of my time. So when I do it, but it doesn’t work, and I see it now, I tell myself, I did that before. I did the first fashion show for eyewear.
• When I see something happening in another store, or in movies or TV, I always apply it to my shop. Sometimes my kids have all these great ideas; I always say, they have to be better than me.
• So sometimes we converge and look at things –  you see, if you have an idea, never be afraid.
• We had a bar in Eastwood, Amoeba. On the second floor, there was a buy-sell-trade of CDs. It was ahead of its time. But then again, so what? I did it.

Fighting Status Quo

• I don’t plan, I just do it. I don’t plan to be happy. I choose to be happy now. After you get sick you don’t plan, every day is a new day.
• I found out I had cancer and I found out I wasn’t a superwoman, as what my sons always say.
• But you can’t maintain the status quo, you have to keep up with the times. I always tell my sons, you always have to be very observant. I observe people in the bars and see what people wear now, so I’d know what selections I’m going to choose for my shop.
• People who don’t improve? They die. They become stagnant. They’re still there, sitting in that same spot. Probably happy because they’re contented. If you’re contented with this level, then you’re happy. But if not, there’s that driving force that pushes you there, because there’s another thing that challenges you.
• If you don’t try it, you’ll never know. Life is about taking risks. If you don’t take the risks, you don’t have the right to complain. It’s not really a risk. It’s just doing something out there that’s not in your comfort zone. But you’ll never know if you’ll be comfortable in that zone. What’s important is you go through life with no regrets.
• Some big business, products, ideas were born out of a “stupid idea” people think at that time – and it sold. But remember, as long as it’s an idea, it’s not stupid.

Lessons

• Never stop innovating and improving. It is key to success.
• Don’t be afraid to think of and try something out of the box. Don’t be afraid to take risks. If it works, it will fly. If it doesn’t you can always go back and think of something new again.

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