Dr. Noufal Mais is no stranger to expansion.
Upon opening the first branch of his successful franchise, The Eye Centre, in Drayton Valley, AB just after receiving his D.O., he was already looking for a second location within a year.
“I may have been a little too focused on expansion in the beginning,” says Dr. Mais. “But I learned a lot from the experience and now feel very comfortable with the process.”
Dr. Mais has always had a mind for business. He was attracted to the optometry profession in part because of its potential for combining his love for the practice with his love for business.
“When I was working as an optometrist’s assistant in college, I saw how so much of the practice’s success is predicated on a successful business model. For me, it’s the perfect combination.”
Dr. Mais applied these instincts to the development of an ideal business model for his own practice. He decided to focus on smaller, underserved towns in Alberta and Saskatchewan, bringing his high-quality practice with all the latest diagnostic and treatment tools to markets where they were most needed.
After Drayton Valley, Dr. Mais set his eyes on Leduc, another small Alberta town, opening a practice there in 2010 that is still thriving.
Two more branches followed in Fort McMurray, AB, and Prince Albert, SK. And now this month, The Eye Centre’s fifth branch opened in Yorkton.
“What all these towns have in common is an entrepreneurial spirit. We’ve gotten to know so many of our patients, and we’ve been impressed by the sense of community and loyalty in the towns where we practice.”
As always, Dr. Mais is focused on the future. He’s making plans to open a sixth branch by the end of the year.
“We’re still scouting for the sixth location, and we expect to make an announcement by this summer.”
Dr. Mais also owns and operates Alliance Eye Doctors, operating in the ‘big cities’ of Regina and Saskatoon. This year, he is launching a telehealth initiative, Digital Optometric Services, offering high-quality eye care to rural and indigenous communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
“We’re committed to reaching areas where the lack of access to eye care is at crisis levels,” says Dr. Mais. “Many of those are reservations where members of our Eye Centre family have relatives. Each summer, we take a Mobile Eye Clinic to some of these areas, including some work camps, to address that lack of access and provide quality care.”
Part of having a good business model is having a good heart for the community you operate in. Dr. Mais is proving to have both.
