One Idea That Brings People Together And We Call It ROWT

One idea and a blossoming friendship turned into a waterfall of brainstorming when Mikki who is a new frame rep & Chelsea who is an optician/office manager and owner of her own online independent frame company met on Instagram in late winter 2021. Mikki began her career transition from Certified Ophthalmic Assistant to Territory Sales Rep in July 2020 with no background in sales just a love for eyes..

Coming into a new career in the middle of a pandemic was challenging. I knew the concept of what I needed to do but was struggling with execution and figuring it out on my own. I knew I needed to get myself out there and make myself known in order to be heard and that is why I started my Instagram page @gypsyeyegal. I began networking with like minded individuals who were in optical as well and found an entire online community dedicated to eye health and eyewear! When I met Chelsea we struck it off immediately. I began bouncing ideas off of her and asking questions about the optician side of things and we quickly became close friends. One day while in the field, I spent an entire drive wracking my brain with ideas of ways I can get people past the “sales stigma” that haunts reps every single day. How can we break down the walls that have been built over years of cheesy sales lines and burned bridges so we can all work in harmony and help one another?

One Idea That Brings People Together

That is when the idea of “ROWT” was born but what would it be exactly? My initial thought was to create a website but after speaking with a web developer and researching everything that is out there I knew I wanted something more than your average blog or website. I pitched my ideas to Chelsea and we came up with “ROWT After Dark,” a video chat once a month where Chelsea and I discuss work in a chill low-key environment. We are still finding our footing in the video podcast world and struggled with creating a format and vision of where we want to take it. I have always dreamed of being a part of something bigger so I thought why not create a magazine and each time we do a podcast we can model our video topics from the people who are behind the articles!

ROWT’s main purpose is to provide a space for creatives like myself and Chelsea to be heard. There are so many talented reps, opticians, doctors, administrators, and technicians that deserve to have an outlet to write about the things they believe in and are passionate about. To advocate for those who feel like their voices are not heard is MY
passion. – Mikki Collins

We are accepting submissions from opticians, optical shops, bloggers, independent frame companies, reps, and entrepreneurs at this time.