Mental well-being is more important than monetary gain:

Optometrist enjoys fruits of hard work

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Entering a male dominated field and becoming a successful entrepreneur is a remarkable achievement. Optometrist Anoma Wijesuriya enjoys the fruits of her hard work and dedication as she successfully manages Anoma Opticians.

This business venture has become a preferred choice among many and she has served three/four generations of customers making them a close family unit.

She was interviewed by Daily News Business.

Q. What is the type of your business and how did you set about it?

A. I am an optometrist by profession and my business deals with the service of providing eye care for customers. The business covers in spectacles, contact lenses and eye equipment. Before starting the business, I went to England straight from school and followed a three-and-half-year course in optometry and became professionally qualified. After I returned to Sri Lanka I joined William Pedris - one of the very few companies with qualified optometrists at that time.

I worked for seven years and gathered considerable experience. When my father and brothers encouraged me to start a business of my own and to enter into commercial operations they too supported me.In March 1984 I started Anoma Opticians. When I entered the industry 26 years ago, it was mostly run as family businesses. I was the first woman to run an optical business on my own. However, I am glad that today many professionals engage in this business after receiving training from well-known optometrists.

Q. How do you balance family life and business?

A. It’s easy for me. I am lucky that I am single. I do not have many responsibilities. Unlike in today’s context, we are a close-knit family. We have strong family ties. Though some of my family members are abroad we are in constant contact with one another. I am very attached to my nieces and nephews. I entertain them a great deal and have looked in to their needs when they were young. Now they are adults and the strong bond still remains. Unlike a married woman, I have more freedom and more free time to do what I like.

Q. What are the challenges you faced?

A. As a woman it was difficult to continue in my chosen profession, as it was a male dominated field. It was a new beginning for a woman to enter this medical line of business. This was essentially a man’s job and it was quite tough at the beginning.

It took a number of years of hard work to break the barriers to prove that my service is equal or better than that of men. I have made life easy for women to follow. However, the thinking is now different and many women are engaged in this field as well as in many others.

Q. What is your advice to women in business?

A. I have made it easier for other women to enter this field. It is much easier for them now. I was able to achieve this with hard work, courage, dedication, application and determination. My advice is that women should be patient and do whatever they do well continuously to provide an efficient service to to customers. Don’t be discouraged when you have to face difficulties and continue the good work. It is important to maintain high standards to be successful. Start small and improve gradually to reach the top.

Q. What are your goals?

A. My goals are to do well and be happy. I enjoy working. I meet several friends, especially my clients turned friends. I have built a long standing relationship with them. What I consider the most important is to be content with life.

Q. As a woman was it an advantage to be in business?

A. Not at all. It was a matter of being a professional when providing the eye care service. When you give a proper and quality service one’s gender does not matter. The business I engages in is an interesting and complicated process. The spectacles I dispense are comfortable, looking good and suit the face and profession of the wearer.

Q. What were your achievements in business and family?

A. I built this business with a great deal of hard work. It is a reputed service provider and stands tall among others in the field. I have also built a loyal customer base. I have provided employment for around 15 young girls and boys who have been trained and guided to do a proper job of work. Anoma Opticians is a recognized business entity and it is on par with other industrialists. We provide the best service using state-of-the-art technology.

I have provided all facilities to take the business to the next level. I hope that the business will reach greater heights in the years to come.

Q. What is your contribution to society?

A. I have done numerous meritorious deeds, but not for the sake of publicity. I provide free spectacles for the needy. I have donated artificial limbs to soldiers and helped build houses and sanitary facilities for them. I am also involved in helping schoolchildren in rural areas. Whenever possible I help others to make them happy. As a Buddhist I lead a simple lifestyle and consider mental happiness more important than monetary gains.