On alternating Thursdays, Brandon McCallum loads hundreds of eyeglass frames, fitting tools and repair equipment into his vehicle and leaves Amherst for another day on the road. His route can carry him through Parrsboro and Pugwash, along the North Shore and as far as Pictou County. In communities where the nearest optical shop may be nearly an hour away, his arrival means customers can choose new glasses, have a loose frame adjusted or get help with a warranty without giving up most of a day to travel.
That convenience is the public face of The Travelling Optician. The reason behind it is personal.
“I have my son 50 per cent of the time, so the business was built around him, just to try to work around his schedule a little better,” McCallum says.
At just 27, McCallum has skillfully shaped a business that makes room for fatherhood and ambition. What began as a fully mobile operation in February 2024 has grown to include an Amherst storefront, a substantial frame inventory, and grateful customers across northern Nova Scotia.
Learning the Trade
McCallum studied opticianry at Oulton College in Moncton from 2017 to 2019. After graduating, he worked in independent optical retail and for a national chain. The independent experience proved especially valuable: in a small operation, he says, an optician learns far more than fittings and lenses.
“When you work for an independent, you’re as much a businessperson as you are an optician,” he says. “It’s a mom-and-pop shop; you do absolutely everything.”
By the time he was ready to go out on his own, McCallum knew the suppliers, understood sales, and had experience running a store. The entrepreneurial instinct had been there for years: as a teenager and young adult, he bought and sold four-wheelers, dirt bikes, boats and cars.
“I’ve always wanted to work for myself,” he says. His son’s schedule gave him the final push.
McCallum registered The Travelling Optician as a sole proprietorship in August 2023 and opened the following February. He funded the startup himself, using cash and a credit card, and began with regular mobile clinics in smaller communities.
“I never thought I’d be this busy, to be truthful with you,” he says.
Optical Service on the Road
The need for his service quickly became apparent. Many early clients were older adults in rural communities. They would obtain their eye examination and prescription from an optometrist, then come to McCallum for prescription glasses, fittings, adjustments, repairs and warranty support.
“The nearest optical to most of the places I go is about 45 minutes to an hour,” he says. “Being there every two weeks helps for adjustments, repairs, warranties or anything that people need.”
McCallum travels with about 225 frames, plus equipment and supplies for repairs. He keeps duplicates of much of his setup so he can move efficiently between the store and mobile clinics.
Finding customers required persistence. While Facebook helped introduce the service, it was trust that built the route.
“Word of mouth has been the biggest and best advertisement,” he says.
The business now serves all ages, and in these challenging economic times McCallum meets customers where they are financially. If someone brings in an old frame that is beyond saving, he may offer an affordable frame that has been in inventory for a while.
“They’re happy, and happy customers tend to come back,” he says. “You also get to move a frame that’s been sitting on your board for the last two years. So it’s a win-win.”
He also contributes gift cards to fundraisers for families facing hospital stays and travel costs.
A Home Base at the Right Time
The original plan was to be entirely mobile. Then McCallum found an affordable Amherst location at the right moment and opened his storefront in January 2025. It became a home base for fittings and pickups, while home visits and rural clinics continued to increase.
As the business expanded, McCallum approached Nick March at CBDC Cumberland. His credit had been a barrier, but the business itself had a great track record, and so he prepared a business plan and submitted his application. A $12,500 loan provided working capital and helped fund a large inventory purchase, allowing him to significantly broaden the selection available to customers.
“My credit wasn’t great at that time, so CBDC helped me out a lot,” McCallum says. He is also proud that most of the company’s growth has been self-funded. Today, he estimates that the frames alone represent roughly $80,000 in inventory.
Built for the Long View
The Travelling Optician remains a one-person operation for the time being. McCallum built his own client systems, handles the books and inventory, and moves between the shop, clinics and home appointments. Separating personal and business finances has been his steepest learning curve, but the freedom still makes the work worthwhile.
“Honestly, it’s the flexibility,” he says with a smile. “Being able to be there for my son when something goes wrong, being able to support him and being able to bring him with me.”
His five-year-old son has been part of the business from the beginning. When McCallum prepares for a mobile clinic by taking frames down from the display board, his son often helps arrange them.
“He loves it,” McCallum says. “He’ll come down to the office and put them all out for me. And he’s just five years old.”
Looking ahead, McCallum wants to add designer frame lines and hire someone for the Amherst store. He intends to keep home visits for himself, protecting the trust that comes with entering a customer’s personal space, while an employee frees him to spend more time on the road.
Perhaps, years from now, the business will become a family enterprise. McCallum is already daydreaming about another scenario, too: “Maybe my son can take it, and I can go live on a sailboat somewhere.”
For now, though, The Travelling Optician is doing exactly what McCallum designed it to do. It is bringing professional eyewear service into rural communities that need it, creating a dependable home base in Amherst and giving a young father the flexibility to be present. One route, one fitting and one customer relationship at a time, the business is bringing a clearer view closer to home.