Nerd to Mogul

The real process begins

nerd — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:43:17 +0000

After a couple of weeks of searching, I have finally found a location for my pharmacy. It’s happening quicker than I thought it would (two weeks instead 6 months).

This morning I contacted the center’s manager and was given a decision to allow a pharmacy in their center only a few hours later. Now the real work begins:(1) applying for a specific use permit with the city–make sure you do this first before going any further, because nothing happens unless the city wants a pharmacy to open. Then you can contact a wholesaler to get a contingent approval letter–you need this before you can apply for the pharmacy license.

After note: I skipped over the whole location analysis part, but that is actually the most important part of starting a pharmacy. You want large population (preferably with a greater proportion of elderly residents), lots of traffic, high visibility, and low competition. You can pay big bucks for a company to do demographics reports for you, but you can obtain the same information for free if you work with a commercial real estate broker. They can help you find locations that meet your criteria and do location analysis free of charge. Just make sure you work with a CCIM (google it).

Finding a location

nerd — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:49:28 +0000

I have a couple of locations in mind; one of which is in a corner facing CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart. How’s that for competitive? Despite being in a highly saturated corner, the location seemed like would it could be a good great for an independent pharmacy. All of the pharmacies at that corner are very busy and the wait time is ridiculous. Also, customer service is not a strong point of the big chains. My plan is to provide excellent customer service with less than 10 minute wait times. The pharmacy would be profitable if I could steal only 10% of customers from each of the chains–seems reasonable and realistic.

But when I sent an email to one of the lecturers of the Pharmacy Ownership Workshop asking his opinion of the location, my bubble burst. He stated that it would be difficult for me to take away customers from the chains and it would be almost impossible to compete with three chains so close to my pharmacy.

Back to Loopnet to find locations.

First Contact

nerd — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:47:04 +0000

Yesterday I called McKesson, the biggest drug wholesaler in the US. I spoke with two different people to get the contact info of a new accounts manager for my area. Getting that number was more difficult than I expected. I thought all you had to do was google “McKesson new account” and you would get a list of contacts sorted by territory. No my friends. You have to pick a number and go from there. But the ladies that I spoke with were great and were more than willing to help me. Thank you ladies!

Now that I have the number I’ll call to schedule a meeting and see if he would be able to help me with location analysis. I have a couple of locations in mind, one of which is located in a corner with CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart each occupying a corner.

NCPA Pharmacy Ownership Workshop

nerd — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:29:54 +0000

Just got through with the 3 day workshop. Lots of useful information and insight to make the process of starting a pharmacy easier. The instructors were not academians, but were pharmacists who have gone through the steps of starting and operating a successful pharmacy–some have even repeated the process dozens of times.

I received a detailed pharmacy business plan that I could use as a model for mine. The financial statements alone would save me days worth of research. The great thing about the pharmacy industry is the availability of financial data. It makes putting together a great business plan easier, which improves the chances of getting a bank loan.

I also met a lot of pharmacists who have been thinking about starting a pharmacy but need that little nudge to encourage them forward. Before the workshop, most attendees were 50% sure that they will start a pharmacy in the near future. After, most attendees–me included–were at least 90% sure.

The take away from the workshop was that it’s not an easy process. But if you are motivated and determined, then you will achieve your goals.

Follow Through!

nerd — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:01:46 +0000

Ever wanted to do something but didn’t have the courage to follow through with it?

For years, I’ve been thinking about starting my own pharmacy–I’ve been a pharmacist since 2003. Every day I would think about how great it would be to own a pharmacy. I could make my own policies; make my own schedule; make lots of money.

But I kept thinking about all of the negative “what if’s”. What if I open and no customers come in? What if Rite Aid opens across the street from me and steals all of my customers? What if I fail and loose all of my money?

The experts call this “paralysis by analysis”. This is exactly why 99% of us spend most of our lives using our talents to make others rich (i.e. your bosses). We are afraid to try anything because we FEAR failure. Nobody wants to fail. So we end up not trying at all. No more for me. I’ve had enough of this rat race.

Follow me as I take you on a real-time journey from having a job–making my bosses rich–to having a business–making me rich. I will outline the steps I take to start my pharmacy and give you enough details to start your own (if that’s what you’ve been mulling over day and night).