danielle.walker@insidebiz.com
In an industry where many fresh-out-of-pharmacy-school job applicants are offered six-figure gigs, bonuses and benefit packages by chain stores, the world of independent pharmacy ownership seems to be a dying breed.
Chris Lawrence, co-owner of MacArthur Good Neighbor Pharmacy in Norfolk, said the perks offered by the chain stores often seem like a no-brainer option for green workers entering the industry.
“It’s labor intensive and a big-ticket startup,” said Lawrence about the challenges of owning independently rather than working for a bigger corporation. “The chains are paying a lot of money for these kids coming out of college.”
Lawrence and co-owner David Bass Jr. will have owned their pharmacy for 10 years on Nov. 1. The two have been best friends since kindergarten and delivered papers together when they were 16.
Lawrence grew up in a pharmacy – Lawrence Pharmacy in Chesapeake, to be exact, which is still in operation after 45 years and owned by his father.
“We’re just two regular guys from Deep Creek,” he said of himself and partner Bass.
Bass and Lawrence borrowed money to open their pharmacy nearly a decade ago. That was the number one challenge for them, when starting off, Lawrence said.
“We more or less put everything but our cars up,” he said of securing the loan. “We signed a paper backing our home as a safe stock.
“You have to have enough money to get you over until you’re making money,” he said. “And you can’t be cheap. You’ve got to look better than the Rite Aid and Walgreens.”
The competitive nature of the industry has influenced many of today’s pharmacists to develop a business edge.
Tim Musselman, executive director of Virginia Pharmacists Association, said potential independent pharmacists will definitely have to have a good grasp of what they are signing up for business-wise.
“A lot of owners now are coming in with a lot more business expertise,” Musselman said. “There are the financial liabilities of it being your own store, and you need to make sure you have the proper insurance coverage, because at the end of the day, you are going to be on the line for it.”
Some of the pros to owning independently are that schools are teaching students more clinical services. A place where independents “can really shine,” he said, is by offering specific services such as diabetic care.
The benefit that independent owners have is that they can implement changes in their stores to offer services more quickly, since they have the first and final say. Corporate-owned pharmacies may have to deal with differing laws and regulations over state-to-state lines, Mussleman said.
On Aug. 20-22, about 80 people attended the Pharmacy Ownership Workshop at the Holiday Inn Richmond Airport Hotel to discuss some of the concerns among first-time owners. The workshop was hosted by the National Community of Pharmacists Association.
The event was designed to help pharmacists with the steps of entrepreneurship from buying to selling a pharmacy. The hope was to stimulate more interest in independent community pharmacy ownership in the country.
David J. Halla, the owner of Gray’s Pharmacy in Norfolk, said there are rewards to owning independently, but independent operations can take time to come to fruition.
“You’ve got to be in a store for a long period of time, before you can actually be rewarded by the pros,” Halla said. “But there is less financial gain today than there ever was in the history of our industry. Insurance companies mandate what we make. Free enterprise does not exist in community pharmacy. It’s strictly what the insurance companies are willing to reimburse us.”
For Halla, a typical day at the store starts at 5:30 a.m. and ends at 7:30 p.m. It’s a job that he said would be hard for the current generation to take on because of the sacrifices that have to be made and dues that must be paid to operate a small business.
Still, one of the benefits about owning his own pharmacy is the fact that it is a community establishment, Halla said.
“Knowing four generations of customers and everything about them – first name, last name, crying when they are sad and being happy when they are happy – they are a part of your family.” Halla has owned Gray’s since 1988, with his wife, Sylvia.
Lawrence agreed the responsibility of making decisions that affect his community is one of the best parts of running the store.
The employee working at the store’s front register was homeless when Lawrence first met him. The employee has been working at MacArthur Good Neighbor Pharmacy for three years and now has his own apartment.
Lawrence said he didn’t have to ask anyone for permission to hire that employee, which is part of the reason he considers the store a community investment.
“I just don’t think you can put a price tag on working for yourself.” nib
