Our latest thoughts and inspirations on buying a pharmacy, starting a pharmacy, and ongoing pharmacy operations

Providing more than just connecting buyers and sellers, Independent Rx Consulting provides guidance and develops skill-sets for start-up and new acquisition pharmacy owners; providing a previously unmet need in the community pharmacy industry. One of the industry’s most renowned bloggers, The Honest Apothecary, interviews Independent Rx Consulting President, Owen BonDurant.

Chicago, Illinois - June 18, 2013 - Asking for help is okay. Isn't that what your parents always told you? It is also why Independent Rx Consulting is a business today. Jason Poquette blogger, pharmacist and founder of The Honest Apothecary is often asked by his readers for somewhere to turn for help and guidance on buying or starting a pharmacy. For Jason, it was easy to find that help for his readers through Independent Rx Consulting. A Chicago-based company with a unique approach in providing entrepreneurs of the community pharmacy industry with the skills and knowledge needed to start or expand their business, and position themselves for long-term success.
Read Jason’s entire article and interview with Owen BonDurant, President of Independent Rx Consulting.

Marketing your new pharmacy!

We hear it alot I have no marketing background or experience where do I even begin. Below we have outlined 5 areas to consider when trying to get the word out about your new business or location. We would like to note however this process can be more effective and simplified by hiring a marketing firm. There are a lot of them out there and tend to be well worth the dollar spend. We use one in for our pharmacies and partner with one in our consulting business.

1. Public Relations - This is the art of using news media contacts to gain publicity for your venture. Often if you reach out to local TV, newspapers, bloggers, etc you can get them to cover your grand opening or any other event. As stated above, using a PR or marketing firm will increase the performance of these efforts.

Tips for improving your chances of getting financing.

With the poor economic environment over the past few years many people have given up or delayed there dream of owning a pharmacy and probably for good reason as unless you were established or wealthy receiving a loan for any business venture was very difficult. But over the last couple of years the ability to obtain capital has improved and is feasible for just about anyone who really wants it. With that said we wanted to provide a few tips on what you need to have prepared to improve your chances of gaining the financing you need:

1. Skin in the game- financiers want to see that you are able to put up some cash, whether it is money you saved, money from relatives or even transferring your 401k. Companies providing loans want this for a couple of reasons, to see you’re confident in the business plan, if you have something to lose you are more likely to do what it takes to succeed and lastly they want to limit their risk the lower the cash to debt ratio the better the chance of the financier being paid back.

Marketing your new pharmacy!

We hear it a lot, I have no marketing background or experience where do I even begin. Below we have outlined 5 areas to consider when trying to get the word out about your new business or location. We would like to note however this process can be more effective and simplified by hiring a marketing firm. There are a lot of them out there and tend to be fairly inexpensive. We use one for our pharmacies and partner with one in our consulting business.

1. Public Relations - This is the art of using news media contacts to gain publicity for your venture. Often if you reach out to local TV, newspaper, bloggers, etc you can get them to cover your grand opening or any other event. As stated above using a PR or marketing firm will increase the performance of these efforts.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - Determining the perfect location for your community pharmacy!

Location is one of the most important factors to the success of a retail pharmacy. It is so important, it at times, can be the sole factor in the success or failure of a retail pharmacy. But how does one know if a particular location is going to breed a sustainable retail business? The answer is, it’s impossible to know for sure if a location is going to thrive, but there are ways to limit the risk of a pharmacy failing due to a poor location

Other Pharmacies – What other pharmacies are within your service area? Having a couple of high volume pharmacies close to your location can actually be a good thing. With very high volume pharmacies there have to be dissatisfied customers which means you have a built in customer base. A lack of pharmacy can be good also as it shows a need but also be cautious and try to find out why there is not a pharmacy there already.

Medical Offices – Look to see how many medical offices are within your service area. Visit these offices ask them if they perceive a need for more personalized care from a community pharmacy.