No matter if you have worked at a pharmacy for 10 years or have never worked there a day, the transition from one owner to another is hard. It is also very important to the success of the business to the new owner.
Many new owners we work with are entrepreneurial, as such have great ideas and they are excited. They want to make changes to improve the business, put new energy into the brand and the employees. All of this is important and should be done but the most important transition strategy is something we call not fumbling the football.
What is this concept? The idea is that in many cases you as the buyer have purchased a business that has operated profitably for many many years, so let it keep doing that at first. Spend a month observing, getting to know the customers that make the pharmacy profitable, get to know and understand the strengths/weaknesses of the staff. This will allow you to really grasp what the business does well and what it does not. Then once acclimated to the business you can focus on the improvement that makes the largest impact to the business!
Seems simple but it is hard to do, so good luck!
