You probably read a lot about if you should even have a business plan or not. We think you should but not like those taught in academia. We have a plan for our businesses every year, they help us have a goal, understand how we are going to execute on that goal and what we need to reach the goal. So if you are starting or buying a pharmacy you should probably have a plan and here are our thoughts on what should be included:
1. Goals: what are your 1, 2 and/or 5 year goals?
2. New Customers: How are you going to gain new customers? In a pharmacy you always have to be gaining new customers as people move and pass away and at a minimum you have to replace them.
3. Customer Retention: How are you going to retain customers? You can spend all this time gaining new customers but if you lose too many all that effort goes to waste.
4. Products & Services: What products & services are you going to provide?
5. Personnel: How many people do you need to operate your business and execute on numbers 1, 2, & 3 above?
6. Tools, Technology & Equipment: What other tools, technology, and equipment do you need to reach our goals and execute your plan?
7. Operations: how are you and your team going to deliver on the above? What process are good and which if improved will make the largest impact on your goals.
