Excerpt from Brian Keen's "Guide To Buying A Pharmacy"
Creating Your Personal Business Plan
The objective of Your Personal Business Plan is to create both a strategic where you want to go and a planning how to get there - when viewed together the ten key areas we've drafted below reflect all the relevant information you have collated and the conclusions you've drawn in the process of studying Guide To Buying A Pharmacy...
Prepared with an adequate level of care, it will be an invaluable document that you can provide to your team of advisers and use to support finance applications, etc (note 1).
Your Personal Business Plan is a 'living document' and, as you progress through the acquisition process, its value will grow if you update it to reflect the specific pharmacy you are buying and then, once in the business, regularly review it as a test-and-measure tool to illustrate just how your strategies are working.
1. PERSONAL BACKGROUND
Professional history
Business and Management experience
Skills developed
Challenges faced
Successes achieved
2. BUSINESS STRUCTURE CHOSEN
Sole trader/Partnership/Company/Trust
3. MY PROPOSED BUSINESS PARTNERS or KEY TEAM MEMBERS
Their 'Personal Background' as 1. above
My team of mentors or advisors I have access to
4. MISSION STATEMENT
What is my personal mission?
5. GOALS, STRATEGIES AND TACTICS IN SOURCING THE PHARMACY
Describe the type of pharmacy I wish to buy - cost; size; position; demographic, etc.
Where am I going to source the acquisition?
How am I going to find the pharmacy I want?
How am I going to achieve my objectives?
What are the challenges I face? - my personal Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats?
What will need to be done?
When does it need to be done by?
What is my timeframe?
How much time do I need to allocate be successful?
What resources will be required?
Other
6. GOALS, STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR THE PHARMACY I BUY
Customer Service or high profile Front-Of-Shop retail model?
Expansion?
Re-development?
Re-location?
Shopfitting and/or branding?
Group membership or independent?
Profile of Team Members
Training Programs
Community Relationships and Service
What is my 'Management and Succession Plan' - How many hours do I intend to work 'in the pharmacy' as opposed to 'on the pharmacy'? Do I want to run it under management? And if so, when? Do I want to introduce a partner; Do I want to own multiple stores? If so, how do achieve this and when; or, Do I want to Buy, Build and Sell?
Other
7. MARKETING
Summarise my marketing program, campaigns, etc
Outline what I will be doing - quoting successful examples where possible
Frequencies
Costs
8. KEY STRATEGIES
How am I going to achieve my objectives?
What will need to be done?
When does it need to be done by?
Who will do it?
What resources will be required?
Other
9. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Names; Estimated Sales; Estimated Gross Profit percentage
What are their Strengths and Weaknesses - retail policies, quality of staffing, management, etc?
Summarise the Opportunities that my competitors offer me
What are the likely Threats they present to my plans
10. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI's)
Monthly Indicators - Current and targeted: Customer count; Prescription numbers; Dispensary %; OTC sales %; Ethical sales revenue $; OTC sales revenue $; Total turnover $; Gross profit $; Gross profit %
Note 1: One closing piece of advice with regard to your Personal Business Plan, protect it as though your life depends on it - it contains a significant volume of confidential information, information that is not meant for public circulation: in the hands of your competitors, this could sabotage your plans. (By competitor, I mean any pharmacist who could potentially either i) have an interest in buying a pharmacy you might look at, or ii) be an owner in that area). Don't think for a moment that your old uni buddy wouldn't ever, even unwittingly, share your plans with a drinking pal - who then rushes out and beats you to the draw! It happens...
Next time - Considering the many types of pharmacy mode to choose from10.10.07
