Plan B - Open a pharmacy

[SueEllen]

If I were you - I'd look at the area where you are, Number of Doctors Surgeries you would be serving/catchement area etc.

Like I said - not wanting to rain on your idea - and with your other half already a Pharmacist - better placed than most to find out the info/viability etc.

Maybe partnerships with GP's in your area would be something to look at - (repeat prescriptions sent to your shop perhaps ....)

Virtually every doctors surgery I've been to has a pharmacy within 5 minutes walk whether it's a chain such as Lloyds, Boots or an independent. And if they haven't there is normally a good reason for it i.e. lack of retail space due to the surgery being in completely residential area, everyone in the area preferring to use the local branch of the chain pharmacy or the supermarket.

[MarillionFan]

You can't just 'open' a pharmacy.

You need to apply for a license. The license can be used to cover a specific area for prescriptions. These are designed to ensure that there is coverage within a specific area. The for example a dispensary at a local surgery cannot provide/fulfill prescriptions for patients within specific areas that are covered by a pharmacy.

Then of course, once you have the license for a given area/population, then you need professionally trained staff etc etc.

I only know this from a discussion with the local pharmacy that opened a few months ago with the chap who had been a consultant opening and obtaining licenses for pharmacists(he deciced to do it himself. Now my local surgery will not dispense to us because of his license). It seems to work on a population/pharmacy ratio.

From someone else I know(who's brother in law owns a number of pharmacies) he reckons they are incredibly profitable at 80/90% and his BIL makes a bloody fortune. Personally having run different shops on the high street I'm not convinced.

Have you ever thought of Thai Tat?

[BrilloPad]

Try buying Kamagra online - they cost a pound each. You can sell them round the clubs for £10/£20 a go.

Of course you have to tolerate going into a club....

[MarillionFan]

Try buying Kamagra online - they cost a pound each. You can sell them round the clubs for £10/£20 a go.

Of course you have to tolerate going into a club....

Pssssst. Over here mate. Want to buy some pills.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Will let you all know how it goes....

[Sockpuppet]

I just can't think of a good plan B which is feasible.

Surely if your OH and your family friends who are qualified pharmacists open a pharmacy then it's up to them? FWIW unless you're a qualified pharmacist you're going to struggle to make money while others do the work as you'll need at least 3 x Pharmacists (working 50 hours) to cover 100 hours of opening.

What does a good pharmacist charge? £50k a year minimum. That's best part of £200k in my book total cost to employ. What is the profit margin pharmacists make?

Even if you cream in 20% you're looking at £1mln in sales before you've paid for the staff.

My advice is that unless your OH has very very very good experience in the management of a pharmacy (not just dishing out pills) then avoid. If you don't know it will work and can produce the numbers to prove it I'd guess you don't know enough about it.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Surely if your OH and your family friends who are qualified pharmacists open a pharmacy then it's up to them? FWIW unless you're a qualified pharmacist you're going to struggle to make money while others do the work as you'll need at least 3 x Pharmacists (working 50 hours) to cover 100 hours of opening.

What does a good pharmacist charge? £50k a year minimum. That's best part of £200k in my book total cost to employ. What is the profit margin pharmacists make?

Even if you cream in 20% you're looking at £1mln in sales before you've paid for the staff.

My advice is that unless your OH has very very very good experience in the management of a pharmacy (not just dishing out pills) then avoid. If you don't know it will work and can produce the numbers to prove it I'd guess you don't know enough about it.

also looking at other options e.g. buying an existing business with normal hours.....

[northernladuk]

also looking at other options e.g. buying an existing business with normal hours.....

Good luck with that. Daltons is saying they are around £800K a pop

[MarillionFan]

also looking at other options e.g. buying an existing business with normal hours.....

All I will add is:-

Do your research and ensure you are confident in your own business model. You can use CUK for sounding out ideas but 99/100 posters on here think they're Dragons Den entrepreneurs when in truth it's only 1/100 who actually bother to put their money where their mouth is and open a real business. All the rest don't have the bottle and they remain IT contractors because they can't even hack getting into management let alone going it alone in true business.

Let Excel be your friend, and if that stacks up, go for it, it's only ever money you risk and it's better to be a 'had a go and failed' than a backseat 'I told you so'.

(Succeeding is even better though)

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

All I will add is:-

Do your research and ensure you are confident in your own business model. You can use CUK for sounding out ideas but 99/100 posters on here think they're Dragons Den entrepreneurs when in truth it's only 1/100 who actually bother to put their money where their mouth is and open a real business. All the rest don't have the bottle and they remain IT contractors because they can't even hack getting into management let alone going it alone in true business.

Let Excel be your friend, and if that stacks up, go for it, it's only ever money you risk and it's better to be a 'had a go and failed' than a backseat 'I told you so'.

(Succeeding is even better though)

Yep can't disagree with that. It's not easy to be an entrepreneur but contracting has definitely pushed me in the right direction towards the possibility of being one....