Are you considering launching an infusion pharmacy? Maybe you are, but you are wondering if you have the information you need to get started and succeed. Vital Care began its first infusion pharmacy in the 1980s and has launched dozens of infusion pharmacy franchises. We have seen the ups and downs of starting an infusion pharmacy. Here’s our advice for getting started.
#1 Begin with the end in mind.
Do you want to work in your infusion pharmacy or would you prefer to work on the business itself? Write down your vision for where you see yourself and your infusion pharmacy in three, five, and ten years.
Don’t want to work on the business? Just make sure you have a plan to hire someone (or several people) who will work on the business, or your business won’t have anyone at the helm. Would you prefer running the business and not worry about the day-to-day operational tasks? Make sure you have a trusted process for hiring the right employees and know how best to retain them.
#2 It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
It’s cliche, but that doesn’t make it less true. Knowing the technical part of starting an infusion pharmacy is one thing, but knowing the people that can help you succeed is another. There are vendors and insurance networks, and others in the infusion services industry, that are important to form relationships with as a new infusion pharmacy owner.
We can’t quantify the value of nurturing positive relationships with other businesses and people in the infusion services industry. Vital Care franchise partners get to enjoy the 30-plus years of hard work building positive relationships in this industry. That’s priceless.
#3 Two are better than one.
If you’ve spent any time reading the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, then you know entrepreneurs are bad at hiring help. They get bogged down in the details. We don’t make a plan for how to hire help before we are too busy to even ask for it.
Don’t be like that. Before you even start your business, plan on who you need to hire to help replace yourself (even if it’s not full-time). Things happen in life, and you need to be able to replace yourself in your business if necessary.
This is one reason Vital Care franchise partners enjoy being a Vital Care infusion pharmacy. We offer billing support, financial reporting software, and so many support services to ease the burden on Vital Care infusion pharmacy franchise owners. Two is better than one… but our Vital Care staff of 100+ is even better.
#4 Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Ask for advice from other infusion pharmacy owners in other areas. See what systems and processes they have in place to make their business run efficiently. Get to know them and see where they would do things differently if they had to start all over. It takes time to seek out advice but it pays back in dividends of time saved and pitfalls avoided.
Our Vital Care franchise owners have the experience of 30 years of infusion pharmacy operations behind them. They are part of a network of more than 60 Vital Care infusion pharmacy owners. That’s a level of support and wisdom you cannot buy. It takes years to build that kind of network.
#5 You can do this.
The hardest part of starting an infusion pharmacy (or any business) might be just that—starting. Don’t let the fear of the unknown or failure keep you from pursuing your plan of starting an infusion pharmacy.
Ask our Vital Care franchise owners and they’ll tell you they wish they’d started sooner. That’s time you just cannot get back.
If you’re still on the fence, keep researching and attend our Vital Starts workshop to get a behind the scenes view from our Vital Care franchise owners. If you can’t make the workshop, then reach out to our Vital Starts team and schedule a call. It may be just the push you need to finally take the leap and start your Vital Care infusion pharmacy.
