We all lie to ourselves at one point or another, but when it comes to your pharmacy business, lying to yourself can be destructive.
These lies usually stem from reactions to certain situations, causing you to make incorrect assumptions or ill-advised business decisions.
In order for your pharmacy to be successful, you can’t let that little voice inside your head get in the way.
Here are five common lies that independent pharmacy owners and managers tell themselves, and how to stop them.
1. “Patients will love this.”
Just because you came up with an idea, doesn’t mean it will appeal to everyone.
Assuming your patients will love something is setting your business up to fail, unless you’ve done your research and can back up your assumption.
For example, you may think your patients would love it if you started a smoking cessation program. But if smoking isn’t prevalent in your community, the program won’t be of interest to the majority of your patients.
Instead of telling yourself that patients will love your idea, examine your pharmacy’s data and ask for patients’ opinions so you can actually prove that they’ll love your idea.
2. “I can change this later.”
If you assume you can just change something later, it probably means it’s already not the best it can be.
For example, if you’re designing your pharmacy’s front-end layout and decide you’ll change it later, odds are it’s not as organized or appealing as it could be.
And, we all know what happens when busy pharmacy owners or managers decide they’ll do something later. It gets put on the back burner, and likely never comes to fruition.
Even if it takes a little extra effort, try to complete tasks to the best of your ability from the beginning, rather than relying on changes you’ll make—or won’t make—later.
3. “I have to do this myself.”
As an independent community pharmacy owner or manager, you’re proud of your business, and you probably think you can handle anything and everything.
But telling yourself you’re the only one who can complete the never-ending list of tasks on your plate is a lie that will cause you to burn out.
Learn to let go and delegate tasks to your employees. You’ll have more time to dedicate to your most important responsibilities, and maintain better control of your business.
4. “I don’t have time for that.”
Many small business owners get wrapped up in their busy lives as entrepreneurs, and forget the importance of maintaining a work-life balance.
But to relieve stress and avoid job burnout, taking time for yourself, family and friends is extremely important. Plus, missing out on time with the ones you love can leave you regretful down the road.
Rather than telling yourself you don’t have time, tell yourself to make time. Create a reasonable schedule that allows you to complete your important tasks and gives you time to focus on your personal life.
5. “This won’t work.”
Nobody likes a pessimist. And, pessimists don’t make great business owners.
When you tell yourself something won’t work, it’s often because you’re not open to new ideas. Or, perhaps you tried something similar before and it didn’t work out for you.
For example, maybe your employee suggests offering health screenings for patients in your pharmacy, but you write it off because you’ve tried before and failed.
If you try a new approach, such as promoting blood glucose screenings during American Diabetes Month, you may be more successful.
Don’t tell yourself that it won’t work. Instead, keep an open mind and focus on finding a way to make it work.
Check out these 10 habits of successful pharmacy owners.
