A day in the life of a radical pharmacy owner

May was a tough month in the pharmacy. We are still on track with our business plan, but the cost of drugs is much higher than we planned. When I put together my estimates, I used a drug cost of 75% of my projected sales. This is a common method, but it is not realistic. Most drugs that we purchase come in 100 count bottles. So if someone brings in a prescription for 30 Prevacid, I buy a 100 count bottle for $425.11. My monthly estimate only accounted for a cost of $127.53, but I spent $425.11. I have to buy the drugs so we have had to reduce our payroll.

We let D go a couple of weeks ago. It was awful. I was unable let her go so JP did it. I want to be a great employer. I want to be fair and consistent. I want people to enjoy working here. I am starting out poorly. I feel like it was unfair of me to hire another employee when I still can't pay myself. It was not fair to her, but more importantly it was not fair to my family. I know that I should have been the one to let her go, but I could not.

I have decided to cash out my 401k that I set up 8 years ago. I have only been putting back $50 a month so it is not a lot of money. It is enough to get us through the summer without paying me a salary. It fills me with anxiety because I know how important it is to save for retirement. I told J that when we do start to have some money that we had to put the maximum that we can into a new Roth.

I still love my job even when things are rough.