Entrepreneur Background  41 years of age  Has lived here for 30 years  Was a fairly average student  Has a Bachelor of Business Administration, Science, and Pharmacy  He was 20 when he first opened up his business

Entrepreneur Background  His parents used to own his business  Has a sister and brother who own a business  Used to work in his business with his father  Doesn’t have another job besides owning Central Pharmacy  Also owns Lynken Estates

About Work  Works at his business all the time  Works as a manager, does shifts in the pharmacy and in the lab  Does research during the day  Says that keeping the business up to date is a full time job

Business Background  Has been open now for 30 years  Primarily located on Union Street  Offers specialized, conventional,and retail pharmacy  Sells cosmetics, magazines, food, etc  Does consultations  Employs 27 people

Startup  Didn’t have a business idea  Mr. Dicks bought his business from his father  Bought it because he loved pharmacy and looked forward to the challenges and creativity involved  It was not a spontaneous decision  Mr. Dicks didn’t make a business plan  Used most of his own funds to buy the business

Challenges/Setbacks  When starting up there are:  Staffing pressures  Competitive issues  Technological issues  Tough times  A lot of stress is put on you from your business  Have to be willing to put a lot into your business to keep it going  Example: Doctor’s strike

Challenges/Setbacks (cont)  When faced with a new competitor you should:  Behave respectfully toward the business  Keep the same goals  Don’t keep lowering prices  It’s not all about the prices. Sometimes if you deliver, are closer or are open later, the customer would be willing to pay extra.

Accomplishments  Is glad that his business has been open and maintained for so long  Won provincial and national awards  Feels that he has met the challenge of opening a business  Because of this, he has achieved self satisfaction and self confidence

Successful Business According to Mr. Dicks, a successful business is:  One that has a significant offering of products and services  Makes a difference to people  Satisfies a need  Expands and looks for more profits  Offers quality services, as well as fair prices  Offers “extra” services such as delivering, being open later, etc.

Medical Lollipops  Mr. Dicks is involved with the Professional Compounding Centers of America  He makes medicated lollipops to improve children’s medication compliance  Has made lollipops containing sore mouth and sore throat medications  In the future he is working on a lollipop containing gravol  He uses all non prescription drugs in the lollipops

Future Plans  There is going to be tough times; challenges  There’ll be lots of opportunities  There’ll be more well ness clinics  Diabetes, Cholesterol clinics  More consultations  He doesn’t plan on keeping the business in the family when he retires

Advice  Have good vision  Be able to think strategically  Be dedicated  Love what you are doing  Have good foresight  Be realistic and know that there is a hard road ahead  Stick to your core principles  Be cognizant of staff  Be respectful of other businesses

Advice (cont)  Have to have longevity  Can’t be naïve  Have to have many skills  Be able to recognize your weaknesses and find people to fill them  Be able to address all things  In the end it’s all one big package and that package has to be complete and the customer has to be satisfied

Our comments  Re-starting the business  Burger story  Our opinions/observations on the interview process  Central Pharmacy Web page Web page