Lara Laundon: counter measures
Choosing a career was no hassle for Lara Laundon. It had to be pharmacy and she knew exactly what kind of pharmacist she wanted to be.
"The Olde Pharmacy is based on an idea I had when I was about 12 years old. I wanted to own an old-fashioned Victorian pharmacy that provided customers with all their needs."
Childhood dreams rarely come true, mainly because, as adults, we lose sight of them. But Lara Laundon worked with single-minded determination to turn her dream into reality. "I always wanted to be a pharmacist because it's a dynamic profession and I could be my own boss," she explained.
On graduating in 1993 with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy, Lara joined Boots the Chemists for her pre-registration year. She stayed on with the company as a Pharmacy Manager, gaining a range of valuable experience. "Boots was an excellent company to work for because it taught me about having standards, that I still adhere to. It made me realise that you always have to be professional and that procedures and organisation are paramount to a business being run well."
"Working for a large company also opened my eyes to how important merchandising is - something many independent pharmacies don’t take on board. The advantage of launching my career with Boots was that I learnt so much! I worked in many different areas of London, went on some fantastic training courses, and learnt a lot about areas such as management skills and leadership. And there were always so many other pharmacists to talk to - you never felt isolated."
After four years with Boots Lara felt ready to go solo and set about securing finance and finding premises for The Olde Pharmacy.
"The location was really important so it took a long time to find the right shop. Once I'd found it (in the London borough of Wandsworth) I had to study the local demographics and find out whether I could improve the existing business."
"The key to setting up the business was the business plan. This had to be sound for the loan to be guaranteed. Finance need not be a major hurdle as long as you can prove that the business will work. When I opened the pharmacy I was in an equal partnership with a fellow Brighton pharmacist, but she eventually returned to hospital pharmacy, so now I am on my own."
Lara always knew she wanted to take a holistic approach to the business, offering her customers alternatives to conventional treatment. So The Olde Pharmacy supplies a range of homeopathic/herbal medicines and has a consulting room where, on different days of the week, Lara's clients can visit a chiropodist, homeopath, osteopath, reflexologist, acupuncturist or aromatherapist.
I like the fact that patients can see these alternative practitioners - pharmacies are well placed to offer these services. And this holistic approach makes The Olde Pharmacy different.
As the sole pharmacist Lara spends much of her working day dispensing prescriptions, dealing with customers' queries and offering advice, ordering drugs, and liaising with local GPs.
"We also run a Department of Health-approved Medicine Management Review scheme. For this, I carry out a comprehensive assessment of a patient's medication and make sure they know why and how to take it. I also see clients who need advice on giving up smoking."
But a neighbourhood pharmacy is about more than medicines and prescriptions so Lara also has to think about merchandising and shopfloor promotions. Since the pharmacy is a business she also has to deal with stock control, deliveries, accounts, and staff management.
Lara loves her life but it is both physically and mentally demanding. "The main challenge is keeping to your original vision. Get too bogged down with the day-to-day running of the business and you forget the big picture. You need to keep re-assessing and making sure everything is on track for the targets you've set."
"The major reward is the sense of achievement that your idea is working well. Positive customer feedback about the shop or the stock is always nice too!"
"My advice to anyone thinking about a pharmacy career is to go for it! It's a rewarding, challenging career and you'll never be bored. If you're willing to be flexible and adapt to the changes that are bound to occur, all will be well. If you want to set up your own business, do your background work and open in a good location. Think how you can distinguish your business from others - try to be unique in some way. Set yourself realistic targets and work towards them. You need to be ambitious, flexible, strong, hardworking, determined, versatile and innovative."
Lara recently opened a second shop and aims eventually to have ten. She has kept faith with her childhood dream and made her shops a real part of the communities they serve - old-fashioned pharmacies providing customers with all their needs, just as the 12-year-old Lara envisaged.
