PHARMACIST STEVE

Thursday night about 23:00 I got a call from a dear friend of ours.. it would appear that at about 13:30 Thursday.. her husband had suffered a major stroke/clot in the left front lobe.. dropped in the lobby of the local post office and now was in  the hospital on a vent and being kept in a medical induced coma… Also a nasal swab showed him positive for MRSA.. so now he is in isolation… His prognosis is not really good..

During my “first retirement” .. this same friend literally begged me to come to work for the company that was in her name.. but it was really ran by her husband.. The business provided respiratory products to LTCF and a few other side products.. Her husband was a terrific salesman… had built the business to ~ $200 K a month.. but he was trying to do all that billing on three separate computers.. three separate databases… and had one $40 ink jet printer that served as the only printer and inbound fax machine..

My task was to drag the company into the 21st century.. in regards to computerization and automation.. I worked as “operation manager” for about 18 months.. I only reported to her husband and as long as I didn’t spend too much money… which I often did on equipment … he really didn’t care what I did… that was some 10 years ago..

Back to Thursday night… and the phone call.. this dear friend.. her major connection with the business was spending the profits that it generated..  Before we got off the phone call.. the question was posed… could you come back and run the company? I had opened , ran – for 20 +yrs….and built my own pharmacy and HME and serviced LTCF as a pharmacy and have been temping in LTCP for the past 5 years.. It wasn’t as if I was a novice at running such a business…

What do you tell a dear friend of nearly 20 yrs.. under these circumstances???  OF COURSE I WILL TAKE OVER AND RUN THE COMPANY… This couple is in their early 70’s and she has been pushing him for the last 5+ yrs to sell the business.. IMO.. he is  lousy when it comes to accounting.. and that may have been intentional.. because without good financials.. he was never going to get either a interested buyer and/or a decent price.. so he kept working.. which is what he really wanted to do.. because he was afraid .. in selling the business and retiring.. he would find himself without anything to do… and that was a devastating idea to him….

So we have a staff meeting tomorrow morning.. this operation has some 50 +/- employees.. and apparently there has nothing been done towards getting the company ready for Obamacare .. that starts in six months and 2013 is the “basis” to determine how many employees the company has and what the company has to do/pay next year… I have been trying to read up on this this weekend… and come to the conclusion that I need a CPA or consultant.. which the company has neither 🙁

I sold my store in 1996 and haven’t been in a management position since then.. trying to reorganize my thoughts and get my mental ducks in a row.. because I am going to hit the ground running tomorrow.. And this guy is a minimalist when it comes to technology and kept a lot of things “in his head”. Outwardly… he gives people the impression  that he is disorganized.. but.. I think that that was a facade and he was sly like a fox.. I just have to find where the fox has hidden all the chickens…

Basically, my charge is to get everything is shape… especially the financials.. so that she can have 12 months of excellent documented financials… so that she can get a fair price for the company if/when she elects to sell the business. So guess what I will be doing for the next 18-24 months?

Retirement and a life of leisure – like Jim Plagakis is now living in Florida- keeps being illusive …

Filed under: General Problems