Four pharmacist entrepreneurs share their journeys from pharmacy to thriving businesses, offering tips, actionable advice and inspiration. This episode is brought to you by APhA.
Episode Summary
In this engaging panel discussion, four pharmacist entrepreneurs—Brooke Griffin, Jimmy Pruitt III, Kelley Carlstrom, and Natalie Park—share their unique paths from pharmacy to thriving businesses. Discover how they built their ventures, made strategic decisions, and overcame challenges along the way. Gain practical insights into audience building, pricing strategies, navigating sales, and balancing personal and professional growth.
Whether you’re dreaming up a new idea or ready to expand your business, this episode is packed with actionable advice and inspiration to help you take the next step in your entrepreneurial journey.
About Today’s Guests
Kelley Carlstrom is the CEO and founder of KelleyCPharmD, an education company that fills the considerable gap in clinical oncology training. She is passionate about democratizing oncology pharmacy education and increasing accessibility and inclusion through her unique L.E.A.R.N Oncology Method.
Brooke Griffin is a pharmacist, professor, keynote speaker, and professional coach. She offers group and 1:1 coaching for pharmacists who are feeling stuck and want clarity on their next steps. She hosts a motivational 5-minute podcast, Today’s Bold Idea, and is on this self-discovery journey alongside all of you. She believes everyone deserves a coach!
Dr. Natalie Park is a co-founder and CEO of Pharmesol, an AI pharmacy assistant that automates inbound/outbound calls, messages, and associated workflows such as documentation to save the pharmacy teams time, streamlines operations, and gives 24/7 concierge-like experience for their customers. She is a pharmacist with a passion for leveraging technology and innovation in the pharmacy industry.
Jimmy Pruitt III, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, BCEMP, a pharmacist and entrepreneur, earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Presbyterian College and completed residencies at Florida Hospital Orlando and Grady Health System. He founded EMPowerRX Conference and Pharmacy & Acute Care University (PACU) to innovate healthcare education and inspire pharmacists to pursue entrepreneurship. In 2021, he received the Excellence in Diversity award and was named Alumni of the Year at Presbyterian College. Dr. Pruitt is also an Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Atrium Health and hosts the “Pharm So Hard” podcast, aiming to educate and elevate the pharmacy profession.
Key Points from the Episode
- [00:00] Introduction and Speaker Backgrounds
- [00:51] Brooke Griffin’s Journey and Business
- [01:30] Jimmy Pruitt’s Career and Ventures
- [01:59] Kelley Carlstrom’s Oncology Path
- [02:48] Natalie Park and Pharmesol’s Mission
- [03:28] Monetizing Expertise and Career Transitions
- [04:27] Balancing Full-Time Work and Entrepreneurship
- [08:24] Taking the Leap: Full-Time Entrepreneurship
- [13:40] Starting a Business: From Idea to Action
- [23:24] Building an Audience and Validating the Market
- [26:31] Choosing the Right Platform for Your Audience
- [27:28] Building Value and Consistency in Content
- [28:20] Converting Social Following to Owned Traffic
- [30:25] The Journey of Starting a Podcast
- [32:13] Overcoming Pricing Challenges
- [39:15] Sales Strategies and Processes
- [45:12] Learning and Growing as an Entrepreneur
- [49:50] Personal Growth Through Entrepreneurship
Episode Highlights
“ I actually got laid off. So that was the impetus of pushing me out of the nest, if you will. And I remember the day I got laid off, I called a coach I was working with at the time and her immediate response was, “Congratulations!” -Kelley Carlstrom, PharmD
”You have to just start and take the first step. It’s going to be messy. You’re going to fall down periodically. You’re going to learn from that.” -Tim Ulbrich, PharmD
“ Being myself is the boldest thing I could ever do. I’m the greatest project I could work on, and I don’t ever want to be done.” -Brooke Griffin, PharmD
“ Entrepreneurship has taught me the most about myself and has exposed every limitation I wasn’t aware of that I had.” -Tim Ulbrich, PharmD
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode
- Start by Jon Acuff
- Brooke Griffin on LinkedIn
- Kelley Carlstrom on LinkedIn
- Natalie Park on LinkedIn
- Jimmy Pruitt III on LinkedIn
- YFP Disclaimer
- Subscribe to the YFP Newsletter
- Tim Ulbrich on LinkedIn
- YFP on Instagram
- YFP Facebook Group
Episode Transcript
The transcript will be included following the release the episode.
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