YFP 359: Pharmacy Innovators with Jamie Wilkey, PharmD

Dr. Jamie Wilkey shares her entrepreneurial journey of building and selling a business on this episode of the Pharmacy Innovators series hosted by Corrie Sanders.

This episode is brought to you by YFP+.

Episode Summary

In our YFP Podcast Pharmacy Innovators with Corrie Sanders series, Dr. Jamie Wilkey joins Corrie to discuss her entrepreneurship journey, emphasizing the importance of thinking big, pushing boundaries, and utilizing education to achieve success. Dr. Wilkey shares her journey of transitioning from a community pharmacist role to building a successful pharmacogenomics practice, highlighting the importance of validating ideas, leveraging scrappy methods, and empowerment through helping others. Dr. Wilkey also shares her experience with selling a pharmacy business and valuable insights on their professional journey, emphasizing the importance of adapting to the changing landscape of the pharmacy industry and embracing digital business ownership.

About Today’s Guest

Dr. Jamie Wilkey is a PharmD who loves what she does and brings passion and happiness to the pharmacy profession.

Jamie has had a varied career from working retail pharmacy, to owning, scaling and selling her own company, and to working as a consultant for top universities and companies. Jamie is optimistic about the future of pharmacy and knows great things are in store for those pharmacists who are willing to push boundaries, to think big, and to use the full extent of their education. 

You can find her happily living debt-free with her 4 boys being outside as much as humanly possible and enjoying Utah’s National Parks. Or reading. A lot.

Key Points from the Episode

• Pharmacy career paths with Dr. Jamie Wilkie. [0:00]
• Building a pharmacogenomics business as a side hustle while working full-time as a pharmacist. [2:27]
• Entrepreneurship, pharmacogenomics, and career transition. [9:11]
• Transitioning from pharmacist to content creator, with insights on building a business with vulnerability and transparency. [16:19]
• Selling a business after two years of growth and scaling. [21:34]
• Selling a pharmacy business, including the importance of mentors, due diligence, and a clean break. [26:32]
• Adapting pharmacy businesses for success in today’s world. [31:40]
• Embracing growth and personal development as an entrepreneur. [36:18]
• Various income streams, including coaching, teaching, and pharmacy work. [39:40]
• Entrepreneurship and pharmacy practice with a focus on finding joy and success in the field. [42:39]

Episode Highlights

“And so it was really cool seeing that, like it’s not the smartest person or the most qualified person who can build their own thing.” – Jamie Wilkey [3:47]

“Saving gives you such a buffer. And I really think it’s kind of a secret sauce for succeeding in entrepreneurship. When you don’t need your business to turn a profit the next day and aren’t white knuckling it saying, I have to have a paycheck by the end of this week. It becomes more fun and a creative pursuit like a hobby that I’m going to figure out. But I’m also going to get paid too. And it’s so different and so fun.” – Jamie Wilkey [16:57]

“In a way being vulnerable and saying like, I hate retail, I gotta get out. And I’m passionate about precision medicine so I’m doing this one way or another, makes it easier to jump on board because people can see themselves in you when you’re first starting.” – Jamie Wilkey [18:57]

“Just start, just do the thing. Put yourself out there, start solving a problem in the world and don’t overthink it. Put your energy into action.” -Jamie Wilkey [31:42]

“I feel like it’s riskier just to stay in your job with no other revenue options than to build something on the side a few hours a week and think in terms of years and decades rather than needing a quick buck tomorrow.” – Jamie Wilkey [33:29]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode

• Jamie Wilkey, Linkedin
• Jamie Wilkey, Instagram
• YFP+
• Corrie Sanders, Huna Health on Instagram
• Subscribe to the YFP Newsletter
• YFP Planning
• Tim Ulbrich on LinkedIn
• YFP on Instagram
• YFP Facebook Group
• Your Financial Pharmacist
• YFP Disclaimer

Episode Transcript

Corrie Sanders 00:00

Hi YFP Community. Corrie Sanders here host of the Pharmacy Innovators segment of the YFP Podcast. Pharmacy Innovators is designed for pharmacist navigating the entrepreneurial journey. In this series we feature stories and strategies to help guide current and aspiring pharmacy entrepreneurs. Today we have Dr. Jamie Wilkey, a PharmD who loves what she does and brings passion and happiness to the pharmacy profession. Jamie has had a varied career from working in retail pharmacy to owning, scaling and selling her own company. She also works as a consultant for top universities. Jamie is optimistic about the future of pharmacy and knows great things are ahead. For those pharmacists who are willing to push boundaries, think big and use the full extent of their education. Today, you can find her happily living debt free with her four boys and being outside as much as humanly possible while enjoying Utah’s National Parks. I’m excited to share so many points of growth from Jamie’s optimistic perspective and hope you will find this episode to be inspiring from not only the lens of pharmacy, but how Jamie’s attitude and perseverance has served her work life balance. Please welcome to the podcast, Dr. Jamie Wilkey. Jamie, welcome to the podcast. We’re excited to have you here.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  01:10

Thank you, Corrie! This is gonna be so fun!

Corrie Sanders 01:13

And I know that you’ve done a lot of podcasts in the past, you have a very public content platform. So we won’t go too deep into your background. But for those that don’t know you, why don’t you just start with briefly describing your path in pharmacy with school and training and any additional certificates you might have.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  01:29

Sure, Cory, so I grew up in Wyoming. So I went to University of Wyoming pharmacy school, which was one of the best decisions I ever made, graduated as a 24 year old and I started making a six figure salary. And I was like over the moon like, this is why I went to pharmacy school. So I could be a girl with a doctorate degree earning like $130,000 a year and not have a career ladder. I could just do that and go part time when I had kids. And so that’s what I did. I worked full time for a few years. And then I ultimately had four little boys. Two years apart, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And it really helped to have a pharmacy job where I could just go part time during all those years of having babies and toddlers. And so I worked part time for many years at Walgreens. Ultimately, after 10 years, I had still been at Walgreens and I felt like, Oh man, this job that I thought was like so perfect. And it really did serve me well for a decade. Ah, there’s no career ladder, there’s no growth. I’m like on the hamster wheel doing the same thing. And I’ll probably keep doing it for another 30 years unless I change something. And so Corrie, really the thing that changed my whole career was just getting on LinkedIn. Until then I didn’t even have a LinkedIn account. In the summer of 2020, I created an account to look for a new job. And once I saw other pharmacists on there, like doing their own thing, not just working retail, hospital, or as an MSL, it felt like I was coming out of a dark cave into like the light of potential. And it was just so exciting to me to see that like, oh, I don’t have to rely on getting a new job or getting more certifications to build a dream life like, these other people are doing it themselves. I’m gonna jump in the race, I can do it too. I have no idea what I’m doing. But clearly, like your future is determined by you. And I want to just try my hand at it. So I just got on LinkedIn and started writing on there everyday kind of documenting, like, what the heck I’m doing like, here I am this retail girl, I have no residency, no fellowship, no certifications, I’ve literally just been clocking into a job for a decade, and only doing CEs required to keep my license like, I loved my job. But I was not overly engaged in being a pharmacist. And so it was really cool seeing that, like it’s not the smartest person or the most qualified person who can build their own thing. It’s just the person who thinks they can. And so also I saw the pattern very quickly that like the people who have an audience who are teaching other people who are like monetizing their knowledge in some way, are very consistent at writing online, was like, well, that’s free. I don’t know what I’m doing. But I’m like, such a nerd for habits. Like I will set a habit every single day to write online every day. So that’s what I did. And it ultimately turned into me turning into an entrepreneur, and starting my own business because I writing not only on LinkedIn, but I was like on Instagram, the only social media account I had and learning about pharmacogenomics. I started like posting to my friends like hey, did you know a genetic test, like change prescribing for the rest of your life? I think this is so cool, but I want to try this on someone, does anyone have trouble with like medicine that you want to like let me practice on? And so many of my friends raise their hands and neighbors came out of the woodworks that like oh my gosh, I’m struggling with medicine. Can you help me? That I started buidling a business before I even had a business before I had an LLC or done any of the paperwork. And so it was really cool to like validate ideas out of the gate in a really scrappy way that was totally me to just start earning money and Corrie, I tell you, once you like actually charge for your services as a pharmacist, oh, really lights a fire under you that like, wow, I just earned way more helping one patient on a zoom call, then, like a day in the pharmacy. And so it was really cool and empowering to one, see how working in a new way, like lit a fire in me that I wasn’t just like a robot, checking the boxes that I like, help people in new ways. And two that, like, what it was like to help someone and to get a raving review and like really feel like I helped their life. So once I did that, it felt like, okay, the time is ticking on my retail career. It’s been cool, but I can’t do this forever. And so I just, it was so scrappy, Corrie, like just talking to friends and neighbors reaching out on LinkedIn to prescribers out here in Utah. I built my own consulting practice where I saw patients remotely and in their clinics, and just was like a pharmacogenomic pharmacist. And how did I become that from a Walgreens girl, I got a certificate. I did like the 16 hour CE certificate like yeah, now I’m PGX certified like, it took a week. It was not hard, because we’re drug experts, and we just so undervalue our expertise. And the biggest learning you get is like by actually doing it. And by helping and people don’t care. They just know like, you’re a drug expert. If it takes you a while to figure it out behind the scenes before you meet with me, I don’t care, just help me. And so that was really cool. Okay, that was kind of long. I’ll start I’ll start to speed up now. And so as I’m like helping people, one on one, I’m also building on LinkedIn, and sharing like, all of all of the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. And a number of people started keep repeating, reaching out to me on direct messages, and like, hey, that’s, I love what you’re building. Can you teach me how? And so ultimately, like, guys, I’m still at Walgreens, because you can’t just quit your job overnight, unless you’re completely financially independent. And I’m working in the cracks on my time. And, oh, I have four kids, you know. So I have no time. But I want to teach other pharmacists this. And so one of my friends gave me really good advice. She was like Jamie, just create a little mini online course, that way you can teach people at like, their own speed, it doesn’t take your time, create it once. And just help them that way. And so that was awesome advice. So I just did and Corrie, I tell you what that first course was like, so awkward and bad. I just like got on Zoom and recorded, like 12 different lessons without like a PowerPoint or anything, it was just me talking. But it had the core of what they want it and I sold that to 11 people for $500. Like, here you go, tell me what you liked to tell me what you hated. Tell me what I could have improved. And they were really candid and honest and saying like I loved this. This I could have used more of. Don’t include this. And so what turned out is my scrappy product, then I could polish and redo like rerecord with good visuals and resources, then I could turn around and sell it for $1,000. And so that’s what I started doing in mid 2021. Started selling my online course, just through my LinkedIn posts, not like ads or anything because I still didn’t know how to do ads. Started selling that. And it grew and grew and grew and grew and grew and grew. And ultimately, after two and a half years, I’d earned more than a million dollars in revenue from that little course, which was just wild to me to see how like one digital asset can grow in value and in reach. So ultimately, we helped more than 350 pharmacists understand and build like their own pharmacogenomic practice, and it was really cool. Where do you want me to go with this story?

 

Corrie Sanders 09:11

I’m gonna I’m gonna break it down even further when I say that that was a great bird’s eye view to start with with, you know, where your training was where you spent a lot of your initial pharmacy experience, then ultimately, where you saw a gap and a need in care and how you pivoted to something that could be monetized in a sustainable working way over time. So I want to I’m going to chunk it up just because I want the audience to really learn about your mindset and the steps that you had taken at certain points during that story. Let’s start with your path to entrepreneurship in general. So it sounds like you heard about pharmacogenomics through some kind of source and you’re like, Wow, this is something that’s totally applicable to practice. And while you were still practicing in retail, you started building out a pharmacogenomics consulting company, is that correct? 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  09:57

Correct. Yes. 

Corrie Sanders  09:59

So reaching out to different providers on LinkedIn. And then ultimately, were you working for part time at Walgreens at that point, or and you were able to take on a couple additional days in clinic? How did that transition look like between your retail position and taking on consulting and either a part time or eventually a full time manner?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  10:18

Yeah, so I was at Walgreens mostly full time, it was probably like 30 hours a week. And so in my days off, I would see patients when I was not at Walgreens. And then when I ultimately got into a clinic, and they wanted to have me there, I just gave them my schedule on advanced and said, like, got it most Fridays, I will be here, like, fill it up with my patients on Fridays and just batch it like, I would love to be here every day. But until then just batch it on Friday. And they’re like, great, we’re happy to have you. That’s when you’re available. Patients don’t know. 

Corrie Sanders  10:52

Like you’re not there, Monday through Friday!

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  10:53

Yes, behind the scenes like we’re next available is this Friday or next Friday, when would you like it? And so it made it easier to batch things and to like, validate that this is working and see the revenue coming in. Because although it wasn’t thrilled with my Walgreens job, it still has an awesome paycheck. And it’s still a good job. And so I was not about to like just burn the bridge quit and then hope entrepreneurship works. Because I have no experience. I’ve never done this before. I do not come from an entrepreneurial family. So it’s definitely like figuring it out. But while you’re balancing a job, like a job is such a good resource to give you the safety net, to build something on the side that it felt like other than missing time watching Netflix, there really wasn’t a downside. Because I’m getting experience and learning when people said no or no thanks, like it it taught me something too. It wasn’t like, Well, this has to succeed, or it was a waste of time.

Corrie Sanders 11:46

And then at what point did you make the formal transition? So you’ve got four kids at this point, it’s not like you can walk away from a job without a proof of concept going into this new consulting journey. So at what point did you decide okay, this is it, the model on the side is now something that’s worth taking on full time. What did that breaking point or tipping point look like for you? And when did that happen?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  12:08

Once I crossed about $75,000 in revenue, it took probably eight months. I was like, oh, okay, in eight months, I earned more than I would have earned at Walgreens over that time. So then I the next step wasn’t quitting it was like, okay, just put me on PRN, like, keep me on the books, but I don’t want to be scheduled regularly anymore. So then I would fill in like, a couple times a month like for, that’s back when like COVID clinics were thinking and like, I was still in the system for a long time just to like, keep that as a safety net. And still just keep cash flowing too.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  12:56

Which I think that’s a great way to put it is that this now your full time job has become your side gig. And your side gig has transitioned into your full time job, and any other elaborations on what chapter of life you’re in at the moment. So when we talk to pharmacy entrepreneurs, I mean, there’s a million reasons under the sun, why you shouldn’t be making this transition or taking something on whether it’s student loans or kids or it doesn’t meet your retirement goals or your risk. If you’re risk averse or risk tolerance, whatever risk strategy that you have any other insight into the chapter of your life, besides having four kids you were in at that moment that you think was helpful in making that transition, or that would be useful to know. 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  13:33

So at this point, we have four kids, we’ve had bought our house a number of years ago, right after graduation. And so between and my husband is working, he’s working full time. So there’s dual income, which is really helpful to get a solid financial foundation. So at this point, we had our house and we’re heavily paying it off quickly and had been maxing out our 401ks every year ever since we were like new little workers, and have a really good six to 12 month savings of both of our incomes so that like if neither of us works for the next year, could we pay for life, assuming that like we both lost our job and like, couldn’t get one for a year because I am very risk averse, Corrie. I love like stability, and I love money and I love being able to make decisions from a point of abundance rather than scarcity. And so it did. It took, let’s say this point, it’s like 10 to 13 years into my career. So it was not a new grad. I had my student loans paid off. We had no debt other than our house. And my husband has a good job. He’s an accountant. And so we both are professionals. We’re in a really good place financially because we’re savers too like, we don’t have the super big house and like all the new cars and stuff. So as savers it felt like okay, we’ve been killing ourselves off like saving and working. My next big crazy goal, Corrie, was that like, I want to pay off this house, I just want to be completely debt free before I turned 40. And I kept like crunch every time I’m at work. I’m like crunching the numbers like, Okay, how many more years at Walgreens? How many extra shifts doing overtime? I felt like okay, I could do that in five years. But after I got on LinkedIn, it kind of ruined me seeing that like, but you can also make money other ways. So I just got to try this, like, can I maybe get there faster, or in a more fun way than like physically being at that retail store. While like, I don’t want to leave my kids, especially with COVID. It made it very apparent that like, white collar workers can grab their laptop and go home. Everyone else, like you’re on the frontlines, you’re a hero and like, I don’t want to be a hero. I want to be with my kids and earn money in a new way. Because I’m kind of jealous of all, like Utah. The point of view time in it’s called Silicon slopes, because there’s just like so much tech and software development that it feels like it’s in the air that like work in new ways, do cool things. And here I am, like an antiquated pharmacy job. So it felt like I just got to a point. I just got to try. I don’t have much to lose other than nothing. There’s always a job at big box stores.

Corrie Sanders  16:19

No, and that was really insightful, insightful. I love how you shared how much savings you guys had between you and your husband and the risk strategy that you had taken on. And not only some of your already accomplishments with your debt, but what were your debt goals long term? I think that that’s so important to outline prior to making a career transition, where there’s a lot of risk involved is knowing what the backup plan is, or how much time you have before that backup plan needs to be activated. So it sounds like you and your husband had a lot of healthy conversations prior to that jumping point in which you already had a proof of concept. 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  16:51

We’re both savers and really like yes, since this is the Your Financial Pharmacist Podcast, like truly saving, saving saving gives you such a buffer. And I really think it’s kind of a secret sauce for succeeding in entrepreneurship is that you don’t like need your business to turn a profit the next day, you don’t need and are white knuckling it saying like, I have to have a paycheck by the end of this week. It becomes more fun and like a creative pursuit that’s like, this is a hobby that I’m going to figure out. But I’m also going to get paid from, too and it’s so different and so fun.

Corrie Sanders 17:25

And I’m sure that your clientele and people that you talk with can also tell when you’re coming from a place of abundance versus scarcity, as you said earlier, like having to make that next sale versus making the next sale when it fits into their timeline, not necessarily yours. It’s such a big difference. Yeah. So the next question I want to talk about is when you made the transition, so we talked about how you started transitioning into content creation, creation for pharmacogenomics for other pharmacists. When did that happen? You were consulting for how long? And then when did you notice on LinkedIn? Okay, this is something that other pharmacists are looking for. And I’m gonna start now doing this on the side, in addition to consulting, what did that look like?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  18:05

Probably be like between three and six months. 

Corrie Sanders  18:07

Oh, wow. 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  18:08

So it was still pretty fast. So it was still new ish. But I think that’s part of what made it work was like, I’m new with you. But I figured out the next three steps, and we’re doing this together, and I never wanted it to be like, I am the best. I know the way I am perfect. More like, here’s what I’ve learned, here’s general principles. Now, within this program, we’re all coming together. And we’re all precision pharmacists. And we’re all going to help each other and teach each other because there’s not only like one way to do something, what works for me in Utah may be different for someone in Arizona, and like we’re pooling knowledge and pooling resources, rather than, like, I must have everything figured out. Because I think that’s what stops a lot of pharmacists like, until I know everything and I have X amount of experience that no one will help me. In a way being vulnerable and being you and saying like, I hate retail, I gotta get out. And I’m passionate about precision medicine. So I’m doing this one way or another, like, makes it easier to jump on board because people can see themselves in you when you’re first starting.

Corrie Sanders 19:12

And I think that’s something I’ve always respected about you is the amount of transparency that you share with your audience and with the academy is, I’m not here to tell you I know every answer, but I’m here to tell you that I’m going to work through this with you. And I think that’s such a better business model than preaching you have all the answers. So I love that it’s so much more relatable with that transparency comes a lot of relationship and building abilities. But I just love the line that you said I’m here to learn with you and I’m here to learn alongside you and help you get to the same end goal. We have a similar goal in mind. So what did it and that was Arches, LLC is the LLC that you eventually started. What did Arches look like over time? So you start with just 11 minute video or 11 short videos, and then you started putting out more visual content, you started growing the audience? And did you eventually start growing employees? What did Arches evolve into over the next couple of years?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  20:09

Yeah, so for the first year, it was just me. And then I hired my first VA – virtual assistant. Because being married to an accountant, I know all the details of like employees, and how complicated an employee could be. So I, I, we never did hire an employee, it was all contract work. And especially it was really just me, I hired one VA, it was a good learning experience for both of us. But then I found like my BFF VA, Alexa, she’s still like my best friend, six months later as a recommendation from a friend. And she and I just like tag teamed it and went full force ahead that she really was the one who ran the company. And I got to like, be the face of it and provide the content. And she did all the back end logistics that take a lot of time. And I’m not a detail oriented person. And so it worked really well. And hiring people from the Philippines are the best because they have an amazing grasp of English. They’re such hard workers. And they’re at a price point that new business owners can afford rather than someone in the United States. And I am a little afraid for the US workforce, because everyone I’ve worked with from the Philippines is like just such an incredible human and turned into a good friend that like, it was a great way to start hiring. So it was me and Alexa, it originally started with like, just pace yourself videos of like, what else do you want, I’ll create this video. And then we created a private group on Facebook. So we had a private Facebook page. And that way, we’re like talking to each other every day. And then we’d have live weekly calls, every week, we would learn something else or have like a guest come in and speak on something that was adjacent that I wasn’t an expert in, like nutrigenomics, isn’t amazing how nutrition is affected by your genetics and have like nutrigenomics speakers and lamps come in. And so I recorded all of those and added it to the course. So  by the end of two years, there’s more than 70 hours of material in there. Wow. Which was huge. But it was also really awesome. Because it felt really comprehensive to understand like how to start a business, how to work with a lab, and giving people like labs themselves to work with and how to understand state rules and regulations. And then we started creating like documents and templates, like, here’s a whole bunch of legal forms, you’re probably going to need to start. Don’t hire an attorney for $6,000, like I had to do. Here’s a good base baseline to start with and learn that like maybe legal advice can help tweak it rather than everyone starting from scratch. So we started like pooling, like what people needed and created group resources as well. That was really fun. 

 

Corrie Sanders 22:44

That’s amazing. That’s amazing. It’s worth joining the academy just to save on the legal. At what point did you start considering selling the business? So I think that this is maybe something that you haven’t discussed on a podcast just yet. So I’m excited to dive into this. But how long had you had Arches LLC, to where you hit a certain inflection point where you’re like, wow, this is now something that I can consider selling? This is a worthwhile brand. When did that come into conversation? And who brought that to your attention? Or did you bring that to the attention of others? I want to highlight on a couple of things that you’ve said, because I think these are so valuable to the listener. And I know that these things are not generally taught in pharmacy school. So you said I am just a scrappy starter, I like to start and build things. One, definitely not taught in pharmacy school. And then maturing and scaling of a business. Also not taught in pharmacy school. Two very, very different skill sets. But you also said, you know, we leaned into mentors into resources outside of healthcare, which a lot of pharmacists we’re just so siloed into our own little bubbles, our pharmacy bubbles. I think it’s important to view healthcare and view your services through the lens of someone who is not involved in health care at all. And it sounds like that was really instrumental, especially at this building and scaling and selling portion of your business, it would be hard to find a pharmacist, I think that was so successful. But I love how you took on the lens of you know, I’m going to use this as a an internship into how to build businesses, because that will be a useful skill set, I’m sure for you in the future once you decide what your next steps are. So throughout this selling and building process, you had these two gentlemen who it sounds like you met through different networks. Who else had your best interest in mind? So did you, your husband’s an accountant, but what other resources did you use to make sure that you as the seller, were doing your due diligence and your homework and this was going to be something that was beneficial not only to your academy, but to you as well? 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  23:19

Yeah, so it was two years in two years in, I felt like I was working with a mentor who was helping me with like webinars and how to sell and I he wasn’t actually like a person who did that, he runs a company similar to mine, except it’s for finances. And I just met him through a friend. And so he didn’t, I was like, Oh my gosh, teach me how to apply this to my program. But he wasn’t like, I’m a guy who teaches webinars. I was like, No, I saw what you did teach me how to do how to do it. So it was really cool. And after that, he just said like, Would you ever consider selling this? Because what you have is such a smooth running machine. Would you ever consider selling it? And at first I was like, No, this is my baby. I love it. But then after planting that seed, and over the next couple of months seeing that like oh man like these students are doing so well. They’re outgrowing me, because I can’t keep seeing patients, growing my own practice and doing this own business they’re two. Although it’s the same topic, two very different businesses that it felt like it’s probably the most responsible thing for this group to bring in scalable leadership because I’m a very scrappy starter, Corrie, I love like starting things and building from scratch, but I don’t like maturing things and scaling. I’ve learned that about myself. I don’t even like working with teams very much. Because ultimately, so it’s me and Alexa, and then we hired a couple of the students to help with marketing and to help like nurture the relationships in there, which was awesome, but I also found myself like, I just don’t like teams, I just want to build my own thing. You know, and so that combination of seeing my personality characteristics come through and the sustainability of what I had, and wanting to like serve these people best rather than keeping it as like my pride, like, No, this is my baby, I’m gonna keep it. I really want to do what’s best for this group. And so I told him, I was like, I don’t know how to sell a company, who do I talk to? And so he introduced me to someone in Utah, who buys and sells companies. And he was awesome, turned into a really good friend. And he helped me list the company and talk to multiple buyers and sellers. Well, I’m the seller, multiple buyers. And it actually turned out kind of funny, because right before we had a buyer who was interested and was sending a letter of intent, and he’s like, Actually, can I just buy it with my friend, and we’ll run it together. Because I’ve seen the books like I love this, can we just run it together? I was like, Cool, I’m down with that, I still want to like, learn from you and hang with this group a little bit. And so we did it. And so we sold it. And we got a third of the company like an ownership. And it was really cool to work with two people outside of health care who sure have a lot of experience in scaling companies and multimillion dollar companies. And so I consider it like an internship into like, how business is done, and how to like, really help this group and scale it in a more sustainable way than like, me just trying to like Google and figure out like, Okay, how do I do this next.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  27:45

My husband as a CPA is really good. Don’t underestimate accountants, I think they, you can use one instead of an attorney for most business questions, especially like reading contracts, and understanding like, if you’re getting your fair share accountants, oh, my gosh. Pro tip be married to an accountant, it as an entrepreneur, like it makes your life so much easier. And unless they give you the answer, you don’t want to hear! So I had him and then I did hire an attorney to help like, broker the deal and, and make sure everything looked good. But it’s I don’t know, I’m a very stress free person. And so it just felt right. And I was like, Yeah, let’s just, let’s just do it. So it was great, pretty simple and easy. I think it took like, two weeks from start to finish from like an offer to close. 

Corrie Sanders 28:47

So did you have a certain price point in mind? Was that something that that team brought to you? Is that something that outside evaluators have brought to you? Where did the price point come into mind? And then how did you guys if you don’t mind me asking divvy up ownership of the company? 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  29:01

So the attorney I was working with helped navigate the price point. And my husband did his own math too, and was like yep, that seems very fair. So I got a six figure payout for selling my company which felt incredibly good as well as I got to keep the cash from the company which I’d saved up a ton of into too and then we just turned we created a new entity and all three of us owned it equally and then moved to the company to that entity so as a separate entity, so I still own Arches Health as my company I just run it under a different name now.

Corrie Sanders 29:37

Got it, got it. And so what are your responsibilities with this new company? So I’m assuming that’s Wealthy White Coat is what this has evolved into. What day to day responsibilities do you have with Wealthy White Coat or when you sold the company that was a clean slate and you are now free to roam and do something completely different?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  29:54

Well, it was an evolution. So that was a year ago, we divvied it up 30,30,30 And then this January, February, I sold my share. So now they’re running it themselves. So over the course of the year, I was still like the one talking to the students and like keeping that relationship up. And they were the ones helping put in systems and to scale and to find like, partners and different income streams. Because all this time it’s, I’ve been through like one income stream like year long membership, that is it. And so they’re helping diversify different price points and ways to enter, and how to, you know, scale and bring more resources. So I had the fun part of like, being able to just keep doing what I was doing and like, have the conversations help people and keep giving them resources that they needed. So it was just fun.

Corrie Sanders 30:49

So still being the face of the company to some extent, managing the client relations. Okay, that’s interesting. 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  30:54

Because those pharmacists are so great, I still like they’re just the best.

Corrie Sanders 31:01

You’re like, those are my babies. So this is my baby, and you have a special connection with each of them. So that’s easy to understand. And Jamie, any big lessons along the way? So we’ve covered a pretty extensive amount of ground in your professional career to this point, we’ve talked about your transition from retail to consulting, to creating something that can be bought and sold by other pharmacists, and then ultimately selling that business. Any big lessons learned along the way or big takeaways that come to top of mind when you’re thinking about an audience of pharmacy entrepreneurs, and I’m sure a lot of them want to get to this point of success. Any thoughts or any lessons that you think are worth sharing? 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  31:40

Yes, two! One is just start, just do the thing. Put yourself out there, start solving a problem in the world and don’t overthink it, like, put your energy into action. I know our professional is so good at like overthinking and being perfect. And trying to like get all the education so that we’re the perfect person to help but like just helping and bringing your why you’re helping set you apart from anyone because everyone else is learning, learning, learning, stressing writing a plan. And if you’re out there doing you’re gonna run circles around people, so do, do, do. And secondly, I would say strongly I love digital businesses and online businesses, because there’s just not the risk there is with a cash intensive business like opening a pharmacy, you have to have the building, you have to have the products, you have to have the staff, you have to have the insurance, like the startup cost is half a million dollars, at least versus like a digital business, something you can do with just you and your laptop. You can start I think I funded myself $2,500 from my own checking account to start, and I’ve never had to like, put money back in because it’s all been profitable from there. There’s just no risk. And it’s a lot of reward. And even if it and don’t think of it in terms of like, will this win or lose? Will I succeed? Or is this a waste of my time think of it as like, I’m learning how to be relevant in today’s world, because it’s very different than anything in the past, especially with pharmacy and those who can adapt and like meet the needs of the world in a new way. You don’t have to have anyone’s permission, go do it. And it’s just really fun. And it’s not a risk. I feel like it’s riskier just to stay in your job with no other revenue options than to like, build something on the side a few hours a week and think in terms of years and decades rather than needing a quick buck tomorrow.

Corrie Sanders 33:46

I think that’s really valuable insight. And I completely agree with you, I think that the way that pharmacy is heading, it’s going to bode well for those that think outside the box. And that take on additional business ideas or opportunities that really leverage our clinical skill set. Because I just feel very strongly with the development of technology, that pharmacy is going to look very different in 10 years. So just starting and doing and cutting down on the Netflix and exchanging time. Outside I feel like the payoffs are really there. So Jamie, what do you see next for you? Did you when you sold this business? Did you have another idea in mind? Has that started coming to fruition? Or are you just really living in the moment and taking in the fact that you’ve built a successful business and been able to sell it at a price point that gives you some personal capital to do what you want what is next for you on the horizon?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  34:43

So I’m gonna have the best summer of my life this summer with my kids and work very minimally and just really enjoy what I’ve built. I’ve always I’m such a high achiever and like always wanting to build the next thing and go, go go but I’m intentionally stepping back and like I just want to hang out with my kids and enjoy my garden and be outside all day, because I love being outside. I’m going to do that for this season. But then Corrie, this fall, my youngest goes to first grade. So for the first time in 13 years, all of my children will be at school all day. And there’s not like this huge interruption with like, right now he’s in half day kindergarten. So like, my whole day is broken up, I’m gonna focus and I want to build something big and awesome that I can really like sink my teeth into and like, be in it for the long run for pharmacy. And I’m actually really interested in communities, I feel like communities are the next. Not the next big thing, but like the next really effective way people learn and grow and change. As someone who’s built online courses, I know online courses are awesome, but almost no one finishes them. And it’s very up to like the person who’s doing it their impetus to finish. And I’m so intrigued with communities and bringing people together in like a private place that helps them grow and support each other because we’re all humans, and we just need connections with each other. And I don’t know, I’m, I’m figuring that out. But it’s gonna be something with a community and it’s gonna be awesome, Corrie.

Corrie Sanders 36:18

Yeah, I think that that it’s very natural to want human connection and human support. And I you are placed in a perfect position as someone who’s built a pharmacy community and a very niche area of what is that community look like and what worked well, and what didn’t work well, and being able to build off that I think will be a very successful starting point for you. So I’m excited to see where that goes. 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  36:38

Well ,even if it’s not, it’s just going to be fun. Like, that’s how we figure it out. Like, and I almost want an element like, I need to doubt it’s going to work to do it anyway. Because if we you can’t wait until something feels like okay, this is absolutely a slam dunk, I think you have to have an element of like, is this more than I can chew? Is this a little too ambitious to be the right size of project for me or for you for anyone that like, if it feels so easy, then it’s, it’s, it’s probably not right for you like a little bit of growth and stretching and like that scariness of like, Oh, could I really do this is, is good for us and part of the thrill of pushing ourself.

 

Corrie Sanders 37:23

Jamie, do you think that that’s a characteristic that you always had? Or do you think that wanting to lean into growth and personal development was something that you realized is a priority once you took the transition into being an entrepreneur, because I’m thinking of the average pharmacist who is going to hear that and be like, I do not want that. I want something that’s a slam dunk, I want something that I know is going to be something that I can count on every month. I feel like pharmacists are just very risk averse in general. So do you feel like that’s always been in your nature? Or do you think that now you’ve had a taste of it? That’s what you want to do. And that’s part of your higher purpose and bigger purpose?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  37:58

Well, I’m an oldest daughter, so I feel like it’s like baked into who I am. But also like seeing, really seeing what it’s like to earn money yourself, and how much you can earn and how consistent it can be that like, I just can’t go back to a job that’s out of my control. Again, like because I love not having risk. And I don’t feel like what I do is risky, it just takes time. So unless Netflix for me, it feels like the ultimate long term strategy that almost no one else is going to do because it takes work and a job is more comfortable. So like I I strongly believe I am like the least risky person. But I have a long timeline and willing to experiment because I know that like this is what it takes to succeed is like trying and being in public and doing in public. And most pharmacists don’t dare do that. It’s like the scariest thing to say, like, tell the world what you’re building. And I’m working with a couple of one on one clients right now. And that’s where some of them are at the point like okay, you’ve built your business, and I need you to create a social media post, just like on Facebook or Instagram, wherever you are, and just tell people what you’ve built. So they can celebrate with you. You’re not asking for like clients yet. You’re just saying like, Hey, I started a business like go female power. They won’t do it, Corrie! They’re like, oh my gosh, no, no, I’d rather just teach about diabetes than say I have a business because that feels salesy and like, I don’t want people to see me like, well, you have to be able to present yourself online to help people and it’s not salesy.

Corrie Sanders  38:21

Yes. And it’s in the world of digital digital business this is par for the course at this point.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  39:45

Yeah. It’s par for the course!

Corrie Sanders 39:48

And I had a friend actually summarize something for me at one point, which is why I started looking into the transition of being an entrepreneur and working for myself as well. He does very well in something that’s not healthcare related, but He’s rewarded for how hard he works. And he told me as a high performer and a high achiever, I will never be in a salaried position because it would take away a lot of my drive. And I feel like when I heard that it was a lightbulb in my head of, I’m working so hard, and I’m not going to go anywhere, and a percentage increase of my income in a substantial amount of time. And so for me, that was such a lightbulb moment. And I think that’s kind of summarized by what you said is that I now that I make money for myself, and I know what that tastes like. That’s how I want to keep my income for years to come. So I also one of my last questions, Jamie is what other streams of income have you leaned into at this point in time? So I know that you have teaching experience, it sounds like you still have some coaching going on? Are you keeping your hands busy with anything else, aside from the pharmacogenomics business and Wealthy White Coat? 

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  40:47

So I have a couple streams of income that are pretty fun that I’ve built, kind of for myself, that is awesome that we hear about recurring revenue. And I’m like, Oh, I did that a few years ago. So now I get to enjoy it. So a couple of ways I earn money. Alright, I do have some one on one people that I work with that, like, have found me through through LinkedIn, and like we’ve just jivved, so I’m helping them one-on-one. It’s way less intensive than like, a full program, but it’s really fun and energizing for me. And for them. I also teach for the University of Florida, they have me help, help review, update their curriculum and proctor some of their courses within the precision medicine program in their school of pharmacy, which is awesome, it’s so fun. And my old boss, who he used to work at Walgreens. Now he works at the Student Health Center at the local college here, he asked if I would come Thursday afternoons from like two to 6pm to help fill in while he goes to choir practice. And I was like, You know what, I actually let my license lapse. So let’s see what it’s like to be a pharmacist and like, get a steady paycheck again. So I’ve actually started doing that again, just like for the fun of it. And it’s been really cool Corrie to have like W2 income and my own income all mixed together. That because there really is something to say about a job and like that you can clock in and clock out and earn a good salary. pharmacists have a good salary. And for me, I kind of ebb and flow with employment that I like like it, but then I can earn so much more myself. But then just that ease of like clocking in and out. So it’s been kind of fun to go back and forth. Because first I swore off pharmacy like I’ve done and now like, you know what, this is actually pretty fun in this environment with like these cute college students who just need birth control, Adderall, and antibiotics like, I could do this. So those are the main streams I have. I also do some advising and speaking but that’s anyway.

Corrie Sanders  42:44

But the underlying thing is that one, you can continue to pivot as a pharmacy entrepreneur. So you let your license lapse, who cares, you can go back and get it. And it’s not a huge deal. If you want to go back to something that you’ve known in the past with the W2 job, but to when you describe all these things, you’re saying it’s so fun, every single job you’ve taken on is so fun. And I think that it gets lost in this traditional education wheel where we go from undergrad to pharmacy school, to residency to certificates to additional training all these things you just continue on in this wheel. And it’s so much of it is performance based that you lose touch with why we really went into pharmacy, at least that’s how I feel is I got to a certain point where I just looked back and I was like, wow, I’ve done everything right. But it still feels wrong. And that is scary to me. And so I love that you’re at a point now where every job you’re describing, say it’s energizing for me, it’s fun, and that’s what ultimately keeps you happy and working overtime is that it’s this cliche sentiment where if you’re having fun, you never work a day in your life, totally get it. But that’s the freedom that you’ve given yourself is that work should be fun, it should be an energizing part of your life, not something that drains you for 40 hours a week. So I love hearing that you’re at that at that point. And I’ve got one more question and then I’ll ask where people can find you if they want to get in touch with you. But my last question is, what would you say to an aspiring pharmacy entrepreneur? So we shared those two lessons earlier of, you know, just starting and keeping moving. But if you’re sitting at the point of contemplating an idea within pharmacy practice and looking at something that’s in a non traditional setting, anything specific that you would share with that pharmacist?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  44:25

I would say just get vocal and get online because you will stand out especially if you’re doing anything within any realm of health care, health care people are silent stalkers and scrollers. So if you have a voice and are consistent, you will stand out and you people will attract opportunities to you. And so the table start flipping instead of you like reaching out like Will anyone work with me? Will anyone want me? If you consistently stick to a topic and teach on it and just own it, people start coming out of the woodwork for you. And it’s just the best feeling that you don’t have to muscle your way into your own business, you find that like, just talk about something, help someone. And more opportunities come to you that like, oh, wow, I can work for this person or this person wants to hire me or like, it all comes together if you’re willing to like stand up and stand out, because few people are willing to do it. And so really like, that’s what magnetizes people to you, and get you out of this weird rat race of like applying to hundreds of jobs and getting more letters after your name, to feel like you’re the best candidate, don’t play that game. It’s an antiquated game, and you’re gonna get a position that you don’t want. And so even within entrepreneurship, like being willing to stand out, because you gotta stand out to be an entrepreneurship, and so just practice talking online every day, it might scare you to death, but really like that life skill, if you can get the hang of it. Like the right people will find you the world is your oyster. And just think of it as a skill and not as a personality trait that you either can or can’t do, because everything is learnable.

Corrie Sanders  46:01

I love that. Well, Jamie, this has been so great. I feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground. And you’ve done so much in the past decade that I think we broke it down into chunks that will be easily absorbed by our listeners. And this is coated with lots of different lessons. So thank you for being so vulnerable and transparent. You’ve been so gracious with your time and you do that online so well. Where can people find you if they want to learn more about what you’re doing? And about what you’ve done in the past or reach out to you independently? What’s the easiest way for our listeners to get in contact with you?

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  46:29

Oh, just on LinkedIn. That’s like, what social media I use. I love LinkedIn. You should be on LinkedIn. If you’re not, create an account. It’s the best thing you can do for your career. Find me there Jamie Wilkey LinkedIn, send me a DM I’ll talk to you. It’ll be fun. 

Corrie Sanders  46:45

That sounds great. Thank you again, Jamie Wilkie for being here. Congratulations on all your recent success. And we’re excited to see where you go in the next couple of years and even long term seeing where you end up.

Dr. Jamie Wilkey  46:57

 You too, Corrie! Thanks!

Tim Ulbrich  47:00

[DISCLAIMER] As we conclude this week’s podcast and important reminder that the content on this show is provided to you for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for investment or any other advice. Information in the podcast and corresponding materials should not be construed as a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any investment or related financial products. We urge listeners to consult with a financial advisor with respect to any investment. Furthermore, the information contained in our archive newsletters, blog posts and podcasts is not updated and may not be accurate at the time you listen to it on the podcast. Opinions and analyses expressed herein are solely those of your financial pharmacists unless otherwise noted, and constitute judgments as of the dates publish such information may contain forward looking statements, which are not intended to be guarantees of future events. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward looking statements. For more information, please visit yourfinancialpharmacist.com/disclaimer. Thank you again for your support of the Your Financial Pharmacist Podcast. Have a great rest of your week.

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