In this episode of the Calm the Farm podcast, host Sarah Stoddart, fresh from a five-week trip to Japan, shares insights from her travels that translate into practical lessons for the pharmacy business. The core theme of this episode revolves around the importance of focusing on expertise to stand out in a competitive environment, drawing parallels between Japanese businesses and pharmacy practices.
Sarah begins by expressing her joy and excitement about experiencing Japanese culture, particularly highlighting the country's safety, cleanliness, and values such as respect and organisation. She transitions into discussing one key observation: the success of shops in Japan that specialise in one product. For instance, restaurants dedicated exclusively to dishes like tonkatsu (pork cutlets), demonstrate a clear and singular focus. Customers often face long waits to enjoy these specialised meals, underscoring the demand created by quality and expertise in a specific area.
This leads Sarah to reflect on the pharmacy business landscape in Australia. While pharmacies must offer a variety of products and services, she encourages owners to identify and promote a particular area of expertise—a "pork cutlet" of sorts. This could be knowledge in areas like wound care, weight loss, or diabetes management. The idea is to differentiate oneself from other pharmacies in the vicinity by demonstrating what they are particularly good at and how that message reaches customers.
By narrowing down expertise and marketing it well, pharmacies can create their unique identity, similar to how successful Japanese businesses operate. Overall, this episode is a blend of personal experience and professional commentary, urging pharmacy owners to redefine what makes them unique in a crowded marketplace.
Calm The Pharm is brought to you by your host, Sarah Stoddart. Sarah is the founder and director of Vitality Law Australia, a boutique law firm which provides small business owners and healthcare professionals across Australia with clear legal pathways and peace of mind. She is recognised as a leader in the healthcare industry and is one of only a few lawyers in Australia with specialist experience working with pharmacy businesses.
In 2021, Sarah was named the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Australian Sole Practitioner of the Year. She was also named as a finalist in the AusMumpreneur Business Awards. In 2022, she was named as a finalist in the Women in Business Awards for The Hills and Districts Chamber of Commerce, the Australian Law Awards and again in the Women in Law Awards.
Sarah is the co-author of business book, “Courage and Confidence”. The book is a collection of inspirational stories combined with practical tools, tips and advice written by a small group of Australian women in business. She is also a non-executive director of MS Queensland.
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