Pharmpreneur of the week Jena Quinn: "Just take the plunge."
Snapshot
Education: PharmD, BCPPS. Rutgers Mario School of Pharmacy
Role/Title: CEO and Founder of Perfecting Peds. Perfecting Peds strives to provide safe and effective drug use and optimal medication therapy outcomes in children up to 21 years of age.
What excites you about being an entrepreneur?
Having no boundaries! I don't have to conform to the standard role of a pharmacist. I don't have to clock in and out. I don't have to suppress my creative ideas due to restrictive job roles and responsibilities.
How has your entrepreneurial career evolved since your graduation?
I never thought I would be, nor did I ever want to be a business owner. No one in my family is a business owner and I honestly didn't see this as an option. I was always taught "Get a good education and get a stable job."
When my oldest daughter was 1, I was working ful-time plus. It started to wear on me the amount of time I spent at work. There was no flexibility and I was missing the value of those sweet moments of my children's youth.
I was desperate for flexibility but couldn't figure out how to make that work within the pharmacy industry. I started selling skincare products via Rodan and Fields. This allowed me to substitute about half of my salary and that enabled me to pull back on my hours at the hospital. The business taught me how think like an entrepreneur. I had to keep my mindset in check and needed to get comfortable selling.
Fast forward, I always had a nagging feeling that pediatric patients needed more pediatric trained pharmacists in the non-acute care cycles. Since no one else seemed to be solving the problem, I decided why not me?
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
Flexibility, unlimited opportunities, ability to create jobs for others, show my daughters anything is possible, DREAM and DO big, provide medically complex pediatric patients the quality of care they deserve!
How do you define success?
Having passion and purpose in all that I do. Having "fire in the belly."
As a successful entrepreneur, what continues to drive you?
Being a role model and inspiring others to tap into their highest being of themselves. Also, I love a good problem to solve!
What are the biggest challenges to being an entrepreneur?
Never feeling like the job is done.
How do you manage work/life balance?
Learning to say no. Setting boundaries and strict working hours.
What books/resources do you recommend for every entrepreneur to check out?
Rocket fuel
The magic of thinking big
Built to sell
Sell or be sold
What advice would you give to colleagues who want to become entrepreneurs?
Just take the plunge. The actual jump in is the most intimidating.
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