What do we lose if hustle culture dies?

Welcome! Over this next year I hope to share some real and unvarnished truths about business ownership, sleepless nights and the thrills of seeing something you’ve made grow to serve a community you care about deeply. I hope you’ll engage with me and share your thoughts and comments on my columns to generate a discussion that current and would-be pharmacist owners can use to help guide their journey.Here’s something I’ve been thinking about as I transition to a mid-career pharmacist with multi-store ownership, diversifying what I’m doing beyond the dispensary: What did I get right about my journey?; and more importantly, what did I get wrong that I can share, so others don’t have to make the same mistakes I made?Recently a new non-pharmacy business was opening in a community near me. The would-be entrepreneur posted in a social media group that they were looking to hire five full-time staff to start. This was a business in an industry with low margins and with no established sales (green-field). It made me reflect on starting my business–Kristen’s Pharmacy–in 2017.When we opened, I worked every operating hour as the dispensing pharmacist (49 hours/week). I also learned how to do my books and did them my first fiscal period to be sure I understood the business. For the first eight months I was also the delivery driver, bringing out prescriptions after we closed. I managed our social media, ran payroll, did the buying for the front store and coached a food-based weight-loss program. I had one part-time staffer for the first eight months and then one full-time tech. I didn’t have another pharmacist on staff for years.Reflecting on this and comparing myself to this new unrelated business makes me wonder. Is hustle culture dead? And truly, should it be dead? There is no doubt that pharmacists are increasingly sharing their levels of burnout. The pandemic pushed us all to the edge. Unquestionably. But what if I didn’t work all those hours? My staff is, without question, my greatest asset in providing care in our community (more on them in my next column). Would I have grown faster if I had more staff earlier? Would I be less tired at this point (as a mom of two and a chronic overachiever, I think not but maybe…).I have the joy of lecturing each year at the University of Waterloo’s third-year business class. Each year to start my lecture, I take a poll: “Who here is going to work in community pharmacy?” Annually, it’s fewer than 10% of the students. The prevailing practice plan? Tech: design an app, work with a startup, do something outside of the dispensary (I’m aware of the unique nature of my audience in Waterloo but that’s besides the point). Very few students that I encounter and mentor say: “I want to open a pharmacy,” and even fewer say: “I want to get into professional leadership.”I wonder, is this new generation protecting themselves from the burnout I hear all the time from my contemporaries? Who will take over all the community pharmacies as the owners sunset? Independent pharmacy is the lifeblood of community pharmacy care across the country. Is consolidation inevitable? Is it a by-product of burnout and generational change? Do start-up owners truly need to work all the operating hours? Just because that’s the way I did it, it doesn’t mean that’s the way that it needs to be done.Further, are we adequately training the next generation of leaders? There are so many trailblazers in this profession—but who is coming up behind them? Does the trail stay open for whoever is next or is the expectation that success requires doing the blazing? As I train students in the classroom and in their pharmacy placements, I want to be sure we are thinking of the future; not just the future of clinical care but the future of the business of care.Kristen Watt owns and operates an independent pharmacy in rural Ontario and is a strong advocate for community pharmacy as clinical practice.