To create a survivable work-life balance in her small business, Sue Muller had to be very clear about what she wanted from her life, her career, and her family.
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Entrepreneur: Sue Muller, CEO
Company: The Pharmaceutical Locum Company
Business type: Recruitment service for full-time, part-time and locum pharmacists
Founded: 1986
Employees: 1 (part-time)
Head office: Rose Bay, Sydney
Contact details: +61 2 9371 4928 or 1-800 357 001
The Pharmaceutical Locum Company Story
Sue Muller’s business was begging to be started. Once she took the leap and began her pharmacy locum service - providing temporary substitute pharmacists - it found a ready market. And the result? A constant battle to balance time for her work, her family and herself.
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Key learning points:
- Work-life balance - To stay sane, make your business support your life - not the other way round.
- Business structure - Use sub-contractors to free yourself for value-added tasks.
- Technology - Can you work smarter with technology?
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Sue spotted the need for a locum service twenty years ago when she was working as a pharmacist. If pharmacists were sick or on leave, the only way to replace them was through personal contacts or by ringing drug companies, which kept the names of pharmacists looking for work. But drug companies’ services were only available from Monday to Friday and offered no reference checks. The Pharmacy Guild had a locum service for members but that, too, was limited to weekday office hours.
Sue began her business by carrying a mobile phone while she was working at pharmacies. She had to juggle what she was doing in the shop with attending to locum service calls. As the business grew, the calls became intrusive, demanding more and more of her time. Then, in 1995, The Pharmacy Guild stopped running its locum service and referred members to Sue and another new locum service. It was time for Sue to stop working as a pharmacist and start focusing on her expanding business.
The Challenge
Sue wanted a rich family life and a satisfying career. She wanted to run her business from home so that she could be with her children as they grew up - and have some time for herself. Sue also needed to structure her business so that she, too, could take time off work - a big problem for many small businesses.
The Solution
To get the right work-life balance, Sue needed to be very clear about precisely what she wanted - and then find ways to achieve it. Her solutions have included early morning exercise, smarter use of technology, and tracking down sub-contractors to help her. She now begins her working days at 6:30am with a gym workout before returning home to make sure that her teenage son and daughter have got off to school.
Then she starts work at her busy, home-based office. She has created time for her own recreation and family life in two key ways: by finding compatible, reliable co-workers with skills in office management and recruiting, and by working smarter.
Luck has played a role. Five years ago, as the business boomed, Sue responded to a “Positions Wanted” ad in her local newspaper. The advertiser was Kirsty Ferguson, who had extensive experience in recruiting and office management. Sue says: “She came over, we hit it off and that was it. We work elbow to elbow in a fairly snug space. To still get on is fairly unique. Responding to that ad was the best thing I ever did.”
Kirsty works three days a week and full-time when Sue is on holidays. Sue says: “Kirsty is very efficient and I know that if I go away, things will be done exactly as I would.”
Sue has recently sub-contracted Ellen Stone for half a day a week to do time-consuming tasks such as updating email addresses (they send bulk emails to 2000 pharmacists each week), removing old jobs from the web site and highlighting current jobs. She also uses a bookkeeper, who comes in once a month, and a database assistant when needed.
Refining her use of the internet has freed up an enormous amount of time. When the business began, if a pharmacist was needed for a certain day, Sue had to comb through her database to find who was free that day. Then she had to ring around until she found somebody who was available. Now, the job is simply posted on the web site. Sue says: “I no sooner press that button to send it to the web site than I have four people ringing to request the job. It has turned the whole situation around.”
The Result
Sue’s business provides mental stimulation, a good income and the opportunity to be with her children before and after school. She manages to take four weeks vacation a year.