When I first met Brittany Hoffman, she was working full-time and building her own business as well. I had the pleasure of speaking to Brittany about how the services we offer at The Happy PharmD helped her achieve her goals.

I wanted to take my business to the next level, but I didn’t know how. 

I was building my business and had been looking for an opportunity to take it to the next level when I came across an article about the services that Alex provides.

I had already invested three years to get into the medical writing field and was trying to figure out where my niche was when I met Alex.  I had come into the business almost by accident - it was something I really enjoyed doing - but I needed to find out if it was something that could develop into a business.

Was I offering a service that people needed? I was really excited to take advantage of his input.

Thankfully, there really was a need for the writing that I do which helps healthcare providers learn and grow so they can take better care of their patients.

My business was pretty exciting and was really starting to take off. I had received a lot of great feedback and projects were coming in faster than I expected but I was really still in the foundational stages of growing my business.

I had steady income coming in and a few regular clients but I didn’t know the next steps to take to grow. I  was still discovering my role and learning how to attract clients.

I wanted to know how to move my business forward and scale it even further.

I had reservations about hiring a Career Coach.

I was hesitant at first to hire a coach because I wasn’t sure if the time and the financial aspect of hiring a coach was going to be worth it. I didn’t know if the time I would need to invest to work with a coach would cost me the opportunity to do other things that might help me more. But learning that Alex was already doing the kind of thing that I wanted to do made it easier.

He had been through the process already.

As Alex explained it, we have coaches for everything else that we hope to excel in, be it sports, or whatever, but the idea of a career coach is less mainstream. It is not something that I had considered, or even heard about, prior to finding The Happy PharmD.

I wondered if this person, who I’d never met before, could really help me with what I was trying to do. As a pharmacist himself with a several of his own businesses, it certainly seemed possible. But would we have a connection? Would Alex understand what I was looking for?

I wanted to choose the right coach - one with a vested interest in me and my idea. 

My experience with Alex has been wonderful. He didn’t just jump into the business side of things but rather he took the time to get to know me, to learn my interests and to create and nurture a relationship.

I remember, in our very first session, when Alex told me that he doesn’t work with everybody but rather he makes sure he likes and can get along with his clients first. I realized then that he wasn’t just going through client after client to help his business. Instead, he has a vested interest in each and every of them.

I think, from a coach perspective, that is incredibly important. I was a competitive swimmer as a kid and the relationship you develop with a coach is such that if I’m winning, he is winning.

I think it is one of the biggest reasons why I was so excited to work with Alex.

I moved out of my comfort zone with the support of a great coach. 

It has been great. Alex pushed me beyond my comfort level which is exactly what I needed to move my business to the next level. I knew going into it that I wanted someone that I could bounce ideas off of and who would help me think outside the box.

I really can’t assign a value to it. It has been so meaningful to me. I’m just incredibly grateful to have been able to work with Alex. As a result, my business has seen triple productivity levels and is doing amazing.

I think one of the highlights of working with Alex was when I hired my first employee; something that I had been terrified to do.  I didn’t know how to do it or how it could ever work. There were just so many variables.

But Alex worked with me, step by step and helped me figure it out.  We worked through how to find someone, the type of application I would need, the interview process, the contract … Working through the steps with Alex made the process less terrifying and more exciting.

I now have my first employee and I am the only rate-limiting step at this point. Trying to develop my business while still working full-time requires a lot of sacrifice and time so I’m very excited to see what an employee will mean for my business.

A career coach will help you set - and meet - your goals. 

Every time I meet with Alex, he helps me to set new goals and to think about the next steps I need to take. As a pharmacist, having goals is very important to me.  The biggest takeaway from the whole experience of working with Alex has been how we work on the goals together and put them into action.

My business has grown tremendously - I am on pace to almost quadruple my income from last year. It has been exciting and amazing to work with someone who can help me structure and strategize my business.

I learned to think differently about myself and my abilities.

In the process of going from a few projects with great feedback to a freelancing business, I’ve learned to recognize that what I do has value and I shouldn't be afraid of that.

Over the last six months, I’ve officially opened up my business.

There has been a big change in how I think about myself. I  don’t necessarily identify as a freelancer anymore. Rather, this is my business, this is what I specialize in, and this is who I am.

From career coach to trusted friend: an invaluable experience.

I would certainly recommend Alex as a coach to other business owners. He really cares about the individuals he works with. I think he is sometimes even more excited about the successes than I am!  

Aside from the official coaching sessions, I think one of the great things about working with Alex is just knowing that if I need to run something by him, I can reach out and he will always respond in a timely manner.

It’s just an invaluable perk that not everybody offers.

Additionally, the wide variety of experience that Alex has on different topics has been so helpful. His mission is to help pharmacists to find and create work that inspires them which I think a lot of pharmacists are really looking for.

Whether it is finding their dream job, or getting into academia or developing a new business … Alex individualizes his services towards each of his clients. There is a great value in that.

Working with Alex as a career coach has been amazing. He gives me the opportunity to bounce ideas off of him, to think about things differently and he gives me perspective. Alex is also a great person who works hard to help pharmacists be the best they can be.

Hard work pays off! 

Finally, I would like to say that in any endeavor, you have to work hard. There is only so much your coach can do. But, if you are willing to put the time and effort into it, to work really hard, then coaching services can absolutely be beneficial.

It’s not always easy to commit or work hard when things get difficult but Alex helped me through those moments.

It was evident from the start that Alex was confident in my ideas and I can’t thank him enough for the opportunity to work with him.