Doing business the Yankellow way
By Kisha Lashley
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Ellen Yankellow has spent her entire professional life in the pharmacy industry. After working for others for most of her early career, she made the transition to starting her own company. Today, she is the President and CEO of a fast-growing and very successful institutional pharmacy company.
She launched Correct Rx Pharmacy Services Inc. in 2003. “I had been a minority owner in a company and we had a split. I was too young to retire and didn’t have enough money, so I decided that the thing to do was open my own institutional pharmacy company,” said Yankellow.
She was able to get her company off the ground in less than a month. “I wrote a business plan on April 1, 2003 at the kitchen table with my sister who is a CPA.” Yankellow then made appointments with about six banks. “I actually thought that every bank I met with was going to lend me a million dollars. The truth is, every one of them said no except for one. We met with them on April 7. On April 27 we settled our loan. On May 1st, we took possession of our building,” she said.
By the end of the month, Yankellow and her partners were able to redesign the office space to suit their needs, hire 12 employees and land two very large accounts. “We worked like crazy people to get it all done," said Yankellow.
Yankellow continues to grow her business at an impressive rate. In its first year alone, Correct Rx’s sales increased by 107 percent. The following year, the increase was 62 percent and the growth has continued in consecutive years. “We’ve become known in the industry as a small giant, which is defined as a company which chooses to be great instead of large – a company that focuses on quality,” said Yankellow.
Currently, Correct Rx has a client base in 26 states and employs 86 people.
Yankellow will be the first to announce that she did not achieve this success on her own. Her carefully selected management team was invaluable. She emphasizes the importance of existing relationships in successfully accomplishing such a daunting task.
For instance, Yankellow has known one of her partners and vice president of operations – Jill Molosfsky - for over 27 years. “We have never not worked together.” Her other partner is also a former classmate. “A lot of our associates joined us because they had worked with either me or Jill in the past. It just goes to show that over a period of time, those relationships that you form and the way you behave in your business life both with your associates and your clients, serve you well in the future.”
Not only does Yankellow have a passion for her work, but she is also committed to engaging in the community. In spite of her busy work schedule, Yankellow manages to make time to volunteer on a number of boards. She was also instrumental in enabling one of her former employees to form a company of her own.
When Correct Rx won a government contract a few years ago which stipulated that she hire a minority or woman-owned business to complete part of the work, she immediately turned to trusted employee Brenda Thompson. Thompson had provided transportation services for Correct Rx for years. Yankellow encouraged Thompson to start her own transportation business and in 2005, Breniss Transportation was born. Breniss Transportation is currently a certified woman-owned company and has since then expanded to a fleet of twelve trucks.
What is Yankellow’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs? “Don’t let fear and common-sense stop you.” This philosophy has served her well. For one, it propelled her to return to school to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy degree almost 20 years after completing college. It is also what motivates her to keep pushing forward every day to make her company the best that it can be. “Sometimes, when you look at what makes you successful, a lot of it is just hard work and elbow grease, but a lot of it is also your determination and perseverance,” states Yankellow. |
