Franchisee Interview with Susan Lynch, Any Lab Test Now® Franchise Owner of Wilmington, NC
Susan Lynch, owner of Any Lab Test Now of Wilmington, NC shared her story with us about how she became a franchisee and what the value is to be recession-proof to those she serves in her local community. For Susan, she found her way to owning her own location by circumstance and a rare opportunity that presented to her at the right time for all the right reasons.
One Part-Time Job = One BIG Business Opportunity
We asked Susan how she got her start in the healthcare industry and she said:
“It came to me. I did not go out and find it. I had taken a part-time job at Any Lab Test Now, here in North Carolina, the one I own now.
At first, I was interested in the business model, because I’ve worked in a clinical lab since I was 20 years old. Over the years, in some capacity or another, I’ve worked in every position from management, all the way down to just drawing blood on the weekends. I was intrigued by the fact that you didn’t need your own doctor’s order. So, I took a part-time job there. And over the years, ended up buying it from the physician who actually started it.”
Growing a Career in the Medical Field
Next, we asked, how she got her start in her medical career path and she replied:
“I went to college for phlebotomy and medical assisting and after that I started my technology program, and then got married. I then took a little step back and went to work in the lab. And back then you could do what we used to call “bench work”.
I fell in love with what seemed like a very different kind of job. I have always loved sales and even through my whole medical career, I’ve always sold something on the side.”
Combining a Medical Career with a Sales Career
As we talked with Susan, we asked her which career path she liked the most and she said:
“So that piece of this business was a total combination for me. It was the perfect package. The doctor I was working for at this location had come to me and said he was leaving the country for a couple of years. Then he asked me if I wanted to run the lab since I was already here working part-time. And I said, of course, that would be wonderful. He offered a buy-in so that I would treat it as my own and that option had never entered my mind, you know, being able to own one of these businesses.
It was really perfect because I was now able to sell something I already knew so much about.”
Supporting Her Community with an Affordable Choice
Susan also shared her passion behind the value she offers to her community and said:
“Yes, so my biggest driver is that in all the years I’ve been in the hospitals, in the doctor’s offices, one of the biggest complaints is that people can’t afford their medical bills. The doctors say you need to do these tests. And patients say no, I can’t afford the bill. Now, many people don’t get what they need because of money. And I felt like I could offer them an affordable way to get what they need without having to involve their insurance company and get outrageous bills at the end of the sale at the end of the process.”
Selling Solutions Is Better Than Selling Big Bills
While we were talking with Susan, we also inquired on what she felt her business value was to her local community and she replied:
“Here’s the reality, people say I’ve got insurance, this test is going to be free. The doctor doesn’t have a financial conversation with them about 90% of the time. The doctors just tell them that this is the test, and they need to go down to the lab.
At what point does it occur to the person that they are going to get an invoice in the mail before they get the invoice in their mailbox? And then at what point does the doctor turn around and say, this is going to cost you X amount of dollars? How do you handle selling that? Because isn’t that really what you’re selling?
For me, I’m selling a solution before the problem actually comes about. Right. And typically, most people have gotten the lab bill for something that was so outrageous, they could not believe that the lab tests could cost that much. Now, they can come to me and find out that they could have many tests done for a fraction of what they paid before.”
Painful Insurance Bills Led to Providing the Solution Herself
As we talked, we asked Susan, what is it like to offer a solution ahead of the problem and she responded:
“There’s a lot of people who prefer to pay upfront. Because of that shock in the mail, six weeks after you go to the lab is horrible. I had this happen myself where I let my doctor do my labs one time, I said, “Look, we will try this one time. But if my insurance doesn’t pay, it never happens again.”
I ended up getting a bill. And I told him, “I’m not doing this ever again”. Then my bill was about three times what I would have had to pay here at my store. Most people do not understand how insurance works. They don’t pay attention. They don’t investigate, they don’t call in to check their benefits.
They assume it’s free and they just use it. At the end, a lot of people don’t pay the bill. Now, I’m an easy sell at that point.”
A Service-Based Business That Supports Others
At the end of our discussion, we asked Susan to share how she felt about having a business model that’s in service to others and she said:
“Our service is affordable and enjoyable. I mean, we get a lot of reviews about how enjoyable it was to come in and how clean and how fast we are. If you make it enjoyable, and you make it affordable, and your customer service is impeccable… they will just keep coming and people will tell everyone they know, who will tell everyone what options are out there.
It just snowballs from there. Our business model and service give people a place to go that doesn’t feel like a normal medical office where no one cares and you’re just a number. People look at medicine as big business. They think it is all about getting money and no one cares about the patient.
And we just FLIP IT.
We care about the patient and not so much about the money.”
A big thank you to Susan for taking the time out of her busy schedule to share her story and perspective of what it’s been like finding her way to becoming a franchisee!
If you’re looking around at what business opportunities are open to you, please reach out to us directly. We’re more than happy to provide you with information and answer questions. Learning about the available opportunities in your local area is the first step in discovering how you can find success with an Any Lab Test Now® franchise business.
