(A Special Episode of The Business of Pharmacy Podcast Hosted by Mike Koelzer) 

What happens when you put four brothers behind one microphone — all raised stocking shelves, sweeping floors, and serving customers at their family’s corner pharmacy? You get a conversation packed with humor, heart, and life lessons that shaped four very different careers.

A Return to Our Roots: Reflections on Kay Pharmacy

In a recent episode of The Business of Pharmacy Podcast, host Mike Koelzer welcomes brothers Pete, Tom, and Tim to reflect on their time working at Kay Pharmacy in Grand Rapids, Michigan — and how those early experiences continue to impact the way they approach business, leadership, and customer service today. 

A Personal Episode of The Business of Pharmacy Podcast

Mike’s podcast, which has built a strong following among pharmacy professionals and business leaders alike, has always focused on surfacing real-world insights from across the healthcare and business landscape. This episode is a little different: it’s personal. It’s a heartfelt return to our roots, filled with stories about our dad’s focus on serving customers, the lessons we learned behind the counter, and the ways those lessons continue to shape our thinking today.

🎿 Listen to the full episode here → https://www.bizofpharmpod.com/koelzer-brothers-reminisce-lessons-from-the-pharmacy-dad-pete-tom-tim-mike-koelzer-koelzer/

What We Talk About:

  • How working at a family-run pharmacy teaches life-long business principles 
  • The power of anticipating customer needs (before DoorDash and Instacart made it mainstream) 
  • Leadership lessons from our dad — and how they showed up later in our careers 
  • Why Mike created The Business of Pharmacy Podcast to spotlight authentic stories from business and healthcare 

It’s a fun, thoughtful conversation — and a reminder that sometimes the best business education happens outside of the classroom.

About Mike and The Business of Pharmacy Podcast

About Mike and The Business of Pharmacy Podcast: Mike Koelzer launched The Business of Pharmacy Podcast to explore the intersection of healthcare, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Now with hundreds of episodes and an audience of professionals across the country, Mike’s podcast is known for surfacing authentic stories and practical lessons that listeners can apply to their own businesses and careers. 

🎿 Tune into the episode here → https://www.bizofpharmpod.com/koelzer-brothers-reminisce-lessons-from-the-pharmacy-dad-pete-tom-tim-mike-koelzer-koelzer/ 

Explore More on Anticipating Customer Needs

If you enjoy the idea of “thinking ahead” to better serve your customers — a theme we touch on in this episode — you might also enjoy Upstream Marketing, a book that explores how leading brands like Apple, Disney, and Southwest Airlines anticipate customer needs to create lasting value.

📝 Learn more here → https://a.co/d/gFoUJHN