Is an ESOP a Good Option for My Veterinary Practice?

by easyDVM

Employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, are a powerful way of encouraging your employees to take an active interest in your business. They can powerfully impact your company for the better, although they’re not without drawbacks. Read on to learn more about ESOPs, and how they incentivize employees.

What Is an ESOP?

An ESOP is a plan where a company pays benefits to employees in the form of shares in the company. These shares can’t be sold off until the employee leaves the company.

When that happens, the company automatically purchases the employee’s stock. Employees can choose to receive that money in a lump sum, or in payments over time.

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Different ESOPs may be set up differently. Some companies may not distribute stock to employees until they’ve been with the company for a certain length of time. Others may distribute a type of stock that doesn’t come with voting privileges, which restricts employees from making key decisions (unless they buy normal stock in the company on their own, of course).

An Example

Sarah works as a veterinarian at a practice with an ESOP. She came on because she liked this investment option – although she had to work there for a year to get it, and it doesn’t give her voting rights.

Every year, her ESOP benefits buy shares in the veterinary practice. She can’t sell them until she leaves the practice. Because she can’t get out of her investment early, she knows she has to work hard to see the practice succeed.

Sarah is nearing retirement age. She’s excited for her shares to “vest”, meaning she’ll receive money for them (matching their value at the time of her retirement). The veterinary practice will directly buy her shares, then distribute them over time to other veterinary employees.

The Benefits

Employees like ESOPs. Giving veterinary employees stock in the corporation will encourage them to apply at the veterinary practice and stay there longer, so they accrue benefits. If a practice is having trouble recruiting and retaining veterinary employees, an ESOP can be a key part of a strategy to turn that around. ESOPs also often come with many tax benefits for employees and the veterinary practice.

ESOPs also encourage employees to care about the veterinary practice. Their investment is tied to investors’ confidence. If employees don’t care about the practice’s future, an ESOP is a powerful way of reminding them that everyone should be pulling together.

Limitations and Drawbacks

Despite their appeal, ESOPs have some serious limitations and drawbacks. Perhaps the most obvious limitation is that not all companies distribute stock. A sole proprietorship or other non-stock corporation won’t be able to provide employees an ESOP.

Stock is a measure of real ownership in a veterinary practice. When a practice sells stock to the public, they lose a certain amount of control over their practice to shareholders. Veterinary practices with ESOPs often cede some control to their employees, although nowhere near as much as they cede in a model like a worker-owned cooperative. Concerned practices can distribute ESOP stock that doesn’t give employees voting privileges.

In some rare but troubling cases, an ESOP may incentivize bad employee behavior. An employee might fail to blow the whistle on scandalous practices within the practice, for instance, because this would cause investors to lose confidence in the veterinary practice and cause the employees’ investments to lose value. Rather than addressing the bad practices and amending them, employees might allow the toxic elements within the practice to fester. To avoid this, it’s vital to maintain a culture of accountability and honesty within the veterinary practice.

For practices that dispense stock, an ESOP can be a valuable way to incentivize employees to sign onto the veterinary practice and work toward its success. ESOPs aren’t an option for every practice, and should be carefully considered before they’re implemented, but can transform a veterinary practice’s culture for the better.

6 Ways A Veterinary Team Member Could Embezzle from Your Practice

by easyDVM

You may not want to think about it, but you could have a thief in your midst. For many veterinary team members, the temptation to embezzle from their employer is real. Sometimes no one may even notice until the culprit’s made off with a substantial amount of money.

Take control of the situation. Here are six all-too-common ways team members on all levels can steal from your practice, and some simple ways to avoid fraud.

1) Deleting or altering invoices.

Your invoices are the lifeblood of your business. They’re how clients and other businesses know what to pay you.

At many businesses, it’s easy to change or even delete an invoice. By changing the amount on an invoice after the customer receives it, an employee could take some of the money paid by the customer. By deleting an invoice, the employee could walk off with all the money, or even provide services to family and friends for free.

This problem exists because there’s no paper trail. In these cases, practice management software is invaluable: it allows management to password protect invoice changes and deletions, and track changes made.

2) Taking cash.

Cash provides your employees an easy way to embezzle. It’s easy for a team member to skim the till. Alternately, if clients aren’t diligent about checking their receipts (or taking a receipt at all), a team member can request more cash than they’ve rung up the client for, and can pocket the difference.

As a rule of thumb, any time there’s cash changing hands, there should be two team members there. All clients should receive receipts, and practices should audit cash registers and receipts regularly.

Worried about tracking invoice deletions? With easyDVM, we can help…

3) Making personal purchases on the company’s credit card.

This one is straightforward: team members use the company credit card for personal expenditures. It’s a classic way of embezzling.

Only select members of your team should be able to use the company credit card. Veterinary practice management software helps managers run reports on spending and see where money’s going. Immediately question unusual purchases.

4) Paying fake vendors.

It can be surprisingly easy to make fake purchases on a company’s behalf. A team member could easily authorize a payment to themselves or a friend.

Veterinary practice software helps businesses run reports on their payments, and detect any purchases that don’t match the practice’s normal routine. Again: if you see a payment to someone you don’t recognize, look into it.

5) Taking inventory home and selling it online.

Normally the profits from selling flea or heartworm products go directly to your business. But a savvy team member can figure out how to take those profits for themselves, without ever touching company money. Team members can swipe drugs or tools, sell them online, and pocket the profits. Particularly brazen team members may even claim the item never came, forcing the supplier to eat the cost and send duplicate items.

Another way is to set up their own account at a vendor that you are paying for.  The products ship directly to the employee’s home and you get stuck with the bill.

To counteract this, keep security cameras up, and assign team members to take inventory regularly. Ideally, the team member taking inventory shouldn’t be the same one who’s unpacking items.  And use your practice management software to track inventory and cross-reference what you received in the software with the invoices you are paying.

6) Logging hours they didn’t work.

Many businesses let employees report their own hours. Some team members will take advantage of this, logging hours they didn’t work.

Veterinary practice management software will usually let managers see the hours a team member has logged, at a glance. Managers should be present and engaged enough to know if that actually reflects the employee’s presence in the office, or their work.  Our easyDVM software even shows the ip address of the device where they clocked in allowing you to easily check that they are in the right place at the right time.

There are many ways to embezzle money from a veterinary practice. By staying diligent, keeping an eye on expenditures, and running regular reports on your veterinary practice management software, you can make sure your employees are on the straight and narrow. Most of your employees are completely honest and your due diligence protects them from being set up by that one bad apple.

New Veterinary Clinic – Lease Retail Space or Own a Free-standing Facility?

by easyDVM

When starting a veterinary practice, reviewing all available options is wise — from deciding on a location and employees to which veterinary software to use. One of the biggest decisions is whether to own or lease your veterinary practice location, and the answer depends on quite a few variables. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each so you can make a well-informed decision.

Pros of Leasing A Retail Space

Many new veterinary practice owners opt to lease their space for a number of practical reasons:

  • Less upfront cash needed: As a new veterinary practice, and perhaps a new vet as well, money might be a little tight. New veterinarians are typically paying off student loans, which put a crimp in their cash flow, so leasing might be the more comfortable option.
  • Inclusive pricing: Typically, maintenance is included in a lease agreement. This means somebody else will handle cutting the grass and maintaining the parking lot. This type of pricing can make your operations budget easier to control.
  • Fewer issues with maintenance: When something unexpected happens, you will simply call the landlord and let them know so it can be handled. Depending on your lease agreement, you may not have to worry about paying for plumbing or electrical repairs, or even if the roof blows off in a storm.
  • Better location availability: Often, existing commercial buildings have better locations with great accessibility, which is something that might be difficult to duplicate when building a facility on your own location. It’s even better when there are complementary businesses nearby such as pet supply stores, groomers or doggie washes.

Cons of Leasing A Retail Space

However, there are also some drawbacks to leasing as well:

  • Less available space: Sometimes, leasing means not having the amount of space that you would like to have for your vet practice. Leasing commercial property is a function of price and size, and sometimes you have to make do with what you can afford.
  • Less control over the property: When you lease a retail space, you will be bound by the lease agreement and the terms you negotiate with the owner. Of course, these terms might preclude you from doing some of the things that you’d like, so be certain to read the agreement carefully to avoid unintended issues.
  • No equity: Just like when you rent a home instead of buying, you are putting money in the landlord’s pocket rather than your own. You aren’t building equity for your future when renting.

Pros of Owning A Free-standing Facility

Owning your veterinary facility might be the best choice for you.

  • More control: When you buy or build your own practice facility, you have control over the space and can do whatever you want or need with it. From configuring your offices to building kennels and an outdoor dog run, the sky’s the limit.
  • More space: When you build a veterinary facility, you can decide how big a lot you need and how large you want the building to be. Likewise, if you buy an existing building, you can retrofit it to suit your needs.
  • More flexibility: When you own your veterinary facility, you can do pretty much whatever you want with it, as long as it’s legal. Want to stay open until midnight? Put up a really ugly but attention-getting sign (within local regulations of course)? Go ahead and do it. Planning to board dogs and cats and create an outdoor space for them to get exercise? Not a problem.
  • More economical overall: Many practice owners are thrilled to realize that owning is actually more economical for them than leasing a commercial building.

Cons of Owning A Free-standing Facility

On the flip side, there are some negatives to building or buying your own space as well, depending on your situation.

  • Upfront cash needed: Diverting the funds needed to purchase a commercial building or pay a down payment can take away your ability to invest in technology and equipment.
  • Maintenance required: Somebody has to keep up with the maintenance required, and when you own the place, that somebody is you.
  • Not easy to move: When you have a veterinary building completed or retrofitted to your specifications, it limits the potential buyers. Most likely it will only appeal to other veterinarians, so it can be challenging to sell the space when needed, may take longer than expected and can sometimes net less money.

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

Where Do I Get the Funds for My Start-Up Veterinary Practice?

by easyDVM

You have to spend money to make money. But where does that money come from?

If you’ve never started your own business, it can seem like businesses appear out of nowhere. Taking out a loan is perhaps the best-known way to get essential capital, but there are many other ways of getting together the money to open a new veterinary practice. Read on to learn some of the ways of getting your veterinary practice off the ground.

Your Savings

Maybe the most obvious way of getting the money for your new practice is by dipping into your personal funds. If you’re considering opening a practice, you’ve probably been working for someone else’s practice or a veterinary hospital for a while. Along the way, you’ve likely saved up some money.

These funds will most obviously include a savings account. They may also consist of less liquid assets like stocks, bonds or even a retirement account — but be aware that liquidating these assets may carry hefty fees or tax penalties.

In general, you don’t want to drain your entire savings to open a new business. You want to leave yourself a financial cushion to rely on in case the business fails or doesn’t pick up like you’re hoping. So unless you’re very flush, you should probably supplement your own funds with another source.

Grants

Grants are an often-overlooked way to get the capital you need to start a new business. These will be particularly useful if you’re servicing an underprivileged or underserved area or population, because government agencies and charities will often earmark grant money to go toward these communities.

The downside of applying for grants is that you have to apply for them, and assembling the grant application takes time and potentially money (if you hire a grant writer). There’s no guarantee that you’ll get the grant, either, so you shouldn’t plan your opening date around a grant you’ve just applied for! But with a well-written application and a good vision for your practice, you’ll greatly improve your chances of receiving a grant.

Bank and Private Loans

Banks and private companies both offer loans to businesses looking to get off the ground, and this is how many (if not most) practices get established. However, unlike many of these loan types, you’ll owe interest on your loan. The more you take out, and the more time it takes you to pay it back, the more you’ll owe.

What’s more, the interest rate will depend on your credit. If you’ve had trouble paying your bills, or if you have a bankruptcy in your record, you’ll end up paying far more back to the bank over time. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to explore other options first and only borrow what you need (and can pay back).

Friends, Family and Crowdfunding

If your friends or family are affluent, you might try asking them for money to get your practice started. In these scenarios, it’s good to treat these loans like a bank or private loan. Don’t just take the money — pay it back over time. Set out the terms in advance, including the payments you’ll make, and any interest that will accrue.

Another newer option is crowdfunding. Using GoFundMe, Indiegogo or Kickstarter can help you raise capital for a business by distributing the costs across a community of interested people who want to see you succeed. Of course, you’ll need to advertise the crowdfunding campaign to make it successful, and you might need to find a way — even something small — to show your donors your appreciation.

Starting a private veterinary practice takes a lot of capital. But with these methods in hand, you’ll be well on your way to raising the funds you need, so you can serve your community and fulfill your dreams.

Getting Veterinary Clients in the Door (A Few Reminders…)

by easyDVM

Content marketing can seem like a complicated endeavour. But, just like anything in business, content marketing is only as daunting as you make it. I understand that may sound a little naive, but there is certainly a grain of truth to the notion that we can over-complicate any task when we lose sight of that task’s guiding principles. Content marketing is a multi-step process, but the strategies that surround content marketing are based on largely common sense and practical principles and guidelines. If nothing else, I am here to remind you of a few of those guidelines and hopefully relieve some stress surrounding content marketing strategies and applications.

Take time to think about your practice and your clients

Before you can generate actual content, take a deep breath and brainstorm about what your practice means to you and your clients. If you don’t clearly define the terms of your practice ( i.e. how you want it to be perceived, what you want it to accomplish, and how you want it to impact your clients), how can you expect to define the terms of your marketing strategy? When you are generating content, it can become very clear very quickly whether your content is being guided by a clear and concise vision. Constructing that clear practice vision can help define your goals and construct a holistic marketing strategy. In essence, treat this brainstorm time like a scientific case study; before you can conduct the study, you must define the terms and variables that will guide your study. Content marketing is no different.

Be brutally honest with yourself

When generating content, you must be brutally honest with yourself. If writing was never your strong-suit, it may not be the worst idea to look elsewhere for content generation. This might mean looking in-house for people on your team that could generate engaging content or be trained to do so, or even outsourcing your marketing to a professional in the marketing field. Either path with require some investment, but if you’re serious of generating engaging content that will bring people in the door (or are reading this post), then I’m sure you understand that. If you decide to remove yourself from the direct marketing process, do not feel that you must exclude yourself entirely. Do not discount your knowledge as a veterinary professional. Whether you decide to stay in-house or outsource your content marketing, utilize your expertise and insight.

Rough draft versus final draft

It’s like you never left college! This might seem like common sense, but the editing and optimization process is vital once you’ve generated content. Check for spelling errors, the presence and placement of keywords, content organization, plagiarism, etc. Treat your marketing content like you would the final draft of a college assignment. Glaring grammatical errors or incorrect data presentation can really detract from the strength of your content, so be sure that your content generation process includes an editing step. Bonus tip: When generating content, particularly when it relates to veterinary medicine, make sure that what you’re saying is client-friendly. More specifically, make sure that what you’re saying isn’t too bogged down in technical jargon or only accessible to other medical professionals. Your focus is on engaging clients in some form or another, so always double check that your tone and content are customer-centric.

SEO. SEO. SEO!

Search engine optimization. This is an imperative aspect to content marketing and entails a variety of aspects involved in optimizing not only the performance of your content but your website, as well. SEO entails things like optimizing your site/content through a responsive design (which can incorporate clean coding, faster load times, etc.), complying with existing web standards, strong backlinks and inbound links through promotion, meta information, as well as mobile search compatability. This last aspect – mobile search – could be argued to be the most important, if for no other reason than the ever-growing prominence of mobile usage by consumers. Search engine optimization also entails integrating your content and website with your existing social media presence. Don’t be afraid of cross-promoting your site and content across different platforms, and always including links and streams from one to the other.
The keys listed above are certainly not the end-all be-all when it comes to content marketing, but they do highlight a few of the major points and pit-stops along the way to successful content generation and marketing. If you’re ever in doubt about the success of your content marketing strategy or just want to stay on top of your marketing efforts, utilizing tools like Google Analytics or the analytics tools on Facebook and Instagram are great options. They can provide a wealth of data on your website or social media platforms, and even track the performance of individual pieces of content. They are meant to be user-friendly, so do not be intimidated by what may seem like a bunch of analytical IT jargon. Such analytical tools ultimately give you greater control and understanding of your marketing strategy, and can even help you better understand what potential and existing clients are engaging with. If you would like to go more in-depth, I have posted some links below to sites and articles that delve into topics like content generation and marketing, as well as SEO. These links are not endorsements of specific companies or entities. Rather, they are simply meant to encourage further learning and understanding.

Content Marketing:
http://www.vmdtoday.com/journals/vmd/2017/august2017/the-five-pillars-of-content-marketing
SEO:
https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

Top 5 SEO Tips for Veterinary Practices

by easyDVM

According to a 2017 survey, eight out of 10 people have used search engines to find a local service or product within the last week. As a veterinary practice owner, you need to ensure your business is highly visible in search engine results pages if you want customers to find out about the service you offer. Here are five SEO tips that can help your veterinary practice stand out online.

1. Choose Your Keywords Carefully

Use a keyword research tool, such as Google Keyword Planner, to find out which keywords people use when searching for veterinarians online. Consider local keywords, such as “veterinarian in [your city],” as well as service-specific keywords such as “spay and neuter.” Long-tail keywords, such as “cat spaying in [your city],” contain several words. Although they have a smaller search volume than general single-word keywords, such as “vet,” long-tail keywords usually have less competition and can attract customers who are looking for the specific services you offer. Be sure to include long-tail keywords in your SEO strategy.

2. Publish Fresh Content Regularly

Adding a blog to your website can strongly boost your search rankings. Search engines love fresh, original content. Once you have chosen your target keywords, create content around those keywords and publish it on a regular schedule. For example, you could add one post per week to your blog.

3. Provide Value to Readers

Your content must provide value for your readers. Use services like Quora to find out what questions people are asking online, and then use your veterinary expertise to create posts that answer these kinds of questions. You can also source blog topics from the questions clients ask in your veterinary practice. For example, if clients regularly express concern about putting their pet under anesthesia for surgery or dental cleanings, you could write a blog post about the anesthetic options for pets and how vets minimize the risks.

4. Add Your Veterinary Practice to Directories

Adding your business to online directories makes it more visible online, as well as providing backlinks to your website that can improve your search rank. Add your veterinary practice to Google Maps, Yelp and any local directories that serve your city or region. Be sure to keep these listings up to date with accurate opening hours and contact details. Encourage your customers to review your business on these directory sites to improve its visibility and reputation.

5. Use Social Media

Using social media can strengthen your relationships with customers. Having a strong social media presence may also bring SEO benefits, as people who interact with your practice on social media may post links to your website from their own sites and blogs. The more links you have pointing to your website, the higher your search rank is likely to be. Set up profile pages for your veterinary practice on Facebook, Twitter and any other social media networks popular with your customers. First, fill out your profile pages with accurate information. Next, begin sharing interesting and engaging content, such as links to your blog posts, pictures of your veterinary team, and questions that encourage people to talk about their pets.

Keep It Up!

Search engine optimization isn’t a “set and forget” process. To stay at the top of the search engine results pages, you need to keep using these tips. By continually working on your SEO strategy, you can make it easy for customers to find you online.

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

Veterinary Wellness Plans in Veterinary Practice – Pros and Cons

by easyDVM

Woman out running along a grassy track with her two dogs. Rear view if get legs with both dogs in view. Early morning light creates shadows at atmosphere. Shot on iPhone 6If you are in the field of veterinary medicine, you have heard about wellness plans.  You may be asking yourself if these plans would be profitable for your practice. Here are some pros and cons that wellness plans can bring to your business.

Pro: Increased Vet Visits

Clients have been known to increase the amount of times they bring their pets to the vet by two to three times when they have wellness plans. When a client can pay for services at a discounted price monthly, or even annually, they will be inclined to utilize these services more often. This leads to better care for pets, improved bond between the veterinary team and the client, and increased revenue for your practice.

Pro: Wellness Plans Tailored Towards Specific Practice Needs

Do you need to draw more revenue towards a specific service, such as dental cleanings or spay/neuter surgery? Create a wellness plan that includes items associated with only these services.  This can drive clients to providing yearly bloodwork and dental cleanings for their pets, or even spay/neuter services with a new puppy/kitten vaccine package. Ultimately, again, this improves pet care and the bond with your clients, as well as increased revenue.

Con: Wellness Plans Can Be a Sensitive Matter

There are many things that can make wellness plans fall apart. As a veterinarian, you must pay close attention to what is best for your clients and their pets. Communication between yourself, your team, and your clients is essential to the success of wellness plans.  Clients need to understand which wellness plan is best for their pet at various times throughout their care.  Therefore, you cannot implement a successful wellness plan without thorough research to provide appropriate options and excellent communication to your clients, as well as your team.  Everyone must be on board to make it work.

Con: As With Everything, Things Can Take a Terrible Turn

It happens.  Clients cannot pay their wellness plan fees.  A pet dies with months of unused services.  As part of implementing wellness plans, veterinarians have to at least attempt to prepare themselves for the inevitable. Know what you are going to do; maybe your practice will offer a refund of services not used or have a clause that protects the plan, and your practice, if a client defaults on payments. If you have covered your bases beforehand, and communicate this with your team and clients, it will not be as difficult to deal with, should the time come.

Summary

This information merely grazes the surface of wellness plans in private practice.  In conclusion, the most important thing is to do your research as a veterinarian and include your team and clients in the implementation of your pricing strategy.  Find out what is best for your clients and roll with it. Wellness plans may not be the answer for you and your practice, but they are worth a shot.

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

Should I Open My Own Veterinary Practice?

by easyDVM

Open for businessOpening your own veterinary practice gives you a lot of control over your career, but some vets are happy to remain associates in existing practices. The right choice for you depends on what you want out of your career. Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of each option to see which is right for you.

Why Open Your Own Veterinary Practice?

Veterinary practice owners often have more control over their working lives than vets who work as employees in practices owned by other people. When you own the practice, you can determine the opening hours of your practice, as well as choosing the layout and decor of your working environment. Feeling that you have chosen to come into work every morning can make a huge difference to your state of mind, as you will feel in control of your life. You may also feel more invested in the practice and feel as though you are working toward an important goal.

Why Remain as an Associate?

Associate vets often have a better work-life balance than practice owners. Although they may in theory have less control over their working hours, they often work fewer hours in total. Whereas practice owners must do everything it takes to keep their practice running, including solving any crises that occur, employees are only obliged to work their contracted hours. When you go home at the end of the day as an associate, you can stop thinking about work, whereas a practice owner is responsible for planning the long-term future of their business.

Which Is Better for You as a Veterinarian?

Choosing to remain an associate doesn’t mean you aren’t committed to your career. Some veterinarians choose to forgo practice ownership so they can spend more time reading the latest medical journals and developing their medical skills. On the other hand, practice owners get a wider view of pet care, as they interact with pet owners, insurance companies, and the regulations that govern the industry, as well as the animals themselves. Which option is best for your career? It depends whether you want to focus purely on medicine or explore other areas of running a veterinary business. This is a very personal choice, so take some time to think through which aspects of your job you most enjoy before making the jump into practice ownership.

Which Option Is More Financially Rewarding?

Practice owners have a greater potential to increase their earnings than associates, but they also risk losing money. As an associate, you may enjoy the stability of taking home a fixed salary every month, or you may aspire to build a business that provides you with long-term financial security. If you have access to enough capital to start your own practice, you could create a highly profitable business that gives an excellent return on your initial investment.

Should You Open Your Own Veterinary Practice?

Opening a veterinary practice is a great option for many people, but before you jump into this option, it pays to do your homework. Take the time to learn the business skills you’ll need to manage your practice, such as marketing, accounting and managing practice budgets. Think carefully about what you want from your veterinary career. Are you an ambitious entrepreneur who craves control or an associate who simply wants to care for animals while maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

3 Things to Consider When Starting a Veterinary Practice

by Sam D Meisler DVM

VeterinarianIf you’re planning on starting a veterinary practice — a million and one thoughts are likely racing through your head. Trust me, I know the feeling — but as long as you remain focused on the task at hand, everything will begin to fall into place.

Although highly specialized in terms of your objectives, opening your own practice needs to be viewed like any other business. In order to succeed, you’ll need to plan ahead and adjust your goals based on your evolving objectives.

If one thing is certain, you have an exciting journey ahead. As long as you break this one large (yet exciting) goal into smaller, more attainable steps, you’ll be well on your way.

First, you’ll need to consider the following…

There is no doubt that it takes a certain type of individual to start a veterinary practice. Although you may be a veterinary first and foremost, you also display key entrepreneur qualities — including a high level of passion and willingness to take educated risks.

Of course, your overall mission is to build a profitable business — but at the heart of it all, you will also want to build a practice that provides excellent service and quality medicine. In order to achieve these challenging, yet attainable goals, you’ll need to take a few key steps.

1. Write a business plan

Whether you’re opening a veterinary practice or a restaurant, every business owner needs to plan ahead. With only a loose strategy in place, how will you ever implement your current objectives? Begin to ask yourself some of the following questions:

  • What is my core mission and how will I achieve success?
  • What will I offer my clients — and more importantly, who will my clients be?
  • What will be my edge over the competition?
  • How will I market my new practice and what will my sales strategy be?

If you are looking for ideas and some key examples, the Australian Veterinary Practice Management Association offers a thorough guide that you can check out here.

2. Establish your location and team

When choosing a location, you need to think about the current demand. This will be one of the most important considerations in terms of sustainable success. Also, make sure you do some market research. Find out more about the local demographics, so you can find a location that will meet the needs of your target market.

When it comes to your team, think about not only your immediate staff, but also the professionals who will provide key services. In most cases, a new veterinary practice will require assistance from experts such as a local attorney, an insurance representative, a financial advisor and even a strategic mentor who has already taken this exciting journey.

3. Seek funding opportunities

Right now, you need to make a list that includes all of your start-up requirements. Some examples include:

  • Legal services
  • Rent
  • Equipment
  • Systems for bookkeeping, scheduling, etc.
  • Promotion
  • Initial operating costs

You need to be practical in terms of your expenses and projected cash flow. To begin, prepare a 12-month projection. Estimate your potential revenue, expenses, debt financing and your minimum salary.

Next, explore all of your options — including possible grants. Look into grants that cover aspects of animal research, focusing on both private and public opportunities. When lending money, always be mindful of three key areas: the principal, the term and the interest rate.

At the end of the day, you need to make decisions based on what’s best for you and your practice. Your goal is to meet the needs of your clients, so be sure to automate as many systems as possible. This will free up precious time and energy, so that you can focus on what really matters — taking care of those who do not have a voice.

 

Sources

http://avpma.ava.com.au/
http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.