Why you should pre-plan your practice exitAugust 9, 2022Let’s start by talking about exit planning. When you think about this term, what does it represent to you? Many will perceive it means they are ready to sell tomorrow, but it is not absolutely true. Whenever you consider starting a business, and no matter the phase of business you are in, an exit plan is vital to your future success. Practice owners are waiting until they are tapped out, exhausted, and ready to get out as quickly as possible. This creates a tremendous amount of stress on what they receive for the sale of their practices and the likelihood of selling to another veterinarian is low.
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Create the employee personal blueprintAugust 9, 2022By definition, a blueprint is a plan or template put on paper. In this case, a personal blueprint is a template created based on three-month, one-year, and three-year career and personal goals. A plan for how to achieve the goals and a place to voice what roadblocks may stand in the way. Writing down goals makes them almost tangible. It becomes a different level of commitment made by both of you—the team member and you, the manager.
The arrogance of sexist business beliefsAugust 9, 2022While women dominate current veterinary school classes, they still represent a paltry number of leadership positions. The first woman to be elected AVMA president was Dr. Mary Beth Leininger in 1996; the first woman to serve as AAHA president was Dr. Linda Merry in 1989.
Seven strategies to improve vaccine complianceAugust 8, 2022A client says, "I’m just here for the rabies shot, Doc,” a client says. When a pet owner chooses services below your standard of care, the patient risks exposure to diseases and parasites. Practice health also suffers.
Not all feedback is created equalAugust 3, 2022Have you ever given feedback to someone and it went completely wrong? Did they scream and yell at you, or did they take it and grow from it? Giving feedback can be difficult or rewarding to the receiver, so you will always want to make sure it is impactful!
Five metrics veterinary practices should trackAugust 2, 2022When most veterinary staff members consider key performance indicators (KPIs), they often think about long reports with seemingly endless columns of numbers and dashboards filled with colorful charts and graphs, and all the work involved to compile those reports. They do not usually think about the data behind those KPIs, what it can reveal about the practice itself, and how their practice management software can help make the compilation easier.
Team evaluations reimaginedAugust 2, 2022Evaluations. The word instills an immediate reaction the moment you read it! Did it cause you to take a deep breath, sigh loudly, or roll your eyes? Was your response, “Oh yeah, I need to get around to doing those?”
Overwhelmed with callbacks and emails?August 2, 2022Veterinarians need administrative time blocked in their schedules to review lab results, update medical records, approve prescriptions, and call/text/email clients and vendors. Without dedicated time for administrative tasks, veterinarians risk job burnout and mental health.
VPN Plus+ ExclusiveA perspective against private equityJuly 7, 2022By Patty Khuly, VMD, MBABy the end of this column, I hope to explain the essence of private equity investing well enough to show there is nothing defensible (or even capitalist) about it. Even if you are one of the few fortunate veterinary practice owners likely to benefit enormously from it—trust me, there is nothing to love beyond what it does for your personal bank account. (I begrudge you not one penny of it. You have earned it!)
Colleague confessions and the lies we tellJuly 1, 2022The lies we, as veterinarians, tell in our professional lives are in no way unique to us or to our own practice.
