Why business 101 is more important than everAugust 25, 2020The new normal has forced veterinary practices to adjust how they do business. However, that's not to say a back-to-basics approach should is outdated.
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What veterinarians can learn from the Sears bankruptcyFebruary 20, 2019Sears, one of America's longest standing household names, recently raised the white flag and filed for bankruptcy. Started by Robert Sears in 1886, the company bearing his name clearly struggled in the past few years. The reasons are important and somewhat universal lessons to be applied. So how can veterinarians avoid mistakes that brought a 133-year-old iconic business to its knees? Adapt or die Sears was a pioneer in catalog sales, but slow to change with the times. More recently, it struggled to compete with Walmart and other big box stores. Similarly, veterinary practices face competition from multiple "players," including low-cost vaccine businesses (e.g. farm stores, feed stores, human pharmacies, pet stores), spay and neuter clinics, and even local family practices. This has profoundly affected the profitability of practices that relied heavily on "yearly shots," instead of focusing on the importance of (bi)yearly physical exams. Sadly, this philosophy made vaccines look like commodities, which means clients are likely to gravitate to the cheaper provider. Another factor that has historically affected revenue is the development of three-year vaccines. Again, those of us who didn't stress the value and importance of a (bi)annual exam are now facing clients who feel they …
UF credentialed program hones veterinary students' business acumenMay 16, 2018The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine is offering a program designed to help its students develop business-related skills from contract negotiations to debt management as practice owners. "Ours is the only college of veterinary medicine in the country that offers an academically credentialed business management certificate program," said Martha Mallicote, DVM, the program's director and a clinical assistant professor at the college. The UF Veterinary Business Management Certificate program, which began in 2013, is an offshoot of a business management course begun by Dana Zimmel, DVM, associate dean for clinical services and chief medical officer for the UF Veterinary Hospitals. The program features 10 hours of elective coursework, or six courses, including a clerkship, in which students provide the owner with a financial, fee, and compliance analysis, along with feedback on inventory management and a strategic marketing assessment. Students must complete a report summarizing their findings and suggest improvements. As of 2018, 109 students had earned a certificate and 38 veterinary practices had been evaluated through the program's practice management clerkship. "Student evaluations are very positive," Dr. Mallicote said. "We also get good feedback about them finding employment, as well as …
Petplan to hold veterinary clinic business strategy speaker seriesJanuary 12, 2018Petplan pet insurance announced it will hold its Business of Veterinary Medicine Conference in partnership with VMX on Feb. 2. The speaker series is designed to help independent veterinary practice owners answer the challenge posed by the increase in marketing-savvy, corporate-owned hospital networks. "Practice owners are becoming more aware of the need to pay attention to the business side of veterinary medicine," said Andy Roark, DVM, an industry speaker, author, and media personality who Petplan partnered with to develop the series. "The rise of corporate practices are really forcing business to the forefront." According to Dr. Roark, the most important business principles that practice owners and staff should focus on are strategy (where they are going as a practice), operations (efficiency in providing services), marketing (how to tell their story to find clients), and client experience (how the practice makes people feel). "Vets have always done a good job with operations and efficiency," Roark said. "The area that has the potential to make the biggest impact now is a practice's specific strategy for its clientele. Veterinarians are coming to the understanding that different clients want different things, and they can't be all things to all people. Practice …
