VetPartners Corner

Five building blocks of personal innovation will get you headed in the right direction. But if you’re still having trouble, start by stabilizing the base.

While the term “innovation” is one of the most overused words in the English language, in its purest form it is simply the introduction of something new. Business model innovation can have a stronger impact on profit margins than service or product innovations, it can disrupt established norms, and it can lead to vibrant cultures that […]

If you’re ready to elevate your leadership game, hire a coach to help you tap into your natural strengths and make better decisions.

What do Bianca Andreescu, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Daniil Medvedev have in common? That’s right, all four are elite tennis players and were finalists in the 2019 U.S. Open. What you might not realize is that all four athletes — despite being ranked among the best in their sport worldwide — rely on professional coaches […]

Resilience allows us to stand strong in the face of adversity, bounce back from stumbles and grow from crises we’ve endured.

I have a confession: Writing this article was a source of great stress. Here’s the mind blower: Stress isn’t all bad. I’ve worn many hats in my two-decade adventure in veterinary medicine. Most recently as a co-founder and positive change ninja with Flourish Veterinary Consulting, I’m wearing a hat that reads, “Positive Psychology Practitioner.” Positive psychology […]

If you’re struggling to find — and hire — an associate veterinarian for your practice, get to work fixing the problem. You can do it.

I’m a proponent of tough love. As a veterinary recruiter, I give tough love to my clients and candidates almost daily. I administer it in a consultative way, of course. This is because clients and candidates rely on me to get them the things they want. Specifically, I: Help animal health and veterinary professionals find […]

Adhere to five core principles to build a resilient veterinary team and practice.

To survive and thrive in today’s fast-changing, volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, veterinary practices need to be resilient. We are living with a new set of rules regarding the way we work. To survive and thrive, practices must be purposeful, agile, tenacious and balanced. They must be nimble and adaptive, always reinventing to remain […]

Focusing on pet-specific care will improve patient and financial outcomes in your veterinary practice.

For veterinary medicine to provide real value to pet owners and real financial success for veterinarians, there is a need to focus on being proactive, appreciating risk factors, closing compliance gaps and managing through evidence-based guidelines. This is the essence of pet-specific care and an opportunity that veterinarians should embrace. I define pet-specific care as […]

Fill-in veterinarians are well worth the cost. They help maintain work flow and keep clients happy, pets cared for and the staff sane.

Does anyone remember the McDonald’s advertising slogan “You deserve a break today”? The jingle frequently dances through my head as I think about my career as a relief veterinarian. The veterinary relief, or locum, niche is becoming ever more important in our profession. The need for this business-to-business service is growing along with the exploding […]

Current and potential clients will learn a lot about your practice at a glance if you properly manage your free Google My Business entry.

Mobile devices have changed the landscape of how people find businesses. Because smartphones are with us wherever we travel, we have access to information 24/7. Hungry? Look at “Restaurants near me” to find out what is close by, see menus and check busy times. The snow is melting and mosquitoes are emerging? A search for […]

Use KPIs and financial smarts to drive your practice toward higher levels of profitability.

In case you missed my August/September article, “Uneasy Street,” I examined the difference between flying by the seat of our pants as practice owners versus leveraging financial statements and key performance indicators (KPIs) to make educated, intentional management decisions. For those readers ready for a structured, calculated management process and the benefits it brings, let’s […]

A seat-of-the-pants approach isn’t the way to run a practice. You need to construct a detailed strategic plan and then dedicate time to implementing it.

Daggers were shooting out of the eyes of the four veterinary hospital partners. You could have cut the tension with a butter knife. I was there as an impartial facilitator after the partners discovered through a professional valuation that the business representing their blood, sweat and tears was worth basically the ground it sat on […]