Today’s Veterinary Business provides information and resources designed to help veterinarians and office management improve the financial performance of their practices, allowing them to increase the level of patient care and client service.
Issue link: https://todaysveterinarybusiness.epubxp.com/i/856474
17 August/September 2017 • TODAYSVETERINARYBUSINESS.COM Meet Dr. Kate. She's been out of school for eight years and for much of that time has dreamed of opening a clinic. Financially conser- vative, she's worked and saved her way out of most debt. She's been with three small animal gener- al practices and loves the work. Together with a colleague, she's de- cided it's time to take control of her future and make something new. Dr. Kate lives in a middle-class suburb of a Midwestern city. She has her eye on a commercial strip center close to nice neighbor- hoods, a new school and two sub- divisions under development. Want to build a hospital? Veterinarians tend to be good risks for lenders, so doctors with excellent credit and a detailed business plan are a step ahead. Business CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM Getting to this point in a hospital's construction will take time. The payoff comes later. Photos courtesy of BDA Architecture Her wish list includes: • A small animal general practice that keeps pace with the latest medical developments and focuses on patient wellness • High-tech offerings as well as three alternative modalities: acupuncture, therapeutic massage and physical therapy • 1.5 full-time-equivalent vet- erinarians at the start but 2.5 or 3 FTEs within five to seven years. Her colleague is a new mom and is looking for a half-time schedule. been with the bank a lot of years and had a very good credit score. She managed to save about $75,000 in seed money, which her business plan indicated would cover about 10 percent of the project's total bud- get and pay for initial operating expenses. The meeting was not encouraging. The bank wanted an owner's contribution of at least 20 percent, plus assets to collater- alize at least half of the remaining debt. Her dream appeared to be on hold for a few years. After practicing for years in hospitals run by other veterinarians, you decide it's time for your own place. You know where the hospital should be located and maybe what it should look like. But what now? Where do you start? By Paul Gladysz, AIA, NCARB, CSI, ICC A new practice has a lot of expense items, so the budget for each category must remain reasonable and be as tight as possible. Clients love Dr. Kate. She's developed a following, but not enough of one to sustain a clinic. Having grown up in the age of social media, she's comfortable with the idea of marketing and hospital promotion. Dollars and Cents About a year ago, Dr. Kate visited her banker to see about qualifying for funding to support her venture. She had