Business

Dr. Karyl Ropko worked closely with the SBA to obtain a building loan. Here are some tips she learned along the way and the steps she took to smooth the road:

Last week I attended a social event in the area where I first practiced. Returning home, I drove along a 10-mile stretch of route 611, between Martin's Creek and Mt. Bethel, Penn. As I did so, nostalgia ran strong, as I recalled names like Budd Ott, Floyd Ott, Mike Palmer, Charlie Diehl and many others. These were all active dairy farms in the 1970s, when milk prices were strong and dairy practice relatively simple.

Jerry Vandever sat across the table from his accountant. Herbert Johnson, CPA, had been an accountant for many years and was looking over the tops of his reading glasses at the file for Patch-a-Pet Animal Hospital.

Promoting your practice through public continuing education events requires careful planning for a successful and well-attended outcome.

Examination is 50 percent of the work of our profession. Examination is the key to our success or failure in the pursuit of our profession. Examination is the most botched up service performed by fully 50 percent of our colleagues in both its qualitative and quantitative aspects.

Dr. Susan calls my consulting office in distress because her first employer DVM, after only six months on the job, has met with her and explained she?s not working enough hours, she?s not being active enough in civic and community activities and he doesn?t understand why she wants every-other weekend off.

For the second time in two years, our lawmakers have created federal tax cuts designed to spur business investment. However, despite record-low interest rates, affording the funds many veterinarians require in order to acquire the property and equipment to take advantage of those tax cuts has never been harder. Into the breach has stepped the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Failure to address these 25 issues is central to limiting a practice's patient care success.In other words, address these issues in your business plan to ensure success.

Finding the right job takes planning; know what you want personally, professionally for longevity, satisfaction

You know the type. You might even be the type-the DVM who routinely puts in 12-plus hour days, never takes vacations, can't bear to delegate, feels anxious and purposeless when not on the job.

Five years ago Pet Care Hospital in Plano, Texas, opened a doggie daycare service and the practice, clients, and dogs continue to reap the rewards. "Clients take home tired dogs, worn out from a day full of play and exercise. And over the long-term, the daycare builds the dogs' self-confidence so they aren't fearful," says Jill Vincent, a certified trainer who runs the daycare as well as the practice's dog-training classes.

Asking clients for input and allowing staff members to plan the new facility made for a winning combination at Magrane Pet Medical Center.

State and local governments are focusing on stricter enforcement and higher fees to meet budget shortfalls. At the same time, the principals in many veterinary practices are discovering just how much government services cost their practices - and how many of those increasingly more expensive licenses and permits they do not have.

Our universe is governed by laws. Natural laws. Laws that are as immutable as the laws of gravity and thermodynamics and these impact each and every one of us every day and in every way.

"One, zero, eight, nine, eight." I presume the sales representative was stating the price in this manner to lessen the impact.

Whether adding staff or services, veterinary hospitals commonly have a hard time accepting change.

Dr. Vernon Wolinski looked at the faxes piling up on the fax machine.

No other single marketing decision impacts your bottom line as directly and powerfully as pricing.

Special events can draw a great deal of attention from both the public and the media.

Vaccine Use in Practice: Considering the Science

Stumbling on the ideal property brought Dr. Kenneth Haynes' plans to build a spacious, comfortable hospital to a natural fruition.

You're lucky you don't have any competition. If you did, you wouldn't be here today."

How are we adapting to the veterinarian labor shortage? By having effective teams.

Tommy Wright was sitting at his desk staring blankly at the wall. He had just arrived home from a meeting on the West Coast and was excited on the flight home about what he had learned at a practice management seminar given by a large drug company.

Welcome back, intrepid readers.

When a pet's physical exam is completed, the findings are recorded in the pet's record. Now, another person reading the record can see the findings.

Building a spacious, staff-friendly hospital is the best advertisement for high-quality team members, say the owners of Eltham Central Veterinary Hospital.

Dr. Larry Bramlage, MS, Dipl. ACVS, incoming president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, humbly says he has no "grandiose" plans for his 2003-2004 term.

Any good training program starts with standardization of procedures so they can be taught and readily duplicated by staff members. Consistency of process is an asset anywhere in your practice but especially in the prep room and surgery.

Despite the nationwide recession, Elsewhere Animal Hospital was chuggin' along.