The Benefits of Hiring a Financial Consultant When You Own a Practice

Karl Salzsieder, DVM, JD, CVA, owner of Salzsieder & Associates, TPSG, LLC / DBA Total Practice Solutions—­Northwest, discusses the importance of hiring a financial consultant as soon as you purchase a veterinary practice.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“The biggest mistake that I see with practice owners that I wish they would not make, and I wish I personally had not made in my younger years, is that they’re feeling that they’re reluctant or hesitant to hire a consultant because they’re such superheroes regarding the emotional attachment to their profession and the care of animals. Commonly they’re so short on management ability that they are not making their practices profitable enough to get a full value that’s possible, so it hurts their succession planning and their retirement and their exits.

The first step a new practice owner should take to resolve the issues of financial success in the long term and overcoming that reluctance, which is a problem, is they should hire a consultant as soon as possible after the purchase. And, I might add, a point that is not commonly thought of by new buyers is they should act like corporates regarding transition to retain and hold on to the seller as long as they can, and they should be very slow to send out the ‘I’m the new owner’ letter and scare their clients away.”