Greetings and Happy Holidays from everyone at Summit Veterinary Advisors! We would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season. We appreciate your connection with Summit, whether you are a long-term client or are on our mailing list but have not worked with us. No matter what the connection, you are the reason we exist, and we are grateful for you!
The veterinary profession is full of amazing people. The passion and dedication to improve animal health and enhance the human-animal bond is apparent in every practice we work with and there is no other profession we would rather serve!
We know that the "business" of veterinary medicine can sometimes be frustrating or even overwhelming for many practice owners. The veterinary profession is increasingly competitive. The privately owned practice faces competition from more and more corporately owned and professionally managed practices. To succeed in this environment, practice owners and managers must understand their businesses and have the tools and capability to adapt to these competitive forces.
In many cases, we find that veterinarians believe that focusing on financial success is the antithesis of being a good veterinarian. We disagree! If veterinary practices do not succeed financially, then they cannot keep their doors open and continue to provide their important services.
In veterinary medicine, you can only help an animal if you have the knowledge and tools to properly assess and diagnose what ails them. Business is the same. You cannot improve a business without the necessary tools and knowledge to diagnose the source of the problem and develop a treatment plan for improvement. As we move into 2018, take some time to evaluate your priorities, and let us help you to better understand the business aspect of your practice and develop the skills you need for long-term practice success.
Here at Summit, our work may focus on numbers, but at the heart of everything we do is the relationship we foster with every client we service. We enjoy getting to know you, listening to your concerns and learning about your specific goals and needs. While we concentrate on practice profitability and its impact on practice value, it is not our goal to shift your focus to money or to make profit the primary driver of your business. It is up to each one of you to decide, "How much is enough?" when it comes to the bottom line. The profits generated from veterinary practice can be re-invested in increased staff compensation, better and more equipment, can contribute to charitable giving, can pay off debt or can simply provide a return on your (significant) financial investment. Establishing priorities and goals is your job - helping you achieve them is ours!
The new year will bring many changes (expected and unexpected) in the national and the veterinary environment. As we write this, new tax laws are being negotiated and, based on what we are hearing, there may be changes that can have a significantly impact on your financial strategies.
We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more about these changes. Until then, we thank you all for your loyalty, your friendship, and your devotion to this wonderful profession.
