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My ideal goal or outcome from the SHIP program is to be able to learn more about the business side of veterinary medicine from a practical perspective. I will be graduating with my MBA in May of 2023 so I feel as though I have a grasp of some general business knowledge but lack the practical experiences of being able to apply this knowledge and leverage it in a veterinary setting. Another goal of participating in this program would be to have the opportunity to network with professionals in this sphere as have mentors and friends to rely on, and be able to help when I am able as well, is very important to me as I work to become a veterinary professional. The program seems like an awesome opportunity to learn what it means to be a business owner as well as investigating career opportunities at the intersection of veterinary medicine and business. A successful business is intertwined with successful practicing of veterinary medicine and I look forward to learning more about what that entails.

The personal attributes I would hope to bring to a SHIP Practice would be my enthusiasm, optimism, and ability to adapt to changing situations as well as embrace diverse teams to accomplish a goal. Professional attributes that I would hope to bring would be my experience as an uncertified veterinary technician, my experiences as director of a nonprofit, and my academia based business knowledge.

There would be a few different factors that I would look into if I had an extra $40,000 that I am able to spend on my practice. First, with a portion of the money I would give out bonuses to my team as it would have been impossible to have a great year without the team of individuals that work at my practice on a day-to-day basis, so it would make sense to reward them with a portion of the profits to increase the desire to continue outperforming. With the remaining money, I would take a look at my practice as a whole to see if the money could be used to increase efficiencies elsewhere, whether that be remodeling an area to be more efficient or purchasing equipments that reduces time wasted. If the practice overall appears to be operating efficiently with no glaring need for internal improvements I would look at opportunities in the market. I would examine if the benefit of adding an additional dental table or exam room would be greater than the cost to the clinic. If there is an opportunity that could boost revenue without drastically increasing the costs, I would place the money towards that endeavor.

The first thing I would do would be to have an all team meeting to be as transparent as I could feasibly be with my team about where the practice currently sits in terms of our goals. I would then solicit any advice (both anonymously and in person) from my team to see if it is possible that I am just not seeing a glaring issue within the practice itself. Even though the practice had a worrisome year, I would not place the blame on my team and would work to prevent any layoffs in order to maintain team morale. In addition to asking for my teams' advice, I would take a look at our cost structure and see if there are areas where I might be able to cut costs to reduce losses. I would also take an objective look at the clinic to see where there may be bottlenecks or places to boost efficiencies. It would also be important to me to be able to reach out to my network in order to solicit advice from peers who may have gone through similar situations on how they boosted morale while also business efficiency. My goal would be to try to boost either the amount of money spent per client or increase the number of clients to improve revenue, while not upsetting the current client base I have.

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I would seek ownership in a business or veterinary practice because I have enjoyed my business classes and would like to be able to apply my knowledge on a daily basis. I also like the idea of being able to form a cohesive team and being able to be a mentor to the people on my team, while also learning from them. A lot of business ownership from my perspective is managing people in relationships as well, which is not what I would describe as a strength of mine but would be something I would love to develop. I have also seen practices and businesses that can benefit from more balanced management and I would like to be a part of the solution when it comes to having more work-life balance in the veterinary industry.

YES

Bernese Mountain Dog - 2 year old spayed female
Ragdoll - 11 year old spayed female

• Small animal exclusive
• Mixed animal
• General practice

I am interested in euthanasia and hospice care medicine as well.