Independent Veterinary Practices Can Still Grow — But Not With Owner Bottlenecks Everywhere: Strengthening Leadership, Finance, Delegation, Technology, and Local Visibility

Don Adeesha:

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Veterinary Business Institute’s August Summit. I’m your host for this session, Don Adeesha.

Tonight, we’re tackling a problem that a lot of independent practices feel before they can always name it. The practice is busy. The opportunity is there. But too many decisions, tasks, and growth efforts still depend on the owner.

Our topic is “Independent Veterinary Practices Can Still Grow — But Not With Owner Bottlenecks Everywhere.”

Over the next two hours, we’re going to make that practical across leadership, finance, delegation, technology, and local visibility.

A few quick housekeeping notes before we start. Yes, we are recording, and you will receive a replay link after the session, so you can share it with your colleagues and partners.

However, I encourage you to really engage with us during the session. The real value is happening right here, right now, live.

Use the Q&A button for questions you want the panel to answer, and use the chat for conversations and quick reactions. I have both feeds open and will do my best to weave your thoughts and concerns into the discussion as we go along.

We also have a dedicated Ask Me Anything session later in the event, so feel free to submit your questions throughout the session.

If you want to keep learning from veterinary operators and experts after tonight, make sure you follow the Veterinary Business Podcast. New episodes are released every Thursday at 6:00 AM Eastern and cover the full business side of veterinary practice success. It’s designed to keep the conversation going between events like these.

Just search for the Veterinary Business Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

I’d also like to give a quick thank-you to our Platinum Sponsor for tonight, Ekwa Marketing.

Ekwa was founded by Naren Arulrajah, the co-founder of the Veterinary Business Institute, and has spent more than 15 years helping healthcare practices strengthen their digital growth.

Their work centers on three areas: SEO and local visibility, conversion-focused websites, and content and social authority — helping practices get found, build trust, and turn that trust and attention into the right new clients.

Thank you very much to Ekwa Marketing.

Here is a quick overview of our agenda tonight.

We’re just about to close out our opening remarks. Then we’ll get into a Mini Marketing Masterclass with Lila Stone focused on local visibility.

After that, we’ll move into our Breaking the Owner Bottleneck round-robin panel with Senani Ratnayake and Nancy Dewitz.

From there, we have an exciting real-world case study where we’ll apply the ideas we’re discussing tonight to a practical scenario.

Then we’ll move into live audience Q&A before closing out the session.

Without further ado, let’s get into the work, starting with our Mini Marketing Masterclass with Lila Stone.

Mini Marketing Masterclass

Lila Stone — Marketing Advisor, Ekwa Marketing

Don Adeesha:

Lila Stone is a Marketing Advisor at Ekwa Marketing.

Lila works with veterinary practices ranging from solo practitioners to multi-location hospitals, helping them strengthen online visibility, attract new clients, improve retention, and build measurable growth.

Her focus isn’t marketing for marketing’s sake. It’s about creating a practical growth system that makes it easier for the right pet owners to find, trust, and choose a practice.

Lila, let’s start at the beginning.

Lila Stone:

Thank you. It’s wonderful to be here tonight.

Why Is Being a Great Veterinary Practice Not Enough If Potential Clients Cannot Find You?

Don Adeesha:

Lila, why is being a great veterinary practice not enough if potential clients cannot find you?

Lila Stone:

That’s a good question, and I’m coming at this from the marketing side.

I spend a lot of my day looking at how pet owners are actually finding veterinarians and what they see before they ever pick up the phone.

The reality is that the decision to become your client is usually made before someone ever makes it into your practice. It’s made on a phone.

It might be 9:00 at night on a Sunday. Their dog is limping. Their cat hasn’t eaten. They’re worried.

What are they going to do?

They’re going to pull out their phone and search for “vet near me.”

They’ll probably look at three or four practices. They’re looking at reviews. They’re looking for your website. They want to know whether they can find the information they need.

Can they book an appointment?

Do you look like a practice they can trust?

Those are very important details because they’re making the decision quickly.

The problem is that none of the things that make you a great veterinarian necessarily matter in that moment.

They don’t know that you have amazing surgical skills. They don’t know how your team is going to handle their terrified cat. They don’t know your bedside manner.

You know those things. Your existing clients know those things. But the person looking for a veterinarian doesn’t necessarily know them.

Something I hear all the time is, “We really don’t need marketing. We get most of our growth through word of mouth.”

That’s great. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful.

But the way word of mouth works has changed.

If I tell my neighbor, “You’ve got to go see Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith is wonderful,” what is my neighbor going to do?

My neighbor is going to Google Dr. Smith.

Now everything that comes up online has to support my recommendation.

If they find an outdated website that’s difficult to use on their phone, the hours are wrong, there are no recent reviews, or they can’t figure out how to make an appointment, they’re going to start second-guessing my recommendation.

Especially when the practice down the road has hundreds of reviews, a great website, and makes it easy to become a client.

You can lose that referral because the practice down the road has all of those elements in place.

That’s something independent practices sometimes miss.

Your online presence isn’t replacing word of mouth. It’s supporting it.

People sometimes think it’s word of mouth or marketing. In reality, it’s all tied together.

You’ve done the hard work. You’ve earned the referral. You don’t want to lose it at the final step because your online reputation doesn’t represent the practice you actually are.

Now think about corporate groups.

They aren’t necessarily providing better medicine than an independent practice, but they have systems in place to make sure these elements are taken care of.

They have somebody responsible for maintaining the website. Somebody is watching reviews. Somebody is looking at the numbers and making sure they continue bringing new clients into the practice.

For an independent practice, those things can easily become, “I’ll get to it when I have time.”

But you own your practice. You’re treating patients. Do you have extra hours in your week?

Usually, you don’t.

Another thing that’s easy to miss is that losing ground doesn’t happen overnight.

Your schedule can be full today and you can still be shrinking.

Imagine that you naturally lose eight or nine client relationships a month because people move, pets pass away, or circumstances change. That’s completely normal.

But if your word of mouth and whatever marketing you’re doing only bring in six new clients per month, you’re shrinking.

You might not notice it immediately because you still seem busy.

But two years down the road, suddenly the phone isn’t ringing the way it used to, and you’re wondering what changed.

Yes, being a great practice absolutely matters. That’s what makes people stay, come back, tell their friends about you, and leave great reviews.

But they have to find you first.

Great medicine keeps clients. Visibility gives you the opportunity to turn somebody into a client.

You need both.

The Biggest Marketing Mistakes Independent Practices Make

Don Adeesha:

What I’m taking from that is that client attrition is normal, but you need a strong growth system in place to replace the clients who naturally turn over.

Your internal culture and the quality of your practice also need to be reflected through your external visibility, particularly your digital presence.

What are the biggest marketing mistakes you see independent practices make when trying to attract new clients?

Lila Stone:

I don’t think most of these mistakes happen because practices aren’t trying.

Most practices I talk to are doing some kind of marketing.

The bigger question is whether all of those things are actually working together toward a goal.

The first mistake is what I call random acts of marketing.

Someone posts something on Facebook this week. They post for National Dog Day. Maybe the practice sponsors a Little League team.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things.

The problem is when there’s no plan connecting them. They’re just random.

One question I would ask is: What are you trying to accomplish with your marketing right now, and how are you measuring whether it’s working?

If you can’t really answer that, you have marketing activities, but not necessarily a marketing strategy.

The second mistake is leading with discounts.

I recently spoke with a practice that had been talked into doing one-dollar exams.

Big mistake.

They had a very busy schedule. They were booked out.

But the conversion wasn’t there.

People were coming in and then getting angry when they learned that they also needed medicine, laboratory work, or additional care.

They thought, “I thought this was only a dollar.”

You have to ask: Are you attracting the right clients?

If someone chooses you because you have the cheapest exam, what happens when you recommend a $1,000 dental procedure?

Are they going to choose you because they trust you and see the value in your care?

As a pet owner myself, I might actually shy away from the practice offering a one-dollar exam because I would wonder what was wrong.

You need to show value and attract the right clients.

Instead of leading with price, lead with things like:

“New clients welcome.”

“Same-week appointments available.”

“Here’s what you can expect during your first visit.”

Those things build trust.

You’re giving someone a reason to choose you based on the value of the experience rather than just price.

Another problem is practices treating their website like a brochure instead of the front door of the practice.

Think again about the worried pet owner searching at 9:00 at night.

When they reach your website, can they see what you actually do?

Can they request an appointment?

Is there a clear place for new clients to go?

Does the website work well on their phone?

That’s a big one.

Remember, they’re probably sitting on the floor holding their dog or cat. They’re using their phone, not their laptop.

Your mobile website is very important.

If you’re trying to grow a service such as dentistry or surgery, is there actually useful information about it?

Or is “dentistry offered” just a bullet point somewhere?

Your website shouldn’t simply tell people you exist. It should help them take the next step.

Another common mistake is ignoring your Google Business Profile and reviews.

I see old photos, holiday hours that haven’t been updated, no recent review requests, and reviews sitting unanswered.

Reviews aren’t just bragging rights.

They’re part of how people find you, and they’re part of how people decide whether to choose you.

If I’m searching and I see one practice with 40 or 50 five-star reviews and another with 400, that’s going to influence my decision.

More people are effectively telling me, “That office is awesome.”

The final major mistake is spending money to generate leads without looking at what happens to those leads inside the practice.

You can spend thousands of dollars on Google Ads trying to make the phone ring.

But what happens if nobody answers?

Maybe the front desk is helping somebody. Maybe they’re at lunch. Maybe you’re short-staffed.

The call goes to voicemail.

Remember, a lot of these people may be dealing with an urgent problem.

If they reach voicemail, they may simply click the next listing.

A new client who has no relationship with you has very little reason to leave a message and wait for you to call back.

If you’re spending money on advertising or anything else designed to make the phone ring, you need to understand what happens to those calls before you start generating more of them.

Those would be my top five areas to look at.

Which Marketing Channels Should Independent Practices Prioritize?

Don Adeesha:

The through line is really about reducing those random acts of marketing and becoming intentional — creating a strategy that connects everything into one sustainable growth system.

Which marketing channels should an independent practice prioritize to strengthen its local visibility and attract the right clients?

Lila Stone:

I look at this as an order of operations.

People always ask me, “Where should we be marketing? Should we be on Facebook? Should we run ads? Should we be doing SEO?”

Before you start doing any of that, I want to know whether the foundation is working.

The first place I would look is your Google Business Profile and reviews.

When somebody searches “vet near me” and you appear in the map results, they’re going to see your profile.

Make sure it’s accurate.

Make sure the details are correct.

Make sure you have good photos.

Then look at your reviews.

Don’t make collecting reviews something that happens only when somebody at checkout happens to remember.

You need a conscious process.

It doesn’t matter exactly how or when you ask, but there needs to be a method.

You need to know how you’re going to approach it, who you’re going to ask, and who is responsible for making sure it happens.

The next thing I would look at is your website, especially on a phone.

Is it easy to contact you?

Can someone request an appointment?

If I’m a new client, can I easily figure out what I need to do?

Then look at the services you want to grow.

If dentistry is important to your practice, does your site actually explain your dental services?

The same goes for senior care, surgery, or any other important service.

Don’t make someone hunt for the information they need to choose you.

They have no reason to invest their time in you until they believe in you.

If they have to hunt, you may lose them to a competitor.

Your Google presence and website are the foundation. They’re working for you all the time.

After that, look at the clients you already have.

You probably have people who haven’t returned for checkups. You may have senior pets who need blood work. You may have patients who need dental care.

Make sure you are maximizing the opportunities already sitting inside your practice database.

After that, I would start looking at SEO and content.

And I don’t mean writing a blog post just because somebody told you that you need a blog.

I mean creating content that answers the questions pet owners are actually searching for.

“What do I do if my dog is limping?”

“Why does my pet need anesthesia for a dental cleaning?”

“What should I expect with a new puppy?”

That’s how you begin getting in front of people who don’t already know your practice exists.

Once those pieces are working, then you might start looking at Google Ads.

Ads can get you in front of people quickly, and they can be very useful.

If you’ve hired a new associate and need to fill their schedule quickly, ads may make sense.

Or perhaps you’re trying to grow a particular service.

But there’s an order of operations.

I don’t want people paying for something that isn’t working.

If someone clicks an ad and arrives at a website that’s difficult to use, or they call and nobody answers the phone, the ad isn’t fixing the problem.

It’s just sending more people into the problem.

Social media also has value.

It lets people see your team and your personality, and it helps you stay connected with existing clients.

But the person urgently looking for a veterinarian usually isn’t scrolling Facebook hoping that a good vet appears.

They’re going to Google.

So my order would be:

Google presence. Website. Existing clients. SEO and content. Then advertising.

How Can Owners Build a Marketing System Without Becoming the Marketing Department?

Don Adeesha:

Tonight’s topic is all about owner bottlenecks.

How can a practice owner build a consistent marketing system without becoming responsible for every marketing task themselves?

Lila Stone:

Marketing is another area where practices can become very dependent on the owner.

The biggest shift is that the owner should own the decisions, but they don’t necessarily have to do all the work.

There are two different things there.

The owner is a decision-maker, but they don’t have to do all the busy work.

Think about what happens in many independent practices.

The owner decides what to market. They come up with Facebook posts. They take pictures. They try to remember that the holiday hours need to be changed.

They’re doing, doing, doing.

But they’re also trying to run the practice.

Eventually, something has to give.

Marketing is usually one of the easiest things to push until tomorrow because marketing isn’t going to come back and yell at you.

Unfortunately, tomorrow frequently never comes.

I would break the solution down into three parts.

1. Direction

This is where the owner needs to be involved.

The owner understands what they want to grow.

Maybe they brought on an associate.

Maybe they want more dentistry.

Maybe they have room for more new clients.

What does the practice actually need marketing to accomplish?

The owner is often the best person to answer that question.

2. Execution

Your website, SEO, content, advertising, tracking, and reporting need to happen consistently.

Those responsibilities need to belong to somebody.

That might be an outside marketing company.

It might be someone you hire internally.

But it cannot depend on whether the owner happens to have a few extra hours that week.

3. Internal Ownership

Even if you hire someone externally to handle your marketing, there are still things that need to happen inside the practice.

Who makes sure clients are being asked for reviews?

Who gets pictures of the team?

Who makes sure holiday hours are updated?

Who makes sure new inquiries are being answered?

This is where I see practices run into trouble.

They delegated marketing to somebody, but nobody inside the practice owns their part of it.

The marketing company is doing what they’re supposed to do, but they’re waiting for pictures.

Nobody is asking for reviews.

Something changed in the practice and nobody told them.

An associate left, but their bio is still on the website.

You still need one person internally who is responsible for keeping the pieces moving.

When you delegate, you need clarity:

What needs to happen?

Who owns it?

How often does it happen?

How are you going to make sure it gets done?

If you say, “Can somebody at the front desk take care of our reviews?” everybody may say yes.

But when everybody owns it, nobody owns it.

Somebody has to be specifically responsible.

That doesn’t mean one person personally has to ask every client for a review.

It means that person is responsible for making sure the process happens.

The reality is that when the practice gets busy, patient care is going to win.

And it should.

Patients are the most important thing.

That’s exactly why marketing has to have a process strong enough to survive a busy week.

Use the information your doctors and team are already creating every day.

Let the veterinarian be the expert. Let somebody else turn that expertise into marketing.

How Do Owners Know Whether Marketing Is Actually Working?

Don Adeesha:

How can an owner know whether their marketing is actually working and contributing to real practice growth?

Lila Stone:

I start with three very simple questions.

How many new clients did you get last month?

Where did they come from?

What did you spend to get them?

A lot of owners don’t know the answers to all three.

Sometimes they don’t know the answer to even one.

That’s a problem.

It’s understandable. They’re busy being veterinarians and business owners.

But these are important pieces of information.

If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know whether something is working.

You could be spending money on Google Ads. You could be posting on social media. You could be doing a million different things.

Remember those random acts of marketing.

Which activities are actually bringing people through the door?

First, I want to know how many new clients you’re getting.

And don’t just show me last month.

Look at the trend.

There are busy months, slow months, and random months where the phone rings nonstop or barely rings at all.

Look at the longer-term trend and compare June to June, for example.

Then ask where those new clients are coming from.

It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Ask them.

“Were you referred by somebody?”

“Who referred you?”

“Did you find us on Google?”

“Did you see an ad?”

That information won’t be perfect.

People frequently remember the last thing they saw.

But some information is better than no information.

You start seeing trends.

Then I want to know what you’re spending to acquire a client.

If you’re spending $3,000 and getting 30 clients, that’s very different from spending $3,000 and getting three.

There’s another side to those numbers.

What is a new client actually worth to the practice?

Almost nobody knows the answer.

I’m not talking about the first exam.

I’m talking about lifetime value.

Figure out how long the average client stays with your practice and how much the average client spends.

There will obviously be variation, but we’re talking about averages.

Once you understand that, you can start looking at your marketing as an investment and determine whether you’re receiving a return.

Then I want to know what happens after someone contacts the practice.

How are those calls and inquiries being handled?

Finally, are you actually growing the things you want to grow?

Are you getting the dental cases you want?

Are you attracting a large number of emergencies that come in once and never return?

If you hired an associate, is their schedule filling?

More traffic isn’t necessarily the goal.

The right clients for the right services are the goal.

And never rely on the simple metric, “We’re busy.”

Being busy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re growing.

You could still be losing ground without noticing until it’s too late.

Marketing Strategy Meeting

Don Adeesha:

If a practice owner knows they need a better marketing strategy but doesn’t know where to start, what would you recommend as the next step?

Lila Stone:

I’m going to say something that might surprise you.

Don’t start by buying something.

Yes, I work in marketing. I help practices with marketing.

But you need to start by figuring out where you are.

You’re a veterinarian, so think about it the same way you would think about a patient.

If somebody brings in a dog that’s lethargic, are you simply going to say, “Let’s try this treatment and hope it works”?

No.

You want to understand what’s going on so you can choose the right treatment.

Marketing really isn’t that different.

Before I tell you that you need Google Ads, a website, content, or anything else, I want to understand the actual problem.

Are people finding you?

When they find you, are they choosing you?

Are they reaching your website but not contacting you?

Are they contacting you but not getting booked?

What does your competition look like?

Those are completely different problems, and they require completely different solutions.

That’s why we created the Marketing Strategy Meeting, or MSM.

This isn’t simply jumping on a Zoom call, taking a quick look at your website, and saying, “You need a new website.”

Before the meeting happens, our team spends hours researching your practice.

We look at your website.

We look at your Google reviews.

We look at your rankings.

We look at the other practices you’re competing against.

We look at what pet owners in your market are actually searching for.

Then we put that information together and show you what you’re doing well, where the gaps are, and where I would start.

Sometimes I look at somebody’s marketing and say, “You’re doing really well. I wouldn’t touch it.”

If the marketing is working and you still aren’t getting the clients you want, then you may have a different problem.

I think identifying that is just as important as identifying marketing opportunities.

There’s no cost for the MSM.

You simply take an hour and show up.

We’ll have a conversation, and I’ll show you what we found.

You can take the information back to your current marketing company.

You can take it back to your team.

If you decide you want someone to help you implement it, that’s up to you.

If you want someone else to implement it, that’s fine too.

It’s about helping you understand what’s happening with your practice and your marketing.

At the very least, we’ll spend a productive hour discussing your business.

Don Adeesha:

Thank you, Lila.

For anyone interested, you can book that session using the QR code on screen or the link in the chat. It takes less than a minute to schedule.

That puts the marketing-growth lens and those resources on the table early.

Now let’s widen the conversation because sustainable growth also depends on what happens inside the practice — who owns decisions, what the numbers are telling you, and whether your technology is creating leverage or friction.

Let me bring in the rest of our panel.

Breaking the Owner Bottleneck

Senani Ratnayake, BSc, RVT

Don Adeesha:

Our next panelist is Senani Ratnayake.

Senani is the founder of Motivatum Consulting and National Director of Engagement and Practice Services at Vet Alliance.

She’s an award-winning leadership and performance strategist, international speaker, consultant, and registered veterinary technician.

Across more than 20 years in veterinary medicine, she has helped practices strengthen leadership, team utilization, compliance, and client experience.

Tonight, Senani is helping us unpack how independent practices can move from owner dependency to genuine team confidence so the practice can grow without one person becoming the bottleneck for everything.

Senani, thank you so much for being here.

Senani Ratnayake:

Thank you for having me.

Don Adeesha:

Rounding out our panel is Nancy Dewitz, owner of Nancy Dewitz LLC.

Nancy has more than 30 years of behind-the-scenes experience helping veterinary practices make technology work for the team instead of the other way around.

Her work spans practice management software, workflow analysis, AI, and technology strategy.

She helps practices simplify systems, improve communication, and choose tools that genuinely make work easier.

Tonight, Nancy will help us look past shiny features and focus on what good technology should actually do: reduce friction, support workflow, and make the practice less dependent on workarounds and individual heroes.

Nancy, thank you so much for joining us.

Nancy Dewitz:

Thank you.

What Are the Clearest Signs a Practice Has Become Too Dependent on Its Owner?

Don Adeesha:

Senani, what are the clearest signs that a veterinary practice has become too dependent on its owner?

Senani Ratnayake:

They’re tired.

They’re overwhelmed by the amount of things on their plate.

When we see practices that are really dependent on their owners, we see owners missing deadlines, juggling personal time, and constantly feeling exhausted.

And sometimes they begin resenting the people around them.

They look around at the team and think, “Why isn’t anybody helping me?”

But they may not realize that they’re also the starting point for changing that dynamic.

Projects get stalled.

Initiatives don’t start, or they start and then get stuck.

Opportunities are missed.

Everything is moving through the owner, and then it gets stuck there.

The team becomes frustrated.

We may see demotivation.

We may also see team members who aren’t being utilized appropriately.

Eventually, that demotivation can turn into apathy.

Team members start thinking, “Why should I bother? My voice isn’t heard anyway.”

Or perhaps they were asked for their opinion, gave it, and nothing happened.

So why bother again?

People stop feeling important.

They stop feeling as though they are genuinely contributing.

You also see very small decisions constantly going back to the owner.

Sometimes that’s because team members haven’t been empowered.

Sometimes they’re afraid of the consequences if they make the wrong decision.

They don’t know what they’re allowed to do or how something is supposed to be handled because those conversations never happened.

Everything has simply been sitting with the owner.

You can also see reactive owners, inconsistent standards, slower care, client experience problems, team disengagement, and cultural issues.

And you can absolutely have a practice that’s highly dependent on the owner while still having somebody with the title “practice manager.”

If that practice manager is essentially a glorified support team member who can’t make decisions without checking with the owner, can’t move anything forward without checking with the owner, and hasn’t been given the tools or autonomy to lead, you still have an owner-dependent practice.

That can create even more resentment because the owner thinks, “The manager is supposed to be doing this.”

But the manager has never actually been given the ability to take things off the owner’s plate.

There’s also a business impact.

Practice owners are often some of the best producers of medicine in the practice.

The more they get pulled into administrative tasks — sometimes tasks they aren’t particularly good at — the more they get pulled away from generating revenue or mentoring other people who are generating revenue.

The practice suffers in other ways.

Those are some of the main signs I would look for.

Tired Versus Exhausted

Don Adeesha:

What’s the difference between tired and exhausted?

Senani Ratnayake:

You can be tired on any given day.

Maybe you missed a night of sleep. Maybe you stayed up too late.

A nap might fix being tired.

When I say exhausted, I’m thinking about something more chronic.

Physical exhaustion.

Increased stress or anxiety.

Sometimes even a sense of hopelessness because you feel like you have nothing left to give.

You can’t shake it.

That’s what I mean when I use the word exhaustion.

Is Technology Helping the Team or Creating More Friction?

Don Adeesha:

Nancy, how can practice owners tell whether their technology is actually helping the team or creating more friction?

Nancy Dewitz:

Some of it comes down to the feeling inside the practice.

Communication is key.

If the team doesn’t feel that the owner is approachable when they’re having issues with technology, it becomes difficult to identify and solve those problems.

If the owner is already exhausted, chances are the practice isn’t using technology to its full potential.

Then everything starts to compound.

People start playing the blame game.

They blame the technology.

But the technology may not actually be the source of the problem.

If you hear a lot of frustration around technology, there may be a lack of training or a missing feature or function that the team needs.

One of my favorite rules is:

If the problem is repeatable, it may be a technology issue. If it isn’t repeatable, it may be a human or training issue.

For example, let’s say something isn’t printing properly.

The staff says, “The software isn’t working.”

If you can repeat the exact problem consistently, there may be something hard-coded or technically wrong.

But if you can’t repeat it, somebody may be missing a step.

That often becomes a training issue.

Have people write down exactly what they were doing when something went wrong.

Then you can see whether there’s a consistent pattern that points toward the technology or toward a training problem.

Why Do Owners Struggle to Delegate?

Don Adeesha:

Senani, why do owners often struggle to delegate even when they know they can’t continue doing everything themselves?

Senani Ratnayake:

Owners have a vested interest in their businesses that non-owners simply don’t have.

I’ve certainly seen team members treat a business as if it were their own, but it isn’t common.

The owner starts from the position of, “It’s mine. I’m responsible for it. The risk and liability ultimately come back to me.”

There’s a gravity to that.

Owners also struggle because sometimes it’s simply faster to do something themselves.

If I do it myself, I know it’s going to be done the way I want it done.

I know it has been prioritized the way I want.

And I’m done.

Delegation also creates uncertainty.

You can teach someone:

First, do this.

Then do this.

Then do this.

But what happens when something doesn’t go according to plan?

Will that person know what to do next?

Will they come to me?

Will there be enough time to come to me?

Will they make a mistake or an assumption?

The fear of somebody making the wrong call can hold owners back from delegating.

In some cases, there genuinely isn’t an appropriate person to delegate to.

The learning curve may be steep.

The responsibility may be serious.

There are situations where it genuinely feels safer or easier to do something yourself.

I also see owners who think they delegated when they actually didn’t train or instruct someone properly.

A task was handed over, but the person wasn’t properly trained, empowered, or supported.

Something went wrong.

Then the owner says, “See? That’s why I shouldn’t delegate.”

And they stop delegating.

Sometimes somebody has simply had a genuinely bad experience with delegation.

The protective instinct kicks back in.

“This business is ultimately my responsibility.”

Veterinary medicine trains us to minimize risk.

That’s critical in medicine.

Business is different.

In business and marketing, sometimes we have to take a little risk.

We try things.

Sometimes they don’t work.

Nobody is going to die because the marketing experiment didn’t work.

But veterinarians can bring the same risk-minimization mindset from medicine into the business.

Sometimes they become so cautious that it actually hurts the practice.

There’s another dynamic I sometimes call the hero complex, and I say that kindly.

Some owners believe:

“I’m the owner. I’m supposed to do everything myself.”

“If I can’t do everything myself, I’m failing.”

If anybody listening thinks that way, I want them to reconsider it.

No one can do all of this themselves.

Running a veterinary practice is a huge job.

The owner doesn’t need to personally handle every small thing, every large thing, and everything in between.

Delegation also isn’t simply about tasks.

The person needs to understand how to do something and why it matters.

If I don’t believe that my team and I are aligned on why something matters or how something needs to be done, handing that responsibility over becomes very difficult.

Trust is central to all of it.

The Role of Trust

Don Adeesha:

Trust seems to shape almost everything we’re talking about.

Would you agree?

Senani Ratnayake:

Absolutely.

Trust is critical even on the medical side.

If we don’t trust one another while practicing medicine, mistakes can happen.

We won’t do as good a job as we could.

And when trust isn’t there, you won’t see delegation, strong relationships, commitment, dedication, passion, or psychological safety at the same level.

Don Adeesha:

Is the “why” a good place to start building that trust?

Senani Ratnayake:

The why is always important.

But you also have to show up as trustworthy.

Trust can’t go in only one direction.

If the practice owner’s behavior or attitude isn’t creating trust, it’s difficult to expect everyone around them to trust them.

You can lead with fear.

I don’t recommend it.

You may get away with it for a while, but you won’t create trust.

And fearful people make big mistakes.

Common Technology Mistakes

Don Adeesha:

Nancy, what are some common technology mistakes you see independent practices making?

Nancy Dewitz:

Just as teams need trust, practices also need to trust their technology.

You need to understand the why behind the technology you adopt.

One of the biggest mistakes is chasing the bright and shiny object.

You walk around a trade-show floor. The technology currently in your hospital suddenly looks old.

Then somebody shows you something new and exciting.

Buying something without understanding why you need it is one of the most expensive mistakes I see.

There is so much technology available, and there will only be more.

You have to understand the strengths of the technology and what you need it to accomplish.

That makes it easier to trust it and use it to relieve the burden.

AI is a good example.

The goal may be to use AI so veterinarians aren’t still sitting around at the end of the day completing medical notes.

That can be tremendously helpful.

But there still needs to be supervision.

It isn’t a complete handoff.

If AI is helping with medical notes, you still need to review those notes.

Most of us have used speech-to-text on our phones, hit send, and then thought, “That’s not what I said.”

Technology needs supervision just like a delegated human responsibility needs supervision.

Another mistake is failing to understand the pain required for the gain.

Any technology transition requires work.

Technology doesn’t simply arrive and take everything over.

Just as a new staff member doesn’t walk into the hospital on the first day and immediately absorb your workload, technology requires setup, training, and implementation.

Standard operating procedures can also help people understand how the technology is supposed to be used.

Good instruction means less worry.

How Should Practices Evaluate New Technology?

Don Adeesha:

What would a good decision matrix look like when a practice is considering purchasing new technology?

Nancy Dewitz:

That depends on the technology.

I’ve created evaluation documents that were 17 pages long for major products.

But in simple terms, begin by listing everything you are trying to accomplish with the new software, equipment, or technology.

If you’re replacing something you already use, ask:

What can’t I live without?

No two products are exactly the same.

You need to know whether you’ll lose something important.

Go through the list with your staff because the technology probably affects more than one person.

Then prioritize the list.

Some things are absolute deal-breakers.

If the technology can’t do that, move on.

There are plenty of alternatives.

Some things would be very useful.

Other things are simply nice to have.

That process allows you to compare products more objectively and helps you avoid getting blinded by something shiny.

There probably isn’t a perfect product.

But if you evaluate it properly, you’ll have realistic expectations when you reach installation and go-live.

What Needs to Be in Place Before Delegation Works?

Don Adeesha:

Senani, what needs to be in place before delegation can actually work and build confidence within the team?

Senani Ratnayake:

Trust.

And relationship.

There are four core elements I think about when I think about trust.

Think about somebody in your life you really trust.

Four things are probably true.

They are sincere and honest.

They care.

They are reliable.

And they are competent in the things you need them to be competent in.

That framework is powerful because you can have somebody who is a wonderful person, very caring, sincere, and reliable — but not competent in a specific task.

That doesn’t make them a bad or untrustworthy person.

It simply means you cannot yet entrust them with that particular responsibility.

For an owner who wants to delegate, the first step is figuring out what can actually be delegated.

Make a list of responsibilities and tasks.

Then, for every item, understand what success looks like.

Making the list isn’t enough.

If somebody takes responsibility for this task, how will we know they’ve succeeded?

If you, as the owner, can’t define success, you can’t expect somebody else to meet your expectations.

Then you need patience.

Almost everything has a learning curve.

People will make mistakes while they learn.

A mistake doesn’t automatically mean the delegation failed.

Manage risk.

Start with smaller responsibilities.

If something has a significant impact, provide more oversight until you’re confident that person can handle it.

Feedback also needs to work both ways.

If you delegate something to me and you don’t like how I’m doing it, you need to be able to give me constructive feedback.

But I also need to be able to give you feedback.

If the owner is unapproachable, the relationship becomes dangerous.

You can’t build confidence in that environment.

You also need to connect the dots.

If Don assigns a responsibility to me, do I understand why it matters?

What impact does it have on the team?

The client?

The patient?

The business?

It needs to connect to a bigger picture that I care about.

People care more about a task when they understand its impact, especially the impact of getting it wrong.

Confidence also comes from positive reinforcement.

When somebody does a good job, tell them.

Celebrate small improvements as well as large achievements.

Change is difficult for some people.

You want to delegate to people who are receptive to taking responsibility.

That doesn’t mean everybody can simply say “No, thank you” to every responsibility.

But they need to understand the task, believe they can do it, appreciate its importance, and be receptive to the responsibility.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

Don Adeesha:

Some team members seem comfortable giving feedback to the owner, while others may find it extremely difficult.

Why?

Senani Ratnayake:

Because people are people.

Everybody has a different personality.

Some people are shy.

Some aren’t.

Some people say, “Give it to me straight.”

Other people want three nice things before you tell them something difficult.

Leaders need to get to know their people.

Sometimes you can even have a great personal relationship with somebody and still struggle to give each other feedback because you don’t want to hurt the relationship.

Leaders need to understand how people prefer to receive feedback.

The question isn’t, “Do you like feedback?”

Feedback is part of working here.

It’s two-way communication.

Instead, normalize feedback.

Have the conversation about feedback before there’s a problem.

You might say:

“From time to time, as you’re learning this responsibility, I may need to come to you and tweak something. What’s the best way for me to do that so I’m communicating with you effectively?”

Explain that the purpose is to help the person succeed.

Sometimes people don’t know how they prefer feedback.

That’s okay.

Try something and see how it goes.

And don’t tell someone at 8:00 in the morning, “Can I talk to you later?” and walk away.

They’ll spend the whole day panicking.

Veterinary medicine attracts people who often care deeply about doing a good job.

The thought that we might not be doing a good job can hurt.

Feedback becomes easier to receive when I believe it’s coming from somebody who cares about me and genuinely wants me to succeed.

What Does Good Technology Integration Look Like?

Don Adeesha:

Nancy, what does good technology integration look like across the different workflows of a veterinary practice?

Nancy Dewitz:

It doesn’t interfere with people’s work.

It helps them rather than creating another problem.

Technology is designed to assist and save time.

If it isn’t doing that, something needs to change.

Maybe it needs to come out of the workflow.

Maybe the workflow needs to change.

When choosing products, people also hear words such as, “Yes, we integrate with that. We have an API.”

Don’t get caught up in the terminology or simply accept the word “yes.”

Sometimes it isn’t a true integration.

You need to verify that the technology is going to create the workflow you expect.

Communication also matters tremendously.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re delegating work to a person or to technology.

Everyone needs to know who is responsible for what and what the technology is supposed to help them accomplish.

I’ve walked into practices where staff members have a little notepad filled with technology problems that have been disrupting their day.

But the owner has never seen the notepad.

The owner is paying for technical support.

The team has written down all the problems.

But nothing was communicated beyond the piece of paper.

That’s a broken system.

Maybe the team didn’t feel comfortable going to the owner.

Sometimes staff members believe they should be able to solve the problem themselves.

They feel responsible for it even though nobody has clarified whether it is actually their responsibility.

Can they call the support desk?

Or does everything need to go through the owner?

Clarifying those responsibilities helps the technology work.

The technology touches almost everybody in the practice.

If people don’t feel empowered to help keep it running, it’s probably going to fail or create unnecessary friction.

SOPs and Technology Problems

Don Adeesha:

What should be in place so team members feel empowered when something goes wrong?

Nancy Dewitz:

I’m a big believer in SOPs.

Have a standard operating procedure that tells people what to do.

“Try this.”

“Then try this.”

“If that doesn’t work, here’s Plan B.”

In many practices, there is one person everybody goes to for technology.

If the printer stops working or the computer freezes, everybody goes to that person.

Then that person takes the day off.

Suddenly, everyone runs around in circles getting nothing done.

Create a process.

If the first troubleshooting steps don’t work, are people empowered to call the support company?

If only certain people are allowed to contact support, that’s fine.

But make sure there’s more than one person who can do it.

A simple procedural document can prevent an enormous amount of wasted time.

What Does “Open API” Really Mean?

Don Adeesha:

You mentioned not getting caught up in terminology when discussing integration.

What did you mean?

Nancy Dewitz:

A company may tell you, “Yes, we can integrate with everything. We have an open API.”

That’s a very common statement.

But if the company you want to connect with isn’t willing to build that connection, then you may become responsible for building it yourself or hiring somebody to build it.

The technology company may have opened the tunnel.

But somebody still needs the knowledge and ability to create the connection into that tunnel.

Ask specifically:

“Do you already have an existing integration with this product?”

For example, if your practice management system is the central platform and you have another technology you need connected to it, ask whether the integration already exists.

If it doesn’t, building it can cost thousands of dollars.

Real Practice Case Study

Don Adeesha:

Now we’re going to look at a real veterinary practice case study.

This was an independent multi-DVM veterinary practice with approximately 3.5 full-time-equivalent doctors and five DVMs including locums.

The owner was still seeing appointments, doing surgery, and handling essentially all of the management.

As the practice grew, administrative work began taking appointment time off the schedule.

Management tasks were falling behind.

Team members were unclear about expectations and constantly returned to the owner for answers.

They hadn’t had performance reviews or raises in years.

Morale was declining.

Financially, revenue had fallen from approximately $1.74 million in 2021 to $1.63 million in 2022 — a decline of 6.2%.

Senani, if you walked into this practice on Monday morning, where would you start?

Senani’s Response

Senani Ratnayake:

I have a lot of follow-up questions.

But first, I would need the owner to appreciate the gravity of the situation.

If the owner doesn’t understand how serious it has become, we’re going to have a difficult time getting them comfortable with delegation.

And this practice clearly needs delegation.

As we discussed earlier, the owner is often one of the best veterinary producers in the practice.

In this situation, the owner is taking on more administrative responsibilities while revenue is dropping.

At the same time, they’re paying locums, who probably aren’t inexpensive.

There are several financial questions that would need to be explored.

From a people perspective, if the owner agrees that something needs to change, this sounds like a perfect practice for a practice manager.

That doesn’t necessarily mean immediately hiring a very expensive, full-time executive-level manager.

But somebody needs to start taking the administrative burden off the owner while keeping the team intact.

There may not currently be somebody on the team who is ready to step into that role.

But morale is already declining.

When morale goes down, teams become less efficient, less productive, and less effective.

Then you start losing team members.

If this practice begins losing people, it could quickly become a much bigger problem.

So I would want somebody to help with people management.

I would also want to re-engage the team, improve the culture, restart performance reviews, and work on morale.

At the same time, the owner needs to make that list of responsibilities we discussed earlier.

What responsibilities can be handed over?

What does success look like?

Who can own them?

That would be one of my starting points.

Nancy’s Response

Don Adeesha:

Nancy, if you walked into the same practice, what workflow would you inspect before recommending a single new tool?

Nancy Dewitz:

Just like Senani, I have a lot of questions.

The first thing I would want is a list of exactly what administrative tasks are consuming the doctor’s time.

Then I would divide those tasks into categories.

What can be handled by an empowered office or practice manager?

And what can potentially be handled or improved with technology?

There are a lot of things technology could help with, but we first need to understand what’s taking the time.

Is it accounting?

Medical notes?

HR?

Payroll?

Scheduling?

There are many possibilities.

Some of the work needs a human being.

Some of it may be appropriate for technology.

You can’t make that decision until you understand what’s actually consuming the time.

Lila’s Response

Don Adeesha:

Lila, suppose this practice also comes to you saying, “We need more growth. We need more new clients.”

Looking at everything you’ve heard, do you immediately try to generate more demand?

Lila Stone:

No.

First, I need to understand what is happening with the demand they already have.

I also want to understand their marketing.

The doctor is pulling time away from administration to treat patients.

I agree that the doctor needs to delegate so they can focus more appropriately.

But something else is happening because they’re treating patients while revenue is declining.

What changed?

Did they start offering one-dollar new-client exams and flood the schedule with people who aren’t spending?

Are plenty of people calling but there’s a front-desk problem?

How are those calls being handled?

Where is the stumbling block?

I want to understand the correlation between the doctor’s workflow, the marketing, and the front desk.

Without asking those questions, we can’t make a responsible plan.

It’s like handing us a dog and saying, “My dog doesn’t feel well. Fix it.”

We need more information before we diagnose the problem.

What Actually Happened in the Case Study?

Don Adeesha:

Here’s what actually happened.

The intervention centered on:

* Structured workflows and protocols

* SOPs based on the owner’s standards

* Promoting and training an internal practice manager

* Clarifying roles

* Upskilling the team

* Improving scheduling

* Improving staffing

* Improving exam-room flow

The owner remained involved as the medical director.

They didn’t disappear from the business.

But management was no longer entirely dependent on them.

In 2023, revenue increased significantly from approximately $1.63 million, representing roughly a 15.65% year-over-year increase, or approximately $255,000 in additional revenue.

It’s remarkable how closely the panel’s recommendations aligned with what was ultimately implemented in this practice.

Accountability Without Micromanagement

Don Adeesha:

Senani, how can practice leaders create accountability without making their teams feel micromanaged or unsupported?

Senani Ratnayake:

Lots of communication.

There needs to be transparency up front.

If you and I are not on the same page about what oversight will look like before the delegation begins, I’m probably going to experience one of two things.

Either I’m going to feel micromanaged, or I’m going to feel abandoned.

You need to tell me what oversight is going to look like.

And I need to tell you what kind of oversight I need.

Maybe I don’t want you to simply stand back.

Maybe I want you in the background validating that I’m doing the work correctly while I build confidence.

If you don’t know I need that, I may feel unsupported.

On the other hand, if you told me you were going to step back but I suddenly notice you checking everything I do behind the scenes, I’m going to feel micromanaged.

So the conversation has to happen when the responsibility is delegated.

How will we both know this is going well?

I often talk about three different concepts:

Responsibility. Accountability. Ownership.

Responsibility is the task.

Accountability is about the outcome.

It’s no longer simply, “Did you complete the checklist?”

It’s, “Did completing the checklist produce the outcome we agreed we wanted?”

Ownership is another level.

Ownership is when, even if nobody is watching, I still care deeply about the outcome.

I’m making sure it gets done properly even when nobody is there to hold me accountable.

That’s personal accountability.

That’s ownership.

When delegating, you’re trying to move people toward ownership.

But that takes time.

Agree on what training looks like.

Agree on what oversight looks like.

Agree on what the employee needs from the leader.

And remember, not every delegated task needs a course and a protocol.

If you’re asking somebody to take out the garbage instead of you, we probably don’t need a training academy.

But many responsibilities involve new habits, skills, and protocols.

You need clarity around what success looks like.

It is absolutely okay for leaders to check somebody’s work.

Employees should also be comfortable with being accountable for their work.

The problem comes when your definition of “good” and my definition of “good” are different.

I may believe I’m doing an excellent job while you think I’m doing a terrible job.

Alignment around the outcome prevents that.

Once you agree on the oversight, leaders also need to keep their promises.

You can’t say you’ll step back and then constantly meddle.

You also can’t promise support and then disappear.

And give people permission to be curious.

Even after someone becomes experienced, new questions will come up.

People need to know that asking a question doesn’t suddenly make you question everything else they’re doing.

Accountability Versus Ownership

Don Adeesha:

How do we move someone from simply being accountable for an outcome to becoming self-accountable and taking ownership?

Senani Ratnayake:

I think it comes down to caring.

If I understand why something matters, if I understand the impact of doing it well and the consequences of doing it poorly, and I genuinely care about those things, it doesn’t matter whether someone is watching.

I’m going to make sure the outcome is good because I care about the outcome.

If I don’t care, then I may only achieve the result when I know somebody is watching or when I’m afraid I’ll get caught.

That doesn’t mean somebody who needs accountability is a bad employee.

There are great employees who come in, work hard, and do a good job, but still benefit from a lot of structure and oversight.

But if you want personal accountability and genuine ownership, people need to understand and care about the bigger picture.

What If the Team Is Overwhelmed by Technology?

Don Adeesha:

Nancy, what should a practice do if the team feels overwhelmed by its current technology?

Nancy Dewitz:

Again, communication.

Find out what is overwhelming them.

Are there too many steps?

Too many products?

Is there a technical problem?

Would additional training help?

Staff turnover happens frequently.

Training can become like the telephone game.

You train one person.

That person trains another.

Then another.

By the time you’re four people removed from the original training, the process may have changed significantly.

Sometimes the solution is getting everybody back to the same baseline.

If everybody is paddling the boat in the same direction, you’re going to move much faster than if everyone is paddling in different directions.

The solution depends on what is causing the overwhelm.

Don Adeesha:

How many steps are too many steps? How many products are too many?

Nancy Dewitz:

I don’t think there’s a universal number.

The question is whether the technology is helping people do their work.

If you evaluate a product and discover it’s consistently tripping people up, ask whether it’s actually necessary.

If nobody uses it consistently, is it helping?

You may be paying every month for something that shouldn’t even be there.

Talk with the people who use the technology every day.

Don’t make assumptions.

If the team has completed training and people are still struggling, you need to understand whether the product is valuable or whether an individual employee needs additional support.

Sometimes one person simply hasn’t grasped the system.

That may be nobody’s fault.

Everybody learns differently.

Remote training can make that harder because it’s more difficult to read body language and understand whether somebody really understands what they’ve been shown.

Sit down with the person.

Figure out what’s happening.

There may not be one blanket solution for everybody.

Audience Questions

How Do You Keep Delegates Motivated and Protect the Practice From Poor Decisions?

Don Adeesha:

One registrant asked:

“How do you keep delegates motivated and safeguard the practice from inappropriate or harmful actions by them?”

Senani?

Senani Ratnayake:

I’d love to understand exactly what they mean by “ill action,” but from a motivation perspective, it comes back to connecting the dots and helping people care.

The more someone is involved in work that is interesting or meaningful to them, the easier it is to maintain motivation.

There are also different forms of motivation.

There’s intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Sometimes you can create external incentives — more money for additional responsibility, for example.

Other motivation has to come from within.

That’s why we need to think about people as people.

Understand what motivates each person.

If by “ill action” we mean someone beginning to take on responsibilities they shouldn’t or making decisions outside their authority, that’s where oversight and feedback become important.

As soon as you see something inappropriate happening, address it.

I’ve talked a lot tonight about positive feedback and support.

But leaders also need to hold people accountable.

If someone is behaving badly, it becomes a personnel and accountability issue.

Nancy Dewitz:

I agree.

If it’s a person issue, it needs to be handled as a personnel issue.

How Can Independent Practices Compete With Corporate Practices?

Don Adeesha:

Another question:

“What are ways independent practices can set themselves apart or compete against corporate practices?”

Nancy, from a technology perspective?

Nancy Dewitz:

Practices that are part of large groups are often told which technology they have to use.

It may not necessarily be what that individual practice would choose.

Independent practices have more freedom to individualize their technology and match it to what their staff and workflows actually need.

On the client-facing side, independent practices may also have greater flexibility in how personal they can be.

There can be fewer mandated communications.

That gives independents the opportunity to be more individualized.

Don Adeesha:

Lila, what’s your marketing perspective?

Lila Stone:

Independent practices have a story to tell.

Talk about your community connections.

Talk about what makes your practice different.

Corporate organizations often have mandates.

They may have set policies or structures they cannot easily vary from.

An independent practice may have more flexibility.

Maybe the veterinarian is accessible after hours.

Maybe the practice offers a more boutique experience.

What makes your practice unique?

Tell that story through your marketing.

Tell it through your reviews.

Tell it through the way the team answers the phone.

Tell it through your website.

Get your clients to tell the story through testimonials and reviews.

Identify what sets your practice apart and communicate it everywhere you can.

Avoiding Founder’s Syndrome

Don Adeesha:

Our last registrant question is about avoiding founder’s syndrome.

How do we avoid the hero complex we discussed earlier?

Senani Ratnayake:

I think the first thing is stepping back and appreciating the journey you’ve already been on.

Sometimes people tell founders, “You just have to let go.”

But I think we do them an injustice when we don’t acknowledge how far they brought the business themselves.

Think back to when the practice was just an idea.

Maybe you wondered whether you would ever own a practice.

Look at everything you have achieved.

Then look forward.

Where do I want this practice to go now?

Work backward from that goal.

What needs to be in place to get there?

At some point, the practice becomes bigger than you.

There may always be certain things you never want to give up.

That can be okay.

But you can’t do everything.

If you try, the things that made you special and unique in the beginning eventually become diluted because more and more gets added to your plate.

To remain your best self, you need to ask:

Who can I surround myself with who shares the vision?

Who respects me?

Who do I trust?

If you look around and genuinely don’t see anybody you can delegate to, founder’s syndrome may not be the only problem.

You may be in an environment where you genuinely cannot let go.

Pay attention to the environment.

Think about the people and skill sets you trusted along the way, even before you called it delegation.

Then ask:

What other skill sets does my practice need to reach the next stage?

Lila has talked about marketing.

Nancy has talked about technology.

Most practice owners I know are not equally expert at medicine, running a business, technology, and marketing.

The environment has changed.

Veterinary medicine continues to evolve.

Ask yourself:

What does the next evolution of my practice require, and who can I bring around me to help us get there?

Final Golden Rules

Don Adeesha:

I’d like one final golden rule from each of our panelists for building an independent veterinary practice that can grow without the owner becoming the bottleneck.

Nancy?

Nancy Dewitz:

Communication.

We’ve heard that over and over tonight.

If we don’t have communication, none of the systems work.

Whether it’s people, marketing, or technology, we have to communicate as a group and make sure everybody feels part of the practice.

Lila Stone

Don Adeesha:

Lila?

Lila Stone:

Marketing plays an important role in helping you attract the right clients.

As the doctor and owner, your job is to understand who the ideal client is for your practice and communicate that to your marketing team.

Then let your marketing team handle the day-to-day marketing while you handle your practice.

You cannot simultaneously be the marketer and the doctor and do everything yourself.

Senani Ratnayake

Don Adeesha:

Senani?

Senani Ratnayake:

I’ll go with trust, relationship, and transparency.

If you feel you cannot delegate, ask yourself why.

Usually, it isn’t because you genuinely want to do everything.

Nobody wants to do everything.

That’s where exhaustion and overwhelm come from.

If you look around and can’t figure out who to delegate to, or you’re afraid to delegate, step back and understand why.

Remember the four elements of trust:

Sincerity. Caring. Reliability. Competence.

Someone may not have the competence today.

But if they’re reliable, sincere, and they care, competence may be something you can develop.

That trust and relationship piece is extremely important.

Closing Remarks

Don Adeesha:

A final reminder for everyone watching.

If your ideal clients are searching for the treatments and services you offer in your area, make sure yours is the practice that gets found, trusted, and chosen.

You can book a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting using the link in the chat or the QR code on screen.

Before we close, I’d like to give our panelists a chance to let everyone know where they can learn more about their work.

Senani?

Senani Ratnayake:

If you’re an independently owned veterinary practice in Canada, I’d love for you to take a look at Vet Alliance.

I’m the National Director there, and it would be wonderful to connect and work with you.

As a speaker, I also have Motivatum Consulting.

If you’re looking for a speaker or panelist, you can find me through Motivatum Consulting.

And LinkedIn is always a great place to start.

Don Adeesha:

Nancy?

Nancy Dewitz:

You can find me at NancyDewitzLLC.com, on LinkedIn under Nancy Dewitz, or on the Nancy Dewitz LLC Facebook page.

I work with practices around technology.

The bridge in my background really describes what I do.

I don’t provide the technology, and I don’t work for any of the technology companies.

I’m there to help practices interpret the technology and bridge the gap between their needs and the available solutions.

I’m always happy to have a conversation.

Don Adeesha:

Thank you very much, Senani, Nancy, and Lila.

It has been an incredible two hours.

There has been so much discussed tonight that I’m sure we could revisit this session over and over and continue finding valuable ideas.

And to our attendees who invested this time into the success of your practices, thank you very much for the work you do.

As you exit the webinar, a quick feedback survey will appear.

If you can take a minute to complete it, it will help us understand what worked and what we can do better so future events are even more valuable.

It has been my absolute pleasure and privilege to host this summit on behalf of the Veterinary Business Institute.

I’m Don Adeesha.

Until next time, take care, everyone.