The Culture Multiplier: How People and Profits Together Define True Veterinary Practice Value

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Veterinary Business Institute's Monthly webinar series. I'm thrilled you'll join us for a conversation that promises to be both practical and inspiring. Before anything, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our esteem sponsor Aqua Marketing, founded by visionary leader Na Raja, who also established the renowned Veterinary Business Institute. For nearly two decades, IWA has been at the forefront of delivering cutting edge digital marketing solutions tailored exclusively for veterinary practices. The unparalleled expertise reflects a profile understanding of the unique challenges and the opportunities within the veterinary industry.

Eco Marketing offers a comprehensive suite of services, including expertly crafted website design and maintenance, precise call tracking, advanced SEO optimization and strategic paid advertising campaigns. Their commitment to excellence is evident in their remarkable 95% client retention rate, which is a testament to their ability to deliver measurable results and foster lasting partnership. So, thank you so much, Equa Marketing, and let me take a moment to remind you of the Veterinary Business Podcast, which drops new episodes every Thursday at 5:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. As you can see from this slide, the Veterinary Business Podcast covers a wide range of topics in discussion with industrial leaders, experts, and practice owners.

So you can find these podcasts@wenerbusinessinstitute.com, and I just encourage you, it's a great source of best practices, innovative ideas, inspiration, and great thought leadership as well. So make sure you check those out as well. All right. So true value in practice is not just about numbers, it's about people, purpose, and the environment they create together. When culture is strong, it multiplies everything, teamwork, trust, and ultimately profitability. So tonight we turn our attention to how people and profits together define true veterinary practice value. Let me introduce myself as your host. I'm Shea and I manage live events and summits designed to create engaging and practical learning experiences for veterinary professionals at the Veterinary Business Institute.

My background is in psychology and human resource management, and what truly drives me is bringing people together, sparking conversations, building connections, and creating opportunities that make a real impact on our profession and on society. Thank you so much for having me, and let's meet the incredible panelists who will be sharing the wisdom with us tonight. First, I'd like to introduce Dr. Becky Crow. She's a veterinarian, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker who is passionate about helping veterinary professionals discover their purpose and build sustainable career. As the owner of Buddies with in Green Bay, Wisconsin, she has transformed her practice into thriving examples of culture, innovation, and growth.

With over 20 years of experience in small animal medicine, she brings deep insights into leadership, team development, and business strategy, empowering veterinary professionals to create workplace where both people and pets thrive. Welcome to the panel, Dr. Becky. Hi. Thank you so much for having me. All right. Thank you for being here with us. Next, I'd like to introduce Don Aisha. He's a senior executive and expert facilitator at Equa Marketing. Aisha is a digital strategist who turns online visibility into measurable business growth. He's known for designing powerful client acquisition systems that deliver consistent results, often achieving ROIs over 300%.

With a unique blend of data driven strategy and engaging facilitation, Don helps business leaders translate digital engagement into real revenue and lasting brand trust. Welcome to the panel, Don. Thank you very much for having me here. Glad to be here. Thank you so much for being here with us. All right. Finally, I'd like to introduce Monica Perry. She's a seasoned veterinary management consultant and global speaker with over two decades of experience helping veterinary practices achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. As a senior manager at Barden Den, Monica specializes in financial management, leadership development, and ethical practice operations.

She's known for her practical hands-on approach and her passion for empowering veterinary teams to build thriving, resilient workplaces where both people and animals flourish. Welcome to the panel, Monica. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. All right. So tonight we will explore how a strong culture drives team retention, client trust, and lasting practice value. We'll look at how engaged teams boost both profits and satisfaction, and how authentic marketing can showcase your culture to attract the right clients. And finally, we'll share practical ways to align your values, strengthen your team, and grow your practice sustainably. All right. Having said that all, let's go ahead and get started.

Right? Let's start with what drives every great practice from the inside that is leadership and culture. We will look at how values, mindset, and behaviors translate into real team engagement and long-term success. For that, I'd like to turn to Dr. Becky first, doctor, you have successfully led bodies, bodies bet through remarkable growth while maintaining a strong and engaged culture. So, from your perspective, what are the core leadership behaviors that turn culture from an abstract idea into measurable business driver? Yeah, well, thanks for thanks. That's a a hard question. a strong question we talk about often. I always joke that culture isn't posters and pizza lunches, right?

I mean, that's what we try to maybe promote on the outside and engage our team, but it's really, it's really not. it's more about a system for us at buddies and, as a business, you know, we have KPIs and measurables, and sometimes culture can be really hard to measure, but we do track some of that, and we do try to measure some of that, with engagement, retention and internal referrals. And we can track revenue, we can track, you know, cases and case volumes, but we also really wanna track how our team feels, and how they are seen and how they're supported, and how can we use that as a, as a data source to, to use as a business tool. So I think leadership behaviors really, for me are consistency, transparency and accountability.

And those are things I'm, I'm constantly working on, but we, that moves into everything. and it starts with hiring for your values. that is a hard lesson. You know, in, in my beginning years as a practice owner, it was, let's just fill a spot. We need a body. now we're so intentional about, yeah, you're not a good fit. Like the interview tells us you're not a good fit. We, we start our screening process straight up with just, yeah, your resume's lovely, but they send us a video and you can pick up a lot. you know, videos can be tough and they're, and some people are nervous, but you can quickly pick up on things that are like, Ooh, I, I don't think that's gonna be a good fit.

And it, and it weeds things out for us. So, as far as consistency, that's for me as a leader, how am I showing up consistently every day for my team? needs to feel safe. And if I'm constantly wavering in my actions, my decisions, my nonverbal cues, they're not gonna feel safe and show up to a workplace that, that they wanna be part of, and, and engage in that. So again, I'm, I'm the leader that, that lands on me. So, again, some tangibles, you know, some KPIs are, are totally tangible, turnover rate referral hires, internal promotions, and some aren't. Some are human. It, it means really offering a safe work environment. Are you safe? Do your people feel safe where they can speak up and, and say what they're really feeling good or bad?

and how do you create a culture to do that? That's, that's, it is immeasurable and sometimes not tangible, but, the culture is part of the growth. You can't have growth, in my opinion. You can't have growth without it. It, it really is the foundation. So that helps us scale a little bit. All right. Amazing. you highlighted consistency as leader and transparency and building that trust is really important. So from your perspective, many veterinary leaders struggle to sustain their team's energy and purpose over time, especially during high stress periods, right? So what strategies have you found most effective for protecting both team wellbeing and practice performance simultaneously? Yeah.

Well, the, the old saying is you can't pour from an empty cup, right? and I learned that the hard way. I definitely am one of those, veterinarians and leaders who went through burnout and several years ago said, I don't wanna do this anymore. And, came to a, a come to Jesus moment where I went through some major coaching and self-development and self-awareness, and, that was so important to me that I actually brought that into my team. So I'm gonna get to that eventually, but I'll, I'll bring it now, is that we have two executive coaches on our team. one meets with our, our team members twice a week, individually or as team as needed. And then once a month, we have a, a big, executive, training that is more than just like customer service and sales and, and continuing education, vet med.

It really is team leadership, team building, at the hands of coaches and performance coaches, coaches, if that's what, they do for a living. So, the other is, you know, the old ways of vet met are over the 1980s of, pardon me, you know, men in charge of the businesses are over. This has become a woman driven field, and lots of those women are moms. Not to short dads at all, but, there's a lot of mom things happening. And I think what I learned, it's never, it is a little bit of, I suffered through it, and so I don't want my team to suffer through it. So I've changed my practice in a way of, your kid needs to be dropped off at school at eight o'clock.

Cool. We're gonna make that happen. We're gonna, we're gonna be flexible in your schedule to make that happen. Today was a clear thing that happened for me. I had a kid event I wanted to be at tonight, so I rearranged my schedule, but wouldn't, you know, the last appointment of my day showed up late, which was gonna make me late. So I talked to my associate, who's also a mom, I'm like, Hey, this is what's going on without hesitation. She's like, get outta here. I got that for you. And that's, that's because we build that culture where we know how important those events are to us, right? We are absolutely. Use your PTO. That is a huge part of burnout. Like, that's great.

As a business owner, I don't care if you don't use your PTO, like I, you know, I pay it one way or the other, go use it. we take actual lunches, force you out of the building today. I had a brief moment of time, it's a, it was a weird day, and I grabbed my team for 10 minutes. I said, come on, we're, we're going for a walk. We took a 10 minute walk, which is just a great time to go outside. It was a beautiful day here. we do health mo health and movement initiatives. again, the per, I can't, toot my own horn enough about my performance coaching. It is, it is what has changed our culture by far. And having spoken to many, many other veterinarians and doing some coaching groups with them, it is what is the game changer for us is having a coach to help build that safe environment so that we can take care of ourselves and say the things.

And when we reach capacity, we have to be in a safe environment where we can say, Hey, I'm done. Like, I've seen enough today, or I'm burning out and, and say it and realize it before it becomes a problem. Right? When you, when you were saying that, I was thinking how like tiny teeny actions can help create that, safe environment, safe culture, right? Right. like pushing people to get like actual lunch, forcing them to take that 10 minutes walk, right? Mm-hmm. making sure that your teams know, team knows their boundaries, right? Letting them take, take days off, maybe like half days to attend to their family events. So they're like very, very small actions. They're So small, but yes. But they make such a huge difference, and they add up, right?

They're multipliers that add up really fast. Exactly. Exactly. Thank you for those reminders. And, I wanna remind our audience also, this is not us just talking to you. We need you also in the conversation. So let's hear from our audience for a quick moment, right? because we want your ideas as well, going forward in this conversation. So in your opinion, what has the biggest impact on your practice culture? We are dropping a quick poll in the chat, so go ahead and choose your answers. Is it leadership? Is it communication? Is it client relationships or financial pressure? So we'd like to know from you, look at the chat for a minute and fill out that poll.

So let's be engaged in this conversation. All right. Until they answer that question, would like to move on to the final question of, Dr. Becky, doctor, as someone who balances clinical work, ownership and leadership, how do you ensure your personal vision and values stay aligned with the day-to-day realities of running a growing veterinary business? I'm just curious, because we were talking about that even before the webinar starts, right? So I'm just curious, how can other owners do the same? Yeah. for me, we're very mission based, and I know that sounds, that can be sound very cliche and very like fluffy, but you have to have a true mission.

And it can't just end up in the handbook or be like, posted on the wall. But are you living that mission every day? And when you have to make tough decisions, are you making that decision on the mission or are you making it on ego or something else? Right? So mission first always. And then for some decisions, I have to say, well, am I gonna make this choice? Even if it made less money, but built a stronger team? So maybe it's not, you know, practice driving, maybe it's not a revenue driver, but if it's still helping team growth and team, culture, is it worth that decision? So again, we, we, the values that, that we live by aren't just on the wall, but they're built into everything we do when we hire, how we spend money, how we delegate.

recently, I say this as the, the listening part of a leader. You, you have to be a listener more than you're a talker, right? And that, that's a hard lesson sometimes as a leader, you wanna say all the things and make all the decisions, but it's so important to listen and get feedback. We recently held a, one of our team buildings was a shark tank idea. So they came up with the ideas, had to present it to the sharks, and some of those ideas were so good that we actually implemented 'em. And within 14 days, one of the ideas we're like, that is so good. Like, where have you been hiding that? And we implemented it. So listening, and really, engaging with your team, reflects back in how, how you're aligning with them if they feel free to say it.

All right? Amazing, amazing for those, I think those are the things that we know, but we have forgotten. So thanks for those reminders, and thanks Toki. Those like very practical, very tiny, teeny, actions that we need to start doing from tomorrow onwards that can measure, make a huge difference in your practice. And you will see that culture change, in your practice. So thank you so much for that, Dr. Becky. Thank you. All right. now that we've explored how culture works within the team, let's talk about how it shows up to the world outside. How do you turn that strong internal culture into authentic marketing that attracts and keeps the right lens for that?

I would like to turn to you, Don, in today's veterinary world, we often hear that culture drives everything from team happiness to client loyalty. But many practice owners still feel that culture is something abstract or secondary compared to that day-to-day business demands, right? So why has culture become such a defining factor in a veterinary practices long-term values and success today? And what does that really look like in a modern clinical environment? Okay, would like hear? Okay, thank you very much for that shahar. And, I mean, I have a very easy time at explaining this because, Dr. Becky has just showed a fantastic, example of what a good, solid culture looks like.

So with that being said, really culture nowadays isn't a soft skill anymore. it's truly the heartbeat of your practice. So what that means is it shapes how your team communicates, how a client feels when they walk through your dose, even how your business performs when challenges arise. That's the key part, right? and really before, this event, I did some, research on it as well. And, I just have some numbers which are very interesting. I would like to share with you all. so according to the A VMA, the average annual turnover rate for veterinary teams is about 23%. Now, that is one of the highest across the healthcare sectors. And, studies show that truly when your culture is weak, burnout and attrition skyrocket, right?

But, but here's the good part as well. When culture is strong, practices that are seeing significant high retention with over 87% less turnover rate, and that's in a recognition based positive cultures potentially like that, both Dr. Becky's practice, right? And, so in today's environment, culture truly isn't optional. It's actually strategic. in a modern clinic, as you asked, culture shows up in very real ways. so celebrating team wins or perhaps going for that, 10 minute walk, clear communications around, you know, patient care and, leaders that are just modeling based on empathy, right? Because again, values have shifted so much since 1980s, that sort of traditional, mentality and to now 2025.

And that's where even your digital presence comes into play and tells you a story before your client even shows up at your door. So, I would like to think of culture as a bone structure of your practice, right? Like if those bones are strong, everything else, your team, your clients, and even your practice's growth, they'll stand tall, right? But, when that, culture or the bone structure cracks, even the best medicine can't really fit and, hide those tensions behind the scenes. So, yeah. truly culture is not a value. It's really a powerful differentiator. It's your brand. That's amazing. I love that point where you mentioned, having a great culture, you will see the difference in a challenging times, maybe you would not notice that your culture is amazing.

You have built that great culture with empathy, transparency, trust, and all of that. You would not notice the impact of that in your like, regular day-to-day activities, but really in challenging times. That's, that's a great point. I think so many veterinary professionals relate to that because they know their culture is special inside the clinic, but sometimes they struggle to show that to the outside world, right? That is the whole topic here. So Don, from a marketing perspective, how can practice owners take that amazing internal culture, the teamwork, the compa compassion, and the laughter as we talk, talk about, and actually connect it to their marketing in a way that attracts and keep the right clients, Right?

again, love that question, because, you know, when it comes to this question, this part of, marketing independent practices truly have untapped goal, right? so that means those small but genuine moments, I mean, just off of what Dr. Becky said, just to use as an example, those lunches that are to be taken outside of work space and then, perhaps that 10 minute walk, those, if you were able to capture those moments that truly make your practice unique, you know, the team huddles, and even comforting a worried patient or client, sorry. And, those moments, if you were able to capture it, that if you were able to share it, that would really help people understand your culture outside of your workplace itself.

So what that means is basically a lot of these practices truly do have a culture in them, but they stay unseen, right? so marketing is the tool that makes that culture visible. And, I'm just gonna speak with regards to today's AI driven landscape. Really, you can do it smarter than ever, right? So AI, optimize visibility, structuring your website and content so AI assistance can recognize and showcase your expertise when people are searching for it, right? and then of course, maintaining that authenticity across channels. Authenticity is the key factor over here, because when you're authentic with yourself, with your practice, you are able to attract those authentic pay, clients that are your ideal clients as well.

So, your authenticity, use that as such a strong sword, you know, instead of sometimes, you know, seeing it as more of a shield or like a weakness itself, right? Bringing that authenticity across all various channels. And then of course, you know, aligning with your values that truly does attract, the right kind of patients that you want to see. And, then of course, that is where it's critical, especially when it comes to this age of AI discoverability because, when it comes to marketing, right? I have another insight over here from McKinsey's 2025 State of AI report. Over 60% of marketing teams are already using generative ai. So they're already seeing measurable increases in productivity.

And ROI as well as in dig according to Digital Marketing Institute projects that, nearly 80% of consumers will rely on AI enhanced search by the end of 2025. So that's the end of 2025. And this, study came out early in March. but according to that, already 70% of people are actually trusting what these AI assisted searches are giving them. So what all this means is basically marketing isn't just about being seen anymore, right? It's actually about being chosen by ai. I know that sounds a bit cliche and maybe, a bit jarring, but, that's where modern frameworks like GEO and a EO, so generative engine optimization, GEO and a EO, answer engine optimizations come in.

So that helps your practice become the answer, right? Not just another search result. And, so in short, marketing truly becomes the mirror reflecting your team's heart to the community that surrounds you, but also to, AI driven search as well. And we can't escape AI in 2025. so yeah. And when that happens, people really don't just choose you for the care you give, right? I mean, everyone already knows this, I, I, I hope. But, people really do choose you for the way you make them feel. So, yeah, I hope that, answers your question, Shahara. That is wonderful. and there must be people listening to this, webinar when they listen to Becky talk, Dr.

Becky talking about that great culture. And when you talk about how we should showcase, if you have that great culture, someone must be thinking, oh my God, wow, I have that, I have that practice. I have those practices, I had that culture, but I'm not showcasing that. Is there a starting point for them, right? Who wants to make their culture something that not only feels good internally, but also drives real business growth? Where should they start, right? And is there any practical steps that they can take to align culture, marketing, and long-term success? We'd like to hear that from you. Okay. Okay. So I'll take one step at a time and, just start with very actionable step when it comes to, really identifying your culture, right?

And that is clarity, to gain clarity on what your culture is already. Most pe most practices, as I mentioned before, do have that culture, but they haven't defined it in an actionable way. So first steps, first, just, listen to your team that, you know, listen to your team. Ask them what makes you proud to work here, right? perhaps even ask them about what do our clients say about us? What is that praise that you keep on hearing? And, then of course, you know, ask them about what would we not want to lose if our practice becomes like twice the size? Like even if we scale, what is that one thing that we would never want to lose? So these a, questions will begin to give you an insight into your practice and the heartbeat of that practice, right?

Take these as your building blocks, building blocks to understanding your culture, inner culture. And then of course, the second step is to get an honest audit, right? How are you going to translate that internal culture into an external presence that will drive business growth, right? So ask yourself, does our online presence truly reflect that inner culture, that amazing inner culture we have inside our four roles, right? Because for most practices, there really is a gap. And, if you were able to close that gap, where your internal values and your external presence match, you stop chasing clients and you instead start attracting them like a magnet.

so yeah, and to really help bridge that exact gap, I actually have a gift from our team at Echo Marketing for everyone in attendance tonight. a complimentary one-on-one live marketing strategy meeting, as you see over here. Thank you very much for that Shahara, as you see on your screen. so this session is designed to answer one critical question in this new era of AI when a pet owner asks their phone, right? So that I'm talking about chat, GPT Gemini, grok, any kind of AI powered search for the best wet near me, is your practice, the chosen answer. Gone are the days of like ranking at the top of a list today. It's about being the most trusted and authoritative choice.

You'll get a one-on-one live audit from our expert analyst or who understand this shift from all school, A SEO to this new world of AI search, right? So we'll review your current standing in your local market, and show you actionable steps you can take to attract a steady stream of ideal clients. The link is being dropped in the chat right now. it'll only take a minute to book. And, because these sessions are a bit, in depth, we do have few limited spots available each month. So I highly encourage you to book one now. and just to be clear, this is a no obligation session. Our goal is to serve the veterinary community by giving you immense value that you can use, whether with us, with your own team, or on your own.

So it's really a true win-win situation. so go ahead and book that session to take real action towards the growth of your practice today. with that being said, thank you, Shahara. Thank you, Don. That really lays it out clearly, I think, and wonderful to see that you and the team have actually created something to help practices by offering this complimentary marketing strategy meeting with your marketing expert. that's wonderful. So ma, dear audience, you still can see the QR card on the screen to book your complimentary marketing strategy meeting that is like totally free. We have already dropped the link in the chat as well as Don reminded, so I encourage you to grab that opportunity.

that is a thank you for you to joining with us tonight. Alright. All right. having said that, finally, let's connect the dots between people and performance, right? How can a strong people centered culture, something we, we've been talking, from the beginning, right? That culture directly support financial growth and long-term stability in today's veterinary landscape. So let's turn to Monica. Monica, you've helped countless veterinary teams strengthen both financial and operational performance, right? What patterns do you notice in practices that have successfully linked financial discipline with positive people-centered culture? Right? So, Dr.

Becky, you hit it right on the, the button there. As far as the transparency, the consistency, I, I think it's critical that employers managers understand that, you know, your cultures, your DNA, what is it that is gonna have your practice, healthy and environment that people wanna show up to work. and I don't know if people understand how critically important it is. You know, we invest a lot of time in having an inventory manager or OSHA safety officer now, and those things are obviously necessary and important. But, I wrote a chapter in the veterinary, clinics of North Americas, dealing with small animal practices. And it was a chapter on culture.

And something that I'm advocating for is that practices incorporate, the position of culture champion, and that's someone that, has the emotional intelligence that, can tune into what's working, what's not for practice, and realizing that if something's off, we need to address that. Versus, allowing things that, you know, waiver and people get upset and just, you know, adding, a toxic environment. So I think it's really important that we understand that for people to perform well, for a business to perform well, we need to make sure that we completely understand that our employees are our biggest asset, their critical component to, a, a healthy, business.

And because as a consultant, I'm looking at financials, looking at numbers all day, I mean, I can really see, in the, the positivity and practices in the numbers. I can tell when I'm on the, financial call, how engaged, how poised a manager may be, and realizing that as an effective leader communicator, those skills are trickling down into their healthcare team. And how, when you hang up a, a phone or a call with me, it's like, gosh, Monica's encouraging me to do this, do that. And when I have managers that are embracing that because they know they have a team that's gonna help support what needs to be done, and they're sharing that, you know, consistently at their team meetings or, you know, being transparent about, areas of opportunity, I think a lot of times practice owners and managers will, you know, share very little as far as what's happening financially with the practice.

And I think, you know, I wanna be guarded in the sense that, for example, my, my dad is now retired. My mom probably should be retired. she's 74, well, will be 74, but she's a realtor, so she loves to talk to people. She loves houses. So she probably won't retire anytime soon. But to this day, I have no idea how much my parents made, like their salaries. I have no idea why, because that was not my burden to carry as a child, young, adult, whatever the case may be. And I think sometimes business owners, you know, when you're saying, well, we can't afford to do this, we can't afford to do that, I do not think that is, a good practice because I think that puts fear into your healthcare team.

what we need to do is look at numbers. Like if your volume is down, we have benchmarks. You know, if your lab income is not at the industry, benchmark, then it's talking to your team to say, you know, we have an opportunity, to increase our lab income. And why is that important? You know, obviously if it's chronic medications that a pet is on, making sure that they are, you know, being tested annually for that T four test, or having, they, their a LT checked every 90 days if they're on an inset or something along those lines, that's good medicine. And them realizing that, you know, making those recommendations is why we show up to work every day.

We are the pet's advocate and share, sharing that information is, is, very important. So if you can't afford to do something as an owner, if your bottom line is not strong, as strong as what it needs to be coming into your practice and say, we can't afford to do this, we can't afford, that's not gonna solve the problem. But engaging your team and saying, Hey, we are excelling when it comes to our radiology income or our vaccine income, but these are some areas that we can collaborate on, and we can actually get to the point where we're not only meeting the industry benchmark, but we're exceeding it. And, because we have such a strong, committed team and a strong culture, you know, they're gonna embrace the opportunity of, things that we need to work on.

So I think sharing numbers, which I'll, you know, can talk more about, but I think sharing numbers is, important. You have team members that are showing up every day that are in the trenches, they're contributing, and I think it's important for them to have some insight as to, you know, to assure them that their work is not in vain. So, very important, the, the culture and the financial component, I see it hand in hand. I can see practices that have a strong culture, you know, they make it through the tough times. And those that are, weak in that area, those are the ones that, will keep me gainfully employed. So That's, that's very true. I think we've been talking about how to inculcate empathy in your culture, trust, transparency and all of that.

But this is a new, new topic I would say that we brought into the conversation. You need to be transparent about your numbers. You need to be transparent about the opportunities, that is there for your team members. That can be the reason for someone to wake up early in the morning and like, come to work, right? that could be the motivation. So that's a, that's a great reminder. Monica, in times of economic uncertainty or high turnover, leaders often default to short-term decisions. That is normal, right? How can veterinary owners balance financial responsibility with the need to invest in culture and people for long-term stability? Yes. I think, investing in your team, whether it's, you know, from a continuing education perspective or career development perspective, you know, making sure that you're taking really good care of your team is, I, I think it's something that, once again, people have to understand that, you know, it's, it's like when you're going through tough, challenges, whether it's in your professional life or your personal life, you know, if someone feels that, you know, that they are well regarded, that they ultimately are being taken care of, I, I don't see like the recruiting issues that practices are dealing with right now, or the volume issues.

I, as a consultant don't see those as a challenge for our industry. I see it as an opportunity. We are a resilient industry, from the oh 8 0 9 recession, obviously being called recession proof. pandemic, you know, we were resilient during the pandemic, this recruiting issue that we have, the, volume and that is affecting, you know, what people think is affecting their bottom line negatively. I think that if you're comparing numbers, and volume to during the, during COVID, then it COVID was something that I don't think we'll ever experience again, as far as how busy we were unless we go through another pandemic or something. So I advise my clients to look more at, you know, this year's numbers compared to, say, 20 18, 20 19.

And in all honesty, it, it's not as huge of a gap if you're looking at the last few years. So I think it's, important for, folks to understand that there are gonna be challenges that this, industry will always be faced with. But because of that, that human animal bond that we found out was pretty darn strong. I mean, we talked about it for decades, but, COVID showcased how, IM, impactful that bond is for our industry. And, realizing that you don't have to be reactive in a way that you're making rash, emotional decisions. I think a lot of times it's just stepping back and saying, okay, this is where we are. What can we do to make sure that we're taking good care of our clients, our patients, so that the practice can, you know, obviously, ride the wave.

And ultimately it is looking at your team, looking at the areas of opportunity to strengthen your team, to invest in your team, because they are gonna be the ones that are gonna get you through the challenges that are thrown, you know, your way left and right. So, very important to not be overly reactive. that doesn't mean that I, I don't want my managers and owners to, have a pulse on things, but a lot of times it's just taking a step back, maybe thinking about a similar situation that the practice has gone through, and how do we handle that? because I, I would say that in all my time of being in this industry, you know, like at the beginning of COVID or, you know, when the recession oh 8 0 9 was around that, people were just terrified and look at how a lot of practices came through that, you know, some obviously didn't come through it as well.

and those are the, probably, probably the practices where, you know, they were putting profits before people versus people before profits. So it's really important to invest in your team, and realize that, whatever challenges you may have, if you have a strong dynamic, what I used to refer to my team as a world class dynamic team, I, I personally felt that there was no challenge that we couldn't handle. So, no need to, you know, feel like you gotta jump off the edge. There are something along those lines, just, I think that's where it's important for our owners and our managers to put on their problem solving hats and, deal with it with the level of confidence, that you bring to the table every day.

so that, that's what I feel like is very important that those, are directions that, you know, a practice owner manager should take. Thank you so much, Monica. I think only the challenging times will remind you of the importance of having that world class dynamic team, right? Something we reminded earlier as well during Becky, Dr. Becky's discussion and Dan's discussion. So that is a reminder. You, you don't need to have those short term decisions or like, you, you don't have to react to those challenging times. If you have built that, great culture, that world class dynamic team, you are safe. All right. I'd love to get a quick sense from everyone here as well.

Again, what's the biggest area you wanna focus on strengthening in your own practice? Next, you'll see the poll in the chat again. So go ahead and pick the one that feels most relevant to you. Is it culture, marketing, financial, or balance? Alright, meantime, I'd like to get back to you, Monica. Okay. From your consulting and, leadership experience, what are the key indicators that signal a culture is truly driving profitability rather than just coexisting with it? And how can managers measure that impact the most important part? How can we measure that impact? Right. So, you know, Don mentioned that the, average turnover, for our industry is, you know, well in the high 20 percentile.

I, actually just did a, a, a talk this past weekend where I did discuss the turnover rate, and I think every practice should know what their turnover rate is. And honestly, if it's above, 10%, that is letting you know that you have an issue. So, assessing your turnover rate, and if you're like, well, I don't know how to do that, you know, you could, they can reach out to me, I'll give you the formula and everything, but if you really want a quick and easy way to get a pulse on, how your practice team, truly feels about being associated with your, practice. When I go in for my onsite consultations, when I'm interviewing, the doctors, the healthcare team, I will ask them, on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the highest, what's your happy factor?

And based upon the response, I immediately know that if someone's down in that three or four, or honestly seven or below that, that's an area of opportunity that their things are not as well as they could be. and then obviously if people were in that eight and nine, I, I don't take that with a grain of salt. if you're at a eight, I'll say, well, what could get you, that happy factor up to a nine or a 10? because a lot of times people don't have, they don't know how to say something's all for wrong. but that on a scale of one to 10, it's easy to gauge that, okay, you know, if you're at a three or four, you know, give me an idea of what will get your happy factor up.

And it's amazing how much feedback they're willing to share, just in, I guess, you know, bringing it to their attention from that standpoint. So, it, it really is, important that we understand that they are intertwined, when it comes to culture and the success of a practice. and when I'm working with practices, I can tell when looking at KPIs, you know, the things that, they're excelling in. And if I say that this is an opportunity that they take the recommendations, and by the time I've talked to them either the next month or the next quarter, I can tell that they have taken that information, taken it to their team, and they've been intentional about, you know, this is an area of opportunity and because, you know, we have eagles amongst us, we're gonna do everything that we can, to get it to a point where, it's, it, you know, from a KPI, from a monitoring perspective that, you know, we're, achieving the goal and whatever that goal may be.

So, I love practices that, you know, have the concept of open book management where they are willing to share numbers. I think of our CSR team, you know, they're looking at the book at books at the end of the day as far as, you know, balancing out the, the transactions for the day, and they see the money coming in, but how many practice owners and managers are willing to share the whole picture, because this is like your pie. This is what you bring in every day. But it's important for them to understand that a piece of that pie goes toward, you know, x, y, z, with our biggest pieces being payroll and inventory. And even if you're a practice owner or a manager that's not comfortable sharing the numbers, I've had practices that will do pie charts.

They understand that this is a bigger piece of the pie than, you know, maybe, marketing or something like that. So I think that you have to assess your team. I used to share information with my doctors monthly, and my team wanted to know numbers, but they said not every monthly team meeting, so we went to quarterly, just giving them an idea. It's kind of like a state of a union address, that this is where the practice is. And I think it's really important for them to just know that, you know, the things that we're doing exceptionally well in, we're gonna give you guys a pat on the back for that. And the things that we're, you know, once again, have those, I don't like to say weakness.

I'll say the areas of opportunity. This is where your skillset, your experience, your talents, that's what we're calling upon to help us, you know, improve in a particular area. So those practices that have a strong leader, and they know how to present, those areas of opportunity not to point blame or, you know, make it feel like it's their fault. no, this is where we are for whatever reason. And let's brainstorm about what we can do to, see the success that this practice has, you know, seen in experience or has the ability to, experience Amazing. I would like to highlight that part. Yes, you need to share your numbers, you need to, you need to make sure that the team knows, where your practice stands right now.

But I love that part when you said, your team didn't want to know that monthly, so you shifted into quarterly, right? Mm-hmm. So you are not compromising, share being transparent, but you are not compromising the comfortable environment that you have created the culture that you have created in your team. That is, that is so beautiful, I would say. So, you need to be transparent, where you stand and you need to get feedbacks from your team as well as from your clients, and then learn to know you, you know, what are the opportunities as well as you mentioned Monica, what are the areas that you need to improve? So that is amazing. Alright. before we wrap up, I'd like to pause for a moment and open the floor to your, the audience questions.

if there's anything you'd like to ask to our panels, this is the time, so please drop your questions in the chat. We'll bring as many as we can to the discussion. meantime, I'd like to share a few questions from our registrants. this is from Kelly Johnson. the question is, has emphasis on culture diluted, the effectiveness on its focus? Has emphasis on culture diluted the effectiveness on its focus? Would like to direct that question to Dr. Becky? Great question. I think in everything we do in our practice, we don't use the word culture. It's such a, you know, it's so overused. I think, toxic culture, positive toxicity, like all that stuff, we just don't say it, but we live it.

and again, it's in our values from hiring to everything we do to firing. So it's just ingrained. So I don't think it gets diluted that way. It's just how we live in our practice, but we don't say it. Right. All right. Thank you for that answer. all right. I would like to ask the next question from Monica. I can't see who asked this question honestly, but this is the question. A huge corporate practice just opened a branch in our town, and they are offering really low prices. How can our clinic compete without cutting corners or taking on too much financial risk? Yeah. and, and I am surprised that they opened the practice and they have low prices, but it could be a, a low, you know, spay neuter vaccine type of a business model that they've established.

But I think it's really important for practices, businesses to understand that you have to be true to yourself. So if you are gonna be a high quality practice that's offering, you know, a high level of customer service and you know you're trying to be an employee of choice for your employees, then you've gotta stay true to that. you know, there are businesses that, offer low prices that are successful and they're practices that are on the higher end and they're successful, and it's because they're staying true to, you know, obviously what, what their goals are for the, practice. So, you know, I, I remember when, you know, some of the, PetSmart Banfield practices were opening when I was, in practice and a lot of, business owners were getting very concerned about that.

I think that there's a place for a lot of different models within our industry. some are gonna go for the corporate, some are gonna go for obviously they, independently own. but do you just like Dr. Becky said, you know, it's important to have mission statement values. You've gotta stay true to that. And I think it's almost, you know, if, if owners and managers would think about, you know, when you're dating someone and you decide to marry that individual, you are formulating a relationship as to this is how we want our life to be, this is how we want our family to be. And you are staying true to that, right? So if you are a business owner and it is low cost spay neuter, if that's your focus, there's nothing wrong with that.

Stay true to that. Don't try to be like a jw hotel when you're offering motel six prices, right? is Motel six, they're still out there, aren't they? I think they're still motel sixes. You know, they, serve a certain niche and then obviously the, Ritz Carltons and the jws, they're gonna serve a certain niche, but they stay true to who they are. so I, I think the amount of time and energy that we put into our professional, excuse me, our personal relationships, it's the same type of approach that we need to take with our businesses, that this is what I want out of my business, and out of my employees. and this is what I'm gonna stay true to. So let anyone, anybody, business model open up down the street, across the street, just stay true to you and don't feel threatened by that.

Feel motivated if nothing else by it. Right? Thank you. so much, Monica, for that motivation and that inspiration. whoa, what an inspiring evening. This has been a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Becky, Don and Monica for sharing your expertise and time with us. We are super, super grateful for that, and we've explored real strategies and fresh perspectives to help veteran professionals grow with confidence. All right, let me share my screen for a minute. There you go. All right. This a small reminder to reserve your complimentary strategy session with the marketing expert of equa Marketing. Remember, this is not just a chat, it's hours of research, tailored insights, and a roadmap design specifically for your practice.

So scan the QR code and grab that opportunity. All right? Finally, thank you to all of you who tuned in because you are the reason we do this. Without you, there's no learning, no growth, no community. So Dr. Becky, Don and Monica, we'd like, we'd love you to stay for a, couple of minutes after the session. We'd like to hear your feedbacks about the session. And to our wonderful audience, a quick reminder to fill out the feedback survey as you exit as well. So thank you once again. We'll see you at the next Veterinary Business Institutes event. Until then, take care. Good night.