About your future practice
Can you picture what it looks like?
You’ve thought about your new practice – but can you picture it? To successfully open a practice, you’ll need a clear vision of what you want to achieve and a strategy to get there. From identifying your target market to locating and planning your new practice, your to-do list may be daunting; however, with the right framework, a clear plan for your practice is within your grasp.
Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.
Click on any of the sections below to find out more information or use the arrow on the right hand side to move through the pages.
Practice ethos and guiding values
Type of practice
Location and market assessment
Practice building and planning
Services
Retail strategy
Practice name
Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.
Purpose – your ‘why’, why does this practice exist?
Values – the concepts that guide your decisions and help define your company culture. Examples include integrity, kindness, compassion, belonging, respect, collaboration, sustainability. As the leader you need to make your leadership decisions in the light of these values, therefore, they should be meaningful for you.
They should also resonate with your team and your clients. Most companies have 3-7 values and in a start-up, they usually reflect the vision of the founder. Established teams may choose to work with a facilitator to identify the values on which people currently base their approach.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – what will make your practice different and why will clients want to come to you? What is the problem you solve that your competitors do not?
By defining these principles up-front, you create a framework to allow you to make more logical decisions in a number of areas – from how the premises should look, to how you talk to others about what you do. It helps to establish a strong culture that your team can align themselves with and may even aid in recruitment and retention by helping to set expectations.
EXAMPLE The USP is very straightforward: ‘servicing the needs of all animal owners in a 20-mile radius of my town’. This now helps you make the following fundamental decisions.
My practice building needs to be located on the outskirts of the largest town with easy access to transport networks as I expect 50% of my turnover to come from pet owners in the town and 50% from the surrounding rural areas.
I’m now going to develop services that are relevant for the demographic e.g. 60% are cat owners therefore we will offer cat only clinics for part of the day.
I won’t advertise in publications that don’t service this area.
I’m going to prepare to meet the needs of all animal owners in that area including small furries and the alpacas on the nearby smallholding. This will affect the decisions we make about the products we stock in pharmacy and surgical equipment.
I am going to keep my rates affordable because there are many other practices that service part of this area and I know that the client base is not wealthy.
Need some help with generating ideas for your practice? Here are a few approaches:
Pragmatic – I’m going to launch the practice that seems to fit in with other criteria that I’m not prepared to compromise on (such as location). I don’t want to do anything else remarkable or different (see previous USP example).
Niche – I’d like a practice that is strong in a particular niche that reflects my passion: for instance, a cat-only practice, a Fear-Free® practice, or a referral practice focusing on a particular clinical area.
People focussed – I want to use a people (employee) focussed model to develop my practice and I believe that everything else will follow on from this. So, I’ll embrace flexible working, profit share, servant leadership and other models. We will find ways to demonstrate that we care about people – both employees and clients. Client focussed – my clients will be at the centre of all we do. We’ll prioritise customer experience, so we’ll make the waiting rooms amazing, do lots of follow-up, and measure customer satisfaction.
Animal focussed – we will find ways to demonstrate our love of pets and appreciation of the human-companion animal bond, and we’ll make decisions that put the animal first.Gold standard – we won’t compromise on patient care and will work to protocols that embrace excellence.
Affordable – we’ll provide primary care to a set cost that is affordable to our clients / we will use an affordable subscription model.
Values-led - we'll allocate a percentage of profits to charitable giving. Or we will make all major decisions based on the most sustainable choices.
Premium services – my practice will deliver a similar customer experience to a premium hotel and follow this through in all we do.
Innovation – our practice will be digitally enabled and embrace all forms of new technology. We will always be early adopters of new ways of working.
Traditional – we will replicate the model of a practice at the core of the community.
Preventive healthcare – a large part of our focus will be on prevention and wellness.
Just for fun here are some techniques you can use to get your creative juices flowing:
Social listeningWhat are animal owners talking about. Is there a problem to solve?Forced relationshipPut together some unconnected ideas and see what happens. If your practice was owned by Apple what would it look like? If your practice was run by David Attenborough how would it operate?Who, what, when, where, why & how?This can be a great way to discover missing gaps.
BrainstormingWith others, including friends from outside the veterinary community.
Mind mappingPut your practice at the centre and then put all of your ideas and concerns down on paper.Reverse thinkingWhat would cause your practice to be unsuccessful? Now plan to do the opposite!
Decision making is easy when your values are clear.
First, you’ll need to consider your species niche – or whether you want a niche at all!
Mixed practicesMixed practices are far less common than they once were, but can still offer a great service, especially in more remote rural areas. If you’re planning to run a mixed practice, you’ll want to consider how integrated your large and small animal work will be. Do you plan to have fully mixed vets spending the morning on the farm and the afternoon in consults? Or will you divide your team into small and large animal sides? This will also be important to know when planning your facilities; will you need separate pharmacies, for example, and separate facilities to deal with farm animals and horses?
While it’s not always the case, mixed practices are often seen as the ‘jack of all trades’, with less opportunity for specialisation and ‘gold standard’ care.
Is your goal to offer a wide range of services to all kinds of animal owners in your area or to provide the highest quality service to a smaller section of pet owners? You’ll need to decide whether you want to narrow your focus or maintain a broad range of services.
Animal-specific or specialistMost practices nowadays focus on either small animals, horses or farm animals. However, these aren’t the only options. Other examples include opening a cat-only clinic, or a more specialist farm practice catering to pig or poultry farmers across a larger area.
ExoticsVeterinary care of exotics is another area that has at times been overlooked; while establishing a purely exotics clinic may limit your client base, it’s worth considering whether you want an exotics focus to be a selling point for your practice.
Traditionally, small animal veterinary care is provided from static premises, while equine and farm practices are much more likely to offer ambulatory care.
Increasingly, however, veterinary clients value convenience. Depending on your area and its demographics, you may want to offer home visits for small animals too. This may be limited to euthanasia consults or clients who struggle to access the practice, or could be a more regular part of your practice’s work. You may even want to set up as a purely ambulatory clinic offering home visits, or a limited service provider of euthanasia services. These can be effective business models, although you’ll need to ensure you can refer clients to an appropriate physical practice or Out-Of-Hours provider when needed.
Another hybrid approach to veterinary care is to incorporate telemedicine alongside your typical in-practice consultations; this could be a USP for your veterinary practice, allowing them to stand out in their local area.
At the other end of the spectrum, you may instead want to consider setting up an emergency services clinic or veterinary hospital. If you’re planning to operate as an Out-Of-Hours provider, it’s important to get in touch with local practices and determine whether this will be feasible as a business model.
For equine clinics, you’ll need to decide whether to be purely ambulatory or whether you plan to take on a hybrid role, offering ambulatory vet visits alongside an established clinic where you can carry out further diagnostics, surgery and hospitalisation. Again, you’ll need to determine whether to take on Out-Of-Hours work yourself or in some areas outsource this to an external provider.
You may already have a relatively fixed area in mind or maybe flexible with moving around the country to find the best location. Either way, there are a few important points to keep in mind. As we’ve already touched on, certain practice types will suit different areas. A mixed practice is more likely to succeed in a remote rural area, while a referral practice would ideally be accessible to a much wider pool of clients.
Market assessmentOne of the main factors that will influence your choice of location is the local market. Who are your potential customers, and what are their spending habits? Your practice’s ethos and values should reflect to some extent how affluent the area and your potential clients are. Is the area saturated with similar practices already, or is there a gap in the market? If there are a number of practices already present, what are their strengths and weaknesses?
Cost of locationAs well as assessing your potential market, you’ll need to balance this with the costs of the area. Certain areas, like London, will incur substantial additional costs, not just for your property but also for subsequent services and products. You’ll need to determine whether
your potential revenue outweighs these greater costs, or whether a less expensive location would be preferable.
Access versus visibilityThe location also matters on a smaller scale. Central locations may be convenient for those who live in the heart of the town or city, but can be challenging for clients from further afield to access. However, they often offer greater visibility than practices located on the outskirts or in an industrial estate; in these situations, you may need to consider more extensive advertising efforts.
ConvenienceConvenience is key, but you’ll need to determine what’s most convenient for your target market: is it a small clinic right next door to the local supermarket? Or a larger practice with
plenty of parking further out of town? A larger site may also offer more opportunities for your practice to expand over time. Keep an eye out for sites with new housing estates nearby, as these are likely to attract many new potential clients to the area.
You’ll also need to balance your preferred location with your desired practice setup. If you’re keen to be located in the town centre, you may have to compromise on having a perfect, custom-built clinic in favour of a converted townhouse.
If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.
Building a new purpose-built premises may be an attractive option, as it allows you to get things just as you want. Of course, budget will be a key consideration here, but you will also need to consider factors such as the availability of land, practice size, and whether there is room to expand at a later date.
In 2020, an update to the UK’s planning laws changed the way that properties can be used. Veterinary practices now fall into the Class E: Commercial, service and business category along with shops and offices. This means that a much wider range of premises can now be used to house a veterinary practice, without needing planning permission for change of use. These planning changes may make refurbishing an existing building a more attractive option.
If you have your eyes on setting up shop in a residential area, remember to check restrictions on trading hours as there may be rules around late or Sunday opening for example. Noise pollution can also be a concern, especially if patients are kept in overnight. This may be able to be solved by using good sound insulation as part of the build specifications.
Whether you opt for a new build or renovation, you should recruit the services of an architect early on in your project planning. It is worth speaking to a few architectural firms and choosing one with prior experience in veterinary practice design, if at all possible. As well as being key to turning your vision into reality, your architect will also help you to overcome any planning hurdles, including any local planning laws and restrictions.
An architect who is au fait with the requirements of a veterinary practice can help to avoid pitfalls and guide the design of all practice areas, including:
Reception areaThe first place your clients will see, so it will need to be open, light and welcoming and reflect the brand and feel of your practice. Large windows and natural light can create a feeling of space and help to create a stress-free environment.
Consulting roomsThe number of consulting spaces you are likely to need will impact the size, and although two or three rooms might be sufficient to get your business off the ground, remember to future-proof. As your staff numbers increase, you do not want to outgrow your premises after a few short months.
Prep roomThis needs to be big enough so clinical staff can move around easily at busy times and located to take into account flow from kennels to prep, theatre or diagnostic imaging, for example.
Surgical facilitiesAs well as the basics of theatre size, you will need to consider airflow, sterility and lighting. Further down the line, interior design and décor should be used to differentiate client-facing areas from clinical areas.
Staff roomIt is increasingly important to create an area where staff can rest and recharge away from the ‘buzz’ of the practice. This can go a long way to supporting employee retention and the fit-out and size of this room will tell potential new recruits a lot about how much you prioritise staff welfare.
FlowAvoid creating choke points where people leaving and entering can collide. This not only makes it easier to work in the practice, it also reduces the potential for aggression and stress (between pets and people!).
About practice design in this blog post ‘Best practice in veterinary practice design’ which includes do’s and don’ts in five areas that can make or break practice design.
It is not just the indoor space that is important, but outdoors too. A shiny new practice with all the whistles and bells will only operate to its full potential if there is adequate parking for clients. Having to search for parking around the local one-way system is a sure-fire way to discourage new sign-ups.
More rural locations might have more space and better parking, as well as room for expansion further down the line; however, town centre or residential areas may give you better visibility and more passing traffic. That unicorn property with ample parking in a prime location may exist, but it is likely to come at a premium.
When it comes to setting up your practice there is a lot to consider, and the services of a project manager to oversee the build can be a good investment.
They can answer queries from builders, make sure that everything is on track, and smooth out any bumps in the road. Not only is this likely to be a big weight off your mind, but it also leaves you free to focus your attention on other aspects of the project.
To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.
Veterinary practices now offer an increasingly wide range of services, from CT and specialist consultations to export certification and holistic healthcare. This section provides an overview of the options you might want to consider.
The services you can offer will depend heavily on your vets’ experience. Depending on your vets, you may be able to offer services like echocardiography, advanced ultrasound imaging, a dedicated ophthalmology or dermatology service, or orthopaedic surgeries. You may also want to consider engaging with peripatetic specialists to offer a wider range of services. If you’re willing to invest, a CT scanner on site can be helpful to allow more advanced workups in-house and can be a great USP for clients, demonstrating your commitment to high-quality care.
Healthcare clinicsAlternatively, you may want to offer more client-centric, holistic healthcare services. This could include nurse-led weight loss clinics or chronic pain clinics. Offering alternative therapies like hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture can also help you to build a long-lasting relationship with committed clients.
Home visits and Out-of-Hours careA home visit service, especially for euthanasia consults, can be especially helpful for clients with limited mobility as well as helping to make end-of-life care less stressful for pets and their families. Clients also appreciate practices that take on their own Out-of-Hours care, but if this isn’t feasible you may want to consider offering weekend or evening surgeries.
Pet health plansA pet health plan that provides clear value for money is another good option, helping to improve the uptake of preventative healthcare and bond clients to your practice.
Animal health and export certificatesEmploying an Official Veterinarian to provide Animal Health Certificates and export certifications is another service that offers convenience to your clients and can provide significant revenue with minimal additional expenditure.
Boarding servicesLess commonly, veterinary practices may branch out and offer boarding services, like a cattery on-site. These services can charge a premium due to the peace of mind they offer owners and the high standard of care pets receive; they are especially well suited to pets with complex health conditions like diabetes.
Exotic pet servicesYou’ll also need to decide whether your focus is going to be primarily on dogs and cats or whether you’re keen to offer a high standard of care to exotics. Whether you employ vets with an interest or further qualifications in exotics or invest more substantially in additional facilities like separate wards and specialised equipment, offering an exotics service can encourage clients to travel to you from a much wider geographical area. If you’re confident in providing this service, you may also accept second-opinion consultations from other local vets.
Referral servicesIf you plan to establish a referral practice, there are still options to consider. You’ll need to determine the departments you plan to offer, and the necessary services you’ll need to provide as part of this.
Will you offer neurology services, including MRIs? Or create an oncology department that is able to provide chemotherapy and radiotherapy? To reach potential new clients, you may wish to offer support, CPD or free advice to local clinics, or provide a peripatetic service for some specialties like ophthalmology or dermatology.
The services you provide as an equine clinic will be heavily influenced by whether you operate an ambulatory-only or hospital-based practice. As an ambulatory practice, you’ll need to make arrangements with a local referral centre for referrals where necessary.
You’ll already have considered your target market and location, and this should include an awareness of whether you plan to focus on leisure horses, performance and sport horses or the stud industry – or whether you plan to offer services to all these groups.
Alongside routine care, treatment of common medical conditions and minor surgeries, there are various services to consider, depending on your practice set-up. These include:
Reproductive services, including pre-breeding and pregnancy examinations, artificial insemination (register with BEVA as an approved practice), and neonatal care.
A wide range of treatments, including platelet-rich plasma, IRAP, shockwave therapy, laser etc.
Advanced surgeries like colic surgery or arthroscopies.
Advanced dentistry
Endoscopy
Pre-purchase examinations
Export certification
Racetrack cover, which requires vets to undertake an ARVS course.
Holistic healthcare – acupuncture, physiotherapy or nutrition consultations, for example.
Hospitalisation facilities
Advanced imaging like CT or MRI
Specialist vets, for example with advanced orthopaedic qualifications.
Out-of-Hours services
Offering a comprehensive range of high-quality services can help you to attract new clients and build the close, long-standing relationships that are critical to a successful farm practice.Services to consider include:
Consultation services:
Preventative health planning, including vaccination protocols
Herd and flock health planning
Farm performance reviews
Biosecurity
Trading
Management of healthy stock
Management of game birds, poultry or pigs
Educational workshops e.g. practical calving
Other services:
Infectious disease screening and control
Strategic parasite control
Premium Health Scheme sampling
TB testing and export services
Fertility visits including AI synchronisation and scanning
Bull and ram fertility services
Milk sampling
Smallholder and camelid services, including routine healthcare
Vet Tech visits to assist with farm management and routine care
Equipment hire e.g. cattle handling systems
Sale of relevant products e.g. lambing supplies and calving aids
Post mortem facilities
Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.
Veterinary practices are destinations for animal owners and this means there is the potential to include some element of retail services. This provides a more or less passive source of income (it disrupts the time = money aspect of services).
Retail won’t be right for every practice but it’s certainly something you may wish to consider at an early stage as it may also influence the type of premises you choose and the location.
Ensures that the products you recommend are suitable and support the health and wellbeing of animals. Avoid injuries resulting from the use of poor-quality pet toys or other aids.
Give expert advice to help with product selection, thus further building the expert credentials of your whole team.
Position your practice as a one-stop shop for all needs.
Generate footfall and have an opportunity to talk to shoppers about the health of their pet, with the potential to signpost to relevant services offered by the practice.
Time – great merchandising sells products. If you can’t meet the minimum standards (clean shelves, in-date products, no gaps on-shelf) when the practice is busy, consider whether this is the right option for you.
Expertise – seasonal products and innovation are key to driving retail sales. If you don’t feel your team knows enough about these key drivers, consider leaning on your wholesaler for help and advice on picking the best products.
Space – If space is limited, a counter display at the point of purchase can drive impulse buys. But more considered purchases are usually made from a free-standing fixture that is laid out rationally to help people select the product they want quickly. Off-fixture tables or displays are ideal for browsing and can generate incremental sales over and above those routine, repeat purchases.
Cash flow – investing in stock that doesn’t turn over quickly can have an adverse effect on cash flow. It is therefore important to be aware of this and to commit time to identifying poorly performing lines and replacing them with more successful brands.
Margin - the margin on retail products will be much less than on services so the return products generated may seem on the surface to be unrewarding. Volume will generally be needed to make this a worthwhile part of your business.
Online - an online shop is an increasingly accessible option. With next-day delivery on many products direct from the wholesaler, the practice can operate a next-day click-and-collect service that generates income, without compromising cash flow or space.
About the benefits of retail sales in The Cube October 2023 magazine:
Waiting room sales an opportunity not to be missed
10 top tips to maximise waiting room sales.
A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one.
Is there a matching URL for your website? With so many names in popular use, it is increasingly hard to find a unique domain. Ideally, a domain name should not be too long and if you choose a common practice name there is the potential for mix-ups with similar practices in different locations which could be a source of frustration for a client in an emergency.
It is important to note that your URL can have an effect on search engine optimisation. The name's length, keywords (words that drive online search), and extension (.com, .co.uk) are critical components of an SEO strategy. The average domain length is 13 characters and the most successful websites have less than 7.
Domain names ending in .com, .co.uk or .uk are the most popular and recommended, with .co.uk and .uk being best for UK-based businesses without ambitions to act internationally. Many businesses choose to buy across all three for additional security and to prevent competitor activity (although ‘passing off’ is an offence).
To find out your options on domain names go to 123 reg, Go Daddy or a similar platform and type in your ideas. Expect to pay under £20 unless you choose something very unique or incredibly short. Sometimes you may be offered a name that currently belongs to another party but be aware that these can be very costly to purchase and may offer less of an advantage than you think.
Claiming the same name across several platforms is surprisingly tricky, but it makes sense to do this for any platforms you're intending to use.This site https://www.namecheckr.com/ while not always totally reliable, can be useful as a quick look-up to find out which platforms are free for certain names.
Always make sure that you have ownership of your social platforms. Using an agency to run your social media? A good agency will ensure you have ownership with the right permissions given to relevant people.
Another great tip is to think about setting up a Password Vault online. These often cost just a few pounds per month and keep all your relevant passwords in one place. It’s amazing how often one person leaves a business and now no one can access digital business systems. Use best practice from the start and improve your cyber security.
Intellectual property (IP) protection helps to protect goodwill which contributes to the value of your business to any prospective buyer/client. Goodwill: the benefit and advantage of the good name, reputation, and connection of a business. It is the attractive force which brings in custom.
Once registered as a trademark your brand and logo are protected and you can use the symbol ®.
It is generally sensible to talk to a solicitor to establish some clear terms and conditions around the use of your services and relevant privacy statements, so at the same time seek advice around whether they would consider trademark registration or other IP protection to be desirable. It is by no means common or essential for most veterinary practices but should be an informed decision rather than an accidental omission.
Try this Veterinary Practice Business Name Generator
Disclaimer: This is a US-based site and any advice or suggestions given may not be relevant for the UK market. NVS Group do not endorse this site nor have any association with this business.
