Lets cut to the chase – when it comes to succession planning and future ownership of veterinary practices, the best outcomes are achieved when the ownership is passed on to people who actually know a thing or two about animal welfare rather than people who do not. And by this we don’t mean just vets, we mean also nurses and practice managers who have taken the time to passionately work in this industry for some time and understand it’s complexities.
We will deliver 4 one hour sessions over lunch time between the 3rd of May and the 24th May and anyone who owns a veterinary business or is remotely thinking about their financial future as employed veterinary professional should attend.
We will be dealing with the complex topics of succession planning in vet practices, how to sell, how to buy and all the intricacies you need to understand as a business owner or prospective partner so that these deals can progress and everyone working in the profession wins.
How do we know this? After more than 12 years of being involved in succession planning for veterinary businesses as an accounting firm and veterinary business valuers we have been able to watch the results of hundreds of veterinary practice sales and review where they are after a long time under new ownership. And practices that sell primarily to shareholders that know nothing about the profession and manage from an office in the distance is like watching a train smash in slow motion. And here we don’t just mean that the business degrades and affects the sellers, it effects those that have not wanted to step up to the role of becoming owners in terms of job losses, dealing with unhappy clients and clinical policies being dictated by non-professionals. So its time for employees to find the courage and secure their future.
On the other hand we have been involved with a hundreds of sales of small practices to younger veterinary professionals and watched them become wealthy millionaires (we are not exaggerating here) whist still servicing and treating animals ethically – and we cannot understate the importance of the word ‘ethically’ and the fact that their teams are happy!
The problem for the future however is that successful veterinary businesses like these are now very valuable and it is difficult for younger vets to buy them outright – they simply cannot raise the finance. So more recently we have been working with a number of practices to introduce younger business partners because buying the practice in small pieces is still very affordable and always will be. This takes trust and courage on both sides, but it works! No surprises because more than 30 years ago other service professionals had similar challenges and applied the same solution. Accountants and lawyers are good examples where they transitioned to larger ownership restricted primarily to people who actually understood their profession. That is why so many years later these professions are dominated by large firms who are structured with most of the ownership still in the hands of professionals.
We look forward to seeing a large audience of both veterinary business owners and younger vets who want to secure their financial future.
Dates: 3rd of May to the 24th May for 4 weeks over lunch time.
Click here to register early https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TxrfsAzqTaG2L3CQHj6jsQ
