In this episode, I’m joining by Ryan Whitley VP of Business Development at RWE Design Build. RWE is #1 Animal Health Builder In U.S. with over 400 projects completed. Their projects have won several DVM 360 Merit Awards and Hospital Design of the Year. They have been in business over 25 years. So Ryan and team have seen, built, and consulted on a lot of projects.

• Ryan's path to joining RWE and the things he appreciates most about the team at RWE.
• Ryan's big picture view on where is veterinary medicine and design build at today. What’s is catching his eye.
• We discuss projects and the pitfalls he sees and what RWE works to prevent.
• Remodels vs. expansion - when is one the right or wrong decision and how do you approach each differently? 
• We discuss “forever clinic” build/remodel and a 5-10 year then move project - how he helps veterinarians visualize and understand the difference in those projects?
• His question for me.
• And so much more!

Guest Links

• https://rwedesignbuild.com/

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

Alright today I’m joined by two guests from Veterinary Innovative Partners (VIP), a network of 40+ veterinarian-owned-and-operated hospitals across nine states. Dr. Brett Shorenstein & Dr. Don Costlow. Dr. Shorenstein is a practicing veterinarian with 10+ years of experience. Previously an investment banker in NYC, he left the industry to follow his true passion of becoming a small animal veterinarian. Combining his financial expertise with veterinary training, Dr. Shorenstein focuses on cultivating a positive workplace culture and reigniting fellow veterinarians' passion for their work. Dr. Costlow draws on 30+ years of experience in veterinary medicine, practice ownership and business development to forge meaningful relationships with veterinarians. Dr. Costlow has owned and operated veterinary hospitals since 1997. We discuss:

• Brett's link between investment banking and veterinary medicine?
• What Don realized about his leadership style and changes he had to make as he grew hospitals? 
• Their non-consensus views that the industry as a whole might disagree with them on?
• What do they think financially is still undervalued by most of the veterinary community? 
• What VIP is doing to truly be different for veterinarians.
• Inflation and pricing and how they've approached it.
• What areas of veterinary medicine that they find the most interesting? Why? 

Guest Links

• https://vip-vet.com

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this radio show I review and update what the US Consumer looks like in regards to financial health. There were a variety of factors that lead to this being the focus of the week, but a recent conversation with an experienced practice owner was the ultimate push to ensure I recorded this episode. Links to the various links and data sources below.

• US Michigan Consumer Sentiment Article
• Credit Card Delinquency
• Total Debt Levels by Category
• Credit Card Debt Levels + Growth
• Income thresholds and spending
• IKEA warns of Economic Strain

YOUTUBE LINK

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this episode, I dig into the FIRE movement. Unless you live under a rock you likely know what FIRE is. FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. It’s a movement that started back in 1992 when authors Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez used the term in their book, Your Money or Your Life. Their book asks readers to question how they think about their money and their values.

I dig into the massive boom of FIRE writers, blogs, and resources. What FIRE gets right. What FIRE misses. What's happening to impact the idea of FIRE. Why bitcoin helps solve for the FIRE errors.

How to Buy Bitcoin - https://www.swanbitcoin.com/isaiahD/

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

On this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Stephanie Van Deynze-Snell she is veterinarian business owner and High Flow Coach & Consultant. She talks about #business, #wellness, #flowstate, #leadership, and #teamculture. Her experience in the trenches and through growth and leadership as an owner make this a fun conversation to get into. We discuss the following:

• An overview of her personal and professional story how she got to where she is today?
• What’s high flow coaching and why is it important and not some RAH RAH thing.
• How can veterinarians be at peak performance?
• What is active recovery and why it matters.
• While not the most exciting item within a business - why are Handbook & Training Programs the building blocks to make things happen?
• Flexibility in life is key - she has seen that be a bigger item in vet med - how her team has embraced that?
• A deeper dive into culture and the workplace - and understanding the humans you work alongside and how the outside world will always come into the clinic.
• How as a leader she has gotten real feedback from the team to improve? What’s worked vs. not worked.
• What haven’t I asked about that is on your heart or mind?
• Her question for me.

Guest Links

• Stephanie's LinkedIn
• Stephanie's Instagram

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this episode, I'm joined by Jake Jensen, DVM, cVMA, cVSMT. Jake is a co-owner of Janssen Veterinary Clinic (JVC). JVC provides Equine & Small Animal preventative health care, lameness, reproductive, internal medicine, dentistry, and surgical appointments. Jake is local to Central Indiana and someone I've been fortunate enough to get to know personally over the years. Jake shared some great thoughts with me over coffee and wanted to ensure we recorded an episode about it.

• Jake's veterinary journey and career path.
• Moving into veterinary practice ownership and lessons learned.
• His take on using the term "Pet Parents"
• A deep dive on the impact of the term "pet parents"
• Why veterinary medicine should consider the language used.
• How he reframes or handles the term in his clinic.

Guest Links

• Jake's LinkedIn

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this episode, I'm joined by Meghan Bingham, CVPM. She worked in all areas of vet med, from Kennel to Technician to Receptionist, and eventually settled in as Practice Manager where she developed the business from just one vet to a 12-doctor practice. Then she transitioned to a Senior Operations Manager position where she helped 25 Emergency, Urgent, and General Practices to make then as efficient and effective as possible. She has served on the VHMA Board of Directors since 2021 and is currently the Vice President of the Houston Veterinary Practice Managers Alliance. Today, she is a Veterinary Consultant at Granite Peak Associates. We chat on the following:

• The one or two things from her story that she shares that helps explain her career in veterinary medicine best.
• What she thinks happens when veterinary clinics grow that’s most misunderstood?
• What is/are/was your favorite tool for training teams to keep the knowledge of the team consistent?
• Her role at Granite Peak and what has her excited about it.
• Her non-consensus view she holds about veterinary medicine.
• Her thoughts on what private practice veterinary owners need to know for success over the coming years.
• The soccer connection and interest shared.
• Her question for me and so much more!

Guest Links

• Granite Peak Associates
• Meghan's LinkedIn

LifeLearn

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this radio show, I discuss failure and use myself as a great example of how many shortcomings can set the stage for opportunities and "success." I call it a therapeutic session of a show. Let me know your thoughts!

LifeLearn

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this episode, I’m joined by Emmitt Nantz. Emmitt’s been in veterinary medicine for almost 20 years, solving problems and building innovative solutions. Co-founder and visionary leader at Inventory Ally, a cutting-edge inventory management software solution designed specifically for veterinary hospitals. We’ll chat about this and a lot more.

• His background: how did you get to where he is today?
• How are they helping solve that with Inventory Ally?
• Can it help a de novo practice?
• What do the savings look like for a clinic?
• The issues with ONLY focuses on price
• How does Inventory Ally make money? How are you compensated?
• What’s most misunderstood about inventory?
• What’s a non-consensus view in veterinary medicine you hold - that others may disagree with?

Guest Links

• Emmitt's LinkedIn
• InventoryAlly Website
• Book Recommendation - Theory of Constraints

LifeLearn

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Kurt Phillips. Kurt and I recently connected in person at WVC. Kurt owned City Way Animal Clinics until 2021 he sold the five practices. He’s also an entrepreneurial veterinarian and business owner outside of veterinary medicine. He’s always a Hoosier Native, although he calls Bend, Oregon home now. This was a great conversation about the entrepreneurial journey within veterinary medicine and the success and challenges of growing a team.

• Takeaways from WVC 2024.
• Dr. Kurt's early clinical experience & early practice ownership challenges.
• His first big mistake as a business owner.
• How confidence and independence helped mold him to be an owner.
• Early growth and the fracturing of his business partner relationship.
• How joining VMG and implementing EOS turned his practice growth up to 10.
• Building out the organizational leadership and processes.
• How he stayed connected to ALL the team as he grew to five practices.
• What he thinks is stopping veterinarians from wanting to own.
• And so much MORE!

Guest Links

Dr. Kurt Phillips LinkedIn

LifeLearn

GuardianVets (be sure if you reach out to mention us for 50% off your first month)

OfferFirst (use code "VSP" for 20% off)

Shepherd Veterinary Software

Granite Peak Associates