Veterinary Business Podcast

Are you spending more time putting out fires than actually leading your veterinary practice?

Between managing employees, caring for patients, handling client expectations, and keeping operations running, veterinary practice ownership can quickly become overwhelming. But what does it take to move beyond constant problem-solving and become a more confident, effective leader?

In this episode, Chehara Bandara welcomes Dr. Christine Staten, Dr. Shelley Johnson, and Megan Bingham for a practical conversation about breaking free from survival mode and building a healthier, more sustainable veterinary practice.

Drawing from their experience in veterinary ownership, practice management, team development, and operational leadership, the panelists share strategies for empowering employees, strengthening communication, delegating effectively, and developing the confidence to lead with greater intention.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why delegation is essential for veterinary owners who want to move beyond constant crisis management.

• How a clear vision, mission, and goals can improve leadership effectiveness.

• Practical ways to strengthen team communication, trust, and accountability.

• Why authentic leadership, transparency, and integrity matter when building practice culture.

• How to create opportunities for team members to contribute ideas and take greater responsibility.

• Why connecting with other veterinary practice owners and managers can reduce isolation and strengthen leadership.

Whether you're a veterinary practice owner, hospital manager, or aspiring leader, this conversation offers practical insights to help you build a stronger team and a practice that doesn't depend on you managing every decision.

Ready to Strengthen Your Veterinary Practice?

Discover opportunities to grow your practice with a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting, courtesy of Ekwa Marketing.

https://www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Pet owners are getting more information than ever, but that does not always mean they understand the care being recommended.

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Ryan Salvino, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of VetTalk, joins us to explore one of the biggest missed opportunities inside veterinary practices: the communication gap between what the veterinary team recommends and what the client actually understands.

When pet owners do not understand the why behind a recommendation, they may delay care, decline services, forget important instructions, or leave the practice searching online for answers. Better education can help change that.

Ryan shares how practices can deliver relevant education at the right time, strengthen trust between clients and veterinary teams, and help pet owners feel more confident moving forward with recommended care. One example discussed in the episode showed a 58% increase in blood-work compliance among hospitals using pre-wellness education.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why pet owners may decline recommended care even when they trust their veterinarian • Why explaining the why behind treatment recommendations matters • How pre-appointment education can improve client preparedness and compliance • Why timing and relevance are more important than simply giving clients more information • How personalized education can strengthen the veterinarian-client relationship • How veterinary practices can use automation without losing the human connection • Where communication gaps may be creating missed patient-care and revenue opportunities • Why the future of veterinary communication may depend on delivering the right education to the right pet owner at the right point in their pet-care journey

Better communication is not simply about sending more information. It is about helping pet owners understand what matters, why it matters, and what they should do next.

And that same principle applies before a client ever enters your practice.

Potential clients are already searching online, comparing practices, reading reviews, and deciding who they trust. If your practice is difficult to find, does not clearly communicate its value, or is losing the right clients to competitors, there may be growth opportunities you are not seeing.

Veterinary Business Institute listeners can book a complimentary 60-minute Marketing Strategy Meeting, valued at $900.

During the meeting, the team will take a closer look at your veterinary practice, your online visibility, your marketing performance, and opportunities that may be limiting client acquisition and growth. The episode explains that the first 45 minutes focus on the practice and opportunities uncovered, with the final 15 minutes covering what addressing those gaps could look like.

If you would like a second opinion on how your veterinary practice is performing online and where you may be missing opportunities, reserve your complimentary session here: https://www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Your next ideal client is already searching. Make sure your practice is positioned to be found, trusted, and chosen.

What does it really take to build a successful independent veterinary practice without losing sight of your team, clients, and community?

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Dr. Heath McNutt, owner of Village Veterinary Clinic, shares his experience navigating independent practice ownership, delegation, team culture, client relationships, community involvement, and sustainable growth. He also discusses the challenge of balancing clinical responsibilities with the financial and operational demands of running a veterinary business.

If you're a veterinary practice owner who wants a clearer picture of how your practice is performing online and where opportunities for growth may exist, you can book a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting with Ekwa Marketing.

The session looks at your practice, local competition, current online visibility, the keywords you rank for, and areas where you may be missing opportunities, with recommendations from a senior analyst.

Book your complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting: https://www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Generating new client inquiries is only the first step in growing a veterinary practice. The real challenge is what happens after the phone rings.

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Naren Arulrajah, CEO of Ekwa Marketing, discusses why many veterinary practices lose valuable opportunities at the front desk and how better call tracking, missed call recovery, and phone coaching can improve conversion rates.

Naren explores why practices often struggle to understand the true performance of their phones, the importance of measuring phone conversion rates and missed call percentages, and how a single unanswered or poorly handled call can impact client trust and marketing ROI.

Listeners will learn how to identify gaps in their phone systems, connect marketing efforts to actual booked appointments, and create a better experience for prospective clients from the very first conversation.

• Why marketing investments can fail when calls are not handled effectively at the front desk
• The importance of tracking phone conversion rates and missed call percentages
• How call tracking helps practices understand which marketing channels generate results
• Why unanswered calls and poor phone experiences can drive potential clients elsewhere
• How front desk teams can improve communication, trust, and appointment conversion
• The role of phone coaching in creating consistent client experiences
• Metrics practice owners should monitor to improve growth and profitability

If you're looking to identify opportunities to improve your practice's growth, we're offering veterinary practice owners a complimentary 60-minute Veterinary Practice Growth Strategy Session.

During this session, our team will review your current digital presence, marketing performance, and client acquisition journey to uncover potential opportunities for improvement.

You'll gain insights into:

• How your practice is currently positioned online
• Where potential client opportunities may be getting lost
• Ways to improve your inquiry-to-appointment conversion process
• Strategic areas that can support sustainable practice growth

There's no obligation — it's simply an opportunity to receive a personalized growth assessment for your practice.

To check availability and reserve your complimentary session, visit:

👉 www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Revenue is growing. The schedule is full. The team is working harder. Yet many veterinary practice owners still reach the end of the month wondering why profitability has not improved.

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, host Angie sits down with Aaron Bennett, founder of Bennett Financials and creator of the 60/15/15 framework, to discuss how veterinary practice owners can better understand what their profit and loss statement is revealing.

Aaron explains why revenue alone does not tell the full story of practice health and how breaking down financial performance into key categories can help owners identify where profitability challenges are coming from.

Together, they discuss:

• How to analyze a veterinary practice P&L beyond top-line revenue

• What the 60/15/15 framework reveals about delivery costs, administrative expenses, and sales and marketing investment

• How veterinary practices can evaluate whether marketing is creating profitable growth

• Why customer acquisition cost and lifetime value matter when scaling

• Common margin leaks involving labor efficiency, pricing, facilities, and overhead

• The financial indicators practice owners should monitor before profitability problems appear

• What creates a more scalable veterinary practice from a buyer or CFO perspective

Aaron also shares practical insights on pricing decisions, repeat client behavior, lead flow, owner dependency, and building a practice that can grow sustainably.

This episode is designed for veterinary practice owners, managers, and leaders who want to move beyond simply increasing revenue and develop a clearer understanding of the financial drivers behind a healthier practice.

If you want to better understand where your marketing investment and growth opportunities stand, Veterinary Business Institute offers a complimentary marketing strategy meeting for veterinary practices.

Learn more here: https://www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Don Adeesha sits down with Naren Arulrajah, CEO of Ekwa Marketing, to discuss how veterinary practices can better understand digital marketing, improve their online presence, and create stronger opportunities for sustainable growth.

Today's pet owners are searching online before choosing a veterinary practice. But being visible is only the first step. Practices need to build trust, communicate their value clearly, and create a digital experience that helps potential clients take the next step.

Naren shares insights from his experience working with veterinary practices and explains how owners can think more strategically about their online presence, client acquisition, and long-term growth.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why visibility alone does not guarantee new client growth
• How veterinary practices can improve their digital presence
• What makes a website experience more effective for pet owners
• How trust and communication influence client decisions
• Common marketing mistakes practices should avoid
• How veterinary leaders can create a stronger foundation for future growth

Whether you are a veterinarian, practice owner, or veterinary leader, this conversation provides practical insights into building a more intentional approach to marketing and practice growth.

If you're looking to understand where your practice has opportunities to improve online visibility, attract more ideal clients, and strengthen your digital growth strategy, Ekwa Marketing is offering a complimentary Practice Growth Session for veterinary practice owners.

During this session, you'll receive an outside perspective on your current online presence, patient acquisition opportunities, and potential areas for improvement.

There's no obligation. It's simply an opportunity to gain clarity on what may be holding your practice back and identify actionable next steps.

Learn more and reserve your session here: https://www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Veterinary practices have adopted more software than ever, but many teams are working harder because of it. As Joe Chickerillo describes it, every tool solves one narrow slice of the client journey — booking in one platform, reminders in another, forms somewhere else, texting in a separate inbox — while the practice management system stays the source of truth. The result is a fragmented client experience and skilled staff spending their day reconciling systems that were supposed to save them time.

The conversation focuses on online booking as the practical starting point. Joe explains why a simple request form or an open calendar is not real online booking, and why a system that ignores a practice's scheduling nuances can create more phone calls than it removes. He describes the detail that has to be captured during setup: appointment lengths that differ by doctor, columns that can and cannot be double-booked, daily caps by appointment type, doctors who rotate between locations, and the scheduling rules that usually live only in one front-desk team member's head.

He also makes the case for after-hours access. Pet owners often notice a problem in the evening, long after the practice has closed, and Joe notes that in companies he has worked with, client interaction outside opening hours has reached as much as 40 percent. Without online booking or an answering option, that becomes lost revenue and, sometimes, a lost client to a more convenient practice.

On the human side, Joe argues that automation and personal service are not in conflict. Automate the repeatable work — booking, confirmations, reminders, review requests — and the team gets that time back for the client standing in front of them. The episode closes with metrics worth tracking, what the first 30 days after implementation should look like, and one genuinely surprising channel that is converting again.

In this episode, you'll learn: • Why the real problem is rarely a lack of technology — it is fragmentation, with staff acting as the human integration between disconnected systems • What separates real online booking from a request form or an exposed calendar, and why the weaker version can create more phone tag than it removes • The scheduling nuances that must be captured at setup, including per-doctor appointment lengths, column rules, daily caps, and rotating doctor schedules • A practical pre-launch test: have the team sit down and deliberately try to break the booking system before it goes live to the public • Which parts of the client journey should be automated and which should stay human, so admin work stops consuming time meant for clients • Metrics worth tracking from day one — including missed and abandoned calls, online and after-hours bookings, no-show and cancellation rates, staff time per booking, forward booking, and production by marketing channel

If this episode raised questions about where prospective clients are getting stuck before they ever reach your front desk, the Veterinary Business Institute offers a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting to review your local visibility, website, and booking journey and map out where growth opportunities are being lost: www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Veterinary professionals accumulate specialized knowledge through years of clinical work, leadership, practice management, and problem-solving. But much of that expertise creates value only while they are personally working. This episode examines another possibility: turning professional knowledge into a continuing education business that is less directly tied to time.

Justin Allan Montgomery joins Angie to discuss how professionals can identify knowledge worth teaching, choose course topics based on meaningful problems and transformations, validate demand before committing heavily to an idea, and define a clear value proposition.

The conversation also explores the business side of continuing education, including why the right audience matters more than simply having a large following, how relevant content builds visibility and trust, why selling a course can be harder than creating one, and what veterinary professionals should understand about marketing an online education business.

For veterinary professionals considering a business beyond traditional practice, this episode offers a practical framework for evaluating whether their expertise could become a focused educational product and how to begin building it.

In this episode, you'll learn: • How to shift from letting professional knowledge work only through you to packaging it into an educational product. • Questions that can help identify expertise other professionals may find valuable enough to learn. • How to evaluate course ideas based on demand, the problem being solved, and the transformation for the learner. • Ways to conduct market research before investing heavily in building a course. • Why a focused, relevant audience can matter more than having a large following. • Why content, visibility, distribution, and marketing become essential when building an online continuing education business.

A key lesson from this episode is that expertise creates more opportunity when the right audience can find, understand, and trust what you offer. Veterinary practice owners can apply that same principle to their own local visibility through a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting focused on their Google presence, website, reviews, positioning, and growth opportunities: www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

Should you build your veterinary practice from the ground up—or buy one that already has clients, cash flow, and systems in place?

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Angie sits down with Mira Johnson, CPA, CVPM, MBA, Integrator at CPAs for Veterinarians, JF Bell Group, to unpack one of the biggest decisions veterinarians face on the road to ownership: starting a de novo practice versus acquiring an existing one.

Mira breaks down the financial and operational realities behind both paths—from the freedom of creating a practice around your own vision to the challenges of building a client base and reaching profitability. She also explains what prospective buyers should examine before purchasing an existing hospital, including valuation, due diligence, culture, location, financial performance, and whether the practice truly fits the type of medicine and client experience they want to provide.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to decide between starting and buying based on your goals, finances, risk tolerance, and vision

• The advantages and financial challenges of a de novo veterinary practice

• Red flags to watch for when evaluating an acquisition

• Why veterinary-specific valuation and due diligence matter

• The first financial steps to take before pursuing ownership

• Why understanding your personal "why" matters before becoming an owner

• How real-time financial data and the right advisory team can help you avoid costly mistakes

• Why marketing should be part of your ownership plan from the beginning

Opening the doors is only the beginning. Whether you're starting a new hospital, buying an existing practice, or already operating one, sustainable growth also depends on making sure the right pet owners in your community can find and choose you.

The Veterinary Business Institute is offering a complimentary Veterinary Marketing Strategy Meeting where the team will review your online presence and identify opportunities to strengthen local visibility, improve your Google presence, attract high-quality new patients, and create a more consistent flow of new patient calls.

👉 Book your complimentary strategy meeting: www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

If veterinary practice ownership is part of your future, this conversation will help you understand the questions to ask—and the numbers, systems, and support you need—before taking the leap.

Veterinary school prepares doctors to practice medicine, but the transition into real-world practice demands far more than clinical knowledge.

In this episode of the Veterinary Business Podcast, Don Adeesha speaks with Dr. Angela Henninger, veterinarian, multi-practice owner, and founder of DVM Ascent, about the skills veterinarians develop after graduation: confidence, communication, emotional resilience, leadership, and navigating difficult conversations.

Dr. Henninger explains why confidence is built over time, why mentorship needs to be structured rather than simply promised, and how communication shapes relationships with clients, teams, and fellow leaders.

Growing your practice so you can hire and keep good associates? Book a complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting: www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why the gap between knowing medicine and confidently applying it is so hard on new graduates
• What meaningful, accessible mentorship actually looks like
• How veterinarians can set boundaries with clients without sounding dismissive
• How shared decision-making reduces tension around treatment cost
• Why structured 30-, 60-, and 90-day mentorship plans help early-career vets thrive
• The difference between task-driven management and people-focused leadership

About Dr. Angela Henninger Dr. Angela Henninger is a veterinarian, multi-practice owner, and founder of DVM Ascent, where she helps early-career veterinary professionals access mentorship, peer support, and communication development beyond clinical training.

Learn more: https://www.dvmascent.com/

Complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting Structured mentorship depends on a practice healthy enough to hire — and that comes down to steady case volume. Veterinary Business Podcast listeners can request a complimentary one-on-one Marketing Strategy Meeting to review their digital presence, local visibility, competitive landscape, and growth opportunities.

Reserve your session: www.veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm