Pulse - February 2024 - 14

TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
Top 5 Mistakes
Practice Owners Make
Remember to mind the books, stand up for your
team and live the values you espouse.
Courtesy of Today's Veterinary Business
I
've seen veterinary hospital owners make mistakes
over the past 17 years. Mind you, I have
made them myself! And believe me, noticing the
blunders of others was easier than acting on the
warning signs before my ill-fated decisions. Here
are a few of the biggest easily preventable errors I
have witnessed.
1 Accepting Mediocrity from Advisers Just like I cannot judge the
quality of my pets' medical care - I am not a veterinarian - you
might not know if your CPA found all the appropriate tax deductions.
However, you do notice when your CPA dodges your phone
calls, takes weeks to return messages or uses so much accounting
jargon that you recognize only 6 words out of 10. Slang is not exclusive
to accountants. You should not have to become an authority on
tax terminology, legal terms, or search engine optimization to work
with your team of business experts. You graduated from veterinary
school, so you do not lack brain power. While the business experts in
your life might have a distinct professional vocabulary, they should be
able to explain complicated terms and concepts using language you
understand, just as you do with pet owners. We all fall back on the
vocabulary of our respective professions, so we rely on other professionals
to help us make good decisions. We can't accomplish that if we
don't understand the issues.
2 Leaving the Financials to Amateurs Accurate financial statements
are critical to sound decision making, but I often discover that team
members logging bills and deposits into QuickBooks were assigned
their roles by default. They might do better with inventory, schedules,
or another position at the hospital. I am all for giving people the
opportunity to gain experience and providing them with the resources
they need to excel. However, what happens too often is that someone
familiar with using software for personal finance to keep track of the
hospital's books and give little to no training. Mistakes are easy to
make. Of course, you did not become a veterinarian to examine financial
statements. However, practice owners need a basic understanding
of how cash flows through the business and when the numbers do not
pass the sniff test. You cannot make sound business decisions without
accurate information.
3 Not Reviewing Credit Card Statements Practice managers should
verify every credit card charge before they submit the payment, but
hospital owners must also keep watch. Make a habit of reviewing
the monthly statements from every hospital credit card and verifying
vendor names. If you don't recognize one, or the charge is unchar14
acteristically
high, ask your manager for details. Asking about a
peculiar purchase doesn't indicate a lack of trust. It means you're
paying attention. For example, what about those Amazon charges?
Amazon sells everything and every business I work with makes multiple
purchases a month. I'm asking you to sign into the account and
check the orders. Also, examine the shipping addresses. Anything
sent to a home address or a location you don't recognize needs further
review. Over the past few months, my clients found charges for
coffee tables, shower inserts and lingerie - none approved business
expenses. If you do not look, you will not know a problem exists.
Spend 10 minutes a month looking for unusual activity on your
practice credit cards.
4 Ignoring Problem Employees or Clients Many veterinarians would
rather handle a medical emergency than a challenging situation involving
employees or clients. And that makes sense because few of us are
adequately trained in conflict management to address anger, frustration,
fear, and denial in the people we work with or serve. Allowing
problems to simmer can reduce workplace productivity and cause
your best employees to quit. Plus, neglecting to act reflects poorly on
you as a leader. If you let someone get away with bad behavior, your
team sees that the rules don't apply to everyone. As the past few years
showed, clients aren't all well-behaved. You might never witness what
your staff experienced because clients behave better when a doctor is
present. Losing a client, even a big-spending one, is better than forcing
your staff to tolerate behavior you would never condone. Fire bad
clients before your employees fire you by quitting.
5 Not Being a Leader Although I write about financial topics, the biggest
mistake I see practice owners make is not financial. It's about
not providing leadership. Unfortunately becoming a business owner
does not automatically confer leadership skills. Too many practice
owners let someone else become the primary leader by default, not
intention. In the absence of leadership, someone else will step into the
void, and that person might not be who you want in the role. If you
are not comfortable acting as a leader, immediately enroll in a course
that teaches the skills. As the owner, you must address problems
as they arise and live the values you espouse. Core values are more
than just words on a plaque in the breakroom. The success of your
practice is contingent on you being a strong, effective leader. A leader
sets the hospital's course, communicates it constantly through words
and actions, and inspires the team to get to the next level. You have a
vision for your veterinary practice, so share it clearly and consistently.
Paint a picture for your team, show everyone where you want to go
and why, and invite them to join you on the ride. P
FEBRUARY 2024
PULSE
Pulse - February 2024

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