Owning your own veterinary practice can be a great experience. Not only can it be personally and professionally rewarding, but it also can be quite lucrative. However, like all things, owning a veterinary practice has its good and bad points. If you are considering purchasing your own veterinary practice, you must make sure you’re aware of the risks involved. When you familiarize yourself with the risks of practice ownership, you put yourself in a position to alleviate or eliminate such risks. Below are common risks of owning a veterinary practice.
Risk #1: Competition
If you’re the only veterinary clinic in town, you don’t have to worry about competition. However, if you live in an area that has one or more veterinary clinics, competition presents a definite risk to your bottom line. The best way to deal with competition is to offer the best service possible at a competitive price.
Risk #2: Resale Value
One risk of purchasing an established practice or starting your own veterinary clinic from scratch is that you won’t get a good price when you’re ready to sell the practice. Of course, this isn’t a risk unique to the veterinary industry. Rather, this is a risk with which every business must contend. Luckily, when you focus on providing a great experience for your clients, you drastically improve your odds of a profitable sale.
Risk #3: Responsibilities of Management
As your business grows, you will likely need to hire additional employees. This will increase your management responsibilities. And as your management responsibilities grow, so does your level of risk. It can be difficult to properly supervise large numbers of employees. When they make mistakes, whether due to a lack of supervision or otherwise, the blame ultimately falls on you. This creates legal risks. Fortunately, these risks can be alleviated by working with an experienced veterinary attorney. An experienced veterinary attorney can help you create management policies and procedures that will significantly reduce your litigation risk.
Risk #4: Purchasing a Facility
Finally, there are risks inherent in purchasing an existing veterinary practice. If you purchase an existing practice, you run the risk of losing clients who prefer the previous owner’s service and policies. One way to alleviate this risk is to keep the previous owner on board for a few months to help with the transition process.
Contact our Experienced Veterinary Attorneys
If you are ready to purchase your own veterinary practice, you should contact an experienced veterinary attorney as soon as possible. At Mahan Law, we know what it takes to make your veterinary practice purchase successful. In addition, we can provide you with the tools necessary to make your veterinary practice a success. When you come to us for assistance, our experienced veterinary attorneys will work diligently to ensure that you achieve your goals. Please contact our office today to schedule a free consultation.