Your current veterinary practice/clinic is doing well. Is it time to expand and open that second location?
It sounds like a simple question, but it can take a bit of work to get to the right answer for you. That simple question leads to a set of other questions that need to be answered before you can determine whether you should move forward on opening a second business location now – or later.
Are you truly ready to expand your business?
Before you open a second business, you’ll want to be sure you have the team, infrastructure, repeatable processes and a solid revenue stream established at your current location. If those are all good to go, then you have a major “to-do” marked off your list and can look at building out your business plan for expansion. You also have to be ready to delegate and trust your team to keep your current business going while focusing your attention on launching a new one. If not quite all there yet, it’s a good time to assess what needs to be done and get an action plan for correcting before adding the complexity of managing a second business to what may already be your overflowing plate.
What kind of second business are you planning to open?
If you are looking to duplicate exactly what you have today, just at a second location, the pluses are easy to spot. You can get some economies of scale when purchasing products used in the practice and/or available for resale. You’ve “been there and done that” so you know what needs to make that type of business work effectively. The services and product offering described on your website are still relevant, you are just offering them in a second location. Depending on the locations’ proximity to each other, you may even be able to leverage your staff to work at more than one location (or at least at the beginning while you are training new hires).
But is this the best approach?
If you are looking at another location and it is close enough to your current one to be an easy commute for you, it may be too close. You want to carefully analyze the new market for potential and to avoid cannibalizing your current location’s revenue.
Another option could be to offer a complementary practice or services. If you already have a traditional veterinary practice established, your second business could be:
● An urgent care clinic
● A pet resort or spa
● A hospital, clinic or rehab facility for specialized care
● A daycare
Or your second business could be headquartered out of your current one – such as a mobile veterinary practice or house call service. Expanding to a second business that provides complementary services to your current practice could provide you more opportunities to grow your reach and cross-pollinate clients between the two. It will, however, require different types of planning, infrastructure and staffing than you currently have in place. What is right for you is what best fits your business, your interests and your clients.
What about your team?
A large part of what makes your practice successful are you and your team. How you work together to work with patients and their human families is key. Team dynamics are always challenging, and become even more complicated as you add a second location or other service offerings into the mix. Can you replicate that formula with a new team?
You’ll need to think about:
- Are all your current team staying in their current roles – or will some be promoted, reassigned or moved to the new location?
- What talents and skills are going to be needed at the new location? What training will people need?
- Where are you planning to spend your time – and who will play that role at the other location? Will you need to hire more veterinarians?
