In this phase of the Lifecycle, practice owners and managers are often trying to identify where their best potential clients come from or how they can offer more services to their existing client base. The focus is on building up the workload to either fill the schedule of your existing staff or add additional staff and/or services to increase revenue and boost your bottom line. At this point practice owners also start to understand where they are financially and where the pain-points are in running the business. Feeling overwhelmed is very common so seeking additional support is critical in managing through the Grow phase.

The scope of tasks involved in this Lifecycle Phase can range from demographic mapping, evaluating service offerings, or fine tuning your internal processes and financial systems to reduce your stress levels. In all cases, the goal is to concentrate on growth.

In the Grow phase, here are some of the most important areas to consider to reach the growth goals you have set for your practice.:

• Performance Monitoring & Reporting
• Profitability Assessment and Improvement
• QuickBooks Tune-Up
• Consulting 

The goal in this phase of the Practice Lifecycle is maximizing your value. The focus is on understanding the key financial numbers that ensure your practice is reaching its highest potential – and also the numbers that help you identify problems before they become critical. At this phase of practice ownership, you need to be able to pinpoint your areas of strength – and more importantly, your greatest risks. Feeling a sense of control will equip you to make informed decisions that accelerate the performance of your practice. Gaining confidence of this level often requires outside counsel to correctly manuever through the Optimization phase.

The scope of tasks involved in this Lifecycle Phase can range from performance monitoring, profitability assessments, or walking through a valuation analysis to understand the true value of your practice. In all cases, the goal is to maximize your value.

In the Optimize phase, here are some of the most important areas that will accelerate the performance of your practice:

• Associate Buy-ins
• Performance Monitoring & Reporting
• Practice Valuation for Strategic Planning Purposes

In this last phase of the Practice Lifecycle, practice owners are rewarded for their years of hard work and their commitment to serving in the veterinary profession. It is also a phase that requires the highest level of planning during your entire veterinary career. In fact, when you’re ready to sell your practice and exit the profession, the five years prior to an ownership transition are critical in maximizing your practice’s value and planning for a seamless transition. In those years, there are important steps that will help demonstrate your practice’s value to a potential buyer. Understanding these steps and the challenges of selling a practice can make your transition much more enjoyable.

The scope of tasks involved in this Lifecycle Phase include doing a thorough valuation analysis and understanding the value of your practice. 

In your exit strategy, the most important concepts to understand include:

• Associate Buy-ins
• Owner Exit Strategies
• Partnership Buy-outs
• Practice Valuation