Business

How can I find good staff members?

The key to attracting a crowd: Knowing what your clients want and raising your level of service to meet their needs. Then you can tap marketing tactics to spread the word.

We'd like to keep our salaries low in order to minimize Social Security and Medicare Taxes. What's the minimum salary we can take so the IRS isn't breathing down our necks?

Capitalism abhors a vacuum. And perhaps in the short term, it abhors ethics as well.

A facility that includes regional architectural elements and projects warmth and southern hospitality, Crossroads Animal Clinic in Houston is an example of what you can achieve with design.

My manager and associate order equine products through my veterinary practice. Is this legal, since I don't treat horses?

Missy closed the door and smiled at Dr. Fremont. The smile was a long, strained affair as she tried to mimic the Cheshire cat from "Alice in Wonderland". The smile vanished as she rolled her eyes and moved into the next room.

In the days of yore - when vaccinations were king and the veterinarian primarily was a syringe jockey - things were a bit easier, and expectations were noticeably lower. Dogs were just dogs, and cats were perceived as varmints by a large fraction of the population. Thus the 15-minute office call was born, and dinner was ready at 6 p.m.

One doctor talks about the patient that was hardest to lose.

Does it seem that no matter how hard you work, you just can't seem to get ahead?

The best-kept practice management secret is the rabies ratio.

In the early evening, retirees help Dr. Steve Bishop and his crew at Animal Care Hospital in Phoenix make callbacks, freeing time for receptionists to work on other jobs.

In 1936, Cameron Animal Hospital opened as the first standalone veterinary building servicing dogs and cats in the Northeast United States.

A nearby college or university could give you new business know-how-even if you never enroll.

Use this four-question litmus test to decide whether you're settling for so-so service.

In the next five years, you'll see bigger practices, more referral and specialty hospitals, more women in practice, and better-integrated technologies. And all these changes will influence your work.

If your success is starting to slip, it could be that you no longer offer the care you so eagerly gave clients in the early days of practice. But it's not too late to get back on track.

My first use of timed artificial (AI) insemination came immediately after veterinary college. A prostaglandin product had been approved for horses, but it was expensive. By infusing a fraction of the equine dose into the uterus of a cow with a corpus luteum, it usually could be brought into estrus. Timed insemination has come a long way.

Well, clearly a lot. Enough that they buy them designer clothing and luxurious dog beds, in addition to the basics. (The APPMA estimates that we'll spend $38 billion on pets this year.) Enough that they rearrange their lives to accommodate pets' needs, getting out to give that walk or making time to tease with a feather toy. And pet owners rearrange their finances, of course, to pay for veterinary care-and food and toys and daycare and carriers.

EVERYONE IS CAPABLE OF MULTITASKING, but equine practitioners take the gold medal: driving the truck to the next appointment, talking on the cell phone, writing invoices, and keeping up with new technology. But at what expense? And how can you manage all those jobs and still focus on providing high-quality medicine?

The honeymoon is over. You've settled into your new place, routine has set in, and you're starting to realize this marriage thing isn't exactly how you dreamed it would be. Sound familiar?

Dr. Brad Rosonke, owner of Hillside Animal Hospital in Scottsdale, Ariz., has little interest in dentistry. But he knows that offering dental services means better care. His solution: Hire a dental resident.

Stagnation isn't an option. So use these strategies to paddle along the always-swelling river of new information. You'll find they make professional growth easy and exciting-and keep your passion for practice alive.

2006-2007 Firstline MVP Nomination Form

As the continuing education season is well under way, the time has come for another practical quiz.

A corporate trustee won't die, move away, take a vacation or be biased or distracted by personal concerns.

These specialists designed their facility to reflect the care they give, focusing on traffic flow, workflow, and the potential for expansion. Today, clients and employees of Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson know the facility supports their goals.

I'm in the process of buying land for a new practice. How much land do I need if I want to expand in the future?