The kaleidoscope of practice ownership

Welcome back to the Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360! In this episode, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, sits down with Josh Sanabria, DVM, for an incredibly candid conversation about a major milestone: selling his independent practice.

Throughout the episode, Sanabria opens up about the heavy emotional toll of stepping away, battling burnout, and the identity shift that happens when your name finally comes off the door. Whether you are a practice owner contemplating your own 5-year plan or a veterinary professional looking to redefine what success means to you, Sanabria’s story is a powerful reminder that there is a big, beautiful life to be lived beyond the clinic walls.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: All right, so I want you to take us back a little bit, so take us to that moment when you seriously thought that you know what, like I might sell this practice here in Texas. What, what, what went through your mind? What happened?

Josh Sanabria, DVM: You know, that was definitely not like an overnight type of thing, it's a process, no question about it. I think what happened to me was I got to a point that everything I did, everything I thought about almost 24/7 while I was awake, which was almost all the time, it was related to work, work, work, and I love what I do. I mean, I was born to the veterinarian, like I'm sure all everyone that's going to be listening to those podcasts but I got to a point that I started thinking, do I see myself doing this for the rest of my life? Like, is that going to be okay with me?

I got to a point that my first answer was like no. And when that answer came to my brain, I'm like, oh my gosh, I guess this is it. I need to make a decision and move forward with a different thing in my life. So it was shocking. It took me a while, lots of tears, like, am I really thinking this is going to be what I need for my life at this point? But I made the decision, and I was extremely happy about that, that decision that I made. I guess.

Christman: Yeah, it's wonderful. And I want to share with listeners, so you're an independent practice owner, correct?

Sanabria: Yes.

Christman: And how many roughly are on your team?

Sanabria: We have right now about 7-8 team members, and we've been open since 2019 so almost 7 years now. I started from scratch, literally 0 clients on my list, and building all that from nothing to we won tons of awards every year as a best veterinarian. Even the mayor of our city is one of our clients. We actually have some kind of popular people that come here. So, from from nothing to achieving these things, there's a lot of work that goes into that.

Sanabria: Yes, a lot. That's why I wanted to give you that shout out, because it's, it's not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight, like you said, you're building your clientele, building community, building the culture for your practice, and I know you won't say this, and I will, my friends, he's young, and it's great that he's selling his practice, which is great. This is what is so wonderful about veterinary medicine, of all these wonderful offerings and changes that can happen, and so to those that are tuning in right now, and maybe they are practice owners