Mobile veterinary practices are gaining traction, because they can solve many problems veterinary professionals face, such as declining work-life balance, increasing debt loads, and the lack of ability to form closer relationships with patients and clients.
Mobile practices have lower overhead startup costs than their brick-and-mortar counterparts, so are more accessible for early career vets. However, starting a mobile clinic requires careful planning. Our basic guide will help aspiring professionals get started.
Creating a business plan and securing financing
A solid business plan is essential for starting a mobile veterinary practice, beginning with deciding on the kind of medicine you’ll practice and whom you’ll serve. Additional questions you should consider include:
- What area will you serve?
- Will you have competition?
- What type of vehicle will you need?
- How many staff members will you hire?
- How will you price your services to ensure you offset expected costs?
A practice consultant who specializes in startups or online resources can explain what a good business plan must include. A solid plan will help you secure a loan and will then be your operations guide. Some veterinary vehicle manufacturers may offer financing programs, so you can afford the mobile practice of your dreams.
Forming a business entity and obtaining permits
Your state/local tax laws will determine what makes the most sense for you – most veterinarians in the US choose to open practices under an LLC or S-corp designation. This decision can involve tricky intricacies, so you may want to consult with an accountant or attorney. Ensure you have a veterinary license, DEA license, and any required premise permits to practice veterinary medicine. And, don’t forget insurance, including vehicle, malpractice, worker’s compensation, and other required protections.
Setting up your mobile clinic
Vehicle and equipment choices depend entirely on your intended practice purposes. If you want to offer only limited wellness or euthanasia services, you’ll need less space and fewer pieces of expensive equipment like X-ray or anesthesia machines. Alternatively, highly specialized or broad practice goals will require more extensive equipment.
For comprehensive services, consider building a customized unit that accommodates an exam table, X-ray equipment, in-house lab, and a surgical area. However, understand that, obviously, these vehicles are not only more expensive, but also larger, and may be more challenging to move from place to place.
Once you have a mobile unit, you must invest in technologies to help you manage the business. Although the practice is mobile, you shouldn’t rely entirely on your personal phone to run the business. Set up a business-specific line, so you aren’t solely responsible for administrative tasks and scheduling – your future staff can handle this. Additional essential tools include an online pharmacy, easily portable workstations, and mobile-friendly cloud-based software you can use from anywhere.
Finding the right support staff
Hiring the right support staff, ideally including a credentialed veterinary technician and an office manager or client service representative, can help you focus on growing the business and providing quality veterinary care. An office assistant can handle incoming phone calls, communicate with clients via digital platforms, and manage your schedule – including the logistics of determining where you’ll travel on a given day. Hiring a veterinary technician is essential, because they’ll help you perform procedures, manage cases, navigate client relationships, and handle the challenges of being out in the field.
Partnering with local veterinary facilities
Building relationships with local specialty centers, emergency hospitals, and general practices can be a huge practice asset. Partnerships allow you to refer pets for care you aren’t equipped to provide and receive referrals from brick-and-mortar practices when clients request mobile services. Mobile veterinary practices and their traditional stationary counterparts fill different community roles, and forming collaborative – not competitive – relationships is easy.
Starting a mobile veterinary practice is an opportunity for professionals who want to break away from the traditional clinic setting. Lower startup costs, improved work-life balance, flexible scheduling, and the ability to help clients and pets in need make this working model increasingly attractive and attainable. With careful planning and support from knowledgeable industry professionals, you can start earning faster and with less debt than if you owned a brick-and-mortar veterinary business.
Key takeaways
- Before starting a mobile veterinary practice, create a comprehensive business plan that includes estimated expenses, expected revenue, and the services you’ll provide. A solid business plan will help you secure financing and guide your business growth.
- Mobile clinics come in all shapes and sizes. Decide the kind of medicine you want to practice and how you’ll serve the community, and then design or purchase a vehicle that suits those goals.
- Mobile practice doesn’t mean solo practice – hire support staff to help you see patients and run the business. Without help, you risk burnout or failing to meet patient needs and client expectations.
Mobile-friendly cloud software solutions
Mobile veterinary practices have unique needs and their scheduling and practice management platforms must be extremely flexible. Provet Cloud offers mobile-friendly solutions to help every size team thrive.
Schedule a demo to learn how our software can support you through your business startup journey and future growth.
