What to Expect

You've poured your heart into animal care, but managing your own veterinary practice can feel overwhelming. I understand that you're a doctor first, and that's exactly how I approach our work together.

My goal is to give you the support you need to focus on medicine, while you and I strategically grow your practice and unlock the success you deserve.

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting.png

Step 1: 60 minutes or less

Initial Discovery Session – A No-Obligation Conversation

Our journey begins with a complimentary Initial Discovery Session. This isn't a sales pitch; it's our first honest conversation. It's my time to:

  • Hear about the current business issues you're fighting

  • Explore untapped market opportunities unique to your practice

I'll share a Discovery Outline beforehand, keeping our conversation focused and productive. We can meet in person or virtually—whatever works best for you.

This is about making sure we’re a good fit before moving forward.

We have to be able to communicate and work together to tackle challenges together.

After our talk, I'll give you a brief Discovery Summary for your review.

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting.png

Step 2: 3 to 5 days

in-Depth Business Assessment – Understanding Your Practice's Core

This is a more comprehensive, in-depth assessment of your business.

This phase often involves me working on-site for 3 to 5 days with you and, if appropriate, your leadership team. This hands-on approach allows me to gain a deep understanding of your operations, challenges, and aspirations from the inside out.

Following this assessment, I'll prepare a summary of my insights and observations for you, including:

  • A range of possible solution options

  • An initial investment overview

  • A Return on Investment Summary

This phase is all about gathering a broad hands-on, eyes-on knowledge I need to recommend paths for us to move forward on towards what you want to accomplish.

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting.png

Step 3: 1 to 3 hours

Crafting Your Roadmap – The Statement of Work (SoW)

With a clear understanding of your practice's needs, you and I will develop a detailed Statement of Work (SoW).

Think of this document as your personalized roadmap, meticulously outlining the specific steps to address what you want to accomplish, fix, or avoid.

We develop this together because this is a partnership that required both of us to do our parts to see results. You also have to be willing to put in the work and effort it takes to make your practice better, avoid future stress, and get home to dinner every night.

This will take between 1 to 3 hours of your time across 1 to 3 meetings.

The SoW will clearly define any data we might need, key personnel we might interview, and the specific work I will complete, including:

  • Key deliverables 

  • Project timeline

  • Important milestones

This phase is highly collaborative, ensuring the plan is perfectly aligned with your vision, and it includes an opportunity for your review and agreement, confirming our partnership is continuing on the right path forward.

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting.png

Step 4: 3 to 6 months

Implementation – Your Partnership in Action

Once your customized roadmap is in place, we move into the implementation phase.

This is where the real transformation begins—a focused partnership designed for tangible progress.

During this phase, I will work to:

  • Build Support, Lighten Your Workload: A core part of my mission is to reduce your workload. I'll guide you toward letting go of the day-to-day management of operations by helping you build expert support systems, whether it's facilitating relationships with proficient practice managers, accountants, or other essential professionals.

  • Support Your Strategic Growth: I'll help you identify and seize opportunities for expansion, whether it's adding new services, investing in cutting-edge equipment, or refining your client retention strategies. My focus is on sustainable growth that truly allows your practice to thrive.

  • Provide Financial Empowerment: I'll perform thorough financial analyses, helping you navigate complicated financials to improve profitability. We'll use key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify opportunities and ensure your practice's financial health without compromising the quality of animal care.

We will have multiple 25-minute to 3-hour meetings:

  • Every two weeks to review your progress.

  • Once for a mid-implementation phase review where we assess our work together, where we are in the engagement, and how we want to move forward.

  • Once for a final wrap-up meeting to review key milestones and deliverables

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting.png

Step 5: 6 to 12 months

Ongoing Maintenance & Strategic Planning – Sustaining Your Success

Upon completing the implementation phase, you have the option to transition to a Monthly Maintenance Program.

This is ongoing support to keep you on track with your practice’s new systems updated processes.  The goal is to make all the implemented changes habit for a consistently profitable practice that doesn’t leave you dragging at the end of your day.

The program includes 1 to 2 consulting days a month, meeting weekly for 1 to 3 hours.

This isn't just follow-up; it's a commitment to ongoing success. This support is designed to:

  • Monitor your hard-earned progress

  • Sustain crucial process discipline

  • Drive continued strategic and tactical business planning

During this time I’ll to review your ongoing journey and provide continued guidance.

The Outcome: Focus on Medicine, Achieve Growth

You'll gain the clarity, strategy, and support to enhance client care, improve profitability, foster growth, reduce waste, and build a strong, loyal team. Ultimately, you'll reduce your workload and dedicate more time to the passion that drove you to open your practice in the first place: being a doctor.

Vet-Office.jpg

Ready to transform your practice?

Schedule your complimentary Initial Discovery Session today and let's start unlocking your success.

Want to know about the
investment details?

Get a years worth of expertise, guidance, and set-up for future success for a
fraction of your yearly revenue.

Lockhart Veterinary Consulting | Shirley Lockhart | Veterinary Practice Consulting | Increasing revenue and profit for your Veterinary Practice.jpeg