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Head Nurse Emma Foxall had never anticipated being a veterinary practice owner. Beginning her career as a kennel maid before training to become a veterinary nurse, she didn’t think practice ownership was on the cards for her. But when she was given the opportunity to become a Joint Venture Partner at Vets for Pets Cramlington where she’d been working for 10 years, her career – and life – took an unexpected shift in direction.

Emma Foxall and her dog, Wilbur

Emma had been the Head Nurse at Vets for Pets Cramlington for over 10 years, and when the Joint Venture Partner at the time was winding down ready to enter retirement, he called upon Emma’s trusted hand to help him run the practice. “I facilitated by helping to run the practice. I took a step back from the more clinical side of things and began helping with the management”. Realising that the Vets for Pets Joint Venture Partnership model was also open to RVNs to take advantage of, the exiting JVP encouraged Emma to consider ownership of the practice. Initially, Emma looked to go into partnership with a vet, however “it didn’t quite work out that way,” and subsequently she ended up becoming a sole JVP. Signing just a couple of weeks before the first lockdown was announced in February 2020, Emma became a veterinary practice owner, something she hadn’t ever imagined possible. “I consider myself to be a genuine “rags to riches” story – I never thought I’d own anything! It really helped me to re-evaluate my life goals.” Of course, taking on a business shortly before a pandemic left Emma feeling worried for the unknown. “It was scary not knowing what impact that lockdown and the pandemic would have on my new business,” she recalls, but as an already-established practice with a loyal client base, the practice thrived.

Early on, Emma began to implement changes to the way the business ran overall, making time efficiency savings. As a nurse-led practice, Emma fully utilised the skills of her nurse team, giving her vets more satisfaction, with less of their days spent in appointments and more time spent undertaking the clinical tasks they were needed for.

A good work-life balance is also very important to Emma, who introduced flexi-working, holiday and finish times and found that she received great support from her team for the changes she was implementing. “It was challenging at first adjusting from being a colleague and friend to becoming boss, but the team has been amazingly supportive”.

Emma also made some smart business decisions which included:

Emma at Dogfest

• Changing protocols to make better margins.

• Bringing on locum vets as full-time employed members of her clinical team, which has also added additional skillsets to the practice.

• Bringing the pricing structure into line with the local area, “Although that wasn’t popular with some clients at first!” she recalls.

• A monthly CT scanner visit was also introduced, which helps to keep some services in-house.

All these big business decisions led to Emma paying off her bank loan within 18 months of signing. “I’ve been extremely grateful for the financial guidance offered by Vets for Pets Support Office. Making some of the financial decisions I have were daunting at first, but I was grateful to be able to receive guidance when I needed it,” she comments.

“It’s been brilliant for me; I love watching my business grow stronger.”

Inspirational mum – Molly’s drawing showing mum Emma as an inspirational leader

Emma’s ambition doesn’t stop there: “My goal is expansion. We haven’t the biggest space but we manage to make it work, but I’d love to expand the practice. We have the room to grow.” Her ambition is recognised by her young daughter who named her mum as an inspirational leader for a school project.

When asked how becoming a Joint Venture Partner has changed her life, Emma says, “I took my little girl to Disneyland – I’d never had the chance to before. Becoming a JVP has offered me so much that I never thought possible” and reveals she has also been able to buy her first home.

Of course, Emma realises that the success of her business depends on having a vet team employed in her practice and focusses on maintaining their contentment within her team.

Emma’s advice to those considering Joint Venture Partnership is to have that initial conversation, “It’s been brilliant for me; I love watching my business grow stronger.”

Start your journey.

If you’d like to find out more about practice ownership with Vets for Pets, contact the Partnership team for an informal conversation with one of our experts. They’ll walk you through what Joint Venture Partnership is and if you’re an RVN or Practice Manager, discuss with you your options to becoming a practice owner. It is also a great opportunity to understand more about how our business model works, the financial investment, the support that you will receive from our support office colleagues, and the type of business opportunity and locations available.

Email us partnerships@vets4pets.com or visit www.vets4petscareers.com/partnerships  

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