INTRO (00:00):

Welcome to practice Ooma, where doctors and practice owners share business, lifestyle and marketing stories all while guiding you to more patients. Here's your host, Zach Greenfield. 

Zack Greenfield (00:14):

Hi folks. Welcome back to practiceOmatic. I'm Zach Greenfield. You're hosted today. We have Dr. Jessica with us. She's from Bethel animal hospital, outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. She specializes in taking care of dogs and cats. Interestingly enough, she worked at the practice before acquiring the practice as its in 2018. She sets herself apart by equally supporting the pet owners with, uh, the understanding that happy healthy humans make the best pet owners. Welcome Jessica. So happy to have you on the show today, how you doing Thank And tell me a little bit about the practice before you got it and, and the process of requiring it and then, you know, and then, and how, uh, that all worked out and, and, you know, what were the challenges are 

Dr. Jessica Teague (01:17):

The challenges are? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (01:19):

Yeah, so I was an associate with the practice, um, for about two years starting in 2016, I came to this practice it's it was a small animal, uh, a rural private practice from corporate where I worked for my first two years. So that was a transition in itself. Um, I knew I always wanted to do be a practice owner. Um, I, I enjoyed, you know, leading and teaching and growing myself and my team members. Um, so I worked for the practice for about two years and then came into an ownership, uh, opportunity and decided to jump on that. Cause obviously that was the goal I had been working towards, um, you know, entering into the practice as an associate. It was honestly pretty typical of a lot of veterinary practices. Um, a lot of high volume, long hours, no lunch breaks, um, push, push, push, and yeah, you know, fast track to burnout is, is a good way to put it, um, you know, better than probably the corporate practice I was at before, but still a lot of under, you know, under the radar kind of toxicity that, um, that was floating around the office affecting, uh, not only the veterinarians, but also the, 

Zack Greenfield (02:40):

And you, and you just felt like you should dive, you were gonna dive in and take a that. Huh? You're brave. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (02:48):

Yeah. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (02:49):

Um, I dunno what it's I think I gravitate towards, uh, I'm obviously a nurturer, uh, mainly, or else I wouldn't be what I'm, you know, a veterinarian. I feel like all veterinarians, we tend to be bleeding hearts. Um, but you know, I, I did have ideas of, of how I wanted to run a practice eventually, whether it be one that I acquired or one that I started, um, you know, started a lot of research really early and, um, you know, and then, like I said, when the opportunity kind of fell in my lap, I decided to take it and kind of take it on as a big project right before the pandemic. 

Zack Greenfield (03:28):

Yay. So, um, I mean, I just wanna, I just wanna like dive a little bit deeper into this. So what was, give me just an example, like a generic example of what you felt was toxic at the practice. Like, was it just the workload and the expectations or were there really like some deeper issues there 

Dr. Jessica Teague (03:49):

There's, there's some deeper issues and as you probably know, there's definitely different leadership styles. So you have, you know, leaders that kind of tend to, um, more of, I guess, a boss you could say where they're kind of up here and they're talking down to their associate and so their staff, and then you have, um, leaders. I like to call more servant leadership where, you know, as a leader, you're, you're at that same level, you're right down there in the trenches. Um, you know, my team now, I don't expect them to do anything that I wouldn't do myself and, you know, short staffed or not. I'll get down the cleaning Ken any day. I'm not above that. Um, and I find that with that kind of leadership, your team, a, I think they appreciate it, that, you know, they know that they're not gonna be left screen, but, um, do I think it just, it helps build trust, you know, they're, you're right there with 'em. Um, so the leadership beforehand was more the, the former, so it was more of up here kinda. Um, 

Zack Greenfield (04:58):

So it sounds sounds 

Dr. Jessica Teague (04:59):

Yeah. And it was just kind of, 

Zack Greenfield (05:01):

It, it sounds like, it sounds like there's hard to get, it's hard to get good sort of team buy-in when things are kind of feeling polarized like that, that's the way that, that's the way I interpreted 

Dr. Jessica Teague (05:14):

This. Yes. I mean, I wouldn't, yeah, I wouldn't go all in personally if I felt, you know, either underappreciated or just, you know, like another kind of minion. Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (05:26):

If you'll, so I've had some experience with situations just like that. And I found that, um, it was almost impossible to keep everybody on board after sort of cleaning the place up. Were you able to salvage some of the, the participants or did everybody sort of need to get often do a new chapter? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (05:50):

Yeah, well, honestly I'd probably say about 50 50, um, there definitely kind of a, a group of individuals that, um, were a huge source of just kind of the drama and the gossip and, um, you know, just couldn't seem to play well with others. So, um, those guys, you know, actually, I'll be honest, a lot of times it do just kind of moved out on its own, which was, you know, answered prayer for me. Um, yeah, but I tell you what though, the ones that stuck with me, I mean, they're like, I guess what you would say, like my writer die, like they are they're there. Um, you know, and they, and they've grown so much and just, you know, being able, been open to growth and open to, um, just kind of plot twisting as we need. And, um, I would hope that's because there is that trust there that they know I'm gonna take care of them as, you know, the business owner and their leader. They're not gonna get left behind they've they've more than proven themselves. Got it. Um, to, with their loyal. Gotcha. 

Zack Greenfield (06:58):

Yeah. Did you find that it was challenging to go from being an associate vet to owner and then get, you know, the authority you needed in that new role to make the changes you need to make? Did you have challenges with that? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (07:16):

Yeah, I think anytime we go from, you know, technically as an associate veterinarian, you know, you're still, I guess, considered a tear up, but even within, you know, like I said, I never treat my support staff, you know, like I'm high and floating above them. Like I depend on them just as much as they probably on me. So, um, it was though, I think there's always kind of blurred lines if you're not the ones, you know, having to follow up with feedback and discipline and accountability. Right. It's, it's hard to go from not having to, you know, verbalize and enforce accountability to now it's there. And I think, um, definitely there's, there's a little bit of just kind of blurred blurred lines between friendship and then, you know, holding them accountable for their work responsibilities. 

Zack Greenfield (08:12):

Right. So what, gimme an example of some of the things you've done to establish some boundaries? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (08:17):

Well, so before, when I was an associate, I, you know, a lot of times I would, you know, meet up with some of the staff, you know, on the weekends and after hours, you know, go get dinner, things like that. I still do that, but not nearly as much. It's more of a, you know, I like them to all go out and have fun together and, you know, and I, I tend, and I'm actually quite fine with it, but going home and relaxing, um, after work. 

Zack Greenfield (08:47):

Yeah. There's nothing, nothing wrong with that. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (08:50):

And then too, I think just starting, it all starts with just conversation. So I think naturally the dynamic shifts a little bit, when you have to have a feedback conversation, um, you know, around something that maybe needed corrected or, you know, going over kind of a, I like to call 'em learning opportunities, but, um, giving that feedback, I think it just naturally shifts the dynamic, honestly, not anything bad or anything like that. Um, but there is that natural shift and I think having those constructive kind of feedback sessions kinda helps just put it in place on its own. 

Zack Greenfield (09:29):

I gotcha. I gotcha. So you get through become the big boss and yeah. Hey, well, congratulate you on that. It's a big step, you know, I mean, taking all the risk of, yeah. It, it's no joke. I'm not, I'm not validly at all, but it is, you are the big boss now. So 

Dr. Jessica Teague (09:49):

They call me boss you the 

Zack Greenfield (09:50):

Big they call you boss lady, I guess that's better than some of the alternatives. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (09:56):

Right, exactly. 

Zack Greenfield (09:59):

Uh, so then, then, uh, so you got a little bit of time to kinda get some rhythm going perhaps. And, um, and, and at that point, just describe the practice a little bit to us. So you had, you know, you and a couple other doctors or you by yourself, or what did, when did things look like at that point when you finally kind of got out of the gates closed on the business, you know, got the banking accounts and your name and all that, what did things look like? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (10:27):

Yeah, so, um, at the time of the, the business acquisition, it was myself and two other full-time doctors. And then we had occasionally had a part-time, um, doctor coming in as well. So, and we were up in Boomin. I mean, we could fully support three full-time doctors. We're actually looking for a fourth, um, you know, fully staffed for that as well. And then, uh, shortly after the acquisition, I would say maybe three months after, um, one of the doctors left, um, to start her own practice, which was, um, not expected at the time. So then we bumped down and, you know, with her leaving, obviously we would have to from staff because, you know, you can't afford to be overstaffed. Um, but it was actually kind of nice because a lot of more toxic individuals needed to be weeded out anyways. So, um, you, 

Zack Greenfield (11:33):

I gave you, I kinda gave you good reason. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (11:35):

It's kinda like, well, I guess, you know, um, no, and fun enough a lot them, um, when I let them go, um, bounced over with her. So, you know, I guess it worked out we're all involved. 

Zack Greenfield (11:52):

Yeah. It sounds like, it sounds like, like that's why I asked. I mean, I only asked because like I said, I, I kind of been through this story at least twice in my professional life. And in both cases, there was just UN salvageable pieces of the situation that, you know, and it, and I think I felt the same way. I was like, oh, I'm gonna, you know, come in and sort of rescue ranger this whole situation. And, and then you just start to realize that like, the poison runs so deep. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (12:22):

Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (12:24):

That you're you no, ma there is no antidote besides amputation. Yeah. Sound about right. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (12:33):

Kind of, we always talked about it in our meetings. Um, cuz I'm a very, I stay very transparent with my team on, you know, what's going on and you know, I never, when I was an associate, there was a lot of, kind of behind the door conversations. Um, that didn't feel good. You could tell they were, or something was wrong, but then you were just kind of left in the dark and stuff. So I never, I wanted my staff to be very aware of, okay, this is what's going on. You know, none of them ever really needed a why cuz they kind of knew, you know, they were happy that a lot of the drama was finally getting cut off. Cause um, um, you know, my, my role when I took it over was you just, you have to be nice to each other. You can't talk about each other and like a lot of them just couldn't handle it. So, um, 

Zack Greenfield (13:25):

It's like back to first grade folks, right. People 

Dr. Jessica Teague (13:27):

You wanna Beed and good. Um, but you know, like I said, way of working itself out and my staff that did stick it out, you know, I really came later to, to hear a lot of relief from them. They were very relieved. They never wanted to say anything to cause issues or, you know, I think they probably knew I was already stressed, but um, but there was a sense of relief and, and I felt that was just, you know, the right, the right thing to do is, you know, to make it so that everybody feels sure, you know, good and safe coming to work and not, you know, getting a attack behind their back and stuff like that. Yeah, 

Zack Greenfield (14:09):

Yeah, yeah. Of course that's what we all want when we come well. In any circumstances, we want that now with the benefit of hindsight and us reliving some of these horrors, what do you think, you know, what, are there things you would've done differently or faster or 

Dr. Jessica Teague (14:27):

Yeah, 

Zack Greenfield (14:27):

With a different approach? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (14:28):

I think looking back, honestly, I probably would've cut people off quicker. Um, and that, you know, I'm one of those people I, I like to give benefit of the doubt. Um, and I like to give people the chance to change behavior. And I think I probably gave too many chances. I saw very clearly. Um, but I was holding out hope that, you know, maybe they would get it together, but I, I come to find out, I think a lot of it's just personalities and things like that. And um, you know, I think I could have probably just ripped the bandaid off a little faster. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (15:06):

Yeah, yeah. That was my exact 

Zack Greenfield (15:08):

Experience. Yeah. Yeah. That was my exact experience. That's why I ask you the question. Yeah. I literally spent a year messing around with folks that I probably shouldn't have spent more than 60 days messing around with. And 

Dr. Jessica Teague (15:23):

It's always hindsight cause it's like, you, you know, it almost in your gut, but you know, I wanna have good solid ground, the stand stand on when I let someone go, I don't, and I don't wanna let them go without knowing that you a, did they know what they were doing wrong? Did they have a chance to correct it? Did they have a chance to be better? Um, you know, when I was repeatedly being shown, uh, you know the opposite. Yeah, 

Zack Greenfield (15:53):

Yeah. I know. I know it's tricky, but it's a great management lesson. Right. Cause now, now you know what those red flags look like and now after we've established some ground rules, you're not gonna dilly Dolly anymore for the it's really like for me, it was like realized for the greater good decisions need to be made, even though there's a lot of empathy. And like you say, you want to, you know, give people the benefit of the doubt and let 'em have 2, 3, 4, 5 strikes or whatever that game is. But at the end of the day, you know, my experience was, I was actually just sort of punishing everybody else. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (16:34):

Yeah. And that's kinda been when yeah, definitely been, you know, we went through all of that and it's kind of funny now cuz like me and my practice manager, like when we have hired people on, you know, it's like a, I give you feedback, it gets corrected. Or like it's just, it's very cut and dry now. Um, and uh, you know, people can stick out their 90 days then, you know, they got, they got a good chance, but now we do a 90 day probationary period and it's, I see what I need to see in 90 days, you know? Um, there you go, people and it's all, it's amazed me actually, you know, being in an ownership, position and management, um, how different people are in their interviews versus performance, like interviews are a waste of time. Like they're such a waste of time. I, I even told, you know, my practice manager Marisa that I'm like, let's just have them like and see what they do. Um, 

Zack Greenfield (17:38):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, it's, you know, hiring is a whole, I mean, you know, like for you and I, I mean we're smaller businesses and so hiring always feels like an event because you know, you're taking on another financial responsibility. Cause, but if you look, if you take like, um, you know, if you take, if you can try to model like imagine how many people, every day Walmart hires as a corporation 

Dr. Jessica Teague (18:04):

A 

Zack Greenfield (18:04):

Day, I don't know what it is, but it's gotta be a couple thousand a day, maybe 10,000 a day. Right. So, but they wouldn't be able to do that if they didn't really have like a actual sort of flow, like it literally has an established workflow with like hallmarks that every person kind of goes through, you know, depending on their position, I'm sure they're all slightly different, but it's like, there's like a full blown process flow. That's been fine tuned over decades of hiring and, and all that. And so, you know, one of the things I know I struggle with, and this is the story you're telling is like, when you're small business, you're like, okay, we're gonna do this interview. Then we're gonna second interview. And it's all very like personal and involved and drawn out. Yeah. And then you don't even necessarily get the results you want. So, um, I fee, I went through this and I, you know, we do, we do it differently now. Like I don't, I don't do the interviews until the people have actually shown us the work, which is difficult in your situation that works in my situation. But it's exactly what you're saying, which is why not just get 'em in here for like actual some sort of testing or just kind of throw 'em to the rules and see how they, you know, can hang in there. 

Zack Greenfield (19:22):

No, it's not the rules in your practice. It's to the dogs and see they go. Right. But I don't know, you know, it's, it's an interesting thing cuz it's and you know, it's a good topic too, because right now you, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (19:39):

Oh my gosh. And 

Zack Greenfield (19:40):

I've everybody else I've talked to is looking how, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (19:42):

Yeah. I've been actively looking since that. I 

Zack Greenfield (19:45):

Know that's not what you 

Dr. Jessica Teague (19:46):

Wanna hear and that's, you know, oh my gosh, I've spent so much money on recruiting and ads and um, you know, in the veterinary industry post COVID is going through like a, um, such a high demand for vets. I think a lot of that's left the profession just from the stresses. And then I don't think as many vets are graduating just because, I mean, the loan debt is substantial to, you know, what our, um, what our incomes are. 

Zack Greenfield (20:21):

Yeah, yeah, no, I know it's, there's, uh, there's definitely a big shortage of, of qualified personnel. There's no question about it. And every practice owner that we have on our books and everybody that I'm talking to on the show or otherwise is all saying the same thing, which they can't find the right people or they can't find anybody at all. And so, I don't know, I don't know what the solution is to that, but maybe it's time for more vet schools to open. I dunno, I dunno. Right. Maybe that's where we should stop this interview right now and just decide to open up another veterinary school or something. Cause clearly that's where the money really is. Uh, anyways. Yeah. I just, you know, this, the whole thing of hiring is tricky and, and I think, you know, for all of us that are running, you know, small and medium size businesses, it's, it's some version of getting it into a really, you know, almost, I don't say robotic, cuz that doesn't sound effective, but you know, prescribe procedure that, that, like I think one of the things too that is to protect yourself from your own, you know, blind spots, I guess, you know, when hiring, so it's like it takes to be a good hiring procedure. 

Zack Greenfield (21:43):

You know what those blind spots are, you know, when they're gonna show up and cause you pro problems in making decisions and to design a testing and evaluation system and a probationary period and all of these sort of Hallmarky things that keep you out of trouble and give you the best outcomes, which of course, you know, in this case is, is the best candidate and retain, which is part two of that whole situation. So, so you're there it's boom, you got a couple of doctors, you lost the one that, you know, and a bunch of problems with them, which was great. Things are kind of leaner and meaner and you're going along. And then what happens with the pandemic I make in Ohio? And it was another nine months from the timeline one right 

Dr. Jessica Teague (22:33):

Now, it kinda hit pretty hard in Ohio, right around March. Um, thankfully I actually got a heads up from one of my colleagues that, uh, was out in Washington and they got hit first and it was just, you know, below in their minds I was seeing, you know, things on their, on social media and I'm like, what is happening? You know? And they actually gave me a heads up of like, Hey, this is coming, like you need to prepare. And so, you know, we, I kind of go into almost like a survival note that that point of just like, all right, technicalities, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna roll it out? We gotta make this make sense for, you know, not only, um, our health and safety, but our patients, our clients. Um, so yeah, it hit and just kept rolling with the punches. And, you know, I think my, my team was getting probably tired of, uh, you know, video calls. Like we would be like, Hey, team, video call, we gotta talk. You know, and it would be like every other week, something else would come up or some other, you know, protocol change, policy change and you know, they just rolled with it. It was, I I'm so grateful cuz it could have, it could have been a lot harder, but you know, I just kept reassuring them that, you know, Hey, we're gonna get through this. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (24:01):

Sure. Somehow it's going to be fine. You know, we'll just keep twisting and, and keep rolling with it. But I just kept assuring them. You know, our health and safety is number one. Um, I'm not gonna be one of those owners that just keeps pushing and pushing and pushing, you know, for the sake of the bottom line. Um, as scary as that was, cuz you know, here I'm a new owner with debt and you know, right. Also trying to juggle, you know, the pandemic was scary. It was, you know, hear people losing their lives and that's terrifying in itself. And um, you know, and a lot, there was a lot of fear in my team and, and my team members. So then it was kind of juggling too. Um, just all that, all those different feelings cuz no one had ever, you know, it was unprecedented and trying to just kind of calm and reassure them, you know, some people, uh, we were letting just take voluntary leave, you know, until, um, you know, we tried to kind of make it as, as um, flexible as possible, but at the same time, making sure that we could stay afloat, you know, and I think they understood. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (25:15):

I'm like we gotta keep going rules when none of us are gonna have jobs. Like we gotta, like, we gotta do something. Um, you know, and I, and like I said, I think thankfully at that time I had 

Zack Greenfield (25:28):

All that toxicity. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (25:29):

Yeah. I had that toxicity been in the clinic. Oh, it would've been a nightmare. Um, but you know, I, I had people in there that, that trusted me and, and trusted that I wouldn't, you know, put them in harm's way, you know, within my control. So yeah. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (25:53):

Right. 

Zack Greenfield (25:54):

So what are the, so what did the changes look like for you? I mean, how did you get from 

Dr. Jessica Teague (26:00):

At that point, me and one other 

Zack Greenfield (26:01):

Things normal and then somebody having to make these adjustments, what did look 

Dr. Jessica Teague (26:05):

Like pandemic started to hit? And I was watching cases and things like that. We were actually one of the first clinics to just go completely curbside in the art, the Cincinnati area. Um, people thought I was crazy. Like I, I got a lot of backlash from, um, the community on how can you shut your doors? And it's like, you guys understand, like if I get sick, we're done for two weeks. Like I gotta, we have to be smart and safe about this. Um, you know, and so, but we went through and we tried to adjust to, to help people feel as comfortable as possible. So, you know, pretty much closing our doors to the public. It was, you know, bringing pets in pets, being with me, um, and not their, you know, families during the exam process. But, you know, immediately we, we got telehealth up and running and so nobody had to, to truly be isolated. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (27:11):

So if anybody that went into video chat with me while I had their animal with me, had that ability, just so that they, they knew they were okay. They knew they were safe, they knew they weren't scared. Um, and so it's just a, a lot of extra work kind of on our end to calm these anxieties and then not only like their pets being in the building by themselves, but then also add in just the pandemic, like, you know, losing jobs, um, trying to find groceries, trying to find toilet paper and, you know, caring for family members. Yeah. And, um, you know, and then a lot of the, the, uh, essential workers, you know, all of that anxiety and fear of, you know, getting, COVID taking it home to your kids. You know, I didn't see my grandma for over six months cuz she's 93 and I would literally wouldn't be able to live with myself if I, if I gave it to her and it, and it, you know, and we lost her. So just, there was just so much fear, fear and scarcity, um, just kinda made a perfect storm, but you know, it was just one foot in front of the other and okay, are we still, yeah, doing everything we should be doing is everybody's safety and health in mind, just trying to, to take care of all those pieces, um, you know, to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible. 

Zack Greenfield (28:44):

And so you kept things kept going along. So it's curbside only, you got the building closed and you're still at 

Dr. Jessica Teague (28:54):

November doctors. So COVID kinda hit Ohio in March and then going to November. Um, my doctor, uh, she, she, her and her husband knew moved back to her home state. So November of the pandemic, we went then down to one doctor, which was just me. Um, and you know, the other thing with the veterinary profession, which I'm sure you've heard is while other places were a lot of other small businesses were struggling to get people door vets got hit. I mean, oh my gosh, like I had to hire, I had, I couldn't even keep phones going. Like we had just lying. Yeah. Constantly ringing. We would overnight, we would come in to like 60 voicemails. It was insanity and we're trying to keep up and we're doing our best and you know, it's, it was just crazy. And, and it's, you know, and watching that community and my colleagues and stuff, I mean, everyone was just drowning everybody. Um, and then throw in there kind of a lack of doctors. 

Zack Greenfield (30:10):

Yeah. How much, 

Zack Greenfield (30:14):

Yeah. Yeah. That's right. So tell me though, you know, this, I mean, this is a question I have not asked, but I'd love to hear your on it. Um, and yeah, you're absolutely right. I think everybody that we work with and the folks I've been talking to and, and the stories I've heard is that most practices got really busy. Um, there are some exceptions to that. However, in rural areas where there was a lot of job loss, some veterinary practices actually to slow down because people just, you know, we're tight with money. So there's, there's a little bit of push pull there. How much of those 60 voicemails was legitimate? That 

Dr. Jessica Teague (30:55):

Is 

Zack Greenfield (30:55):

Animal health issues. I would say, versus humans 

Dr. Jessica Teague (30:58):

For us, majority of the calls, 

Zack Greenfield (31:00):

I dunno what paranoia 

Dr. Jessica Teague (31:01):

Appointments, um, you know, current clients, new clients, people just desperately calling around to see who they can get into. Cause most vets were booking out so far. Um, and, and yes, there was definitely some paranoia and, um, you know, and rightfully so, they just didn't know. And you know, so we actually opened up, I maybe we opened up too many lines of communication because we had the phones, we also integrated a texting app, um, plus our email. So, you know, people were hitting us just from so many venues and um, you know, and sometimes it would take the day to get back to 'em and, and if people didn't hear back, some of them would get pretty angry and you know, it's just right. You do what you can. 

Zack Greenfield (32:03):

Right. So, but, but you felt like, I mean, I guess the, you know, the sort of follow up and is, you know, what that question is, like humans 

Dr. Jessica Teague (32:13):

Were home and 

Zack Greenfield (32:14):

Did more animals get sick during the pandemic or did more humans know animals that got sick. And 

Dr. Jessica Teague (32:20):

I, yeah, I honestly believe so because I mean, I had it, it's the only thing that really makes sense. It doesn't make sense that more animals were coming down with, you know, um, cause it wasn't all, you know, COVID related and things like that. Um-huh but I think just them being home and, you know, and I mean, animals, I think people naturally gravitate towards animals too when they're stressed and scared and the fat. So they, they really, you know, cling onto them, um, for that emotional support. And I think it was just, they, they were getting watched just a whole lot closer. 

Zack Greenfield (33:12):

Right. So now, so, so you're in the panic and then the human owners are hyper observant of their pet that's so anything that might possibly be outta the ordinary, I mean, I'm feeling like, 

Zack Greenfield (33:26):

You know, and I don't wanna criticize anybody, but I think there's a lot of boredom going on. I think everybody's kind of cooped over at home and they're almost like, you know what let's like the take animal to the vet was almost like an activity. I mean, cuz some of it and I always say that, but yeah, that sounds terrible. Is this being recorded it's but you know, it's not to criticize anyone cause I'm sure there's a lot of legitimate folks that uh, are get yeah, of course there is. But, but it also is like, you know, it's, it's definitely a wake up call for all of us to like be conscious of, you know, where your focus are, where your priorities are. Like, why, why now, when you had this animal saw just been ignoring it, you know? And that's like, there's, there's a little bit of something going on there. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:14):

You know, people were home 

Zack Greenfield (34:15):

That doesn't sit, it doesn't sit right. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:17):

Needed something to do. So they, a lot of puppies were coming, you know? And um, and I 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:27):

Like, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:28):

Oh my gosh, yes. Oh it's it's everywhere. Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (34:35):

And the shelters, the shelters here right now, by the way, are, are, uh, struggling with that in, in my state and in Arizona. Yeah. So those was, yeah. So they, so everybody got puppies and now they're back to work or something and the puppy lifestyle isn't working out for them. So they're, they're 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:51):

Kinda one the, 

Zack Greenfield (34:53):

The 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:53):

Darker side, 

Zack Greenfield (34:54):

All that just there's a little 

Dr. Jessica Teague (34:56):

So we of our area, unfortunately, and one of them out to me and asked me to put up a Facebook post, um, asking people not to take their animals to the vet because people were scared they were gonna get COVID from them. Um, and so that was a big thing I had, you know, they had people just dropping off animals because they were scared they were gonna get COVID from their pets. And so one of the shelter managers called me and was like, can you please put a Facebook post up saying like, please don't panic. And we did. Um, and it's just like, just everybody take a breath, you know, like fluffy is if fluffy is not gone anywhere, like we're okay. Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (35:42):

Right. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (35:43):

You know, and then managing, you know, managing, if someone in the house does get, COVID making sure that you keep them, you know, disinfected like wiping up with Lysol little crazy, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (35:59):

I guess, I guess 

Dr. Jessica Teague (36:05):

It can be. Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (36:07):

Yeah. You mean that? Yeah. The dog like, like I guess, I guess theoretically 

Dr. Jessica Teague (36:13):

The particles could get on her. And so, you know, and I had something, the 

Zack Greenfield (36:18):

Clients that would come and then the dog could go to other rooms in the, or individual, they, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (36:23):

After their pet would come in and be with us for their appointment. Um, right. They would ask us to wipe it down with Lysol wipes before, before we walked it back out, you know? And it's just like, all right, I'm okay with that. But if you ask me to spray it with bleach, I'm gonna of the line, like not doing it, you know? And um, it just, it got crazy. 

Zack Greenfield (36:52):

Yeah. Yeah. That's like, yeah. So, but you lived through it. I mean, you got through it and yeah. You made it to wherever we're at now, which doesn't necessarily sound like the other side, but we're somewhere. So what do things look like right now at the practice? So you're still the, so now you're like almost, you know, basically getting to start sort of fresh if you will. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (37:24):

So, you know, after losing 

Zack Greenfield (37:26):

Myer owner operator, if you will, which 

Dr. Jessica Teague (37:29):

You know, no fault is. And, um, we did have, and 

Zack Greenfield (37:32):

Hopefully we swing outta this thing, get to build this back up. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (37:35):

Probably one of the hardest things, because, you know, at that point, everyone that was there had been there and they, they, you know, they tracked it through with us. And, um, so I, I did have to do some layoffs, which was really hard and, you know, they're all, they all wanna come back as soon as I can, you know, find a, a doctor that, you know, fits our culture and, um, just kind of the same, you know, same way of practicing us. And, um, especially in the community role practice. So someone that's got that kind of passion and I, I, I think we'll, I'd be happy if we could get to maybe a two doctor just to better take care of, um, the, the clientele demand. Um, I had to stop taking new patients or new client about, I guess it'd be about four months ago. Cause I was just so, I mean, I couldn't get my current patients in when they were sick and it was just kind of becoming a mess and um, and we just had people flooding in that wanted to start coming there. And so it's, it's finally, you know, knock on wood, calming down. I think we've, we've molded a really great respectful clientele. And then we've got, you know, an amazing staff and I thoroughly enjoy who I work with every day. So, you know, I don't feel like I can get much better than that. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (39:04):

Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't mind that as long as it stays, you know, that, that cohesive culture, oh, you 

Zack Greenfield (39:10):

Go 

Dr. Jessica Teague (39:11):

Respectful, so 

Zack Greenfield (39:15):

Get better, but it might get bigger. Right? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (39:23):

Yeah. Well, so since it's been just for a little while, 

Zack Greenfield (39:26):

What was, what was the second half issue 

Dr. Jessica Teague (39:29):

Really under? We have a building, 

Zack Greenfield (39:34):

You got some plans, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (39:35):

Three to four full-time doctors. Um, so we just recently actually built and designed a grooming salon in the back part of our building. That's really quiet and kind of secluded so that, you know, animals coming in to get groomed in the hustle and bust of, uh, appointments and things like that. And, uh, and then we're kind of working on some more, you know, projects to see a, just to, so I can have work for my, for my team, hopefully get some girls back in from being laid off. Um, you know, but just to provide what services can we provide to the community. We're very much a community to a practice and, you know, people don't from what they are telling me, they don't really wanna go other places for things like grooming, boarding, things like that. So to be able to provide those, um, more complete services, uh, I think will kind of help keep us going until, you know, we do find that right. Doctor. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (40:40):

I think that sounds, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (40:42):

Yeah. Yeah. 

Zack Greenfield (40:53):

I think that sounds strategically pretty smart. Cuz you can come, that's basically like kind of a flanking strategy, right? I mean you have the frontline yeah. That you're fighting, which is to find another doctor that's a good fit for your practice. And that's obviously not easy to do right now, but that doesn't stop you from bringing in services underneath that and around to pull more value out of your existing clientele base, offer more service that they need, right. And capture some utilization on the square footage you have. Um, and its a 

Dr. Jessica Teague (41:31):

Different type of not employment looking into some 

Zack Greenfield (41:36):

Dipping into for that. Right. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (41:38):

It's going to definitely be very close, 

Zack Greenfield (41:42):

Kennel possibilities, the 

Dr. Jessica Teague (41:43):

Building itself. Um, we wouldn't be able to do like, uh, we wouldn't really be able to kennel very much and there's really not space because what I wanna be able to provide is not only caning, but like daycare services. I can't tell you how often I recommend daycare services for a lot of my really high energy, high anxiety patients. And there's none out where we are, we're rural. So, you know, and a lot of people are coming even further rural to get to me. And so for them to, it would make sense for them to go. So to be able to provide that because it's something that a lot of the dogs need, um, and I think would make everybody happier. Um, and so to be able to provide that, so I wanna be able to have space to set up, you know, even an area for the dogs to be able to swim and you know, just really care at it for as long as they need to. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (42:41):

Right. Just provide that enrichment. But then also kindling, um, you know, a lot of people and especially my patients have medical issues, um, or medications, you know, need to be monitored for like seizures, things like that. Um, and I personally feel more comfortable being able to provide that than, you know, having to send them to a boarding facility that may not be super familiar or may not be able to get them the immediate care they may need. And then I think that provides peace of mind for, you know, the families too, so they can go have a vacation. 

Zack Greenfield (43:29):

Sure. Yeah. No doubt actually, no, I'm, I'm here to confirm with you that, um, you know, experience working with, with yeah. Practices that have that sort of triangle of strength if you will. So they've got a hospital leg, a grooming leg and a kenneling leg, they're all very synergistic and they do work well. Um, and they provide different, you, you know, safety nets, if you will, depending on the economic environment, you know, um, you know, I'll tell you that kenneling went to near 80% reduction. Yeah. During the pandemic, but hospital services went way up. Okay. Oh this month. Yeah. That we're in here. So mid-summer where the first summer where you sort of could, maybe you travel a little bit. My clients with kennel services kenneling is back up to 90% booked. Right. And hospital services are still running 90 to a hundred percent booking right now. But uh, it's interesting. So there is there's someone, some cool stuff with that, depending on which way the wind blows, you know, and I think, you know, like, um, you got yourself pointed in the right 

Dr. Jessica Teague (44:52):

Direction, 

Zack Greenfield (44:53):

Figure all that out. I think the grooming thing great 

Dr. Jessica Teague (44:56):

Is great set up within about to 

Zack Greenfield (44:57):

Pursue. So do you think you're gonna be able to get those things online by the end of the year? What's the timeline for 

Dr. Jessica Teague (45:03):

All that? We were almost booked and um, right now we're, we're booking pretty steady. So it's thankfully helping and um, a, you know, a lot, a lot of animals are also coming off of the, the pandemic vibes, I guess, if you, of not being properly grooms. So, um, so they've uh, Yes. Well, or they'll bite, you know, I have a lot of people that they're like, I'm not doing this, My dreams, 

Zack Greenfield (45:43):

That's my 

Dr. Jessica Teague (45:46):

It's like, you know, 

Zack Greenfield (45:47):

I 

Dr. Jessica Teague (45:48):

We'll help get with that. 

Zack Greenfield (45:50):

A human, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (45:56):

Absolutely 

Dr. Jessica Teague (45:58):

Cats need the 

Zack Greenfield (45:59):

Work. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (46:01):

Um, 

Zack Greenfield (46:05):

Got it, got it. Wait, are you, here's the 

Dr. Jessica Teague (46:10):

A veterinarian, these are, most of these guys are my patients. And so folks 

Zack Greenfield (46:17):

You can tell Ever had on the shelf 

Dr. Jessica Teague (46:21):

Relationships with my families and my clients. And so, you know, they, they usually know if, you know, fluffy may not be very easily groomed that day. Okay. And, um, you know, and then that the, I call and like, Hey, do you care if I give her a little bit of anxiety medication cool. Like, you know, and so to be able to get that done, because I tell you what cats need it the worst. Um, and then they have so many cool grooming, uh, supplies. Like they literally have this netted bag. You can put the cat in and then bathe it through the bag. It, 

Zack Greenfield (47:01):

Oh yeah. I've was cuz I went through like a hellacious experience having our cat group. And we had a groomer who came to the house 

Dr. Jessica Teague (47:22):

Dated 

Zack Greenfield (47:23):

And my cat attempted to kill this woman, like literally was wanting her dead. And I was like, well, this never gonna happen again. We're gonna have to like, get this cat literally popped up on something in order to go through this. But I looked, I did some research. I was like, oh it does. I bet it does. It's like swaddling a baby kind of, but not really so, well it sounds like, I mean that, I gotta tell you, it's not the funnest side of the business, dealing with cats and grooming is tricky stuff. And um, but because of that, there's a legitimate need owners. Definitely don't feel confident in grooming their cats. Most cats from what I hear don't want to cooperate. So it takes a specialist, who's got special tools and equipment to do a good job. So I think that's, I think, you know, that's definitely a good community service, but I'm sad to hear that we're all at home, our pets and they're apparently all during that just sounds like I say messed up so well, all right. 

Zack Greenfield (48:37):

Well, I, um, I wanted to thank you for being on the show and I wasn't making it kind of a joke, but I do wanna tell you, I was being sincere that your story that you've told us today, it's it is really, you are, you are brave. And this is like a story of having a lot of courage. I mean, you knew the work environment you are in was sort of poisoned and toxic and there, there was problems, there are human resource issues and you were willing to dive into that with the optimism of being able to fix it all. And it sounds like you have, even though it's thinner and it's not what it was when you got it, now you're in the best place to take the culture you have established and a lot 

Dr. Jessica Teague (49:16):

Of 

Zack Greenfield (49:16):

Patience and continue to build on that as you scale back up to the size business that you yeah. Would like to have and without it becoming a problem. And I think that's awesome, but I mean, I, but it took a lot of bravery and a PA and patience, so sounds like maybe too much at sometimes. Right. And uh, and then here, and you're now taking on other creative solutions to continue to serve your patients, clients in the community. And I think that's awesome. Tell me one last little thing that I have on my notes that, that I didn't wanna miss. Um, what are some of the things, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (49:56):

Um, you know about you're doing now every few months, we try to keep 

Zack Greenfield (50:02):

Things really positive with, despite for all of us uncertainty, stress, 

Dr. Jessica Teague (50:07):

Whether that be 

Dr. Jessica Teague (50:12):

Rushing out or, um, you know, in the summers, we, we do take a vacation together. And this last, uh, actually the first week of June, we took the, the whole team and then they all got to bring a plus one. So whether it be a spouse, a friend, family member, and we all went down to Norris lake in Tennessee and spent the week on the water and just chilled, you know, enjoy each other outside of the stresses of the clinic. I think that's where the real team building is because they learn to see each other as, you know, people instead of just their coworkers. Um, and it's, it's just, it's so important and they deserve it, you know, to go out and have fun and do something fun. Awesome, good food. Not have to pay for it or worry about, you know, how they're gonna get there and you know, and it's really the, the least I can do just a, that they've just stuck with. Yeah. You know? 

Dr. Jessica Teague (51:09):

Yeah, yeah. No, that's great. So you figure out how 

Zack Greenfield (51:20):

Sure. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (51:21):

Yeah, definitely. 

Zack Greenfield (51:26):

Yeah. Well, no, that's great. Great. So you figured out now thank 

Dr. Jessica Teague (51:29):

You. 

Zack Greenfield (51:30):

How to really support the culture that you want at the practice, by doing positive, things like that and encouraging positive relationships and behavior, it sounds like. 

Dr. Jessica Teague (51:40):

Sure. 

Zack Greenfield (51:41):

That's awesome. All right. Well, I wanna thank you. We'll leave it on a positive note. And instead of making fun of people feel like we were earlier and, uh, um, well I wanna be able to, you know, maybe check in with you at some point in the future and I wanna see how things evolve of course. And maybe we'll much back on the show and see what things look like. If we get out the real other end of this whole pandemic reality, and maybe there's more vets hiding into a rock somewhere that need jobs and I'll be praying for everyone that they show up. All right. Awesome. Thank you, Jessica. Thank you. 

INTRO (52:23):

Thank you for listening to this episode of practice Omatic, subscribe to the podcast. So you don't miss any future episodes for additional help and resources for your practice. Visit Zach greenfield.com to connect with Zach. Visit Zach greenfield.com/.