intro (00:00:01):

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

Speaker 2 (00:00:14):

Hello. I'm welcome back again to PracticeOmatic. My name is Zach Greenfield. I'm your host today. I'm this on this show. We have Dr. Jeanette Roberts, who is a graduate of Ohio state university college of veterinary medicine. She finished up in 2003 and has spent the last 19 years since practicing in the Metro Detroit port Huran and the surrounding areas she has in experience in emergency small animal mixed private practice, teaching mobile work telemedicine, and now gratefully entrepreneurship, which is why I'm so excited to have her on Michelle. So we're gonna hear about that. Dr. Roberts started her practice, veterinary services, PLLC Robert's veterinary services PLLC in March of 2021. In order to provide in-home youth in Asia and cremation services to small animals and exotic pets in her community. She has three human children and two golden retrievers, Henson, and Dougie. She loves to spend time in nature, especially on the Gulf in Southern Florida, traveling theater, music, cooking, trying new food. And of course, spending time with everyone she loves. Welcome, Dr. Jeanette to practicesOmatic. So happy to have you on the show with me today.

Dr. Jeanette (00:01:47):

Yeah. Thank you for inviting me back. And I'm really happy to be here today with you and your listeners.

Speaker 2 (00:01:54):

Yeah. So take us back to two, three, you get outta school. And what does that first chapter look like? When you get outta school, what was the first exposure you had to practicing medicine?

Dr. Jeanette (00:02:13):

My first job outta school was a small animal practice, a pretty busy one down in Warren, Michigan, which is not too far north of Detroit. And I think I was one of four and, and then eventually five or six doctors before I left that practice, just doing small animal medicine and surgery only. That job didn't last very long and I moved on to emergency to just try to really get a lot of experience quickly. And from there I moved on to a very small family owned small animal vet clinic in Farmington Hills. And then moved up to port Huron and started well, I guess continued small animal medicine up in this area. And this is where I started my family. So when I moved up to port Huron, I was pregnant with my oldest. Who's now 16. So I've been up here for about 17 years up in the port Huron area and started to get a lot of different varied experience from there. The telemedicine, the teaching people in Michigan are familiar with baker college. It's a pretty big college system up here. And I was able to, to do a lot of teaching and kinda mentoring students through that experience, which I loved. And it's just led to all kinds of other opportunities as well. So

Speaker 2 (00:03:57):

You taught at the college at that time a little bit. Were you teaching classes in veterinary medicine or what were you doing?

Dr. Jeanette (00:04:02):

Yeah, the baker college has a veterinary technology program for students to become vet techs licensed veterinary technicians. And I was teaching, I started off teaching when my daughter was a baby and kind of off and on. I taught anatomy and anatomy and physiology and pharmacology and surgery. And I, I performed the surgeries for surgical labs. Yeah. So,

Speaker 2 (00:04:34):

So you got some experience or that's kind of a cool thing to do. How was it, you know, just, you know, and I, I wanna ask this question in a sensitive way, but how was it juggling having the small children and the beginning of your career at the same time at that point in your life?

Dr. Jeanette (00:04:53):

It was really tough. And yeah, I have to handle my answer in a sensitive way because I was married at the time and we had different opinions about how much I should be working. So I didn't work much. And it was really challenging to squeeze in the opportunities that I wanted to take into the very small pockets of time that my kids or my husband didn't need me. So I I did the teaching and they, they tried to work with me with my schedule as much as possible so that I could help them and they could work things out where I was able to help them. And then I was also working in small animal clinics, but just very limited hours when I was available when my husband was home. So it wasn't, it wasn't as much as I wanted it to be, but I also knew that my kids needed me a lot at that time. So I had another baby about two years later, my older two are about two years apart. So I didn't really start working full-time until after I had my third child. So three kids and a divorce later, and then a full-time job and now <laugh> entrepreneurship. So well,

Speaker 2 (00:06:19):

Yeah, I wanted, I wanted to cover, yeah. I wanted to cover that a little bit. I mean, I'm, I'm a dad, I'm also divorced by the way, just to, to, you know, mirror your sharing about all that. And those, those situations can, can throw additional, you know, all of that throws additional challenges on our careers and our own professional fulfillment. Right. And it, it is not not unheard of for people to kind of feel, you know, torn in a couple of different directions. But, you know, I remember when my kids, my kids are, you know, teen team ish, I got one teen and one that's team ish. And I remember those years and you know, you definitely, I, I wouldn't trade probably, you know, any of the decisions I made at that time. It's you look back and say, okay, you know, work can always wait, I think, but when you're in it, it can be frustrating.

Dr. Jeanette (00:07:14):

It's very challenging, but I I'm the same way. I don't have any regrets. And even though I felt torn that I, I wasn't really maximizing opportunities that I might have had my kids, you know, you don't get that time back. So I was able to really parent them hard when they were small. And I'm glad that I could cuz now we have a bond that we'll always have, you know?

Speaker 2 (00:07:46):

Yeah, yeah. That's great

Dr. Jeanette (00:07:48):

Other choices on other choices, but you gotta go day to day and figure things out for yourself and your own family, you know?

Speaker 2 (00:07:56):

Yeah. So started to, easier to pursue your career more aggressively again, I mean nine really age. I'm sorry. Like how old were kids.

Dr. Jeanette (00:08:18):

I really didn't start aggressively pursuing anything in my career until I got divorced and was thrust upon <laugh>, you know, full adult life without anyone else, you know, financially providing for me. And so up to that point, I, I was kind of gradually increasing hours and starting to use babysitters a little bit only about the last year or two, I would say of my marriage. So that was, that was, my kids were, my youngest was still pretty little like preschool age. So he was, but he was he was getting, getting more schooling and, and gone away from the home more and getting more fulfillment and more interaction outside of the home. So I, I didn't feel quite as needed as I had, you know, before, because when it's all on you as a parent mm-hmm <affirmative> to provide everything that the child is getting, it's a lot more intense. So the fact that he was starting to go into school and the older two were in school all the time. So I, I started to increase my hours and then once I got a divorce that was 2017. So that was full time work from then on out. So,

Speaker 2 (00:09:46):

And that, so that's when you got that's when the focus arrived yet serious about supporting yourself financially, but also taking advantage of your education and all that, because you've made this investment in school and your education and your, your personal capacity 12 years before that.

Dr. Jeanette (00:10:06):

Right. And a lot of people would tell me that, you know, you put so much into this and now you're just basically wasting it. But I mean, you can only do what you can do at the time. And I knew that eventually I would get back into it and I tried to choose things that I could still practice like say surgical skills and medical skills so that I didn't get too rusty on anything while I was kind of laying low when my kids were small. So I felt like I was kind of maintaining, I wasn't really excelling or advancing in my career, but I wasn't gonna lose it completely.

Speaker 2 (00:10:51):

Yeah. That's that sounds smart. What, what would you say to other young professional women who are trying to balance family and children with the desire to have a career?

Dr. Jeanette (00:11:15):

I think it's really important to seek out those opportunities that mesh with your lifestyle because everybody's, situation's a little bit different. I had my ex-husband worked evenings, so he was home in the morning, so I could work in the morning, but some people have grandparents around that can help out or family or friends or whatever the situation is like just making it work for you so that you can feel like you're doing something to fulfill yourself and everything that you've worked for. I found, especially since starting this business now, how important feeling fulfilled by your work is cause everyone talks about work life balance mm-hmm <affirmative> and when you're having babies and, and you have your pull towards that, it's a lot of your work life balances beyond your control. Like you're caring for them. It's not all about what you wanna do. So you have to take that into consideration, whether it's you or a nanny or your husband or whoever it is, you that's still your priority. So finding opportunities with employers or yourself, if you wanna go out on, on the edge and become an entrepreneur with small kids, a lot of people do it. You have a lot of freedom and create your own opportunities, then make them work for you. I mean, it's a lot, but if you have a support system, I could see that really being a good option.

Speaker 2 (00:12:54):

Okay. Well, that's good. Yeah. I think that's important to share that stuff cuz I think like you remember, and I certainly remember, I felt, I felt like during those times, you know, even as a man father and which is a different, you know, lens to view things through, but I definitely felt torn and confused about what, whether sometimes the right decisions between work and family life.

Dr. Jeanette (00:13:22):

Right? Yeah. And it seemed like <affirmative> as an entrepreneur, I feel maybe a little more aligned with what a man probably feels like with small children as far as, you know, advancing my career, being responsible for the business. So as like the primary breadwinner, you have to think about growing the business, which is where I'm at now, but you know, am I joining 14 clubs and I I'm gonna be gone at events and fundraisers, which I thoroughly enjoy now and I can kind of pick and choose those that fit into my schedule. But you really have to, you really, you don't have as much time when the kids are little and also you're not sleeping. <Laugh> all of that.

Speaker 2 (00:14:15):

Oh, I remember. I remember that. That was the worst that I remember being, there was only two times. I remember being really tired of my life. One was when I was in high school and I was, you know, playing sports and trying to do homework. And it just, I remember being exhausted for at least three years. And then the other time was having small children

Dr. Jeanette (00:14:34):

<Laugh> yeah, I remember in that school, like it was yesterday this day I came home and laid down on my bed and I felt like my body melted into the bed. That it's a whole new tire.

Speaker 2 (00:14:48):

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Have, and then right into the kids and everything. So fast divorced sort of without pressure from another adult to make choices that are gonna be your own choices now suddenly, and the sort of situation is wide open. What do things start to look like at that point when you really start to dial into grabbing control of your career and your future?

Dr. Jeanette (00:15:26):

So the first so the first job that I took through my divorce was pretty intense. It was a corporate vet clinic and I started out working 12 hour shifts during the week. And then I think they were eight or 10, 10, 8 or 10 hour shifts Saturday and Sunday, every other weekend. So when I didn't have my kids, I was working really a lot <laugh> so that when I did have my kids, then I didn't have to worry about work. So I tried to coordinate my days off with the, my whole priority at that time was survival mm-hmm <affirmative> and I was I was, I was just trying to be there for my kids because they were used to having mom available to them 24, 7. I was 100%, you know, their caretaker. So they went from that to

Speaker 2 (00:16:31):

Just so understand this. I'd like, <affirmative> your single mother, I guess, but you have the kids a hundred percent of the time. Is that what I'm hearing?

Dr. Jeanette (00:16:50):

Yeah, I did bef when I was married. Okay. So I would go to work and they would be with their dad, you know, a few hours here or there, but I, you know, I was that person that I left everything pretty set so that he didn't really have to worry about too much or anything kids are used to, you know, if they need something, Hey mom, you know? Gotcha. And so they went from that to, I'm only, they're only with me 50% of the time. And so this pretty abrupt change for all us. Yeah. So I had to kinda squeeze my, my work then into the times that they were at their dads so that I was still available to kind of catch everything back up when they were with me and not disrupt their lives as much as possible.

Speaker 2 (00:17:39):

Yeah. I, I completely empathize with all those challenges. I've lived through all of that.

Dr. Jeanette (00:17:45):

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:17:46):

It's, it's not, it's not an easy process to go through, but how did it feel to suddenly be bringing personally earning more money than you had in the previous 13 years and starting to feel like you could take care of yourself and your children?

Dr. Jeanette (00:18:03):

Well, I was, I was honestly, this community up here is pretty small. So I was, I was concerned about finding a job where I didn't also add, you know, another 10 or 12 hours to my week with commute time. I really didn't. I wanted to stay as close to home as possible for emergencies or anything that, that, you know, kids are, are called out a school sick or just, you know, things. So I was really lucky that I did find that job right here, close to home. So I was happy about that. That was seeming to work out and the hours and scheduling was seeming to work out. And it was constantly an adjustment. I, my schedule probably changed a half a dozen times in the few years that I was at that job because the clinic hours changed. And I tried to kinda get more time for myself. So I was kind of just trying to tweak things. I'm a tweaker, I guess I just am always trying to just nudge and just, I like

Speaker 2 (00:19:04):

That though. I like that. You're trying to optimize things as much as possible week over week. I really appreciate that. That's a, that's kind of one of the themes of the show and definitely one of the things that we try to pay attention to. So I understand that.

Dr. Jeanette (00:19:18):

Yeah. So I kept doing that until I tweaked out that job <laugh> and I felt like not they're not given anymore and I want more. So I left and I went to a job primarily for the better schedule. It was more of a nine to five kind of schedule with actually a couple early days. And also I was challenged a lot more as a doctor at this next clinic and it was a mixed animal practice and very high volume. So I saw a lot of patients did a lot of really cool surgeries. I felt like I, after all that time that I invested into everybody else, I wanted to kind of make up for lost time, I think. And I went there to try to challenge myself and see, Hey, you, you might not have been doing this all along, but you can certainly start now and be very good at it because once you have good surgery skills and good interpersonal skills, and you can manage a medical case, you can, you can do that to any type of medical or surgical case and just kinda get, keep getting better at it.

Dr. Jeanette (00:20:33):

And I felt like my skills really expanded quickly. And I was really proud of that more than anything else. I mean, the schedule worked and, and, and everything, but that job was really about proving to myself that I had it, you know, I had what it took to be a good and successful doctor. So from there, I started to think, all right, what am I gonna learn next? Cuz I'm the kind of person that I just go full force and it happens quickly. And then I get bored. So <laugh>,

Speaker 2 (00:21:10):

I love that. I love that. So what happens next? Stack you an excellent doctor and then you, you let you go and look for more ninja skills,

Dr. Jeanette (00:21:32):

Right? I'm like, what am I gonna do next? So what else can I do? What El, what other services, what, what speaks to me? And I've always really been drawn to holistic type medicine and herbal medicine and NA natural ceuticals or things that, that are shown to work, but not necessarily everyone's aware of them. And so I was really interested in acupuncture. So I started learning about that and I, I didn't even end up completing the course because it got sidetracked again by starting this business <laugh> and I thought that originally I thought that I would do like part-time in the clinic, part-time out on calls doing acupuncture. Cause it was a lot of horses. Cause horses actually really benefit from acupuncture a lot, even I feel like more than, than dogs and cats. And they also do, but horses, it's just amazing to watch how quickly they respond to it.

Dr. Jeanette (00:22:37):

So I wanted to get out and do more of that and expand that. And funny though, it didn't work out that way because then friends and, and really good clients were asking for in-home euthanasia appointments. And I went and did some of those and I thought, you know, this is something that I just, I liked the mobile thing cuz I actually did mobile work before mm-hmm <affirmative> full service vet mobile work. And I loved it. I just think there's something different about going into people's homes and it's, it's a lot of things you can't put your finger on all of it, but it's just a whole different experience. And I think it benefits everyone. Plus I like,

Speaker 2 (00:23:25):

I mean then, then I go back to the sort of roots of provider care. Right? I mean, I, in my mind, I, I think we all have that vision of the, the doctor, he had a little black bag and he would come to people's homes. Right. I mean, that's where it started.

Dr. Jeanette (00:23:43):

Right? Yeah. And it's, and, and this all happened kind of through COVID also so peop you know, the whole environment of providing medical care was shifting and people were really tired of not talking to the doctor of waiting in their cars.

Speaker 2 (00:24:03):

Oh, say that again. Say that again. Say that again for everybody that people say that again, that people were tired of not getting good communication.

Dr. Jeanette (00:24:13):

Yeah. They really just, they were so tired of being kind, just shuffled around. And I mean, we were doing the best we could, but it was overwhelming for everybody. So people were upset. They just, they wanted communication. They wanted consistency. They wanted to see the same person every time. And they wanted that person to be the doctor that they trust and have that communication and face to face. So even during COVID, I was going out to people's cars in snowstorms and whatever, because you just have to sometimes speak to somebody face to face and let them know, especially some of the critical cases that we had. You wanna call somebody on the phone and tell them, you know, you gotta make some serious decisions about your pet, but it was, it was a lot of different circumstances that kind of all came together at, at once to really make me appreciate the, the in-home care and be drawn to doing that again.

Speaker 2 (00:25:20):

Yeah. The, so it, it starts with people asking you about in home youth Inia and then what is it for you that, you know, kind of mirrors all the possibilities, right? Cause you did all these different types of medicine, surgery, emergency mobile horses, acupuncture, you know, kind of if you will sampled almost everything,

Dr. Jeanette (00:25:52):

Right.

Speaker 2 (00:25:53):

And then what is it that suddenly narrows the focus to this one? I don't know if you wanna call it a treatment, but procedure, one area of care let's call it that.

Dr. Jeanette (00:26:09):

Yeah. This is being called my niche. <Laugh> that's what a lot of clients are say. They they're like you found your niche. This is a great niche for you, you know, and it kind of is, you know, because originally I thought that I would do palliative care and euthanasia, and that's basically like animal hospice where, you know, I would be giving pain relief and seeing animals for exams and blood work and monitoring their disease conditions and still managing patients. But that when it came down to, it was too overwhelming for me to even think about doing all that. I thought, well, maybe I'll add that later for now. I think that I could be busy enough just building the practice around just the euth Inia because people generally, the people who are, are wanting, this are people who already have a primary vet and they have a relationship with their vet and they have a diagnosis and treatment started for whatever's going on with their pet or their, you know, a lot of time they're just old.

Dr. Jeanette (00:27:17):

But so I, I thought, well, maybe I'll I'll get into that. But that, to me it felt like two different separate businesses. And I just didn't think that I could handle that at the time. So I started with the euthanasia and I found a crematorium that was about 30 miles away that started to contract me and they were doing some pretty heavy advertising for euthanasia. So they were advertising that they provide euthanasia. And so people were calling there and then they would schedule appointments for me. So I just let these guys know I'm available these hours and then they'd fill me up with appointments. So my whole first year I was pretty busy between them scheduling for me and then people calling me and, and me scheduling my own appointments. A lot of the times, a little bit closer to home for those. But then, I mean, word of mouth spreads and, and vet clinics found out that I was doing this. And I also was letting them know that I was doing this because nobody really it's rare, very rare for your regular vet to do this

Speaker 2 (00:28:32):

Back up for a second. So the crematorium is doing heavy advertising for youth and Asia services. So what, and you know, we do a lot of advertising here, so I'm always curious to talk about this kind of stuff. When does those types of ads look like?

Dr. Jeanette (00:28:55):

They were, and I wasn't involved in that, but I know that they were doing Google ads a lot. So they were trying to optimize their search, you know, search filters and stuff like that on Google.

Speaker 2 (00:29:06):

I see.

Dr. Jeanette (00:29:07):

And so that's really where they were and they, their name pops up, you know, you search euthanasia or in home euthanasia or, or vet,

Speaker 2 (00:29:16):

Ah, okay.

Dr. Jeanette (00:29:17):

A lot of different things, their names top of the lists. So they had, they were getting that down pretty good. You know how to get just anything traffic searches up, they're getting the traffic to their site. Yep.

Speaker 2 (00:29:32):

Okay. Gotcha. And then, but it sounds like they had a fulfillment problem, so that's what they, that's what they was such a good relationship with you then.

Dr. Jeanette (00:29:43):

Right. So then I, I provided the euthanasia for them and then they would take care of the cremation

Speaker 2 (00:29:50):

And then okay. And then, and then what changes. So, cause the business now you're much more independent than when you started, it sounds like that was actually kind of a nice sort of incubation period, if you will.

Dr. Jeanette (00:30:00):

Absolutely. It was perfect. It worked great for me to really get things rolling because then I could take my time building up my own business and kind of the whole first year, I didn't even answer my phone. So I was busy enough between them scheduling me and then me just answering people's phone calls or voicemails and text messages if they left them for me that I, I didn't even answer my phone ever. And now that I'm not working with them anymore, I answer my phone and I've found that it's full different than what I expected because I'm actually feeling fulfilled helping people in a lot of other ways, too, just by having more contact with them. It's not necessarily just the people who are ready to schedule right now and kind of have it all thought through, but I'm answering questions about what the experience is like and what my availability is for in the future and just kind of calming people down ahead of time, which is really nice because the whole first year it was kind of people finding out a lot of times at the last minute that this is an option that's available to them.

Dr. Jeanette (00:31:23):

And then kind of just flustered and stumbling through trying to figure out what they need to do to make it happen and very emotional, which I'm I'm, I'm used to that, but it's, it's nice for people to not have to have it be that way for them, for them to be able to have a little time to plan ahead and think about all their options when it's not under such extreme emotional distress. So in, in, so, and, and sometimes I get the, I got like a girl this last week who kept calling me and the last time she's like, wait a second. Is this the euthanasia vet? I'm sorry. She's like, girl, I just keep calling you. And I keep forgetting,

Speaker 2 (00:32:06):

Oh my gosh,

Dr. Jeanette (00:32:07):

Puppy vaccines. I'm like, no, I can't help you.

Speaker 2 (00:32:10):

<Laugh> it's a well she's nurse. She needs to call you she's 10 years from calling me probably yes,

Dr. Jeanette (00:32:17):

But she knows who I am now. So

Speaker 2 (00:32:20):

Well, everything for that in terms of awareness, what is <affirmative> what is the, what is the, you know, what does the business process look like now for new clients versus when you were kind of under the, if you will sort of partnership fulfillment agreement that started a year ago cuz things are different now. Right. So, so how does it look? Cause you're, you're not, You're starting the relationships, building the relationships and then fulfilling the services and then following through and all that now. Correct.

Dr. Jeanette (00:33:00):

Right. It's all just me. I don't have anybody helping me other than my daughter making gift bags with me sometimes mm-hmm <affirmative> but yeah, I'm, I'm answering the phone, answering questions, scheduling appointments, doing the appointments and then doing, you know, paperwork and whatever else that my, everything my account's not doing is me. Yeah. So,

Speaker 2 (00:33:30):

Well, yeah, but I also, you know, have you figured out how to formalize all that? Like if you, if you started to system, I mean, cause you're an optimizer by your own admission, so I'm kinda where we at in that process right now.

Dr. Jeanette (00:33:50):

Well I have, I mean I have, since I started, I've had an app that's on my phone, that's a separate phone line. So all the work calls are separate from my personal phone calls and messages. So I have developed kind of a system to keep track of things. It's been working really well. Actually I, I enter people's name and pet information and location and the, the financial quote that I give them all in their contact. So when someone calls, if they're calling for the second time, I know I've already talked to them and gotcha. You know what they're looking for, where they are. So as soon as I pick up the phone, I know, you know, if they're ready to schedule, I know exactly what's happening. So that's helped a lot. I have like thousands of contacts in my phone, but that's okay. <Laugh>

Speaker 2 (00:34:46):

Yeah, we all do. Now the phones are, we've had to, you know, I remember we were having a, like, we memorized your friend's phone numbers and stuff and your family's phone numbers, but now we've kind of offloaded all of our memories. So we have like 10, 15 years of contacts that have been stored so that they're just piling up. There's nothing you can do about it. <Laugh>

Dr. Jeanette (00:35:09):

Yeah. We're just in there and I hope that my cloud can handle it because

Speaker 2 (00:35:13):

<Laugh>, I'm sure fine. So how are people finding you now? Like, because it's not coming from the crematorium company, so how are people tracking you down?

Dr. Jeanette (00:35:26):

So majority of my business comes from other vets and vet clinic and grooming facilities referrals, basically. People calling, trying to get somebody to, to come out to their house or even to schedule an appointment for euthanasia and then finding out that my service exists. And then thinking about that as an option, I mean, people have called me from the parking lot of their vet clinic saying we just got really bad news and we're just trying to figure out what all of our options are and when can you come and that kinda thing too. So the more people are becoming aware of this, it's not that it's the only option. Like I originally kind of thought, you know, this is gonna be for the hundred pound dog that can't get up and they don't ha there's no other choice really of what to do.

Dr. Jeanette (00:36:25):

I mean, I guess, right. Gonna talk about that, but basically, you know that's, they can't get 'em into the clinic, so but people are choosing this purposefully mm-hmm <affirmative> and the more that word spreads about how pleased people end up with the service, they're telling their friends and their family, how much they actually and with I don't wanna say enjoyed, but it really just, it makes it peaceful. It makes it beautiful. And it it's a horrible thing to have to go through, but it's only horrible because they love their pet so much because they have such a strong bond. So the fact that they can give them that gift at the end to take away their suffering and be there with them, they can have their chosen support system there. They're not, you know, eight people cramed into an exam room or even like waiting out in the car. Mm-Hmm

Speaker 2 (00:37:27):

<Affirmative>

Dr. Jeanette (00:37:28):

Yeah. You know, it's just, they're comfortable. They're they're in their familiar surroundings. A lot of times the pets don't even know anything's happening to them. They're just very peaceful. They're painless by the time I'm, you know, giving them the drugs to make it so, and just making it, making it as smooth of a transition as possible.

Speaker 2 (00:37:53):

Yeah. That's amazing. Do you, do you think that this wave of people being at home, doing things in more home, working from home and all this other stuff has actually helped support the idea that this is another thing that can be done more comfortably at home? I mean, I think just as a society, now, we seem to be more focused on, on all of that. And I'm wondering if you're feeling like the response to the service reflects that cultural shift a little bit.

Dr. Jeanette (00:38:30):

I think it does a little bit, but it's so unique that, you know, even before COVID people who knew about this and had experienced it really prefer it this way. But I think that now, given people's frustration with having medical appointments and vet appointments, a lot of it take place from their car mm-hmm <affirmative>. And just how difficult it is to get an appointment for a regular vet clinic. And we, I mean, we have a, a, an excellent mobile vet service up here full service vet care actually used to work with them and they do a fantastic job, but they can't always get to people that day. So they're giving a lot of people my number, because I can cuz this is all I'm doing. And that's one of the reasons why I'm really limiting myself too, because it ends up being the same day appointments a lot of the time. So if I take up my time committing to other things, then I'm not going to be available and that changes the whole dynamic.

Speaker 2 (00:39:36):

Sure. And that, that sounds to me like one of the benefits of, like you said, nicheing down and focusing on one specialty that you can do really well and everything that you're doing with your business around that is to support you doing that well, like being available and responsive and all those things. Right. And then just simply being known for that.

Dr. Jeanette (00:40:03):

Yeah. Yeah. And then, I mean, building this business now I'm just entering year two, which is crazy to me to think how much it's already grown. But my focus for this next year is to really stop and think about what the culture it's me, it's me, how one person what's the culture of my business. And so I've thought about brand, you know, I've I have a logo, you know, <laugh> but brand is more than just that. And business has changed from the, you know, old way of advertising and the old way of kind of putting your brand out there and then trying to lure people in it's more, at least I want it to be more personal. So when I first started this, I knew it wasn't gonna be that much of a challenge to have people trust me because I already built a strong and trustworthy reputation in my community. So I think that's probably half the battle right. There is people already trust me.

Speaker 2 (00:41:16):

Mm. Yeah. So, so important. So important.

Dr. Jeanette (00:41:19):

Yeah. And it's, and it's only me. So thinking about expansion means that, you know, my, my name, my business name, my professional reputation, I'll put on the line for anyone else that I'm bringing in to represent. And I, I have to, to have that culture and value system defined so that I don't make any mistakes bringing in anyone in the future. Yeah. Because I, I mean, I see ways that this can grow. It's gonna have to be very delicate, but I'm sure it's kind of inevitable too. So

Speaker 2 (00:42:01):

Yeah. I mean, you know, your business, you want your typically most people want their business to grow. I mean, we're all, you know, I think it comes with the territory from what I've seen and, you know, entrepreneurs like yourself by nature of starting something it's just natural to wanna cultivate and foster that into something that meets your, you know, the, the best vision that you can have of it. And usually that, and usually that means that it's gonna grow.

Dr. Jeanette (00:42:36):

Right. Yep. I just have to be so careful that it stays pure. Cuz I think when things, when things grow and get bigger, a lot of times that that loses touch with the original purpose and value system. And I don't want that to happen because this is too special. You know, this is, this is like the most intimate time in, in people's lives that you're walking into. And there's no room for mistakes. Really. I have a point of contact with people, you know, well I have the phone, but you know, I'm going to their house. I'm seeing them one time. So it has to be right. It has to be done well. And it's just always been super important to me even doing euth and ages in clinics. It's just one thing you, for one, you don't wanna tell people, you don't have the time or you can't do it or you can't get to it for them when it's, when it's time, it's time. And you also don't want anything upsetting to happen in addition to how upsetting the experience already is.

Speaker 2 (00:43:54):

Yeah. I understand that. What to circle back to folks that are facing end of life, their pet family member, if you will, what, what would you share with them when it comes, you know, when it comes to this decision making and the possibility of finding somebody to do this in home.

Dr. Jeanette (00:44:27):

Right. so for, for the families facing the decision you know, like I already talked about a little bit just knowing what all the options are, is a huge part of it. The, the thing people struggle the most with is just knowing whether or not it's actually time because today, the day, or what day do I choose, that's gonna be the last day that I spend with my pet. And it's so hard for people because there's a lot of emotions involved. There's guilt. A lot of times they may feel guilty and it's very heavy to be the person to have to make that choice. And I've had a lot of people say, like I I've had to do this before, but it's never been me making the decision before, you know, it's always sad, but there's another layer of intensity when you are the person deciding it.

Speaker 2 (00:45:30):

How, how would you, what, what advice would you give them about the feelings of guilt?

Dr. Jeanette (00:45:38):

Well, for, for one thing, the people that I'm dealing with are the people who love their pets the most. I mean, not to say everyone doesn't love their pets, but the peop my clients are people who have a very strong bond and they want to say goodbye to their pet and, and give them this gift. Basically it's worth worth it to them for the additional planning and et cetera, that goes into this to to be able to be home for their pet, to be comfortable for them to not be scared riding in the car. You know, some of 'em hate the car. Some of 'em hate the vet clinic. Some of them are just painful or they literally cannot get up anymore, but anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. So the actual decision though that some, sometimes I say guilt but it's mostly just a, such a sadness.

Dr. Jeanette (00:46:37):

And knowing that it's going to be the end, you know, and I think people, whether they've been through it or not before they they just know that after the appointment, that's it, and they're not gonna be there with them anymore. So a lot of the pets have rallied in the past and they've responded well to medical care. And so they've, they've made comebacks. And so they're kind of wondering, are they gonna do that again? Are they gonna rally back? And they're having a hard day today, but does that mean that it's the end they're still eating or they're still wagging their tail, but a lot of pets do those things. So there's a huge educational component to this, just letting people know what's normal and what's not. And you know, their regular vet, a lot of times has those discussions with them, but I will too, you know, in a general way, because I don't know their pet necessarily, unless it's a friend of mine or something, I, I'm not gonna know exactly what's going on with them medically.

Dr. Jeanette (00:47:47):

But I can give general advice about, you know, they don't always stop eating. They don't, you don't wanna wait until they can't lift their head up or get up, or you don't want that, that low, last moments to be agony. You don't wanna wait until they're trying to die on their own to, to call me and see if I'm available. But it's just really unpredictable. It's the nature of this is it's very unpredictable. And so I think me being available to people is really priceless just that they can get me on the phone. So just getting the word out about this service and that, that I'm available and that they can call or text. They don't have to wait until it's time to actually do it, to get their questions answered and kind of know what to expect. And then when the time does get closer, sometimes, you know, people are calling and saying, they're doing this now. And I think we're, we're ready, but they also have to many times figure out when all the people that they want present can also be there. So there's some of that logistical stuff to plan out too ahead of time, ideally. So that everyone that wants to be there can be there or say goodbye before it's time have that it's coming.

Speaker 2 (00:49:16):

Do you find, do you find that people us more of a celebration of life perhaps? Is that something you're seeing?

Dr. Jeanette (00:49:27):

Yeah, actually I feel like doing the in-home euthanasia almost is like a celebration of life because although the appointment goes pretty quickly overall, the, like the condensation of love in the room, you can feel, you can, you can appreciate that energy and that bond between them. And see, I can see the love in the pet's eyes looking at them. And then they're, you know, they're telling me stories about the funny things that have happened over the years or what their, what their pet loved to do the most and, and like what a sneaker they were or just whatever. And I think having somebody appreciate that and someone that wants the best for, for them as well, even in the last moments to cross over and, and have it be peaceful, it makes it beautiful. Like you said, a celebration of their life, because can I tell people they, they don't live very long and they're gonna die with, or without me being involved. It's just a matter of how we're gonna let them go, you know,

Speaker 2 (00:50:51):

Mm-Hmm <affirmative>

Dr. Jeanette (00:50:53):

So I try to try to just focus on making it beautiful

Speaker 2 (00:51:03):

Pivot with you and and ask you to, you know, in sort of up a, a last question I think is just as important with, and I think is known, you know, that there's a, that providing veterinary services for many veterinarians and veterinary technicians presents an incredible amount of mental health challenges. And a lot of times that is around using patients seem to have found the positivity in the passing of pets and, and how to do that in a dignified and, and loving way. What would you say to veterinarians that are struggling with losing animals and struggling with mental health as it relates to seeing and being exposed to loss of life on a weekly basis?

Dr. Jeanette (00:52:17):

Well, there's so many different levels of loss and the emotion that's connected to it. When you're working in a clinic and you're putting 150% of your effort into treating and saving one of your patients having to let go, that's just, that's a whole different thing than really what I'm doing. Those are excruciating when you've really put everything in. And especially I say, I think the hardest are when you have everything at your disposal, like you have the skills and the education and the client has the finances to do everything for the patient, and you still can't save them. That's horrible. And I don't even have anything to make that better. It's really hard. Those are really hard. Fortunately those are rare and, and it's, I mean, I think having a support system at home and having a support, a supportive environment with your coworkers, where you can really share your feelings about that, it's frustrating, it's devastating.

Dr. Jeanette (00:53:40):

The other situation would be where it's an easy thing to fix, and there's not money to fix it. That's probably more common actually. And those are horrible too. And I think that probably contributes to more burnout if I had to just guess myself, because this's such a financial burden in this profession with most people, not having insurance and having to pay out of pocket. And so a lot of decisions come down to finances. So, I mean, that's varies according to the area you're practicing in and, and, and the clinic that you're practicing in and other factors. But to me, those are the two hardest situations to deal with. And I mean, there's, there's some ways to get around things when it's finances, but a lot of times it's, there's not a good solution or outcome to those. And those are really hard. But what I'm doing <affirmative> I mean, I have to say, people ask me, do you ever turn people away? It's just not even like that. I mean, nobody's gonna call me out to do a euthanasia at probably roughly three times the cost of what it would be, depending like the regular vet clinic. More than that, if you're think considering like having a euthanasia done at a humane society or animal control, that's not who's coming to me. Right. So I don't, I don't have to deal with that. Right. you know, the people who are coming to me are, are people that, that's definitely not a question that it's it's okay. And it's needed.

Speaker 2 (00:55:21):

Yeah, I understand. I understand. Yeah. It's just, it, it came up it just keeps coming up. And I know that, you know, in the industry, a lot of folks struggle with the mental health side and having to maintain a certain strength in front of clients. And and coworkers when inside the emotions can be debilitating and devastating.

Dr. Jeanette (00:55:50):

Well, you know, I have a couple of other kind of offshoots to that one being I've learned, and this is maybe a little, maybe kind of hard to explain, but over the years of doing euthanasias then especially doing so many concentrated in the last year, I've, I've learned to let the emotions pass through me. And, you know, in this situation where, like I said, it's necessary and everything, it's, it, it easier for sure. But as an empath, I feel the emotion in the room and I feel the emotion of the pet and the humans in the room, but I can focus on the, the love that's there and the positive aspects of things, and kind of let it, let it wash through and be a person that's holding space for them and a facilitator more so. And that's taken a lot of the pressure off me of what I'm supposed to feel, or how much of this I'm supposed to take with me, because I just try not to take it with me.

Dr. Jeanette (00:57:03):

And when I'm having issues in my personal life, it can be a lot harder for me to kind of let go of things or to not feel it as much. But I just gotta hold it together for, for my clients. And then the O the other thing was just be with the mental health issues in my profession, finding just like anything, finding what fulfills you personally finding the, the parts of your job that you love and trying to maximize those things and kind of delegate away, or give others who are better at other things that you, that you aren't thrilled about that can help. I mean, a lot of people I think get, get kind of trapped in jobs or situations that they aren't feeling fulfilled in overall. Don't be afraid to move. I'll have to say quitting. My first job was hard after that. Not hard cuz after you learn, it was always for me quitting or leaving a place. I, I always miss everyone. I love all the people that I work with and I actually love my job. It's always the other factors that, you know, for me, that, that push me out or made me leave. So I, I mean, I miss everyone that I used to work with, but you realize that's okay, you're just gonna miss 'em and you gotta move on.

Speaker 2 (00:58:39):

Yeah, fair enough. Yeah. Sometimes sometimes changes making changes and, and like, I think you said something though that certainly resonates with me and hopefully others that sometimes you gotta make choices to do. What brings you joy inside your career deliberately to preserve yourself and do better.

Dr. Jeanette (00:59:07):

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:59:07):

Yeah. And I think, I think too, I think, you know, just, just my spin on that and that culturally, for whatever reason, we're programmed to think that if that we should be generalists, that we need to be good at a lot of things. Like you need to be good at reading, you need to be good at writing and you need to be good at mathematics. Right. That's it teaches from a we're small children, you know?

Dr. Jeanette (00:59:34):

Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:59:35):

We're not

Dr. Jeanette (00:59:36):

That because we're like however many doctors all wrapped up in one.

Speaker 2 (00:59:40):

Right. Right. Exactly. Exactly. But small third one, we're not told we're not messaged and indoctrinated to, to be told, Hey, it's okay. If you wanna be really great at one thing, we, we don't even tell, I don't even tell my kids that, which is a shame, you know, saying it out loud. And, but when you get to down the road and certainly where you are, where you've niche down, I have niched down. Many other doctors, you know, in the human medical side have under, you know, have understood that as a career path to really focus and get good at 1, 1, 1 singular thing. And just crank that out and, and be the best in the field or shoot to be the best in the field. But for most of most folks, we still hold that messaging that we need to spend time getting good at stuff we either don't like doing or that we kind of suck at. And the frustration builds, the resentment builds the dis dissatisfaction in our lives build, right? Because of this, this sort of like thing that we've been told is as young people, when the answer to that is what you said, which is you can make a change, you can break for you, you can quit, you can change your job. You can do anything you wanna do to pursue the thing that you're great at. And that brings you joy and fulfillment. And that's actually okay.

Dr. Jeanette (01:01:12):

Right. Yeah. And if you're not feeling it, go learn a new skill, you know, too, that's an option or find a, find a different workplace where somebody else is doing the orthopedic surgery. If you hate it or you don't know how to do it, or somebody else is doing all the euthanasias, I've had a vet local here, tell me, well, I hate doing euthanasias. And two out of the last 50 that I've done have went well. I said, well, send them all to me because obviously, you know what I'm good at? So, and I don't mind doing it and people are happy with the way it goes, so why not? Right.

Speaker 2 (01:01:54):

Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Well, I wanna for being on the show and all of stuff, we discussed, your personal, the last thing I folks that want find you, either veterinary clinics that wanna refer to you or folks that are having to make some difficult decisions about their pet, how can they find you?

Dr. Jeanette (01:02:22):

The easiest way is to call or text and it's eight one zero mm-hmm <affirmative> 3 7 5 3 5 4 5. And I have a Facebook page. Robert's veterinary services working on a website it's literally in the works right now. Any day they could let me know it's done. So

Speaker 2 (01:02:44):

Okay, awesome.

Dr. Jeanette (01:02:45):

That website will be where you'll find that yet, but it'll be all over the Facebook page once it's done so

Speaker 2 (01:02:53):

Awesome. I'm excited for that. Congratulations on everything. And thanks again for sharing your journey on practice somatic with us. And just turns out that I wanna thank you guys for spending time today with myself and Dr. Jeanette, and I wish you the best select in your pet care, your business growth, personal growth, and we'll see you on the next episode of practice Omatic.

intro (01:03:23):

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/zg.