Paperwork…we all love it…not!  Employers are inundated with documents, which are essential for managing employees.

Employment paperwork includes the following:

Request to Hire Form

Employee’s Job Application &/or Resume’

Job Description

Employee Handbook

IRS Form W-4

Form I-9 – Employment Eligibility Verification

Identification Documents

Safety Manual

Confidentiality Agreement

Wage Deduction Authorization

Code of Professional Behavior

Employee Performance Reviews

An outside service can be an extremely valuable resource for assisting you in creating documents customized for your practice.  Contact us at EPMG for more information on how we can help.

Things constantly evolve within Facebook! I have to admit I never knew some of the tools available within facebook business pages. Check back for a future post sharing some of the benefits of the business page.

First, I have to tell you that you are not alone if you feel lost when it comes to figuring out how to use the facebook business pages. I recently attended a seminar in which the speaker went through the same information the day before, and there were already changes he had to maneuver through during our workshop the following day.

I want you to consider something if you are scared of creating a business page knowing that someone could post a negative comment on your page.

People spend more time and energy saying something negative than they will saying something positive. They will also “say it” somewhere. With that being said, I feel it is worth considering having your own page so that you can at least be aware of what people are saying about you both good and bad. And, this is a great time to take control of the negative situation and handle it professionally, which will show your fans how you operate.

Think about the airline industry. We all know how negative their environment can be. Traveling always creates added stress.  Take that stress and a “mix up” and you have a very unhappy customer. You might take a look at how each of them handle their business pages. One in particular does a very good job of addressing the negative post by first acknowledging the person, then apologizing for their experience, and then asking to take the conversation “off-line” or to the private message stream. This is an excellent example of how to handle a negative comment.

You should also think of your business page as your home, and it is okay to have boundaries. This means if you consistently witness behavior from an individual you feel does not fit your standards, you can ask them to leave, just as you would in your own home.

If you haven’t changed your business page to Timeline, I recommend you do that now. It will change automatically at the end of March. Timeline will be the new style of your page layout.

If any of you are interested in learning more about Facebook business pages and specifically how they can benefit your practice, please email Brandie at brandie@equinepracticemanagement.com. We hope to host a webinar in the near future.

Happy “Facebooking”.

Planning for profit.  Your success as the manager of your practice hinges on your ability to manage your one number – “profit.”   In accounting terms, profit is simply the difference between revenue and expenses, i.e., revenue – expenses = profit.  In order to manage for profit, you need to develop a “profitability plan” or budget.

Begin with the end in mind.  Don’t be intimidated by the budgeting process.   A budget is simply your goals for the practice in financial terms.  If you have accurate financial statements, you are well on your way.

Using your financial statements, develop a spreadsheet that includes the revenue and expense categories with amounts from the last twelve months.  Beginning with the end in mind, decide how much profit you want your business to generate.  This is your goal.  Starting at the top, work your way down through the spreadsheet looking for trends and making educated guesses about changes you expect in the coming year.  One note:  In my experience, most veterinary clinics are run pretty lean.   While you might be able to take out a percent or two by reducing costs, you’re probably going to need to find ways to increase revenues to make a significant impact on your bottom line.  This could mean a fee increase, adding new services, or both.

Don’t worry if you don’t get it exactly right the first time.  A budget is a “fluid document”.  Once created, it can be tweaked as necessary.  The important thing is to “Just Do it!”

Or, the first question could be “do you know how much you are currently spending on marketing?”

Marketing your practice is extremely important. Good communication and branding are vital to the success of your practice, and an important key to growth in today’s economic environment.

Marketing includes the following:

Advertising

Brochures & Flyers

Special Promotions and Events

Websites

Blogs and Social Networking

Sponsorships

If you are an established practice, it is critical that you have a good understanding of how much money you are currently spending on marketing.  The rest of you have a clean slate to work with.

Often times, there are multiple people in a practice that “say yes” to an ad or sponsorship, and at the end of the year the total amount shocks you.  Sponsorships alone can get out of hand, especially in practices with several doctors or staff members who want to support their clients and/or families.

So, first get organized with your current marketing investments. Then, consider your goals and set a budget with your goals in mind.  Finally, designate one person to manage your marketing investments and provide quarterly reports to your management team or to you the owner/manager. You could also consider forming a panel so that your practice has some share of voice in making decisions.

Check back for tips related to marketing your practice. Or, contact us if you have questions.

It’s time to think differently about how we measure success.
How many weeks of vacation did you take last year? How many do you have planned for next year?  What good is a high-paying job if you never have time to see your family, pursue a hobby or renew yourself? This is a tough concept for many busy veterinarians. They let their competitive drive or sense of ego dominate their lives. These driven individuals “live to work” rather than “work to live.” Unfortunately, they never achieve a healthy work-life balance and, therefore, never achieve true success. Real wealth is discretionary time. True success means making enough money to maximize your discretionary time.

Do you own a business or a job?
If you have to be there all of the time, you don’t own a business, you own a job. Your practice can, and will, consume as much of your time, energy and soul as you give it. The purpose of your practice is to provide fuel for your life. Too many veterinarians thrive on being indispensable to their practices, but the truth is, if you’re doing everything yourself, your practice will never reach its potential, and you will run yourself into exhaustion.

Make your business run without you.
The key to running a successful business is getting it to run without you. It means getting help and learning to delegate. Hire a team to help run the practice and give them the power to make key decisions. You can still be as involved as you want to be, but set up systems, people, and processes that will carry on your vision of the practice even when you’re not there.

Here are a few ideas for how veterinarians can achieve better work-life balance and create more discretionary time and real wealth in their lives:

• Run your company like a business that is separate from you
• Create an organizational chart for the next five or ten years and identify the key positions and people for succession planning
• Focus on your family and personal relationships as much (or more) as you focus on your customers and your business
• Prioritize your Family and Friends – scheduling important family dates and vacations in advance, and sticking to them
• Take care of your physical and mental health
• Pursue your hobbies and interests outside of your business

The first step to improving your work-balance is making the decision to change what you’ve been doing. If you’re not sure how to get started, seeking the assistance from a business coach or consultant can help you jump start the process ultimately saving you time and money.

At EPMG, we understand the challenges of managing your clients, your patients, your employees, and your business. That’s why we have developed several truly unique business solutions tailored to helping veterinarians better manage their practices and spend more time doing what they enjoy! Whether you are just starting out or an established practice, EPMG can help your practice become more successful.