Is Owning a Vet Clinic Profitable?

You always wanted to build a practice that fits your goals and provides you with a field of work that you love and watch it blossom into something that will support you for the years to come.

You are not alone.

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of having a dream practice. But when you start to get into the nitty-gritty of exactly how to go about it, the whole thing starts to sound less fantastic and more like work, and you wonder, “is owning a vet clinic worth it?”.

We are here to tell you that yes, yes, it is.

And we don’t just say that because we’re biased – we know because we’ve seen many veterinarians find success. Many people who wanted to purchase a vet practice we worked with thought that owning their own business would be one of the hardest things they could ever do. But now? They can’t imagine doing anything else!

It’s true: running a business takes work. But if you want something badly enough, it will be worth every effort you put into it!

When You’re A Successful Practice Owner, You Take Home A Lot Of Money!

You may think, “There’s no such thing as a lot when you’re talking about salary.” But that’s not true. We’ve done the math, and it turns out that practice owners earn almost 25% more than associates – and the average vet clinic owner can take home up to $280,000 a year. It even gets better: most practices can make as high as $300,000 to $600,000 in revenues according to BVR resources.

Let us put it this way, if you’re a veterinarian looking to own your practice, there are many long-term financial benefits to doing it.

The most significant benefit is that you get to keep most or all of the profits from your business. When you work as an associate or employee in someone else’s clinic, they keep most or all of those profits for themselves (and their investors). But when you become an owner, there are no investors or outside owners that take away from your bottom line. You can keep everything for yourself!

And the north star leads to a brighter future:

The Vet Industry Is Growing

An indication that there are many new opportunities for those who want to start their practices.

According to IBISWorld, the global company that “provides trusted industry research on thousands of industries worldwide,” the size of the U.S vet service industry grew faster than the nation’s economy, including the “Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector overall.“

That’s not all:

Still quoting the IBISWorld: according to 5-year industry analysis, the market size of the U.S. veterinary services industry grew at an average of 4.8% each year between 2017 and 2022.

Globally, the veterinary hospitals market size is predicted to be worth $125.07 Billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research, Inc., per this Bloomberg publication.

A Big Opportunity For Growth

Just in case you’re wondering what’s driving all of this growth, here are some of the factors that are driving more money to local veterinary hospitals:

The pet population has been steadily increasing over the years. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimated that more than 100 million pet cats and dogs are now in the U.S!

Americans are also more willing to spend money on veterinary services for their pets than ever before: Based on AVMA estimates, the mean Veterinary expenditure per animal ranges from $18 for birds to $291 for horses. Owners spend an average of $253 and $98 for dogs and cats, respectively.

Not All Vet Clinics Are Equal

Understanding what kind of veterinary practice you want to own is essential because it can determine how much money you make in the long run.

Generally speaking, a small animal vet practice is more profitable than large animal and specialty practices: however, this is not always the case. For example, suppose you want to own an extensive animal practice and live in a rural area that doesn’t have many other vets nearby. In that case, you could make more money than someone who owns a small animal practice and lives in an urban area with plenty of competition from other vets.

The Most Profitable Type Of Veterinary Practice

Specialty practices tend to be very lucrative, and this is because people who have a pet that requires specialized care are willing to pay for it. Specialty practices include oncology, neurology, and behaviorism. These practices also often have extremely high operating costs because they require expensive equipment and facilities.

Owning Your Vet Clinic Can Be Profitable But Requires Work And Dedication

Owning a vet clinic can be profitable, but it also requires hard work and dedication. The vet clinic industry is highly competitive, and you’ll need to invest time, effort, education, and training to ensure your business remains successful.

The profitability of a vet practice is dependent on many factors. A few of these include:

Location
The reputation of the veterinary clinic
Competition in your market area
Client base

How do I Own A Vet Clinic?

You have two options:

Start your practice from scratch.
Buy a clinic that’s already established

Option 1: Start Your Practice From Scratch

Starting a new practice from scratch is much more complicated than buying an existing business, but it has its advantages as well:

You can start with a blank slate and build precisely what you want. You will be able to hire whatever staff you need and set their wages according to your budget. Suppose you have specific training in a particular area of veterinary medicine, such as emergency or surgery. In that case, you can create an ideal clinic that caters to these specialties and hire veterinarians who are experts in them

Sadly, it is easier said than done. The biggest drawback to starting from scratch is that it takes time and money to get established – especially if you don’t have any money for startup capital. You will also need to find a location for your clinic’s equipment. In addition, finding clients takes time and money- there’s no built-in client base waiting for you when you open your business. If you don’t have the patience or cash flow for that kind of delay, then buying an existing practice will probably be better for you financially and emotionally.

Option 2. Buy A Clinic That’s Already Established

If you want to work for yourself but don’t want to start from scratch, you can buy an existing vet practice. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. On the plus side, buying a practice is usually less risky than starting one from scratch because you get to keep all the patients and revenue in place when you take over the business. You also get some of the marketing and promotion done for you since most practices have been around for years or even decades and have built up a solid reputation in their community.

On the negative side, you may not be able to make any changes to how things are done at the practice without getting approval from everyone involved with it – including employees who might not be interested in making changes themselves. You’ll also have to wait until someone decides that they want to sell their vet clinic before you can pursue this option, so it may take some time to find exactly what you’re looking for. There’s no telling how much money you could save by buying existing practices instead of starting from scratch yourself. You might even be able to negotiate favorable terms and conditions when purchasing an existing veterinary clinic, allowing you to go into business with less risk and expense than starting from scratch.

Conclusion

As you can see, owning a vet clinic is a great way to make money. But it is also essential to remember that you must consider many factors before making a final decision. However, if you love animals and want to serve their health care needs, becoming a vet clinic owner should be exciting. We hope this information has shed some light on what is involved in owning a vet clinic.