I thought it was only fair for me to share with you my journey.

Why?

Well when you understand someone’s journey, you will know if you can trust them or not.

Trust is really important when you are helping someone.

I’ve got to trust you and you’ve got to trust me.

On top of this, when you see my past you’ll be able to see that I don’’ come from a place of theory…

I’m living proof that anyone can do it.

It’s most likely I’ve been in a situation way worse than you are in right now.

Ok, here goes.

Let’s go back about 13 years ago…

I remember running my practice in Tweed Heads and being asked a question.

”How’s business?”

I always said “Great thanks”, even though it wasn’t really true.

I’d had my practice for a few years, I had a lot of debt and if I was honest, I was tired a lot, sick of the stress, sick of managing a team, sick of clients…. pretty much over it.

I still enjoyed being a vet however the business side was making me unhappy. The thing that really got me was I knew it could change but I didn’t know-how.

I didn’t know where to start. I felt trapped.

I never told anyone that although it all looked OK on the outside, internally I was struggling.

I guess I was a bit precious about what others would think of me and I didn’t want to be seen as a failure. I suppose I didn’t really want to bother anyone with my challenges.

I thought “I’m a vet. I should be smart enough to figure it out myself.”

Round and round I went, putting out fires.

It was the constant pressure on me that was the source of my frustrations.

It was me that had to talk to any disgruntled client. We didn’t get a lot of them but I found no matter how great I thought our service was, there were always clients that were unhappy with something and I took it quite personally.

It was me that handled anything that wasn’t working. I had to spend time getting quotes or talk to the IT guys to get our software going again or organise to get a new bulb for the microscope when it blew.

It was me that had to come up with a great plan when things went quiet and I’d lay awake at night trying to figure out how to “fix it”.

It was me that had to come up with marketing ideas.

It was me that had to be the best technical vet and the best in the consulting room otherwise our profit would decrease noticeably.

It was me that had to constantly listen to a team member that wasn’t happy and I’d have to be the one to placate them and then feel like I had to give them less to do so they weren’t so stressed. (Guess who had to then pick up the slack?)

I thought the thing to do as a business owner was to just shut up and work harder.

I don’t think anyone understands just how much constant pressure there is as a practice owner. (I never understood it until I one day became a practice owner. I can still remember my shock at how much stuff I had to manage!)

I was making pretty good money but it was taking its toll on my enjoyment of life in general. I was becoming very serious, I rarely laughed and I had this horrible gnawing feeling in my gut all the time.

An anxious feeling that I was letting people down, that the future would always be like this, or worse, that I would not be able to provide the life I wanted for my family.

I desperately missed my mates but had no time to hang out with them and I was also becoming a miserable husband.

And that sucked because I’m usually a really upbeat happy bloke.

I didn’t have the time, energy or inclination to listen to my wife’s challenges.

When she wanted to share her days’ challenges I’d just snap back “Don’t keep complaining about it. Just find a solution to it and DO something about it” (Ladies how unsafe and unseen do you feel when your partner says this to you).

As a result, our relationship became pretty ordinary as well.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is what happened next. I reach my threshold or had what I call a snap point at 2AM on a Monday morning.

I was awake, feeling sick about the week to come when I make a decision that has changed the course of my life forever.  I made a decision.

I got fed up enough to DO something (my motivation level at that time was a 10/10!).  I simply refused to live my life like this. I only had one life and I didn’t’ want to waste it struggling. I decided that I needed help and I would find a way.

Instead of hoping things would magically improve, I began searching for anyone or anything that could help me get out of debt, help me get out of what I saw as a hopeless situation with never-ending stress and work.

That night was about 13 years ago. It was a magical night. Things have changed beyond recognition since then.

What did I do?

Over 3 years I discovered through others inside and outside of the vet industry (interestingly most were outside the industry) how to reengineer the business model I was using in my practice. I worked on my attitude (mindset) and my model.

It became vastly more enjoyable (and profitable) to own.

I’ve since discovered that the flaw in most practices is twofold.

• The mindset of the practice owner.
• The business model they are using.

Within 3 years my situation had radically changed.

• I was working 4 days a week
• I had an awesome team who could happily run the practice without me.
• I had more holidays.
• I was making a great profit.

Most importantly, I was enjoying being a practice owner again.

I got my life back.

It wasn’t a magic bullet, I had to do things differently but boy am I glad I did.

So why do I share this with you?

If you are looking to significantly improve your current results (whether you are)

I’m looking to help you get your life back.

If you rated yourself an 8/10 or higher in wanting to get a different result and you have made a decision to do something about it then we should have a quick chat.

I’m really looking for those people who are ok to change some things so your practice is a source of enjoyment and meaning for you, not a noose around your neck (your profit will also go up significantly).

I’ve condensed everything I’ve learned and experienced over the past 11 years into simple processes and principles specifically for vet practices so others could replicate the results I got.

I’ve been amazed at just how fast the turnaround can be (usually 9-18 months).

I fully appreciate if you are skeptical when you receive marketing like this (I am as well) and that’s why:

1. I’ve been so open and honest with you sharing my story
2. I’ve included comments and results from people like yourself, who have been through this process so you feel comfortable that these results ARE replicable. In fact google the practice, call the owners and ask them what their experience was. That’s what I’d do.

In fact, I always like to talk to someone I’m potentially working with to see if I feel it’s going to deliver what I want before I agree to anything.

So where to from here if any for you?

If you’re interested in the results that I’m talking about, then let’s arrange a time to have a chat.

Things started changing for me when I spoke to someone about my situation. It gave me a starting point. I call it “Having a chat”.

The chat will go something like this.

• Where at you are now? What’s your current reality?
• Where do you WANT to be? What would you like your life to look like?
• What’s missing between those two. What’s causing your current situation?
• What’s the next logical step for youto take to change your situation?

If I feel we are aligned and you are serious about getting different results (which usually means you’ve reached your threshold of tolerance with your current reality) we’ll discuss the next logical step.

If I feel that us working together is not your next logical step then I’ll be happy to recommend someone else who I think can help you.

If you’ve read this far, I really appreciate it. I’d also imagine that you are an 8/10 or higher in your desire to get a different result in your life as a practice owner.

To arrange a time to chat please click here to book a call and we’ll take it from there.

 

Warmly,

Sam Bowden

P.S. If you are interested in the concept above then we need to have a chat as soon as possible because there is an opportunity that is coming that I think you’ll be very interested in.

It is only available for a small number of practices though. So click here to book a call with me.

P.P.S. If you scored yourself 8/10 or higher in the second question (top of the page) then you’ll definitely want to read the rest of this letter.

Shane is a highly qualified and experienced Business Consultant and Advisor. Often referred to as the ‘The Enforcer’;  he is skilled at working with business owners to efficiently implement and achieve their goals.

Shane’s Career Highlights to date:

• – Solicitor in General Practice
• – Signed to the Victorian Bar Roll as one of the youngest practicing Barristers in Victoria.
• – Built a successful practice as a Barrister.
• – Private Client Executive with the National Australia Bank Private Wealth where his team grew revenue post expenses year on year during the GFC. He obtained record customer and staff satisfaction scores.
• – National Operations Manager of a National Retail/Franchise Business with revenue in excess of $100m and with approximately 190 staff reporting through to him.
• – Responsibilities included but not limited to logistics and supply chain management, sales and sales management, people management, fleet management, project management and implementation, in house legal, oversight of IT and systems, franchise management, oversight of store development, external stakeholder management.
• – In partnership with Sam Bowden he developed the Accelerate Mastermind Program to help Veterinarians build extraordinary businesses;
• – Managing Director of Kaizen Strategies – providing business coaching and executive coaching to small, medium and large enterprise (business owners, entrepreneurs, managers and employees), professional development courses and training, public speaking and business consultancy project scoping and management.

Shane specialises in coaching and mentoring small to medium enterprises, start-ups and Executive coaching at corporate level.

Shane’s Areas of Expertise:

• – Leadership
• – Management
• – Business Strategy and Structuring
• – Risk Management
• – Restructuring and Change Management
• – Negotiation
• – Sales Management and Business Development / Marketing
• – Professional Development Training
• – Staff Performance Management
• – Financial Analysis and P&L review
• – Customer Relationship Management
• – People leadership and Human Resources
• – Legal Advice and Dispute Resolution
• – Professional services industries

Shane is Passionate About:

• – Helping people and businesses succeed and achieve tangible outcomes;
• – Learning and staying on top of the latest trends and approaches to business practice across all areas of business;
• – Continuous improvement both personally and professionally – ‘Kaizen’;
• – Encouraging people to think unconventionally in order to raise the bar in their businesses;
• – Keeping fit and spending time in the gym;
• – NBA Basketball; and,
• – Anything automotive related!

In his book Scaling Up, Verne Harnish expresses that no one has ever achieved peak performance without a coach. I credit coaching as the single biggest catalyst that has enabled me to fast track the growth of my business.

It is founded in this experience that I passionately seek to help business owners drive meaningful personal and professional change to reach their full potential.

I have training and experience across a number of sectors including small business, counselling, psychology and education. This provides me with a unique perspective on what drives human behaviour, leadership, team dynamics, training and development to move from the ordinary to extraordinary.

As business owners, we can get trapped in the notion that our business’ success is dependent on lofty goals and processes. What I have learned however, is that simple processes executed consistently will take your business from average to exceptional.

Coaching is fundamentally about helping business owners become aware of their blind spots and about making the unseen potential in their business visible. Coaching yields significant results by helping business owners make small but powerful changes – the magic however is knowing where to look and what levers to pull.

One of my key strengths as a coach is to help business owners develop and implement systems. Systems are an intentional roadmap for daily practice. One should never undervalue the small incremental and sustained changes that simple, effective systems bring about in the overall trajectory towards happiness, profitability and success.

I have been both an employee and employer both within small business and larger organisations. I believe as a coach this provides me with a distinctive ability to see things from an all-encompassing platform. In business and coaching, I have never asked anyone to do anything I have not done myself or would be prepared to do.

Ultimately, I will strive to help you create change by accepting that growth, vulnerability, discomfort and innovation are symbiotic forces for personal and professional success.

I strongly believe in the power of mind-set. It has as inextricable link to the happiness, improvement, productivity and profit within the thriving Veterinary and Health care businesses we work with.

I have 16 years’ experience as the director of PodMED Podiatry Centre and 19 years clinical experience.

I am a Peak Business Coach and mentor for practices who strive for excellence.

I have a strong track record and appetite for:

• Actioning quantifiable and qualitative improvements in Veterinary and Healthcare business.
• Winning cultures.
• Improvement mind-sets.
• Facilitating exceptional working and personal lives for business owners.
• Growing dynamic, rewarding, and profitable teams
• Delivering multifaceted education from ‘front of house’, to nursing and clinical staff.
• Facilitating cohesive understanding of common targets and raised standards of care, where each member of team plays an equally critical role in the client experience.
• Raising standards of care and confidence in service delivery within veterinary and health care teams.
• In-consult room conversion training and actioning multilevel care plans.
• The influence of training and simple systems to facilitate excellent client experience, rapport, enhanced clinical care, revisit rates and client loyalty.
• Building proud, productive, and profitable teams that allow business owners the financial freedom to live their best lives.

I have found a love for developing dynamic, nimble teams with a talent for service delivery. I am passionate about teaching and systemising the links between exceptional standards of clinical care, success, and profitability.