In business, you learn real fast that the revenue you bring in is only one part of the profit picture. Don’t get me wrong, making money is great and all. But if you make a bazillion dollars and you spend TWO bazillion dollars, you’re in deep shit. Also, you might need a remedial math class…
In veterinary medicine, the benchmark for staff wages is about 23% of total revenue. This does not include the salary of veterinarians, nor does it include payroll taxes and benefits. It’s just a ballpark number, but it’s helpful to have something to shoot for.
Recently, I took on three full-time employees. They are amazing. And expensive. I’m blowing my budget out of the water right now. But I’m banking on the fact that these employees are going to take us to the next level and then some.
When I was considering whether to do such a crazy thing, I gave a lot of thought to my quality of life and how much time I was spending at (and on) work. Now, I love love love my career so much I could marry it. Some may say I did… Anywho, here I am, building the fempire of my dreams.
That is 1,000,000% NOT to say that I am finding joy in every minute, or some such nonsense inspirational quote bullshit. While building this business over the last year, I have worked my face off and that has sometimes left me a puddle at the end of the day. I’ve had moments where I wondered whether I could get up and do it again.
But when I think about *why* I was so tired and burnt out, it is precisely because I didn’t have adequate staffing. I either had no staff, or I had staff that wasn’t able to do the things I needed them to do. Because I have been a vet tech and receptionist and kennel cleaner and every damn thing in between, I certainly CAN do all the non-doctor stuff in the hospital. But as it turns out, if I have to do the doctor stuff AND the other stuff, I get reallllll tired and cranky. Consequently, I don’t feel much like working on the big-picture things that would help the business grow. WHICH IS THE NAME OF THE GAME IN BUILDING A FEMPIRE, FOLKS.
So here I am, throwing caution to the wind. Am I completely crazy go nuts?? Guess we’ll find out! Tune in for updates 🙂