Veterinary Clinic Business Plan Template

Are you about starting a veterinary clinic? If YES, here is a complete sample veterinary clinic
business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a veterinary clinic. We also took it
further by analyzing and drafting a sample veterinary clinic marketing plan template backed up by
actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for veterinary clinics. So let’s proceed to the business planning
section.

Table of Content

Why Start a Veterinary Clinic?

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Executive Summary

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – SWOT Analysis

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – MARKET ANALYSIS

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Why Start a Veterinary Clinic?

Veterinary clinics exist to serve the medical needs for various animals such as dogs, cats, birds, fish,
iguanas and so on. According to statistics from the American Pets association, there are more than
300 million pets in America, and these pets at one time or the other require medical services which
are usually provided for them by their owners who take them to veterinary clinics.
This means that the veterinary clinic is a very lucrative business as there will always be pets to care
for. To start this business however, you would need to have some sort of experience at previous
veterinary clinics so that the experience of running your own business and caring for animals would
not be totally overwhelming.

If you are serious about starting this business, you would need to hire the services of a reputable
business consultant who is very knowledgeable in this field, so that they could run a critical analysis
on your business concept using various factors to determine if this is a business that would be
worth going into. Allowing a business consultant handle this aspect would free you up considerably
and allow you focus on other aspects that would be needed to successfully start and run the
business.

Regardless of whatever line you are from, as soon as you intend to start a business, you would
require a business plan. Below is a sample veterinary business plan;

A Sample Veterinary Clinic Business Plan Template

Business Overview

This industry is one that includes establishments of licensed veterinary practitioners who do not
only provide medical care but also dental and surgical treatments for pets or animals. This industry
also includes establishments such as laboratories that provide diagnostic testing services for the
establishments of veterinary practitioners.

The veterinary services industry is one according to IBISWorld that has remained resilient from the
period of 2005 – 2010, and this was largely due to the fact that pet owners started viewing the
expenditures on their pets as of great importance, a view which helped to greatly boost the
veterinary service industry in the united states of America.
The veterinary services industry is one that has an annual revenue of $35 billion and had a
projected annual growth of 2.9% for the periods between 2011 and 2016. There are more than
48,000 veterinary clinics in the United States of America, employing more than 345,000 people. The
market is not really dominated by any major company, as veterinary clinics mainly focused on their
regions.

It has been projected that in the coming years, more pet owners will be able to afford costly
procedures such as surgery for their pets especially as more pet owners were purchasing pet health
insurance. Also, veterinary clinics are likely to receive a boost as pets are starting to live longer
which means more trips to the clinics.

According to research from Freedonia, in 2014, the rate at which consumers spent on their pets in
the United States reached $33 million, this increase has led to veterinary clinics looking to hire
more veterinary technicians to be able to handle the demands.

The growing need by pet owners to treat their pets as companions or family members has seen the
industry fare well through the economic recession as compared to other industries.

The veterinary services industry life cycle has been described as being in its growth phase. The
Industry Value Added (IVA) which is used as a measure to indicate industry’s contribution to the
economy has been pegged to grow at 2.9% between the period of 2011 and 2021. The U.S
economy in comparison is expected to grow at 2.2% in the same period.

The advent of new technologies has seen many of the professionals in the human healthcare sector
to migrate to veterinary medicine, as the industry continues to grow due to other factors such as
pet ownership, availability of advanced diagnostic and surgical procedures as well as the increasing
awareness of animal health issues.
Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Executive Summary

Little Haven Veterinary Clinic is a standard veterinary clinic located in Syracuse – New York, USA.
We intend to offer standard medical services such as medical examination, diagnosis, treatment
and surgery to pets such as cats, dogs, birds, iguanas and other such pets and animals. We intend to
offer consultancy and advisory services to our clients as regards their pets.

Our vision is to be recognized for the standard medical practices which we offer and be the go-to
clinic for all pet owners residing here in Syracuse, and also around the whole of New York as well.

We are also in business to not only care for pets and generate revenue whilst doing so but to also
compete favorably against our competitors. To attain this, we have drafted publicity strategies
aimed at ensuring that we have an edge over our competitors.

In order to ensure that we attain our vision as a veterinary clinic we intend to create an enabling
environment and also source for and hire competent employees that understand the industry, love
pets and are attuned to the company’s vision. Our employees are the best in the field and are fully
committed professionals. Hiring the best employees for us is necessary as we intend to ensure that
we get our business structure right so as to have a solid foundation.

Asides from ensuring that our employees work in an enabling or conducive environment, we will
also ensure that they are well paid, and also continually train them and carry out periodic
performance appraisals that will enhance their skills and increase their productivity for Little Haven
Veterinary Clinic.
Our location in Syracuse – New York is very strategic as there are a high number of pet owners
living in and around our location. Also our location is very easy to access for our customers both
potential and new, as it is located close to a major road.

Most of our employees are well trained in animal behaviour and know how to restrain difficult pets
with no harm to themselves, property or the pets themselves.

Finally, our owners Elena Johansen, DVM and John Edwards, DVM are two experienced veterinary
doctors who have worked in several veterinary hospitals here in New York and have therefore
garnered administrative and practical experiences in surgery, dental care, reproductive issues as
well as skin disorders amongst others, necessary to run their own practice. Elena has been
practicing for over 15 years, while John has been practicing for over 10 years.

Our Products and Services

At Little Haven Veterinary Clinic, we intend to offer a full range of medical services to our customers
– the pet owners and their pets. Our location in New York, where there are a high number of pet
owners, will see us having no problem in generating the required revenue from the different
services we intend to offer.

Our aim at not only concentrating on our core services but offering additional services is so as to be
able to attract more of the target market into coming to our veterinary clinic. Asides the fact that
we would be attracting a whole lot of customers, we also would be boosting our revenue base, and
ensure that we have a robust bottom line.

We however would offer services that are fully in line with the laws in the medical industry for pets
as well as legal laws of the United States of America. Some of the services that we intend to offer at
Little Haven Veterinary Clinic are;

General Examination
Internal medicine and surgery

Reproductive Services

Orthopedics

Skin Disorders

Endoscopy

Dental Care

Geriatric Care

Consultancy Service and Trainings

Our Vision Statement

Our vision is to ensure that we are recognized by our offering of a full range of medical services to
pets in this area, and providing the highest standards in veterinary medicine.

Our Mission Statement

In order to fulfill our vision, we intend to ensure that we hire professional and caring staff that
would provide personalized services to our customers – the pet owners and the pets themselves.

Our Business Structure

Because we intend to run a veterinary clinic that would ensure that we provide standardized
services at all times, we therefore know how important it is for us to ensure that we get our
business structure right from the beginning, as this would ensure that we have a solid foundation
with which to run our business.

Right from our owners to our management staff and other staff, we intend to ensure that we are all
attuned to the vision of the company and that we are willing to work hard in ensuring that we
attain the goals and objectives of the business. This is why we would also ensure that we source
and recruit only those that are right for our business, and are committed to keeping our corporate
culture.

On our part, we intend to ensure that we pay our staff well and that they have a welfare package
that is comparable to other similar start-up businesses in the industry. We would also ensure that
our employees work in an enabling and conducive environment and that they are continuously
undergo training to enhance their professional skills, thereby resulting to higher productivity for the
company.

The business structure which we intend building at Little Haven Veterinary Clinic is;

Managing Director

Veterinary Doctor

Admin and Human Resources Manager

Purchasing Manager

Accountants

Marketing Team

Customer Executive Officer

Security Guard

Driver

Cleaner

Roles and Responsibilities

Managing Director
In charge of making strategic decisions on behalf of the clinic

Drafts the budget to be used by the clinic with the aid of the accountant

Ensures that all policies are effectively adhered to by all the employees

Veterinary Doctor

Checks and examine all pets that are brought into the clinic

Writes out diagnosis and administers necessary drugs to ailing pets

Carries out surgery and other specialized care on pets

Admin and Human Resources Manager

Sources for and recruits competent employees on behalf of the clinic

Ensures that employees are adequately trained and paid

Carries out other administrative functions that ensures that the clinic runs smoothly

Purchasing Manager

Procures all the necessary equipment for the veterinary clinic

Sources for reliable vendors and distributors of pet medical equipment

Drafts and reviews purchasing contract for vendors and distributors

Accountants

Balances all the books pertaining to the organization and ensures that they reconcile with that of
the bank
Prepares tax documents on behalf of the clinic and submits to tax authorities

Drafts clinic’s budgets together with the owners of the company

Marketing Team

Conducts a thorough market research to find out new possible target markets for the clinic

Carries out direct marketing on behalf of the clinic

Drafts, reviews and modifies marketing strategies on behalf of the clinic

Customer Executive Officer

In charge of answering inquiries from customers as well as resolving issues promptly

Keeps an accurate customer database on behalf of the clinic

Carries out any other duties as might be assigned by the admin manager

Security Guard

Ensures that the premises is always secured during and after work hours

Checks security gadgets and ensure that they are in working order

Reviews security tips and ensures that the employees are duly informed of new security issues

Driver

Drives veterinary doctors for house calls

Ensures that the medical equipment in the vehicle are always in place

Carries out light repairs and general maintenance on the vehicle

Cleaner

Ensure the premises is kept clean before work resumes

Uses the right cleaning solutions in cleaning surgery and lab rooms

Stock up on cleaning supplies and carries out any other duties as assigned by the admin manager

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – SWOT Analysis

The veterinary clinic we intend to run is intended to be a standard one, and to ensure that we
achieve this standard, we have hired a business consultant to help us look into our Business model
and determine if we are likely to make it in this industry and what our chances at competing with
others as well as generating revenue were.

The business consultant in carrying out a critical evaluation of our business concept made use of
the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Strength) analysis so as to be able to give us an
objective report. Below is the report from the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Little
Haven Veterinary Clinic;

Strengths

There are several strengths that are available in this market such as the high growth rate of this
industry, especially as we are still in the growth phase of the industry’s life cycle. Other strengths
are the professionals we intend to recruit who are very competent and also experienced and knows
what it takes to handle pets as well as ensure that the clinic reaches its desired goals and
objectives.

Also our owners, Elena Johansen, DVM and John Edwards, DVM both have a collective long years of
practice in this industry and will bring their experience and expertise to bear for the clinic.

Weaknesses
The only weakness that is in this market is that we are likely in a saturated market which will make
us have to aggressively compete to gain the attention of our potential customers. We however
have the strategies in place to be able to assure that we stand out from other veterinary clinics.

Opportunities

There are several opportunities that are available to us in this market, such as a growing demand
for medical services from pet owners who see such expenses as vital for their pets, a growing
economy which will allow more people to be able to afford to pay for advanced medical services for
their pets.

Threats

The threats we are likely to face while starting or running our veterinary clinic will stem from
government regulations, which might infringe on how we run our practice here in New York.
Another threat we are likely to face are technological problems that might stem from our
equipment. Since we have the experience from working in veterinary clinics, we know that we can
easily combat these threats whenever they surface.

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

There has been a general increase in the way American care for their pets. According to a statistical
survey that was carried out by the American Pet Association (APA) in 2015, more than 65% of
Americans owned at least one pet, which meant there were about 300 million pets existing in the
Whole United States of America.

Also according to further research, cities such as California and New York had the highest number
of pet owners, which has made the two cities a thriving place to run a veterinary clinic business.
The medical services provided for pets are seen as a way to keep them alive, healthy and happy.
Veterinary clinics often have strict laws guiding the practice as factors such as zoning laws and laws
on the facilities used in the clinic (such as light lumens, surgery suite, ventilation systems and non-
porous surfaces) that would need to be put into consideration. This is why almost no one turns
their home into a veterinary clinic.

The veterinary clinic business is also not one that favors house calls as a number of things can go
wrong during house calls like limited supplies in handling whatever problems might occur and a
liability suit, which might come from damage by the affected pet to the owner’s property or the
owners.

There are basic equipment that every veterinary clinic must own either those working from home
or leasing a facility. The medical and diagnostic equipment are blood pressure monitor, digital scale,
traveling centrifuge, portable digital X-ray, portable ultrasound machine and thermography camera.

Also most veterinary clinics now own their own in-house blood analyzers. Asides, from the above
equipment, technology has also come to bear a lot in the veterinary practice as most clinics are able
to offer high standardized and state-of-the-art service due largely to medical technology.

Our Target Market

When it comes to taking care of their pets, Americans have been known to go all the way, which is
why owning and running a veterinary clinic is one way at not only caring for pets but also
generating revenue from the care. Our location here in Syracuse – New York is strategic because we
are very close to the suburbs, where almost everyone who lives there owns one sort of pets, which
is our major target market will be the households.

However to be sure that we are right on our target market, we have decided to conduct a market
survey that will help us truly determine who our target markets are, how to understand their needs
and what they expected from us. From the results of the survey, it would seem that we are in the
business to provide veterinary services to the following groups of people;
Households

Business People

Corporate Executives

Celebrities of all sorts

Sports men and women

Dog walkers and trainers

Kennel Stores

Our competitive advantage

Even though our aim of starting a veterinary clinic is to ensure that we help keep pets alive, healthy
and extend their lives, we are also in business to favorably compete against our competitors in the
marketplace, and for this we have several competitive strategies to ensure we have and maintain
an edge over our competitors.

The first thing we intend to do is ensure we provide a state-of-the-art and standardized medical
facilities for our various customers – the pet owners, and this will make us the go-to veterinary
clinic here in Syracuse – New York.

We will ensure that we hire only competent employees especially those with vast experience to
work at our veterinary clinic, because not only will they understand the business but they will also
use their expertise in ensuring that we attain our intended goals and objectives as a clinic.

We also intend to offer a wide variety of services so as not only to boost our revenue base but also
attract more customers from our target market, thereby giving us an edge over other competitors.
Lastly, as we intend to hire competent and experienced employees, we will ensure that they are
paid well and are working in an enabling and conducive environment. We will also see to it that
they are adequately trained to enhance their skills and increase productivity for the company.

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Little Haven Veterinary Clinic has been established with the aim of generating revenue and also
maximizing profit in the pets/medical industry in the United States of America. In generating
maximum revenue for our business, we intend to offer different services that will shore up our
revenue base.

Therefore below are the following areas where we intend to generate revenue from at Little Haven
Veterinary Clinic;

Internal medicine and surgery

Reproductive Services

General Examination

Orthopedics

Skin Disorders

Endoscopy

Dental Care

Geriatric Care

Consultancy Service and Trainings

Sales Forecast
The fact that there are more than enough pet owners in the United States of America, with more
than half of the owners caring for their pets means there will always be a surge in demand for
medical services from pet owners for their pets.

Our strategic location in New York has us quite optimistic in not only meeting our revenue target
but exceeding it in the second year of business; this is especially as New York has been recognized
as one of the two top cities where pet owners are densely located.

However in order to ensure that our sales projections were realistic enough, we conducted a critical
examination of this industry in order to analyze our chances of success, which led us into the
verifiable data presented below. It should be noted that the data for our sales projections were
gathered particularly based on similar start-ups in Syracuse – New York.

Below is the projected sales revenue for Little Haven Veterinary Clinic based in Syracuse – New
York;

First Fiscal Year-: $450,000

Second Fiscal Year-: $900,000

Third Fiscal Year-: $1,800,000

N.B: The above sales projections were done based on verifiable and accurate data that was
obtained from the pet industry. As at the time of conducting the analysis, certain assumptions such
as location of the veterinary clinic, lack of any major competitor offering same service in same
location, and the state of the economy were taken into consideration.

Should there be a change in the listed assumptions, there would likely be an impact on the sales
projections, which could cause the figures to increase or decrease.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Marketing for any business is very vital as it not only generates money but also ensures that the
company gains publicity while making money. To however have effective marketing strategies, we
intend to conduct a market survey that will help us understand the market we are going into and
how best to penetrate this market.

We used reliable data in carrying out this market survey as we wanted to ensure that we get an
accurate result that will have an impact on our strategies.

Because we wanted to be able to concentrate on other parts of the business, we consulted with a
reputable marketing consultant who not only has a good knowledge of the market and our
industry, but also understands certain peculiarities that will allow for effective marketing strategies
for Little Haven Veterinary Clinic.

Our marketing teams have also been empowered to ensure that strategies that are drafted are in
line with our vision as a company. They have been also empowered to modify or review strategies
that aren’t working and tweak them for the overall benefit of Little Haven Veterinary Clinic.

We are inducting technology into our marketing techniques and so will deploy our social media
platforms, our websites and several other forums so as to be able to adequately market our
services to our target market. Below are the marketing strategies we intend to adopt at Little Haven
Veterinary Clinic;

Place adverts in local newspapers, pets and lifestyle magazines as well as on radio and television
stations

Print and distribute fliers in target areas where there are a large number of pet owners and lovers

Use direct word of mouth marketing

Launch an interactive web site to interact with and inform customers of our services

Use our social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to market our services
Ask loyal customers to refer us and offer them incentives in return

Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Publicity is very important for every business that intends to favorably compete with its
competitors in the market place. Publicity is not only a means of generating awareness about a
business or its products and services; it also helps the business through the increased promotional
activities to generate more income for itself, thereby boosting its bottom line.

At Little Haven Veterinary Clinic, we intend to ensure that we draft effective strategies that will help
us thoroughly promote and advertise our business.

Because we intend to fully focus on caring for pets, we would hire a reputable brand consultant
here in New York that would help us draft effective publicity and advertising strategies that we
would use in attaining our vision and objectives here in Syracuse – New York.

Also, these publicity and advertising strategies will be used to positively communicate our brand to
our various customers. Listed below are some of the publicity and advertising strategies we intend
to use at Little Haven Veterinary Clinic;

Using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote our veterinary
clinic

Ensure that we paste our fliers and also distribute our handbills in various strategic locations

Place adverts for our veterinary clinic in local newspapers and pet and lifestyle magazines, as well
as on radio and television stations

Sponsor pet related events and programs in our local community

Place attractive billboards about pets in strategic locations all around New York City

Attend pet events and trade fairs to network and increase awareness about Little Haven Veterinary
Clinic
Our Pricing Strategy

Setting the right rates for our services is very important to us because not only do we want to give
our customers fair rates that would make them come back to our clinic time and time again, we
would also have to ensure that the rates we fix have covered our overhead and running expenses
so that we do not run at a loss. Also, in fixing our prices, we would endeavor to make them fall
within the ranges of what our competitors around us were offering their clients.

In order to attract more customers to our veterinary clinic here in Syracuse – New York, we intend
to lower our rates in the first 3 – 6 months of business. This will be seen as part of our promotion
strategy aimed to also increase awareness about our veterinary clinic even to potential customers.
Therefore strategies are underway to ensure that our low rates for these periods will not cause our
business to run at a loss.

Payment Options

Little Haven Veterinary Clinic is aware of the fact that our different customers due to their
preferences will prefer different payment options to be made available to them. Therefore the
payment options that will be made available to all our different customers are;

Payment via cash

Payment via check

Payment via Credit Card

Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine

Payment via bank draft

Payment via online payment portal

The above payment platforms were carefully chosen for us by our banker who has assured us that
these platforms will not only be convenient for our customers but will run without hitches.
Start – Up Expenditure (Budget)

The capital used in starting a veterinary clinic depends on what scale the owner intends to start off
with, this means that capital might be high for some and low for others. Regards on what scale you
intend to start a veterinary clinic, getting standard equipment, leasing a place and paying employee
salaries are what generally takes a bulk of the capital.

Other factors like the location and how many staff you intend to get might vary depending on your
budget. Therefore, the key areas where we intend to spend the bulk of our capital on are;

Total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750

Licenses, permits, accounting services as well as other legal expenses – $4,250

Cost of hiring a business consultant – $2,000

Insurance coverage (general liability, property insurance and workers’ compensation) – $2,000

Cost of acquiring medical and surgical equipment – $150,000

Cost of procuring lab equipment – $40,000

Cost of leasing and renovating a facility for at least 1 year – $50,000

Cost of setting up a waiting/examination room for pets – $30,000

Cost of getting kennel equipment – $14,000

Marketing promotions expenses (Promotion expenses for grand launch and general promotion and
marketing expenses) – $6,000

Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, utility bill payments) – $150,000

Other start-up expenses (stationeries, phones, computers, furniture) – $5,000

Cost of purchasing a medical mobile van – $30,000

Cost of launching a website – $1,000

Cost of throwing a party to launch our business – $5,000

Miscellaneous – $10,000

From the above breakdown, we would need an estimate of $500,000 in order to successfully start
and run our veterinary clinic here in Syracuse – New York. The above stated amount will cover
leasing, set-up of the veterinary clinic as well as pay employees and utility bills for a period of 3
months, when the business would have made enough revenue to sustain itself and its operations.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Little Haven Vet Clinic Business

Little Haven Veterinary Clinic is a business owned and run by two very experienced veterinary
doctors; Elena Johansen, DVM and John Edwards, DVM. Both have worked in different veterinary
hospitals before here in New York and so are gearing to run their own practice.

We do not intend to seek for an external investor, which is why we have decided to restrict the
sourcing of their capital to 4 sources. The 4 areas where we intend to generate our start-up capital
from are;

From personal savings

Soft loans from friends and family members

Loan from SBA

Loan from commercial bank

N.B: From the above four sources we were able to generate the following amount; $50,000 from
personal savings, $50,000 soft loan from family members and friends, $100,000 loan from SBA, and
$300,000 loan from the bank. All the monies are already in our account and as soon as we tie up a
full loose ends we would hit the ground running.
Veterinary Clinic Business Plan – Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

We have drafted effective sustainability and expansion strategies to ensure that we not only make
profit and compete favorably with our competitors, but that our bottom line is healthy so as to
sustain us in such a way that we can grow and expand at the pace we want.

The strategies we intend to use in sustaining and expanding our business are; ensuring that we hire
competent employees, innovating and expanding our services so as to have a competitive
advantage as well as ensuring we retain a huge number of our customers.

As a business that believes in having the right business structure, we know how important this is
especially if we intend to sustain our business. It is therefore not out of place for us to source for
only competent employees that we are sure understand our core values and are willing to work
hard in ensuring that we attain our objectives as a company.

Even though we intend to offer core medical services in our veterinary clinic, we also intend to
other services as well to our target market. This will not only bring in increased customers and
revenue to our business but it will also ensure that we have a competitive advantage over our
competitors in the same industry.

Finally, we know how important customers are to a business, for without customers our business is
going to die, which is why we intend to treat our customers fairly, which extends to their pets as
well. Our customer care executives have been trained to handle agitated pet owners and pets
effectively and our veterinary doctors as well as other staff understand the need of treating the
customers right always.